Chapter 54: Ping'er
A crisp female voice rang in He Song's ears.
Hearing this, He Song immediately turned toward the source of the voice.
In an instant, a familiar figure appeared before him.
His eyes lit up with recognition, and He Song clasped his hands in greeting.
"So it is Miss Ping'er. Indeed, it has been three years. Congratulations to you as well, Miss Ping'er, on your progress in cultivation—Foundation Establishment is within your reach."
The woman before him was the same Ping'er who had greeted him during his first, second, and now third visit to the Spirit Techniques Pavilion.
At this point, He Song's cultivation had risen from the first level of the Qi Refinement Realm during his first visit to the fourth level now.
Ping'er's cultivation, too, had changed—from unknown during his first visit, unnoticed during the second, to the fourth level of the Qi Refinement Realm now on his third visit.
During his first visit, He Song had not yet learned the Spirit Eye Technique, so he naturally couldn't determine Ping'er's cultivation level.
By his second visit, though he had learned the technique, he hadn't used it on her, so her level remained unknown to him.
It wasn't until this third visit, prompted by Ping'er's congratulations on his progress, that He Song used the Spirit Eye Technique and discovered that her cultivation level was also at the fourth level of the Qi Refinement Realm.
"What brings you here this time, Daoist friend?" Ping'er asked with a smile, guiding He Song to a nearby desk to sit.
Her gaze rested on He Song, unblinking, with a faint trace of curiosity flickering in her eyes.
Three years had passed.
She had assumed that He Song, the man she once considered befriending, had long perished in the great calamity three years ago.
She had even lamented his loss.
After all, He Song had only been a the third level of the Qi Refinement Realm at the time, and surviving such a disaster was no small feat.
Even she had only survived due to the assistance of a benefactor. Without that help, she likely would have perished alongside countless others during that catastrophe.
That calamity had been terrifying, targeting all second level Qi Refinement Realm and above cultivators without sufficient defenses, especially those living on the outskirts of the Market.
To survive, one had to either leave beforehand or have someone powerful lend a hand.
But how had He Song survived?
"Miss Ping'er, I'd like to look at some Qi Refinement Realm techniques. Please bring a few for me to select from."
Unbothered by the curiosity in Ping'er's gaze, He Song quickly stated his purpose for visiting.
This trip to the Spirit Techniques Pavilion was for the sake of learning new spells.
With the Spirit Gathering Formation now in place and the Five Elements Formation and Maze Formation still requiring significant time and effort to comprehend, enhancing his strength in the short term left only two options: buying talismans or learning spells.
Buying talismans was still a stretch given his current finances.
Thus, He Song had come to the Spirit Techniques Pavilion to learn a few Qi Refinement Realm techniques to strengthen himself.
"Very well. Please wait a moment, Daoist He."
Leaving this remark, Ping'er, though still curious, rose and walked away to carry out her duties.
After Ping'er left, another young girl with a delicate appearance stepped forward and served He Song a pot of hot tea.
It was at this moment that He Song noticed for the first time that Ping'er's attire was different from the last two times he had visited.
Upon asking the girl who had just brought the tea, He Song learned something new.
It turned out that after breaking through to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, Ping'er had been promoted to one of the managers of the Spirit Techniques Pavilion. She no longer needed to greet visiting cultivators as before.
Her current role primarily involved overseeing the staff and delegating tasks to them for reception duties.
Of course, if she felt like it, she could still choose to personally welcome guests, as she had done with He Song.
The girl who answered his inquiry smiled politely and then left.
He Song sat there momentarily dazed, suddenly realizing that with his current cultivation at mid-stage Qi Refinement, he had already become someone the early-stage cultivators regarded as a "senior" deserving of respect.
Or perhaps it was his familiarity with Ping'er that caused the young girl earlier to treat him with such respect.
He Song sipped from the teacup, the warmth spreading through his body as memories of his first visit to the Spirit Techniques Pavilion resurfaced.
At that time, he had just been a first level Qi Refinement Realm cultivator. Everywhere he looked, the cultivators in the pavilion carried an overwhelming spiritual pressure.
Everyone had seemed like a senior to him back then.
Now, things were different.
A single glance revealed that the majority of those present were early-stage Qi Refinement cultivators. Even mid-stage cultivators like himself were rare in the pavilion.
With his current cultivation at mid-stage Qi Refinement, he now stood among the stronger individuals in the pavilion.
"Time flows quickly, and the scenery before me has changed," he thought to himself with a quiet sigh, shaking his head to dispel the reflections.
Soon, the familiar figure of Ping'er returned, carrying a tray. She placed it before him, her eyes flickering briefly toward the teapot on the table.
Noticing the glances exchanged among the other young women of the Spirit Techniques Pavilion, a knowing look crossed Ping'er's face, but she chose not to comment.
"Daoist He, allow me to introduce these spells to you," she said with a smile, picking up a jade slip from the tray.
"This is the Fireball Technique, a foundational spell. It conjures a ball of fire to attack enemies. Remarkable in its power. Price: 10 spirit stones."
"This is the Light Body Technique, another foundational spell. It increases walking speed, invaluable for long journeys or quick escapes. Price: 10 spirit stones."
"This is the Manipulate Object Technique, a mid-tier spell. It channels spiritual energy to control surrounding objects, with countless practical applications. Price: 50 spirit stones."
"This is the Continuous Mountain Light Body Technique, a mid-tier spell. Faster than the basic Light Body Technique, perfect for long-distance travel or fleeing. Price: 50 spirit stones."
"This is the Tracking Technique, a high-tier spell. It places an almost undetectable tracking mark on an enemy, useful for pursuing targets. Price: 100 spirit stones."
"This is the Earth Burrowing Technique, a high-tier spell. It allows you to burrow underground and move swiftly through the earth. However, it is vulnerable to the Tremor Earth Technique. Price: 100 spirit stones."
"This is the Tremor Earth Technique, a high-tier spell. It shakes the ground violently, dealing devastating damage to enemies underground. Price: 100 spirit stones."
"This is the Mountain Suppressing Sword Technique, a high-tier offensive spell. It uses the Manipulate Object Technique to control a flying sword, unleashing immense power. Price: 200 spirit stones."
"And this—"
As Ping'er introduced each jade slip, He Song's eyes flickered with anticipation.
He wanted all of them!
But a quick check of the spirit stones in his storage bag brought him back to reality.
He had only 35 spirit stones left.
Those 35 spirit stones were the remnants of what he had scavenged from Chen Zhou's storage bag.
The few dozen stones he originally had, combined with the over 50 he had taken from Chen Zhou's bag, had all been consumed by his work on carving formation patterns.
Carving formation patterns carried a high chance of damaging spirit stones, and the rest had been used up in the process.
Now, He Song was left with only 35 spirit stones.
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