Chapter 96: Distracted Mind
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After bidding farewell to Kang Zhan and his group, Ling Yi returned to the wooden house between the Howling Wind Market and the Howling Wind Canyon outpost with Zhang Mufeng and the other two, as well as the four brocade boxes.
He instructed the three young companions to focus on their cultivation and then placed the diagnostic fees he received today one by one into the storage room of the wooden house.
In this wooden house filled with Blue Silver Grass, Ling Yi's wandering thoughts were finally reined in and brought back to the present.
The small room, about seven to eight square meters, was lined with three sturdy wooden shelves, each filled with containers of various sizes.
These containers included the wooden and iron boxes given by Yue Qing and Kang Zhan today, as well as some stone boxes, earthen jars, and trays, differing in material and shape.
It had to be said that becoming a powerful healer was far more lucrative than being a blacksmith of the Ironsmith Master level!
Just the eight-hundred-year-old Rhino-Earth Dragon spinal cord bead that Kang Zhan brought out today was worth at least a thousand Gold Soul Coins, and it was a rare item that was hard to come by!
Indeed, the effect of a century-old Rhino-Earth Dragon spinal cord bead on a powerful Soul Master with strength exceeding a thousand catties would be greatly reduced, so this price was considered reasonable.
After all, at the rate of Soul Venerable-level Soul Masters receiving subsidies from the Soul Temple, it would take ten months to earn a thousand Gold Soul Coins.
Speaking of which, according to the Soul Temple's subsidy rules for Soul Masters, once they break through to the Soul Patriarch level, they no longer receive subsidies. If a Soul Master remains at the Soul Venerable level, wouldn't they be able to receive a hundred Gold Soul Coins per month for the rest of their life?
Ling Yi pondered the value of the items in the room in Gold Soul Coins, his mind wandering.
For example, in the original story, Yu Xiaogang, without Tang San's help, was stuck at level twenty-nine for life. As long as he could put aside his pride and not mind his information being exposed in the Soul Temple's intelligence system, he could indeed keep receiving subsidies indefinitely.
A Soul Master with average potential, as long as they worked hard to reach the Soul Venerable level, then only maintained their strength at a minimum to prevent regression, and had a means of livelihood, or received a baron title, could receive twelve hundred Gold Soul Coins in subsidies from the Soul Temple each year.
Ten years would be twelve thousand!
If they broke through to the Soul Venerable level at thirty and lived a peaceful life to ninety, over sixty years, they could receive seventy-two thousand Gold Soul Coins!
As long as their descendants had some potential, a small investment of 'financial power' might indeed cultivate a powerful successor.
In this way, a high-level Soul Master family could take shape—
Ling Yi shook his head, dispelling these far-fetched thoughts. As his soul power evolved and his mental strength grew, his thoughts became increasingly uncontrollable.
This was one of the few troubles Ling Yi had now.
He immediately clasped his hands together, extending his index fingers to form the 'Lin' hand seal, gathering his mind, and entering a state of deep tranquility.
This was something a cosplayer who made short videos taught him in his previous life. At the time, the two of them, one portraying the Fifth Hokage and the other the Sixth Hokage, performed a highly ritualistic prelude before their battle...
Well, pushing down the increasingly clear memories due to his clear mind, he tugged at the tight hem of his clothes. Ling Yi recalled a classic book recommended by a Chinese literature student when he performed the hand seals of the Naruto series for her in the library the next day.
Chapter 17 of the Inner Chapters of Ge Hong's *Baopuzi* from the Eastern Jin Dynasty states: "Recite: Lin Bing Dou Zhe, Jie Zhen Lie Qian Xing (an ancient incantation), and always look at it, for it can ward off all evils."
Emmm...
To be honest, after being in this world for so long, his mental strength had grown much stronger, and his mental realm had reached a preliminary state of harmony with the external environment, the surrounding small environment, and his own body, thanks to the Blue Silver Grass soul power and the convenience of spreading Blue Silver Grass everywhere.
In a sense, he had touched the edge of 'Harmony of Heaven and Man'.
But he still found the 'Dao' and 'Li' of the ancient masters from his past life to be shrouded in mystery.
Typically, he knew what they were, but not why.
Thinking about this, Ling Yi glanced down at himself and cursed himself for being 'unambitious'.
He was almost sixteen years old.
He was almost sixteen years old!
A single word made a huge difference!
...
He tugged at the hem of his clothes again, his gaze wandering. He first looked at the wooden shelf holding the Rhino-Earth Dragon spinal cord beads, claws, scales, and other soul beast materials.
Although there were no labels, Ling Yi knew that many of the materials came from various soul beasts.
These materials included items that Soul Masters considered valuable and others that were discarded like trash.
For example, the gallstones from certain bovine and canine soul beasts were often casually thrown away by the Soul Masters who dissected them.
Just like the roots, barks, and various plants stored in different containers on another shelf, they were seen by the Soul Masters who came for treatment and paid the diagnostic fees as a unique collecting hobby of Ling Yi.
Of course, Ling Yi didn't collect only these 'worthless' 'garbage' items.
He also had some valuable items, like a large block of dried resin and wood composite, which was quite popular among Soul Masters and nobles.
'Sandalwood'—when burned, its fragrance could calm the mind and improve the state of a Soul Master's cultivation.
Additionally, on another shelf, there were some soul conductors that didn't look new but weren't exactly old either.
Some resembled small trumpets and could amplify sound with soul power; some looked like small boxes and could store and play sound when activated by soul power; some were embedded with a transparent crystal and could emit light when activated by soul power...
Well, although most of them were somewhat marginal soul conductors, they were still soul conductors, and in the current Douluo Continent, they could be sold for a price, whether high or low.
What interested Ling Yi the most was a pair of handcuff-like soul conductors, said to have come from a declining Soul Master family. When worn, they could seal a Soul Master's soul power.
A special note: only effective for Soul Masters below the first rank, meaning they could only seal the soul power of a Soul Scholar, and a Soul Master above level ten could break the seal.
Well, this toy was a bit amusing, but Ling Yi still liked the handcuffs, not for any perverse reason—he was a decent person, free from vulgar tastes. It was purely because the sealing principle contained within was worth studying for Ling Yi.
Feeling a sense of accomplishment, he scanned the storage room once more, cut a large piece of Sandalwood, and returned to his resting room.
He cut the Sandalwood into small pieces and evenly sprinkled them into the wooden grooves on the walls of the resting room, using them as fertilizer for the Blue Silver Grass plants. After injecting a bit of soul power into each plant, Ling Yi returned to his bed and entered a state of cultivation.
It had been mentioned before that Sandalwood was valuable, but not that valuable. Its price was only slightly higher than that of ordinary animal meat.
Apart from being more common in soul beast forests, it could also be found in some forests without soul beasts.
The demand for it among Soul Masters was not high; it was more popular among nobles of average strength who appreciated it for its cultural value.
Ling Yi wasn't sure if it was due to the worldview or the cultural level, but the Soul Masters of the Douluo Continent seemed to have a lukewarm attitude toward these external resources.
With this doubt in mind, Ling Yi began his soul power cultivation. He was almost back to Wood Plant City, and it was always better to be stronger.
The seeds he had sown were now thriving, and it was time for the harvest.
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(End of Chapter)