System crash? I prove it with my control panel!

After listening to Liu Hongchen's story.

Chen Wen gained some understanding of the situation outside.

The Qingming Sect has always left its forces to their own devices.

As long as you pay your bond tax on time, you will be allowed a territory to develop freely.

If you want to expand, you can, as long as you conquer someone else's territory and pay the spirit tax on time, that territory will be yours.

To the south of Qingming City lies the Qingming Sect.

The other three locations are occupied by families.

The patriarch of the Ye family in the East has not shown his face for over a hundred years.

The Fang family, located to the northeast, was its neighbor and naturally coveted this lucrative opportunity.

In contrast to the Ye family, the Li family in the west was unwilling to see this happen.

Although their geographical location is not advantageous, they can draw the spiritual veins back to their own territory and cultivate their own territory.

As a result, the two sides became locked in a fierce confrontation.

The Ye family also maneuvered between these two families, barely managing to survive for a period of time.

Currently, anything related to war is experiencing a surge in price and demand exceeds supply.

Even if they beat the dog's brain out, Chen Wen wouldn't care.

He was only happy that he could profit from the war.

Pour a cup of Snow Welcomes Spring tea and push the teacup towards Liu Hongchen.

"Senior Sister Liu, I am aware of the situation, but this matter cannot be rushed. Let's have a cup of tea first."

Liu Hongchen took the teacup, drank it all in one gulp, then slammed it down, his face urgent.

"Junior Brother Jingwen, stop keeping me in suspense. Now that I've had my tea, please take out the talisman."

Chen Wen thought to himself, "What a waste of good tea! I should have known better than to serve such fine tea."

However, this is a good thing, as it means they can raise prices now.

He took out a high-grade wooden armor talisman from his storage bag and handed it to Liu Hongchen, saying:

"Senior Sister Liu, what do you think of this talisman?"

Liu Hongchen's expression was somewhat displeased. "Junior Brother Chen, just one?"

Seeing her like that, Chen Wen thought to himself, "How realistic! She used to be my junior brother Jingwen, but she changed her address after just one talisman."

He wasn't exactly a pushover, and couldn't tolerate being looked down upon like that. His face darkened, and he said calmly:

"Senior Sister Liu, since you want to talk business, then there are rules for talking business."

"There are plenty of talismans, but you won't see them without a reasonable price."

Liu Hongchen's face immediately turned ugly. She was no longer an eight or nine-year-old little girl, innocent and naive, unaware of the ways of the world.

She is already eleven years old.

She had long known that this junior disciple in front of her was just there to make up the numbers; with a mid-grade spiritual root, he was destined to be someone she couldn't be with.

Therefore, she never paid any attention to him when she arrived, only thinking about completing the transaction as soon as possible and leaving quickly.

She felt she had already restrained herself enough; after all, she had called him "Junior Brother Jingwen" a few times.

I never expected this person to be so ungrateful, daring to tell me that business is business.

A hint of mockery flashed in her eyes.

"Alright, since Junior Brother Chen puts it that way, I'll just name my price. The market price for a high-grade talisman is seven contribution points, but now that the price has gone up, I'll buy it back for eight contribution points each. How about that?"

As for the wooden armor talisman in Chen Wen's hand, she only glanced at it indifferently, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

Abundant spiritual energy, stable structure, and smooth, even spiritual ink—a top-grade product!

I never expected this guy to have this trick up his sleeve.

One of these can now sell for 150 yuan. What a profit!

However, Chen Wen's actions caught her off guard.

Chen Wen stood up and activated the formation, saying calmly, "Senior Sister Liu, please. I have other appointments."

"What...what do you mean by this?!"

Liu Hongchen suddenly stood up, feeling humiliated.

Isn't business supposed to be business? Why did you refuse me outright and even try to kick me out?!

She gritted her teeth. "Chen Jingwen, if you can't give me a straight answer, don't blame your senior sister for disciplining you on behalf of Master today!"

"Senior Sister Liu is so impressive!"

Chen Wen shook his head and sighed softly, his expression remaining calm and composed.

These days, they are extremely hard to find on the market.

Liu Hongchen was so anxious she was jumping up and down.

Yet he actually managed to say that it costs eight contribution points for one talisman.

Does she think she has me cornered?!

Chen Wen sneered. Since she wasn't sincere, there was no need for further words.

He spoke calmly;

"You're offering eighty spirit stones for a top-grade talisman? Why don't you just rob someone?"

Chen Wen didn't say the final, hurtful thing: "You don't treat me, Chen Jingwen, like a human being at all!"

Instead, it left some room for both sides to save face, saying:

"Let's not talk about selling talismans anymore. As for you going to teach me a lesson on behalf of your master... hehe~"

Chen Wen chuckled and said, "Although my cultivation is not as good as yours, I am not someone to be trifled with. I would like to see if Senior Sister's skills are just empty words."

"you..."

Liu Hongchen's face turned red from choking, and his magical power surged in his hands, but he ultimately held back.

