Chapter 61: Becoming a Qi Refining Level 8 Pastry Master

Her only means of attack currently are Talismans and the Sword, but since she has entered the world of Cultivation, while Sword Lai's Ghost Escape can still be put to use, his True Qi is a bit lacking.

There are so many Magic Arts in the *Nether Ghost Record* that could be available for Sword Lai to learn, but if she wants Sword Lai to improve his new skills, one requirement is the Yin Qi in his throat, and Yin Qi either requires absorbing Ghostly Sha Qi or requires time to accumulate; she cannot provide either of these conditions at the moment.

The second is to replace Sword Lai with a puppet vessel of higher quality and better material as soon as possible, which would also allow Sword Lai to learn new Magic Arts.

It is just that high-quality heavenly treasures are hard to come by, and with the meager pittance currently in her Storage Bag, it can only be described as a heavy burden and a long road ahead.

As for the Foundation Establishment technique she needs for herself, she had inquired about it before; it is basically impossible to find a suitable one in the marketplace or Wanbao Tower. Just like the strict control the aristocratic royal families had over Acquired Realm techniques in the Mortal Dynasty, the Cultivation techniques of various families and sects are not to be lightly imparted. Unless it is the kind that clearly has major flaws or is merely a fragment, it is impossible for them to circulate in the outside world.

Having looked at the techniques, they were about the same as what she remembered. She had been mentally prepared, so she could not say she was disappointed. In the coming period, she can take the time to learn about the various sects in the Cultivation world and see if she can find a way to become an apprentice.

The choice of a technique must be decided with caution, because most techniques cannot be switched; once a mistake occurs, one can only cripple one's own cultivation and start over from the beginning.

"Since you haven't seen a technique you are satisfied with, why don't we go over there and look at the types of Magic Arts?" the young attendant lady suggested thoughtfully.

Ruan Xing nodded and followed the young attendant lady to the Magic Arts area, listening as the other party introduced them to her, "For Magic Arts suitable for the Qi Refining stage, we have primary Five Elements Techniques here, among which Fire Technique and Gold Technique are the types of Magic Arts that sell better and have considerable power. There are also some conventional and special ones, such as the Sword Control Technique..."

Sword Control? Ruan Xing became interested upon hearing this, "How many Spirit Stones for the Sword Control Technique?"

"Two hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones."

Hiss... Ruan Xing gasped; this is truly unaffordable.

But once the Simulator is unsealed, she can come over and "freeload" it in a Simulation.

Thinking of this, Ruan Xing decisively stopped her pace of continuing to browse the Magic Arts area and said firmly to the young attendant lady, "I feel that the matter of having to practice Magic Arts oneself is truly too arduous; it would be better to take me to look at Dharma Artifacts instead."

The young lady could not help but smile, "Very well, Fairy, I will take you over there right now."

Most of the attendants who receive Qi Refining stage cultivators on the first floor of Wanbao Tower are mortals without cultivation. Therefore, even though the attendant saw a child of Ruan Xing's age, she did not dare to be negligent; even if she is young, she is still a Cultivator, after all.

The price of Lower-tier Dharma Artifacts is actually slightly cheaper than Magic Arts; an ordinary Lower-tier Dharma Sword only costs forty Low-grade Spirit Stones. It just so happens that the Short Sword and Dagger Ruan Xing is carrying are both made of mortal iron, so it is time to replace them.

She spent forty Low-grade Spirit Stones to purchase a Dharma Sword similar in style and size to her own Short Sword. The Dharma Sword is much sturdier than mortal iron, and when facing an enemy, she can infuse it with Spiritual Power to use a Sword Formula. It is just that she does not know how yet; once the Simulator is updated, she will come over to "freeload" a set of Sword Formulas plus the Sword Control Technique. This way, even if she encounters unscrupulous bandits when she leaves the city alone, she will have the strength to put up a fight.

As for defensive Dharma robes, they are not needed. In the *Nether Ghost Record*, there is an upgraded version of the 【Guard】 Talisman. She only needs to buy a piece of Monster Beast hide, and she can make herself a leather armor capable of withstanding a strike from the Foundation Establishment stage.

Ruan Xing actually wanted to extend the skill of making leather armor into Artifact Refining, but an Artifact Refiner is different from an Alchemist; their status in the Cultivation world is comparable to that of an arms dealer in the modern era, and there are simply no private ones. If she wants to learn, she still has to go to a Sect.

Thus, with a rough map of the area within a hundred miles of Yunyang City and the hide of a Qi Refining stage Monster Beast, Ruan Xing was once again penniless when she walked out of Wanbao Tower.

"Money really doesn't last long!" Ruan Xing sighed as she looked at the map.

The young attendant lady bowed with a professional smile, "Go safely, Fairy."

"Hey, wait." Ruan Xing pointed to some markings on the map with unclear meanings, "What do these mean?"

