Chapter 129: The Marvel of the Nether Yin

One point about the Five Elements Yin Demon Art that Chen Ci finds most satisfying is that, just like practicing the Three Yin Qi-Eating Method, it is best practiced around the Zi hour at night, inheriting the fine tradition of staying up late to cultivate immortality.

The practice of Qi-eating also emphasizes favorable timing, geographical advantages, and human harmony.

However, if a cultivator has no foundation and no one to provide for them, and if the cultivation method they practice requires an unsuitable time for training, then they are in for a rough time; for instance, if one were to eat Qi during the few hours around the Wu hour, the employer of any job they might have likely wouldn't be happy to hire them.

"Staying up late to cultivate immortality is great; one day can be used as two, and it doesn't hinder earning money during the day."

Chen Ci sighed a little; it had been over a month since he moved into Qingyun Workshop, and during this time, that cheap Lin Shixiong hadn't sent any word, likely eating and drinking well and improving his cultivation in Changsheng Fang, leaving him alone outside to exhaust his savings, and their bond had suddenly grown distant.

Fortunately, he also had some savings, and with cultivation resources supplied openly, Chen Ci had been advancing courageously and had gained quite a lot.

Five Elements Yin Demon Art: 33 (43)/100

Five Ghosts Transportation Method: Great Success/36/100

It was just that the silver expenditure was severe; in just over a month, he had spent nearly one hundred and fifty Spirit Pearls, causing his net worth to shrink by a third, which pained him greatly.

Aside from practicing the Five Elements Yin Demon Art and nourishing the Nether Yin True Qi, which consumed many Spirit Pearls, what surprised Chen Ci was that aged human bones had become the biggest expense this month; unlike in Xishan Prefecture, where there were not many practitioners who used corpses for their methods, and no rogue cultivators dared to snatch such things from He Mountain Sect disciples, his cost for obtaining corpses through legitimate means was not too high.

But it was different in Liangjiang Sea Market; things like aged corpses were secretly the 'cargo' of certain firms, which could be exported to certain sects overseas, and this daily supply of two hundred catties of aged human bones for cultivation cost several hundred taels of silver to obtain; over a month, it was much more expensive than Essence Refining, and even Chen Ci found it hard to bear.

Having no choice, Chen Ci could only switch to choosing one hundred catties of human bones and one hundred catties of animal bones, the former used for refining tools and the latter for practicing methods; the Sea Market was near the sea, and after so many years, the stock of sea beast bones was quite large, which was truly cheap.

As for why the White Bone Heart-Lock Hammer preferred human bones over animal bones despite both being white bones, Chen Ci could only attribute it to the 'spirituality' that settles in a living being after death.

"At most one month, the Five Elements Yin Demon Art will have no room for further progress; wanting to rely on resources to force the Nether Yin True Qi cultivation is too unreliable, otherwise there wouldn't be no one in the He Mountain Sect who has mastered this Superior Grade Qi Refining Method."

Chen Ci touched his chin; if he wanted to rely solely on external forces, it would take one hundred and twenty catties of Five Elements Divine Sand to open one aperture, and just to cultivate to the Hundred Apertures, it would take seven thousand catties of Five Elements Divine Sand, equivalent to seven hundred thousand taels of gold.

Not to mention reaching the Perfected state of Qi Refining; he didn't have a Palm Heaven Bottle, so no matter how one defined going out to sea, it was impossible to earn enough silver and resources for cultivation in his lifetime.

"And the Five Ghosts Transportation Method can also reach Great Success and be Perfected around the New Year; it is time for me to find a way to open up new sources of income, and I still need to inquire about Force Path techniques."

Chen Ci stood up and left the quiet room.

Since Lin Qinhu could give advice and had served as a Tripod-Supporting Warrior on a Treasure Ship, he must have practiced Force Path methods, and his cultivation was likely not shallow; but since he hadn't said much more to Chen Ci, the hope of getting all the cultivation knowledge of Force Path methods from Lin Laohu without paying a heavy price was likely slim.

In the final analysis, setting aside their shared sect interests, the two weren't actually that close; one provided money, the other provided labor, and that was all.

In the backyard, He Cheng had already delivered today's cultivation supplies; over this past month, Chen Ci had been quite satisfied with this errand-runner from Wanshi Workshop, as he worked diligently, and the quality of the flesh and corpses he delivered was always excellent, with prices not much higher than the market rate, which saved him a lot of effort.

"Master Chen, I will deliver the items to the side room for you as usual."

He Cheng's service attitude was impeccable, and he didn't even dare to take any kickbacks; mainly because there wasn't much to do, and he could earn quite a bit just from commissions.

Moreover, he couldn't afford to be careless; he had originally thought this Master Chen was a high-level cultivator who had attained the Dao, but it turned out that what he needed every day was either flesh or corpses, and he didn't want to mysteriously disappear one day and become part of the cargo on the cart.

"Mm."

Chen Ci nodded in agreement: "By the way, deliver an extra thousand catties of fresh flesh and a thousand catties of high-quality refined rice for me tomorrow."

"Understood, Master Chen."

He Cheng kept this in mind and was about to turn and leave, but was stopped by Chen Ci: "There are no other requirements for these thousand catties of flesh, just fresh, stable, and cheap, do you understand?"

"Yes!"

He Cheng cupped his hands in agreement and respectfully backed out, though a thought flashed through his mind.

This Master Chen was clearly a hard cultivator, staying at home every day without going to work or going to the market to have fun, yet the supplies passing through his hands in a month totaled nearly twenty thousand taels of silver; such spending was rare even among cultivators, at least in Qingyun Workshop.

