Chapter 56

[Five Elements Skill (Tier 4): 197/400]

The biggest problem Wang Chen currently faced in his cultivation was that his strength had reached a level where it no longer matched the fully upgraded level of his spells.

Last night, when facing a wolf beast possessed by an evil wraith, he cast the Fire Crow Technique with all his might three times in a row. His dantian mana was almost exhausted, and his ability to sustain combat was clearly insufficient.

Although this problem could be solved by taking the Qi Recovery Pill,

during intense combat, there might not be time to consume pills.

Moreover, it takes time for the Qi Recovery Pill to take effect.

Furthermore, every medicine has its poison, and even low-quality pills contain the risk of pill poison.

Therefore, no matter how good pills are, they’re no match for having a solid and safe foundation.

So Wang Chen decided to reduce the frequency of grinding for skill proficiency and allocate more time to practicing his main cultivation technique.

To advance to the fifth tier of Qi Cultivation as soon as possible!

Actually, Wang Chen’s cultivation speed was already very fast.

Even if he followed the proper order, it would take him at most two months to reach the peak of the fourth tier.

In less than five months, without relying on pills or spiritual materials as external aids, he achieved a minor realm breakthrough in the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation.

Even prodigies may not be able to achieve this!

However, a persistent sense of crisis, deep in his heart, made Wang Chen want to speed up even more!

He had also cultivated the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Method to the peak of the first tier.

Wang Chen wanted to try to make the first breakthrough in this body refinement technique without spending any Heavenly Merit.

If that didn’t work, then he would use points to assist him.

And to cultivate the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Method, Vajra Ghee was an indispensable auxiliary material.

Must buy, buy, buy!

“This Yin Qi Pearl’s capacity and purity are not very high,”

said Shopkeeper Jin after appraising the Yin Qi Pearl that Wang Chen had brought out. “I can offer a maximum of four hundred twenty Fragmented Spirit Stones.”

The value of a Yin Qi Pearl is determined by the size of the pearl, the amount of Yin Qi it contains, and its purity.

The quality of the Yin Qi Pearl Wang Chen obtained last night was clearly not as good as the one from before.

He sincerely said to Wang Chen, “Fellow Daoist, this is a fixed price, no bargaining allowed!”

After some thought, Wang Chen said, “I want to exchange it all for Vajra Ghee, so give me a discount.”

Shopkeeper Jin forced a smile, “Vajra Ghee has been selling well lately. The supply from Heavenly Dragon Temple is a bit tight, and the price has gone up to twelve Spirit Stones per bottle.”

Although he said no bargaining, after some haggling, Wang Chen finally exchanged his Yin Qi Pearl for thirty-eight bottles of Vajra Ghee.

After completing the transaction, Wang Chen was ready to dust off his hands and leave.

But he suddenly had a hunch and tentatively asked, “Shopkeeper, do you know what happened last night?”

The branches of Four Seas Commerce Association span the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, and their influence is immense.

Their information network is especially well-connected.

Wang Chen knew very well that information here is also a commodity.

To extract useful intelligence from this shrewd shopkeeper’s mouth without spending Spirit Stones

was almost impossible.

But there’s no harm in asking, what if the other party suddenly lost their mind or had a lapse in judgment?

However, Shopkeeper Jin’s intelligence was online, and he smiled at Wang Chen.

Not able to get any advantage, Wang Chen shrugged his shoulders.

Time to leave.

Just as Wang Chen was about to get up, Shopkeeper Jin raised his hand to stop him.

He held up a short, stubby finger and said, “One for one. You tell me how you got your Yin Qi Pearl, and I’ll tell you what happened last night.”

“Deal!”

Wang Chen immediately replied, “My Yin Qi Pearl dropped when I burst an evil beast.”

His Yin Qi Pearl had come from an upright and legitimate source, neither stolen goods nor contraband, nothing to hide.

Revealing the source in exchange for information was not a problem at all.

