Chapter 20
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Chapter 20: Unexpected Spoils
“Uncle Sun, let’s continue our conversation tomorrow. I’m quite tired from yesterday and hardly had any rest. I’ll go find lodging in the village now.” Li Hui felt something was odd about his state; while an additional boost was fine, he worried about the silver snake bracelet causing trouble. So, he respectfully took his leave.
“Ha ha, good, good! Make sure to rest well. Tomorrow, Uncle Sun will show you something wonderful,” Sun Zhengyang patted Li Hui on the shoulder, thinking the boy had grown weary of his rambling. However, the fact that he had listened attentively until now showed that this humility was not to be underestimated.
Li Hui sighed in relief. When he left, he worried that Uncle Sun might be displeased, but now it seemed this elder truly embodied refinement and generosity.
Hosting a mighty cultivator was an honor, and even if this mighty cultivator had quite an appetite, it would be a shared burden for the entire village. What was there to fear?
After intense competition, Tie Shuan’s father finally managed to gather the funds to invite the esteemed mighty cultivator into their home, achieving his wish at last.
Li Hui didn’t ask for much; he simply needed a quiet place to meditate. Not waiting for Tie Shuan’s parents to come over to fawn over him, he flicked his sleeves and instructed, “Do not disturb my cultivation. Just do as I say.”
Upon hearing this, the couple instantly became like quail, along with little Tie Shuan, who dared not even breathe loudly. They obediently huddled in a side room, waiting for any orders from the mighty cultivator.
After sending them off, Li Hui quickly settled down cross-legged.
At that moment, his body trembled slightly, and the eighty-one acupoints ached intensely, as if even the three hundred sixty-five hidden acupoints were about to explode, feeling exactly like the lead-up to his advancement last night!
“Indeed, the spiritual energy is pouring into the acupoints. There are only six or seven hours between opening the first mark and the second mark. Isn’t this a bit rushed, potentially destabilizing my foundation?” Li Hui thought, shaking his head with a bitter smile. “My life is down to three years; why am I worrying about this? Any progress is better than none.”
A cultivator at the Spirit Motion stage cannot conduct a detailed internal examination of themselves yet. Therefore, whether it’s the eighty-one acupoints or the three hundred sixty-five hidden acupoints, along with the meridians connecting them, he could only gain a superficial sense. Once he enters the Concentrating Spirit stage, he will be able to use spiritual energy to expand the acupoints and transport spiritual energy through his meridians. However, when he opens the spirit marks, the spiritual energy automatically flows through the acupoints, akin to meridian transport, but he has no control over it.
The cultivation methods related to the Spirit Motion stage have been honed through countless trials until they are almost indistinguishable now. Only when he reaches the Concentrating Spirit stage will he choose the appropriate method to practice based on the specifics of his spirit mark openings.
Taking advantage of the moment before the acupoint activation deepened, Li Hui quickly retrieved a bag of treasures and a nine-chain bag.
These two items were gifts from Brother Zheng during their farewell. He also had a pair of rune wings that had turned to ashes. Besides that, he fished out two talismans from Zheng Tianxiang’s sleeve: the six-pattern poison talisman and the six-pattern purification talisman.
The poison talismans were a branch of medicinal talismans, and these two were much stronger than those from the Artifact Pavilion. Li Hui was unsure how powerful they would be when activated by himself.
Though the bag of treasures was not a magic artifact, it was vastly more convenient than the chain bag because it was made with strands of Xumi bamboo, allowing it to store magical artifacts. The chain bag was crafted from black stone, which couldn’t hold magical artifacts and thus lost significant value, making it only suitable for low-level cultivators, while mid-tier practitioners would use the bag of treasures instead.
“Clink, clink…”
Sounds echoed as many items tumbled out of the bag of treasures. Li Hui’s eyes lit up as he picked up a large piece of wind-milled copper and weighed it in his hand, thinking it must be at least fifteen pounds.
In addition to the wind-milled copper, there was frost silver as well as two small pieces of dragon scale gold.
This was the third time Li Hui had seen real dragon scale gold, estimated to be about five taels. That amount wasn’t small and was something he would never have dared to dream of before.
Aside from the gold and silver, there were various jars and exquisite foods.
However, just as Li Hui picked up a beautifully crafted dagger, his fingers suddenly absorbed dozens of faint lights, and the dagger turned to scraps and fell apart.
“Is this a magical artifact? Zheng Tianxiang must have intended to take this dagger for protection. Damn it, is it true that I won’t even touch a single magical artifact before my lifespan runs out?”
“How miserable!” Li Hui had no time to think further, quickly opening the nine-chain bag.
The urgency came from the need to sort his spoils while the acupoint activation occurred, fearing that, like last night, the thirty-six acupoints would create a terrifying suction. He hoped to find some Miao Jade from Zheng Tianxiang.
He tapped on the symbols of the nine black stones on the chain bag, and nine bundles fell onto the bed in response.
“What a great chain bag! Each bundle is at least four feet square.” Li Hui quickly unpacked the bundles. He loved this action, feeling a rush of accomplishment and joy. But when he saw what was inside, his expression changed dramatically.
“Scum!!!”
Each bundle contained a severed head—of young boys and girls, young men and women, and even elderly men and women. The final head was the most bizarre, with one side resembling a beautiful woman and the other side a rough man—indeed, a half-man, half-woman yin-yang person.
One common feature among all these heads was that red talismans were stuck to their foreheads, with nine deep black patterns etched on each, exuding a bloody aura.
Had he not grown up on the battlefield and spent time transporting bodies, he might have been horrified upon suddenly seeing so many severed heads. Fortunately, he had a sufficiently strong heart.
It was regrettable not to find any Miao Jade, and time was becoming increasingly pressing. Li Hui didn’t spare time to examine the heads; instead, he quickly tidied things up, taking out the Mixed-colored Miao Jade for emergencies, while setting the purification and poison talismans within easy reach.
After completing all this, he tossed two pieces of wind-milled copper and two pieces of frost silver out the window into the courtyard, loudly calling, “Tie Shuan’s father, take this wealth and buy some meat. The more, the better! I didn’t eat enough during the day and want to have more tonight.”
The couple’s eyes widened in surprise, realizing that cultivators could really eat a lot, but if there was money, they would be treated like nobles.
The copper coins made from wind-milled copper could be worth a hundred of regular ones, and frost silver was several hundred times more valuable than ordinary silver. Tie Shuan’s father became ecstatic! He believed that inviting this esteemed mighty cultivator to their home was the best decision of his life.
After giving a few instructions, Li Hui paid no more attention to Tie Shuan’s family. The acupoint fluctuations grew stronger, and the thirty-six acupoints in his chest, back, and limbs began to exert a pulling force again, sweeping away all the spiritual energy within him in just a few breaths.
“Indeed, it has begun again!”
“There’s no choice but to use the Mixed-colored Miao Jade. I don’t know much about Miao Jade. I know the Miao Jade is best for absorption, but I’m not sure what effects the Mixed-colored Miao Jade will have on my body.”
Li Hui felt a stinging pain throughout his body, especially in those thirty-six acupoints, as if they were being pinned down by countless iron shovels. If he could not replenish his spiritual energy quickly, it might be more than just stagnation in his cultivation.
Holding back the pain, he gritted his teeth and chose five pieces of white Miao Jade with cotton cracks, as they were closer to Miao Jade, making them suitable for emergencies.
“Bang! Bang!” Just as he grasped the Miao Jade in his palm, the surface of the jade shattered, releasing a gauzy smoke that filled the room, dancing with Li Hui’s breath, appearing exceptionally enchanting…
