Chapter 203: Methods to Enhance Magic Power

Chapter 203: Chapter 203: Methods to Enhance Magic Power

This was, in fact, one of the drawbacks of being a Magic Cultivator.

While Cultivators could borrow the might of heaven and earth, leveraging its Spiritual Qi to greatly enhance their Magic and grant them the power to move mountains, part seas, and even sunder the heavens, this borrowed power came with limitations. Certain conditions had to be met.

Mobilizing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi of a matching attribute with one’s own Magical Power was highly efficient—achieving twice the result with half the effort. This meant they consumed less Magical Power to unleash far greater force.

If the attributes were different, or worse, conflicting, the result would naturally be the opposite—twice the effort for half the effect.

Body Cultivators, on the other hand, aimed to gather all power within themselves. While they might not seem as versatile or mystically powerful as Magic Cultivators, they could minimize the impact of the external environment on their abilities, free from the drawbacks that plagued Magic Cultivators.

That was why the Cultivators from the Seven Stars Association, who had been as powerful as fish in water while in the Youxian Sea, now found themselves in a difficult position. Here on land, with the Water Attribute Spiritual Qi greatly diminished, they would not only feel stifled and out of their element, but the power of their Magic would also be reduced.

Among the Seven Stars Association members who had forcefully broken Jiang Xu’s seclusion Array, there were no Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Initially, they hadn’t resorted to brute force, but seemed to be questioning the person inside.

They only resorted to breaking the Array after receiving no response. Since Jiang Xu had only set up a common Tier One Array, the Seven Stars Association Cultivators assumed the person inside was merely a Qi Cultivation Cultivator—an easy target.

As Jiang Xu and Zong Ziqi left their place of seclusion, Jiang Xu spotted quite a few Seven Stars Association Cultivators searching the area.

A quick glance told him they were all scouting the area near his seclusion. It was highly likely they had found a faint clue related to the Agarwood, but not much.

’It’s probably because the Seven Stars Association can track the strange fragrance emitted by that piece of Agarwood,’ Jiang Xu thought.

They just hadn’t expected his Concealing Breath Spell to be so masterful that it could even hide the scent of the Agarwood.

He wasn’t sure if the spell had dissipated while he was unconscious, or if the Agarwood’s scent was simply too potent for even his Concealing Breath Spell to completely mask. A trace might have escaped, drawing so many members of the Seven Stars Association to investigate.

Even after entering the Demon Communication Workshop, he could still see members of the Seven Stars Association mobilizing and heading out.

"A bit of a hassle, but nothing major," Jiang Xu said, walking forward. "They clearly don’t have any trace of me or any information, otherwise I wouldn’t be standing here right now, perfectly fine."

’Still, the Concealing Breath Spell was my first Magic. It’s getting outdated. A few more Realms, and it’ll probably be obsolete. I should see if there are any new, similar types of Magic for the Foundation Establishment Realm.’

...

Inside the Demon Communication Workshop, while most of the shops were under the Duo Bao Pavilion banner, they weren’t like the one in the Purple Profound Celestial Marketplace that sold everything.

The shops here were specialized, each focusing on a specific field.

There were shops for common goods, like the Danxiang Pavilion, which specialized in Elixirs, and the Celestial Craft Tower, which focused on Magical Artifacts.

There were also some more niche establishments.

For example, shortly after entering, Jiang Xu saw an elegant and serene "Xianlai Linlang Pavilion." This pavilion specialized in collecting and customizing all sorts of rare and precious musical instruments. It was particularly renowned for crafting Magical Artifacts that could enhance the power and effects of the Sound Dao. Stepping inside, one was immediately enveloped by a clear, melodious tune that seemed to linger in the air.

Jiang Xu even came across the Evil Demon Hall, a place frequented by Demon Cultivators. It was filled with all sorts of sinister and malevolent items. There were even some Demon Artifacts that had been through human blood sacrifices, all openly priced and brazenly put up for sale.

Even more interesting, right across the street from the Evil Demon Hall was the Prajna Pavilion, which sold Buddhist Artifacts and various items for exorcising evil.

The two establishments were diametrically opposed and seemed to be in sharp confrontation. Cultivators emerging from one would glare at those from the other.

Shouting insults at each other in the street was beneath a Cultivator’s dignity, so they usually just scheduled a duel. After fighting it out beyond the Marketplace, regardless of who won or lost, they would invariably return to their respective shops to purchase another round of supplies.

Jiang Xu couldn’t shake the feeling that the two shops were actually in it together. ’A lesson learned,’ he mused.

...

As Jiang Xu continued to wander through the Marketplace, he ran into a few "Brokers."

Brokers were akin to middlemen. They connected buyers and sellers within the Marketplace, facilitated deals, and took a commission from successful transactions as their payment.

They had typically been part of the Marketplace scene since they were young and, as a result, possessed a wealth of information and an extensive network of contacts.

For basically any resource needed for Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment, even if these Brokers couldn’t procure the item directly, they could certainly provide information. For instance, they would know which auction house had sold it in the past, where someone had once discovered it, or where new leads might be found.

However, since Jiang Xu didn’t even know what he needed yet, he had no reason to engage their services.

’I came here for two reasons. First, to see if I can increase the percentage of my skills that are at Perfect Skill Level. Second, to learn some more Magic for the Foundation Establishment Realm.’

’Right now I need Wood Attribute Spiritual Materials, as well as Spiritual Materials related to Stealth, Escape, Defense, and Investigation to test my theory.’

One thing at a time. Jiang Xu decided to purchase the Spiritual Materials first and try to improve the perfection of his Magic.

For ordinary Immortal Cultivators, the power of their Magic would increase with their Skill Level, but it wasn’t the same explosive, qualitative leap that Jiang Xu experienced.

In their entire lives, the most they could hope for was to raise a Magic’s power to the equivalent of the "Mastery" Skill Level on his panel.

To increase a Magic’s power beyond that, they had to find alternative methods.

First, there was the environment. The power of Magic varied in different settings; matching the right Magic to the right environment could make it even stronger.

Second, upon reaching a new Realm, they would learn new, more powerful Magic and discard their older, weaker ones.

Third, the Magic they learned had to be compatible with their personal Cultivation Technique to achieve a synergistic effect where the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. For example, if a Cultivator who practiced the Blast Flame Skill tried to cast the Water Shield Technique, the result would naturally be abysmal.

The fourth method—the one Jiang Xu planned to experiment with—was to use external forces to augment a Magic, temporarily or permanently increasing its power.

This external force could be a special Magical Artifact or a Spiritual Material capable of enhancing the power and effects of Magic of one or more specific attributes.

Magical Artifacts were relatively easy to understand. They were like tools. A human can’t run fast, so they drive a car, fly a plane, or ride a rocket. If the power of one’s own Magic was insufficient, they could simply create a tool to enhance it.

The use of Spiritual Materials, however, was a bit more abstract.