3: Can magic be used to gather treasure?

Just after midnight, before the night had completely faded, Xu Qi'an eagerly put the middle-grade ling stone into the gathering treasure basin again.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, his mind sinking into his Sea of Consciousness.

The gathering treasure basin quietly floated there, ancient runes flowing on its simple bronze body, emitting a faint light.

Xu Qi'an placed the middle-grade ling stone against his chest and silently chanted, "Invest!"

With a thought, the middle-grade ling stone instantly disappeared, and a ripple appeared in the gathering treasure basin.

After a moment, six ling stones landed in his hand.

"One middle-grade ling stone, five Low Grade ling stones..."

Xu Qi'an looked at the ling stones in his hand but did not seem happy, frowning slightly.

The harvest was indeed good; compared to yesterday's four ling stones, this time was clearly much better.

He pondered, "Why aren't all the ling stones gathered from a middle-grade ling stone also middle-grade ling stones?"

He thought of the description of the Omnipotent Treasure Basin's effect just now: It does not consume the item itself but obtains a random quantity and random grade of similar items.

"Forget it, at least the minimum won't be deducted."

"And now I have eight Low Grade ling stones!!"

He put away the ling stones and planned his next steps in his mind.

Currently, Xu Qi'an only had a copy of the Azure Wood Art that could be cultivated up to Qi Refinement Sixth Level, and he still needed to sort out the issue of subsequent cultivation methods.

Without Talismans and magic tools by his side, this was a huge weakness in his strength.

If he went out and encountered rogue Cultivators, it would be lights out.

Thinking this, Xu Qi'an temporarily gave up the idea of leaving the Qingzhu Market.

"It seems I'll have to go take a look at the Qingzhu Market and see if I can get some things."

As the sky began to lighten, Xu Qi'an got up and headed for the Qingzhu Market.

The Qingzhu Market is located at the foot of Qingzhu Mountain and is the main trading place for nearby Cultivators.

The Qingzhu Market is quite large, with many different vendors selling Talismans, pills, magic tools, and even monster beast meat.

Although the quality of things here is not necessarily good, the advantage is that they are cheap.

For a poor Cultivator like Xu Qi'an, this was the most suitable choice.

In addition, there were also the Treasure Pavilion, Pill Peak Pavilion, True Talisman Pavilion, etc., opened by the Master of the Qingzhu Market.

Although the quality of these places was good, the prices were expensive and they were not places that low-level Cultivators like Xu Qi'an could go to.

Xu Qi'an strolled through the Qingzhu Market, his gaze sweeping over the stalls.

The shouts of the vendors rose and fell, and the air was filled with the smells of various spiritual herbs, pills, and monster beast meat.

"Fellow Daoist, come and take a look at the cultivation methods here!"

"Fair prices, no deception among Fellow Daoists! Guaranteed to be the real deal!"

A middle-aged vendor with a receding hairline chuckled and greeted him warmly.

Xu Qi'an first saw his receding hairline and secretly sighed, thinking even Cultivators could go bald...

Joking aside, he still stopped and looked through the stall, his gaze falling on an ancient book on the stall.

The cover of the ancient book was already a bit yellowed, with the words "Azure Wood Art" written on it.

Xu Qi'an flipped through it. This was the complete version of the Azure Wood Art cultivation method, clearly containing cultivation methods from the first to the tenth layer.

"The Azure Wood Art cultivation method, only ten ling stones!" the vendor said with a smile.

Xu Qi'an's heart stirred, but he quickly shook his head.

He currently only had eight Low Grade ling stones and couldn't afford it at all, not to mention that this cultivation method wasn't urgently needed right now.

Just as he was about to leave, his gaze was attracted by a small booklet pressed underneath the cultivation method.

"What is this?" Xu Qi'an picked up the small booklet. On the cover were the three words "Qi Concealing Technique".

He opened the first page and clearly saw a glittering "Liang" character written on it, which looked like golden seal script.

It just seemed a bit faded, as if it was made of golden spiritual paint.

The other text explanations were normal, just like a cultivation method.

Seeing this, the vendor immediately introduced enthusiastically, "This is the Qi Concealing Technique. It can conceal your cultivation level. Unless someone is a major Realm higher than you, they won't be able to see your true cultivation level. This is a great item for saving your life!"

"That is to say, unless they are a Foundation Establishment cultivator, they simply won't be able to see through your true cultivation level!"

The Cultivator with the receding hairline said with a smile, emphasizing the words 'Foundation Establishment cultivator'.

A glint flashed in Xu Qi'an's eyes.

This Qi Concealing Technique was exactly what he needed!

With it, he could hide his true cultivation level and avoid attracting others' attention when his cultivation increased in the future.

"How many ling stones?" Xu Qi'an asked.

"Five Low Grade ling stones!" the vendor said with a smile, holding up five fingers.

Xu Qi'an frowned, "That's too expensive. How about three Low Grade ling stones?"

The vendor agreed without hesitation, "Okay, three ling stones it is! Fellow Daoist is really good at bargaining!"

"Huh?"

Xu Qi'an hesitated for a moment, but still paid the ling stones and picked up the small booklet of Qi Concealing Technique.

The vendor happily took the ling stones and looked at them repeatedly.

"Seems like I got ripped off..." Xu Qi'an cursed inwardly, but there was nothing he could do.

He urgently needed a method to conceal his cultivation level right now.

Seeing the vendor's appearance now, he inexplicably suspected that this Qi Concealing Technique was fake.

Leaving the cultivation method stall, Xu Qi'an came to the stall selling magic tools.

A broken Low Grade magic tool caught his attention.

It was a short sword, its body covered in cracks, clearly severely damaged.

The vendor was a big man with a beard, whose cultivation level was as high as Qi Refining Fifth Layer!

