Chapter 24: Cultivating the Qi Crossing Technique
Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Cultivating the Qi Crossing Technique
The snow after the onset of winter came and went quickly.
It wasn’t like the heavy snowfalls of peak winter that filled the sky with goose-feather flakes, nor was it like the sleet of early spring. Instead, it gathered softly on the horizon before slowly drifting down onto the dry earth.
After exiting the gates of the Marketplace, Chen Mo walked for a while before suddenly noticing something amiss.
He clearly remembered leaving a set of cart ruts on his way here, followed by his own distinct footprints. But now, these marks had been trampled into a messy, chaotic jumble. If that were the only thing, Chen Mo would have simply assumed that other Cultivators had visited the Marketplace while he was selling his grain. However, just outside the Marketplace gates, the only traces left from an hour ago were his own!
Obviously, these people had never entered the Marketplace.
Then who could they be?
Chen Mo frowned slightly, a premonition rising in his heart.
He thought to himself, "It seems I’ve been targeted by Tribulation Cultivators!"
He glanced at the sky and, after a brief moment of thought, decided to set off anyway. This time, however, he deliberately took a massive detour. It took him nearly an extra hour to return to his home by the Spirit Field, located north of the Ancient Dust Marketplace.
The journey back was incredibly peaceful, without any encounters with robbers!
"Better safe than sorry!" Chen Mo sighed in relief inwardly. He wasn’t arrogant enough to clash head-on with Tribulation Cultivators just because his Flaming Palm had reached Minor Achievement and he had the Blue Python Robe for protection.
Who knew how strong his opponents were? He was just a farming Spirit Plant Cultivator; what business did he have fighting and killing?
Upon returning to his small wooden cabin, Chen Mo finally felt a sense of security.
He lit the charcoal stove, took off his thick padded coat, and sat by the fire. Taking out the "Qi Crossing Technique" he had bought from Niu’s Shop for fifteen taels of Spiritual Sand, he began to read it carefully.
Whether it was his natural aptitude, Innate Talent, or Comprehension, Chen Mo wasn’t particularly outstanding. Compared to those Cultivators from the Immortal Sect, he could only be considered mediocre.
It wasn’t until the sky gradually darkened that he finally understood the Cultivation Method of this "Qi Crossing Technique".
Dusk had fallen on the other side of the Marketplace.
Zhu An and Lin Qing had been waiting bitterly for several hours. Seeing no sign of their fat mark, they cursed a few times and headed back to their safe house. They figured the prey must be spending the night in the Marketplace, so they planned to come back and lie in wait tomorrow!
Late that night.
Chen Mo closed the "Qi Crossing Technique".
The next moment, a Transformation finally appeared on the panel before his eyes. An extra line was added to the Magic column:
[Qi Crossing Technique (Not entry-level): 1/50]
Since it wasn’t entry-level yet, the experience was halved.
He pulled a bag of grain from under his bed and, following the method of Energy Introduction and Passage recorded in the Magic, began attempting to nurture life within this Spirit Rice.
Spiritual Qi gathered at his fingertips. Finally, under his relentless efforts, ten catties of Spirit Rice were completely ruined.
Chen Mo spent a great deal of effort picking out seven plump Spirit Seeds brimming with Spiritual Qi from the ten catties. As for the rest of the Spirit Rice, they had lost all their Spiritual Qi and were completely reduced to useless mundane objects. If consumed now, they would gradually induce decay!
"Ten catties only yielded seven seeds..." Chen Mo smiled bitterly.
It was no wonder Wei Wuwei had been so generous as to sell this Cultivation Technique to him at a "low price." With such a low seed yield rate, if one really wanted to make money through Breeding, they would suffer a catastrophic loss!
Of course, an ordinary Spirit Plant Cultivator would most likely choose to give up after such a blow. But Chen Mo was different; he had a Golden Finger!
He opened the panel:
[Qi Crossing Technique (Not entry-level): 5/50]
Ten catties of grain had directly provided him with 5 experience points! At this speed, it would take roughly four to five hundred catties to bring this Magic to the Proficient Realm!
Naturally, this was only the seed yield rate before it became entry-level; the results would undoubtedly be better once he mastered the basics.
"Should I set aside five hundred catties to Cultivate the Qi Crossing Technique?" Chen Mo wondered to himself.
Very quickly, he made up his mind. The original thought of exchanging for a Low Grade Spirit Stone was also dismissed; fifty or sixty taels of Spiritual Sand would be enough for a whole year of Cultivation anyway. This way, he would also save himself another trip to the Marketplace!
After a whole night of Cultivating the "Qi Crossing Technique," the experience of this Magic reached 20 points, and the Spiritual Qi in his body was now completely depleted.
The next morning at dawn.
After a brief rest, Chen Mo straightened his clothes and extinguished the fire in the charcoal stove. He hauled out over six hundred catties of Spirit Rice from the cellar.
Now, out of this year’s entire harvest, only five hundred catties remained. Factoring in his meals and the waste from his Cultivation, it should be enough. If other Spirit Plant Cultivators knew of his actions, they would probably gang up and attack him for being so extravagant!
Pushing his small wheelbarrow, he navigated the familiar route toward the Ancient Dust Marketplace. Once again, Chen Mo chose to take a detour. Who knew if those Tribulation Cultivators were still around?
Fortunately, the journey remained incredibly peaceful, and he didn’t encounter a single Cultivator.
But the moment he stepped into the Marketplace, two figures poked their heads out from outside the gates.
One was slightly chubby, and the other was tall and thin.
"Boss, another fat mark arrived today! His Cultivation doesn’t seem high either!" Zhu An’s face lit up with joy. It looked like they could make another fortune before early spring!
Lin Qing nodded with equal satisfaction. "With two fat marks in the Marketplace, it seems we’ll need to change our strategy."
"What strategy, Boss? I’ll listen to whatever you say!" Zhu An’s slightly chubby face looked exceptionally excited.
"This time, the two of us will wait right outside the Marketplace. If the Cultivator who just went in comes out, follow him quietly. Once he reaches the desolate wilderness, rob him!" Lin Qing systematically laid out his plan.
"What about you?" Zhu An muttered, pouting his lips. Clearly, he was a little displeased about having to do the work all by himself.
"Me? I’ll naturally continue waiting at the Marketplace! Didn’t I just say there are two fat marks in there right now?" Lin Qing didn’t want to let a single one slip away!
Zhu An racked his rather dim-witted brain and retorted angrily, "Then why am I the one following him while you stay here? Can’t we switch?"
"Are you stupid?" The tall and thin Lin Qing rolled his eyes. "That guy just now clearly has a lower Realm than us. But what if the one who entered the Marketplace yesterday is at the Qi Refining Third Layer? I’m looking out for you here!"
The chubby Zhu An thought about it, and it seemed to make sense. He happily broke into a smile again.
"Alright, Boss, whatever you say!"
Inside the bustling Marketplace.
Amidst the crowd, Chen Mo faintly spotted two silhouettes. However, since the Marketplace was already bustling with people coming and going, he merely made a mental note of it and didn’t bother to investigate further.
He pushed his grain cart through the Marketplace once more. The shopkeepers on both sides of the street didn’t realize that the person visiting over the past two days was the same individual. After all, an insignificant little Spirit Plant Cultivator was hardly worth their attention.
Soon, Chen Mo arrived at the Yi Er San Grain Station.
The shop’s doors were wide open, and the shop assistant behind the counter was boredly fiddling with an abacus on the desk. Since winter had already set in, everyone who needed to sell grain had already done so.
Days without business were just that boring.
That was until the shop assistant laid eyes on Chen Mo and his cart brimming with grain!