123: Bai Changkong

It seems like this Cultivation Technique is incomplete, but in reality, it is not. Everything is already clearly written in the three-hundred-word general introduction at the beginning.

The following thousands of words are merely a breakdown of the first one hundred words of the introduction, just following the pattern. Once the remaining two hundred words of the introduction are translated, it will be the complete Badao Skill.

It is just a pity that the descendants are useless and cannot see this. What is even more useless is taking a complete Cultivation Technique and thinking it is incomplete, using it to swindle money.

It took Jiang Hanwen a full seven days to complete the rest of the Badao Skill.

The surprise was even greater than he had imagined, causing him to even pause his Body Tempering.

After cultivating for six days, a gleam of pleasant surprise shot from Jiang Hanwen's eyes, and his entire demeanor was three points sharper than it had been a few days ago.

The first third of the Badao Skill discusses the Body Tempering portion, while the middle third involves insights into Spiritual Qi. Up to this point, it can only be described as standard, worth thirty thousand, which is not a loss.

But the final third clearly describes the combined use of Spiritual Qi and blood energy; this is currently the first Cultivation Technique to involve blood energy, without exception.

Jiang Hanwen slashed down with his blade.

“Roar!”

It was as if a lion roared in the air, and immediately after, a half-zhang long blood-red blade aura flew out from the copper-ringed silver blade.

Bang!

The sound of an explosion was mixed with the sound of metal tearing.

Thirty meters away, the iron man used for testing strength, which could withstand an impact of one hundred thousand units of force, was blasted apart by the single slash, falling apart into iron chunks that embedded themselves into the ground.

Jiang Hanwen's eyes lit up at this power.

It far exceeded the level described in the book and was already comparable to his current strongest attack method, Blazing Sun Burst.

Jiang Hanwen estimated that the reason for such powerful might had to do with his opening of the middle Dantian.

Because in the third level of the Badao Skill, blood energy is more of a key for guiding the will rather than a dominant force.

However, his blood energy used to open the Dantian was sufficiently vast, ten zhang wide, and when fused with the already refined Spiritual Qi, it was not one times one, but two times two, or perhaps three times three.

More importantly, this method of mixing Spiritual Qi and blood energy provided Jiang Hanwen with a new line of thinking.

He now had a new method beyond pure Spiritual Qi.

“Go!”

Ten sharp rays of rainbow light flew from Jiang Hanwen's hand.

The flying daggers buried themselves completely into the ground, nearly fifty meters away from Jiang Hanwen's position.

That was about the limit.

The next second, Jiang Hanwen clenched his hand.

“Swish!”

The flying daggers that had buried themselves in the ground turned around and flew back, stabbing back at an even faster speed.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

A water mist Clone clad in blood-red armor charged toward the flying daggers.

Both sides erupted with a massive impact, sounding like a muffled thunderclap, as the scattered soil mixed with blood-red blood energy blurred the vision.

Suddenly, a cold light shot out from the brown blood mist, heading straight for Jiang Hanwen's neck, only to be grabbed by his single hand, creating a screeching sound of metal against metal.

Whether it is controlling a sword or brief flight, one must reach the Jade Crystal Realm to accomplish it.

But by using Spiritual Qi as fuel and blood energy as a guide, he could control weapons on a small scale at the Peak of the Qi Induction Realm!

It was still too early to say he was invincible within the same realm, but in this small place called the Great Stronghold, whether in terms of endurance or burst power, he should be considered invincible within the Qi Induction Realm.

A yearning rose in Jiang Hanwen's eyes; he wondered how many more good things the reputation of “Shopkeeper Jiang” would bring him?

Steady, the advantage is with me.

The next goal: continue to light up the internal organs while absorbing “metallic qi” to temper the body, and save money to buy the Pill Inheritance.

Giving guidance, brewing tea, chatting, and cultivating.

The days at the bookstore were leisurely and relaxed; aside from adding a few more Cultivation Techniques, giving guidance to a few juniors, brewing a few pots of tea, and earning “small” money, the blink of an eye saw over a year pass by.

December 7th, heavy snow.

The orange flame was pure and Advanced, dancing in the breeze and brushing against the cold.

Perhaps only the Cangwu Bookstore could afford to be so extravagant as to use qinggang wood for a charcoal brazier to keep warm.