She was naturally not afraid of the person in front of her, but the person standing behind him was someone she couldn't afford to offend. She was all alone and couldn't win against him!

She hesitated for a moment, then suddenly sat back down at the table, a smile appearing on her face.

"Junior Brother Jingwen, look how anxious you are again."

"I gave you a price, but you still have to haggle. We're on the same side, so I'll let it slide this time. I'll give you a fair price: thirteen contribution points per card, how about that?"

Chen Wen wasn't one to push people too far. Seeing that the other party had found a way out and offered a sincere price, he readily sat down and said:

"Senior Sister Liu's price is quite reasonable and acceptable."

He changed the subject and said:

"I must remind Senior Sister Liu that doing business is only for protecting the sect. Senior Sister Liu is ultimately a true disciple of Zixia Peak. Every move you make represents the face of Zixia Peak. In the future, don't easily say such insincere prices, or people will look down on our peak."

Liu Hongchen's expression froze. Why isn't this over yet?

She gave an unnatural smile and said, "Since Junior Brother Chen has agreed, then take out the spirit talisman. I'll count it and then transfer the contribution points to you."

Chen Wen knew she wasn't listening, but he only wanted to disgust Liu Hongchen.

What are you pretending for? You're just a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. You've been surrounded by flatterers all the time, and now you think you're something special!

However, Chen Wen made up his mind and went into seclusion afterward!

Chen Wen kept ten wooden armor talismans and sold the rest.

A total of 1,300 contribution points were earned.

These used to be worth only seven hundred.

It has almost doubled!

Having lost face with him, Liu Hongchen naturally didn't want to stay any longer. She transferred her contribution points, left a message saying she would accept them again next time, and then hurriedly left.

As Chen Wen watched her retreating figure, he couldn't help but sigh. This Senior Sister Liu was truly flexible and adaptable. Even after losing face in front of him, she could still endure making a deal with him.

But then I thought, earning spirit stones, why not!

He returned to his cave and had Ye Fan serve him several dishes of stir-fried spirit beast meat, along with a bowl of spirit rice, for a meal.

He then picked up the jade tablet, entered the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion, and selected a first-tier top-grade spell.

He never had much interest in magic.

After all, it's just a self-defense technique; the cultivation method is the real foundation.

Moreover, he has a skill panel, so it doesn't matter what he practices. Once he masters it, even a fireball spell will be incredibly powerful.

Therefore, he never forced himself to practice top-tier first-order techniques.

For example, his Little Withering and Flourishing Hand, after the two techniques are combined, becomes a top-tier first-class item.

The cycle of life and death is also a cycle.

The rest are all of superior quality.

He also sensed something peculiar about it.

Of course, it was indeed a bit strange.

But in his view, this is just normal in the cycle of prosperity and decline.

But after seeing the spells in the library, his thoughts changed.

For example, "The Great Innate Capturing Technique"

This spell emphasizes cultivating a breath of innate true energy, which can be used to activate grappling techniques to create a hand that can cover the sky.

Moreover, this breath can be used to temper the body, and even to activate other spells, which can multiply their power.

Another example is the "Divine Firmament Sword Control True Technique".

By mastering sword light, one can achieve perfect harmony between body and sword, becoming invincible. Furthermore, one can split into up to eighteen sword lights, each manifesting the might of divine thunder, allowing one to move instantly within them.

This is not only a divine skill for combat, but also a life-saving technique. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator were to use it, he could probably travel thousands of miles in an instant and take someone's head with a smile!

However, even during the Qi Refining stage, traveling a hundred miles in an instant is sufficient.

Compared to his Wood Escape Technique, which only allows him to escape and depends on the environment, the more vegetation there is, the faster his escape speed becomes, making it far superior.

There are many more examples like this.

Small Heavenly Hand, Killing Curse, Shadowless Sword of Glowing Light... and so on.

After reading these techniques, Chen Wen finally understood them.

It turns out that in addition to combat and protection, magic also includes techniques for increasing one's foundation.

He thought for a moment and realized that he was of the wood element and lacked an ultimate attack method, but he did not lack health preservation techniques.

He immediately clicked on "The True Technique of Divine Firmament Sword Control" and clicked to redeem.

The next moment, only two hundred contribution points remained in the identity jade token.

This technique is considered top-tier even among the best spells, requiring approximately 1,500 contribution points.

Fortunately, he still had more than 400 contribution points.

That's enough.

Now that we've seen it, there's no reason to miss it. We can only put the Gluttonous Blood Body Technique aside for now.

He is not yet able to cultivate the second level of the Xuanhuang Refining Heart Technique.

Some were worried that once their Blood Body Technique was perfected, they wouldn't be able to suppress the evil thoughts within it, which would affect their Foundation Establishment.

After your cultivation level improves, your soul will also become stronger before you can further improve.

Occasionally refining some pills or similar substances is enough.

Although this technique can be mastered quickly, the most important thing is self-control!

While waiting for the spell to be delivered, Chen Wen suddenly realized that he hadn't heard from Liang Jiu in a long time.

He picked up the jade tablet again, found Liang Jiu's message, and discovered that his name was still glowing, not dimmed.

