Cultivation begins with ice harvesters

Chapter 60: The Crystal Gourd

In terms of overall strength alone, Liu Guangqing, who is at the seventh level of Qi Refining, holds an absolute advantage from any angle.

This is the fundamental reason why he is so reckless and unscrupulous in his attempt to forcibly seize five complete sets of first-grade high-quality crystal gourds. If he had even the slightest concern, he probably wouldn't have made such an illogical decision.

In actual combat, they easily inflict heavy damage on their opponents at the very beginning of the battle, and have an absolute advantage and control over the course of the battle.

Although his subsequent counterattacks were equally sharp, a sense of contempt was inevitably present in his heart. It was precisely by taking advantage of this contempt that Tong Bingfeng was able to achieve the final kill through a series of carefully planned means.

"Since Liu Guangqing was willing to break the original agreement on the distribution of spoils and resolutely chose to keep a complete set of five crystal gourds of the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth) for himself, there must be some unknown secret behind it."

As the Azure Water Sword slashed down, Liu Guangqing's head spun out. After refining a healing pill, Tong Bingfeng began to ponder more deeply.

From Liu Guangqing's initial tentative exchange of first-grade high-quality magic artifacts and first-grade high-quality spirit pills, it was revealed that he intended to exchange a set of five complete crystal gourds for some precious and crucial treasures from the Chen family.

However, this channel was completely unworkable for him, since Tong Bingfeng was not familiar with the cultivators of the Chen family. Their only interaction was the high-priced rental of the first-grade mid-level magic weapon, the Azure Water Sword.

If one were to rashly reveal the five first-grade high-quality crystal gourds, not to mention whether one could successfully exchange them for the desired treasures, it would likely bring disaster upon oneself. Lacking strength is a crime of possessing a treasure.

"No matter which way the wind blows, I will remain unmoved. After returning to Ice Spirit Island, I will first raise my cultivation to the sixth level of Qi Refining. With the help of nurturing a mouthful of innate primordial energy within the water-attribute crystal gourd, I will advance to the seventh level of Qi Refining and step into the threshold of the late stage of Qi Refining. This is the most important thing."

After a short while, Tong Bingfeng snapped out of his thoughts. For him, advancing his cultivation to the seventh level of Qi Refining in the shortest possible time was the most important thing.

"Given Fellow Daoist Liu's character and wealth, the spiritual items he carries will not disappoint me. Since you have promised to make the transaction, there should be at least one first-grade high-quality water-attribute magic weapon and one first-grade high-quality spiritual pill in his storage bag that can help him advance to the late stage of Qi Refining."

After each battle, the most anticipated moment is undoubtedly the time to clear out and collect the spoils.

Tong Bingfeng first collected the Black Gold Spear and the Xuanyuan Shield, two well-matched first-grade magic weapons, one for offense and one for defense. Then, he took down the storage bag hanging on Liu Guangqing's waist and carefully checked every part of his body to make sure that no other spiritual items were missed before walking towards the location where the crystal gourd vine was growing.

The five first-grade crystal gourds, each radiating a different spiritual light, representing the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, are the biggest target of this trip.

After carefully inspecting each crystal gourd and confirming its maturity, Tong Bingfeng picked them one by one and stored them in his waist pouch for safekeeping.

The preciousness of a first-grade high-quality crystal gourd is beyond doubt. If it is not fully mature, it will not have much impact on the quality of the gourd itself. The most important thing is that it contains an extremely precious innate primordial energy.

If there is even a slight difference in the quality of one's innate vital energy, it may lead to a failure to advance one's cultivation at a crucial moment, which would truly be a loss.

"Unfortunately, this crystal gourd vine can only bear fruit once. Once all five crystal gourds have been harvested, the entire vine will simultaneously lose its last bit of vitality."

After the last water-attribute crystal gourd growing at the top was picked, the gourd vine, which was originally full of rich life, withered at a speed visible to the naked eye, and had no value for further growth and cultivation.

A fleeting hint of regret crossed Tong Bingfeng's face. After all, if such spiritual objects could continue to grow, it would mean that he would have a stable source of crystal gourds from now on. He would only need to harvest them regularly to exchange them for spiritual objects that matched his attributes and helped him improve his cultivation.

"Splash!"

After collecting all the other combat supplies, Tong Bingfeng used his magic to open the storage bag whose owner was already dead, and dumped all the spiritual items inside onto the ice surface.

"Tsk tsk tsk, no wonder it's a general store owner with a history of over a hundred years, to have such a collection of high-quality spiritual items."

Tong Bingfeng examined the six jade bottles on the ice surface, which were specifically used to store elixirs, a first-grade high-quality magic artifact shaped like a fork and radiating a shimmering luster, and the twelve spirit-sealing boxes. He had an expression of utter ignorance and astonishment. As for the other miscellaneous spiritual items, they could only be considered insignificant scraps at this moment.

The Spirit Sealing Box is a special device used to store precious spiritual objects and prevent the spiritual power contained within them from leaking out. It is carefully crafted by a weapon refiner.

In the Ice Sea Market, even the most ordinary Spirit Sealing Box costs a full fifty spirit stones. The preciousness and value of any treasures that are qualified to be stored inside it are self-evident.

"Every storage bag that has been worn for a long time must have a special mark hidden on it. Even if it doesn't, the aura of a cultivator in life cannot be completely dissipated in a short time. To ensure safety, we can only abandon it here."

"It's not safe here. We should leave as soon as possible; the best course of action is to flee."

Tong Bingfeng did not examine the types of spoils in detail. Two large-scale battles had broken out in succession on this icy area, and a large amount of bloody smell had spread. Other cultivators or demonic beasts might appear at any time, which would definitely cause other unnecessary troubles.

Not to mention, after two consecutive battles, Tong Bingfeng suffered severe injuries, his mana in his dantian was completely depleted, and his strength was less than one-fifth of what it used to be.

After a stick of incense had burned, and confirming that no spoils had been missed, Tong Bingfeng endured the pain from his rib wound and limped forward.

Tong Bingfeng chose a different route back than the one he came by, and a detailed map found in Liu Guangqing's storage bag served as the best guide.

To ensure their own safety, they changed their direction of travel more than twenty times along the way, and even took some detours on certain sections of the route.

As the sun set and the moon rose, it wasn't until midnight, when the moon was high in the sky and the cold wind was howling, that Tong Bingfeng finally made it back to the small courtyard he rented on Ice Spirit Island.

"Phew, everything went smoothly, safe return."

Exhausted and injured, Tong Bingfeng could no longer hold on and collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep to allow his body time to recover.

The cold wind howled past the window, raging wildly in the already freezing northern border region. In this small world, no one knew that a Qi Refining Stage 7 cultivator had perished deep within the ice domain after failing to seize a treasure.