Chapter 8 Market

An hour later, Lu Qingfeng stopped, a trace of joy appearing on his face.

"Better than the Flame Sun Scripture, and it seems that the speed of cultivation has also increased!" Lu Qingfeng was somewhat surprised.

Although the improvement was not significant, at least it wasn't utterly useless.

"This shows that fusing cultivation techniques is full of uncertainties. With various factors intertwined, there might even be instances where the quality regresses after fusion."

"However, strengthening the technique can directly enhance its quality."

Lu Qingfeng clicked on the phrase "Derivable" under the Green Wood Flame Sun Scripture, ready to test the specific effects of strengthening.

[Derivation of Green Wood Flame Sun Scripture in progress, Experience Value needed 1/10]

[Derivation of Green Wood Flame Sun Scripture in progress, Experience Value needed 10/10, please select the direction of derivation: Strengthen/Enhance/Fusion]

[Derivation of Green Wood Flame Sun Scripture complete!]

...

[Cultivation Technique: Green Wood Flame Sun Scripture]

[Grade: Basic Level, Nine layers in total]

[Derivation Technique: One fusion, one strengthening]

[Cultivation Requirements: None]

[Cultivation Method Technique Characteristics: None]

[Description: Formed from the fusion of Green Wood Technique and Flame Sun Scripture]

There were still no characteristics that appeared.

Lu Qingfeng did not mind and proceeded to sit cross-legged again for cultivation.

This time, the effect of the strengthened Green Wood Flame Sun Scripture was noticeable immediately. Not only could Lu Qingfeng clearly feel the smoother flow of the technique, but the speed of cultivation had also obviously improved.

"It seems strengthening truly is the key!"

Lu Qingfeng was overjoyed in his heart.

The improvement in the technique's quality, besides its immediate benefits in the game, was enough to make Lu Qingfeng grin from ear to ear over its potential benefits in reality.

With a determined expression, Lu Qingfeng continued to operate, preparing to strengthen the Green Wood Flame Sun Scripture again.

[Derivation of Green Wood Flame Sun Scripture in progress, Strengthening: 0/20; Enhancing: 0/10, Fusion: 0/20]

"The Experience Value needed for both strengthening and fusion has increased!"

Lu Qingfeng then noticed that the Experience Value required for the second round of strengthening or fusion had increased to 20. He didn't know if it was an increment of 10 Experience Value points each time or a direct doubling of the required value.

But for now, he couldn't verify it.

Having not much Experience Value left after one round of strengthening and fusion, Lu Qingfeng's level had dropped directly to Level 2 (6/10). The remaining Experience Value was not enough for another round of strengthening or fusion.

"I am still far from the True Qi Realm, so there's no rush in raising the technique's layer for now."

Lu Qingfeng thought for a moment and chose Alchemy Analysis, beginning to strengthen it!

In the blink of an eye, the strengthening was completed—

[Manual: Alchemy Analysis]

[Grade: Basic Level]

[Derivation Technique: One strengthening]

[Annotation: A basic alchemy manual, recording the handling methods for forty-nine types of herbs]

With the completion of the strengthening, the contents of Alchemy Analysis in Lu Qingfeng's mind were shuffled and reorganized.

In an instant, Alchemy Analysis was as good as new, and with a quick look, Lu Qingfeng saw that the information about the herbs was more detailed and the processing methods more concise and practical.

"Not bad at all!"

Lu Qingfeng browsed through it briefly, speculating that with the mastery of the strengthened Alchemy Analysis, the efficiency of handling herbs daily could increase by at least twenty to thirty percent, and the qualification rate could be raised to ninety percent!

Previously, it would take eight days to exchange for one Yellow Dragon Pill, but now it could be done in only three to four days, an improvement of more than double!

"Hu hu!"

Lu Qingfeng felt overwhelmed with the many surprises of the day, his spirit agitated.

"My mental state is still not stable enough."

"No matter! I might as well go out for a stroll."

In such a state, Lu Qingfeng was utterly unable to concentrate on cultivation or calmly handle herbs.

Therefore, he stood up, leaving the Green Stone Talisman for the first time in a month.