Chen Wen breathed a sigh of relief; he wasn't dead yet.

This is my reference point. If he dies, I don't know what will happen next.

He sent a message to arrange a meeting.

However, I did not receive a reply for a long time.

Just then, a cry came from outside, "Screech!"

Chen Wen had no choice but to put down the jade tablet and leave the secret room.

A crane flew over carrying a jade slip in its beak.

Chen Wen waved his hand to activate the formation.

The crane landed directly in front of Chen Wen, placed the jade slip in Chen Wen's hand, and then waited in place with some anticipation in its eyes.

Chen Wen flicked out a spirit stone.

The crane caught it with its beak, let out a soft cry, and flapped its wings to fly away, "Screech~".

After shutting down the formation, Chen Wen eagerly returned to his cave, placed the jade slip between his eyebrows, and began to read the sword manual within.

A moment later, Chen Wen opened his eyes, his mouth twitching, and cursed, "Fuck your dam, give me my money back!"

"This is something an ordinary person could fix!"

It's no wonder Chen Wen lost his composure.

But this technique is just too terrible.

Just like the Sunflower Manual, one must castrate oneself before practicing this skill.

This method also has prerequisites.

It begins with;

[To practice this method, first practice sword pellets!]

Then came a whole bunch of rare materials.

And that's not all. If one continues to cultivate in the future, one must first upgrade the Sword Refining Pill.

Therefore, this technique can bear the divine thunder, and its power is incredibly strong, which ordinary magical artifacts cannot withstand.

Chen Wenben wondered if his strong physique was enough to forcefully bear the burden with his physical body.

But that obviously won't work.

This sword energy possesses a majestic and awe-inspiring power, and is extremely sharp and unparalleled. It can sever any meridians upon contact, and flesh and blood are ultimately no match for a divine weapon.

At this point, Chen Wen finally understood.

The reason this method is so expensive is actually because it sells the method for making sword pellets.

This sword pellet is an extremely high-grade magical artifact once it is forged.

Even Foundation Establishment cultivators would covet this magical artifact, because it can be further refined.

After much hesitation, Chen Wen finally gritted his teeth and decided to train!

He'd already bought it, so he couldn't just leave it there to gather dust. Besides, the power of this sword technique was indeed something he envied.

He finally understood why those disciples in the late stage of Qi Refining could linger at one realm for years.

Having talent allows one to quickly improve their cultivation, but these ingenious skills require time.

Some might say, "What if I don't learn these things and just rely on my cultivation?"

Those fools at Hundred Refinements Peak, what's the use of having strong cultivation?

It's because he can't do without the other eight peaks, otherwise why would he be controlled by them and why wouldn't he turn against them?

Some people even said, "Then I'll practice an attack method and kill monsters all day to exchange for resources!"

Coincidentally, Jianfeng thought the same thing.

But why are they weaker than Bai Lianfeng?

Because the world of cultivation is not about fighting and killing, but about human relationships and worldly wisdom.

Now that you've killed the monster, do you want to exchange the materials for suitable resources?

Should I use medicinal pills to treat my injury?

Do I need a life-saving talisman if I can't defeat a powerful monster?

If you have the resources and the sword breaks, do you need someone to help you forge it?

What may appear to be the strength of one person is actually the result of the collective efforts of countless people.

Over time, this has led to the current situation.

Everyone is trying to learn more and be less controlled by others.

Therefore, Chen Wen decided to learn weapon crafting.

This sword pellet cost a fortune, and he didn't trust anyone else to help him. If it were damaged or left with hidden dangers, he would have nowhere to turn for help.

Moreover, he needs time to accumulate the contribution points required for the materials.

He has a panel; as long as he raises his first-tier weapon crafting proficiency to the highest level, there shouldn't be any problems.

He first found several books on weapon crafting from the first floor of the library.

Upon further investigation, it turned out that weapon crafting actually involved formations?!

Chen Wen was furious. He was the first to get angry if anyone said that those who refine weapons are all idiots!

They also exchanged for some first-tier formation inheritances.

Fortunately, he can learn any of the cultivation techniques and classics in the first level; otherwise, he would have had to spend several months accumulating contribution points.

However, this was enough to give him a headache.

Because he also found a few good talisman inheritances.

He has now reached a bottleneck in his first-tier talisman skills and needs to learn new talismans to continue improving his proficiency.

Since I'm going to study in seclusion anyway, I might as well learn a little more.

Effective immediately.

Chen Wen began his seclusion.

Every morning, I earn contribution points to buy various materials and learn weapon crafting.

In the afternoon, while studying formations and talismans, he discovered that there were subtle commonalities among the three: talismans, formations, and mystical inscriptions. Studying them together yielded twice the results with half the effort.

In the evenings, they practice magic and cultivate themselves.

He did this every day, day after day, and became completely absorbed in it.

That day, Liang Jiu suddenly replied to the message, "Brother Jingwen, I ventured deep into the Qingming Mountains a few days ago and have now returned. Would you like to catch up?"

.......