Chapter 104 - 101: Pure Spiritual Power
Chapter 104: Chapter 101: Pure Spiritual Power
The Spirit Medicine garden on the back mountain had temporarily quieted down.
After the three Tier One Middle Grade Demon Beasts from last night were dragged away, the members of the He family had cleaned up most of the bloodstains and broken scales on the western grounds. All that remained were a few shallow pits outside the Array’s perimeter where the beasts had crashed into it.
The Spiritual Qi in the Spirit Medicine garden was much denser than at the mining site.
Li Yuan sat cross-legged in the stone house, circulating the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill as the surrounding Spiritual Qi surged into his body through his meridians. This place was, after all, where the He family specially cultivated Spirit Medicine. Once the Array was active, all the nearby Spiritual Qi gathered within the garden, making cultivation much smoother than outside.
Li Yuan opened his eyes, got up, and walked to the desk.
Talisman paper and Spiritual Ink were laid out on the desk. Guard duty at the He family’s back mountain Spirit Medicine garden wasn’t too demanding. As long as there were no problems with the Array and no disturbances on the perimeter, he could free up most of his time.
The talisman brush descended, laying down one Fire Pattern after another.
He was already very skilled at drawing Fireball Talismans. The initial stroke, the overlapping patterns, and the final flourish were all executed without pause. Before long, a talisman was complete, and he casually set it aside. After drawing two more, Li Yuan finally stopped and put down the talisman brush.
Half a day passed, and the Spirit Medicine garden remained peaceful.
During that time, Li Yuan drew a few more talismans, using the rest of the time for cultivation. The Spiritual Qi in the garden was already decent, and with the Microelement Meridian Introduction Skill having opened all the meridians in his body, his Spiritual Power circulated extremely fast. By the end of the morning, the Spiritual Power in his Dantian had grown noticeably denser.
In the afternoon, footsteps finally sounded outside the stone house again.
This time, there was more than one person.
Li Yuan pushed the door open and saw three people standing outside the Spirit Medicine garden. The one in the lead was a man in his thirties. He wasn’t tall, had a rather lean build, and wore a short, dark cyan robe. A token from the He family hung at his waist, and his cuffs were stained with dust, as if he had rushed all the way here.
His face wasn’t fair, but his eyes were clear. His gaze first swept over the garden’s Array and the medicine patches, confirming that there had been no further incidents before he walked toward Li Yuan.
"Li Dao You, I am He Qing. From now on, I’ll be your point of contact for matters here."
He spoke bluntly, without any unnecessary pleasantries. He cupped his hands in a brief salute before getting straight to the point.
"The family has already appraised the three Tier One Middle Grade Demon Beasts from last night. If Li Dao You does not require the Demon Beast materials, their total value comes to fifty-three Spirit Stones."
As he spoke, he patted the storage pouch at his waist and took out a small pile of Spirit Stones, placing them on the stone table.
The Spirit Stones were stacked neatly.
"In total, fifty-three Spirit Stones."
After speaking, He Qing didn’t immediately withdraw his hand, instead looking at Li Yuan.
"Please count them."
Li Yuan glanced at them but didn’t bother counting them one by one.
"Since Fellow Daoist He delivered them personally, I trust the count is correct."
He Qing smiled and pulled his hand back.
"Of course it’s correct. The family is short on manpower and Spirit Stones right now. If we started messing up the accounts, things would truly descend into chaos."
Li Yuan swept the Spirit Stones into his storage pouch, then spoke directly.
"I’d like one Mid-grade Spirit Stone."
He Qing was visibly taken aback.
"A Mid-grade Spirit Stone?"
"Yes."
"That’s not cheap." He Qing’s speech slowed slightly. "Normally, one Mid-grade Spirit Stone is worth over a hundred Low Grade Spirit Stones. The key issue isn’t the price, but that the family is short on them right now. The Spirit Medicine garden’s Array, the smaller arrays in the courtyards, and other places all rely on them to function."
Li Yuan nodded.
He Qing took out a Mid-grade Spirit Stone from his storage pouch, weighed it in his hand, and passed it to Li Yuan.
"We do have a few spares at the moment, but none of them are idle."
Li Yuan reached out and took it. The Spiritual Light on the stone’s surface was gentle, and the stone itself felt much more substantial than a Low Grade Spirit Stone.
The moment the Mid-grade Spirit Stone was in his hand, the panel popped up again, confirming it could be equipped.
