Fantasy: Starting with a bowl, you can exchange it for endless cultivation.

He returned to his residence that evening.

Gu Chen tallied up today's gains.

After giving away 300 taels of silver, he still had more than 2,600 taels left. Adding the silver he had left over, he now had a total of more than 2,700 taels of silver.

Secondly, there are nine Blood Qi Pills.

And those two secret manuals.

Gu Chen first checked the first manual.

"Mysterious Iron and Crimson Copper Vajra Body." Gu Chen looked at the overview of this manual; it was a manual for body refinement.

The first page of the manual contains a brief introduction in small print: "The Body Refining Divine Art of the Body Sect. When mastered, one becomes invulnerable to blades and spears, immune to all poisons, impervious to water and fire, and possesses an indestructible physical body."

"It's actually the Body Refining Divine Art of the Body Sect!" Gu Chen was shocked.

The Body Sect is one of the four sects.

The most elite forces in the entire world.

Within the Divine Dynasty, its ranking is only below the Second Gate and the Third Outer Gate.

He's really hit the jackpot.

Unexpectedly, these cultists possessed the top-tier body-refining divine skills of the Body Sect.

Gu Chen continued scrolling down.

This body-refining divine skill has three parts, corresponding to the Xuan Tie Body, the Crimson Copper Body, and the Vajra Body respectively.

Gu Chen placed it directly into the copper bowl.

[Spend one thousand taels of silver to exchange for insights into the "Mysterious Iron Crimson Copper Vajra Body" Mysterious Iron Chapter.]

The copper bowl provides a clue.

Gu Chen was secretly astonished when he saw the prompt. Just the comprehension of the Xuan Tie chapter required a thousand taels of silver. How much would the next two chapters require?

Gu Chen did not choose to exchange. He only had a little over 2,800 taels of silver on him, which he could not afford to use for exchanging for insights into cultivation techniques.

Currently, the main focus is still on exchanging resources to improve cultivation level.

This body-refining technique can wait until he breaks through to at least the second level of the Innate Realm and has some spare money.

Gu Chen put away the cultivation technique and then took out another secret manual.

This is a secret manual that can conceal one's aura and cultivation level.

The reason why those cultists can hide so well in that courtyard today is because of this secret manual.

"The Mysterious Tortoise Concealment Technique!" Gu Chen opened the book to examine it.

According to the description of this secret technique, once one masters it, one can conceal the aura of the Blood Refining Realm, making it impossible for others to see through one's disguise.

Even with minor achievements, one can conceal the aura of the fifth level of the Innate Realm.

At the Great Perfection level, one can even conceal their cultivation level at the fourth level of the Traveler realm.

If it is perfect, then the cultivation of the three realms of sages can be concealed.

"This is a good thing. I happen to be missing a secret technique that can conceal one's cultivation level." Gu Chen placed it into the copper bowl.

Golden characters appeared on the bronze bowl:

[The "Mysterious Tortoise Concealment Technique" can be obtained by exchanging one hundred taels of silver for introductory insights.]

Gu Chen directly put in a silver note worth one hundred taels.

As the silver note disappeared, Gu Chen instantly gained introductory insights into the Mysterious Turtle Concealment Technique.

Gu Chen then made the exchange.

He now possesses the perfect cultivation of the first stage of the Innate Realm, and the entry-level Xuan Turtle Concealment Technique is simply incapable of concealing his cultivation level.

You need to reach the minor mastery level to do it.

[The "Mysterious Tortoise Concealment Technique" can be obtained with a minor level of mastery for 200 taels of silver.]

Gu Chen chose to exchange.

The Mysterious Tortoise Concealment Technique was directly mastered to a minor level.

He activated his concealment technique, instantly hiding his true cultivation level at the level of a second-rate expert.

Gu Chen took out the Qi and Blood Pill, preparing to exchange it for cultivation.

He placed nine Qi and Blood Pills into a copper bowl.

But the copper bowl did not react at all.

"Huh?" Gu Chen was taken aback.

The Qi and Blood Pills can no longer be used to exchange for cultivation points!

The copper bowl provided feedback.

He has already reached the peak of the Blood Refining Realm and the Flesh Refining Realm.

Since there's no need to further refine his flesh and blood, the Qi and Blood Pill no longer provides any improvement, and therefore cannot be exchanged for cultivation level.