...

Black Sand Town.

Lu Qingfeng put away the Green Stone Talisman, revealing his figure.

Walking through town, he could see countless cultivators coming and going, amidst which there were also ordinary people without any cultivation.

"Cultivation requires Root Bone. Although I only have one point in Root Bone, it's at least enough to meet the threshold for cultivation. With the Yellow Dragon Pill, I can enter the doorway of cultivation."

"But in this world, there are many people with no aptitude at all, who can't even manage the entrance."

It is not a glorious age where everyone can be as magnificent as dragons.

Root Bone is a chasm separating immortals from mortals!

Thinking this, Lu Qingfeng felt somewhat relieved that he had not fallen to such a hopeless state.

Continuing his leisurely walk.

The vast Black Sand Town was divided into several districts. The area where Lu Qingfeng was, the West District, included a commercial area, residential area, cultivation area, guild area, and so on.

"Black Sand Town is like a miniature version of the Cultivation World."

Lu Qingfeng, rarely finding leisure, walked through Black Sand Town, looking around in all directions, striving to understand this gaming world.

Unless something unexpected happened, he would spend a long time in this town.

"Marketplace."

Wandering until his head spun, Lu Qingfeng arrived at a marketplace within the business district.

"Come one, come all! Take a look! Freshly made, a third-tier Xuan Tie Flying Sky Shield, a defense talisman artifact rarely seen through the ages, containing seventy-six talismans! Crafted from a large piece of Xuan Tie metal mined from cold and shadowy lands, not only is it extraordinarily durable, but once activated by a spell, it can automatically defend its surroundings. It is absolutely the perfect choice for securing one's safety and establishing oneself!"

"Golden Bamboo Talisman Pen: the nib is made from the neck hairs of a second-rank demon beast Golden-eyed Ape, the shaft from Gold Essence and Black Iron, refined by Civil and Martial Fire for three uninterrupted days and nights, all for 20 Golden Marrow Pills!"

"A stack of high-level Connected Bead Thunder Talismans for sale, act quickly if you wish to buy!"

"One Flame Sun Stone, from Flame Sun Mountain three hundred miles away, the first choice material for refining Fire attribute talismans. Don't miss out!"

...

Before Lu Qingfeng had even truly stepped into the marketplace, a tidal wave of hawkers' cries and clamoring voices swept away his loneliness cultivated from a month of solitary hard work.

"Talisman artifacts!"

"Elixir Pills!"

"Talismans!"

"Ores!"

Hundreds of stalls, an array of goods dazzling to the eyes, overwhelming to deal with.

Once Lu Qingfeng entered, he was immediately captivated by the various extremely magical talisman artifacts and talismans.

In "Primordial," magical treasures span from low to high including talismanic artifact, Earthly Evil Magic Artifact, Heavenly Gang Magical Treasure, and finally the most powerful Innate and Postnatal Spiritual Treasures which only exist in legend.

Black Sand Town is a Newbie Village; the highest cultivation level in the town is merely at Foundation Establishment Stage, and Earthly Evil level magic artifacts are rarely seen. The most common magical treasures are the basic Talismanic Artifacts!

Talismanic Artifacts are divided into four ranks, with the first being the most basic and the fourth the strongest.

The Xuan Tie Flying Sky Shield that Lu Qingfeng saw at first glance was on the lower end of third-tier Talisman Artifacts. But because it could defend automatically, it was considered better than many fourth-tier talismanic artifacts.

Unfortunately, the hawker's asking price was too high, unable to make a sale for a while.

"With my Root Bone, to achieve some success in cultivation in reality, it's no easy feat within just a few days."

"If I could refine one or two talismanic artifacts, it would greatly enhance my combat power in a short time!"

Lu Qingfeng lingered among myriad stalls in the marketplace, scrutinizing every talismanic artifact and repeatedly questioning the hawkers. Only after thoroughly understanding did he move on to the next stall in search of the most desirable talismanic artifact.

After half a day, Lu Qingfeng sat down to rest beside a stall.

