Chapter 4: One Thousand Percent!

Su Ping has broken through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

He did nothing at all; he simply slept.

Upon waking, he was already at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, officially stepping into the mid-stage of Qi Refining!

Su Ping was not surprised by this; he had long been accumulating strength, and he was only one step away from the fourth layer.

With the help of the Purification Spirit Medicine, he had cleansed his dantian of toxins and repaired the hidden ailments in his body.

Advancing was naturally a matter of course! After facing the morning sun to meditate for a while and familiarizing himself with the Qi Refining Fourth Layer realm he had craved for twenty years.

Su Ping took out the Storage Bag he carried with him.

This Storage Bag, the size of an ordinary person's fist, was refined from the fur of a Demon Beast known as a Void Mouse; despite the fist-sized exterior, the interior was one cubic meter in size and could store over a thousand kilograms of heavy objects without making the carrier feel any discomfort.

It is truly an essential item for the vast number of Cultivators who cannot afford genuine spatial storage.

It is also thanks to an Elder of the Chiyuan Immortal Sect who solved the problem of large-scale breeding of Void Mice five hundred years ago, which drove the value of Storage Bags straight to the bottom.

This allowed Outer Sect Disciples like Su Ping to save up and buy one.

Su Ping took a map out of the bag.

He quickly found the most suitable Market for Cultivators around Jinque City—Nine Leaves Market!

Nine Leaves Market is located at Nine Leaves Mountain, three hundred kilometers away from Jinque City, and is a semi-official Market.

The managers of the Market come from the Nine Leaves Yun Family, a Foundation Establishment family that is affiliated with the Immortal Sect.

This Yun Family once produced an Elder for the Immortal Sect.

Even now, there are several clansmen who are Inner Sect Disciples or Deacons of the Immortal Sect.

Furthermore, as this Nine Leaves Market is of a lower grade, its target clientele is mainly Cultivators like Su Ping who have voluntarily descended to the mortal world, as well as those Loose Cultivators who failed to enter an Immortal Sect but obtained a legacy for various reasons.

Most of these Loose Cultivators possess pseudo-spirit roots that are not even Lower Grade Spiritual Roots, with a very small minority being lucky ones who missed the Ascension Meeting or obtained an opportunity to improve their own Spirit Roots.

Poverty and misfortune are their greatest characteristics.

Consequently, they do not constitute a major conflict of interest with the official Markets.

As the behemoth on this land, the Chiyuan Immortal Sect has therefore tacitly accepted this.

A hundred-plus kilometers is not considered very far for Su Ping, who is at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

After eating the millet porridge carefully prepared by a maidservant, he set off, and before noon, Su Ping saw Nine Leaves Mountain amidst the clouds and mist.

Looking at the mist before him, the benefits of being a member of an Immortal Sect became apparent at this moment.

Even though he was just an unpromising Outer Sect Disciple, Su Ping raised his identity token after entering the mist.

The mist immediately receded, revealing a path leading to Nine Leaves Mountain.

Following the path, as he approached the summit, Su Ping entered the perimeter of the Market and felt the Spirit Qi that made his body and mind feel pleasant.

Following that, the surrounding mist dissipated completely.

Nine Leaves Market, surrounded by dozens of acres of Spirit Fields, then fell into Su Ping's view.

This Nine Leaves Mountain possesses a First Tier Low Grade Spirit Vein, and the Market, Spirit Fields, and the surrounding mist Dharma Array are all built in reliance upon it.

Su Ping briefly reported his background at the entrance and was allowed to enter Nine Leaves Market.

Then, Su Ping discovered that he, at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, had unexpectedly become a great expert in the Market!

Looking around, the pedestrians or peddlers were mostly dressed as swordsmen or scholars.

Each one had an extraordinary appearance, at least possessing one-fifth of his own charm.

Upon closer inspection, however, they were mostly Loose Cultivators at the Qi Refining First Layer with weak foundations.

Occasionally, there would be one or two at the Qi Refining Second Layer, which were rare and precious existences.

There is no help for it; even if those with pseudo-spirit roots work hard to enter Qi Refining, they are limited to the first or second layers.

Without some opportunity, it is almost impossible to enter the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

Su Ping looked at those setting up stalls and found that they were mostly selling mortal items.

He did not intend to waste time and went straight to the most conspicuous Yunbao Pavilion, which was operated by the Yun Family itself.