The young lady took a look and said, "These are some public Secret Realms, which open once every period of time. The keys to the Secret Realms are held by the nearby sects. When they are about to open, in addition to the disciples within the sects, some quotas are also sold to the outside. For example, this Hanshan Secret Realm here opens once every thirty years, and this year is its opening period. A ticket of fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones allows you to enter for ten days. Even if you don't hunt any Monster Beasts or encounter any fortuitous opportunities, just picking some thirty-year-old Spirit Herbs is enough to break even and earn a little extra."

"So that's how it is." Ruan Xing touched her chin, thoughtful, "Is there any other information?"

The young lady looked apologetic, "I only know this much, Fairy. After all, I am just a mortal and have never been to a Secret Realm. If you want to know more, you can go to the vicinity of the Secret Realm entrance in advance. There will always be gatherings in the few days leading up to the opening of the Secret Realm. Not only can you buy news about the inside of the Secret Realm, but you can also buy cheaper Pills, Talismans, and Dharma Artifacts."

"It's alright, thank you for telling me this." Ruan Xing took half a piece of gold from her Storage Bag to give her as a tip. The transaction was already complete; in fact, this young lady could have completely ignored her and gone to receive the next guest, but this young lady did not use the "I don't know" universal catchphrase to brush her off, and she did not want the young lady to suffer a loss.

She had also had the simulation experience of being a Wanbao Tower attendant; a mortal's monthly wages are not particularly high, and in a place like the Cultivation world where every inch of land is worth an inch of gold, it is not easy to survive.

The young lady accepted it with some surprise and gratitude, "Thank you, Fairy! Fairy, seeing that you are unfamiliar with the area, is this your first time in Yunyang City?"

"Mm, yes, I..." Ruan Xing was just about to say something, but suddenly a strange look flashed across her face.

She had not yet thought about what kind of background to invent for herself in the Cultivation world, so when the young lady asked just now, the first thing that came to her mind was that Mortal Dynasty. But just as she thought of it, she felt a slightly accelerated thumping sound coming from her heart.

It was as if... something was reminding her, warning her.

Cannot say it; cannot tell anyone.

She covered her chest slightly with her hand, and the young lady frowned with concern upon seeing this, "Little Fairy, what is wrong?"

Ruan Xing lowered her hand as if nothing had happened and let out a breath, "It's nothing, what were you saying just now?"

"Oh, I was saying, since you are new to Yunyang City and not very familiar with it, why not find a guide to take you around the city and tell you about things here in Yunyang? Many mortals take on this kind of business; it only costs a few taels of Silver."

"No need." Ruan Xing refused casually. She is actually quite familiar with the city; after all, her simulation memories add up to several decades. It is just that she is unfamiliar with the outside of the city. After dying a few times, she basically stopped leaving the city in her simulations.

Seeing that Ruan Xing was not interested, the young lady did not push the sale further and watched Ruan Xing leave before returning to the shop. Ruan Xing, meanwhile, walked while recalling the sudden palpitation in her heart just now.

She could confirm with almost one hundred percent certainty that the palpitation just now came from the Boundary Tree; it was restricting her from revealing even a single word about the Mortal Dynasty.

It is just that she used her Divine Sense to carefully inspect herself inside and out, but she could not find where that elusive palpitation went after it disappeared.

If it only forbids her from revealing it to outsiders, that would be fine; once she reaches the Nascent Soul Stage, she can just come back and chop the tree down. She is only afraid that this tree has hidden agendas and has given her other restrictions, but she cannot discover them yet.

"Sigh, no wonder the Inner Sect Disciples don't care that so many of their servants have run away, not worried at all about news spreading across the land. So, those servants who ran out couldn't say anything at all." Ruan Xing muttered to herself, but having no other way, she could only return to her temporary residence and draw Talismans fiercely.

After all, if she wants to reach the Cultivation world early, she can only hitch a ride with the National Preceptor; she cannot escape this link involving the Boundary Tree.

Just wait.

Ruan Xing made up her mind; sooner or later, the National Preceptor, the Six Suns Study, and the Boundary Tree—she will get it all back.

After drawing Talismans for an hour, Ruan Xing rested for a while, sat in meditation to recover some Spiritual Power, spread out the purchased animal hide, cut it into a size and shape suitable for her figure, and sewed it together into a small, close-fitting vest. Then, she used her Spiritual Power to carve the upgraded version of the 【Guard】 Talisman on the front and back of the vest.

The vest is worn on the innermost layer, hidden by her outer garment and cloak, so it cannot be seen at all.

And at this moment, a long-lost sound in her mind made Ruan Xing feel deeply comforted.

The Simulator has finished upgrading!

Although the update time was only one day, Ruan Xing had thought about it three times in this one day. Impatiently summoning the Simulator interface in her mind, Ruan Xing first looked at the points column and the Simulator's consumption after the price increase.

After the upgrade, it did not disappoint Ruan Xing; it changed from swallowing Silver to swallowing Spirit Stones. Moreover, it produced a numerical compression, changing from ten wen of cash to charge one point to one Low-grade Spirit Stone to charge ten points. The previous nine million points were also compressed, rounding up to nine hundred points.

