Chapter 14: Deep Sea and Thick Earth

After noticing the strange movement within his body, Li Qing slowly slowed his pace.

Feeling the vibration emanating from the Zhenhai Pearl, Li Qing was inwardly very surprised, yet he continued walking forward without changing his expression.

Li Qing pretended to be a rogue cultivator, glancing back and forth at the surrounding stalls.

"Fellow Daoists, please come and take a look!"

"Flame Talismans, Still Water Talismans, Lightness Talismans—all selling at low prices!"

By the side of the road, a young Daoist with a thin face and a grey robe was shouting energetically.

Seeing the various spirit talismans on the man's stall, Li Qing stopped in his tracks.

As a very important means of combat, talismans could often play a critical role in the outcome of a battle.

The Haoyuan Sea region had been passed down for countless years, and various methods of cultivation had emerged one after another.

Beyond the cultivation of the practitioners themselves, countless means of establishing a foothold had been derived.

Among the hundred arts of cultivation, as long as one was proficient in just one, they could quickly accumulate resources for their own cultivation.

On the difficult path of seeking immortality, mastering these was considered a foundation for one's survival.

The most common among the hundred arts were: artifact refining, alchemy, talisman making, formations, and beast taming.

Li Qing was naturally uninterested in these.

The existence of the Zhenhai Pearl was enough to help him obtain cultivation resources more conveniently.

An individual's energy was ultimately limited.

Li Qing was currently practicing both magic and physical cultivation, which already took up most of his energy, so he had no mind to try other things at the moment.

In any of the hundred arts of cultivation, reaching the deepest level required wasting the vast majority of one's energy to achieve anything.

There were even many cultivation geniuses who delayed their own cultivation speed because of this, eventually regretting it for a lifetime.

If there was one thing Li Qing was interested in, it might be related to beast taming.

Deep down, he could vaguely sense that the Zhenhai Pearl held secrets he had yet to discover.

Since it could grow spirit fish, was there a chance it could sustain spirit beasts?

Of course, this was not something the current Li Qing could test.

He was too poor right now.

Every bit of spirit stone resource was extremely precious to him.

"This fellow Daoist, why not come up and take a look?"

"The prices we sell at here are much more cost-effective than in the shops."

Seeing Li Qing stop, the young Daoist nearby hurriedly greeted him.

"How much for this Flame Talisman?" Li Qing asked, stepping forward.

"Fellow Daoist, you certainly have an eye for quality. The Flame Talisman is a boutique spirit talisman here," the grey-robed man said with a flattering, delighted expression.

Seeing that Li Qing had the intention to purchase, the young grey-robed Daoist became very eager.

"And I can guarantee to you, fellow Daoist, that this Flame Talisman is absolutely a boutique among first-grade low-tier talismans."

"Once activated, it is equivalent to a full-strength strike from a cultivator in the early stage of Qi Refining."

"The Flame Talisman sells for six low-tier spirit stones."

Under his bamboo hat, Li Qing nodded secretly.

Just as the man said, this price was indeed cheaper than in the shops; a talisman of this quality would likely sell for eight low-tier spirit stones in a shop.

Talismans are divided into: first-grade, second-grade, third-grade, and fourth-grade, corresponding to strength from the Qi Refining stage to the Nascent Soul stage.

Each grade is further divided into: low-tier, mid-tier, and high-tier.

"Give me two Flame Talismans."

After Li Qing finished speaking, he took the spirit stones from his storage bag, handed them to the stall owner, then took the two Flame Talismans and turned to leave.

The rest were just ordinary talismans, which Li Qing didn't think much of; those ordinary talismans were not as powerful as his own physical strength.

Afterward, Li Qing continued to stroll slowly around the nearby stalls, gradually moving closer to his target.

It must be said that after walking this way, Li Qing’s eyes were truly opened.

He even saw a cultivator selling a spirit boat at a stall.

That cultivator was dressed discreetly, his entire body covered by a black robe, not even revealing his eyes.

The spirit boat on the stall also looked slightly damaged; one could tell at a glance that its origins were not clean.

When he saw the price, Li Qing couldn't help but be dumbfounded: a low-tier magical artifact spirit boat was selling for a full two thousand low-tier spirit stones.

One had to know that two thousand low-tier spirit stones were enough to buy a high-tier magical artifact of decent quality.

Li Qing could only shake his head helplessly; it seemed unlikely he would be able to purchase a spirit boat of his own in the short term.

A moment later, he finally arrived at a small, narrow stall and stopped.

On it lay only a lump of black, mud-like substance.

Although the object before him looked somewhat unsightly, it emitted no foul odor; instead, it had a faint, fresh scent.

"Deep Sea Thick Earth."

The words appeared in Li Qing's mind.

He looked up toward the back of the stall.

He saw a black, thin, sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked cultivator in the middle stage of Qi Refining sitting behind it.

After glancing at his appearance, Li Qing confirmed his thoughts.

Deep Sea Thick Earth was a special type of spirit mud found in the depths of the sea. After long periods of sedimentation on the seabed and nourishment by spiritual energy, this thick earth was formed.

The greatest characteristic of Deep Sea Thick Earth was that it basically only formed in the depths of the sea, hundreds of feet down.

In such deep waters, ordinary Qi Refining cultivators had no ability to enter or exit; only Foundation Establishment cultivators could reach the seabed.

One of the greatest uses of Deep Sea Thick Earth was to accelerate the growth of spirit herbs.

Some precious medicinal herbs often required extremely harsh growing environments; with Deep Sea Thick Earth, the survival rate of some medicinal herbs could be greatly guaranteed.

Those who sold Deep Sea Thick Earth to the public were basically rogue cultivators; if they were sect disciples, they would have already handed it over to their sect, as the rewards within the sect were more valuable than selling it directly.

Only rogue cultivators had no fixed abode and did not need to spend long periods cultivating medicinal herbs.

However, the amount of Deep Sea Thick Earth here was not large.

Li Qing had already guessed the reason why this item appeared here.

The sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked man saw the gazes of the crowd and a proud expression appeared on his face; an opportunity like his was not something everyone could encounter.

Deep Sea Thick Earth would appear in other places as the undercurrents beneath the sea shifted.

The cultivator before him had only obtained such a large piece of Deep Sea Thick Earth by coincidence.

Li Qing stood silently in the crowd. He felt the Zhenhai Pearl deep in his mind, and finally confirmed that the Deep Sea Thick Earth before him was the source of the pearl's agitation.

A trace of doubt flashed in his heart; he didn't quite understand why the Zhenhai Pearl would react to this lump of Deep Sea Thick Earth.

Li Qing had already vaguely made a decision.

Everything concerning the Zhenhai Pearl was a top priority.

After all, the Zhenhai Pearl was the foundation of Li Qing's cultivation path.

He had to obtain this piece of Deep Sea Thick Earth and figure out the reason for the Zhenhai Pearl's agitation.