So, let's put it that way.

If he wants to break through to the second stage of the Innate Realm, the Skin Tempering Realm, he needs to buy Skin Tempering Pills, Skin Tempering Elixirs, or some spiritual medicines that can help improve his cultivation.

This caused Gu Chen some distress.

The Skin Tempering Pill and Skin Tempering Elixir, which are pills that can only be used by experts at the second level of the Innate Realm, are not available at the Treasure Pharmacy in Qingping Town.

Not only does Baoyaotang in Qingping Town not have it, but Baoyaoge in Cangshan City does not either.

You can only obtain it from the higher-level Treasure Medicine Pavilion in Chiyang City.

"I'll first comprehend the second chapter of the Five Thunder Innate Skill, 'Golden Thunder Tempering Skin Chapter,' and then try to buy Tempering Skin Pills or other resources that I can use in the second stage of the Innate Realm for cultivation," Gu Chen decided.

He sent a message to the bronze bowl, wanting to exchange his insights from the "Golden Thunder Tempering Skin Chapter".

[For twenty taels of silver, you can exchange for insights into the "Golden Thunder Tempering Skin Chapter" cultivation technique.]

Gu Chen chose to exchange without hesitation.

He then gained an understanding of this cultivation technique and mastered it.

The Golden Thunder Tempering Chapter.

It describes a method of using internal energy cultivation techniques to transform the medicinal power absorbed from the outside world into innate golden lightning, which wraps around the body surface, burning, tempering, and refining the skin and fur all over the body.

It makes the skin as hard as divine metal, impervious to swords and spears, and immune to water and fire. The skin is protected by a golden lightning aura, and any external force that touches the skin will be burned by the golden lightning.

Everything is ready; all that's left is to acquire the necessary resources.

He comprehended the Concealment Technique and the Golden Lightning Skin Tempering Technique at a minor level, which cost Gu Chen five hundred taels of silver.

He still had 2,400 taels of silver left.

That should be enough for him to buy resources to break through to the Skin Tempering Realm.

Gu Chen approached Li Linfeng the next day.

He revealed that he wanted to buy the Skin Tempering Pill.

Li Linfeng was utterly shocked.

The Skin Tempering Pill is something only experts at the second level of the Innate Realm can use; even the Treasure Medicine Pavilion in Cangshan County doesn't have it.

The goods can only be sourced from the Treasure Pharmacy in Chiyang City.

He hadn't expected that Gu Chen's major client was so powerful that he even needed to order the Skin Tempering Pills.

"Old Li, can you get a hundred Skin Tempering Pills at an 88% discount? If so, these nine Qi and Blood Pills will be your reward." Gu Chen took out nine Qi and Blood Pills and handed them to Li Linfeng.

"The Skin Tempering Pill is too high-grade; it has to be sourced from Chiyang City. Getting it at an 88% discount is very difficult, and I don't have that much power." Li Linfeng shook his head; he was merely the head of the Baoyao Hall in Qingping Town.

He might be able to find some connections in Cangshan County, but in the Baoyao Pavilion in Chiyang City, even if he wanted to bribe them, they wouldn't pay him any attention.

"I can only get you a 10% discount on high-end products like the Skin Tempering Pills. That's all I can offer," Li Linfeng said.

"10% off? 10% off is fine too." Gu Chen immediately said, "Give me the goods at 10% off. How long will it take to arrive?"

One skin-tempering pill costs twenty taels of silver, so one hundred pills would cost two thousand taels. If there's a 10% discount, it would cost one thousand eight hundred taels.

Gu Chen took out 1,800 taels and handed it to him.

"The goods will be transported from Chiyang City by waterway, which will take a while, about seven days," Li Linfeng said.

After saying that, he took the 1,800 taels of silver notes and nine Qi and Blood Pills from Gu Chen.

"Seven days is fine too." Gu Chen nodded, though he gave Li Linfeng nine Qi and Blood Pills as payment.

But Gu Chen felt it was worth it.

They can't do things for him for free.

Besides, the Qi and Blood Pill is useless to him now, so it's better to give it away as a favor.

If Li Linfeng isn't allowed to help him source the goods, and he's asked to buy the Skin Tempering Pills himself in Chiyang City, the journey there and back is long and time-consuming, and he won't be able to get the 10% discount there.

There's no need to go through all that trouble; just have Li Linfeng order it for him.

