Futile Devices Scans

Just taking inventory of the belongings Du Qianshan had left behind took Xia Yunzhao quite a while:

One thousand four hundred and eighty spirit pearls.

Four hundred and fifty spirit plants of various kinds. Every one Xia Yunzhao recognized was Level One; there was not a single lowest-level plant among them. As for the ones he did not recognize, that remained to be seen.

Three hundred and twenty-one pieces of ore, including both Black Iron Ore and Azure Steel Ore, along with several other types Xia Yunzhao did not recognize either.

Five slaughter-beast hides, one of which came from a Blackwind Hound, a beast he had seen before.

There were also five small porcelain bottles. Three contained pills or medicinal powder, while the other two held blood-like liquids.

In addition, there were three books. One was prominently titled Compendium of Liancui Mountain Spirit Items. Another contained Du Qianshan’s own cultivation notes. As for the last one… Xia Yunzhao sat up straight. It was the Du Family Cultivation Method!

But when he opened it, he was disappointed again. The first page read: This cultivation method may only be practiced by descendants of the Du family bloodline. Those who disregard this warning risk suffering qi deviation.

He had no idea whether that was true or merely written to scare people, but better safe than sorry. He put the cultivation method away.

Besides, the resources he currently had on hand were worth at least five thousand spirit pearls. Even if he could not afford the Spirit Gathering Art, buying the Qi Refining Art would be more than easy.

Xia Yunzhao sighed once again over just how expensive cultivation was. Even one low-level cultivation method was enough to wipe out his savings several times over.

Apart from all that, there were two things Senior Du Qianshan had carried personally. One was a treasured sword, unfortunately broken into three pieces; only at the broken edges could a very faint radiance still be seen. The other was a tiny amber-like object about the size of a jujube pit, clutched tightly in the skeleton’s hand.

The moment Xiao Qing saw the broken sword, it immediately began hopping.

Xia Yunzhao was shocked all over again. “No way. You can eat this too?”

Clang.

Xia Yunzhao thought for a moment. “Can you eat anything that contains spiritual energy? And the more spiritual energy it contains, the more you want to eat it?”

Clang-clang.

Xia Yunzhao suddenly understood. “Then doesn’t that mean you can eat spirit pearls too… Ahem. Never mind. We’ll talk about that when we get home.”

He gathered everything together and placed it inside the storage pouch.

That storage pouch had truly been worth buying. Without it, he might not even have been able to carry today’s haul home. Even if he could have made several trips, he would have been afraid of people in the camp seeing what he had and attracting another group like the three Bao brothers.

He returned by the same route and simply activated the Lightness Technique for practice along the way. The trip here had taken two hours, yet the return journey took less than one. When he reached the camp, the sun was still hanging high in the sky.

The buyers had already arrived early to wait for returning treasure hunters. The moment they saw him, they swarmed over.

Kang Xinghuai approached with a broad smile. “Did Little Brother Xia strike it rich today?”

Xia Yunzhao grinned and slung an arm around his shoulders. “Boss Kang has sharp eyes! Come on, come on. Let’s go talk business!”

He carried a small bundle of spirit herbs and several pieces of ore in his hands, leaving the other buyers to watch enviously as that hateful Old Kang led him away. Several nosy onlookers even craned their necks, wanting to know how much good stuff the boy had found when he had returned so early.

Xia Yunzhao set down the spirit herbs and ore. Kang Xinghuai examined them carefully, and his smile immediately widened. “Eighteen Level-One spirit herbs, three pieces of Level-One ore, and seven pieces of lowest-level ore. Three hundred and seventy-five spirit pearls in total. Does that work for you?”

Sharp intakes of breath immediately sounded around them.

Xia Yunzhao smiled happily on the outside. “Of course. Boss Kang always does fair business.” Inside, however, he warned himself, I still brought out too much. Next time, I need to keep the sale under a hundred spirit pearls. More than three hundred… that attracts too much attention.

