Chapter 18

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Viosilk Gorge.

This was a natural gorge situated between Silver Light Mountain and Thunder Mountain, an extremely dangerous location where monsters were rampant and ferocious beasts were everywhere.

Regular cultivators would seldom visit this place.

The endless numbers of ravenous beasts rendered even the biggest of guilds and sects powerless against them.

With his new acquisition of Cloud-Threading Boots, Lu Qingfeng stepped into the Viosilk Gorge with confidence.

“I am now in my second life in the game, but this is the first time I have come to Viosilk Gorge. I want to enrich my mind by dealing with these ferocious beasts.” Lu Qingfeng looked all around, feeling a little anxious.

The price that he would have to pay if he died was very hefty.

Aside from the fact that reincarnation required 16 years, or two months in real time, even for one in the Fetal Phase, it was also necessary to expend one low-grade Spirit Stone, which was equivalent to 100 pieces of Spirit Stone Fragments.

Because of these requirements, Lu Qingfeng had spent his first life in the game quietly practicing Pill Refining and Talisman Crafting in Emery Town. He had never gone out to train.

This was his first time out of Emery Town seeking combat.

As he stood looking around, he couldn’t see anyone.

Mob Grinding was, after all, a very rare approach.

“Beasts are ravenous. All they know is how to cause destruction and bring harm to the world. Killing them will earn one merit, which will be beneficial for one’s cultivation. This was the origin of Mob Grinding.”

Lu Qingfeng’s glittering eyes swept across the area.

[Magic: Celestial Eye (Incomplete)]

[Grade: Middle Rank. Has a total of 2 Levels.]

[Ability Upgrade: Six-time Enhance]

[Description: Examine the cultivation attainments of a target that is not above your current stage/phase. Can cause mental trauma to ordinary people, causing them to panic; Passive: Obliterate Evil, Discernment]

After being enhanced by Lu Qingfeng six times, his grade had been raised from low rank to middle rank. At the same time its power level had surged, and it developed passive effects.

Just like at this moment…

Into Lu Qingfeng’s field of vision, rays of the fierce beasts’ evil towered into the sky. Some of them looked like smoke signals, while some were only as thin as a strand of hair. Thus, their strengths could be distinguished at a glance.

“Perhaps the Iron Crown Beasts dwell at the outskirts of the Viosilk Gorge.”

Iron Crown Beasts resembled a puppy that had iron crowns similar to those of roosters on their heads.

As he proceeded forward on his Cloud-Threading Boots, the Black Iron Ascension Bulwark encircled him.

With two pieces of Tier-4 equipment as backup, he should be able to survive for a short while at the outskirts of the Viosilk Gorge.

Rooaaarrrr!

Moving toward the smoke signal that had the thickness of a thread, he soon saw before him a horde of Iron Crown Beasts, which were bellowing and charging in his direction.

[Beast Kind: Iron Crown Beast]

[Tier: 2]

[Description: A weaker member of the Beasts. Has large numbers and excels in group attacks. Possesses iron teeth and iron claws. Melee Class Beast; Weakness: Afraid of Thunder Attribute Magic]

A Tier-2 kind of Beast was equivalent to cultivators in the Genuine Chi Phase.

The Celestial Eye’s passive Discernment was triggered, exposing the Iron Crown Beasts’ weaknesses.

In fact, as the lowest level and most common kind of Beast, the Iron Crown Beasts’ weaknesses have long been known. However, when cast upon unknown Beasts, Demon Beasts, or even other cultivators, Discernment still had an inestimable value.

Lu Qingfeng glanced at the Iron Crown Beasts with the Celestial Eye and discovered that these Iron Crown Beasts that were charging at him were mostly around Level 20. Even the highest among them wasn’t over Level 40.

“Perfect timing!”

Without making a grand gesture, Lu Qingfeng extended his hand into the storage bag around his waist and scattered a pile of Thunder Talismans…

Boom, boom, boom!

Boom, boom, boom!

Dozens of thunderclouds covered the area in front of him.

The Iron Crown Beasts within these clouds couldn’t survive this kind of round of bombardment and were blasted into charcoal.

[Congratulations, you have killed an Iron Crown Beast (Level 10). Acquired 1 experience point.]

[Congratulations, you have killed an Iron Crown Beast (Level 20). Acquired 5 experience points.]

[Congratulations, you have killed an Iron Crown Beast (Level 30). Acquired 10 experience points.]

[Congratulations, you have killed an Iron Crown Beast (Level 40). Acquired 15 experience points.]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up.]

…

The leveling speed obtained by mob grinding could not compare to the slow cultivating that occurred while staying inside Emery Town.

By using a few Thunder Talismans, Lu Qingfeng’s experience points had soared upward, and his Level had increased by more than triple in the blink of an eye.

In “Primitive”, the rules of killing monsters were:

By killing a mob that was no more than 10 levels below or above you, you acquire 1 experience point.

If a mob was more than 10 levels below you, you acquire 0.1 experience points. If a mob was more than 20 levels below you, you acquire 0.01 experience points, and so forth.