Such a person should theoretically live in a high-end district like Fugui Fang, but now he was in Qingyun Workshop, and today he even emphasized that the thousand catties of flesh needed to be cheap, so his finances were likely tight.

Spending money like water and being tight on cash were not contradictory.

He Cheng worked as an errand-runner at Wanshi Workshop, making his living from information, brokerage, and service; he could earn money by working for Chen Ci, earn money by introducing jobs to Chen Ci, and earn money by finding suitable people for other customers.

"I should keep an eye on what methods this Master Chen has; among those immortal-cultivating masters, those who can spend lavishly are all engaged in work related to pills, talismans, tools, or arrays. I haven't seen a fire room in the house, so it's likely related to talismans or arrays; I can check if there are any related jobs in the workshop."

Thinking of this, a flash of envy crossed He Cheng's heart; he worked from dawn to dusk every day, and it was hard for him to earn even a hundred taels of silver, and usually, a base salary was the norm; as for a life of spending ten thousand taels of silver a month, he didn't even dare to imagine it.

All things are inferior, only cultivating immortality is high.

Although he still had a small chance to step onto the path of the Dao in this life, it didn't mean much anymore; it was better to save more silver and give his descendants a better starting point, which was the right thing to do.

"Eh?"

Chen Ci looked at the two egg-sized lumps of 'Snow-Refining Red' in his hand, a trace of surprise flashing across his face.

The thousand catties of fresh flesh delivered this morning still had over a hundred catties left unused; he had thought that because he hadn't practiced this Peiyuan Dharma Incantation for a long time, his hands would be a bit rusty, but after casting the spell only nine times, he had actually successfully extracted two lumps of flesh essence, which inexplicably made him feel a bit flattered.

Could this Qingyun Workshop really be a blessed land?

Chen Ci carefully put the 'Snow-Refining Red' into a bottle and pondered for a moment.

The technique hadn't changed; it was still the original Peiyuan Method.

The flesh hadn't changed; although it was sea fish, it was still a common item and not very valuable.

The only thing that had changed seemed to be the quality of the True Qi in his body.

Chen Ci subconsciously clicked on the panel and fixed his gaze on the line for the Peiyuan Dharma Incantation, staring at it for a while.

Peiyuan Dharma Incantation: Entry/7/100 (Nourishing the foundation and body, two out of ten succeed, after a hundred successful incantations, one can advance)

If he remembered correctly, the success rate of this Peiyuan Dharma Incantation should have been 'one out of ten'; although the level was still 'Entry' and hadn't changed, the success rate had actually doubled.

Chen Ci's heart stirred, and the Five Little Ones carried a bag of refined rice to his side.

"Drug-Ingesting Dharma Incantation, rise!"

Chen Ci circulated the Nether Yin True Qi, and the refined rice in the bag rose under the effect of the Drug-Ingesting Dharma, turning into grain essence, but he didn't look at the essence in his hand, his gaze still fixed on the panel.

Drug-Ingesting Dharma Incantation: Entry/49/100 (Grain essence, two out of ten succeed, after a hundred successful incantations, one can advance)

Sure enough, after the spell was cast successfully, the detailed explanation of the Dao method after the Drug-Ingesting Dharma Incantation also slowly changed, from 'one out of ten' to 'two out of ten'.

Did the Nether Yin True Qi actually have such benefits?

But then again, the quality of the True Qi he practiced had improved from the lower-middle of Three Yin True Qi to the upper-upper of Nether Yin True Qi, an improvement in quality of more than two times; naturally, there would be a corresponding improvement in the application of various incantations, otherwise why would there be a distinction between high and low True Qi?

"I didn't expect that while I couldn't break through in pill methods, I could double the pill success rate; this is truly an unexpected joy, and it is only right that my longevity is in sight!"

Chen Ci stood up and paced around the quiet room a few times before suppressing the excitement in his heart.

Although the increase in the success rate of the Dharma Incantation was a surprise, in his view, what was more important was that it could also double his cultivation efficiency; in the long run, this was the greatest gain!

"No wonder people in the world all seek marvelous methods; for a cultivator, this kind of improvement is all-encompassing."

Chen Ci exhaled a breath of turbid air: "Not to mention Bigu Pills and Health-Preserving Pills, I fear the Yellow Sprout Pills will also see a corresponding improvement, and with the Soul Fixing Talisman, even if Lin Qinhu cannot settle the matter of Xishan Prefecture and I cannot return to Sanyin Temple, I will still be able to gain a firm foothold in the Liangjiang Sea Market. That's right!"

After glancing a few times at the essence in his hand, Chen Ci suddenly remembered that this Health-Preserving Pill was originally a beggar-version product; the original version should be called 'Foundation-Cultivating Body-Nourishing Pill', but because the yield of 'Snow-Refining Red' was too low before and it could not fetch a good price in Xishan Prefecture, there was no choice but to concoct this 'Health-Preserving Pill' together with the essence of five grains.

Looking at it now, this 'Foundation-Cultivating Body-Nourishing Pill' also has great potential.

Chen Ci hammered his palm and chuckled.

One portion of flesh and blood essence is divided into twelve Health-Preserving Pills, and it is already enough to make others eat and praise it endlessly.

Now that it is refined into the complete version of the 'Foundation-Cultivating Body-Nourishing Pill', wouldn't it make them eat and howl for more even more?

This business is truly worth doing!

(End of this chapter)