Chapter 27: Exchange

"So that's how it is. Thank you both for explaining."

Wang Yu was startled upon hearing this, realizing he should never have used spirit stones to aid his cultivation—but fortunately, he’d only used about a dozen, so the damage was likely minor.

At the same time, Yu Bintian turned his gaze toward Yin Lady, but the old woman said: "I have no medicines to enhance cultivation, but I do have two protective talismans I acquired by chance. If you’re willing to exchange..."

"Protective talismans are rare, but Yu still wishes to trade for medicines that enhance cultivation." The old man showed some interest, but after thinking it over, he shook his head.

"Then there’s nothing to be done. When you change your mind, Yu Daoist, feel free to come to me for an exchange—even if you only offer spirit stones." Yin Lady smiled in reply.

"Yu Daoist, I have two mid-grade Ning Shen Pills from an old gift bestowed by my clan. But they’ve been stored for a long time, so I can’t guarantee their potency remains intact, and I’ll need some additional spirit stones." At this, the young man of the Huang family, after consulting with the woman beside him, suddenly spoke up.

"Ning Shen Pills—I’ve heard of them. Made from several spirit herbs, they have remarkable effects in aiding cultivation. May I examine them first? Of course, you and your spouse may inspect these packets of Xi Chen Powder in return." Yu Bintian was delighted and immediately gestured for the gaunt man behind him to bring the wooden box on the table over.

The Huang man took a small white porcelain bottle from his wife and handed it to Gao Qi as he approached.

Both sides inspected their items and found no issues; the old man then added several more spirit stones, and the exchange was completed smoothly.

"I recently acquired a piece of Yang Hun Wood. If crafted into a talisman and carried constantly, it has a subtle but remarkable effect of calming and nourishing the soul. I wish to exchange it for something that can heal soul depletion." Yin Lady then spoke again, pulling a long, rectangular object wrapped in red cloth from her sleeve. When opened, it revealed a black branch as thick as a finger.

"Yang Hun Wood is merely a spirit material—hiring an artificer to craft it would likely cost more than buying it. I have no medicine, but I do have a Hui Chun Talisman..."

Moments later, Yin Lady exchanged the Yang Hun Wood for the monk’s Hui Chun Talisman and a dozen spirit stones.

Next, the Huang youth produced a piece of Cold Ice Jade, which Yin Lady exchanged for two talismans; then he directly purchased three vials of low-grade Ju Ling Fluid from the monk using twenty spirit stones.

Wang Yu watched these exchanges from the side, deeply envious—but unfortunately, he had no spirit stones at all. The only thing he could offer was the Four Beasts Diagram cultivation technique.

"Wang Brother, have you decided yet? Will you bring out that body refinement technique for exchange?" After everyone else had finished, Yu Bintian, seeing Wang Yu remained silent, finally smiled and asked.

"I can bring out the body refinement technique—but may I exchange it for your Qi Observation Technique?" Wang Yu weighed his options carefully before asking cautiously.

"Of course. But my Qi Observation Technique is rather useless in practice and extremely difficult to comprehend. If you can’t learn it, don’t blame Yu for it." Yu Bin was surprised but answered without hesitation.

"If I fail to learn it, that’s my own fault. I’ll need time to organize the diagrams of the body refinement technique. May I exchange them tomorrow night?"

"Hah! Of course. Come back here tomorrow night, Wang Brother, and I’ll trade you the Qi Observation Technique." Yu Bintian agreed immediately.

"Wang Brother, I and Huang Daoist are also very interested in your body refinement technique. May we exchange as well?" The monk, seeing this, rubbed his iron headband and also made his request.

One buyer or two—it’s all the same sale.

Wang Yu naturally didn’t refuse. After some discussion, he verbally agreed to trade: one Ning Shen Pill and one Jin Guang Talisman from the Huang youth, and three vials of low-grade Ju Ling Fluid and five spirit stones from the monk.

Though Wang Yu couldn’t tell from others’ expressions whether the exchange was profitable or not, everything he received was immediately useful—and he was quite satisfied.

Afterwards, everyone drank another cup of tea served by the servants and took their leave.

On the way back, Wang Yu spent some silver to hire a crewman, who brought him a stack of white paper and inkbrushes to his quarters. He then began silently sketching the little figures of the "Wolf Charge Diagram."

Though he had no painting skill, after activating his hyperfocus mode, he had no trouble capturing the essence of the four Wolf Charge movements.

He never intended to reveal all sixteen movements of the Four Beasts Diagram. He suspected Yu Bintian’s Qi Observation Technique likely had hidden layers too—this was why he hadn’t asked the monk or the Huang youth for additional spell techniques.

The next night, Wang Yu left his room carrying a stack of drawings. When he returned to his quarters, he laid out the new items he’d acquired on the table.

A thin, pale yellow book, four small vials—three white, one green—one talisman, and five glistening white spirit stones.

