“Worried that the manor doesn't have enough equipment to sell, worried that my hands will ache from counting money.”
“Worried—” Huang Guiren mimicked Qian Duoduo, furrowing his brow, and lowered his voice, “Golden Bull Brother doesn’t come back at night, and Zi'e doesn’t come back during the day.”
Qian Duoduo and the other person put their arms around each other's shoulders and ran back to the manor with strange smiles.
While the Sect was swept up in the Artifact Refining craze, the entire Sect began preparing for the Sect's Heroic Talent Battle.
The Sect's Heroic Talent Battle, also known as the Palace Lord's Battle for Supremacy, is held every thirty years. It is a battle for the honor of each Palace Lord and for the Luck of each Immortal Mountains. Each Immortal Mountains and each Family attach great importance to it.
Someone once did a statistic: eighty percent of the five Palace Lords and dozens of Elders in the Sect came from the top ten of the Heroic Talent Battle.
The Heroic Talent Battle is divided into two stages. The first stage is the selection battle, held separately by the two mountains in the east of the road and the three peaks in the west of the road, each selecting ten Xiong Jun. The second stage is the ultimate battle, where only the top ten are chosen from the twenty Xiong Jun from the east and west of the road.
The Xiong Jun who make it into the top ten will not only receive high bonuses from the Sect but also high-level Magic Treasures, Medicinal Pills, and Talismans.
In this Heroic Talent Battle, the Cultivation Realm is limited to Condensing Qi Stage Level Eight. Disciples at the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation and Qi Condensation Great Perfection need to prepare for their breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm. As for those at Condensing Qi Stage Level Seven, their Cultivation Realm is slightly too low.
Qian Duoduo was at Condensing Qi Stage Level Seven, so he didn't need to participate, allowing him to focus on Artifact Refining. When he returned from the new Jail yesterday, he filled his Storage Pouch and Golden Toad with Spiritual Copper Ore. After he took the Ore, the Spiritual Copper Ore mountain was reduced by half, successfully making the Sect Leader's beard tremble a few times from heartache.
These Ores were enough for him to refine for a while, and he could sell them for at least a few million.
Staying in his Immortal Cave, Qian Duoduo had just finished refining two furnaces of Spiritual Copper when his Jade Slip vibrated. It was Zhangzuo Dajiu.
“Bu Huan, why does Golden Bull Brother look thinner again? Shouldn’t it be allowed to rest?”
“Dajiu, Golden Bull Brother isn’t thin. I just came back from the cowshed and it looked very energetic.”
“That’s what you think. Whoever’s ox, whoever feels bad. Lately, I not only feel bad, but I also have a headache—” Zhangzuo Dajiu’s voice on the other end of the Jade Slip was a bit low.
“Should I send you some Medicinal Pills?”
“My headache is because of the Sect's Heroic Talent Battle. Our two mountains in the east of the road have lost ten times in a row.”
Qian Duoduo had heard Huang Guiren talk about the two mountains in the east of the road always losing. Among the Disciples who made it into the top ten, not only were there fewer people from the two mountains in the east of the road, but they also rarely took first place. The last time was the worst; they were even completely shut out, with not a single person making it into the top ten.
“Dajiu, I’m at Condensing Qi Stage Level Seven, not qualified to participate.” Qian Duoduo immediately realized that Dajiu wanted him to participate in the Heroic Talent Battle. Qian Duoduo had only been slacking off for a few days; he just wanted to do some Artifact Refining, plant some flowers, and raise some oxen, not engage in fighting and killing.
“I know your Condensing Qi Stage Level Seven well. With the Yongfu Henggui Cultivation Technique suppressing it, it won’t take three to five days to advance to Condensing Qi Stage Level Eight.”
“I’m focusing on Artifact Refining. Didn’t the Sect Leader say we should establish the Sect through artifacts?” The Xiong Jun from each Immortal Mountains were all ruthless people, and Qian Duoduo didn't want to fight them.
“Hey, don’t use the Sect Leader to pressure me. Just now you said you wanted to send Medicinal Pills, and now you see me losing Face and having a headache and you don’t care? You’ve become a Purple-Gold Disciple, so you don’t listen to Dajiu anymore?” Zhangzuo Dajiu’s tone became harsh.
“No, Dajiu. I’ll try and see if I can reach Condensing Qi Stage Level Eight.”
“What do you mean ‘try’? You must reach it.”
“Alright. I’ll reach Condensing Qi Stage Level Eight and participate in the selection battle.” There was no other way; when Dajiu got tough, Qian Duoduo truly got scared.
