Stop grinding, I'm really just a free spirit.

Chapter 15 Cultivation Technique

As Chen Bai walked out of Xuanzhenfang, his steps were light, but his heart was far from calm.

One thousand two hundred and sixty spirit stones, plus a Sumeru storage bag.

He couldn't have even dreamed of such wealth just two weeks ago.

At that time, he was still worried about the rent of five spirit stones and was almost driven to desperation by that old devil Xue Zhen.

Now, he has not only paid the rent, but also has the money to rent that cave dwelling full of spiritual energy, and has even stepped into the threshold of cultivation of [Qi Induction into the Body].

"All of this is thanks to the small cauldron, and..."

Chen Bai touched the pouch in his arms, and the beautiful face of Fairy Leyi appeared in his mind.

He shook his head, suppressing those distracting thoughts.

"It's all thanks to my hard work!"

The most urgent task at hand is to find a suitable method of embryonic breathing as soon as possible, cultivate embryonic breathing, and truly step into the path of immortality!

Half an incense stick later.

Xiaojianshan Market, South Street.

This is one of the busiest areas in the market, with all sorts of stalls lining both sides of the street, selling spiritual materials, elixirs, talismans, magical implements, and even various miscellaneous goods for cultivation.

The sounds of hawking and bargaining rose and fell, interspersed with the roars of a few monsters, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.

Chen Bai weaved through the crowd, his gaze sweeping over each stall, searching for Wei Bo's figure.

Soon, he saw a familiar figure at a corner at the end of South Street.

Today, Wei Bo was dressed in a clean gray Taoist robe, his hair tied in a Taoist bun, and a simple smile on his fair, round face. He was warmly greeting a black-clad rogue cultivator who had stopped by.

"Fellow Daoist, look at this, it's a genuine Grade 9 Qi Gathering Talisman!"

"Made by a master of fetal breathing, its quality is guaranteed, far superior to those defective products that work only intermittently!" Wei Bo picked up a talisman from the stall and eagerly handed it over.

The rogue cultivator in black took the talisman, examined it carefully for a moment, and nodded: "How much?"

"Two spirit shells per ticket, no cheating!" Wei Bo said with a smile, holding up two fingers. "If you buy three, I'll give you five spirit shells, how about that?"

The rogue cultivator in black hesitated for a moment, but ultimately took out five spirit shells, exchanged them for three Qi-gathering talismans, and left satisfied.

Wei Bo happily pocketed the spirit shells and was about to continue hawking them when he caught a glimpse of Chen Bai approaching out of the corner of his eye, and his eyes lit up immediately.

"Brother Bai!" He waved hurriedly, his face beaming. "You've come at the perfect time! Come and see, business is booming today!"

Chen Bai walked up to the stall and glanced down at it.

Dozens of talismans were neatly arranged on the stall, mostly miscellaneous talismans such as cleansing clothes talismans, dust-sweeping talismans, and breeze talismans, as well as seven or eight energy-gathering talismans.

Next to it stood a wooden sign with several large, crooked characters written on it: "Maked by a talisman master, genuine and fairly priced, no deception of the young or old."

"How much did you sell today?" Chen Bai asked.

Wei Bo chuckled, took a cloth bag from his waist, and handed it to Chen Bai: "We sold about twenty miscellaneous talismans and five Qi-gathering talismans, earning a total of one spirit stone plus more than thirty talisman coins."

"Brother Bai, Qi-gathering talismans are getting more and more sought after these days. I reckon the price will go up again tomorrow!"

Chen Bai took the cloth bag, weighed it in his hand, and nodded in satisfaction.

For the past month, he has been able to sell five to ten Qi-gathering talismans through Wei Bo every day, plus a varying number of other talismans, earning an average of about two spirit stones per day.

After deducting material costs and Wei Bo's share of the profits, the net profit is one and a half spirit stones.

Little by little, and with the thousand spirit stones that Fairy Yueyi gave him today, his net worth has now exceeded a thousand.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Chen Bai patted Wei Bo on the shoulder, counted out twenty talisman coins from his bag, and stuffed them into his hand. "This is your share of the profits today."

Wei Bo took the talisman money, his eyes narrowing into slits with a smile: "Brother Bai, you're too kind! It's my great fortune to be able to follow you!"

Stop flattering me.