After Yu Bintian and the others had briefly tested the four Wolf Charge movements, the exchange was completed without issue.

The talisman was the "Jin Guang Talisman" previously used by the Huang City Lord; the book was the Qi Observation Technique Yu Bintian had traded.

The four porcelain vials contained Ju Ling Fluid and Ning Shen Pills.

Following the monk’s instructions, Wang Yu poured a single drop of the white vial’s Ju Ling Fluid onto his brow, sat cross-legged, released his spiritual sense, and began breathing.

After a short while, he opened his eyes, a satisfied expression on his face.

The low-grade Ju Ling Fluid’s enhancement was similar to Yin Spirit Liquid—it increased the efficiency of his spirit absorption by roughly double.

But according to the monk, Ju Ling Fluid could be used daily, and each vial lasted over a month—plenty for his short-term cultivation needs.

Thinking this over, Wang Yu picked up the green vial, poured out a pink pill, held it beneath his nose, and inhaled its rich fragrance.

It was a mid-grade Ning Shen Pill!

He swallowed the pill whole and resumed meditation and breathing.

As the pill’s effect took hold, Wang Yu felt his spiritual sense expand dramatically. Whenever he activated Yin Water Technique, spirit energy from a wide radius was drawn irresistibly toward his body, flooding his meridians for the first time with a sensation of fullness—forcing him to accelerate his technique’s circulation.

No wonder it’s a mid-grade spirit medicine!

Overwhelmed with joy, Wang Yu cast all other thoughts aside and greedily absorbed spirit energy, clearly sensing that each breath added a faint but definite increase to his internal cultivation power.

Time passed slowly. Soon, more than a stick of incense had burned—he felt no mental fatigue, nor did he pause to consider anything else, utterly immersed in the surge of power filling his body.

Several days later.

Wang Yu’s eyes were half-closed, one hand forming a seal, silently chanting a spell as the opened yellow book lay before him.

In his spiritual sea, four faint yellow spirit runes formed a silent, floating talisman pattern.

Wang Yu suddenly opened his eyes—deep within his pupils, the same rune pattern flashed and vanished.

"Qi Observation Technique."

Now, everything around him carried a faint yellow glow—even the air was bathed in yellow light. But when he raised his arm to look, his heart tightened.

There, within the yellow aura, his arm radiated a faint crimson light, two inches tall, flickering and curling—strikingly vivid against the yellow.

He looked down and realized not just his arm, but his entire body was shrouded in this crimson glow.

This is blood qi?

Wang Yu marveled, sensing his cultivation power steadily draining. He immediately formed another seal—the talisman pattern in his spiritual sea dissolved silently, and all vision returned to normal.

Interesting.

I wonder if it works at night—if it does, it’s like wearing infrared night vision goggles.

But according to the book, this Qi Observation Technique can not only detect blood qi, but also reveal simple concealment spells—though if the target’s cultivation is far higher, or they use a concealment technique, the technique will likely fail.

Wang Yu, lost in thought, picked up the yellow book before him and flipped rapidly to a certain page.

The page bore a spirit rune pattern composed of four yellow runes.

Wang Yu stared at the rune pattern, deep in thought.

Though Yu Bintian claimed this technique was extremely difficult to comprehend, these runes could be studied under normal conditions—unlike the Firefly Technique on the beast skin. In fact, with his hyperfocus mode active, he fully unraveled it in just half a day.

When he attempted to form the corresponding talisman imprint, it was remarkably smooth—he succeeded in his spiritual sea after only ten tries.

So my inability to comprehend the Firefly Technique earlier was truly due to its original nature—not because my comprehension is poor.

If the Firefly Technique had been recorded in a standard spell manual, I’d have mastered it far more easily.

But the original Firefly Technique’s power far exceeds what’s described in the "Introduction to Spells"—could this also be due to its original nature?

As Wang Yu pondered this, the entire room suddenly shook violently. Outside the door, hurried footsteps echoed—someone was moving quickly.

He froze, quickly gathered all items on the table, and was about to open the door to investigate—when a cold, ancient voice boomed from above the ship:

"All ordinary people remain in your rooms and do not move. All those with spiritual power, assemble on the deck. Our vessel has encountered the Yin Qi Tide—a phenomenon unseen on the Chishui River for ten years. Everyone aboard must unite to weather this crisis. Any cultivator who hides will be personally expelled from the Iron Arrow by me—and left to fend for themselves."

The voice belonged to Feng Lao of the Baizhen Pavilion—harsh, commanding, leaving no room for refusal.

Wang Yu was stunned. If even this late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator was alarmed, the danger must be immense.

What exactly is a Yin Qi Tide? Could it be related to Yin Spirits?

His mind raced with thoughts. He swiftly checked his condition, grabbed the iron-steel long knife beside his bed, flung open the door, and rushed out.