Mortal Cultivation: Starting from Hiding in the Cultivation Techniques Pavilion

Su Xiaoyuan's breath hitched. The spiritual pressure seemed to have instantly sucked away the air around his body, bringing an extremely strong sense of oppression.

Just as Su Xiaoyuan was about to use his spiritual energy to resist, the chaotic spiritual energy within his body began to circulate almost instinctively. As it gently rippled through his meridians, the spiritual pressure immediately lessened considerably.

"Huh?" Xiu Zhun's gaze changed.

He put down his wine gourd and looked at Su Xiaoyuan seriously: "You are only at the third level of Qi Refining, yet you can remain unfazed under my spiritual pressure."

Su Xiaoyuan quickly cupped her hands in greeting: "Senior brother, you misunderstand. I meant no harm. It's just that I greatly admire Senior Brother Xiuzhun's brilliance back then, but I've never had the chance to get to know you."

Xiu Zhun scoffed, "Your former glory? I'm a cripple now, and I'll only get worse. What do you want to know me for?"

He picked up the gourd and took another swig: "It's alright to tell you, I'm now at the seventh level of Qi Refining."

Su Xiaoyuan was startled.

At his peak, Xiu Zhun was at the ninth level of Qi Refining, just one step away from Foundation Establishment.

In just a few years, he fell from the ninth level to the seventh. For a once spirited cultivator, such a drop was undoubtedly torturous.

According to the information Su Xiaoyuan obtained, Xiu Zhun had an ordinary fire-attribute spiritual root and his aptitude was actually average. However, he was diligent and hardworking, and his comprehension was also high. He had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining in just four years after entering the sect, which attracted the attention of the sect's masters.

At that time, the teachers were discussing how to train him.

But at that moment, Xiu Zhun suddenly encountered a problem in his cultivation, and his cultivation level began to decline.

After repeated examinations, the teachers concluded that Xiuzhun's spiritual root had inherent minor flaws and should have been cultivated gradually.

The reason he was able to progress so quickly was because he worked too hard during cultivation, overdrawing the potential of his spiritual root.

When hidden dangers accumulate to a certain extent, they will erupt once they occur, and then there will be no way to reverse the situation.

His cultivation level has been declining in recent years, and at this rate, it's only a matter of time before he regresses to the sixth level.

Su Xiaoyuan remained silent for a while, then said nothing more.

He simply cupped his hands in a respectful gesture: "Be careful of Huang Qi during next month's assessment, senior brother."

Xiu Zhun snorted and waved his hand, indicating that Su Xiaoyuan could leave.

Su Xiaoyuan did not return to the Kung Fu Pavilion after leaving the martial arts training ground.

He thought for a moment and turned in another direction, towards Shanggong Hall.

Eleven years have passed since he transmigrated, and this is the first time he has ever been to this place.

He was a useless second-level Qi Refining cultivator with no money, no resources, and no needs. Shanggong Hall was a place that had nothing to do with him.

He wants to advance another rank before the sect's assessment, and currently, Shanggong Hall is the only channel he can earn spirit stones from.

Shanggong Hall is located in a spacious square at the foot of the main peak of Jiuxuanmen. It is a round two-story building that looks a bit like the Temple of Heaven, only several times larger.

Su Xiaoyuan stepped inside.

He froze as soon as he entered the door.

This entire hall was surprisingly filled with stalls!

That's right, it's a stall! Just like an antique market.

There were roughly forty or fifty stalls, with various items displayed on simple bamboo tables.

The air was filled with the mixed scents of herbs and wood.

There were many disciples coming and going in the hall, but no one made a loud noise.

Occasionally, someone would take a fancy to something and sit on a small stool in front of the stall to talk to the seller. They spoke in a low voice and seemed very restrained.

There's a stall selling medicinal herbs on your left as soon as you enter.

Having stayed in the Cultivation Techniques Pavilion for so many years, he may not have any other skills, but he has certainly read a lot of books, including books on spiritual herbs and mineral identification.

At a glance, he saw that they were all low-level spiritual herbs, such as Qi-condensing herbs and purple night flowers.

He doesn't know how to refine pills, so these things are useless to him.