If a mob was more than 10 levels above you, you acquire 5 experience points. If a mob was more than 20 levels above you, you acquire 10 experience points, and so forth.

“If you have a pro supporting you, or if you’re willing to hurl out tons of talismans, leveling shouldn’t be too hard.”

“However, for me, acquiring experience points is way easier than leveling.”

With his body bent forward, as if strolling in a courtyard, Lu Qingfeng sprinkled talismans all about him and swiftly annihilated a small field of Iron Crown Beasts.

His Level remained at 10.

“By constantly using my experience points and staying in Level 10, killing high-level beasts will always give me bonus experience points.” The corners of Lu Qingfeng’s mouth raised into a small smile as he invested his experience points in various spells, pills, and talismans.

The experience points that he formerly had calculated carefully were now being expended in a completely squandering manner.

The Verdant Sword Art was already in the Lateral grade. To further elevate it, the amount of experience points that had to be spent was massive.

Seizing this opportunity, Lu Qingfeng decided to invest all his experience points now.

After all, no matter how the various spells were elevated, the magnitude of their power would be closely related to one’s cultivation attainments.

Only techniques were the staple.

The same would go for pills and talismans. Over the years, he had enhanced them for at most six times and at least four times.

Lu Qingfeng discovered that whether pills or talismans, by enhancing them more than five times, the required materials would alter, which was equivalent to evolving into another pill.

Although the efficacy could become much stronger and the pill itself thus much more precious, due to the high value of the materials, the profit margin was not as good as those that had been enhanced five times.

This knowledge would most likely come in handy for Lu Qingfeng in the future when he could improve his cultivation level. But, when that time came, there would still be suitable pills and talismans.

Taking the Yellow Dragon Pill, for instance, upon six enhancements, the cost of refining had been greatly increased, almost to the level of the Yellow Dragon Pill’s upgrade, the Golden Pith Pellet. Instead of wasting experience points enhancing it, Lu Qingfeng realized that he would be better off acquiring the recipe for the Golden Pith Pellet and enhancing it instead.

Therefore…

After Lu Qingfeng enhanced all the pills and talismans he’d mastered at this stage five times, he wholeheartedly focused on enhancing and elevating the Verdant Sword Art.

After this, for a very long time, the Verdant Sword Art would be enough for Lu Qingfeng to remain at an absolute advantage against foes of the same cultivation level.

Time flew by.

After slaughtering the Iron Crown Beasts, Lu Qingfeng gained more than 5,000 experience points.

For a Preliminary-grade technique, the first Enhance/Elevate/Merge would cost 10 experience points, and the subsequent Enhance/Elevate/Merge would double that.

For a Refined-grade technique, the first Enhance/Elevate/Merge would cost 100 experience points, and the subsequent Enhance/Elevate/Merge would double the original basis.

For a Lateral-grade technique, the first Enhance/Elevate/Merge would cost 1,000 experience points, and the subsequent Enhance/Elevate/Merge would double the original basis.

For every technique, after about five enhancements, their Level would be increased by 1.

For example, the Verdant Sword Art: it was a Refined-grade technique by default. Upon five enhancements, it became a Lateral-grade technique.

Due to it being a Refined-grade technique by default, even after attaining the Lateral grade, if one wished to enhance it again, the required experience points would still be doubled on the original basis.

Instead of recalculating, Lu Qingfeng placed all 5,000 experience points into the Verdant Sword Art, directly enhancing it seven times, and increasing the Level cap of the technique from the original 9 to 21, thus enabling him to cultivate in it until the Foundation-Building-Chi-Drawing Phase.

That wasn’t all!

After the Iron Crown Beasts, Lu Qingfeng went on to wipe out the Jade Scale Beasts, Red Mountain Rats, Blood Hedgehogs, and the clans of four other Tier-2 Beasts.

The Vermillion Fire Talismans, Thunder Talismans, Thundercloud Talismans, Firecloud Talismans, Ice Talismans, and all the other Advanced and top-level talismans that he had exchanged for all his fortune had completely exhausted his fortune.

This was how deep Lu Qingfeng’s pocket had been.

After spending his experience points to enhance the recipe of his pills and talismans, he’d refined high-quality pills and talismans at a cheap cost and profited off the massive price difference.

After decades of accumulation, his wealth was almost as large as that of a small guild.

And Lu Qingfeng had exchanged all his possessions with high-level and top-level talismans to maniacally harvest experience points before the arrival of his end.

Ordinary cultivators, even the formidable ones in the Foundation-Building Stage, would probably not have been able to pull off what Lu Qingfeng had done.

First, their financial resources wouldn’t have allowed it.

Second, as the number of slaughtered Beasts increased and their levels grew, with experience points pouring out like a waterfall, they wouldn’t have remained Tier-2 beasts forever.

Moreover, experience points increased one’s level quickly, but a bottleneck at each cultivation stage would require time to break through. Endless leveling was simply not realistic.

It was different for Lu Qingfeng.

He slaughtered beasts not to improve his level or cultivation stage, but simply to gain experience points. With his level not increasing, killing beasts of the same level would allow his experience point gain to never slip.

