Chapter 24: Returning to the Outer Island

"Honored guest, please follow me."

A moment later, a young servant emerged and invited Li Qing inside.

Upon entering, the room behind the door appeared quite ancient and elegant, where a slightly stout cultivator sat waiting.

"I am the shopkeeper of this establishment, Huang Qi. May I ask what kind of cultivation technique the guest is looking to purchase?"

As the man stood up, Li Qing realized that the aura exuded by this shopkeeper was actually at the Foundation Establishment stage.

A look of surprise flashed beneath his bamboo hat; he had not expected the shopkeeper of this establishment to be a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

On Giant Wood Island, aside from Golden Core True Immortals, the Foundation Establishment stage was already considered a lofty height.

"I am looking to purchase a technique that can conceal one's strength," Li Qing said, his tone carrying a hint of respect.

Once one becomes a Foundation Establishment cultivator, they can be considered a core pillar of a power, no matter where they are.

Because of this, the status of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is worlds apart from that of a Qi Refinement cultivator.

A mere single rank of difference actually represents a vast chasm.

Countless Qi Refinement cultivators with steadfast Dao hearts have been blocked by the bottleneck of the Foundation Establishment realm.

Hearing Li Qing's request, Huang Qi nodded slightly.

To be honest, with Li Qing's current strength at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, he was far from qualified to be received personally.

However, Li Qing's request was unique. Cultivation techniques are easily leaked; once they are circulated, they lose all value.

For this reason, he personally sold all cultivation techniques to his customers.

"Does the guest have any specific requirements regarding the grade of the technique?" Huang Qi continued gently.

"None."

"As long as it is not easily discovered by others."

After hearing this, Huang Qi asked Li Qing to wait a moment while he went inside to retrieve the techniques.

Li Qing sat quietly on a nearby chair.

He had originally intended to ask for an introduction to the different classifications of techniques, but after realizing the shopkeeper was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he ultimately decided against it.

He did not want to draw the attention of such a cultivator.

Although the man appeared gentle, no one could say for certain what kind of person he was in private.

If he encountered someone ruthless, Li Qing feared his life might not be spared.

A short while later, Huang Qi emerged from the inner room.

He took two black jade slips out of a storage bag.

"Guest, let me introduce them to you."

"The techniques recorded in these two jade slips are the Spirit Concealment Art and the Thousand Illusion Art, respectively."

"The Spirit Concealment Art..."

"Its primary feature is that it allows you to draw the mana within your body out and hide it within your meridians, so that your strength is not easily exposed."

"The only issue is that it cannot be sustained indefinitely; once you circulate your energy, your original strength will immediately return."

"The Thousand Illusion Art..."

"Its characteristic is that it can cultivate a type of illusory mist that blocks divine sense. Within the same realm, no one can probe your true strength without the aid of special magical tools."

"I wonder what the value of these two techniques is?" Li Qing asked.

"The Spirit Concealment Art is four hundred low-grade spirit stones."

"The Thousand Illusion Art is six hundred low-grade spirit stones."

Beneath his bamboo hat, Li Qing nodded slightly.

Overall, the prices were quite reasonable.

In truth, such strength-concealing techniques were relatively common, and most were quite similar.

True top-tier techniques could even achieve concealment across an entire major realm.

Of course, techniques of that caliber were not easily obtained.

After thinking it over, Li Qing felt the Spirit Concealment Art was more suitable for him; the illusory mist produced by the Thousand Illusion Art was too conspicuous.

Some things, the more one tries to hide them, the more easily they attract scrutiny.

"I intend to purchase the Spirit Concealment Art," Li Qing spoke.

Having said that, Li Qing took out his counted spirit stones and placed them on the table.

"Very well," Huang Qi said, reaching out to take them.

He handed the jade slip engraved with the Spirit Concealment Art to Li Qing.

"There is a spiritual contract on it. Before you practice, you can probe it once you have completed a soul oath that you will never leak it."

Hearing Huang Qi's reminder, Li Qing nodded and rose to leave.

***

The night air was slightly cool.

Li Qing sat cross-legged upon a spirit boat, heading toward the Thousand Water Spirit Control Sect.

Although this trip was short, it undoubtedly brought immense changes for Li Qing.

After his last encounter, he found that he was adapting to this cruel cultivation world much faster than expected.

His strength had also undergone significant changes.

First, he now possessed two high-quality mid-grade magical tools: the Cold Water Sword and the Black Tortoise Shield.

With one offensive and one defensive tool, he possessed impressive combat power.

Among outer disciples, aside from some descendants of great families, it was rare to see someone possessing high-quality mid-grade magical tools.

Now that the spiritual energy in the Sea-Suppressing Pearl had reached the core position of a first-tier spiritual vein, Li Qing had also specifically stockpiled more spirit fish fry to avoid any accidents.

Currently, the number of spirit fish in the Sea-Suppressing Pearl could support about one hundred and sixty individuals; any more would affect Li Qing's own cultivation.

However, in the coming period, Li Qing would not sell them all.

Firstly, it was to hide his tracks, and secondly, it was for his own cultivation.

The help provided by the Profound Water Spirit Fish was quite significant.

With the Profound Water Spirit Fish, the mana within his body had clearly become much purer than before.

This would be extremely beneficial for his future Foundation Establishment.

Under the cover of night, Li Qing returned to his cave dwelling and began his secluded cultivation.

He intended to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refinement while away on missions, so that he would have a greater measure of certainty when facing crises.

In truth, advancing during the early and middle stages of Qi Refinement was relatively easy.

Therefore, with sufficient medicinal pills, Li Qing possessed a certain level of confidence.

After the late stage of Qi Refinement, basically every step forward represented a new stage.

Some with poor talent might even remain stuck at a certain level of Qi Refinement for their entire lives.

What Li Qing did not know was that as the mist rose from his cave dwelling, news of him had already been spread.

"Why haven't you said why he hasn't come out yet?"

In the distance from Li Qing's cave dwelling, two figures were observing from afar.

One was tall and the other was stout; they were precisely the two outer disciples who had been under Wei Xuan's command.

"He should be coming out soon. It has been a full four months since he began his seclusion."

"According to the sect regulations, he can only delay for a maximum of two months. It should be this month," the tall, thin cultivator replied boredly.

"We two are truly unlucky. Following Wei Xuan, not only did we gain no benefits, but we've also wasted our time here for nothing," the stout cultivator complained discontentedly.

"Sigh, who told us to be unlucky enough to be assigned this task?" The tall, thin cultivator also looked miserable.

"This kid is mysterious all day long, either going out or in seclusion, wasting our efforts for nothing."

"Don't rush. Once he comes out to take a mission, everything will be over."

As he finished speaking, two pairs of sinister eyes looked toward Li Qing's position.

*Crackle! Pop!*

A dense sound of thunder erupted.

Inside the cave dwelling.

Li Qing's face was currently contorted in pain.

Countless bolts of lightning were coursing back and forth across his body.

At this moment, a bloody hole had appeared on his right arm, and blood was flowing profusely.

The lightning power on his body seemed to have encountered a great tonic, surging uncontrollably toward the bleeding wound.

(End of Chapter)