He Qing thought for a moment, then asked, "What do you plan to trade for it? The fifty-three Spirit Stones you just received aren’t nearly enough."
Li Yuan didn’t answer right away, instead taking a mental inventory of his possessions.
With the Spirit Stones he just received, he had enough to buy it, but he wanted to keep some in reserve.
He had some Fireball Talismans, and the narrow-bladed long knife left by the tall, thin cultivator was still in his storage pouch, untouched.
"Spirit Stones, Talismans, and a Magical Artifact."
A flicker of interest appeared in He Qing’s eyes.
"A Magical Artifact?"
Li Yuan patted his storage pouch, and a knife landed on the table.
The blade was long and narrow with a cold, gleaming edge, and its hilt was wrapped in a dark leather cord. It wasn’t particularly exquisite, but it was practical. It was the very same item left behind by the tall, thin cultivator.
He Qing picked it up, gave it a look, then channeled a bit of Spiritual Power into it to test it.
The blade let out a soft hum as Spiritual Light surfaced. The quality was not bad.
Unfortunately, there was a slightly blackened spot on the blade, as if it had been damaged by fire.
"A fine piece among Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifacts." He Qing placed the knife back on the table.
After saying this, he looked at Li Yuan again.
"And the Talismans?"
Li Yuan took out a stack of Fireball Talismans from his storage pouch, adding a few Cleaning Talismans and Exorcism Talismans beside them.
"Eight Fireball Talismans and ten basic talismans."
He Qing looked at the Fireball Talismans first. After flipping through two of them, a hint of seriousness entered his eyes.
"You drew these yourself?"
"Mhm."
"The quality is decent."
He said they were decent, but his hand didn’t immediately put them down.
It was clear the He family was in dire need of Combat Talismans like these, which could be used directly for guarding the garden.
He Qing glanced over the knife, the Talismans, and the other items on the table. He didn’t rush to make an offer, instead standing there and thinking for a moment.
After a few breaths, he spoke.
"Alright, how about this? I’ll give you one Mid-grade Spirit Stone."
"But only one. I don’t have any more to spare."
Li Yuan nodded slightly. ’I couldn’t afford more Mid-grade Spirit Stones anyway,’ he thought.
"I’ll take the narrow-bladed long knife. I also want six Fireball Talismans, six basic talismans, and twenty Low Grade Spirit Stones. If this knife weren’t slightly damaged by fire, it might have fetched an even higher price."
The price was fairly standard.
Li Yuan nodded.
"Deal."
Li Yuan pushed the Spirit Stones, the knife, and the Talismans over to him.
He Qing put the items into his storage pouch one by one. After confirming everything was in order, he held out the Mid-grade Spirit Stone to Li Yuan.
"Here, take it."
The panel appeared again.
[Detectable equippable item: Mid-grade Spirit Stone (Intact)]
[Entry Preview: Pure Spiritual Power (Green) — Filters impurities from surrounding Spiritual Qi while also automatically purifying the Spiritual Power within the body, removing impurities. Cultivation speed increased by 50%.]
[This entry can upgrade an existing permanent entry: Spiritual Qi Filtration (White) → Pure Spiritual Power (Green)]
[Option 1: Equip the Mid-grade Spirit Stone. It will occupy an equipment slot, and the original entry will be simultaneously upgraded and take effect immediately.]
[Option 2: Temporarily equip the Mid-grade Spirit Stone. It will not occupy an equipment slot, and the entry will not take effect. This will only accumulate progress toward permanence.]
[Option 3: Consume three Mid-grade Spirit Stones to directly complete the upgrade of the original permanent entry, no permanence process required.]
[Permanence Conditions (choose one): Accumulate 500 cultivation cycles (0/500), or achieve Dao Foundation (0/1).]
[Current equipment slots are full (3/3). Do you wish to replace a currently equipped item?]
’A green entry.’
’And it’s not just any green entry; it directly elevates Spiritual Qi Filtration from white to green. A fifty percent increase in cultivation speed, plus the added effect of automatically purifying my internal Spiritual Power.’
Li Yuan steadily put the Spirit Stone away, his expression unchanged.
After concluding their business, He Qing glanced around the Spirit Medicine garden again.
"We’ll have to trouble you to keep watch over the back mountain for the next few days. The family can’t spare anyone stronger, so we’re counting on you to hold down the fort here at the garden."
"Since I accepted the job, I will naturally see it through."
He Qing grunted in acknowledgment and didn’t stay any longer.