Kang Xinghuai immediately counted out the spirit pearls and handed them over. “Little Brother Xia really has ability. If you have another big deal in the future, don’t forget about me!”

Xia Yunzhao laughed it off. “We’ll see. Luck like this doesn’t come every day. The day spirit pearls start raining from the sky, that’ll be a good day for both of us!”

Kang Xinghuai understood better than anyone that treasure hunters depended on luck, but he was a businessman, so naturally he chose the pleasant things to say and showered Xia Yunzhao with a few more compliments.

Xia Yunzhao looked perfectly composed, but in reality, he practically ran home in long strides.

The moment he shut the door, he immediately pulled Xiao Qing out and placed it on the table.

He emptied the entire storage pouch and spread everything out. “Can you eat spirit pearls? What about pills? Magical artifacts? Ore?”

Xiao Qing bobbed and hopped happily from side to side, delighted beyond measure and apparently convinced that Xia Yunzhao was about to let it eat its fill.

Xia Yunzhao slowly exhaled. So I really did end up raising a bottomless pit!

As Xiao Qing trembled in shock, he gathered everything back up again and left out only a handful of spirit pearls. Then, with extreme care, he fed it… one.

Xiao Qing: …

Fine. One was better than nothing. Food was food!

After swallowing it, there was no reaction whatsoever, like a single drop of water falling into a basin. The progress bar did not even appear.

Suppressing the ache in his heart, Xia Yunzhao continued feeding it spirit pearls… Only after more than ten had gone in did the progress bar finally pop up and rise by the tiniest sliver.

Xia Yunzhao said, “Did your progress bar get longer? Before, one basket of Lingwei Grass was enough to fill an entire bar.”

No. The length of the progress bar had not changed, but the amount of spiritual power required to fill one bar had increased.

Remembering how Xiao Qing had seemed to sleep for two days after swallowing the crystal shard last time, Xia Yunzhao wondered, Did it evolve?

He fed it another ten spirit pearls. Watching how far the bar rose, he got a rough sense of the amount. At present, filling one progress bar seemed to require around three hundred spirit pearls.

Three hundred… Then what exactly was that crystal? How could one tiny fragment contain as much spiritual energy as three hundred spirit pearls?

A thought suddenly struck him. Could that have been one of the legendary spirit stones?

If it really was a spirit stone, they were probably exceedingly rare. Du Qianshan had carried more than a thousand spirit pearls, yet he had not possessed even one whole spirit stone, only a single fragment.

Xia Yunzhao took out the broken sword. “Come on. We can’t afford spirit stones, so chew on a magical treasure to sharpen your teeth instead.”

Sure enough, Xiao Qing swallowed it in one bite, and the progress bar immediately shot upward, filling one entire bar before surging into another… Unfortunately, the second bar did not fill completely and stopped at around four-fifths.

Xia Yunzhao waited to see what he would draw this time.

Instead, Xiao Qing swayed in place as though suffering indigestion. Its three bronze feet trembled faintly, its lid opening and closing… Then it suddenly flung itself wide open and spat out a storm of paper with a poof!

Before Xia Yunzhao could react, a huge information box had already appeared in front of him: 【Yellow-Grade Cultivation Method: Qi-Guiding Origin-Connecting Art!】

A cultivation method!

He had actually drawn a cultivation method this time?

He immediately examined the description carefully: 【…A very basic cultivation method, balanced and gentle, suitable for cultivators who have only just begun. It can prolong life, strengthen the foundation, and nourish the origin. What? You’re asking why a beginner’s cultivation method already talks about prolonging life? Don’t tell me you’re planning to become an immortal with this thing. If you can cultivate all the way to the Golden Core stage, consider yourself talented, all right?!】

Xia Yunzhao expertly skipped over the poisonous remarks at the end and looked only at the first few lines: basic, balanced and gentle, strengthens the foundation and nourishes the origin… In other words, this was an extremely mild cultivation method that was unlikely to cause problems even if he practiced it without much guidance.

