Mythical Cultivation

In the end, Wu Ming chose the Spirit Stone, the Formless Art, the Marrow Cleansing Pill, and then the Blood-Weeping Whip. This was the only intact top-grade magical weapon, so he certainly wouldn't miss it. He also chose the White Cloud Banner, a mid-grade magical weapon. He already had plenty of offensive means, but only the Black Tortoise Shield for defense, so he chose a defensive magical weapon.

The White Cloud Banner can be placed beside the user during combat, summoning a cloud of energy to defend against enemy attacks. Its defensive power is comparable to that of the Black Tortoise Shield. Furthermore, the cloud energy from the White Cloud Banner can conceal the user's form, making it a relatively superior mid-grade defensive artifact.

Seeing that Wu Ming had chosen five things, Pan Ning saw that Wu Ming did not choose all the magic weapons, and knew that he had his own ideas, so he did not interfere, but put the remaining things back into the storage bag.

"Junior Brother Wu, are you planning to return to the sect after leaving this time, or are you planning to continue your training?"

Pan Ning, having put away his storage bag, asked Wu Ming. He had no intention of keeping Wu Ming around for long, even though they had been enjoying each other for the past few days. But they were all cultivators, each with their own path. At most, he offered some advice to help Wu Ming avoid some detours. As for whether Wu Ming would listen or not, he didn't force it. He knew not everyone would listen, let alone a superior person.

Although his cultivation level was higher, after learning that Wu Ming had only joined Qingyun Sect a few years ago and was already at the sixth level of Qi Refining, and could even fight and injure Foundation Establishment cultivators, he knew that this Junior Brother Wu was no ordinary person, and would eventually soar to great heights. It was only a matter of time before he caught up with him.

"Brother Pan, I've taken on two missions this time when I went out for training. One is to help Yunlong Village solve the issue of missing villagers, and the other is to find some poisonous naan.

Now that the missing villagers' mission has been completed, all that remains is to search for the poisoned naan. There's a swamp in Changxin County, so I'm going to try my luck there."

When Pan Ning heard that Wu Ming was planning to go to that swamp, he also gave some advice.

"I won't say much else. I'm sure you've prepared all the detoxification pills and other things. I just need to tell you one thing, which is that most of the monsters in the swamp may not be very powerful and pose little threat to you.

But besides the demonic beasts, you must be on guard against the common poisonous creatures that grow in the swamp. Some are beasts, some are insects, and some are plants. They may not appear powerful on the surface, but their toxicity is quite high, and can poison a cultivator unknowingly, until it's too late.

Even if a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Stage accidentally got poisoned, while not life-threatening, it would still be troublesome. And for cultivators in the Qi Refining Stage, these things posed a greater threat than the monsters in the swamp. Once a cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage got poisoned, it could be life-threatening.

So remember, don’t get involved with seemingly insignificant things.”

After hearing Pan Ning's words, Wu Ming thought he was well prepared. He knew that even the strongest demon beasts in the swamp weren't even at the Foundation Establishment stage, so with his magical weapon, he shouldn't be in any danger. He didn't expect that the most dangerous creatures in the swamp weren't necessarily the demon beasts, as any cultivator who entered would be on guard against them.

And those things that don't seem threatening on the surface, no one will guard against them, but these things are precisely the most dangerous. Fortunately, Brother Pan told me these things, otherwise, if I was careless and fell into them, I would have no place to complain.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Pan, for your warning. I thought this mission was a simple one, but I didn't expect there were so many things to be prepared for. If it weren't for Senior Brother Pan, I really wouldn't have known about this."

"Most of us are from the same school. Telling you these things will help you avoid taking some detours." Pan Ning was very pleased to see that Wu Ming listened to him.

"Brother Pan, if that's the case, I'll take my leave now. See you again if we're lucky."

Wu Ming knew that Pan Ning's mission to garrison Changxin County would end in less than two years, and the two would have a chance to meet again then.

"Junior Brother Wu, have a safe journey. See you again if we're lucky."

After Wu Ming said goodbye to Pan Ning, he did not leave Changxin County directly, but replenished his things in Changxin County according to his previous plan. After the battle with Yin Lenghai of the Blood Evil Sect, he had used up all his trump cards. If he encountered any danger later, he would have no trump cards to use and would be in danger of death. Therefore, he decided to purchase some powerful items first.

There happened to be several stores selling items for cultivation in Changxin County. Wu Ming first walked into a store called Refining Equipment Building. After the servant's introduction, Wu Ming found that this store mainly sold magical instruments used by practitioners. Most of them were low-grade magical instruments, and there were very few mid-grade magical instruments. As for other things, there were even fewer.

As for magical weapons, Wu Ming currently possessed the Mountain and River Inkstone, the Golden Light Sword, and the Black Tortoise Shield and White Cloud Banner for defense. He was not short of any for the time being, so Wu Ming had no intention of purchasing any more. He left the weapon refining building and walked into another store called Fang's Grocery Store.

The shop wasn't large, but it had a wide variety of merchandise. There was only one owner and two attendants in the shop. After an introduction, Wu Ming learned that the shop was owned by the Fang family, a nearby cultivation family.

The Fang family had many cultivators, so many of them were skilled in various cultivation techniques, including weapon refining, alchemy, talisman making, and puppetry. Although the rank was not high, it was still barely usable for Wu Ming.

Wu Ming's main goal this time was to purchase some talismans. These were inexpensive, practical, and a perfect choice for cultivators. Treasures like the Heavenly Thunder Seed would be even better. He also wanted some medicinal pills, as the previous losses were too great.

The shop owner's surname was Fang, a middle-aged man in his forties with a kind face. He was a member of the Fang clan, but his talent for cultivation was limited. After twenty years of practice, he had only reached the sixth level of Qi Refining, so he gave up on cultivation. He then married and had children, contributing to the family's continued existence. He now had two sons and a daughter.

He also accumulated spirit stones, considering his future generations. Since he lacked talent himself, he placed his hopes on his descendants. This was the current situation of most cultivation families. It wasn't a bad approach, as it did discourage some people from moving forward. However, it also made the cultivation family larger. The more people there were, the greater the chance of producing cultivators, and the stronger the family would be.

Therefore, in Wu Ming's opinion, there is still a big difference in the way families and sects operate.

He learned from Wu Ming's conversation with his attendant that Wu Ming needed a lot of things. Knowing that a major customer had arrived, he personally took Wu Ming to select the items he needed. The better the store's profits, the greater his commission.