To prove he wasn’t just talking big, Wang Chen also described what the evil beast looked like.

“Indeed, it is so,”

Shopkeeper Jin nodded after hearing the explanation, “Then I can tell you that the evil beast you encountered last night was controlled by a Mist Puppeteer.”

Mist Puppeteer!

In Wang Chen’s mind, a passage from the “Treatise on Evil Wraith” immediately surfaced.

The Mist Puppeteer belonged to the ‘Grievance’ tier of evil wraiths, equivalent to the Purple Mansion level among cultivators.

However, the capabilities of an evil wraith are peculiar, and those at the Grievance tier are already very powerful.

Some Grievance-level evil wraiths are so formidable that even a Purple Mansion Superior would have to retreat three feet and dare not confront them directly.

Mist Puppeteers specialize in concealment and puppet control. They can manipulate hundreds of evil beast puppets within their self-created ‘Mist Zone’, hunting cultivators.

A Mist Puppeteer starts at the Gray Resentment tier, with the strongest reaching the Black Resentment tier.

“Last night, the one that infiltrated the Outer Sect area was likely a White Resentment-level Mist Puppeteer.”

Shopkeeper Jin said with a meaningful tone, “You’re very lucky you didn’t encounter a Giant Puppet Beast, otherwise…”

Although Shopkeeper Jin trailed off, Wang Chen completely understood his implication.

He immediately recalled the giant creature that had been struck by lightning!

“Is that Mist Puppeteer related to the Grey Eye Thieves?”

A White Resentment-level Mist Puppeteer wouldn’t just inexplicably barge into the heavily guarded gate of a sect for no reason.

And the biggest enemy of the Cloud Sun Sect was undoubtedly the Grey Eye Thieves, who resurrected time and again!

The Grey Eye Thieves worship powerful evil wraiths; it’s normal for them to command Grievance-tier evil wraiths.

To be honest, Cloud Sun Sect’s designation of the remnants of the Three-Eyed Divine Church as Grey Eye Thieves easily leads one to underestimate these troublesome evil cultivators, assuming they are just bandits and bullies.

In fact, the trouble the Grey Eye Thieves have caused for the Cloud Sun Sect may not end so easily.

Even though the Cloud Sun Sect had achieved a glorious victory not long ago.

Wang Chen felt like his sect had been slapped in the face last night!

In response to Wang Chen’s question, Shopkeeper Jin smiled without answering and reached for the teacup on the case table.

His intention was clear—it was time to recharge.

Screw it!

Wang Chen already knew the answer; there was no need to pester for details and embarrass himself unnecessarily.

After leaving the Four Seas Commerce Association, he wandered around the city for a while.

He acquired a batch of fresh monster beast meat.

The price of monster beast meat had actually dropped quite a bit, so Wang Chen bought some extra.

But the spirit stones in his storage bag flowed out like water.

In comparison, buying doors and beds, tables, and chairs didn’t cost him many Fragmented Spirit Stones.

Such ordinary daily necessities were very cheap in the world of immortal cultivation, as skilled craftsmen abounded.

Meanwhile, during the shopping process,

Wang Chen noticed that there was a large number of loose cultivators in the city.

Many inns had put up “Full” signs.

Their business was booming!

Besides that, there were an exceptional number of cultivators dressed as farmers and Spiritual Plant Farmers.

Clearly, they were frightened by the evil wraith that had suddenly invaded the previous night and had come here seeking a sense of safety.

After all, Cloud Mountain City had the City Protecting Great Array and was guarded by a double-digit number of Purple Mansion Superiors.

The problem was, there was no way Cloud Mountain City could accommodate so many outside cultivators!

Wang Chen decided to go home.

The first thing to do upon his return was to perfect the tunnels and secret chambers, and to dig a little deeper.

As he reached his home and stepped into the courtyard,

a sudden alarm rose in his heart.

All the hairs on his body stood on end!

Here is the second update, asking for your recommendation tickets in support, thank you, everyone!