"How much is this magic tool?" Xu Qi'an glanced at the stall and asked weakly.

"Low Grade Qingzhu Sword, five ling stones!" the vendor said without lifting his head.

Xu Qi'an tried to bargain, "How about three ling stones?"

The vendor snorted coldly, "Non-negotiable price, five ling stones. Although this magic tool is a bit damaged, it's still a Low Grade magic tool!"

"If it were completely undamaged, it could sell for at least ten ling stones or more."

Xu Qi'an blinked. This Low Grade Qingzhu Sword, depending on its quality, could sell for up to twenty ling stones at most, and at least twelve ling stones at the lowest.

If it weren't severely broken, the price would indeed not be this low.

But even if Xu Qi'an didn't quite understand the lifespan of magic tools, just by looking at its damaged appearance, he felt that after buying it home, it would only be a piece of junk.

It probably couldn't even break through the protective spiritual light of a Cultivator with the same cultivation level!!

But opportunities like this to find a bargain were truly few, as low-level Cultivators were very sharp-eyed.

The moment Xu Qi'an hesitated, three Cultivators immediately came forward.

He sighed, no longer hesitated, gritted his teeth, paid five ling stones, and put the broken Low Grade magic tool into his embrace.

Seeing Xu Qi'an's impoverished appearance, the vendor let out a scoff.

"Damn! He really ripped me off!"

Xu Qi'an noticed the vendor's smug gaze, a trace of anger surged onto his face, and just as he was about to speak, the vendor immediately opened his mouth.

"Little brother, don't you know the rule of 'buyer beware'?"

"Since you bought this broken magic tool, you just have to accept your fate, hahaha."

In the end, Xu Qi'an didn't make a move and pretended to be dejected as he left the stall.

After Xu Qi'an left, the big bearded man said with a look of disdain, "Hmph! He really thought he could get lucky and buy a usable magic tool at a low price!"

"Let this be a good lesson for you!"

Arriving in a dark alley, Xu Qi'an sneered.

All his previous expressions and actions were faked. After all, a low-level Cultivator like Xu Qi'an spending five ling stones to buy a piece of scrap metal would naturally be furious and feel greatly deceived.

"Hehe, I have the Omnipotent Treasure Basin. Although this Qingzhu Sword is scrap metal, who knows? It might be completely renovated!"

This was the real reason Xu Qi'an wanted to buy this Qingzhu Sword. Even if it was scrap metal, as long as it was a magic tool, he could turn waste into treasure.

If once doesn't work, then twice!

Xu Qi'an couldn't possibly have bad luck forever.

After buying the items, Xu Qi'an vigilantly looked around, and only after confirming that no one was paying attention to him did he quietly leave the Qingzhu Market.

Returning to the shantytown, Xu Qi'an immediately ducked into his thatched hut and began cultivating the Qi Concealing Technique.

The cultivation method described in the Qi Concealing Technique booklet was not complicated. It mainly involved using a special method of circulating spiritual power to hide one's aura.

Xu Qi'an followed the method in the booklet, trying again and again.

As expected, that person's smile indeed indicated that this Spell was fake.

Xu Qi'an cultivated for half a day with no reaction at all, and his aura even became somewhat disordered.

Xu Qi'an started cursing, but then sighed.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he thought of a good idea.

"Since the Omnipotent Treasure Basin can transform Low Grade ling stones into middle-grade ling stones, can it also improve the grade of a cultivation method?"

"For example, this Qi Concealing Technique in front of me! Although I can't Cultivate it now, maybe after the Omnipotent Treasure Basin gathers treasure from it, it will work!"

Xu Qi'an cursed himself for being a Genius.

Just after midnight, Xu Qi'an activated the Omnipotent Treasure Basin and held the Qi Concealing Technique booklet close to his chest.

The next moment, the Qi Concealing Technique booklet disappeared, replaced by a glittering golden treasure book in Xu Qi'an's hand.

The three large characters "Word Concealment Art" shone brilliantly!

"It really works!!"

Xu Qi'an was ecstatic.

This was feasible, meaning he wouldn't have to worry about cultivation method issues at all in the future.

Xu Qi'an laughed heartily towards the sky and began cultivating the Word Concealment Art.

Xu Qi'an didn't know the grade of this newly acquired Spell, but just by looking at the golden light, he felt it was extraordinary.

A few hours later, he finally grasped the essence of the Word Concealment Art.

The cultivation of the Word Concealment Art was not complicated. Xu Qi'an even felt it was completely compatible with him.

"Success!"

Xu Qi'an felt the changes in his internal aura, and a wave of joy surged in his heart.

With this Word Concealment Art, he could hide his true cultivation level and avoid attracting others' attention.

But whether it was truly as the booklet said still needed to be tested.

Xu Qi'an then took out a middle-grade ling stone from his Storage Pouch and began absorbing the spiritual energy within it.

As the Azure Wood Art circulated, the spiritual energy from the middle-grade ling stone continuously poured into his body.

This spiritual energy was much purer than that in Low Grade ling stones and could be absorbed with almost no refining needed.

Xu Qi'an only felt comfortable all over, as if he was soaking in a hot spring.

His Meridians continuously expanded under the nourishment of the spiritual energy, and the spiritual energy in his Dantian also increased.

After some time, Xu Qi'an suddenly felt a light sound from within his body, as if something had been broken.

Refining Qi Level 4!

He suddenly opened his eyes, which sparkled with brilliance.

More than half of the spiritual energy contained in the middle-grade ling stone in his hand was left, but he had successfully broken through!

"So fast, I've reached Refining Qi Level 4!"

Such speed was something Xu Qi'an wouldn't even dare to imagine in the past.

And he certainly wouldn't have been so extravagant as to use ling stones for cultivation.