Longevity with a Turtle

Chapter 71: Chapter 70: Cultivation Technique

’This must be the little opportunity Daniu was talking about.’

Chen Jianghe saw the Cultivators swarming into the Hundred Treasures Tower. It was obvious they were all after the tower’s discounts.

A discount on common resources might not seem like much, but if Magical Artifacts were also on sale, one could save a good number of Spirit Stones.

A Special Spiritual Artifact like a Storage Pouch, with a five-percent discount, would save five Spirit Stones.

’What about a Cultivation Technique?’

Chen Jianghe sprang into action. He first walked into the Jingyue Treasure Pavilion, located beside the Hundred Treasures Tower, to exchange the Spirit Talismans in his possession for Spirit Stones.

Over the past year, he had focused solely on creating Water Arrow Talismans. In total, he had used three boxes of Spiritual Ink and 144 sheets of talisman paper to successfully create 72 Water Arrow Talismans.

His Talisman Success Rate had reached fifty percent.

Selling them to the Jingyue Treasure Pavilion earned him sixty-one Spirit Stones and twenty Spiritual Sand.

After deducting his costs, his profit was fifty-four Spirit Stones. Splitting this evenly with Talisman Master Chu Lang, he was left with twenty-seven Spirit Stones.

Adding this to his previous savings, he now had a total of eighty-three Spirit Stones and 140 Spiritual Sand.

He then walked out of the Jingyue Treasure Pavilion and headed for the Hundred Treasures Tower.

The Jingyue Treasure Pavilion was also having a grand opening sale, with a two-percent discount on all Cultivation Resources.

But with so many Cultivators flooding into the Hundred Treasures Tower, it was easy to imagine that its discounts were even more generous.

Moreover, its selection of Cultivation Resources was far more diverse.

’There are a lot of Cultivators going to the Beast Taming Workshop, too. Could Spirit Beasts also be on sale?’

Chen Jianghe paused for a moment in front of the Hundred Treasures Tower and glanced at the nearby Beast Taming Workshop, noticing that quite a few Cultivators were heading inside.

Still, he entered the Hundred Treasures Tower.

With the Jingyue Marketplace just opening, there were over a hundred different shops, covering nearly all of the Hundred Cultivation Skills.

The Yun Family had lifted the movement restrictions on its Senior Fishermen and Farmers, so he would have plenty of time to explore the Jingyue Marketplace in the future.

Upon entering the Hundred Treasures Tower, the ancient fragrance of sandalwood washed over him, accompanied by the dazzling, extravagant gleam of Gilded Crystal.

Three circular passageways were lined with sandalwood and crystal display cases, filled with a dazzling array of merchandise.

Spirit Pills, Magical Artifacts, Puppets, Spirit Talismans, medicinal ingredients, Spirit Wine... it had everything, a truly bewildering selection.

There was even a Cultivation Technique District in the southeast corner of the first floor.

’Just as I thought. The Hundred Treasures Tower, being under the Celestial South Sect, actually sells Cultivation Techniques. I just wonder how much they cost.’

As soon as Chen Jianghe walked in, his eyes were drawn to a sign advertising discounts, its inlaid, shimmering blue crystals making it exceptionally eye-catching.

’Aside from Cultivation Techniques, everything on the first floor of the Hundred Treasures Tower is five-percent off. No wonder so many Cultivators are here; you really can save a significant amount of Spirit Stones.’

His gaze swept over to the Cultivation Technique District. The sign there also advertised a discount, but it was much smaller.

A two-percent discount.

Looking at the counters swarming with Cultivators, he chose not to push his way through the crowd and instead walked toward the Cultivation Technique District.

Although he couldn’t afford one now, he could at least browse. Once his Cultivation reached Late-Stage Qi Refining, he would have to acquire a new Cultivation Technique.

The Water Element Basic Technique he cultivated, the Returning Origin True Water Technique, allowed him to switch to a Water Element Cultivation Technique that boosted Magical Power during Late-Stage Qi Refining without any side effects.

He also needed to purchase Body Refining Techniques and a Spiritual Cultivation Technique.

Otherwise, trying to break through to Foundation Establishment just by reaching the Ninth-Layer Qi Refining would be a struggle to even achieve a ten-percent success rate.

He walked over to the Water Element Cultivation Technique counter and, looking at the various manuals, casually picked one up to examine it.

”Five Spirit Stones? So... huh? Oh, it’s the Returning Origin True Water Technique.” Chen Jianghe had first looked at the price on the back cover of the book before checking the name of the Cultivation Technique.

He put the Returning Origin True Water Technique back and picked up other Cultivation Techniques to browse through.

