Cultivation Starting from Choosing Augments

Chapter 436: Chapter 206: Qi Blood Forms a Double Golden Core, Spirit Grass Bounty

For the next while, Xiao Chen stayed in his small courtyard, rotating through his various Cultivation Techniques.

He woke up at 5:00 AM every day and would first eat ten pounds of Sea Fish meat to line his stomach.

Then, he would practice the Sharp Light Cloud Sword for an hour before eating another ten pounds of Sea Fish meat.

Next, he would cultivate the All Things Rejuvenation Scripture for three straight hours. For lunch, he had White Jade Little Cyan Dragon with twenty pounds of Sea Fish meat, occasionally adding a small bowl of Rolling Ball Spirit Rice for variety.

In the afternoon, he would cultivate the Nine Transformations Dragon Technique for three hours straight, then eat twenty pounds of Sea Fish meat to replenish his energy.

Before bed, he would alternate between practicing the Mystic Sect’s Synchronization Secret Technique and the Mystic Sect Illusion Technique for an hour.

By the time he was finished, it was already Midnight. He would then eat another ten pounds of Sea Fish meat as a late-night snack.

Finally, he would take a short, two-hour nap to recuperate. For a Golden Core True Man, two hours was more than enough to restore his mental energy without any negative effects on his body.

However, after only a month and a half of this routine, Xiao Chen discovered that he had eaten all the Sea Fish meat he’d bought.

"Huh? Weren’t there thirty-seven hundred pounds?"

He rummaged through his Vast Sea Ring. ’Did I really eat it all that fast?’

Objectively speaking, Xiao Chen hadn’t actually eaten that much.

The main reason was his Augment. It accelerated his cultivation of the Nine Transformations Dragon Technique so much that his own Essence Qi couldn’t keep up.

In the Path of Body Refining, it was said that cultivation was seven parts training and three parts eating.

His training volume was immense, so his demand for food naturally rose with it.

’Let’s see... one pound of Sea Fish meat costs seven Spirit Stones. Seventy pounds a day... that’s four hundred ninety Spirit Stones.’

Xiao Chen took stock of his Vast Sea Ring. He currently had 1,150,000 Low Grade Spirit Stones and 8,700 Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

’At this rate, a million Spirit Stones will only last me about two thousand days, which is a little over five years.’

’Huh. In that case, it’s not really a big problem.’

Since he could afford it, Xiao Chen had no intention of cutting back.

He headed straight out to East City, planning to buy another batch of Sea Fish meat.

The inn was located in North City, and the route took him past the grand plaza.

There were far fewer Cultivators there today, but a small number were still gathered, chatting about this and that.

"Zhang, have you heard? The Three Great Clans of the Jingkong Sea are fighting the Golden Dawn Sect from Xilai Country."

"That news was all over the place the day before yesterday. I heard from a friend that they’re apparently fighting over ownership of a newly discovered Secret Realm."

"Ah, but that’s where you’re mistaken, Zhang. There’s no Secret Realm at all. That’s just an excuse."

"Oh? So there’s another story behind it? Li, you’ve always been well-informed. Tell me about it. We can grab a meal at the Fighting Crab Restaurant later."

"Heheheh, let me tell you. A month ago, those two sides were still working together to hunt for that guy Chen Xiao."

"You mean the Chen Xiao who suddenly had a million-stone bounty put on his head two years ago?"

"That’s the one! I heard the Golden Dawn Sect captured Chen Xiao but refused to hand him over, wanting to keep him for themselves. That’s what made the three Jingkong Sea clans make a move."

...

Arriving in East City, Xiao Chen found the situation was different from the Sea Spirit Festival.

Not only had the various colorful decorations not been taken down, but the streets were even more festooned with lanterns and streamers, in preparation for an even bigger celebration.

Compared to the annual Sea Spirit Festival, the Hundred Herbs Secret Realm, which only opened once every fifty years, was clearly far more important.

Nearly every shop had added one or two temporary display counters.

On them were either Spirit Herb Manuals or an array of tools needed for gathering Spirit Grass.

These were mainly special gloves for picking Spirit Grass and custom-made Jade Boxes for storing them.

Xiao Chen even went ahead and bought a copy of the One Thousand and One Common Spirit Grasses Atlas and the Complete Collection of 189 High-Tier Spirit Herbs.

The former documented the most common types of Spirit Grass in the Eastern Domain and only cost ten Spirit Stones, making it well worth a read.

The latter was even more impressive, having collected information on every Tier Three and Tier Four Spirit Grass that had ever appeared in the Hundred Herbs Secret Realm since its discovery.

Although it was priced at thirty Spirit Stones per copy, there was no shortage of buyers.

Almost every Cultivator entering the Secret Realm for the first time would choose to buy a copy and try their luck finding the Spirit Grasses listed inside.

’Come to think of it, have I ever even gathered Spirit Grass before?’

Xiao Chen suddenly realized he didn’t seem to have any Spirit Grass harvesting tools either.

So, he went straight to the shop’s manager and asked, "Excuse me, do you have any tools for harvesting Tier Four Spirit Grass?"

"Just bring out your best ones for me to see."

Hearing this, the manager immediately took out a custom-made set of Spiritual Artifacts. "Then you’ve certainly come to the right place!"

"Distinguished customer, please take a look. These are our White Dew Willow Gloves, woven from the branches of the Fuyang Willow and threads of White Dew Silk."

"They’ve been specially engraved with multiple inscriptions, such as Vibrant with Life, All Things Rejuvenation, and Harmonious... to ensure no harm comes to the Spirit Medicine."

"They also come with two Sealed Medicine Jade Boxes."

As he spoke, he handed over a Spirit Contract. "These Jade Boxes are a design personally created by City Lord Huo, guaranteed not to let even a wisp of Spiritual Qi escape."

That Spirit Contract was the proof of purchase, showing the shop had procured the Sealed Medicine Jade Boxes from the Artifact Refining Workshop under the City Lord’s Mansion.

"How much for the set?"

"As you know, distinguished customer, these are Spiritual Artifacts, so the cost isn’t low. Including this bottle of Spirit-Storing Dew, the total is one hundred twenty thousand Spirit Stones."

Spirit-Storing Dew itself was a Tier Three Spirit Medicine, mainly used to preserve the medicinal properties of Tier Four Spirit Grass and prevent them from dissipating.

One bottle could be used ten times.

"Give me another ten bottles of Spirit-Storing Dew, and twenty... er... thirty Sealed Medicine Jade Boxes."

Xiao Chen thought for a moment. ’I might not need so many right away, but what if?’

To be on the safe side, it was better to be overprepared.

"Thirty?"

The manager was stunned. "Customer, are you sure you want thirty Sealed Medicine Jade Boxes?"