The time that follows.

Gu Chen then waited patiently for news at the Precious Medicine Hall.

Now that his cultivation level has risen higher and higher, Gu Chen feels that Qingping Town is no longer a suitable place for him to stay.

He even felt that the Baoyao Pavilion in Cangshan County was a bit too small.

As his cultivation level improves, the resources he needs for future cultivation will only increase, and there are too few ways to earn money in Qingping Town.

He needs to develop in a larger place.

At the same time, he destroyed the Black Heaven Cult's stronghold in Qingping Town. Yang Wenhua, who was in front of him, was probably too busy dealing with the Night Watch's investigation to realize that he had actually wiped out the members of the Black Heaven Cult.

He had to leave Qingping Town to avoid being targeted by both sides and getting into endless trouble if things were exposed.

Once the batch of Skin Tempering Pills he ordered from Li Linfeng arrived, he successfully broke through to the Skin Tempering Realm and went to show some of his strength to He Xiangdong.

See if I can get him to recommend me to leave and go to the Treasure Medicine Pavilion in Chiyang City.

If not, he would leave the Treasure Medicine Pavilion directly.

With his cultivation at the second level of the Innate Realm, he would surely find other forces willing to accept him if he went to Chiyang City.

Based on what Gu Chen has learned over this period of time.

Units like towns, such as Qingping Town, would have no more than top-tier experts among their strongest members.

Innate masters can only be found in Cangshan County, and even then, they are only at the first level of the Innate Realm.

There are no experts at the second level of the Innate Realm in Cangshan County, or if there are, they are only a few, representing the pinnacle of combat power.

You'll only get it if you go to Chiyang City.

Once he breaks through to the second level of the Innate Realm, he will be a top expert in Chiyang City, and he won't have to worry about finding a powerful force to join him.

If he takes a liking to a certain family or power, he can directly appoint them as guest elders.

While Gu Chen was pondering his future plans.

A fight has broken out between the Qingping Town government office and the Wuli Temple in Wuli Village outside Qingping Town.

Yang Wenhua, the town magistrate of Qingping Town, was exposed for practicing evil arts and raising evil spirits to extract the vital energy and essence of young children for his own training.

The Cangshan County Night Watch dispatched two night watchmen to arrest him.

One of the two watchmen was responsible for capturing Yang Wenhua, and the other was responsible for eliminating the evil spirit he kept in the Wuli Temple in Wuli Village.

The fighting had a wide-ranging impact that night.

Yang Wenhua's strength far exceeded the Night Watchmen's estimates.

He had secretly raised evil spirits to cultivate evil arts for many years, and his strength was no longer at the top-tier level, but had already broken through to the Innate Realm.

Moreover, he was not just a beginner in the first stage of the Innate Realm, but had reached the Great Perfection of the First Stage of the Innate Realm, with one foot already in the Second Stage of the Innate Realm.

The two Night Watchmen who came to arrest him were one at the mid-stage of the first level of the Innate Realm and the other at the late stage.

Neither of them were a match for him, and both were injured by him.

Yang Wenhua also fled with the evil spirits he had kept in captivity.

The news spread throughout Qingping Town the very next day, shocking countless people.

Many parents who have lost their young children over the years have been cursing Yang Wenhua.

They never imagined that their missing child had been captured by the town magistrate to practice evil arts, and they were filled with grief and anger.

Upon hearing this news, Gu Chen sighed deeply, for he had reached the pinnacle of the first realm of the Innate Realm.

He hadn't expected the town magistrate to be so well hidden.

Fortunately, when he first arrived in Qingping Town, he discovered the town magistrate's secret using the copper bowl but did not immediately report him.

Otherwise, given the incompetent Night Watchmen's ability to let people escape even when they come to surround and capture them, if the town magistrate finds out that he was the one who informed on him, he might seek revenge.

He died.

At that time, he was only a first-rate expert. The Zhen Shi, who had reached the second stage of the half-step Xiantian realm, could crush him as easily as crushing an ant.

The next day, the entire Night Watch of Cangshan County was mobilized, including their chief, Lin Zhen, a powerful expert at the second level of the Innate Realm, who came to Qingping Town to participate in the pursuit of Yang Wenhua.

Unfortunately, Yang Wenhua, who had already escaped, would never return to walk into the trap; he had probably already fled Qingping Town.