The original repairer

A year passed quickly, and Shi Chen learned to refine two more elixirs: Qi-boosting elixirs and injury-recovering elixirs. These two elixirs were the bestsellers, with the greatest demand among independent cultivators.

The casual cultivators search for spiritual medicines and objects in the mountains and wilderness, and hunt monsters. These are often accompanied by fights. Whether it is a monster or a cultivator, a large amount of spiritual power will be consumed after each battle.

Therefore, Qi-boosting pills became a must-have for casual cultivators, used to replenish their spiritual energy. Recovery pills were a type of elixir used to recover from injuries, and cultivators would carry one or two bottles in case of emergency.

During this year, Shi Chen not only learned new spells, but also used the existing spells more skillfully.

He now knew thirteen spells, including the four used by spiritual farmers: Spirit Rain, Earth Pine, Golden Sword, and Ripening; Spirit Fire, used in alchemy; and the offensive and defensive spells: Earth Wall, Fireball, Vine Thorn, Sword Control, Wind Blade, Fire Dragon, Ice Arrow, and Earth Escape. All of his spells were at or above the proficient level, and his frequently used Spirit Fire had already reached the Grand Mastery stage, which would be complete in another six months.

With the help of a large number of medicinal pills, Shi Chen's cultivation level has also improved significantly. In two months, he will be able to cross the third level of Qi Refining and reach the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Once he enters the middle stage of Qi Refining, he will have a certain ability to protect himself, at least when he goes out, his safety factor will be greatly improved.

As his cultivation level improved, Shi Chen's income also increased. He already had a lot of spirit stones on him, and he was completely self-sufficient in making pills.

Each month, the sect would grant each deacon twenty spirit stones of resources, with stationed deacons receiving thirty. Furthermore, Shi Chen would refine approximately ninety furnaces of elixirs each month, earning over five hundred spirit stones. In total, he would earn over six thousand low-grade spirit stones annually.

In addition to Qi-replenishing pills and injury-recovering pills, Shi Chen can also refine several other types of pills of medium quality.

He can also refine high-quality Qi-nourishing Pills and Fasting Pills, but the chance of success is a bit low. Only one or two out of ten furnaces can produce one or two high-quality pills.

Shi Chen didn't sell any mid-grade or higher elixirs, keeping them for his own use. He also distributed the mid-grade Qi-invigorating elixirs to Huang Qi and his siblings. Half a year ago, Huang Ziying achieved a breakthrough to the fifth level of Qi training, two years ahead of schedule.

Not long after the sect's settlement day, a piece of news spread like wildfire among the independent cultivators in the market town.

Three months later, a magical artifact auction will be held at the Mucun Market, a hundred miles away, on the border of the Fiery Flame Sect's territory. The items for sale are all crafted by Qin Feiguo, a third-rank weapon refiner of the Fiery Flame Sect and a disciple of Master Situ Liang. Qin Feiguo had recently been promoted to a first-rank weapon master, and the items for sale are his practice pieces.

In addition, the Treasure Pavilion in Kimurafang City also announced that a magic weapon will be auctioned.

Magical instruments are used by cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage, and are typically used by cultivators in the Qi Condensation stage. Using a magical instrument consumes a significant amount of spiritual energy, and for cultivators in the Qi Condensation stage, the spiritual energy supply is insufficient to meet the demands of the instrument. If a cultivator in the Qi Condensation stage forcibly uses a magical instrument, their spiritual energy may be drained, and even their own essence and blood may be damaged.

Shi Chen decided to go to Kimurafang Market to attend the auction.

Firstly, he hoped to win one or two magical instruments to protect his own safety. Secondly, he also hoped to use this opportunity to sell the elixirs he had refined.

When he was far away from the sect, ensuring his own safety was of utmost importance. To ensure safety, he called in Huang Qi and his sister and discussed with them whether they should go to the auction together at Kimura Market.

