Chapter 23: Chapter 23 All Tricks
The city is full of schemes, Wang Chen wants to go back to the countryside!
According to Shopkeeper Jin, Vajra Ghee is an essential medicinal supplement for practicing the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Method.
Applying this special medicinal oil all over the body can stimulate the power of Qi-Blood to the greatest extent, not only greatly accelerating the cultivation speed but also producing excellent results.
Although one can still cultivate the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Method without Vajra Ghee, the efficiency and power would inevitably be greatly reduced!
In that case, it would be more appropriate to choose other Body Refinement Techniques.
Four Seas Commerce Association does have Vajra Ghee for sale.
One bottle is priced at ten Fragmented Spirit Stones.
And that’s just enough to meet the needs of one cultivation session!
After hearing this, Wang Chen really couldn’t help but complain.
Isn’t this just the same old trick that Japanese people use when selling printers?
You can’t say it’s exactly the same, without any difference whatsoever!
Japanese sell high-quality printers at rock-bottom prices, taking a loss to dominate the market by squeezing out competitors.
Then they make a fortune by selling the high-priced consumables.
Source: NovelFull.com, updated on Ɲ0νǥօ.сο
The price of a set of original consumables can reach up to one-fifth or more of the printer’s price.
A strong sense of déjà vu.
The scheme is so cunningly hateful!
However, Wang Chen couldn’t accuse Four Seas Commerce Association of scamming him.
They used an open strategy.
In fact, the trade had not been completed; the Jade Slip with the Cultivation Technique was still in Shopkeeper Jin’s hands.
Wang Chen could, of course, refuse.
The problem was that the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Method perfectly met his current needs.
Firstly, the Body Refinement prowess of this technique was strong, easy to start with and reasonably priced; the need to pair it with Vajra Ghee, though a bit of a pitfall, was still acceptable as a secondary Cultivation Technique.
Holding back his pain, Wang Chen took out fifty Fragmented Spirit Stones and purchased the first three tiers of the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Method’s spells.
And two bottles of Vajra Ghee.
He planned to give this Cultivation Technique a try— if it didn’t work out, the loss wouldn’t be too great.
Wang Chen also purchased a Spiritual Perception Technique and an Object-Controlling Technique.
Both the Spiritual Perception Technique and the Object-Controlling Technique are low-tier Qi Cultivation spells, so they’re very cheap.
The Spiritual Perception Technique can be used to probe the strength levels of Cultivators as well as Demons and Evil Wraiths; its range is determined by one’s own Cultivation Level and the tier of the spell, also affected by spells like Concealment Technique, making it not always 100% effective.
But basically every Cultivator knows this spell.
The original owner did not master it mainly due to poverty.
The original owner even thought that as a simple Spiritual Plant Farmer who farmed the land honestly, there was no need to understand the Spiritual Perception Technique.
Such thinking left Wang Chen speechless.
Therefore, he purchased it along with the other spells.
As for the Object-Controlling Technique, as the name suggests, it is a spell for controlling objects or Magic Artifacts.
It’s worth mentioning that the Object-Controlling Technique is a prerequisite skill for Sword Control Techniques.
If one wishes to learn Sword Control.
Then they must at least cultivate Object-Controlling Technique to Mastery Level!
Additionally, the Object-Controlling Technique is very versatile and affordable, so Wang Chen wouldn’t miss out on it.
Wang Chen also wanted to purchase some attack spells.
Alas, he had almost run out of Spirit Stones, so he could only wait until next time.
When he left the Four Seas Commerce Association, his Storage Bag was seventy Fragmented Spirit Stones lighter and contained two bottles of Vajra Ghee.
And in his Sea of Consciousness, there were three more spell seeds.
These three spell seeds were also bound by a Magic Seal Spell.
The Cultivation Techniques and spells sold by Four Seas Commerce Association, just like those exchanged in Sects, all come with a Magic Seal Spell attached.
It is said that during ancient times, Cultivation Manuals containing special techniques were mostly recorded in book form.