Chen Bai chuckled and scolded, then immediately became serious and asked, "By the way, Brother Wei, has there been any progress on the matter I asked you to inquire about?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Bo quickly stopped smiling, looked around, and lowered his voice, saying, "Brother Bai, I've been running around these past few days trying to find out where the fetal breathing technique is sold."

In this market, there are only a handful of shops openly selling martial arts techniques.

He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Chen Bai: "Here, it's all in here."

The largest one is called "Wanfa Pavilion," which is said to be affiliated with the Lingjian Sect. It has the most complete collection of cultivation techniques, but it is also the most expensive.

There's another place called "Cangzhenlou," which specializes in selling unorthodox martial arts techniques. The prices are cheaper, but the quality... well, that's another story.

Chen Bai took the note, glanced at it, and nodded: "Okay, I'll go take a look myself. You continue to watch the stall, and contact me anytime if anything happens."

"Alright!" Wei Bo replied, then leaned closer, winking and saying, "Brother Bai, are you going to buy a cultivation technique? Are you about to become an immortal?"

"It's still early." Chen Bai shook his head and turned to leave.

Behind them came Wei Bo's shouts: "Don't miss out! Talismans made by a master craftsman, genuine and of the highest quality, no deception!"

A smile appeared on Chen Bai's lips as he continued walking towards the center of the market town without stopping.

……

Wanfa Pavilion.

This is a three-story pavilion with flying eaves and brackets, carved beams and painted rafters, and two stone-carved Pixiu statues standing in front of the door, majestic and extraordinary.

Chen Bai stood in front of the door, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

Upon entering, a faint scent of sandalwood wafts through the air.

The interior of the pavilion was spacious, with bookshelves reaching all the way to the ceiling on all four walls. Countless jade slips, books, and scrolls were densely packed on them, shimmering with spiritual light, creating a magnificent sight.

A young attendant dressed in a blue Taoist robe approached with a beaming smile: "Fellow Daoist, are you here to purchase a cultivation technique?"

Chen Bai nodded: "Do you have a method for embryonic breathing?"

"Of course we have it." The waiter gestured, "Fellow Daoist, please follow me."

He led Chen Bai to a row of bookshelves deep on the first floor, pointed to the hundreds of jade slips displayed there, and introduced, "These are the embryonic breathing cultivation methods collected by my Myriad Laws Pavilion, totaling 367, covering all kinds of elements. Fellow Daoist, you are welcome to browse them at will. However..."

The waiter paused, then smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, you can browse a portion of it; the subsequent content is subject to restrictions. Different cultivation methods have different prices. If you find one you like, please let me know."

Chen Bai nodded, then placed the jade slips from the bookshelf between his eyebrows, carefully examining the contents recorded inside.

However, as he browsed through the various cultivation techniques, his brows gradually furrowed.

Although the Myriad Laws Pavilion has many cultivation techniques, they are not as he had previously thought.

The opening of each jade slip details the grade, element, and cultivation requirements of the technique.

Chen Bai then truly realized that the cultivation methods in this world were far more complex than Fairy Yueyi had described in just a few words.

First, there are the lower-level embryonic breathing techniques, which make up the majority.

If an ordinary cultivator with average aptitude were to practice a lower-level cultivation technique, the step of "guiding qi into the body" alone would require several or even more than ten years of arduous effort, and the "circulation of the river chariot" would be even more distant.

The only advantage of this type of cultivation method is its low price; a copy can be purchased for only two or three hundred spirit stones, making it the choice of the vast majority of poor, independent cultivators.

But Chen Bai only watched a few before shaking his head and giving up.

The embryonic breathing cultivated using inferior techniques is of impure quality, like a pool of muddy water. Not only will it be much more difficult to condense magical power later, but it will also become a fatal bottleneck when trying to break through to the Innate Realm.

Although his innate talent is mediocre, he has the help of the Little Cauldron and his Dao wisdom is astonishing. How could he be willing to bury his future on a low-level cultivation technique?

The intermediate-level cultivation methods are of much higher quality, and their cultivation efficiency is several times that of the inferior-level methods.

With ordinary innate talent, it takes about one or two years for the dantian to be full of qi.

The quality of fetal breathing is also more refined, like clear water that has been filtered of mud and sand. Whether it is fighting, refining elixirs or drawing talismans, it is far superior to inferior techniques.

The price naturally rose accordingly, ranging from five hundred to eight hundred spirit stones.