Cultivating Immortality: Starting from Ferrying Passengers

Chapter 87 Planning the Relic
Ten days later, Fang Jingxuan woke up from meditation, looked at his progress in cultivation, and frowned.

[Cultivation: Fourth level of Qi refining (18/1000)]

It increased by 17 points in ten days, which is not slow. Based on this calculation, it can increase by about 60 points in a month.

However, the number of points required to practice at the fourth level of Qi Refining is a full 400 more than that at the third level, which is more than half.

What about the fifth level of Qi Refining?

Fang Jingxuan calculated based on the rules that it should be 1,500 points, and the sixth level of Qi Refining is 2,100 points.

As for the late stage of Qi Refining, Fang Jingxuan didn't think about it for the time being. It was a bit far away for him.

Fang Jingxuan stood up, walked to the table, poured himself a glass of Jade Dew Water, and sipped it slowly, but his thoughts were still on the progress of his cultivation.

He looked at the two items in front of him. The [Wanshou Cold Cypress] looked very pleasing to the eye, while the [Golden Cicada's Shelter] seemed very ordinary.

Before, Fang Jingxuan had no motivation to exchange for the Golden Cicada's remains because he was short of money. The high-grade Golden Cicada's remains were not cheap. If he forced himself to buy the Golden Cicada's remains, he would probably be short of money immediately.

So Fang Jingxuan endured it temporarily, and at that time his cultivation level, the third level of Qi Refining, was almost complete. The key point was that after reaching the bottleneck period, meditation and practice would not increase his cultivation progress.

Therefore, Fang Jingxuan did not even take the Yuehua Jade Dew, but saved it all.

But at this time, he had already broken through the third level of Qi Refining, and looking at this fellow practitioner's item again, it seemed particularly annoying.

"I exchanged the Cypress Fellow Ginseng from a low-grade first-grade to a high-grade first-grade. My meditation efficiency has tripled. If I exchange the Golden Cicada Fellow Ginseng for a high-grade first-grade, will it increase threefold again?"

Fang Jingxuan lay at the door basking in the sun, thinking about these things lazily.

"Logically speaking, my current cultivation progress isn't slow. It only takes a year and a half to reach the fourth level of Qi Refining. But if it could be faster, wouldn't it be even better? Spiritual stones are earned to be spent, so there's no need to be so frugal."

Fang Jingxuan convinced himself in this way. Ten days ago, he wanted to rely on the 800 low-grade spirit stones to survive for a year or two, but now he really wanted to replace this annoying fellow practitioner.

After making up his mind, Fang Jingxuan became interested and called Tuoyuan, who was also lazy and sleepy. Then the man and the turtle slowly walked out of the yard.

When he arrived at the Tongcan store, Fang Jingxuan expressed his desire to purchase the Golden Cicada Tongcan.

But what disappointed Fang Jingxuan was that this golden cicada with the same parameters was not only rare, but also very expensive.

Although he was mentally prepared, the price still made him feel suffocated.

But Fang Jingxuan could still tolerate all these, but what he could not tolerate was that the grade of this Golden Cicada fellow practitioner was only the lower grade of the first rank.

"Shopkeeper, you're selling this low-grade ginseng for eight hundred? Are you deliberately raising the price because I need it urgently?"

After hearing this, the shopkeeper smiled broadly:
"My fellow Daoist, you're joking. When I run a business, I believe in trust. I'm not intentionally raising the price, but this Golden Cicada Ginseng is inherently rare, and most of it is used as medicine to make pills. How could it not be valuable?
You think it's too expensive, but I think it's too expensive too. If it weren't for the fact that our store recently imported a batch of fellow ginseng items from Danding City, among which this Golden Cicada's remains were not easy to sell, you might not even be able to see this low-grade Golden Cicada fellow ginseng."

After listening to this, Fang Jingxuan had a thought in his mind: what a damn alchemist, he hyped up the price of something that can be used as medicine so much.

The remains of golden cicadas of different qualities all have one characteristic, that is, they can be used as medicine. Once this thing has medicinal value, its value will immediately rise. A large number of golden cicada remains are used as medicine, so naturally the number of similar items will be even scarcer.

They are rare, expensive, and of low grade. The price of the lower-grade first-grade golden cicada remains has been inflated to the same level as the price of other upper-grade first-grade golden cicada remains. How can Fang Jingxuan be satisfied with this?

As if he could see Fang Jingxuan's dilemma, the shop owner said:

"Don't worry, fellow Daoist. Neither the Red Leaf Shop nor other shops have top-grade Golden Cicada Relics. If you want to buy them, you can only look for them in Dan Ding City."

After hesitating for a long time, Fang Jingxuan still chose not to pay for the expensive golden cicada remains.

How much can the lower-grade first-level golden cicada's remains improve one's cultivation progress?
Can it be increased from one point a day to two points a day?

