Chapter Eighty-Six: The Spiritual Rice Ripens (2/5)

With this, even if he couldn't break through the bottleneck on his own, he could still reach the late stage of Qi Refinement.

Recalling the contents of the Introduction to the Art of Talismans in his mind, He Song felt a wave of relief.

After a year of continuous study, He Song had completely comprehended the Introduction to the Art of Talismans.

The Lesser Earthen Talisman, the Intermediate Earthen Talisman, the Greater Earthen Talisman.

The Lesser Golden Light Talisman, the Intermediate Golden Light Talisman, the Greater Golden Light Talisman.

The Lesser Swiftstride Talisman, the Intermediate Swiftstride Talisman, the Greater Swiftstride Talisman.

He Song had already mastered all of their crafting methods.

As for the inscribing of talisman scripts, He Song had rehearsed it countless times in his mind.

Next, all he needed was to spend spirit stones to purchase talisman paper and talisman ink, then begin making talismans, improving his success rate in the process.

Once his success rate was high enough, He Song would naturally announce his identity as a Talisman Master.

When that time came, it would be his opportunity to exchange his spiritual rice for massive amounts of spirit stones!

Fortunately, He Song had already bought a talisman brush, a stack of talisman papers, and a small vial of talisman ink a year ago.

These materials were enough for ten talismans.

Whether successful or not, He Song would have to continue buying talisman paper and ink to keep making talismans.

But now was not the time to craft talismans.

He had more urgent matters to attend to upon leaving seclusion this time.

He rose to his feet and opened the door.

He Song’s figure soon made its way toward the marketplace.

Walking along the Immortal Market’s streets, He Song’s gaze swept around from time to time; he inexplicably felt that there were more people in the market than before.

But after a moment’s thought, he realized it was no illusion.

Every year, quite a few cultivators at the first layer of Qi Refinement came from the mundane world.

After all these years, there were fewer cultivators in the market than before, but compared to the days when demonic cultivators ran rampant, the place was far livelier.

Thinking carefully, a trace of melancholy flickered in He Song’s eyes.

It had already been ten whole years since Master Chengshan went to reinforce the Red Spirit Gold Mine, and the demonic cultivators attacked the Immortal Market.

As for He Song, it had been fifteen years since he first arrived in this world.

When he first transmigrated, his predecessor was just an eighteen-year-old novice cultivator at the first layer of Qi Refinement.

But now—

He Song calculated the time and realized he was already thirty-three years old.

Fifteen years.

He had tread carefully, step by step, growing from an eighteen-year-old beginner cultivator to his current state at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement at thirty-three.

Only He Song knew the hardships he had endured along the way.

He had faced several life-or-death crises; though each time he survived thanks to his caution, the dangers of this world were all too real.

Had he not been cautious enough, he would have died several times over by now.

From now on, he must remain vigilant at all times—only thus could he continue his cultivation safely.

Perhaps, after countless years, he would look back and find he had become unrivaled in the world.

Shaking his head to dispel such fantasies, He Song continued forward without pause.

This time he had come to the market to buy a storage pouch.

Storage pouches also came in different grades and with various functions.

The small storage pouch, like the one He Song carried, had the smallest space and was the cheapest—just a hundred spirit stones.

The large storage pouch had ten times the space of the small one, but it was expensive—a thousand spirit stones each.

Besides these two common types used by Qi Refinement cultivators, there was another kind: the cargo storage pouch.

Cargo storage pouches differed from ordinary ones in that they were generally much larger and inconvenient to carry around.

Normal storage pouches were about the size of three fingers, easily carried on the person.

But even the smallest cargo pouch was ten times the size of an ordinary pouch.

With a larger volume, the space inside was naturally much greater.

The smallest cargo storage pouch also had ten times the space of a small pouch.

Moreover, because they were not convenient to carry, cargo pouches were relatively cheaper—a small cargo pouch cost about as much as a small regular pouch: just a hundred spirit stones.

A large cargo pouch, however, required a thousand spirit stones.

He Song’s purpose this time was to buy a small cargo storage pouch.

His current small storage pouch was far too tiny to hold the ten thousand catties of spiritual rice from his field.

To harvest the rice, he had saved up a year’s provisions to purchase a small cargo storage pouch here.

Even though it was inconvenient to carry, he had no other choice.

A large storage pouch, both portable and spacious, would cost a thousand spirit stones—far beyond his means at present.

Arriving at the shop that specialized in storage pouches, He Song spent a hundred spirit stones to buy a small cargo pouch.

He had to use some effort to stuff it into his sleeve.

It was indeed rather large and not easy to carry.

Placed in his sleeve, its soft, bulging shape would easily draw attention.

But none of this mattered.

He only wanted a place where he could store ten thousand catties of spiritual rice and keep it safe.

Once he became a Talisman Master and spirit stones became plentiful, he would replace it.

Leaving the marketplace behind, He Song soon returned home.

He then used the Earth Escape Technique and the Breath Concealment Art to swiftly make his way to his own spiritual farmland.

Several hours later, He Song’s head emerged from a shadowy corner of the valley where his field lay.

A gleam of spiritual light flashed in his eyes as he scanned the surroundings. Discovering no trace of other cultivators, he finally relaxed and entered the valley.

Still, even without signs of trespassers, He Song kept two Intermediate Earthen Talismans clenched in his hand—just in case of an ambush.

Coming to his ten acres of spiritual field, He Song looked out and saw a sea of gold.

Within the ten acres, the golden spiritual rice swayed heavily in the breeze, the stalks bent under the weight, as if about to topple.

Each grain of spiritual rice was plump, with a faint aura of energy swirling inside them—enough to gladden the heart at a glance.

At this sight, a flash of joy crossed He Song’s face.

Ten thousand catties of spiritual rice!

A thousand spirit stones!

He had done it.

But almost immediately, thirty spirit stones appeared in his hand.

With a series of incantations, the thirty stones turned into streams of light, each one merging into the six formations running here.

Four Spirit Gathering Formations, one Maze Formation, and one Five Elements Formation.

These formations consumed thirty spirit stones every year—a fixed cost.

But the yield of this plot was ten thousand catties of spiritual rice annually, worth a thousand spirit stones.

Such abundant returns were rare indeed.

Even He Song, calculating from the day he first transmigrated to this world up to now, wasn’t sure if the total spirit stones he had earned amounted to a thousand.

After all, that was the sum total of fifteen years of income since he’d arrived.