Chapter 22: Jingxuan Force

Reading this secret manual left Chen Fei feeling dizzy. Between the lines, many parts seemed highly logical, yet he had no idea how to actually begin practicing them.

An hour later, Chen Fei set the manual down. His only feeling was that this manual contained something significant, but if he tried to cultivate it as written, falling into a state of cultivation deviation would likely be the least of his worries.

"Simplifying Thunderclap Sword Intent... Simplification successful... Thunderclap Sword Intent → Shock Word Technique!"

"It really does have something!"

Chen Fei's eyes brightened slightly. As the contents of the Shock Word Technique flooded into his mind, he couldn't help but become immersed. Another half an hour passed before Chen Fei finally snapped out of it.

"It really is a part of the Thunderclap Sword Intent. This is a real gain."

A smile crept onto Chen Fei's lips. If one could successfully comprehend the complete Thunderclap Sword Intent, not only would the cultivation speed be extremely fast, but the techniques themselves would carry innate thunderous power.

The Shock Word Technique lacked the thunderous power, but it had inherited the advantage of rapid cultivation speed.

Of course, because it was only a part of the Thunderclap Sword Intent, the Shock Word Technique was not without its flaws; specifically, if one practiced without caution, it would be very easy to injure oneself.

The Shock Word Technique acted as an accelerator. If your body could withstand it, the circulation speed of your blood and qi would become incredibly fast. In the original Thunderclap Sword Intent, the contained thunderous power could temper the physique, so one didn't have to worry much about the speed of blood and qi circulation.

"Merge!"

In Chen Fei's mind, his insights regarding the Great Perfection stage of the Fengxuan Breathing Method merged with the Shock Word Technique, the two intertwining. A portion of the Fengxuan Breathing Method was deleted, and the Shock Word Technique filled the void.

【Cultivation Method: Shock-Suspension Strength (Perfection (1127/10000))】

A new cultivation method appeared on his panel. The Shock Word Technique contributed greatly to the new method, but not to the point of total subversion; otherwise, the proficiency wouldn't have appeared at its current level immediately upon creation.

"Simplify Shock-Suspension Strength!"

"Simplifying Shock-Suspension Strength... Simplification successful... Shock-Suspension Strength → Fengxuan Breathing Method!"

Just as Chen Fei expected, the "nesting doll" effect appeared again. Chen Fei circulated the Fengxuan Breathing Method, and the experience points for Shock-Suspension Strength increased by +1. A smile appeared on Chen Fei's face; the issue with his cultivation methods had been somewhat resolved. However, the silver he had worked so hard to accumulate was once again running low.

Skin Refining, Flesh Refining, Bone Tempering, Marrow Refining, and Organ Refining. These were the five stages of body tempering. Within these five stages, even with the mediocre Jishan Breathing Method, a martial artist had a chance to cultivate all the way to the Organ Refining stage.

Of course, such a situation rarely occurred because the efficiency of the Jishan Breathing Method was so slow that one would likely die of old age before achieving it. One could only say there was a chance, albeit a slim one.

Therefore, once a martial artist reached a certain realm, obtaining a stronger cultivation method was inevitably a primary goal. For instance, disciples of great clans or powerful sects would start with high-quality methods and naturally would have no need to change them.

Only someone like Chen Fei, who had no foundation, needed to seek opportunities to exchange for stronger cultivation methods.

"Simplifying after merging consumes much less silver, likely because much of it is content I have already mastered. A brand-new secondary simplification, like 'Immortal Pointing the Way,' would require ten times the silver. Knowledge is indeed expensive!"

Chen Fei muttered to himself before sitting cross-legged to cultivate. An entire night passed in an instant.

During the day of the second day, Chen Fei worked in the medical clinic as usual, refining pills. At night, he changed his appearance and appeared in the night market.

This time, Chen Fei had adopted a new identity, entirely different from his previous ones. He looked powerful and robust; even with a mask on, a scar could be seen at the corner of his eye.

"Do you buy pills?"

