Chapter 23: Spells

Phew...

Gales swept through swirling snow, relentlessly battering He Pingsheng.

He wore only thin clothing, yet felt nothing of the freezing cold.

It’s said that early-stage Qi Condensation practitioners are no different from ordinary mortals—but that’s not true.

Once you enter Qi Condensation, you’re already vastly different from common people.

For example, you become immune to extreme cold, rarely go hungry or freeze, and are far less prone to illness, and so on.

“Rise…”

On the hillside, He Pingsheng could leap dozens of feet into the air with a single bound.

Thus, even amid the blizzard, he walked as if on flat ground.

Put it this way: if he were sent back to Xiuzhu Peak to carry water—twenty trips a day—he could finish it all in no more than an hour.

The difference is that vast.

A flask of warmed liquor, a stack of spirit money!

Three sticks of incense!

After making offerings to his parents and Senior Brother Hao Yun, He Pingsheng slowly descended the mountain.

He didn’t return directly to his small courtyard; instead, he headed toward the grand hall on the other side of the river.

Outer Sect Hall.

Though it was snowing fiercely, the place was bustling with people, and no one truly paid attention to He Pingsheng’s cultivation level.

He Pingsheng walked slowly into the hall, glancing around.

On the left screen, a striking notice flashed before his eyes.

“Xiuzhu Peak’s Alchemy Room seeks one Junior Alchemy Acolyte—no cultivation requirement. 200 contribution points per month. Don’t worry—no bullying of acolytes will be tolerated!”

He Pingsheng frowned slightly.

Damn, Xiuzhu Peak still hasn’t found an acolyte?

It made sense when he thought about it.

Tai Xu Sect was vast, yet also small—anything happening on any peak quickly spread to the Outer Sect.

Hao Yun’s gruesome death had surely served as a warning to countless Outer Sect disciples.

Compared to one’s life, what’s two hundred contribution points?

Of course, judging from the footnote on that notice, Xiuzhu Peak’s failure to find an acolyte for over half a year must mean they were truly desperate.

Heh…

He Pingsheng gave a cold smile, stepped away from the left array’s glow, and approached the central counter.

There were over a dozen clerks handling Outer Sect affairs; he didn’t choose the one from before, but picked another station.

“Senior Brother… I’d like to buy some spirit rice!”

He Pingsheng no longer wanted to eat ordinary rice.

Spirit rice greatly benefits a cultivator’s cultivation.

“Alright!” The cultivator took He Pingsheng’s card and checked it: “Brother, which grade of spirit rice do you want? There are three: high, medium, and low.”

Without hesitation, He Pingsheng said: “I’ll take the low grade.”

There was no need to buy higher quality.

Because of the Treasure Basin, any quality placed inside becomes top-grade.

“Oh…” the cultivator said, “Low-grade spirit rice is one contribution point per jin. How much do you need?”

He Pingsheng replied: “Two hundred jin!”

Two hundred jin meant two hundred points!

This stuff was far more expensive than regular rice.

Two hundred jin of regular rice cost only two or three contribution points.

“Alright!” The cultivator handed He Pingsheng a pickup slip: “Take this slip to the warehouse to collect your spirit rice.”

“Thank you!” He Pingsheng accepted the slip politely.

The disciple added: “You’re at Qi Condensation Stage Three, right? You might consider taking on tasks at Fen Shui Mountain—capturing spirit beasts or gathering spirit herbs can earn you contribution points!”

“With the snow blocking the mountains, many spirit beasts have nowhere to hide—perfect time to catch them!”

“Look… the task board over there has the relevant postings.”

He pointed to the array display.

He Pingsheng replied: “Understood, Senior Brother!”

After leaving the counter, collecting the spirit rice, and buying a few daily necessities, He Pingsheng returned directly to his small courtyard.

Take on tasks?

I still have plenty of contribution points—why bother with tasks?

Isn’t cultivation better?

First, raise my cultivation level.

He Pingsheng decided: this retreat would be dedicated to breaking through to Qi Condensation Stage Four.

He wouldn’t emerge until he reached Stage Four.

The reason the cultivator at the hall could instantly discern He Pingsheng’s Stage Three cultivation was because his spiritual sense could extend outward—his awareness swept everything without fail.

But He Pingsheng couldn’t do that yet.

To project spiritual sense, one must advance from early-stage Qi Condensation to mid-stage.

That is, Stage Four.

Qi Condensation Stages One, Two, and Three are called the early stage.

Stages Four, Five, and Six are the mid-stage.

Stages Seven, Eight, and Nine are the late stage.

Stages Ten, Eleven, and Twelve are called the peak stage.

Thus, to project spiritual sense, one must reach at least Stage Four.

Moreover, once spiritual sense is projected, another major advantage emerges: the ability to cultivate spells.

Only after projecting spiritual sense can one learn various spells.

Bang…

Back home, he shut the door!

He Pingsheng tightly sealed every crack to prevent any energy leakage.

Then he resumed his cultivation.

He pulled out two jade vials.

One contained twelve pills; the other, only three.

Fifteen pills total.

That meant he’d consumed nine pills to advance from Stage One to Stage Three.

“I hope these fifteen pills will let me break through to Stage Four!”

He Pingsheng took a deep breath, then swallowed one pill whole.

That’s right!

As his cultivation improved, his ability to absorb spiritual energy had greatly increased—he no longer needed to crush pills and mix them with water as he had at the beginning.

Boom…

As the entire pill entered his stomach, a torrent of pure energy surged from it into his meridians.

There was another difference between pill absorption and drawing in ambient energy.

When drawing in ambient energy, one must filter and select from the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, earth.

But the energy within these pills carried no elemental affinity—it was purest energy, and once processed through the meridians, it automatically transformed into the element matching the practitioner’s energy vortex.

Winter passed, spring arrived, and all things revived.

After another half year, having consumed thirteen spirit pills, He Pingsheng finally achieved his goal—breaking through to Stage Four.

Boom…

At the moment of breakthrough, a sudden clarity erupted from within him and extended outward.

Within a ten-zhang radius—even beyond the walls—he perceived everything clearly.

Spiritual sense projected.

“Perfect!” He Pingsheng opened his eyes, a gleam flashing in them: “Hahahaha… Now I can finally learn spells!”

Spells refer to various techniques.

Attack, defense, support—endless possibilities.

He Pingsheng flipped open the “True Fire Scripture” to its final pages, where two spells were recorded.

First: Fire Crow Technique.

Second: Fire Shield Technique.