Who are you calling a stable boy?!

But in Tanjiro's eyes, even the most powerful monk could not possibly use his flesh and blood and Buddhist scriptures to kill those man-eating demons that plague the world...

"..."

Zheng Jing's silence made Tanjiro feel uneasy.

Just as he was about to say something more, Zheng Jing suddenly smiled and said, "I understand. Let's do it your way."

"Old Zheng..."

Tanjiro breathed a sigh of relief.

He could tell that Zheng Jing was sincere in his words.

"However, if there's a chance, please let me do what I can. Don't refuse my help, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Tanjiro smiled and agreed without hesitation this time.

"Of course!"

-

Watching Tanjiro run off into the distance, Zheng Jing, who was standing at the crossroads, withdrew his waving right hand and opened his control panel.

[Target intention confirmed, anchoring to begin...]

Anchoring complete.

[Unless the player actively changes to a new anchor target, or the current anchor target becomes invalid, the player's projection will always be placed in a safe location within one kilometer of the anchor target each time the player enters this plane.]

"Hehehe, Tanjiro, this is the power of an adult!"

Zheng Jing grinned and pointed at the panel.

The courtyard that could be anchored so "easily" is clearly no pushover.

Zheng Jing turned his gaze to the option to leave the current plane in the instance interface.

According to Tanjiro's previous statement, it would take at least another day and night to reach the location of his next demon-slaying mission.

Considering the difference in time flow between this dimension and his hometown, Zheng Jing, who couldn't possibly follow Tanjiro, naturally chose a more convenient way to travel.

Flash! Oh, Flash!

Moreover, aside from that consideration, Zheng Jing did indeed need a quiet and safe place to make his first fortune.

I've got experience points, I've got money, everything's ready—

Now all that's missing is Zheng Jing's first cultivation technique.

Chapter Seven: Power, I command you to come forth!

With a blink of an eye, Zheng Jing was back in the main hall of his family's old temple.

He hurried into the backyard, went to the kitchen, and glanced at the digital clock on the wall. Less than ten minutes had passed since he left home.

In that dimension, Zheng Jing, relying on his senses, calculated that roughly five or six hours had passed.

So, if Zheng Jing wanted to get close to Tanjiro when he arrived at the next mission location, he figured he could probably wait about half an hour before he could set off.

The itinerary was as packed as a special forces tour.

Having determined the approximate difference in the flow of time between the two planes, Zheng Jing rushed back to the main hall, sat cross-legged on the futon, and opened the courtyard trading post on the panel.

The trading house has countless goods on display.

As for the price alone, some are so expensive that Zheng Jing can't even tell how many digits the price is without clicking into the product details, while others are so cheap that you can buy one for just 1 courtyard coin.

Seeing the 100 courtyard coins contributed by the evil spirit who hadn't even had a chance to introduce himself before exploding with gold coins, Zheng Jing had no intention of wandering around aimlessly in the trading house.

As far as he was concerned, the only thing he ever thought about going shopping was going with his mother.

When he was still in elementary school, his mother loved to hold his hand and go to the night market in the city on weekends.

He put on those cool sunglasses, compared those beautiful clothes to himself, and dragged him from one end of the night market to the other.

However, even though I browse around, unless I come across a stall selling Little King cartridges, I most likely won't buy a single one.

After passing these stalls, I happily picked him up, swayed my hips, and headed into the food street of the night market.

Left hand holding a bowl of four-fruit soup, right hand holding a spicy hot pot, a piece of barbecue dangling from his mouth, and a bag of sea worm jelly hanging around his neck to take home...

Zheng Jing paused slightly as he examined the product information.

The trading post has a filtering function. Holding the 100 courtyard coins in his hand, he naturally narrowed down the quality range in the search criteria to between the white [Ordinary Bone] and the green [Fine].

Even so, a high-quality cultivation technique cannot be bought with 100 courtyard coins.

Or rather, anything that seems reliable is not cheap.

Therefore, it seems that the only thing he can afford at this stage is the white [Mortal Bone] cultivation technique.

Even so, Zheng Jing still made some progress in his search.

After comparing the [Mortal Bone] cultivation method with the [Premium] cultivation method, he roughly thought of two cultivation methods that he might be able to find in the [Mortal Bone] method and that were very suitable for his current use.

Zheng Jing opened the keyword index and entered the name of the first cultivation method.

"Oh! There really is one!"

-

Ripple Breathing Technique (White)

Quality: Ordinary Bone

Introduction: This breathing technique, created by Tibetan monks for self-cultivation and the pursuit of immortality, boasts a history spanning thousands of years. It demands considerable talent and mental fortitude. It is said that an improved version exists specifically for combating evil spirits; if true, this handwritten manuscript from a monk could be considered the origin of the Ripple Breathing Technique. Because it contains no annotations, understanding its true meaning presents a significant challenge for readers.

Price: 50 Garden Flower Coin

-

The items listed on the trading post are mostly from other players in the multiverse, which means that "knowledge" such as cultivation techniques can often appear in the trading post in various forms.