That suited him perfectly. He had no master, and there was not even a cultivator nearby who could properly guide him. A gentle, stable cultivation method like this was exactly what he needed!

His smile instantly became that of a little fox. “So Xiao Qing knows how to care about its master now. Here, have some grass.”

Xiao Qing: …

It bit down on the Dew-Condensing Grass he offered and began chewing in enormous mouthfuls.

Just then, the sound of an argument suddenly came from outside.

Xia Yunzhao normally ignored other people’s disputes. One of the most important principles for treasure hunters who wanted to stay alive was to mind their own business.

But the argument was happening far too close to his home. To avoid being dragged into trouble, he opened the door a crack and looked outside.

The people arguing were a man and a woman. Xia Yunzhao even recognized the woman: she was the same woman who had sold him firewood before. Her carrying pole and bundles of firewood had fallen to one side, while she clutched a man’s sleeve and begged desperately, “Please give it back to me. Just let me keep it as a remembrance…”

The man was tall and thickset, easily three times her bulk. He snapped impatiently, “I already said no! Are you ever going to stop pestering me? Let go! If you don’t, I’ll hit you!”

As he spoke, he actually raised his fist to strike her!

This is bad. Xia Yunzhao quickly opened the door and called loudly, “Hey! Firewood seller, why haven’t you delivered my firewood yet? And you, what are you doing, hitting people inside the camp? Aren’t you afraid the Fang family and the others will come after you?”

The man awkwardly lowered his fist. “I’ll spare you for now. Keep pestering me, and you’d better watch yourself once you leave the camp!”

With that, he swaggered away.

The woman covered her mouth as a sob escaped, then hurriedly wiped away her tears, straightened the firewood on her carrying pole, and brought it over.

Xia Yunzhao first looked toward her back. The baby was still there, still as skinny as a little monkey. The child seemed to have been frightened into tears but did not dare cry aloud, only sniffling as tears streamed down its face. It was pitiful to look at.

The woman bowed slightly. “How much firewood would the guest like?”

“No rush.” Xia Yunzhao handed her a handkerchief. “You’re usually so cautious. How did you end up provoking someone like that?”

The moment he asked, the woman nearly cried again. After taking a moment to steady her breathing, she said, “He had my husband’s money pouch hanging from his waist. My husband disappeared in the mountain several months ago. I know he isn’t coming back, but when I saw the pouch, I wanted to keep it as a remembrance. I offered that man five spirit pearls to buy it back, but he refused and demanded fifty. There was nothing I could do…”

Xia Yunzhao thought back. The man really had been wearing an old money pouch made of ordinary cotton cloth. Forget fifty spirit pearls; even five was already an absurdly high price.

He comforted her. “Don’t force the issue. Your own safety is more important.”

The woman nodded and thanked him. Then she raised her head and saw the large pile of firewood stacked in the corner, barely touched since her last delivery. Only then did she realize Xia Yunzhao had intervened simply to help her escape. She bowed again and thanked him once more. “Next time you run short of firewood, tell me. I’ll cut it for you. I won’t charge you anything.”

Her life was already difficult enough. How could Xia Yunzhao possibly take things from her for free? He merely waved his hand, then added, “If things really become impossible here, you should go into the city. Qingxi City is fairly stable. Find some work and raise your child properly.”

The woman hurriedly replied, “I asked around before, but rent in the city isn’t cheap either. I want to save a little more money before I go.” She was still holding the handkerchief Xia Yunzhao had given her to wipe her face and said she would wash it before returning it, then continued on her way to sell firewood.

Once someone else’s trouble had passed, Xia Yunzhao let it go as well. He took out the Qi-Guiding Origin-Connecting Art again. He had waited and hoped for a cultivation method for so long that now he finally had one, he naturally needed to practice it properly.

When all was said and done, external objects were still only external objects. His own strength was the true foundation.

He read through the entire cultivation method once, then smoothly settled into the five-centers-facing-heaven posture and began cultivating.