Cultivation: I can see the proficiency level

Time stands still in the mountains, and one becomes unaware of the years while practicing spiritual cultivation.

As late autumn passed and early winter approached, a cold wind blew into Luopo Mountain, causing withered leaves to swirl and fall from the treetops, landing on the grass covered with winter frost.

A mountain breeze, carrying a chill, swept through the gap-toothed cave, ruffling the fur of Bai Jiuniang, who was resting at the cave entrance. She lightly flicked her soft ears, opened her eyes, and rose to stretch her demonic body in the morning light.

With a touch of lingering drowsiness from just waking up, it headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Just as the water was boiled, it heard a sword whistle in its ear, and it turned its head to look.

laugh--

A sound.

Inside the gap-toothed cave, the sword light, like a bolt of lightning, tore through the darkness. Where the sword light struck, the hard rock was sliced ​​open as if it were tofu, with smooth cuts and deep sword marks.

Bai Jiuniang was already used to the noise, and turned her attention back to the stove, starting to wash the rice and cook porridge.

The sound of sword strikes echoed continuously in its ears, repeating over and over before finally falling silent. It knew without a doubt that Wang Mian had begun his cultivation.

Looking out, it saw Wang Mian sitting cross-legged, holding one spirit stone in each hand, deeply focused on cultivation. The spirit stones, which were not particularly lustrous, gradually became dull.

Wang Mian always liked to leave the spirit stones that had absorbed all their spiritual energy in the same spot, and slowly, a lot of dull and worthless spirit stones accumulated.

A wooden spoon imbued with demonic power stirred the pot, and the aroma of the spirit rice gradually wafted out. Then, some chopped wild vegetables and cured meat were added.

It will be ready soon.

Wang Mian remained seated cross-legged, and wisps of spiritual energy were drawn from the two spirit stones he had just taken out, which were then refined into drops of magical power.

Once his magical power was fully restored, he stood up, drew his sword, and began practicing again.

Or perhaps, in order to exhaust his magical power to continue cultivating and adapt to the power of sword energy, he used that mid-grade magic weapon, the ruler, to unleash sword energy, ravaging the stone wall beyond recognition.

After circulating the cultivation technique once, one practices the sword five times. In a day, this is the eight daily practice sessions without fail, resulting in forty sword practices.

This is the limit of the meridians, not Wang Mian's limit. Wang Mian has been practicing this kind of tedious and arduous cultivation for more than a month.

After a month of cultivation, he consumed another forty or fifty spirit stones, which greatly improved his cultivation level, and he also became completely proficient in sword energy.

However, this cave has been ruined beyond recognition, with huge gaps blasted open by sword energy or cracks cut by sword beams on the stone walls.

A low hum sounded, and Bai Jiuniang had already served the porridge. Using her demonic power, she held the bowl and chopsticks, reminding Wang Mian that it was time to eat breakfast.

"I'll wash my face and come right away." Wang Mian sheathed his longsword and casually wiped away his sweat.

The hot water prepared by Bai Jiuniang was still warm. Recently, as winter approached, the Luopo Mountain began to get colder day by day, and the hot water cooled down quickly.

In a few days, heavy snow will fall in the mountains, turning everything into a white wonderland. That will be the coldest season in Fallen Mountain, when cultivators venture out the least.

A white cloth brushed against his face, and Wang Mian closed his eyes. Deep in his mind, the golden seal glowed faintly, and the characters appeared:

[Low-grade Qi Refining Method: Diligently practice five hundred times until the skill is perfected, then one can enter the fourth level of Qi Refining]

[Beginner's Guide to the Dust-Covering Technique: Diligently practice 480 times until mastering the spell, and you will gain the ability to change your appearance.]

[Mastering the Four Seasons Sword Technique: Through diligent practice three thousand five hundred and sixty times, one can acquire the essence of the Four Seasons Sword Technique.]

After washing his face and wiping away his sweat, Wang Mian exhaled a breath of turbid air. After more than a month of cultivation, his magical power had become increasingly profound, gradually approaching the fourth level of Qi Refining.

If this winter is peaceful and uneventful, and he focuses on his cultivation, he will be able to reach the fourth level of Qi Refining by early spring next year.

He could also call himself a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

"The spiritual land is insignificant, and I rely entirely on spirit stones for cultivation. Although the progress is encouraging, the spirit stones are consumed very quickly." In the blink of an eye, a quarter of his spirit stones had been used up.

A month ago, he thought he had a lot of savings and spirit stones, but now he no longer dares to have such arrogant thoughts. You can never have too many spirit stones.

With wealth, companionship, law, and land as the guiding principles, wealth is paramount. Without spirit stones, this rapid advancement in cultivation will immediately come to a standstill.

"Ninth Sister, after breakfast, let's go to the market." Wang Mian wrung out his cloth, returned to the stone bench, sat down, and began to drink his porridge.

Bai Jiuniang wagged her fluffy tail, which meant she agreed.

Although its cultivation level was higher than Wang Mian's, Wang Mian was always the one in charge.

After finishing the porridge, he cast a Dust-Concealing Technique, instantly suppressing his Qi Refining Level 3 cultivation aura to Level 2.

Bai Jiuniang moved with incredible speed, carrying Wang Mian into the air, and flew towards the southern market town.

On the southern slope, there is a deer-eating platform.

The market was set up here. Wang Mian, familiar with the area, bypassed the old and young cultivators soliciting customers outside and went straight to Feihong Tower.

