Starry Sky Professional

"Old Deng, jackpot!"

Fang Xing rushed forward, his hands clad in nano gloves, and began looting the corpse.

At that moment, his drone issued a warning—an approaching cultivator was detected nearby.

He dared not linger; grabbing his spoils, he quickly moved in the opposite direction...

In the temporary camp.

"Old Deng was doing quite well for himself..."

Fang Xing picked up the old man's pouch, pouring out five low-grade spirit stones and eight pieces of spirit sand. His eyes lit up. "Killing and looting is way faster than making money by laboriously selling herbs!"

The old man's possessions weren't many, but each was a treasure!

Apart from the pouch, there was the tobacco pipe, completely forged from some unknown metal, surprisingly heavy, capable of firing poison needles—a masterpiece of ancient craftsmanship.

Lastly, there was an old book.

"Green Wood Technique?"

Fang Xing inhaled sharply at the words on the cover page. "It's an Immortal Cultivation Method?"

Curiously, he flipped through a few pages and saw instructions on how to calm one's mind, sense the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth, and absorb and refine it into one's own power.

The book appeared well-thumbed, as the varied traces suggested countless readings.

According to the "Green Wood Technique," this method had nine levels: the first three levels corresponded to the early stage of Qi Condensation, levels four to six the middle stage, and the last three the late stage.

Upon reaching the 'pinnacle of the ninth level of Qi Condensation,' one could begin preparing to ascend to an even higher realm: 'Foundation Building.'

"This 'Green Wood Technique' is a wood attribute method, enough to cultivate up to the ninth level of Qi Condensation..."

"Unfortunately, for someone without a spiritual root, it's no different from useless."

Fang Xing turned to the last page and saw a note—'Without a spiritual root, unable to cultivate immortality, hate hate hate hate hate hate hate!'

The repeated expression of 'hate' etched deeply into the paper revealed the writer's bitter frustration.

Seeing this, Fang Xing couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy.

"Without a spiritual root, one cannot cultivate immortality. It seems to be an immutable truth..."

Fang Xing sighed and carefully stored away the cultivation method manual.

He then affixed a 'Spirit Testing Talisman' onto himself.

Moments later, the talisman turned to ash, but no miracle occurred.

Another talisman shared the same fate...

“As expected, I have no spiritual roots and can't cultivate immortality...”

Fang Xing shook his head. "Fortunately... I can still practice martial arts! Also, the Federation's martial arts, if honed to an advanced level, can also lead to longevity!"

...

Several days later.

Inside the cave.

Fang Xing sat cross-legged, his mind calm and peaceful.

He maintained this posture for over three hours, his figure upright, without the slightest tremor.

In front of him lay the open "Greenwood Technique" manual, showing the content of the first layer, 'Drawing Qi Into the Body'.

“Still no progress...”

After a long time, he opened his eyes, his expression neither sorrowful nor joyful.

Fang Xing naturally remained quite interested in delving into this immortality cultivation manual.

He understood each word, and together they made sense to him.

However... the initial step of sensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth eluded him completely!

“Indeed, without spiritual roots, cultivating immortality is impossible... not even the basic indicators on the status panel appear...”

As long as he could get a foothold, even a minimal one, Fang Xing was ready to toil tirelessly!

But what can be done against an opponent where not even the health bar shows?

“If I could cultivate immortality, this world's value would be higher... but as it is? It's not too bad.”

Fang Xing stood up, dusting off his clothes, and moved to an adjacent cave.

There, a small electric rice cooker kept the food warm, indicating the meal had been ready for a while.

Currently, the power supply within the entire base stems from a single fusion battery, capable of powering the entire camp for thousands of years.

After all, for the Blue Star Federation, controlled nuclear fusion is a solved problem.

“Lotus-scented spiritual rice, it truly smells wonderful...”

Once the rice was cooked, a light fragrance of lotus leaves wafted through the cave.

Fang Xing took a deep breath, immediately feeling a pang of hunger as his mouth began to water.

“Is my body craving spiritual rice?”

He opened the rice cooker, and with the rise of steam, the aroma of the rice intensified tenfold.

Inside the cooker, it was full of rice grains that seemed to emit a faint glow.

Each grain was particularly plump, exuding an astonishing fragrance.

Fang Xing picked up a bowl and chopsticks, filling his bowl to the brim with white rice, taking a big bite.

The spiritual rice melted in his mouth, accompanied by a rich rice fragrance, seemingly even superior to Blood Fang rice.

“Most importantly... it's more nutritious.”

Even without any dishes, Fang Xing still ate contentedly, continually scooping more rice until he finished the entire pot.

“Ah... truly satisfying.”

With his hunger satisfied, Fang Xing rubbed his belly, a trace of contentment on his face: “Unlike swallowing a Qi and Blood Pill, there's no surge of violent energy; instead, it feels like a clear, gentle stream flowing throughout my body...”

He realized that if he continued consuming spiritual rice, even without external elixirs, his foundation for future breakthroughs to higher realms would become more solid, making it easier to overcome bottlenecks.

“Spiritual rice, indeed a good thing... I should buy more next time.”