Zheng Jing checked and found that the Ripple Breathing Method taught by Teacher Lisa Lisa, or the Ripple Breathing Method taught by Grandpa Zeppeli, are both considered "high-quality" methods. They are products that have undergone thousands of years of iteration and have truly transformed from traditional health cultivation techniques into combat methods.

He certainly can't afford a version like that with annotations by famous teachers at this stage.

But he could afford something like this handwritten manuscript.

Similarly, the second exercise manual that Zheng Jing wanted to buy was also like this.

-

Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill (White)

Quality: Ordinary Bone

Synopsis: This is a Tantric Buddhist divine skill that can grant one the strength of a dragon and elephant. It has thirteen levels, and even those of lowly talent can master it. However, reaching the highest level is extremely time-consuming; even if an ordinary person were to exhaust their lifespan, they would likely struggle to surpass five levels. This is a manuscript by a lama, and because it contains no annotations, understanding its true meaning is a significant hurdle for the reader.

Price: 50 Garden Flower Coin

-

The Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill is one of Jinlun's signature skills. This unparalleled martial arts prodigy mastered the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill to the tenth level in his middle age, becoming one of the few top masters in the entire martial arts world at that time who could rival Yang Guo, who was already the mysterious eagle keeper, in terms of skill.

Even in terms of muscle building alone, Yang Guo probably can't compare to him.

Do monks who practice martial arts understand the value of this?

Muscle Golden Wheel, truly lives up to its name!

To be honest, when Zheng Jing was a child, he was very curious about just how powerful the Thirteen Levels of Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill really was.

According to the exaggerated claims in the novel, once it's truly mastered, it's likely to be able to compete head-to-head with the two great scriptures in terms of numerical values, without any clear winner.

Now that he has the opportunity, of course he wants to see what's going on!

He simply emptied his purse, exchanging 100 courtyard coins for two manuscripts, which Zheng Jing flipped through a few times.

Yeah, unsurprisingly, I can't understand it at all.

It's not that he's dull-witted; there's a problem that goes beyond his level of understanding—

He couldn't understand the script used by the monks and lamas.

If it's Sanskrit, then there's some explanation...

However, this was also part of the plan!

With Zheng Jing's extraordinary wisdom, what is a mere barrier of words worth mentioning?

Heavenly Martial Furnace, I command you to come out here!

Zheng Jing opened the Heavenly Martial Furnace and promptly threw in the manuscript of the Ripple Breathing Technique and 75 experience points.

He currently has 150 experience points, and in terms of priority, he should definitely prioritize practicing the Ripple Breathing Technique. If he has any left over, he can then fill them into the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique.

Please confirm your training mode.

[Mode 1: Slow Cooking (Estimated completion time: 1 calendar day in the current plane. Players should ensure the safety of their environment before starting.)]

[Mode Two: Rapid Cooking (Please note that this process may have a strong impact on the player's physical and mental well-being.)]

Whose rice cooker is this?

How can it keep up with the times like this?

Looking at the two mode options in front of him, Zheng Jing hesitated for a moment.

One natural day, which is one day, a full 24 hours.

If we really choose this one, by the time he finishes his work, Tanjiro will have already been there for days.

I'll have to try this high-heat, fast-cooking mode sooner or later...

There's no time like the present!

Sprint! Charge!

Zheng Jing waved his hand, turning off the flames to quickly boil the food—

"Boom!"

The next moment, the young temple keeper fell asleep.

Chapter 8: You all possess extraordinary skills!

About five minutes later, Zheng Jing, whose body had gradually stopped convulsing, suddenly opened his eyes.

He jumped up directly from the futon.

First, he touched his hair, then his eyebrows. Just as he was about to reach for his pants, he seemed to remember something and paused.

"Phew, I thought it was really burned down."

Letting out a long sigh, Zheng Jing muttered to himself and plopped back down on the prayer mat.

Just as he selected the high-heat cooking mode, everything went black. He felt as if long wedges had been driven into every joint of his body, cement had been poured under his skin, and metal had been implanted in his flesh. He couldn't control himself at all.

Then, bursts of fierce fire surged from the darkness from all directions, burning his hair, burning his eyebrows, burning—basically burning all his hair to ashes.

The raging fire burned off his hair, then scalded his skin and flesh, before penetrating his body and leaping up and down into his internal organs!

That wasn't all; for some reason, thick smoke was billowing from the fire, shooting straight into his eyes and making him tear up and snot stream down his face.

I want to close my eyes, but my eyelids won't obey me.

I wanted to cover my eyes, and I even stopped using my hands.

After enduring the pain and stench for an unknown amount of time, Zheng Jing suddenly felt as if he had been kicked by something. When he came to his senses, he was back on the prayer mat in the main hall of his old temple.

Hurrah!

This rice cooker, whether it's simmering on low heat or cooking on high heat, it's all me!

—Looking at the Tianwu Furnace panel still in front of him, Zheng Jing's eyes widened, and he subconsciously wanted to roll up his sleeves.

Just then, the interface of the Heavenly Martial Furnace changed.

This training session is now complete.

The small window that appears alongside the prompt details the changes that occur after practicing the Ripple Breathing Technique.

-

Ripple Breathing Technique (Green)

Quality: Premium