Previously, Ji Yuan had always been troubled by the lack of Spirit Stones, so he couldn't upgrade his cave mansion.
Even when he finally managed to get a few Spirit Stones, he had to save them up to purchase magical artifacts.
But now, things were different. He suddenly struck it rich on the way—got not just one artifact, but three, and even acquired the Artifact Manipulation Technique.
So, with the Spirit Stones left over, Ji Yuan decided to just go for it and upgrade the Cave Mansion first.
The Spirit Field could be upgraded, too.
Only, after upgrading, Ji Yuan had nowhere to plant anything. The small patch of backyard was already stuffed with the Fish Pond, Chicken Cage, and Pigsty.
The Spirit Field, out of all these, took up the most space.
Not only that, once he started planting, he'd have to carefully tend to it. Unlike raising chickens and pigs, which could be done rough and ready.
So he could only shelve it for the time being.
Ji Yuan looked at the System panel.
[Cave Mansion lv0]
[LV1: Spirit Effect: Walls self-heal, Basic Dust Avoidance Barrier, Nighttime Spiritual Qi Density +20%]
[Upgrade Conditions: Low-grade Spirit Stone ×5, Glutinous Rice Paste ×3 buckets, Repair damaged tiles (not met)]
The upgrade requirements weren't hard: five Spirit Stones plus three buckets of glutinous rice paste, and as for those broken tiles, they indeed needed some fixing.
The last repair was back when Qingyun was still around.
For glutinous rice, he'd need to go buy it at Zengtou City. Ji Yuan wasn't in a rush, so he planned to go tomorrow—might as well ask about Liu Laizi's situation while he's there.
As for now…
Ji Yuan took out the three Jade Scrolls and began studying the Artifact Manipulation Technique, Fireball Technique, and Cloud Rain Technique.
Of course, his focus was mostly on Artifact Manipulation.
Luckily, these basic magical techniques were all more-or-less the same. Not much difficulty—Ji Yuan only spent half a day to barely get started.
Next, he pulled out the two magical artifacts he'd won from the Storage Bag.
The Black Gold Saber and that embroidery needle.
The original owners were dead, and Ji Yuan had already dripped his blood to bind them.
So, with a thought, he activated the embroidery needle, spiritual energy pulling at it as a thread of red swept across the surface.
"Go!"
As his mind moved, so did the spell.
The embroidery needle instantly turned into a streak of red light, vanishing into the wall in the blink of an eye, leaving no trace.
Even though he was controlling it himself, Ji Yuan couldn't help but feel a bit spooked by its power.
If Liu Laizi had held this magical artifact… he'd probably be a corpse right now.
Ji Yuan sensed it carefully and felt that even the Golden Body Talisman might not be able to block the embroidery needle.
And even if it barely could, it would likely be broken through in no time.
Once the Golden Body Talisman was broken, he'd be a sacrificial lamb.
"Phew—"
Luckily, this artifact belonged to him now… Ji Yuan, with a thought, recalled the embroidery needle from the wall.
Earlier, Qiu Qianhai mentioned that the needle was supposed to come in a set—together they formed a mid-grade magical artifact.
Too bad he only had one.
Still, Ji Yuan gave this silver needle an impressive name.
Death Seeker.
To send out the needle is to seek death—Death Seeker Needle!
At least now he had a trump card of his own. Ji Yuan stored it in the Storage Bag, then looked at the short Black Gold Saber lying on the table.
Based on his earlier fight, his verdict was… good, but not good.
The upside: It could be wielded up close or manipulated at a distance.
The downside: That's exactly the problem.
Looks like it can do both, but really it's neither here nor there.
Still, an artifact's an artifact. Ji Yuan manipulated it with spiritual energy and watched as it flew chaotically around the room, feeling a bit emotional.
'Damn, after all this time, I finally feel a bit like a proper cultivator.'
After playing around for a bit, Ji Yuan started to find it tiring to control—almost slipped up a few times.
