SWDnovel Chapter 46 Dead Leaves
Chapter 46 Dead Leaves
Time passed, and six months later.
Outside the cave, the sky was just beginning to lighten.
"For the past six months, I have been taking the Spirit Gathering Pill to cultivate, and my cultivation has greatly improved. I think I am not far from the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage!" Lin Changqing slowly walked out of the cave, stretching his waist and twisting his arms as he walked, and sighed.
For the past six months, he has taken one or two pills almost every day, without taking too many, in order to fully absorb the medicinal power of the pills.
Half a year ago, he refined all the medicinal herbs into pills, obtaining nearly two hundred Spirit Gathering Pills in total. After that, he took one or two pills every day for cultivation.
Until three months ago, he discovered that after taking one hundred Spirit Gathering Pills, the pills' effects were decreasing. He immediately used the secret method of the Annual Ring to wash away the drug resistance, which also consumed a lot of his lifespan.
Lifespan: 961 --> 945
Washing away the resistance to the Foundation Establishment stage Spirit Gathering Pill, although it would consume a lot of lifespan, was all worth it. When he took the Spirit Gathering Pill again, its medicinal power was restored to its original state, which is one of the reasons why he was able to progress so quickly.
Half a year passed, and he consumed nearly two hundred Spirit Gathering Pills. His tolerance to the pills returned, but this time he did not use any secret techniques and left seclusion ahead of schedule.
He had almost used up all the pills he had, and needed to go out to prepare some new medicinal materials to refine more Spirit Gathering Pills.
Just as Lin Changqing was deep in thought outside the cave, a phonograph flew in.
"Brother Lin, I've found a caravan. We're going to circle around the Yan Family Fort area and try to get more information."
Lin Changqing gripped the phonograph tightly between his fingers. Based on the information on it, it was indeed left to him by Li Zhijing.
During his cultivation, Li Zhijing would talk to him every now and then. He was already aware that Li Zhijing wanted to follow the caravan to all the places within the Yan Family Fort area.
The note was left only a few days ago, indicating that Li Zhijing had just set off. It would take quite some time for Li Zhijing to return, so it seems that I will have to arrange the purchase of these Spirit Gathering Pill ingredients myself.
The next day.
Lin Changqing walked towards the largest medicinal herb shop in the market, where he should be able to buy all the ingredients for the Gathering Spirit Pill.
The shop is very large, no smaller than some of the well-known shops in Huangfeng Valley Market.
When he entered the shop, he could smell the fragrance of herbs and clearly sense that the herbs were quite old.
"May I ask what kind of medicinal herbs you wish to purchase, sir?" A servant dressed in a standard robe stepped forward and asked softly.
"Do you have any Spirit Gathering Fruits in the shop?"
The Spirit Gathering Fruit is the main ingredient of the Spirit Gathering Pill. With the Spirit Gathering Fruit, the other auxiliary ingredients can be found gradually.
"Sir, we certainly have Spirit Gathering Fruit. This way, please!" The waiter led Lin Changqing to a middle-aged man with a pointed beak.
Behind the middle-aged man was a large medicine cabinet, a special storage container that could hold a large quantity of medicinal herbs in each cabinet.
After the servant led Lin Changqing over, he slowly withdrew and returned to his original position.
The middle-aged man with the pointed beak was still talking to an old man. He looked a little impatient. When he saw Lin Changqing approach, he quickly waved the old man away.
The old man was dressed simply, without any fancy decorations, and even his storage bag looked somewhat old.
"Go away! Go away! Your tattered leaves are useless. You've been here so many times already. Besides, the leaves in the spirit stone are all withered and rotten. What use are they? Our pharmacy doesn't accept junk." The man mocked.
"If you really want to exchange, you can break this spirit stone and exchange it for a few spirit stones from me," the man suggested loudly, then stopped paying attention to the old man and turned to look at Lin Changqing.
Lin Changqing was quick-witted and recognized the old man in front of him as Old Man Song from the restaurant. His impression of the old man was still the scene where he was teased and left in the restaurant.
Unexpectedly, even now, when he arrives at the herbal medicine shop, he is still being urged to leave.
Lin Changqing saw the nearly withered leaf inside the spirit stone. It was indeed worthless. If we were to talk about value, the spirit stone itself would be more valuable than the leaf inside.
The elderly man surnamed Song was being urged on, and he looked somewhat timid, as if he had mustered up a lot of courage before coming in.
Besides, the old man surnamed Song's eyes looked rather complicated and hard to describe, but he held the spirit stone in his hands, something that others regarded as trash, and he protected it very well.
After being urged to leave, the elderly man surnamed Song said somewhat humbly, "Thank you! Thank you!"
He then bowed and turned towards the shop door, walking away with faltering steps.
"Fellow Daoist! What medicinal herbs do you need?" Upon seeing the distinguished-looking Lin Changqing, the man with the pointed beak immediately put on a smile, completely changing his previous demeanor.
......
After leaving the herbal medicine shop, Lin Changqing bought all the Spirit Gathering Fruits he could find, along with some auxiliary materials, gathering enough ingredients for sixteen portions of Spirit Gathering Pills. He figured he could refine about a hundred more Spirit Gathering Pills, enough for a period of time to cultivate.
