Nine Low Grade Spirit Stones! This was a sum that almost all Spirit Plant Cultivators could not earn in a lifetime. Now, harboring this massive fortune, Chen Mo strolled along the bluestone avenue of the Ancient Dust Marketplace.

The Fragrance Pavilion? Since Song Yunxi wasn’t around, he naturally wouldn’t go. After pondering, he ultimately decided that the Wandering Bookstore was the best destination.

The Ancient Dust Marketplace was not large to begin with; walking from one end to the other took less time than it took an incense stick to burn. Soon, Chen Mo arrived inside the quaint and elegant shop.

Inside, the same white-haired, bearded elder sat at the counter, engrossed in an ancient book. It wasn’t until Chen Mo walked in that he slowly raised his head. He merely took a glance and gave a nod of acknowledgment before immersing himself in the ancient book once again.

This was not Chen Mo’s first time dealing with the elder. Aside from purchasing the Tier One Spiritual Array Outline, he had also bought the Spirit Plant Atlas and Travelogue of Wuchi Kingdom from Xue Chongwu. All in all, he had spent quite a bit of Spiritual Sand here.

Chen Mo stood at the counter, craning his neck to look at the bookshelves behind it. The vast majority of the books here were hand-copied editions; after all, the Cyan Yang Sect would never sell the original copies in a mere marketplace.

“Elder Xue, I would like to pick out a Cultivation Technique.”

Seeing him speak up, Xue Chongwu wasn’t annoyed by the interruption. Instead, he expressionlessly stood up, selected two books from the bookshelf behind him, and placed them on the table.

Chen Mo looked at the covers. One was the Clear Wind Technique written in small seal script, and the other was the Liu Yang Dao Skill with gold-stamped lettering. He knew the rules, so he didn’t flip them open to read, but he was still somewhat surprised to see these two. After a moment of thought, Chen Mo asked, “Are these Cultivation Techniques from the Twelve Techniques?”

Hearing this, the taciturn Xue Chongwu finally spoke up, asking with some surprise, “You know of the Twelve Techniques?”

Chen Mo nodded.

“Then do you know the prices?”

“I do. The most expensive ones, the Huai Mountain Qi Cultivation Technique and the Celestial Mist Technique, are both five Low Grade Spirit Stones.”

At this, the elder gave a soft chuckle. “That is merely the price for the Qi Cultivation Realm.”

“Huh?” Chen Mo was stunned. Five Low Grade Spirit Stones could only buy a Cultivation Technique for the Qi Cultivation Realm? He wondered if that meant he would have to buy another one after reaching Foundation Establishment. “May I ask, Elder Xue, how much would a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivation Technique cost?”

“A hundred times that!”

“Hiss!” Chen Mo gasped.

He hadn’t expected the Cyan Yang Sect to be so greedy! Cultivation Techniques that their disciples could learn for free were sold at such exorbitant prices to Loose Cultivators. Five Low Grade Spirit Stones was already enough to shatter the hopes of almost all Loose Cultivators, yet the Foundation Establishment Realm required a hundred times that amount! This completely cut off any chance of them ever forming a Golden Core. He had originally thought that nine Spirit Stones would be plenty, but it turned out to be nowhere near enough!

“Do you still want them?” Xue Chongwu reminded him, not showing any impatience.

“May I ask, Elder, which one is more suitable for me, the Huai Mountain Qi Cultivation Technique or the Celestial Mist Technique?” Chen Mo inquired respectfully. It was best to ask when in doubt. Although he had been in Cultivation for five or six years and reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, compared to the elder before him, he was at best a greenhorn who had barely glimpsed the Cultivation Realm. There were still many things he simply didn’t understand.

