Chapter 129: Treefolk Technique

After another half year of arduous cultivation, Yan Buji at least had mastered two basic techniques.

After making full preparations, Yan Buji finally changed his attire, put on a bamboo hat, and descended the mountain.

The terrain of the Gen Dao region is extremely rugged, being the area among the Eight Dao with the most mountain‑range forests.

So Yan Buji headed here simply to hide his presence.

Because the towering mountains and deep valleys are abundant, there are few places suitable for ordinary people, and most of them are crowded onto the Xia Mountain Grassland region to live and breed.

Yet precisely because of this, cultivators in the Gen Dao region are not uncommon amid the lofty peaks; Yan Buji, after crossing several ridges, already spotted many solitary practitioners in seclusion.

They may have sensed his arrival, but offered no comment and gave no response.

This left Yan Buji a bit disappointed; at least a local cultivator could have briefed him on the Gen Dao region.

After a while.

Yan Buji climbed a high mountain, his left eye flashing gold as he surveyed the surroundings.

"The spiritual energy over there flows very swiftly; I reckon many cultivators have gathered."

Yan Buji glanced; a cultivator's breathing naturally stirs the flow of spiritual energy, and a large gathering would certainly accelerate it.

Such a scene most likely indicates the presence of a marketplace.

However, Yan Buji cannot fly; aerial travel is said to be a skill only Foundation Establishment Cultivators can master, achievable without any Accumulation Device, relying solely on one's own magical power.

Of course, with a flying Accumulation Device, even a Lianqi Phase cultivator could take to the skies.

Yan Buji fell silent, then remarked oddly: "Wei Zifeng is, after all, a related household of the Fire Bear Sect. I dared to act, but never expected to escape so easily. Yet I am safe here now, so there must be a reason."

Yan Buji only assumed Wei Zifeng's connection might involve some Foundation Establishment Cultivator, but he did not realize he had angered the Sect Master of the Fire Bear Sect!

Yet he still sensed something off about his easy escape, stemming from his innate caution.

Boldness and caution sometimes do not conflict.

Just as Yan Buji, in the brief moment before acting, already dispersed his aura, having made up his mind to strike.

However, he did not expect an easy escape, so long ago he had mapped out an escape route should a feud with Wei Zifeng arise.

Adding to that, he had prepared no fewer than ten miscellaneous plans, which gave Yan Buji the confidence to act.

With ample preparation, he indeed succeeded.

But escaping so effortlessly, one cannot simply claim the Fire Bear Sect's cultivators are all a bunch of idiots, right?

"Why is that, exactly?" Yan Buji wondered, though now was not the time to inquire about the Fire Bear Sect.

After roughly a day of travel, Yan Buji finally reached the place where spiritual energy flowed, saw the maze outside the marketplace, and entered with a smile.

Inside the marketplace, Yan Buji surveyed the surrounding cultivators; as expected, it resembled the Kun Dao region's market, with most stalls run by solitary Lianqi Phase practitioners.

Yan Buji's arrival drew the attention of a few solitary cultivators, but after seeing the power he openly displayed, they merely looked away in speechlessness.

"Isn't the second tier of Lianqi Phase not a cultivator?"

Yan Buji raised an eyebrow; his purpose in browsing the marketplace was first to scout the distribution of cultivation forces in the Gen Dao region, and second to see if anything he needed was available.

He entered a shop and glanced around.

"Fellow cultivator, do you buy Spiritual Material here?"

"You… what Spiritual Material could you possibly have?"

"Just some worthless stuff, willing to trade for a few Spiritual Stones," Yan Buji said with a wry smile, pulling several boxes from his robe and placing them on the table.

"Hmm~ not bad, thirty Spiritual Stones."

"Deal."

Yan Buji dared not use his Storage Accumulation Device in front of others; such a fine item shouldn't belong to a solitary Lianqi Phase second‑tier practitioner.

After exchanging some Spiritual Stones, Yan Buji spotted a nearby bookshop, entered, and bowed, saying: "Fellow cultivator."

"Find what you want yourself; if you can't afford it, don't touch it," the shopkeeper snapped. Yan Buji took it in stride.

He walked to a nearby shelf, took a few ordinary books introducing the geography and customs of the Gen Dao region, then glanced at the shelf of basic techniques and examined it.

By chance, Yan Buji spotted a tattered jade slip and became very curious.

"Shopkeeper, why is this jade slip so tattered?"

"If you're not buying, don't ask!"

"What if I do buy it?"

"Hmph, twenty Spiritual Stones!"

Yan Buji frowned: "You don't mention the jade slip's tattered state; could it be an unfinished late‑stage Lianqi technique? No wonder it's so pricey."

"Hehe, to be honest, this isn't a late‑stage Lianqi technique but a fragment of a Foundation Establishment Stage method! If you can't afford it, don't touch it; put it down."

"Oh?"

"If you put it that way, I'm actually a bit interested."

Yan Buji produced a bag of Spiritual Stones and waved it before the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and he sprang up: "Hey, I didn't realize you actually have Spiritual Stones. So, buying or not?"

"I'll buy, but I need to know whether this technique is truly Foundation Establishment Stage. Who would believe you just by talking?" Yan Buji chuckled.

"Hmph, do you know how to establish a foundation?"

Yan Buji was stunned on the spot.

Damned, he'd hit a blind spot.

"Hmph, I'll forgive you for being a solitary cultivator who doesn't know. Foundation Establishment is the first great leap for a cultivator, demanding not only the perfect integration of one's own technique but also the transformation of spirit, qi, and body!"

"Spirit, qi, and body?" Yan Buji asked, puzzled, bowing: "Please, fellow cultivator, enlighten me."

"Easy enough. As long as you're willing to buy this jade slip, I'll tell you for free."

"Alright, deal!"

Whether the jade slip is genuine or not, gleaning any information about the Foundation Establishment Stage isn't a loss.

For Yan Buji, knowledge is what's most worth spending money on.

The bookstore owner smiled, tucked away the spiritual stone, and said, "This essence, energy, and spirit subtly follow the Three Powers' principle; the goal is essence without leak, energy united with spiritual method, and spirit roving beyond the heavens!"

Yan Buji stared wide-eyed, completely not understanding.

"Anything else?"

"That's all; I only know these three conditions. What exactly are they? Do you expect someone at the Lianqi Phase to know?"

"......"

Yan Buji took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and clasped his hands.

"Many thanks, fellow cultivator."

"You're welcome."

After leaving the bookstore, Yan Buji went out of the market town to see what cultivation method this damaged jade slip records.

Finding an uninhabited deep mountain, Yan Buji carefully surveyed the surroundings, found nothing suspicious, then chose a steep cliff, sat on a protruding rock, and entered meditation peacefully amidst the misty clouds.

As his spiritual sense flowed into the damaged jade slip, a passage of formula and its damaged method of operation instantly appeared in Yan Buji's mind.

"The Tree Person Technique?"

Yan Buji looked strange; based only on the description of mana circulation and formula, this technique seems like a wood-system cultivation method akin to the Planting Wood Technique.