Chapter 20: Exchange

With a thought from Lu Xiaotian, the mist surged, and several wisps of mist wrapped around his primordial spirit once more to protect it. Upon contacting those agile strands of green silk, Lu Xiaotian’s spirit jolted; he felt his primordial spirit become refreshed and invigorated after devouring the green silk.

Just as he was about to devour the other green glimmers, a burst of raspy laughter rang out. "Haha... this ghost of a place actually has spiritual energy replenishment. Wonderful!"

Hearing the voice, Lu Xiaotian grew anxious. Although he was protected by the mist shroud and did not need to worry about a sneak attack from the black-robed elder, their cultivation realms were significantly different, and his speed would ultimately be inferior to the elder's.

*Could these green strands be the spiritual energy produced by the spiritual herb I just consumed?* Lu Xiaotian speculated. He regained control over his body and once again swallowed a leaf of the spiritual herb. Sure enough, aside from the portion his meridians could accommodate, the rest vanished again, and more green silk appeared within the barrier.

The black-robed elder's primordial spirit was searching around. Seeing the green silk being born once more, he was overjoyed and chased after the strands, swallowing them into his belly. His primordial spirit body, which had become faint due to the casting of spells, now appeared a bit more solid.

"Stop! That spiritual energy is mine!" Having proven through experimentation that this energy was transformed from the spiritual herb, Lu Xiaotian shouted loudly.

"Unclaimed property belongs to the virtuous. Whoever eats it, owns it. If you want it, come and take it yourself," the black-robed elder cackled.

"That is because I swallowed the Purple Grass and cannot absorb all the spiritual energy it requires in one go, so it appears within the Green Fruit Barrier. If you use it all up, the worst that can happen is that I will stop consuming spiritual herbs and cultivate on my own; no more spiritual energy will ever be born within this barrier!"

Lu Xiaotian felt a sharp pang of heartache. The Purple Grass he had worked so hard to collect was being wasted like this, and even falling into the mouth of his enemy. He had consumed spiritual herbs and cultivated for over a year, yet he was still only at the first layer of Qi Refinement. If he relied solely on his own cultivation, it would likely take at least three years to break through to the second layer.

Cultivation would only get harder as he progressed; he estimated it might take six or seven years, or even longer, to reach the third layer of Qi Refinement. However, after swallowing the spiritual herb, besides the portion he could immediately digest and absorb, all the excess energy appeared within the barrier. To enter the barrier, he had to be constantly on guard against the black-robed elder's sneak attacks. He had to solve this problem, otherwise, future cultivation would be as difficult as ascending to heaven!

"You say it is so, but what is your proof? Also, is this place called the Green Fruit Barrier?" The black-robed elder hesitated before asking. He had stayed in this barrier for several months without encountering a single wisp of spiritual energy; for two waves to suddenly appear was certainly not without cause. Furthermore, the name, which sounded like a cage, seemed peculiar.

"If you don't believe me, just name a time, and I will make another wave of spiritual energy appear within this barrier," Lu Xiaotian snorted. The so-called "Green Fruit Barrier" was a name he had given it himself; since the place was born from green fruit and possessed a barrier-like wall, he decided to call it the Green Fruit Barrier.

"Fine. After the time it takes to burn one stick of incense, if another wave of spiritual energy appears within the barrier, I will believe you," the black-robed elder said with a nod.

After the duration of one stick of incense, the green silk within the barrier grew dense once more.

"Well? Do you believe me now?" Lu Xiaotian's primordial spirit reappeared outside the barrier.

The black-robed elder looked at the drifting green silk in the air, his expression shifting uncertainly.

"Even if I believe you, so what?"

"The spiritual energy born in this space shall be split between us, eighty-twenty. I take eight, you take two," Lu Xiaotian proposed.

"I want to use this energy whenever I please. What is the difference between two percent and nothing at all? Your cultivation is so low that you can't use this much energy anyway. It would be more reasonable if I took eight and you took two," the black-robed elder sneered.