A gentle exhale turned into white mist, and tiny snowflakes crystallized on the brim of his hat, turning into ice crystals the size of rice grains.

Despite the weather, the streets remained lively.

The street vendors' faces were frozen red, and their shouts rose and fell at the alleyways and intersections, with no one willing to give way to another.

The main road was plastered with slogans for a poetry gathering, written on colorful satin cloth, which was quite lively.

“In this weather, I'm afraid quite a few people will freeze to death again; it's fortunate there's no war.” Li Minzhong, wearing a bear-skin coat, leaned against the sofa newly made by Jiang Hanwen and muttered.

“War kills people, and no war also kills people; it's about the same.” Jiang Hanwen held a fist-sized piece of Water Scale Iron from the table in his hand; the small piece weighed over twenty catties, which was not bad.

“Did you buy this, or was it given by your Family?” Jiang Hanwen asked.

“Same as this outfit.” Li Minzhong proudly pointed to the bear-skin coat on his body: “We went into the mountains a couple of days ago and raided a few Scale-Back Bear dens; it was a reward from the Family. Shopkeeper Jiang, I'm a good friend, right? You were the first person I thought of.”

“Scale-Back Bear?” Jiang Hanwen muttered: “Is that the mountain behind the algae marsh to the south?”

Li Minzhong said indignantly: “You knew where they were and didn't tell me; that's not being a good friend.”

“That's because you were lucky; half a year ago, someone saw a Green Rock Python.

Next time before you go, you can ask me—twenty taels per question.” Jiang Hanwen grinned, looking like a profiteer.

A Green Rock Python is a Spirit Beast, only defeatable by those at the Qi Induction Realm, and it is extremely venomous.

Li Minzhong felt a chill down his back, feeling both lingering fear and relief. His Family had indeed sent someone at the Qi Induction Realm to escort them, but he had been the bravest at the time; if there had really been a Green Rock Python, he would surely have been the first to be poisoned and injured.

Mumbling incoherently, Li Minzhong finally spat out: “Profiteer! Your prices are almost as expensive as the Zongheng Chamber of Commerce.”

“How much do they charge?” Jiang Hanwen smiled.

Unintentionally, he had planted a willow that grew into shade. He hadn't expected that Wang Ye, the scholar he had plucked from a group of refugees back then, would start selling information.

Because the chamber of commerce had saved so many people, and these people all had a strong desire to survive and were willing to endure hardship, quite a few had survived.

Wang Ye used these people as points to connect into a web, weaving an information network that covered the Great Stronghold.

The Little fellow knew his limits; he wouldn't sell anything involving the internal affairs of the major families, only selling minor news that no one paid attention to.

Coupled with the fact that the chamber of commerce had many repeat customers and mainly dealt in survival supplies for ordinary people, not touching any cultivation resources, it allowed him to find a decent way to survive in the cracks.

Now, that kid had cultivated to the seventh level of the Mortal Shedding realm; Jiang Hanwen had even met him half a year ago when he visited the Tianyuan Residence.

“They are ruthless; for questions like this, as long as they are bought with human lives, the minimum is forty, and you have to pay first.”

Li Minzhong said this with a look of disdain, but even though he said that, his eyes were clearly envious and jealous.

“This piece—” Halfway through, Jiang Hanwen stopped and looked toward the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

A middle-aged man with slightly frosted temples, dressed in a light purple brocade robe, walked toward him.

Li Minzhong was so startled that he quickly stood up and stood respectfully with his hands cupped.

“Hello, Uncle Bai!”

Goodness, the Bai Family head, Bai Changkong, had come to the bookstore in person.

Bai Changkong pressed his fingers down slightly, signaling Li Minzhong to sit down, then sat next to him and placed five books on the table.

“Shopkeeper Jiang, I have troubled you with my daughter during this time. This is a small token of my appreciation; please do not take offense.”

“It is only right. What tea would you like to drink?” Jiang Hanwen reached behind him to get the tea set.

“Black tea, I haven't tasted your craft for half a month.” Bai Changkong nodded familiarly and looked at Li Minzhong next to him. “I heard you had a Breakthrough and are about to reach Qi Induction.”

“Hehe, Uncle Bai, you flatter me; I'm still far off.” Li Minzhong was as well-behaved as an elementary school student meeting their head teacher, almost ready to stand with his hands behind his back, head held high and chest out.