Mythical Cultivation

"Wealth, companions, Dharma, and land—these are the four most important things for a cultivator. Today we'll discuss wealth. What is wealth? As the name suggests, it's wealth. Don't think that wealth is unimportant for a cultivator, or that it's something only ordinary people need. Think about it: if you didn't have wealth, where would your elixirs come from? Where would your magical instruments come from? Where would your spirit beasts come from? Without these things on the path of cultivation, how could you possibly go far? Even sword cultivators, who consume the least among cultivators, need certain external objects; otherwise, where would a suitable spirit sword come from? It's not that external objects are unnecessary; it's just that we need to prioritize and understand our ultimate goal. As for how a cultivator accumulates wealth in the early stages, this brings us to the hundred arts of cultivation: alchemy, instrument refining, formations, talisman making, formations, planting, spirit beasts, puppets...

All of these can help us accumulate wealth. Of course, my Qingyun Sect doesn't teach all of the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation. Everyone can choose one to learn based on their specific circumstances. Of course, each of the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation is different. For example, alchemy and weapon refining are difficult to get started with and require a high investment, but once you achieve something, it becomes a treasure trove. Formation is even more difficult to get started with, and it's difficult for those without talent, but once you get started, it's very popular. Talisman making and planting are among the easier ones to get started with. Now, I will explain to you the Hundred Arts that can be learned in my Qingyun Sect, from the simplest to the most advanced, so that you can make a better choice...

Two hours passed quickly, and everyone was still listening with gusto. Unfortunately, the time was up and the lecturer left, waking everyone from their dreams. Wu Ming and the others also left after exchanging addresses, agreeing to get together again later.

After returning to his residence, Wu Ming thought about some things he needed to do in the short term. First of all, he could not stop practicing. Secondly, he needed to earn spirit stones to fill the lotus seed mark on his chest. However, his current strength was still very low, so he could only choose to do some tasks within the sect, such as guarding the medicine garden, harvesting spiritual medicines, etc. However, these tasks had long cycles and low returns, so he would not do them for the time being. The only way to earn spirit stones was to learn one of the hundreds of arts of cultivating immortals.

Among the hundreds of cultivation arts, only planting is easy to get started with and requires minimal investment. Talisman making is a limited activity. While planting is easy to get started with, the payback period is too long, so in the end, talisman making is the only option left. With this choice made, Wu Ming began to act.

At the foot of Qingyun Sect Mountain, Wu Ming flew his sword to a market—Qingyun Market. Less than fifty miles from Qingyun Sect, this market belonged to the Qingyun Sect and was home to most of the sect's outer disciples. After twenty years of hopeless foundation building, they left the sect. Some returned home, while others ventured out to seek opportunities for foundation building. However, the majority opted to earn spirit stones by doing small businesses in Qingyun Market, some to continue their efforts in foundation building, while others sought profit for their descendants. Qingyun Market's proximity to Qingyun Sect at least guaranteed a high degree of safety.

Entering the market, the market is oriented north-south with a wide avenue in the middle. There are stalls on both sides of the street. Looking around, there are people selling spiritual herbs, monster materials, magic tools, elixirs, and even spiritual beasts.

Dozens of houses lined the streets, some tall, some short, some one-story, some three-story. Most of these properties belonged to the Qingyun Sect, with a small number belonging to other sects or individuals.

Seeing more than ten people gathered around a roadside stall, Wu Ming also went over. Only then did he see that there were spirit beasts imprisoned in two iron cages. Several people stopped to ask the price.

"Boss, the price of your ghost cat is too high. Can you make it cheaper?" said a young man in white.

"My ghost cat is a mutant spirit beast that has a slight chance of reaching the foundation-building stage after it grows up, and it also has invisibility. One thousand spirit stones is already very low. Think about it, a spirit beast in the foundation-building stage costs at least one or two thousand spirit stones. If you don't want more, there are many people who want it." A middle-aged uncle said.