"I take seven, you take three. If that's not enough, we can just part ways. And don't even dream of getting a single drop of spiritual energy in the future."

"No. At most, I take six and you take four!"

"Six for me, four for you!"

"Fifty-fifty split, or forget it!"

"Fine, fifty-fifty. Anyway, I only have two and a half stalks of Purple Grass left," Lu Xiaotian said irritably. Although he was essentially giving half to this arch-enemy, it was still better than relying solely on sitting in meditation to cultivate.

The black-robed elder snorted. "Purple Grass? How narrow-minded. The kind you are talking about is Purple Spirit Grass. With your current cultivation, you can only absorb the energy of Purple Spirit Grass without being blown apart. If it were refined into Qi Gathering Pills, the efficacy would be at least three times greater than simply eating the grass."

"If I knew how to refine pills, would I need you to tell me?" Lu Xiaotian's eyes darted around. "How about this: since we are both grasshoppers tied to the same string anyway, you teach me the method for refining Qi Gathering Pills. If I succeed, you'll get more spiritual energy in the long run."

The black-robed elder rolled his eyes. "Do you think refining pills is some trivial matter? Even if I passed the method to you, you aren't even an alchemy apprentice yet. If you manage to refine one successful batch out of ten, it would be a miracle. Two stalks of Purple Spirit Grass wouldn't even cover your tuition fees."

"If you don't agree, then forget it. Don't expect any more spiritual energy replenishment in the future," Lu Xiaotian threatened.

"It's not impossible. However, if Qi Gathering Pills are actually produced, the energy from the first two pills belongs to me, and the rest will be split fifty-fifty."

The black-robed elder thought it over. Qi Gathering Pills could only be used by cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refinement, and the energy from a single stalk of Purple Spirit Grass was far from enough for him. Having fallen to the eleventh layer of Qi Refinement, it would take a vast amount of time to return to the twelfth layer. If Lu Xiaotian continued to stalemate him, it would benefit him in no way.

"Deal!" Lu Xiaotian nodded in agreement. Regardless, knowing how to refine Qi Gathering Pills would ultimately mean gaining an extra skill.

"I'll need a cauldron forged from red copper," Lu Xiaotian said, feeling somewhat frustrated that the black-robed elder refused to give him his old alchemy cauldron. By now, he was certain that the unopenable storage bag must belong to the elder. However, since the old man refused to budge, there was nothing he could do. That storage bag certainly contained something extremely important.

Having obtained the formula for Qi Gathering Pills, Lu Xiaotian had no heart to continue cultivating in the cave. He returned to Pingwu County and sold two more stalks of herbs. He visited several blacksmith shops, and it wasn't until the third shop that he could have a red copper cauldron forged.

After paying the deposit, Lu Xiaotian left the blacksmith shop. Just as he entered a quiet alley, he saw two groups of people facing off in a tense confrontation. They were all youths and maidens around twelve or thirteen years old, dressed in martial attire. One side had six or seven people, while the larger side had fourteen or fifteen.

"I wonder which sect thinks they can be so arrogant in Pingwu County. So, it's the people from the Thunder Blade Sect. You've had bad luck running into our Black Tiger Gang this time!" a thin, elegantly dressed youth on the opposing side said with a grim face.

"You're only relying on numbers. If you have the ability, come and duel us one-on-one, and let's see if the members of your Black Tiger Gang have grown any stronger in recent years," a slightly taller martial artist in black from the group of seven, who had his back to Lu Xiaotian, stepped out from the crowd and spoke disdainfully.

Lu Xiaotian had intended to turn and walk away, but upon hearing that familiar voice, his footsteps faltered and he stopped. If it were just ordinary members of the Thunder Blade Sect, he naturally wouldn't care, but he hadn't expected to run into Shi Qingshan here after leaving Qingzhu County. There were many grievances among people in the martial world; it seemed the Thunder Blade Sect and the Black Tiger Gang had a grudge. He hadn't expected Shi Qingshan to become the leader of so many disciples, and Lu Xiaotian felt genuinely happy for him.

(End of Chapter)