Speaking of alchemy, there's a stall selling pills not far away.

Each porcelain bottle was labeled with a name like "Guyuan Dan" (固元丹), "Bigu Dan" (辟谷丹), and "Dingyan Dan" (定颜丹), each name sounding more impressive than the last.

Su Xiaoyuan could tell at a glance that even the porcelain bottle was of rough quality, so the pills inside couldn't be of high grade.

He casually picked up a bottle of Marrow Cleansing Pills and asked about the price.

"Two, one low-grade spirit stone." The stall owner said without looking up.

Su Xiaoyuan silently put the bottle back.

His monthly salary is only two spirit stones, not even enough to buy one.

Further ahead is the area for magical artifacts.

Among them is the storage artifact that Su Xiaoyuan has always longed for.

Su Xiaoyuan squatted down, picked up a storage bag, and weighed it in her hand: "How much is this bag?"

"One high-grade spirit stone." The stall owner was a young man. He looked at Su Xiaoyuan and said, "At least nine mid-grade spirit stones."

Su Xiaoyuan then pointed to a row of exquisite boxes containing storage rings: "What about those?"

"Ten pieces for top-quality items, starting from ten," the stall owner said succinctly.

Su Xiaoyuan put down the storage bag and walked away.

Poor! So poor!

Previously, he only knew that he was poor, but he had no concept of it.

Now, he feels very concretely poor.

Forget it, I don't have anything valuable to show off anyway, so what's the point of having this thing? Ah Q wins.

He continued browsing.

There was a row of talisman stalls in front.

Several yellow paper talismans were displayed under a paperweight.

Wooden signs were stuck next to it, indicating their names: Golden Light Talisman, Explosion Talisman, Tranquility Talisman...

Su Xiaoyuan wasn't very interested in these things; he always felt they were game props and shouldn't be relied upon too much.

He casually picked up a blasting talisman and observed the twisted runes drawn on it with cinnabar. The strokes were as winding as snakes and had a special rhythm.

Suddenly, his vision blurred, and a line of semi-transparent text appeared:

[Optimizable target detected: Burst Rune]

[Optimization potential assessment: 55%]

Su Xiaoyuan: "!!!"

Can this thing be optimized?

His heart skipped a beat!

He suppressed his excitement and examined the exploding talisman carefully, turning it over and over.

The talisman paper felt rough to the touch, the cinnabar was fine, and the strokes did indeed look somewhat awkward.

"How much is this talisman?" Su Xiaoyuan asked.

The stall owner was an elderly man with gray hair and beard, wearing a faded gray cloth robe. When he saw someone asking about the price, his eyes lit up and he greeted them warmly.

"One low-grade spirit stone per talisman. Fellow Daoist has good taste; this explosive talisman is one of my masterpieces. It's powerful, detonates quickly, and can be a lifesaver in a critical moment!"

Su Xiaoyuan didn't say anything, but turned the talisman over.

Seeing his silence, the old man assumed he was hesitating and quickly added, "Don't underestimate this talisman just because it's a one-time use item. Think about it: when you encounter danger, whether your spiritual energy is exhausted or you're surrounded, pulling out a talisman and slapping it out can save your life!"

"Let me tell you, last month an outer disciple went to Black Wind Forest to gather herbs and encountered a first-tier demonic beast. Seeing that he couldn't escape, he unleashed an explosive talisman, instantly blasting the beast away and escaping unscathed. Do you think that spirit stone was well spent?"

This old man is quite talkative.

After he finished speaking, Su Xiaoyuan looked up and asked, "Can this thing be used for next month's assessment?"

The old man glared at him after hearing this: "You young man are truly foolish. The sect has rules that disciples who are not specialized in the art of talismans are not allowed to use talismans and magical artifacts in competitions. Otherwise, if everyone stops cultivating their skills and relies solely on their family wealth, what's the point of the competition?"

Su Xiaoyuan nodded, put down the talisman, and stood up.

The old man, still undeterred, added, "But you can use it when you're on a mission! You'll need it sooner or later!"

"Thank you, senior. I'll take another look."

Alright, let's get down to business first.

He went up to the second floor via the impressive wooden staircase in the center of the hall.