Ruan Xing's vision went black, and she almost fainted from not being able to catch her breath.

She knew it, Murphy's Law—the more you fear something, the more it happens! She prayed for no inflation, but in the end, this is no longer inflation; it is an explosion!

After cursing the Simulator for a long time without receiving any response, Ruan Xing finally accepted reality. She does not need to worry about the Foundation Establishment technique anymore.

Laughing to death, she doesn't even dare to undergo Foundation Establishment; after Foundation Establishment, she might not even be able to afford a single simulation.

And the cost of one simulation is now ten points. She cannot use it as recklessly as before. Fortunately, before the breakthrough, she had already leveled Alchemy to the second tier and Talisman-making to the fourth tier; otherwise, she might really have starved to death in the Cultivation world.

Another newly added feature also made Ruan Xing feel slightly comforted, and that is the Real-scene Simulation function. To put it simply, when she starts a simulation, no text will appear; instead, she herself will unfold the simulation in reality, consuming one point for every day simulated.

This is actually a conscientious feature, because the Cultivation world is a place where the strong prey on the weak and is full of dangers. Sometimes when she needs to try and fail, she might not even survive for a day. If it were a Text Simulation, she would lose ten points for one failed attempt.

The disadvantage is that the Real-scene Simulation naturally possesses memory, and she can no longer choose other options to obtain rewards.

The problem is not big; she can freely choose and combine them. When she needs to grind skills and rewards, she uses Text Simulation, and when she needs to trial-and-error or memorize, she chooses Real-scene Simulation.

However, for now, she still has two simulation attempts that must be consumed.

A moment later, Ruan Xing's personal panel changed to eight hundred and eighty points, and two skills were added: 【Lianyun Sword Art (Second Layer)】 and 【Sword Control Technique】.

The Lianyun Sword Art was a Yellow-tier high-grade Sword Formula she purchased during the simulation, costing five hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones; it has a total of six layers, and she spent fourteen years in the simulation focusing on practicing the Sword Formula before she mastered the second layer.

Perhaps there really is a barrier between geniuses and ordinary people... Ruan Xing silently looked at the sky. She spent another twenty of the points she had wanted to save, raising the Lianyun Sword Art to the fourth layer. A fourth-layer Yellow-tier Sword Formula already counts as an expert at the Qi Refining stage. It is enough. Ruan Xing put down the points and stopped upgrading, instead focusing on finishing drawing all the remaining Talismans.

In the evening, Ruan Xing sat by the bed, the candlelight flickering, her small hand tapping here and there on various locations on the map.

There are three Secret Realms near Yunyang City. Besides the Cold Mountain Secret Realm mentioned during the day, there are two others that were not introduced, likely because the time until they open is still quite far off, or they are not worth visiting.

It is human nature to hide good things away once obtained. As a public, paid attraction, the Cold Mountain Secret Realm has likely already been scoured many times by Sect disciples. She is not a Child of Destiny, so she does not expect to pick up any missed treasures, but she can still make a trip. First, to temper herself and see Monster Beasts and other Cultivators face-to-face; second, as the attendant young lady said, to earn a little money inside. Even if she can only earn one Low-grade Spirit Stone, that is still one simulation opportunity!

Then there is information about other Sects and towns. The Six Suns Study is to the east of Yunyang City and is the closest Sect, but she is not considering this one; pass.

Zhengyi Sect is very close to an unknown small Secret Realm in the northwest direction, but its footprint on the map looks very small, and it seems to lack heritage. Moreover, the name sounds a bit like a celestial master who catches ghosts; if she goes there with her Sword, won't she be arrested? Ruan Xing is a bit dissatisfied; tentatively decided.

A little further west is the Red Garment Pavilion, which has a bit of that righteous-yet-evil vibe, but why must it be neighbors with the Zhengyi Sect? Tentatively decided as well.

Sixty miles to the north is the Cold Mountain Secret Realm, and not far away is the Xuanbing Sect, which holds the key to the Cold Mountain Secret Realm. Ruan Xing is actually a bit tempted by this one, mainly because it not only has its own Secret Realm, making it sound like it has deep pockets, but the Sect must also have plenty of Internal Energy techniques and Magic Arts, and its geographical location is also good; to the southeast is another town, Huju City.

If she could apprentice at the Xuanbing Sect, it would be great if she could save that fifty Low-grade Spirit Stone entrance fee...

Ruan Xing shook her head to cast away this tempting thought and set her plan: she will set off the day after tomorrow!

Tomorrow, she still has to go sell those second-grade Talismans to exchange for some starting capital, and then buy some materials to refine some Pills and Talismans for herself that might be useful in the Secret Realm.

Thank you, Xiao Miao'er, for the monthly ticket~ Thank you, Xiao Jie, for the monthly ticket~ (End of this chapter)