He used to visit the South Foothills Market quite often and was quite familiar with it. Fei Hong Lou was a fairly reasonable shop in the South Foothills Market.

Just as he reached the door, a female cultivator in a skirt greeted him: "Fellow Daoist, your presence is an honor to our humble abode. May I ask what you require?"

"Find your manager and discuss a deal with him," Wang Mian said.

The female cultivator, after leading Wang Mian to his seat and serving him tea, turned to look for the innkeeper.

A moment later, footsteps approached, and an old-looking shopkeeper with a white beard appeared in Wang Mian's line of sight.

He used to be short of money and liked to wander around the markets. He also came to Feihong Tower to look at magical artifacts, elixirs and talismans, although he couldn't afford any of them.

He had the good fortune to meet the old shopkeeper a few times. The shopkeeper probably didn't recognize him, but he knew that the old shopkeeper was a well-known figure in the southern part of the mountain.

"I heard you have a big deal to discuss, fellow Daoist. This way, please." The shopkeeper observed for a moment, his gaze lingering on Bai Jiuniang and Wang Mian for a brief instant.

He led the way, taking Wang Mian into a private room, gesturing for him to sit, activating the soundproofing array, brewing spiritual tea, before asking, "May I ask what kind of business you wish to conduct, friend?"

Without further ado, Wang Mian reached into his storage bag and took out a broadsword, a tattered black banner, and a strangely shaped rat-shaped hammer.

He then took out five storage bags from his bosom, which had been forcibly erased, were slightly worn, and still had bloodstains.

"These are all for sale. Please give me an estimate, shopkeeper. If the price is fair, these items will be sold to your Feihonglou," Wang Mian said.

The shopkeeper stared at the few mid-grade magic artifacts in front of him, and then looked at the stacked storage bags for a moment. Although he had been in business for many years and had seen a lot, he was also a little surprised.

This fellow Daoist doesn't seem like someone who talks about big deals; he's clearly someone who does big business. However, right now, he has at least four or five life-or-death lawsuits.

"Fellow Daoist...impressive skills." The old shopkeeper offered a dry compliment and began to carefully examine several mid-grade magic artifacts.

Cultivators are not judged by age, and magical artifacts are not judged by origin. At the open market in Lushiping, as long as fellow Daoists dare to sell, Feihonglou dares to buy.

Mid-grade magic artifacts vary in quality and are priced between two and four hundred spirit stones, with depreciation calculated separately.

After inspecting the magical artifacts and storage bags, the shopkeeper poured tea for Wang Mian before quoting prices: "Three mid-grade magical artifacts are priced at 550 spirit stones, and four storage bags are priced at 40 spirit stones."

He pointed to the storage bag placed separately to one side: "Three-sided storage bag, thirty spirit stones."

"A total of six hundred and twenty spirit stones." The shopkeeper calculated the price.

Wang Mian nodded. The price he offered for selling old magical artifacts and old storage bags on Luopo Mountain was fair.

In this overpriced, exploitative, and unscrupulous market, fairness attracts customers, but it also makes one an outlier. It takes considerable strength to maintain this sense of incongruity.

"This price is fine. Please trouble you, shopkeeper. I need to purchase a high-quality mid-grade magic weapon longsword, a mid-grade protective magic weapon, and a few disposable magic weapons," Wang Mian said.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's old face broke into a smile. Shopkeepers in the wild market always welcomed cultivators who made and spent money on the spot, and he was no exception.

The shopkeeper sent someone to fetch the ritual implements that Wang Mian had requested and placed them on the wooden table.

"A brand new, mid-grade magic weapon longsword, of excellent quality, forged from star-patterned iron, named Cold Star, priced at four hundred and fifty spirit stones."

"A slightly flawed, mid-grade magic weapon longsword, of excellent quality, forged from Flowing Cloud Gold, named Light Cloud, priced at 380 spirit stones."

"This is a brand-new, top-grade mid-level magic weapon, forged from the Lanxi Copper Mother and Qushan Geng Gold. It is incomparably sharp and named Jinghong. It is also the best magic sword in the shop."

He didn't offer a price, watching Wang Mian pick up the longsword, watching the look of delight in Wang Mian's eyes as he drew the sword, watching the way Wang Mian seemed to cherish it.

The shopkeeper could have predicted that Wang Mian would inquire about the price himself.

"What is the price of this sword?" Wang Mian was truly enamored with the stunning sword in his hand.

The dragon spine copper mother is crimson with lines, the spirit blade is made of gold with a silvery sheen, the sword surface is smooth as a mirror, the hilt is gold-colored, the grip is like jade, and the end of the sword is thick.

With a slight exertion of magical power, he felt incredibly smooth, and the sword light shone brightly, exuding a sharp and murderous aura. Even without using sword energy, he had the ability to cleave through mid-grade magical artifacts.

After trying the sword, he liked the magic sword in his hand even more. It was a top-grade mid-level magic sword, truly a divine weapon.

"Five hundred spirit stones," the shopkeeper said firmly. "Not a penny less."

five hundred?

After only a moment's thought, Wang Mian agreed to the huge sum of five hundred spirit stones.

He felt it wasn't a bad deal to exchange three old magical artifacts, which he had acquired without any initial investment, for a magical sword that he liked and could use until the mid-to-late stages of Qi refining.

"I'll take this stunning sword."