Fang Jingxuan felt that there was little hope, so he simply didn't buy it and would wait and see what happened later.

Having come with high hopes but leaving disappointed, Fang Jingxuan returned to his own courtyard in a depressed mood and prepared to eat.

Wang Xinyu always refreshes her account at mealtime, and this time was no exception. "What's wrong? Are you worried about something? Is there something you can't figure out that you want me to give you some advice on? Or are you short on money again?"

While Wang Xinyu was eating, she noticed that Fang Jingxuan was in a strange mood. After thinking about it, she decided to ask him.

Fang Jingxuan looked at the concern on Wang Xinyu's face and felt a little warm in his heart. They had been eating together for almost a year, and their relationship had gradually become more familiar.

Fang Jingxuan was worried about the matter of his fellow practitioner. After thinking about it, he decided to talk to Wang Xinyu about it. As a spiritual pharmacist, she knew that the golden cicada's remains could also be used as medicine. She might understand the ins and outs of it better than he did.

"Hey, so that's why. I thought you were short of money again, so I wanted to lend you some more."

Wang Xinyu's tone was somewhat teasing, and Fang Jingxuan snorted, revealing a bit of his tough nature.

"I won't borrow money from you anymore. This will only make me develop a habit of not striving for progress. If I keep asking you for money whenever I need it, I'll start to despise myself over time. So please don't even think of lending me money, lest I develop a bad habit."

Fang Jingxuan really didn't plan to borrow from Wang Xinyu. Last year, he had no choice but to do that. He had to pay off the mortgage and fight the war at the same time. Without Wang Xinyu's support, his life would be even more difficult.

But now, his situation has improved greatly, and it is not a life-or-death situation, so there is no need to borrow money from Wang Xinyu.

You know, borrowing money is addictive. When faced with the good thing of getting money just by asking, who would be willing to work hard to earn it? After a long time, Fang Jingxuan was afraid that he would fall into the abyss and become no different from those corrupt cultivators outside.

Therefore, Fang Jingxuan set a rule for himself that unless he really couldn't get through the ordeal without the loan, he would never ask for a loan again. All the money should be earned through his own hard work, so that he would feel at ease when using it.

To practice cultivation, one must first cultivate the mind. Although the monks in Baishan don’t pay much attention to these things, Fang Jingxuan feels that it is better to stick to them. Otherwise, why would Wang Xinyu be willing to associate with him? Apart from valuing his character, what other factors could it be?

You are not just interested in your own body, are you?

Thinking of this, Fang Jingxuan couldn't help but smile, and laughed foolishly at his own whimsical idea.

"Alright, alright, I won't lend you the money. I've never met anyone like you who doesn't want the money even though he has it. So many people want to borrow from me, but I still refuse."

Wang Xinyu complained, but she was actually happy in her heart, and couldn't help but eat a few more mouthfuls of spiritual rice.

"However, I do know where to find this golden cicada slough. If you find it too expensive in the market, you can always go and collect it yourself.

If you are lucky, it is not impossible to find a second-grade low-quality golden cicada's remains.

There have been monks who were lucky enough to find this before, and became rich overnight. I think you are lucky too, why don’t you try it yourself?”

Listening to Wang Xinyu's suggestion, Fang Jingxuan was somewhat tempted, but the thought of not wanting to take risks came to his mind again, and he subconsciously asked:
"Will it be dangerous? I'm only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. If I don't get the Golden Cicada's remains back, I might as well lose my life."

"Why are you so scared? You don't look like a Baishan person at all. I think you should go live in Qiyun."

Wang Xinyu rolled her eyes at Fang Jingxuan and gave him such an evaluation. Fang Jingxuan was unmoved. Of course his life was important, but he couldn't risk his life just for the remains of the golden cicada.

"Have you ever lived in Qiyun before? I see you keep mentioning Qiyun."

Facing Fang Jingxuan's question, Wang Xinyu's expression dimmed slightly, and then changed the subject:

"Don't interrupt me, continue with your previous topic. Don't worry, that place isn't very threatening. They're all herbalists, and there are rarely any conflicts between them. Just don't cause any trouble.

If that doesn't work, choose to join a herb-collecting team and hand over a portion of your harvest, and your safety will be guaranteed."

After listening to it, Fang Jingxuan thought for a long time before he made up his mind to try the method Wang Xinyu mentioned. After all, if he could really find a second-grade inferior product, oh no, this expectation was too high.

If we can find a first-grade, top-quality golden cicada's remains, we can at least save the cost of two to three thousand low-grade spirit stones.

But when the words came to his lips, Fang Jingxuan said cautiously:
"Then I'll give it a try, but before that, I need to make some preparations. I've decided on six months. So, it won't be too late to set off in three months."

In response to this, Wang Xinyu was speechless again, lowered her head, focused on eating, and didn't want to pay any more attention to him.

(End of this chapter)