"Junior brother, are you planning to go to Kimura Market?" Huang Qi asked as soon as they met.

"Yes, I want to go to the Mucun Market." Shi Chen replied, "Before going to the Mucun Market, we need to prepare some medicinal pills. There probably won't be as many medicinal pills there as here, and the prices will be much higher. We can use the spirit stones we earn from selling the medicinal pills to buy some magical instruments for self-defense. We are far away from the sect now, and we need to ensure our own safety, so we have to go this trip."

"Junior brother, your idea is very good. A hundred miles is not too far and we can get there in one day. There are many robber cultivators on the road and it is still very dangerous with our cultivation level." Huang Qi said.

"Brother Huang, do you know any senior cultivators in the late Qi training stage or the foundation building stage?" Shi Chen asked. "The round trip escort fee is only one or two hundred spirit stones, which is not expensive."

"Brother!" Huang Ziying said to Huang Qi, "How about we ask Senior Shanyang to escort us? He's a cultivator at the first level of the Foundation Establishment stage, and we're familiar with each other."

"I'll ask." Huang Qi said, "If Senior Shanyang agrees, our trip to Kimurafang City will be much safer."

Two days later, Huang Qi received a reply that Senior Shanyang was in seclusion.

Finally, they had no choice but to hire two ninth-level Qi training cultivators in Qisha Market to escort them to Kimura Market.

These two ninth-level Qi training cultivators were a pair, appearing in the Qisha Marketplace six months ago. The male cultivator was named Ye Baishan, and the female was Lu Meiniang. The male cultivator specialized in hunting and killing demonic beasts, selling their skins, tendons, bones, and flesh for spirit stones. The female cultivator rented a cave in the market place, crafting and selling talismans, though she knew only one type of talisman.

Huang Qi negotiated a price with the two men and agreed to escort the three people back and forth for one hundred low-grade spirit stones per person. They signed a contract and paid one hundred low-grade spirit stones first and the remaining balance after returning.

Huang Qi's identity as the market manager still has some face. Several cultivators in the late stage of Qi training expressed their willingness to participate in the escort. In the end, they chose this Taoist couple because they have a good reputation in the market.

Just in case, Shi Chen decided to go to the sect's talisman pavilion in Qisha Market to purchase some offensive and defensive talismans. He carefully selected talismans in the pavilion, ultimately purchasing a dozen or so, worth a total of 120 spirit stones. The most expensive of these, the Golden Sword Talisman, was worth 40 low-grade spirit stones. This Golden Sword Talisman could unleash the full force of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, delivering immense power and potentially decisive action at a crucial moment.

Afterwards, Shi Chen divided the talismans equally among Huang Qi and his sister, keeping two Fire Dragon Talismans, two Golden Shield Talismans, two Stone Spear Talismans, and one Golden Sword Talisman for himself.

Talismans are expensive, but they are not consumed in large quantities. Most cultivators only keep a few as backup, using them only when absolutely necessary. After all, these are spirit stones. There are few ways for casual cultivators to earn spirit stones, so every one needs to be carefully calculated.

Everything was ready, and Shi Chen and the other two set off for Kimura Market with the pills they had spent three months refining.

These pills include two hundred and sixty bottles of low-grade pills, forty bottles of medium-grade pills and ten bottles of high-grade Qi-nourishing pills.

In addition, he had more than 5,000 low-grade spirit stones on him. If calculated based on the market price of magic weapons, more than 5,000 low-grade spirit stones should be able to buy ten magic weapons.

They set out for the Mucun Market seven days in advance. Ye Baishan and his wife organized a few monks to go to the Mucun Market together.

A group of ten people set out at dawn in the morning, crossing mountains and hills. Along the way, monks would occasionally observe them from afar and then leave.

After traveling dozens of miles, more than a dozen waves of Jie Xiu spies watched the team from a distance. When they were still 20 to 30 miles from the village market, one group of Jie Xiu finally lost their patience and took action.