Chen Fei approached a stall and spoke in a raspy voice.

That Disguise Technique was truly miraculous. After Chen Fei had practiced it to the Great Perfection stage, he could change his face and voice at will, and even making minor adjustments to his physique was no problem.

With a mask and a bamboo hat, he truly possessed a thousand faces; there was no need to worry about being recognized.

"It depends on the quality of the pills. If the quality is good, I'll buy them, naturally," the stall owner said unhurriedly, glancing at Chen Fei and noting the scar at the corner of his eye.

"Here!"

Chen Fei tossed out a medicine bottle. After catching it, the stall owner opened the stopper, and a faint medicinal fragrance wafted out. A Grass-Returning Pill nearing the Great Perfection level showed no discernible flaws in its quality.

If one looked closely, it might even be slightly better than those sold in the medical clinics and pharmacies on the market. Such a thing could not be produced without years of accumulated alchemy experience.

Sure enough, the stall owner's eyes brightened as he looked at the Grass-Returning Pill inside the bottle. After resealing the bottle, the owner looked up at Chen Fei, his voice much softer.

"The pills are good. If they are all of this quality, I'll buy as many as you bring."

"Don't worry about the quality; you can inspect them every time. Name your price. If it's suitable, I can sell to you in the future," Chen Fei said, crossing his arms.

"What's the volume?"

"Every three days, between ten to twenty pills."

"Hmm, for that quantity, seven taels per pill. We'll take them," the stall owner said after a moment of deliberation.

"Too low!" Chen Fei shook his head.

"That's already quite a lot. We have to resell them after buying; we need a bit of profit for ourselves," the stall owner insisted.

Chen Fei said nothing, making a move to take the medicine bottles from the stall as if he had no intention of continuing the negotiation.

"Sigh, don't be in such a hurry. The price is negotiable," the stall owner stammered, quickly stopping him.

A moment later, Chen Fei left the black market, having settled on a final price of eight taels. He wasn't extremely satisfied, but it was acceptable. Compared to the Qingzheng Medical Clinic, he was getting a very good price.

Alchemy, cultivation, and grinding proficiency—Chen Fei's life seemed to return to its peaceful routine.

However, on the fifth day, Chen Fei saw that Physician Qin in the medical clinic.

Physician Qin walked around the clinic a few times before Sun Shu appeared. The two exchanged a few words and seemed to be chatting quite happily. Half an hour later, Physician Qin left the North City Medical Clinic.

Chen Fei's expression remained unchanged. He knew that Zhang Sinan was about to make her move; the next few days would likely be a turbulent time.

After some thought, Chen Fei decided not to come to the clinic for a while. He would use the time to properly grind the proficiency of his Shock-Suspension Strength at home, while also taking the opportunity to wander around Pingyin County.

Having been in this world for so long, he had been busy with survival at first and then focused on constant cultivation; consequently, Chen Fei actually knew very little about the city he lived in.

His predecessor had been a handyman, so naturally, there had been no opportunities.

Early the next morning, Chen Fei took sick leave and began exploring Pingyin County.

Eating, drinking, playing, and enjoying life—the silver Chen Fei currently possessed was a massive sum for an ordinary person. With money, one could naturally eat and play as they pleased.

He even visited the pleasure houses to listen to music a few times; the feeling was quite pleasant.

Fine wine in restaurants, street snacks—Chen Fei felt like a bird released from a cage, his mind and body finding a sense of tranquility.

"There's been a lot going on at Mount Pingyin lately. It's been hard to gather medicinal herbs recently."

In the black market, De Feng looked at Chen Fei, feeling as though Chen Fei's state of mind had undergone some sort of change.

"If they're hard to gather, you can't just use fake medicine."

Chen Fei felt somewhat helpless. The first time, it was forty percent fake medicine; the second time, he had been honest and used normal herbs. Well, today was the third time, and it was forty percent fake medicine again.

The only difference was that the technique used for the forgery had improved significantly compared to the last time.