Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Purchasing Supplies and Cultivating

The Shopkeeper’s advice to hoard goods, combined with his hint about "rising prices," made the answer all but certain: prepare for war!

The Zhou Family was preparing for a conflict that would consume vast resources! Who was the opponent?

’A war is coming...’ The thought coiled around Lu Zhao’s heart like a cold snake. The old Shopkeeper wouldn’t have said that without reason. It was practically an explicit warning!

Lu Zhao shot to his feet. Facing the old Shopkeeper, he performed an exceptionally solemn bow, bending low at the waist. His voice carried an unprecedented sincerity. "Shopkeeper, I will engrave the memory of your guidance today in my heart! If I achieve anything in the future, I will never forget this!"

A look of complex gratification flashed in the old Shopkeeper’s cloudy eyes. He waved a hand. "Go on, now. Take care of yourself."

Lu Zhao said no more. He turned and left the Nine Abyss Pavilion with large, swift strides, his back radiating an unprecedented gravity and urgency.

The storm was brewing. He had to seize every moment to hoard all the resources he could and prepare for the potential chaos to come!

Walking down the still-bustling streets of the Marketplace, Lu Zhao’s mind was as calm as ice as he quickly took stock of his assets.

He mentally tallied his finances. After accounting for his income from the last sale of Puppets, materials, and Magical Artifacts, as well as his Salary and previous savings, he subtracted his major expenses: the Hundred Waters Magic Disc, the Water-Splitting Needle, the Heavy Water Bead, Pills, Talismans, and materials for the Ironwood Guard. After also factoring in the cost of miscellaneous items from the Small Cloud Platform Meeting, he had roughly three hundred and fifty Spirit Stones left in his Storage Bag.

This sum was a veritable fortune for a Mid-stage Qi Cultivation Wanderer, but in the face of soaring prices and a potentially chaotic future, it felt dreadfully inadequate.

His objective was clear, and he moved as fast as the wind.

Zhang Family’s Alchemy Room: He went straight to a Steward he knew and bought out their entire stock of Ice Jade Pills suitable for advancing a Mid-stage Qi Cultivation, a total of six bottles containing eighteen Pills, for fifty-four Spirit Stones.

Next, he bought ten bottles (one hundred pills) of Tier One Middle-Grade Vessel-Protecting Pills, spending another fifty Spirit Stones.

To prepare for a long seclusion or the possibility of being trapped, he gritted his teeth and bought twenty bottles (two hundred pills) of Fasting Pills, costing him forty Spirit Stones.

Finally, he restocked with three Spirit Recovery Pills and four Rejuvenation Pills for another fifteen Spirit Stones. On Pills alone, he had spent one hundred and fifty-nine Spirit Stones.

Fuyang Studio: Facing a potential conflict, offensive and life-saving Talismans were hard currency.

Lu Zhao no longer held back, specifically choosing high-quality Tier One High-Grade items. Five Golden Sword Talismans, five Blast Flame Talismans, three Water Escape Talismans, and—gritting his teeth—one extremely expensive Tier One High-Grade Ice Wall Talisman. The Talismans cost him a total of twenty-five Spirit Stones.

After buying the Pills and Talismans, he returned to the Nine Abyss Pavilion. Puppetry was the foundation of his survival; he couldn’t afford to run out of materials.

He once again cleared out the old Shopkeeper’s entire stock of materials suitable for crafting Ice Mouse Puppets—five Ice Condensing Stones—as well as all the Profound Iron Ingots and High-Grade Ironwood needed for the Ironwood Guard. He also restocked on various scrap materials for making Puppet Guards and basic components.

This batch of materials nearly exhausted the Nine Abyss Pavilion’s relevant inventory and cost him one hundred and forty Spirit Stones.

Finally, he made a trip to the Market North District to find Wang Yun. Unfortunately, only Chen Fang was home. He had no choice but to leave her thirty Spirit Stones to help him purchase Sparrow Corpses, and he also reminded Chen Fang to be careful and buy more Pills and Talismans if she had the Spirit Stones.

Just like that, three hundred and fifty-four Spirit Stones flowed away like water. His Storage Bag was heavy once more, yet also "empty"—it was stuffed with Pills, Talismans, and Spiritual Materials, but only a dozen or so Spirit Stones remained.