Upon arriving here, Su Ping finally saw a Cultivator of the same level as himself—a white-haired, senile guardian of this place. With just one glance, Su Ping could determine that this old Cultivator's mindset was not much different from his own a month ago.

It was just that he had chosen to be an Inspector of a mortal city.

And this one, perhaps a family Cultivator, had chosen to come here to serve the family and exert his remaining energy.

The old Cultivator saw Su Ping, and after a moment of astonishment, he mistook Su Ping for a normal Immortal Sect disciple who had come down the mountain for training.

There is no help for it; although Su Ping's appearance looked a bit mature, after being cleansed by the Purification Spirit Medicine, he now gave people a gentle and pure feeling, and his age appeared to be at a stage that, in the Cultivation World, was still one where one could strive for more.

It was hard for people to believe he would be a mortal Inspector who had cut off his own future.

Consequently, the old Cultivator was quite enthusiastic toward Su Ping; not only did he take the initiative to welcome him, but he also shouted to his attendants:

"We have an honored guest!"

"Why haven't you served tea yet? Serve good tea!"

After resting for a while, the old Cultivator introduced the treasures of Yunbao Pavilion to Su Ping.

Calling them treasures, they were actually mostly a few Dharma Artifacts or Talismans that could be used by those in the early stage of Qi Refining.

The Peiyuan Pill, which Su Ping had also taken, was also considered a treasure in this Yunbao Pavilion.

"Shopkeeper, I wonder how you sell your Waste Pills here?"

Su Ping scanned these treasures, which were priced twenty percent higher than the normal market, and asked.

"Waste Pills?"

The old Cultivator glanced at Su Ping, feeling a bit disappointed in his heart, yet he maintained his enthusiasm on his face:

"Daoist, how many Waste Pills are you planning to buy?"

"We mainly have two types here: Peiyuan Pill Waste Pills and Blood Qi Pill Waste Pills."

"Blood Qi Waste Pills can allow martial artists to rapidly improve their cultivation and reach the realm of a Grandmaster."

"Although this Foundation-Cultivating Waste Pill doesn't have such a great effect on martial artists, its advantage lies in its mild medicinal properties; besides increasing a martial artist's cultivation, it can also be used by mortals to strengthen their bodies... of course, one must not eat too many!"

"Pill toxins only hinder the cultivation and breakthroughs of us Cultivators, but they can take the lives of those mortals."

"Additionally..."

Perhaps seeing that Su Ping was a novice who hadn't had much contact with the mortal world, and also to sell more Spirit Stones, the old Cultivator continued to remind him:

"Foundation-Cultivating Waste Pills can also be used to feed those mortal beasts full of spirituality."

"My Yun Family has steed Spirit Beasts that were obtained by feeding Waste Pills to the horses."

"Once they become a Spirit Beast, let alone a steed, even a Spirit Fish can be sold for quite a few Spirit Stones!"

Su Ping's heart stirred upon hearing this; he naturally wouldn't believe these sales tactics, but he realized the key point within them.

On the surface, however, Su Ping shook his head: "It sounds beautiful, but what is the success rate?"

"And I believe that even if one finds a mortal beast full of spirituality, feeding it Waste Pills would likely not result in it becoming a Spirit Beast, right?"

"Furthermore, just like mortals, these mortal beasts also accumulate pill toxins and cannot eat too many Waste Pills, right?"

The old Cultivator did not refute this upon hearing it, nodding his head as he said:

"It is indeed as you say, Daoist, but it ultimately gives this Waste Pill one more use."

"If you truly have a mortal beast with spirituality, Daoist, you can try it out; even if it doesn't succeed, such a mortal beast that has eaten Waste Pills can be used by mortal families to guard their homes, and it wouldn't be any worse than those ordinary martial artists, plus they are more loyal."

Su Ping pretended to be swayed and nodded slightly.

In his heart, however, he thought of the Purification Spirit Medicine from the Fishing Mall.

Relying on this Purification Spirit Medicine, which is neither cultivation-based nor scientific, and pairing it with Life Spirit Medicine, which wouldn't have poor effects, to forcibly sustain life.

As long as the mortal beast doesn't die from eating, it can eat until it drops.

The success rate of him cultivating mortal beasts into Spirit Beasts...

Can only be!

One thousand percent! (End of chapter)