Most likely because he hadn't yet mastered the Artifact Manipulation Technique, but Ji Yuan wasn't in a rush. After enjoying the fun of controlling magical artifacts, he finished off a few Spirit Eggs, and then drifted off to sleep.
Early the next morning, he set off for Zengtou City, intending to buy some glutinous rice to upgrade the cave mansion.
But he'd barely arrived in Zengtou City when he overheard fishermen gossiping about Liu Laizi's death. As expected, all were saying Qiu Qianhai had killed him.
"Ji Yuan?"
A soft female voice called from behind him.
Ji Yuan recognized the familiar sound and turned to see a female cultivator in a simple patterned cross-collar tunic, tall and slender, with delicate features.
"Sister Lu, you're here too?!"
Ji Yuan looked at the girl calling him, pleased.
Her name was Lu Wan, the daughter of Ji Qingyun's old buddy, and she and Ji Yuan… could be counted as childhood friends.
Later, after Lu Wan's father advanced to Qi Cultivation level five, plus her own extraordinary gift for Talisman Painting, she was accepted as a disciple by Zengtou City's famous Talisman Master, Wu Wenbin.
Their status had soared, and Lu Wan's family had moved to Zengtou City's core area.
After that, her relationship with Ji Yuan's family had gradually faded.
Plus, Ji Yuan hadn't been social since coming here, so today was actually the first time he'd seen his old friend.
"Came out to buy some ink for talismans. What about you?"
Lu Wan looked at her old playmate, her gaze flickering and slightly awkward.
Most of Zengtou City's fishermen, regardless of age, had sun-darkened, red-tinged skin—or smelled heavily of fish.
But Ji Yuan now?
Hadn't gone into the water for a month, his cultivation had advanced, and he'd tempered his body. His aura was nothing like before, even his looks were much more handsome and striking.
"I'm here to buy a few things too."
Ji Yuan smiled as he replied.
Lu Wan glanced about and led him toward the side of the road. Ji Yuan tagged along, until they reached a spot with no one around.
Lu Wan finally asked in a low voice, "You used to know Qiu Qianhai, right? He hasn't contacted you lately, has he?"
"No… Just bumped into him at the Cloud Rain Marsh last time, chatted a bit."
No one saw Qiu Qianhai visit Ji Yuan yesterday.
"That's good."
Lu Wan clearly breathed a sigh of relief. "You'd better stay away from him. He's made a lot of enemies lately, and the Qin Family has announced they want him dead."
He's probably already on his way to another Market by now… Ji Yuan nodded, "Alright, I understand."
The two of them chatted for a while longer—mostly Lu Wan talking, Ji Yuan listening.
When it was time to leave, Lu Wan had wanted to give Ji Yuan a few talismans, but he politely refused.
Cultivation is best walked alone; it's better not to owe favors if you can help it.
After saying goodbye to Lu Wan, Ji Yuan went to the grain shop and bought over ten catties of glutinous rice. He wasn't sure how much he needed, but better too much than not enough; no sense in making extra trips.
Before heading home, he thought about not upgrading the Spirit Field and realized the leftover Spirit Stones could be used to buy a Spirit Piglet.
After the last fight, Ji Yuan understood how beneficial body refinement was; now that he could strengthen himself more, he wouldn't miss the chance.
This time, he skipped Luo Tong's shop and deliberately picked a different place, spending 2.5 Spirit Stones to buy a Spirit Piglet.
After a while, he returned home, settled the pig, cooked up rice paste, and climbed up to repair the roof.
He looked at [Cave Mansion], now showing "Completed."
With a thought, he chose to upgrade.
This time, unlike previous silent upgrades, Ji Yuan genuinely felt the change as the [Cave Mansion] upgraded.
First, the whole house was new again—dust and cobwebs vanished.
Next, all the tiny cracks in the walls slowly healed.
Even the surrounding Spiritual Qi seemed a bit denser.
Before Ji Yuan could take it all in, the panel flashed, revealing the requirements to upgrade to level 2.
——
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