“That won’t do. You must enter the ultimate competition and make it into the top ten.”
“This?” The demands Dajiu made were a bit high. Qian Duoduo was truly afraid he couldn't make it.
“This time, it’s a competition of Artifact Refining. Who are you afraid of in Artifact Refining? If you don’t agree, I won’t let Golden Bull Brother go down the mountain, and the calves born from those female Golden Ox will also be taken back by the Sect.”
Qian Duoduo quickly pleaded: “Absolutely not! Dajiu, I’ll participate, I’ll do my best.”
On the other end of the Jade Slip, Zhangzuo Dajiu laughed twice, “If you make it into the top ten, my headache will be gone. That’s better than sending any Medicinal Pills.”
After closing the Jade Slip, Qian Duoduo realized he was sweating. “Sigh, the Sect Leader and Palace Lord speak in such complicated ways, with twists and turns, and changing speeds. Talking to them is too tiring!”
Stepping out and entering the manor, Qian Duoduo found Huang Guiren. He was adding extra food to the pregnant female Golden Ox.
“Huang Guiren, buy another hundred female Golden Ox. Look, Golden Bull Brother is so lonely now, and it still has a lot of free time every day!”
After arranging this matter, Qian Duoduo felt much better. Since he agreed to participate in the Heroic Talent Battle, he had to get some benefits. He couldn't get anything from Zhangzuo Dajiu, so he had to find balance from Golden Bull Brother.
Running back to his Immortal Cave, closing the door, Qian Duoduo decided to start Cultivating the Golden Light Technique to advance to Condensing Qi Stage Level Eight.
What he promised, he couldn't not do. What he promised, he had to do well.
Sitting on the Spiritual Platform, Qian Duoduo set the Spiritual Qi to two thousand gold coins per hour. After a while, he increased it to four thousand gold coins per hour and held three Qi Return Pills in his mouth.
The Spiritual Qi in the room was like mist. Qian Duoduo inhaled sharply, drawing it all into his Spiritual Veins. At the same time, the Qi Return Pills in his mouth began to melt. Two streams of Spiritual Qi, one from above and one from below, passed through the almost azure Spiritual Veins, automatically compressing into an azure color. Following the Cultivation Technique of the Golden Light Technique, Qian Duoduo pushed the Spiritual Qi to flow along the Spiritual Veins, opening up new Acupoints one by one.
Each time he opened an Acupoint, Qian Duoduo didn't rush to push forward. Instead, he immediately compressed the Spiritual Veins until they became exactly like the ones already opened.
Time passed bit by bit, and the last Acupoint for Condensing Qi Stage Level Eight was dug open by his Spiritual Qi.
“Boom!” The Spiritual Qi, like a massive flood, surged through the entire Spiritual Veins. Instantly, as if supported by a pair of wings, Qian Duoduo felt incredibly light, with an urge to fly.
“Condensing Qi Stage Level Eight!” Qian Duoduo controlled the joy in his heart, firmly grasping the Spiritual Qi within his body, not letting it overflow. Instead, he compressed it into an azure color, expanding the Spiritual Veins little by little, and then tightening them little by little.
When the newly opened Spiritual Veins also became nearly azure, and the old and new Spiritual Veins formed a single entity, Qian Duoduo let out a long breath and opened his eyes. The world before him became a few shades clearer. The range of his Spiritual Awareness also expanded significantly.
Each time he advanced a level, a layer of filth was expelled from his body. This time was no exception.
In the Immortal Cave, a new hot spring had been built. Qian Duoduo jumped into it and comfortably closed his eyes. He lay flat for half an hour before slowly scrubbing off the filth from his body. Each time he washed off the expelled filth, a layer of his Mortal skin was shed, and he integrated more into this Immortal Cultivation World. Qian Duoduo clenched his fists and felt they were much larger and stronger than a year ago. He had developed quite a bit of muscle on his arms and thighs.
As for Spiritual Power, there was no need to mention it. It used to be zero, but now he dared to contend with those at the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation.
The feeling of growth was truly wonderful! Qian Duoduo happily put on his robes, pushed open the door, and came out into the courtyard.
At this time, it was the middle of the night, and the moon hung in the sky. Qian Duoduo took out his Golden Rooster Sword and filled it with Spiritual Power.
With a hum, the Golden Rooster Sword glowed all over, its light actually expanding several times, like a giant Spirit Chicken hovering in the air.
According to the records of the Golden Light Technique, when a Cultivator reaches Qi Condensation Great Perfection, their Spiritual Qi is abundant enough to make their sword light as large as a disc, allowing them to fly with the sword.
He should be able to fly with the sword now, right?