Mysterious mirror hanging high

"Come, uncle, I'll toast you!"

Now the sky has darkened, and every household in Neifang has hung up lanterns for lighting. In the afternoon, Zhao Chenghuan went to the [Spiritual Food Pavilion] in Neifang and bought a lot of spiritual rice and vegetables. In the evening, he prepared a very rich spiritual food feast. After Jing Yu ate a few bowls of spiritual rice, he felt that the spiritual energy in his meridians became lively, and his cultivation level actually increased a little unconsciously.

After Hu Yiming finished his meal, he seemed to feel the energy and hurried to the guest room to draw the energy into his body. Li Sheng was a child after all, and was already sleepy after days of trekking, so he went into another guest room and went to sleep. Now, only Mu Shan, Zhao Mingyu, Zhao Chenghuan and his sister Zhao Chengyan, and Jing Yu were left at the banquet in the yard.

At this moment, Mu Shan raised his wine bottle and was about to toast Jing Yu: "If it weren't for the book [Earth Rock Body] that my uncle gave me back then, my mother, my wife, Cheng Yan and the others might not have been able to reach Wushan Market. I'm afraid I will never be able to see my wife again!"

"You're too polite, Brother Mu!" Jing Yu said with a smile. He didn't like drinking, so he just raised the wine bottle and took a sip.

"Sixth brother, I feel a little sorry for you."

Zhao Mingyu's aged voice echoed, "Back then, Huan'er, Yan'er, and I traveled for ages, facing countless life-threatening dangers along the way. Several of our loyal guards perished before we finally found this market. Unfortunately, it's quite far from the State of Zhao. Without a Foundation Establishment cultivator to lead us, it would have been difficult to navigate the dangerous terrain with only Qi training. That's why we never passed on this news."

"Now, Sixth Brother, you are forty-five years old and have only just begun to draw Qi into your body. All those years before that have been wasted."

"Third sister, there's no need to say that." Jing Yu smiled nonchalantly, "Back then, I only gave you a physical training manual. Mingjing never thought of repaying you for this favor."

"Besides, I'm a lazy person. I've been traveling around the human world for the past few decades and have had a great time. Now that I can finally experience the wonders of the world of immortal cultivation, I'm already very satisfied."

Zhao Mingyu stared at Jing Yu and saw that his eyes were clear and he really had no resentment in his heart. He couldn't help but sigh, "Sixth brother has an open mind. I am ashamed of myself for not being able to compare with him."

"I wonder how Third Sister has been doing in Wushan Market these years?" Jing Yu asked.

"I have to thank Sixth Brother for giving me the book on physical training before I left."

Zhao Mingyu sighed, "It took us eleven years to find this cultivator market. During these eleven years, Cheng Huan and Cheng Yan both made great strides in body cultivation, reaching the second level of this technique. Their strength is barely comparable to that of a cultivator at the second level of Qi training."

"Perhaps I was too old when I started refining my body, or perhaps I just didn't have much talent for it. When I first arrived at Wushan Market, my body refining skills were still stuck at the first level. Now, after so many years, I'm still at the first level."

"Now, Cheng Huan has switched to practicing another body-refining technique, the [Ming Yu Gong], and has reached the second level. Cheng Yan is still practicing the [Earth Rock Body], and has already perfected the third level. I just don't know if there's a chance for him to reach the fourth level."

"Mother, you're being modest," Mu Shan explained quickly. "In this world of immortal cultivation, without spiritual roots, the only way out for mortals is to cultivate their bodies. In the mortal realms surrounding our Wushan Market, there are tens of millions of mortals practicing body cultivation. Only a handful can achieve anything remarkable, and the vast majority can't even reach the first level."

"Plus, the body-refining techniques in the world of immortal cultivation were originally designed for cultivators. Spiritual-rooted people can achieve twice the result with half the effort, while ordinary people will get half the result with twice the effort. My mother has already reached the first level of body-refining, which is considered a natural talent!"

"The average mortal's physical cultivation level is only around the first or second level throughout their entire lives. Someone like Cheng Yan, who has reached the third level at the age of thirty-four, is a rare physical cultivation genius."

"It is said that my uncle had reached the third level of body training when he was only nineteen years old. What's mine?" Zhao Chengyan said with bright eyes and sincere admiration.

"I was just taking advantage of my spiritual roots..." Jing Yu said modestly, "Now I've lost my stamina and have been stuck at the fourth level of Body Refining for over ten years!"

"Spiritual roots...ah!" Zhao Mingyu's expression was slightly gloomy. He said, "Sixth brother has the ability to cultivate the body, and now he has also drawn Qi into his body to become a Qi cultivator. Although he is a bit old, if he can seize a few opportunities, he may have the opportunity to plan for foundation building..."

"Oh? I wonder where there is an opportunity?" Jing Yu asked with interest.

"Usually, mortal body cultivators like us do manual labor in the market. Although the pay is meager, it's safer."

Zhao Mingyu explained, "Or you could team up with a few trusted friends and go to the nearby Monster Mountain Range to hunt monsters. However, it's extremely dangerous. Not only are the monsters difficult to deal with, but on the way back you also have to be wary of the robber cultivators that can be found everywhere in the wild."

"For someone like my sixth brother, who cultivates both magic and body, and whose combat power surpasses that of Qi-cultivating cultivators of the same level, it would be much safer to hunt monsters in the Monster Mountain Range, or explore some of the secret caves of the Qi-cultivating level. There are many options... but ultimately, these are all jobs that are on the edge of a knife. If my sixth brother believes that a gentleman should not stand under dangerous circumstances, then it's not impossible to live a safe life in Wushan Market."

"It's just that in recent years, several new puppeteers have emerged in the market, causing the art of puppetry to flourish. Many of the manual labor jobs in the market have been snatched away by those puppeteers, making the situation of mortal body cultivators increasingly difficult. It's becoming increasingly difficult to earn spirit stones."

Zhao Mingyu sighed, "Your third sister and I, along with a few fellow practitioners, have formed a body-building guild. Business was good at first, but now we're barely breaking even, barely making ends meet."

"That's my fault." Mu Shan said with a guilty look on his face, "Uncle, you don't know that this time I went out with Lord Cangsong to look for spiritual roots, which is one of the most lucrative positions in the market today."

"Originally, only cultivators in the late stage of Qi training were eligible. In order to get me into the team, my mother made all the necessary arrangements, spending a lot of spirit stones and favors. This made the circulation of spirit stones for the guild a little difficult."

"What are you talking about? You are my family's only son-in-law. A few spirit stones are nothing."

Zhao Mingyu smiled. "Looking for spiritual roots is a good job these days. Most of those who can join the team are cultivators in the late stage of Qi training. The few cultivators in the middle stage also have backgrounds. There may be one or two more opportunities in the future. You should make more connections during this period. You never know when they will come in handy."

"Not to mention being able to become familiar to Master Cangsong. Now that Master Cangsong is over 200 years old, he is getting older. It is the age when he likes to cultivate the younger generation and pave the way for future generations. Even if a little bit of knowledge slips through the fingers of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it will be enough for a Qi Training cultivator to benefit infinitely!"

"Besides, you should have earned five great merits on this trip, right? This is the most important thing. It will be the resources for building your foundation."