Normally, Xue Chongwu wouldn’t bother answering. After all, practically everyone who came here was looking for Magic. Cultivation Techniques, which were more expensive and didn’t yield immediate results, were rarely asked about. However, considering that Chen Mo had been brought here by Song Yunxi the first time, the elder gave him some face and explained, “The Mental Method of the Celestial Mist Technique is more vigorous; after Cultivating it, your rate of improvement will barely catch up to that of a Spirit Root method. The Huai Mountain Qi Cultivation Technique is a fragmented volume missing the techniques beyond the Golden Core, and its Cultivation speed is not very fast either. However, its advantage lies in its ability to prolong life.”

Prolong life?! Chen Mo’s eyes instantly lit up! What was he lacking the most right now? Lifespan! Lifespan was what he needed most! Even though he was at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, his total lifespan was only eighty-six years, and he was already thirty-three! In other words, even if he continued to break through realms, he probably only had seventy or eighty years left to live. By the time he reached his twilight years, even with all the Talent in the world, it would be too late to turn things around!

“Elder, I will take the Huai Mountain Qi Cultivation Technique!” Chen Mo didn’t hesitate. This was the Cultivation Technique he needed the most!

“Are you sure?” Xue Chongwu frowned slightly. “Almost every Immortal Sect has life-prolonging Cultivation Techniques; there’s nothing particularly special about them.”

“I’m sure!”

“I believe you must have heard the saying: ‘Without forming a Golden Core, one is but an ant for a lifetime,’ right?”

Chen Mo nodded.

“Since you are born an ant, what is the point of living so long?”

“Elder, in my opinion, only by staying alive is there hope!”

“Hope, is it?” Xue Chongwu tilted his head back and laughed.

Chen Mo watched him, clearly sensing an odd shift in the elder’s emotions, but he didn’t dare ask too much and simply waited quietly. After a long while, the other party finally spoke.

“Five Low Grade Spirit Stones.”

“Here!” Chen Mo took out the prepared Spirit Stones from his pocket and placed them on the counter.

After collecting them, Xue Chongwu pointed at Chen Mo’s palm and said, “A Storage Ring isn’t exactly a rare item. There is no need to keep it hidden.”

Chen Mo smiled awkwardly.

“Is there anything else you wish to buy? I don’t have the Harvesting Technique, nor do I have the Weeding Technique.”

“No, I don’t need those.” Every time Chen Mo came to the Wandering Bookstore, he would ask if there was Magic that could assist with harvesting, threshing, or hulling, but the elder’s answer was always a resounding no.

“Heh.” Perhaps because he had just earned five Low Grade Spirit Stones, Xue Chongwu was in a good mood. “It’s not that we don’t have them; it’s just that they won’t be sold to the likes of you.”

“Wh—” Chen Mo cut himself off before he could ask why, quickly realizing the reason.

“Elder, let me ask then, are there any types of Magic with special effects? Like Clones or Concealment?”

“Clones?” At this, Xue Chongwu was so exasperated by Chen Mo that he laughed.

“Do you not have them?”

“We do, but even setting aside whether you can afford them, could you even practice them if you bought them?”

“Are the requirements very high?”

“Golden Core.”

Xue Chongwu only said those two words, and Chen Mo instantly dispelled the thought. It seemed there was no hope for a Clone. The only hope left was Puppets.

“However, I do have Concealment Magic.” As he spoke, the elder took three more ancient books from the shelf and placed them on the table.

Familiar with the rules, Chen Mo only looked at the covers. They were the Cicada Concealment Technique, the Poison Relief Technique, and the Cloud Exploration Technique. Chen Mo took one look and marveled at the selection. They were all types of Magic perfectly suited for Tribulation Cultivators!

“Elder, how much are the Cicada Concealment Technique and the Poison Relief Technique?” The Cloud Exploration Technique probably wasn’t bad either, but he was surrounded by Spirit Plant Cultivators—who was even worth stealing from?

“The former is one Low Grade Spirit Stone, and the latter is twenty taels of Spiritual Sand.”

Chen Mo couldn’t help but frown. Why was the Cicada Concealment Technique so expensive? It actually cost a Spirit Stone!

“Well? Do you want it?”

“I’ll take it!” Chen Mo gritted his teeth. For the sake of better survival, he decided to buy it!

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