"Among these talismanic artifacts, if one could collect the Xuan Tie Flying Sky Shield, Invisible Needle, Stepping Cloud Boots, and Golden Centipede Mother-Child Blade, one would stand invincible in both Postnatal Fetal Breathing Realm and True Qi Realm!"

The Xuan Tie Flying Sky Shield, capable of automatic defense. Once deployed, it fears no stealth attack, sword and spear, or spells.

The Invisible Needle comes without shadow, departs without trace, can harm an opponent stealthily.

The Stepping Cloud Boots can enhance speed.

The Golden Centipede Mother-Child Blade consists of one mother blade and eight child blades, incredibly sharp. Holding the mother blade allows control over the eight child blades to attack, making it difficult for enemies to defend.

But—

"To gather these four talismanic artifacts in the game, there's still a fair chance. But to assemble them in reality, it's as difficult as advancing one's cultivation to the Ninth Layer of FetalBreathing Realm!"

Lu Qingfeng forced a smile.

Putting aside the time it would take to refine a talismanic artifact like the Xuan Tie Flying Sky Shield from the level of a clueless novice, just the various materials required for these artifacts alone made Lu Qingfeng stop in his tracks.

"Xuan Tie, Five Metal Essence, Stepping Cloud Beast Skin, Refined Iron and Gold..."

"In Black Wood Village, even finding a decent piece of ironware is difficult, let alone gathering Xuan Tie and Refined Gold."

Lu Qingfeng shook his head and buried deep the thought of refining artifacts. As it stands, artifact refining would not help with the challenges he faced in reality.

"Cultivation is the fundamental."

"If one wishes to swiftly advance in cultivation in reality, one option is to enhance one's Cultivation Techniques within the game, another is to study Alchemy Technique!"

Lu Qingfeng's mind was clear.

On the path of cultivation, the skills that he needed most urgently at the moment were the Alchemy Techniques.

With the aid of Yellow Dragon Pills in the game, his Cultivation Progress was still unsatisfactory. If he returned to reality without the support of Yellow Dragon Pills, progress would likely be even harder!

Therefore, mastering the Alchemy Technique was essential.

"Compared to Artifact Refining, Alchemy has lower requirements for cultivation levels, and various herbs are much easier to find than Refining Materials."

"However, aside from alchemy, it might also be worthwhile to study the art of talisman making."

Lu Qingfeng's gaze landed on several stacks of talismans on the stall next to him.

Drawing talismans with specialized methods can seal spells inside. Triggered by one's Inner Breath, True Qi, or True Essence Power, it can unleash the spells contained within the talismans, especially useful during combat.

If one is wealthy enough to unleash dozens of low-level talismans at once, they could even severely injure or kill a True Qi Realm cultivator.

Fiery Flame Talisman, Hundred Ice Talisman, Invisibility Talisman, Earth Tunneling Talisman, Connected Bead Thunder Talisman...

Talismans come in a wide variety, each with its own effect.

If Lu Qingfeng had hundreds of various talismans on him, he might even be able to level Yellow Ganoderma Mountain!

Moreover, entering the world of talismans is far simpler than refining artifacts. For Lu Qingfeng, it's the best option to quickly enhance his strength.

"It's unknown if there are real Cultivators in reality. If the world is merely at the level of martial arts, or if the cultivation system is different, then in the future, whether it's Elixir Pills, talismans, or Talismanic Artifacts, I might have to craft them all by myself!"

Leaving aside everything else.

Just drawing talismans means that Lu Qingfeng would need to create his own talisman pen, mix the Dan Sand, and boil the talisman paper...

To make a talisman pen, he would also need a basic understanding of Artifact Refining Skill!

Thinking of this gave Lu Qingfeng a headache.

Even with the accelerated time, mastering alchemy, talisman making, and artifact refining were no easy tasks.

"Cultivation is truly challenging!"

Lu Qingfeng sighed inwardly.

"Young fellow Daoist, you've just entered 'Primordial,' instead of diligently cultivating and making money, why waste time with a poor Daoist like me?"

A voice came from beside him.

Lu Qingfeng snapped out of his reverie and saw the stall owner beside him looking at him somewhat helplessly.