Under such circumstances, two hours later…

[Technique: Verdant Sword Art (Incomplete)]

[Grade: Authentic. Has a total of 27 Levels.]

[Ability Upgrade: Ten-time Enhance, Five-time Elevate]

[Property: Verdant Sword Ray, Sword Shield, Sword Shadow, Indestructible Threads, Verdant Re-condensation, Genteel Sword Pill, Refined Spirit]

[Description: Secret technique of the Verdant Sword Sect that existed 3,000 years ago. Currently incomplete.]

“Authentic grade!”

Lu Qingfeng hurled out his last Firecloud Talisman and invested all his experience points into Verdant Sword Art.

The attributes of the Verdant Sword Art altered drastically with its grade improving from Lateral to Authentic.

Subsequently, even if he didn’t enhance it anymore and just continued to increase its Level, it would be sufficient for Lu Qingfeng to cultivate to the Level of an Earth Deity.

Across the entire realm, techniques of this Level were existences that were extremely sought after. Cultivators of even the Mahayana Stage from various great sects would go crazy for it.

“Well worth it!”

Lu Qingfeng looked at the Verdant Sword Art and laughed loudly.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a smoke signal with the thickness of an arm. Looking up, he saw a dark red eagle hovering over the depths of the Viosilk Gorge.

…

[Beast Kind: Iron Feather Thunder Eagle]

[Tier: 7]

[Description: Aerial-type beast. Fast, powerful, and can release lightning attacks.]

A Tier-7 beast kind!

Comparable to the cultivators in the Cosmic Stage.

Screeeeccchhh!

As Lu Qingfeng raised his head, the beast’s information flashed through his mind, and he saw himself shrouded within a prison of thunder.

Amid the roar of the thunder, he perished!

…

[You died. Please select between Reincarnation and Resurrection.]

After 68 years (in game time), Lu Qingfeng once again appeared in the chaotic void of nothingness. The red-colored system reminder felt rather familiar to him.

“Death certainly doesn’t feel great.”

Lu Qingfeng shook his head as he recalled the moment of his death.

Although he knew that it was only in the game, it was still pretty horrifying.

The Iron Feather Thunder Eagle had swooped down, fluttered its wings, and sent a huge amount of thunder striking down and shattering Lu Qingfeng’s flesh. Under such an attack, the Tier-3 Runic Equipment, Black Iron Ascension Bulwark, couldn’t even hold for a second and burst apart instantly.

Nobody would wish to experience such a feeling for a second time.

However…

This could be regarded as Lu Qingfeng’s actively seeking death.

He had slaughtered so many Tier-1 and Tier-2 Beast Kinds on the periphery of Viosilk Gorge.

The Iron Feather Thunder Eagle fed on Tier-1 and Tier-2 beasts like the Iron Crown Beast and the Red Mountain Rat. Having all its food slaughtered by Lu Qingfeng, how could the Iron Feather Thunder Eagle let him go?

Facing off against a Tier-7 beast, even if Lu Qingfeng had scattered a field of Advanced-Level talismans, they wouldn’t have inflicted any harm of the Iron Feather Thunder Eagle.

At Lu Qingfeng’s current attainment in cultivation, provoking beasts of such a caliber would only spell death.

“If I hadn’t actively sought death, I wonder what would have happened when my life span reached its end.”

Time in the game was double fast.

Lu Qingfeng had been immersed in Pill Refining and Talisman Crafting. Unconsciously, his life span had been exhausted. Fearing that unexpected variables could crop up at the end of his natural life span, Lu Qingfeng decided that he might as well go to Viosilk Gorge to hunt down beasts to gain experience points.

He was already well prepared for death.

Before his eyes…

This strange, yet familiar, death scene made Lu Qingfeng feel as if a generation had passed.

“Reincarnate.”

[Please select: Reincarnate to current location / random location.]

“Random location.”

Lu Qingfeng had been in Emery Town for so many years, and he knew the environment and forces here extremely well.

For example, the Imperial City Guild, which he had been cooperating with for a long time, had welcomed cultivators in the Cosmic Stage more than 20 years ago, which made them qualified to establish themselves as a sect. Thus, the Imperial City Sect had been established in Emery Town.

Because of his ties with the Imperial City Sect, life for Lu Qingfeng had been easy in Emery Town.

Coupled with the various low-level pills and low-level talismans he sold, in recent decades, almost no new low-level cultivators in Emery Town had been unaware of Lu Qingfeng.

Although Huang Luo had been traveling around throughout the years looking for opportunities, Lu Qingfeng’s contacts had remained wider than his.

Deep down, it was only natural that he wanted to stay in Emery Town.

But, after reincarnation, if his identity were ever revealed, it might get a little troublesome.

After all, it was rare to see someone whose life span had come to an end in the game, but who was still alive in reality.

So he thought why not switch to an alternate environment and experience somewhere else in “Primitive”. Perhaps he would be able to gain more insights.

[You have chosen to reincarnate to a random location. Please wait for a moment.]

[Reincarnation successful. Growth progress: 1/16]

In the Pool of Ascension, a new Lu Qingfeng was gestating. It would be 16 years before he could start another journey in “Primitive”.

But no one knew where he would be born.

…