Thinking about the spiritual rice, Fang Xing couldn't help but recall the young girl Ding Hongxiu, who sold it.

Although she seemed a bit naive, her grandfather appeared knowledgeable, making it worthwhile to establish deeper ties and extract valuable information.

...

After a night of rigorous practice, Fang Xing generally confirmed that although spiritual rice's effects weren't as immediate as elixirs, it worked subtly and lastingly.

Also, considering the potential toxin buildup from excessive elixir use, caution was indeed warranted.

The only downside is the issue of pricing.

"With my current appetite, I need at least three pounds of spiritual rice a day... Ten pounds of spiritual rice only lasts a bit over three days, and that costs a whole spirit stone..."

"This isn't something for ordinary folks... Truly, those draped in silk aren't the ones tending the mulberry trees."

Yet, for Fang Xing, since spiritual rice is more effective and has no side effects, even if it’s a bit pricier, it should still be considered.

"With spiritual rice, I can quickly temper my muscles and bones, and then break through to the Jade Realm!"

The Muscle and Bone Realm is more troublesome than the Flesh Realm.

Not to mention, he has to refine every inch of his several hundred bones.

Additionally, refinements around dangerous areas like the skull must be done with utmost care, consuming a great deal of time.

"Let’s go!"

With a thought, Fang Xing gathered some wildflowers, fruits, and herbs he had picked, filling a small basket halfway, prepared to head to Qinglin Market to set up his stall.

Selling at a stall not only fetches better prices but also provides an opportunity to gather information.

He had already found out that setting up a stall in Qinglin Market is free of charge unless you opt for a fixed spot or shop, which requires monthly rent.

...

Qinglin Market.

The place remained bustling as always.

"By the heavens, the Luo family’s three brothers have fallen..."

"I heard a few demons recently appeared nearby out of nowhere, some unfortunate cultivators met their end... Alas, they shouldn't have opened new land back then."

"Though this desolate land is barren, it has its opportunities... Isn’t the Zheng family patriarch someone who stumbled into a predecessor's cave mansion during land development, striking a fortune with a Foundation Establishment chance? That’s how they succeeded in advancing, and now enjoy endless glory. The Zheng family now controls the auction business in the market, making enormous profits. It’s rumored that the Zheng patriarch is about to take his thirty-seventh concubine..."

The crowd buzzed with discussions, mostly about the demon migrations.

Fang Xing wasn’t too concerned, as he had already mapped out and avoided the dangerous areas with his drone explorations.

After a round of browsing, he approached a stall, saying, "Miss Hong Xiu, we meet again."

On the stall, several baskets were filled with spiritual rice, and the vendor was none other than Ding Hong Xiu.

“So it's you...”

Ding Hong Xiu recognized Fang Xing's disguised face and nodded, “May I have your name?”

“My surname is Fang...”

With a slight smile, Fang Xing spread out a coarse cloth, took out his goods, and began setting up his stall.

Seeing Fang Xing setting up his stall right beside her, Ding Hong Xiu blushed a little, feeling somewhat embarrassed to speak. She glanced at Fang Xing's merchandise, “Friend Fang, are you dealing in medicinal herbs?”

“Indeed. Your lotus-scented spiritual rice is quite good. If it were a bit cheaper, I'd buy a few more pounds...”

Fang Xing chuckled, making the young lady too shy to say more.

Amused in his heart, he picked up a book and began reading, occasionally exchanging a few words with those asking about prices, appearing quite at ease.

“Heavenly Gang Qi Technique?”

Ding Hong Xiu looked at the cover with curiosity, “Is this a martial arts manual?”

“Yes. There's a stall just around the corner selling them; each costs only one spirit sand, very cheap...”

Fang Xing sighed.

Martial artists find it tough to live in the cultivation market. Many sell their treasured skills for a few pieces of spirit sand to make a living.

Sadly, these martial secrets, which would cause bloody strife in the mortal world, are the cheapest and most common items in the market. Especially these rewritten hand-copied versions, which go for a spirit sand apiece.

To learn more about martial artists in this world, Fang Xing casually bought a few, treating them as simple entertainment.

The Heavenly Gang Qi Technique he held was of the best quality, capable of being cultivated to the innate realm, and it came with a martial secret skill, 'Innate Gang Qi.'

In Fang Xing's view, this 'Innate Gang Qi' possessed the power of a Federation B-grade martial art, which was quite impressive.

As for A-grade martial arts?

Those would be above even divine skills, allowing a martial artist to overcome their innate limitations, and were quite rare.

'This world lacks the nurturing soil for martial arts...'

'Martial artists at the innate level are only fit to serve as slaves to cultivators...'

Fang Xing sighed inwardly.

Perhaps due to the suppression by cultivators, martial arts have long been lost, which is why there has been no emergence of a later innate stage comparable to the Courage Realm.

'Given the insularity and adherence to old ways in the cultivation world, even if a martial artist breaks through to the innate stage, it wouldn't gain much attention. It's quite possible that the breakthrough methods are gathering dust at the bottom of a bookshelf in some cultivation sect's library...'

(Chapter end)

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(End of Chapter)