The Scripture Pavilion of the Major Sects housed genuine cultivation manuals and books.
There were no restrictions from Magic Seal Spells.
Nowadays, however, most of them utilize Jade Slips with cultivation techniques.
As for the secret tomes, they haven’t completely vanished and are commonly seen on black market stalls, swindling novice cultivators like Bai.
Anyone with a bit of cultivation sense wouldn’t purchase such so-called divine cultivation manuals.
Because in the written cultivation techniques, a single word off can lead to miles of errors.
Counterfeits and erroneous editions are countless.
If used for cultivation, one wouldn’t even know how they died!
Though Jade Slips with cultivation techniques are constrained by Magic Seal Spells, in turn, these spells also ensure the authenticity of the techniques.
Actually, disciples from a sect like Wang Chen are considered quite fortunate, for at least they have a formal channel to exchange for authentic techniques.
It’s even worse for Loose Cultivators, who may have to pay with their lives to acquire a single technique!
Moreover, the higher the tier of the technique sealed within the Jade Slip, the fewer times it can be stimulated.
And since Jade Slips with cultivation techniques cannot be copied and are difficult to produce,
there is a reason why “technique” ranks second in the four essentials of Immortal Cultivation—wealth, technique, companions, and location.
It was still early in the day, so Wang Chen continued on to a blacksmith shop.
Artifact refining and craftsmanship are a major category within the hundred arts of Immortal Cultivation, teeming with practitioners.
Wang Chen wasn’t looking for an Artifact Refiner and wasn’t aiming to create a Magic Artifact either.
He took out a blueprint and explained his requirements to the Hammer Master in the smithy.
The blueprint was drawn by Wang Chen a few days ago while recovering from injuries at home, and because suitable paper and pen were not available at the time, it was quite rough, necessitating a clear explanation.
But the item wasn’t complex, and after communicating with Wang Chen for a few extra moments, the Hammer Master slapped his dark chest and said, “This is simple, come back in half a two-hour period to get it!”
The price was very cheap too, costing Wang Chen only one Fragmented Spirit Stone.
Wang Chen paid for the Spirit Stone on the spot and then ran to a nearby grocery and meat shop to buy some spices and seasonings.
And fifty jin of Monster Beast meat!
For Body Refinement, one must eat meat; even ordinary meat without Spiritual Energy won’t suffice.
Although he had slain a large number of Earth Rhinoceros Beetles, including many Monsterized Earth Rhinos,
the bit of beetle meat he got was only enough for making a few rice balls to eat from time to time.
And now, that was all consumed.
The price of Monster Beast meat was really not affordable, and even though Wang Chen bought the lowest grade meat, it still cost him five Fragmented Spirit Stones.
Almost five times the price of Spirit Valley!
Now Wang Chen’s Storage Bag was thoroughly emptied, leaving only two Fragmented Spirit Stones and a few dozen smaller pieces inside.
Back to being as broke as before he crossed over!
When he returned to the blacksmith shop, the item he had ordered was already crafted and ready.
Wang Chen tried fitting the pieces together and found a few minor issues.
The Hammer Master resolved them on the spot.
He was like a human-shaped machine tool!
What Wang Chen had ordered here was the main components for a hand-cranked rice milling machine.
The efficiency of manual rice pounding was terribly low, and with poor control of force, a lot of broken rice could result, and the bran had to be sifted through again; Wang Chen couldn’t afford to waste time on that.
As for buying ready-made Spirit Rice in the city, the price difference between it and ordinary rice was unbearable for Wang Chen, whose pockets were shallow.
So Wang Chen thought of the rice milling machine.
The structure of a rice milling machine is quite simple. Once the principle is understood, drawing out a blueprint isn’t difficult.
Wang Chen was originally a man of science and engineering, having studied mechanical engineering in college, so this task was naturally no problem for him.
As the saying goes, learn mathematics, physics, and chemistry well, and you will have no fear wherever you go.
This holds true even in the world of Immortal Cultivation!
Before the sun set, Wang Chen, with his full haul, took a horse-drawn carriage back home.
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