The sun was setting in the west by the time he left the Marketplace. Lu Zhao took one last look back at the Zhou Family Marketplace, which seemed even more boisterous in the twilight glow. His heart felt not a shred of attachment, only a heavy sense of urgency.

He activated his Profound Water Turtle Shell Shield, a silent, deep-blue water curtain swirling around him. The Puppet Guard in his sleeve stood alert, and the Flowing Cloud Sparrow silently ascended overhead, taking in a bird’s-eye view of the road home.

He no longer took the long way around, instead choosing a more direct shortcut that passed through a small, barren ridge. His figure, like a gray shadow melting into the dusk, sped toward Cyan Rattan Stream.

Half a day later, Lu Zhao returned to Cyan Rattan Stream. The damp, chilly stream somehow gave him a feeling of coming home.

Sitting in the stone chamber and gazing at the earthy-yellow Spirit Light of the Earth Vein Mysterious Turtle Array gave him a rare sense of peace.

Water vapor filled the Cyan Rattan Grotto Stone Chamber. Lu Zhao sat on his meditation cushion, the pale blue Spirit Light of the Little Spirit Rain Technique flowing ceaselessly as he drew the valley’s Water Spirit Qi into his meridians. In his Dantian, five streams of pale blue True Qi coiled like Ice Flood Dragons.

He took out an Ice Jade Pill. Its surface was covered in a web of icy, crack-like Pill Patterns, wreathed in a frosty white Cold Qi. The Pill melted the moment it entered his mouth, and a pure, cold current instantly exploded outward, rampaging through his limbs and torso.

He pushed his Cultivation Technique to its limits. The five streams of True Qi frantically devoured the Spiritual Power, their rotational speed increasing dramatically.

Spirit Light flared where the Magical Power collided, and a faint cracking sound came from his bottleneck. Lu Zhao focused his Heart Spirit, enduring the stinging pain from the Medicinal Power’s assault as he guided the vast energy to become his own Spiritual Power.

Two and a half hours later, Lu Zhao slapped his Storage Bag, took out another pill, and swallowed it.

After another two and a half hours of cultivation, Lu Zhao opened his tightly shut eyes and let out a long breath.

First cultivating with an Ice Jade Pill, then taking a Vessel-Protecting Pill to extend the cultivation session—this was a method Lu Zhao had slowly figured out over the years to maximize the effects of the Pills.

’If I could take one Ice Jade Pill and one Vessel-Protecting Pill every five days, I could probably break through to the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer in just a year.’

Lu Zhao found the thought amusing. If he really cultivated like that, his annual Spirit Stone earnings would barely cover the cost of the Pills.

In that case, he could forget about making any progress in Puppetry.

’Still, it’s time to increase my monthly pill regimen. I’ll use three Ice Jade Pills and three Vessel-Protecting Pills per month.’ This was the decision Lu Zhao made after considering the Pills he had on hand and his current cultivation progress.

The Pills he had, combined with the ones the Zhou Family provided monthly, would last him for more than a year. By then, even if he hadn’t reached the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer, he would be close.

As for any Spirit Stones he earned from now on, he planned to invest them all into Puppetry to prepare for his push to become a Tier One Middle-Grade Puppet Master.

With war imminent, he had to go all out to become a Tier One Middle-Grade Puppet Master and increase his strength.

As for leaving the Zhou Family, he wouldn’t consider it for now. At present, no other place could support his cultivation as well as the Zhou Family. Besides, a Wanderer’s life was much the same everywhere in the Cultivation Realm, and the Zhou Family already treated him quite well.

「While Lu Zhao was focused on his cultivation and pondering how to improve his Puppetry, an argument was breaking out within the Zhao Family in Celestial County, to the northwest of Changfeng County.」

Celestial County lay to the northwest of Changfeng County, with the northern slopes of the Celestial Cloud Mountain Range serving as the border between the two counties.

The Zhao Family was the strongest Foundation Establishment Clan in Celestial County.

Atop the Zhao Family’s Tier Two Spirit Vein in the southeastern part of Celestial County, within an elegant pavilion, a matter concerning the family’s fate was being discussed.

A middle-aged man with a nose as high as a mountain ridge, lips pressed into a line as if forged from iron, and a three-inch, blue-black goatee on his chin spoke to another man in the host’s seat to his left:

"Fourth Brother, I disagree. The Zhou Family is significantly stronger than our Zhao Family. We cannot make a move against them."

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