Chapter 21: Purchasing Spiritual Materials

Cheng Buzheng watched and listened as he walked, occasionally stepping forward to exchange words with the stall owners.

Suddenly.

He saw a stall displaying various spirit ores alongside miscellaneous items like magic tool fragments.

The owner was a young girl wearing sect attire; she was petite with delicate features and emitted a powerful spiritual pressure. Although he didn't know which level of Qi Refinement she was at, she was certainly not someone a lowly first-level Qi Refinement cultivator like him could compare to.

Cheng Buzheng stepped forward and carefully inspected the items on the stall.

He discovered that the spirit ores were all low-grade first-tier ores, such as Green Refining Stone, Spirit Iron Ore, and Red Copper Ore. The magic tool fragments were all low-grade, and there were also a few stalks of low-grade first-tier spiritual herbs.

"Senior Sister, how are these spirit ores being sold?"

The young senior sister glanced at him indifferently and said casually, "These scraps, plus the three stalks of Green Nether Grass, will be seven spirit stones in total."

Hearing this.

Cheng Buzheng's heart stirred slightly. He knew the moment to pick up a bargain had arrived, but his expression remained normal, without a hint of emotion leaking out.

A look of difficulty immediately appeared on his face. "Senior Sister... I really cannot afford that many spirit stones. Can I buy them separately? Just the spirit ores?"

The young senior sister frowned slightly, looking somewhat troubled. "Junior Brother, you know that the price I quoted is already quite low just so I can get rid of these magic tool fragments. Only cultivators practicing special spells would buy these fragments, but so far, I haven't heard of any senior brothers or sisters successfully mastering such spells. Only some low-level weapon refiners would buy them for practice; otherwise, I'd have to sell them as construction materials, which would be a huge loss! If I sell these separately, these magic tool fragments definitely won't sell."

Cheng Buzheng pondered for a moment and said, "Senior Sister... how about this! These three stalks of Green Nether Grass are worth three spirit stones; you can keep them... they are easy to deal with anyway. I will help you clear out these remaining scraps, but I hope you can give me a lower price. I have a good senior brother who just promoted to a low-grade first-tier weapon refiner. These magic tool fragments would be perfect as a gift for him to practice with upon his promotion. I truly have no more spirit stones, otherwise, I wouldn't be using magic tool fragments as a gift. But I can't not give him something; after all, he is like a big brother to me! Otherwise, I wouldn't feel right about it."

Cheng Buzheng feigned a shy demeanor, giving the young senior sister an embarrassed look.

Hearing this.

The young senior sister did not detect anything amiss and immediately comforted him, "Your big brother will surely be very happy to have such a thoughtful younger brother!"

She pondered for a moment and said, "How about this... how many spirit stones do you have left?"

An embarrassed expression immediately appeared on Cheng Buzheng's face as he whispered, "Senior Sister, I only have three spirit stones left!"

Originally, he had intended to say two spirit stones. He happened to have two left in his hand, which would have been just enough to perform one derivation of the Crimson Fire Technique, but he swallowed the words, fearing he might ruin the transaction.

Besides, the spirit ores were worth two spirit stones, and the magic tool fragments were normally worth about three. If sold as construction materials, they might not even fetch one spirit stone; he couldn't exactly ask her to give them away for free!

Upon hearing this, the young senior sister bit her lip slightly, her brow furrowed. "Forget it... I've been sitting here for so long and these fragments haven't sold. I might as well go back and cultivate! I'll just sell them as construction materials. They were picked up anyway."

Cheng Buzheng, naturally, offered a round of thanks.

Once the transaction was complete, the girl packed up her stall and flew away as a streak of spiritual light, riding a bright red flying sword.

Cheng Buzheng watched the receding light quietly, thinking to himself, "What a good person! She let me make a profit of two spirit stones!"

To him at this stage, two spirit stones were no small amount!

Next, he continued browsing the stalls.

During this time, he used his last remaining spirit stone to buy a bottle of Fasting Pills. This was crucial to his sustenance; with his current stock of Fasting Pills, he wouldn't need to worry about food for nearly three years, and it also served as preparation for his upcoming mission.

Only after browsing all the stalls did he set aside his curiosity and head to the Sutra Pagoda.

After chatting with Senior Brother Niu and Senior Brother Dai for a while, he went to the first floor of the Sutra Pagoda to continuously enrich his understanding of the cultivation world.

Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, night fell.

Cheng Buzheng returned to his room and sat cross-legged on his bed. With a wave of his hand toward the storage bag at his waist, several spirit ores and magic tool fragments appeared beneath the bed.

After a glance, he flipped his right palm. A somewhat illusory small pestle hovered above his palm. With a thought, the illusory small pestle began to spin frantically.

Suddenly.

The sound of air bursting echoed within the room. The air became almost tangible, rippling outward in circles as the pestle spun, the airwaves slapping against the walls and causing them to tremble slightly.

With another thought.

Instantly, the small pestle came to a halt, hovering quietly above the spirit ores and magic tool fragments. Only as the frantic spinning stopped did the airwaves in the room slowly dissipate.

The Amethyst Pestle was shaped by magical power, its spiritual runes served as meridians, and spiritual essence served as the filler. Now came the final step: the complete mastery of the Amethyst Pestle technique.

By using the essence of the spirit ores and magic tool fragments as filler, the Amethyst Pestle would inherit the various characteristics of those materials.

For example, if the spirit ores were incredibly heavy and hard, the Amethyst Pestle would be able to withstand a mid-grade magic tool without easily breaking, and would possess its own circulating immense strength when attacking.

As Cheng Buzheng cast successive hand seals, the Amethyst Pestle glowed faintly. The spirit ores and magic tool fragments below continuously emitted multicolored specks of light that flew toward the pestle like moths to a flame.

The Amethyst Pestle acted like a greedy child, incessantly absorbing the multicolored specks of light rushing toward it.

As the pestle devoured more light, it became increasingly solid, its surface gradually taking on a metallic luster. The nine outer rings, shaped like dorsal fins, faintly emitted a cold glint.

One look was enough to know that this object was an absolute killing tool.

When the Amethyst Pestle had completely absorbed the essence of the spirit ores and magic tool fragments, its appearance underwent a massive change.

If the previous illusory Amethyst Pestle was mere common iron, the current one was spiritual iron; the distance between the two was as vast as the difference between clouds and mud.

The Amethyst Pestle, which had originally emitted a red glow and felt illusory, had lost its phantom-like quality and instead appeared as if it were forged from metal.

Looking at the metallic-lustered Amethyst Pestle before him, those nine dorsal-fin-like blades inspired a deep chill. If he weren't restricted by his current location, he truly wanted to test it right now to see exactly how powerful it was. Although the Amethyst Pestle had not yet reached its peak power, it was not to be underestimated.

To elevate this technique to its maximum power, he would need to absorb a sufficient amount of spiritual essence until it no longer absorbed any more.

Suppressing his excitement, he beckoned with his hand. The Amethyst Pestle instantly flew into his hand, accompanied by the sound of bursting air and ripples of airwaves slapping against the walls.

Cheng Buzheng carefully inspected his killing tool.

After a long while, he flipped his palm, and the Amethyst Pestle transformed into a pattern on the surface of his right hand, which vanished in the blink of an eye.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he focused his mind, closed his eyes slightly, and began his daily cultivation. Wisps of spiritual energy could be seen gathering around him bit by bit.

With every complete cycle of his internal circulation, a significant amount of spiritual energy was drawn into his body, as he repeatedly ran his cycles over and over again.

(End of Chapter)