Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 112 Before Departure
I need to go to Changping within three months at the latest.

Because the disciples participating in the mission also need to go in batches.

If it's any later, it will be nine months later.

To obtain the merit points required for the Breakthrough Elixir, one needs to stay for at least a year.

This puts us under considerable time constraints.

Three months of arduous cultivation will obviously not improve one's cultivation level much; it would be better to take this opportunity to purchase some necessary items.

“The spiritual energy in Changping is scarce. The average cultivation speed here is probably less than two or three tenths of that in a sect’s cave dwelling…”

"But if I'm going to stay for a full year, I can't just waste a year of my cultivation time like this."

"..."

Song Yan pondered this in his heart, feeling a slight headache.

"We need to purchase some spirit-gathering arrays and pills for cultivation purposes."

"But we can't spend too many spirit stones, because once we get to Changping, it will probably become the norm to have spirit stones in hand for daily cultivation..."

Previously, Song Yan had already spent a lot of spirit stones to acquire the Mingjue Pill.

After preparing both the Misfortune-Avoiding Talisman and the Earth Escape Talisman, he now only had three mid-grade spirit stones and two hundred and forty-two low-grade spirit stones left in his hands.

Flower Spirit Stones flow like water...

Completely different from that within the sects...

Those who cultivate within the sect can leave once every three to five months.

Go to the market to replenish your cultivation resources, or do sect missions to earn spirit stones and contribution points.

He wasn't some high-level cultivator who would go into seclusion for three to five years at a time; a month-long seclusion was already considered a relatively long period.

Going to Changping, however, it's hard to guarantee that there aren't any markets or neighborhoods for cultivators nearby.

However, with Song Yan's current financial resources, it is simply impossible for him to purchase a whole year's worth of spiritual resources and items in one go.

Therefore, we now need to rack our brains to think carefully about what to choose and what to discard.

After tidying up a bit, Song Yan left the cave and headed towards the center of Lingyuanze Market.

We don't need to worry about magical artifacts; we already have the two flying swords, Unmoored Boat and Linked Branches, which is enough.

He didn't plan to spend too many spirit stones on spirit talismans.

On the one hand, the previous Earth Escape Talisman was not used; on the other hand, the Spirit Destroying Talisman also requires a certain amount of spiritual power.

Many cultivators in the cultivation world believe that when activating a talisman, no spiritual power needs to be consumed except for activating the talisman's spiritual power.

Actually it is not.

Song Yan had read some of the Golden Core senior's insights from his battles in "The Record of Evil Cultivation".

One of them really opened his eyes.

The idea that manipulating talismans does not consume spiritual power is a complete misconception.

In reality, no matter what kind of talisman it is, once activated by a cultivator, there will always be a trace of spiritual energy consumed to establish a connection between the talisman and the cultivator.

It's like an imperceptible thread of spiritual energy.

If the talisman activated by the cultivator is a spell with a relatively long duration.

Then, through this "spiritual energy thread," spiritual energy will be continuously consumed to maintain the cultivator's control over this talisman.

For most Qi Refining stage cultivators, this slight loss of spiritual energy is not something they can directly perceive.

Moreover, the duration of low-level talismans is mostly short.

They usually take effect as soon as they are activated, such as the Fire Crow Talisman and the Storm Reversal Talisman.

However, with talismans like the Misfortune-Avoiding Talisman and the Ren Water Spirit Transformation Talisman, which have a continuous effect, one can only perceive the depletion of spiritual power upon careful observation.

This information is not noticed by those who do not know it, and even those who do know it find it insignificant, so no one pays much attention to it.

However, this Golden Core senior was completely different. He believed that in every life-or-death battle, every bit of spiritual power should be used wisely.

Often, the degree of spiritual energy consumption leads to completely different battle situations.

Moreover, the power of a talisman lies in its ability to win through unexpected means, rather than in overwhelming the opponent with a massive amount of magic.

Therefore, when it comes to talismans, quality is more important than quantity.

He already has a teleportation talisman, so perhaps purchasing one or two more talismans with special effects would be enough. He can reserve the remaining spirit stones for cultivation resources such as pills and spirit-gathering arrays.

"It's really weird."

Even though his wealth is now far greater than when he first entered the sect, he still needs to be careful with his money.

A spirit stone is broken in two to create a flower.

Walking on the streets of the market, most of the cultivators coming and going were outer sect disciples in gray robes; inner sect disciples were actually quite rare.

I used to think there were many inner disciples here, perhaps because only inner disciples could attract attention back then.

Along the way, he often encountered unfamiliar outer disciples who would greet him respectfully and address him as "Senior Brother."

At first, Song Yan needed to rack her brains to figure out who this person was, but later she realized that she really didn't recognize him.

"I haven't gotten used to this new identity yet..."

Jubao Pavilion is located in the city center of Fangcheng.

The old two-story shop occupies a large area and has a good reputation among its disciples.

Moreover, the range of spiritual resources they deal in is very wide, from those commonly used by Qi Refining stage cultivators to those usable by Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, including pills, arrays, talismans, and artifacts.

Stepping inside, one finds many cultivators among them.

Some people walked together in twos and threes, while others selected items alone. Each person had a shop assistant nearby who would occasionally say a few words, perhaps introducing the items in order to promote them.

One of the available employees saw someone come in and went to greet them.

Upon seeing that the visitor was an extremely young inner disciple, their attitude became even more respectful, and they dared not be negligent in the slightest.

"Sir, what would you like to buy?"

This is the first time in my life I've been called "senior".

If he hadn't known the other party was just being polite, Song Yan would have really gotten carried away.

"Buy a few sets of small spirit-gathering arrays, and some pills needed for cultivation."

Actually, if you buy these things separately near Danfang and Zhenge, you might be able to find some cheaper ones.

This can be considered one of his small tips for saving spirit stones.

However, this time the main expense is purchasing the Spirit Gathering Array Plate, so this method is not quite suitable.

Since this trip is to Ghost Mountain, the durability of these items became the most important factor.

Those "cheap" goods usually have some flaws, and if they break after a few days, you can't find anyone to repair them there.

The passageway leading to the second floor was extremely luxurious, presumably prepared for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Currently, the most cost-effective cultivation pill is the Yellow Sprout Pill.

Compared to its long-lasting and profound spiritual power effect, ten spirit stones for a bottle is quite a bargain.

As the mainstream elixir consumed in the largest quantity by Qi Refining cultivators for spiritual refinement, the price of Huangya Dan has remained relatively stable.

They purchased ten bottles of Yellow Sprout Pills and selected the array plates needed for the Small Spirit Gathering Array.

More than two hundred spirit stones were spent.

That's when he started looking at talismans.

He spent several hundred spirit stones in one go, so he can be considered a big customer today.

The shopkeeper beamed and began to explain the talisman in great detail, even informing him of the approximate time it would take to refine it.

However, Song Yan, who had already made up his mind, had no interest in these spells and talismans.

Just as I was about to turn and leave, I noticed a special gray talisman sitting alone in the corner of the counter.

The talisman had no inscriptions or ancient characters on it; instead, it was decorated with three round, pearl-like beads.

"What kind of talisman is this?"

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There shouldn't be any major issues with stable updates!

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(End of this chapter)