A Chance Encounter in the Capital

His Qi Gathering Art had reached the bottleneck of the third layer. Advancing to the fourth layer would be impossible without medicinal pills and spirit stones.

He had also mastered some basic spells, but casting them severely drained his spiritual energy. Without a steady supply of spirit stones, his reserves would quickly be depleted.

Since his spiritual energy could run out, and he was merely a mortal, he also needed to train in physical defense. Additionally, he planned to craft powerful weapons to serve as his ultimate trump cards.

His Fireball Spell could now condense an orb the size of a bowl. When hurled, the spiritual energy would instantly ignite, creating a devastating explosion.

The Traction Spell proved incredibly convenient, consuming minimal spiritual energy, yet it was among the most challenging to master. Currently, he could move small objects with a mere flick of his wrist.

His most satisfying achievement was Ice Condensation. It allowed him to form ice crystals within a zhang, consuming far less energy than the Fireball Spell. He had even managed to freeze an entire hot spring solid, using only thirty percent of his spiritual energy.

Finally, the Body Strengthening Art, as its name suggested, used spiritual energy to fortify the body. The more robust his physique, the greater the enhancement. These spells, combined, made him practically invincible among mortals.

He could use Cloud-Treading Steps and leg reinforcement for accelerated movement, quickly closing the distance to an opponent before unleashing Ice Condensation or a Fireball Spell. No one could stand against him!

The Spiritual Energy Shield offered less defense than an ice shield, primarily serving to deflect or weaken spiritual attacks from opponents.

“Oh no, I think I forgot that cultivators were supposed to come pick disciples soon…” Lin Tian slapped his forehead and hurriedly rushed down the mountain.

His old living quarters remained unchanged, meticulously clean, clearly indicating that Zhang Yu no longer resided there.

He made his way to Luo Tao’s dwelling, arriving just as his brother emerged from his room, seemingly preparing to descend the mountain.

“Yingkong?!” Luo Tao exclaimed, his face etched with surprise.

“Fourth Brother, when are the cultivators selecting disciples?” Lin Tian asked, getting straight to the point.

“Uh… I’m sorry, I couldn’t find you. The cultivators left last month…”

He had expected Lin Tian to show disappointment, but his expression betrayed no change whatsoever.

“If I missed it, then I missed it. How are you doing with the cultivation method I showed you last time?”

“You mean that Qi Gathering Art? I practiced it for three months and felt absolutely nothing, so I gave up.”

Indeed, Luo Tao showed no trace of spiritual energy. According to the book, only those with spiritual roots could cultivate. Lin Tian himself hadn’t known what a spiritual root was, simply starting to practice.

Considering this, he was fortunate to possess the qualifications for cultivation.

“Are you heading down the mountain? Here, take these.” Lin Tian flicked his hand, and two grenades, along with a pistol, materialized seemingly from nowhere.

“This gun has seven bullets. Load it, then pull the trigger.” Lin Tian explained the mechanism in detail.

“Uh… these are for me? What about you?”

“I have another one. I won’t be needing these anymore, so keep them for self-defense.”

“Hoo~” Luo Tao let out a long sigh. “It’s been almost a year since I came here. I’ll go home for the festival and visit. I heard Eldest Brother and Second Brother are back.”

“Mm, I still have some matters to attend to. I’ll head back once I’m done.” Lin Tian nodded.

“Yingkong, missing the chance to cultivate… are you really alright?” Luo Tao genuinely worried she was bottling up her feelings.

“Don’t worry, you know what kind of person I am. Rationality comes first.” He could already use spells; why would he worry about not finding a sect?

The siblings chatted for a while longer before bidding each other farewell.

Lin Tian’s first priority was to go to Wu Yuan’s dwelling. According to his dying words, a body-refining cultivation method was buried under a tree behind the house.

Upon arrival, the lodging was empty. Fortunately, there were no signs of digging behind the house.

A wooden box was buried three feet beneath the green tree, containing two halves of a book and several bottles of unknown liquid.

“Muscle Gate Heart Core?” Lin Tian examined one of the books. This cultivation method allowed one to perfectly tap into the body’s potential, unleashing maximum combat power.

However, using the Muscle Gate Art would result in a period of weakness lasting from one day to a week.

This was the cultivation method Wu Yuan had used back then. When he activated it, his entire body’s veins would bulge, hence its name, Muscle Gate Art.