After buying the medicinal herbs, Lin Changqing did not return to his cave, but instead headed towards the former restaurant.
"Sir! What kind of spiritual food would you like?" A young waiter from Manxianglou asked softly as he stepped forward.
Lin Changqing sat at the table and chair. His purpose this time was not to eat spiritual food, so he only ordered a little bit.
"Give me a serving of crystal dumplings, a serving of braised pork knuckle with honey, and a serving of Drunken Immortal Wine!" Lin Changqing said calmly.
"Alright, please wait a moment, sir!" The young waiter was about to go after receiving the message when Lin Changqing added another word.
"Give the old man over there the same spiritual food as well; I'll pay for it with spirit stones."
"Old Man Song?" The young servant looked surprised.
"Hmm!" Lin Changqing's tone was calm and left no room for refusal, so the young servant had no choice but to comply.
The old man, who was sitting in the corner, was unaware of what was happening. He was slowly eating a bowl of spirit rice and drinking ordinary wine when he suddenly noticed that the young servant who used to tease him had handed him a serving of spirit food and spirit wine that he had been craving for a long time.
Lin Changqing saw all of this. He did this not out of pity for the old man, but because he was interested in the withered leaves in the spirit stone on the old man's body.
This spirit stone block might only be worth a few spirit stones, and the withered leaves inside have lost their effect. It's impossible to tell what kind of item it is, and it won't do anything for anyone else. But it might be different for him. If these are extraordinary leaves that can help him recover, it might be a different kind of opportunity.
After a conversation between the young servant and the old man surnamed Song, the old man, having learned the whole story, got up and came to Lin Changqing, bowing respectfully.
"I am Song Mingchen from Xi Kingdom. Thank you for your hospitality, fellow Daoist. May I ask what instructions you may give?" The old man surnamed Song's voice was hoarse, much like the sound of an evening bell, extremely weathered.
Having mined spirit mines since his youth, he didn't believe in free lunches. He knew this young fellow Daoist must have a purpose in seeking him out, and being old and weak, he could only comply.
"The Stream Kingdom?"
The country mentioned by the old man surnamed Song surprised Lin Changqing. How could there be cultivators from the Xi Kingdom within the territory of the Yue Kingdom? However, he had important matters to attend to, so he didn't dwell on this detail.
"My name is Lin Changqing. Since you have asked so directly, I will take the liberty of asking."
"Where did you find your spirit stones, my friend? Would you be willing to sell them to me?"
Lin Changqing spoke calmly, and with a wave of his hand, a silent isolation barrier was created. A trace of the pressure from the Foundation Establishment stage was released invisibly. He was determined to win this deal.
Under the isolation of the restriction, the range of the pressure was very small, and only the old man surnamed Song could perceive it.
Faced with the oppressive aura, the old man surnamed Song's eyes froze. He never expected that a small piece of spirit stone would be coveted by a Foundation Establishment cultivator. His thoughts raced.
"Am I about to die?!"
It's no wonder the old man surnamed Song thought this way. There are many instances of double-crossing in the cultivation world. Fair trades only happen when both sides are of equal strength or have the support of a powerful force.
He was merely a lowly cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining; how could he possibly resist?
Helpless, the elderly man surnamed Song could only resign himself to his fate, and said in a low voice:
"Senior Lin, the spirit stone I have was dug out randomly from a stone mine many years ago. As for what it is, I have no idea. I beg you to spare my life."
After speaking, the old man surnamed Song took out another item from his storage bag, flicked his finger, and the spirit stone landed on the table with a flash of light.
Inside the spirit stone was a leaf, its indigo-black color and withered beyond recognition, essentially useless.
However, Lin Changqing still stretched out his hand and drew the spirit stone over to sense the aura within the leaf.
His cultivation method is unique, his lifespan is different from ordinary people, and his perception of vitality is different from ordinary people; he can sense the peculiarity within it.
The leaf inside the spirit stone sensed a trace of magic power in Lin Changqing's hand, and the leaf emitted a faint glow, but the light was so small that only Lin Changqing noticed it.
Since he was currently in the market, he didn't continue. Instead, he gently put down the spirit stone and said softly to the old man surnamed Song, "I'll take this spirit stone. How many spirit stones?"
Hearing Lin Changqing's tone, the elderly man surnamed Song standing nearby was unsure what to do. He was afraid that accepting the spirit stones would anger Lin Changqing and lead to him being killed to silence him.
"Senior Lin, you flatter me. How could I dare to accept your spirit stones? If you want them, please take them." Although the old man surnamed Song was reluctant, he was also aware of some secrets of the cultivation world, so he naturally dared not make a request.
Upon hearing this, Lin Changqing looked at the old man surnamed Song.
In Lin Changqing's eyes, the old man surnamed Song had a face as deep as a withered tree, cloudy eyes, and gray hair, suggesting that he was nearing the end of his life.
Then, recalling the old man selling spirit stone blocks in the shop, he realized that these spirit stone blocks were the only thing he had that was worth spirit stones.
The old man surnamed Song bowed his head, not daring to look directly at Lin Changqing, and failed to notice the indescribable meaning in Lin Changqing's deep eyes, a feeling different from that of cultivators in this world.