Hearing the middle-aged boss's words, the young man in white reluctantly took out a thousand spirit stones and handed them to the middle-aged man, then left with the cage. Wu Ming was also shocked to see a transaction worth thousands of spirit stones just after arriving. After all, he only had the four or five hundred spirit stones his grandfather had given him before, and nearly a hundred of them were wood-attributed spirit stones that he had swallowed up. Now he only had less than four hundred spirit stones in his pocket.

The remaining cage held an adult spirit beast—a golden-backed gray wolf, a gray wolf in the early stages of foundation building, but its back was covered in golden fur. Although the golden-backed gray wolf was priced at 1,500 spirit stones, several people had taken a fancy to it and wanted to buy it. In the end, one person, feeling sorry for it, paid a premium of 1,650 spirit stones, and the others left, leaving only the happy owner.

Wu Ming pondered, "Trading spirit beasts is where the real money is made." And with such a large sum of money involved, he wasn't afraid of being envied. This place was indeed the Qingyun Sect's market. A team of Qingyun Sect disciples patrolled the streets constantly. The ten-man team, all inner disciples clad in green robes, served as a deterrent to those with ulterior motives. Presumably, no one dared to offend the Qingyun Sect.

As he walked and looked, Wu Ming was dazzled by the variety of things on the street stalls, but he still remembered his purpose, resisted the desire to spend money, and walked into a Baiyun Pavilion.

As soon as you enter the door, you will see a spacious lobby with counters filled with various goods, including elixirs, magic tools, and talismans. There are more than ten people buying and selling things inside, and there are three or four beautiful women in white clothes introducing them. I think they are the waiters of Baiyun Pavilion.

As soon as Wu Ming entered the door, he saw a woman walking towards him. "Sir, what do you need? We have everything in Baiyun Pavilion. We guarantee you will be satisfied."

"I'll take a look myself first. I'll call you if I need anything," Wu Ming said. The woman stopped talking and just followed Wu Ming.

Seeing this, Wu Ming walked to the counter and looked at the magic weapon inside - the Fiery Sword, a medium-grade magic weapon with a burning effect when attacking. It cost four hundred and eighty spirit stones. Although he was tempted by the sight, he had no money in his pocket, so he could only satisfy his curiosity.

Seeing Wu Ming staring at the Fiery Sword, the waiter said, "The Fiery Sword was forged by an excellent weapon refiner using Fiery Stone as the main body and Black Iron over five days and five nights. It is sufficient for use during the Qi Refining Stage. If you want it, I can give you a discount. It only costs 450 Spirit Stones."

Although Wu Ming was tempted, his strength didn't allow it. "My flying sword is no worse than this flaming sword, so I have no plans to exchange it for the time being," Wu Ming said.

Then she looked at another counter—the Yin-Yang Fan, a mid-grade magical instrument, priced at 650 spirit stones. The waiter explained, "The Yin-Yang Fan is made primarily from the bones of a two-headed snake. Since the two-headed snake possesses both wind and fire attributes, it has two attack modes: a blazing fire and a wind blade, one for single-target and one for group attacks." She didn't bother mentioning discounts, figuring it would be a waste of words. Perhaps she'd misjudged Wu Ming today, because she didn't see any sign of desire in Wu Ming's face.

"It's not quite to my taste," was all Wu Ming could say. He couldn't look at it anymore. If he kept looking, people would probably think he was broke. Looking at all the treasures left, Wu Ming thought, "I'll come back when I have spirit stones."

"Where can I buy the talisman pen in your store? Show me," Wu Ming asked.

The waiter originally thought that Wu Ming was a poor guy who just came in to take a look, but he didn't expect that he would actually buy something. The waiter took Wu Ming to another counter, which contained several talisman pens.

"Two of these talisman pens are made from the fur of the second-level monsters, the Blue-Eyed Fire Lion and the Shadow Moon Demon Leopard, and are priced at around three hundred spirit stones. They can be used for intermediate-level talismans. The other four are made from the fur of first-level monsters and are priced at more than one hundred spirit stones," the waiter introduced.

In the end, Wu Ming chose a low-level talisman pen made of Heart Moon Fox fur, which was worth one hundred and twenty-five spirit stones.