There was another book titled Hundred Poisons Marrow Cleansing.

Poisons were deadly, yet in large quantities, they could transform. The principle was to use poison to combat poison, allowing oneself to be poisoned and then breaking through it.

By repeating this process according to the book, one’s physique would significantly improve, becoming immune to a hundred poisons. It would perfectly complement the Muscle Gate Art.

As for the bottles of liquid, they contained rare poisons that could be utilized for the Hundred Poisons Marrow Cleansing.

Gathering everything into his storage bag, he began his descent down the mountain.

****

The storage bag had limited space. Lin Tian had often tried putting stones inside; it could hold roughly the contents of a single room, but no living creatures.

This time, he didn’t ride a horse down the mountain. Instead, he used spiritual energy to reinforce his legs. Combined with the Cloud-Treading Steps, he could traverse the forest swiftly, avoiding winding mountain paths and increasing his speed severalfold.

Departing in the morning, his figure moved through the forest like a swift leopard, crossing several mountain ranges in succession.

It felt like galloping on a wild horse, akin to activating a speed hack in a game.

He reached the capital city before dusk that afternoon. Aside from some spiritual energy depletion, his body also felt a slight fatigue.

This was the most prosperous city in the Wu Kingdom, and one of its primary economic pillars.

Upon arriving at the city gate, the roads were already bustling with numerous carriages and people.

Guards were inspecting people at the main gate. Lin Tian used his inner disciple identity token to enter the city.

Inside, the flow of people was endless, resembling a massive agricultural market, far beyond what a small town could compare to.

As soon as he entered the city gate, Lin Tian felt someone watching him. It wasn’t a lecherous gaze, but an unfamiliar, ill-intentioned one.

He paid it no mind, continuing his walk towards the palace. After a short while, he subtly glanced behind him, then turned into an uninhabited alley.

Two young men followed him in. Lin Tian stopped, turning to ask, “May I ask why you two are following me?”

The two men offered an awkward smile. “This young lady is also a fellow practitioner. Coming here at this time, you must have been invited by the Prince, no?”

“The Prince?” Lin Tian scrutinized them. He could sense spiritual energy in both of them, even stronger than his own.

“The young lady doesn’t know? How about we team up and go slay some demonic beasts together?”

Seeing him remain silent, the youth continued, “It’s not convenient to talk here. Let’s discuss it at an inn.”

Lin Tian readily agreed. Meeting other cultivators was a good thing; he could use this opportunity to learn more about the inner workings of cultivation.

They arrived at a teahouse, where a waiter immediately came forward to greet them.

“What would you three like to drink?”

The youth slapped his head. “I don’t usually eat common food. It seems I didn’t bring any silver. Brother Qi, do you have any?”

“I don’t either.” The youth named Qi crossed his arms, showing no embarrassment whatsoever.

“Take this.” Lin Tian tossed a piece of gold onto the counter. Those who could pay with gold were people of status, and the waiter quickly escorted them to the top floor.

The area was empty, offering fresh air and quiet.

“First, allow me to introduce myself. My surname is Wang, and this is Brother Qi.”

“Luo Yingkong.”

“So it’s Miss Luo. I see your cultivation is at the peak of the third layer of Qi Refinement. Are you having difficulty breaking through?” the man named Wang inquired.

This was precisely the topic Lin Tian wanted to inquire about, but he hadn’t known how to bring it up. He was surprised he had mentioned it directly.

“My spirit stones and medicinal pills are depleted, so it’s indeed difficult to break through. Brother Wang, you just mentioned Qi Refinement… are there levels within this cultivation stage?” Lin Tian asked rapidly.

The man named Wang smiled. “Miss Luo must also be an unaligned rogue cultivator, then. Spirit stones and medicinal pills are indeed hard to come by. This time, the Prince has invited us to deal with demonic beasts, and we can obtain an Essence Pill.”

After some discussion, it was clear that his Qi Gathering Art was indeed a cultivation method, though merely an entry-level one.

The Qi Refinement stage had a total of fifteen layers, followed by the Foundation Establishment stage, Core Formation stage, and then the Nascent Soul stage.

It was almost impossible for a rogue cultivator to reach Foundation Establishment, as all cultivation resources were held by the major cultivation sects.

“Brother Wang, what is the use of this Essence Pill?”