The two men he had brought with him left as well, their steps quick. Clearly, other parts of the He family’s estate were just as busy.
After they left, the Spirit Medicine garden fell quiet once more.
Li Yuan stood where he was, not moving immediately.
The Mid-grade Spirit Stone was still in his sleeve, resting against his wrist. Its Spiritual Qi fluctuations were gentle yet substantial.
He had made his decision after a single glance at the three options.
’Option three is out of the question. I can’t possibly produce three Mid-grade Spirit Stones right now.’
’Option two doesn’t take up an equipment slot, but the entry won’t activate, and I’d have to slowly accumulate five hundred cycles. That’s not suitable either.’
’Right now, the most suitable choice is the first option.’
’It takes up a slot and takes effect immediately. I need to get my hands on that effect first.’
Li Yuan turned, returned to the stone house, closed the door, and sat down.
His consciousness sank into the panel.
In his three current equipment slots were the Soul Mirror, the Origin Condensation Skill, and the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill.
’If I want to make a switch, I have to unequip one of them.’
’The Soul Mirror has to stay. Divine Soul enhancement is useful for both talisman crafting and cultivation.’
’It’s not a good time to unequip the Origin Condensation Skill either.’
’That only leaves the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill.’
Without hesitation, Li Yuan took action.
[Equipment unequipped: Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill]
[Hundred Rivers Returning to the Sea (Blue) entry is temporarily inactive.]
[Permanence progress has been saved.]
[Note: After unequipping an item of this type, you must wait twelve hours before it can be re-equipped.]
Immediately after, he equipped the Mid-grade Spirit Stone.
[Equip successful.]
[Entry acquired: Pure Spiritual Power (Green)]
[Original permanent entry has been temporarily upgraded: Spiritual Qi Filtration (White) → Pure Spiritual Power (Green)]
As the panel retracted, a cool sensation spread outward from his Dantian.
It wasn’t the clarity of the Soul Mirror that settled upon his Divine Soul, nor the gentle warmth of the Nourishing Essence Skill. Instead, it was an extremely clean, smooth feeling, as if the Spiritual Power originally flowing through his meridians had been invisibly sifted.
Li Yuan immediately began circulating his cultivation technique.
The surrounding Spiritual Qi was drawn into his body.
In the next instant, he noticed the difference.
Previously, when Spiritual Qi entered his body, there was always a faint sense of impurity that needed to be slowly stripped away as it circulated through his meridians. Spiritual Qi Filtration handled this step, which was why his cultivation had always been faster than others. But now, before the Spiritual Qi even truly settled into his Dantian, the turbid elements mixed within were already being culled.
More importantly, it also affected the Spiritual Power already inside his body.
The moment he circulated his technique, the Spiritual Power in his Dantian began to flow on its own, as if it were being washed anew. Those impurities that were once so subtle they were almost unnoticeable were squeezed out bit by bit, and the feeling of obstruction in his meridians immediately lessened.
Completing a single cycle was much faster than before.
And it wasn’t just about speed.
The Spiritual Power was more condensed, purer. As it circulated, even the act of gathering power for the Fireball Technique felt smoother.
Li Yuan opened his eyes and raised his hand.
Firelight gathered in his palm, and the Fireball Technique instantly took form. The flame’s color was brighter than usual, its edges more tightly contained, without a single stray flicker.
With a flick of his fingers, Li Yuan extinguished the Fireball.
The backlash was minimal.
Much lighter than he had anticipated.
After unequipping the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill, the circulation of Spiritual Power in his body should have become somewhat awkward. However, the addition of Pure Spiritual Power had managed to suppress most of that negative effect.
Li Yuan didn’t test it a second time, directly closing his eyes and continuing to circulate his technique.
Once the Mid-grade Spirit Stone was embedded in his equipment slot, it acted like a deeper Spiritual Eye, ceaselessly pulling the surrounding Spiritual Qi into his body. The Spirit Medicine garden was already rich with Spiritual Qi, and this effect made it even more obvious. The Spiritual Qi inside the stone house seemed to stir gently, continuously gathering around him.
One cycle followed another.
The Spiritual Power in his Dantian grew steadily.
As night deepened, silence fell outside the stone house, with only the cyan light curtain of the Spirit Medicine garden’s Array flowing slowly in the darkness.
Li Yuan sat inside, his breathing steady. The Spiritual Power within him washed over his meridians again and again, circulating faster and becoming purer with each pass.