These paper books only contained introductions to the Cultivation Techniques and their prices on the back cover.

’Eight hundred Spirit Stones?!’

Chen Jianghe flipped the book in his hand over to the front. The title read: Soft Water Qi Cultivation Chapter.

It had no particularly unique features, but it could increase a Cultivator’s Magical Power in their Qi Sea Dantian by ten percent.

’Isn’t this the Cultivation Technique that the branch disciples of the Yun Family practice?’

He knew of this Cultivation Technique. Yu Daniu had told him about switching techniques, and initially, the Yun Family had wanted Yu Daniu to switch to the Soft Water Qi Cultivation Chapter.

But later, because Yu Daniu’s father-in-law became part of the Yun Family’s core leadership, the technique Yu Daniu switched to in his Late-Stage Qi Refining became the Nascent Essence True Water Scripture, which could increase Magical Power by thirty percent.

He turned the Soft Water Qi Cultivation Chapter over again, carefully reading the pricing terms on the back cover.

He discovered the Cultivation Technique was sold in two different ways.

The first option was to buy it outright for eight hundred Spirit Stones. This would allow it to be used as a family’s legacy Cultivation Technique.

It could be passed down to one’s descendants.

The second option was to purchase it by taking an oath that the technique would never be taught to another. This way, one could obtain the Soft Water Qi Cultivation Chapter for only two hundred Spirit Stones.

Seeing this purchasing method, he smiled. It was a reasonable system, not completely shutting out Loose Cultivators.

Next, he found a Cultivation Technique that increased Magical Power by twenty percent, the Clear Water Technique, and flipped it over to check the price.

One thousand five hundred Spirit Stones.

The oath-bound price was four hundred fifty Spirit Stones.

’So expensive.’

Chen Jianghe thought to himself as he placed the Cultivation Technique manual back.

He browsed through other Water Element Cultivation Techniques and found that none were for sale that offered a thirty percent or greater boost to Magical Power.

It seemed that Cultivation Techniques providing a thirty-percent boost were monopolized by the Foundation Establishment Immortal Races.

’If Water Element Cultivation Techniques are this expensive, I’m afraid Body Refining Techniques and Spiritual Cultivation Techniques will be even pricier.’

He moved on to the Body Refining Techniques section and picked out a few manuals to look through.

Cold Pond Body Tempering Technique: Cultivates both inside and out. Cultivation requires Hundred-Year Ice Soul as the primary material, supplemented by a dozen other ingredients like Ice Spirit Grass. Price: Five hundred Spirit Stones. Oath-bound price: One hundred fifty Spirit Stones.

True Fire Body Forging: Cultivates both inside and out. Upon reaching Perfection, it can generate a Fire Gang Body Protection. Cultivation requires assistance from Hundred-Year Fire Dragon Wood, Flaming Grass, and Volcanic Essence for body forging. Price: Six hundred Spirit Stones. Oath-bound price: One hundred sixty Spirit Stones.

Minor Circulation Body Refining Technique.

...

After looking through more than ten Body Refining Techniques, he realized the techniques themselves weren’t excessively expensive. The supplementary medicinal ingredients and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, however, were not cheap.

The Yun Family Magazine had an entry on Hundred-Year Ice Soul; a thumb-sized piece was worth eighty Spirit Stones.

The number of Spirit Stones needed to buy a Body Refining Technique was fixed, but the cost of the medicinal ingredients and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures required to practice it was a complete unknown.

As expected, meeting one of the hard requirements for attempting Foundation Establishment would cost an enormous amount of Spirit Stones.

Next, he went to the Spiritual Cultivation Technique section. After reading a few descriptions, he felt a bit of relief.

Spiritual Cultivation Techniques were not expensive, but they required long-term dedication and practice. The best way to supplement this training was to master a specific skill.

For instance, Chen Jianghe’s creation of Spirit Talismans was one way to temper his Soul Essence.

With the guidance of a Spiritual Cultivation Technique to standardize the process, he could naturally cultivate his Spirit to the state of Spiritual Perfection.

After learning the prices of these techniques, Chen Jianghe had a renewed understanding of the difficulty of reaching Foundation Establishment. Even someone like him would have to plan carefully to save up enough Spirit Stones to buy these resources.

Yu Daniu had the Yun Family’s backing, so he didn’t need to worry about Cultivation Techniques. However, his severe loss of Primordial Yang and the difficulty of obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill through the Yun Family’s channels made his chances of reaching Foundation Establishment very slim.

As for Gao Peiyao, she held a great secret and had won the favor of a Steward from the Celestial South Sect, giving her the greatest hope for Foundation Establishment.

And Zhou Miaoyun... she had no hope of reaching Foundation Establishment.