73: Consume a low-grade spirit stone, evolution value +100!
"Creak—"
A dense medicinal fragrance and energy fluctuations rushed toward him, instantly refreshing Li Qing's spirit.
Behind the door was a massive underground stone chamber.
Bright night pearls were embedded in the stone chamber's walls, illuminating the entire space as if it were broad daylight.
Rows of shelves made of Thousand-Year Cold Iron were filled with a dazzling array of items.
On the left were Cultivation Technique manuals, numbering no less than a hundred, ranging from Yellow Rank to Profound Rank.
In the middle was a weapon rack, holding sabers, spears, swords, and halberds that gleamed with cold light; every piece was extraordinary.
The right side held the most items: jade boxes and wooden chests containing various rare medicinal herbs. Century-old ginseng and fleeceflower roots were everywhere, and there were even a few stalks emitting a faint fluorescence that were clearly Spirit Medicines.
"This is the City Lord's Manor treasury," Zhuang Bai's voice carried a hint of pride.
"As an advance reward for representing Jinling City in the selection, you may choose any three items from here."
If you want the horse to run...
You have to let the horse graze.
As long as Li Qing entered the heavenly prodigy rankings, the benefits he would receive would far exceed these.
Li Qing's gaze swept across the entire treasury, his heart immensely shaken.
The Foundation of a City Lord's Manor was terrifyingly deep!
He took a deep breath, suppressed the excitement in his heart, and began to examine everything carefully.
His goal was very clear: everything for evolution!
He wasn't lacking in Cultivation Techniques or Martial Skills for the time being. The Giant Spirit Body Tempering Art was enough to keep him cultivating for a while.
As for weapons, he preferred to use his own fists.
Thus, his choices were narrowed down to medicinal herbs and Heaven And Earth Treasures.
His gaze eventually landed on a corner. Several inconspicuous jade boxes were placed there, looking somewhat ordinary compared to the other radiant treasures.
However, Li Qing felt a water-attribute energy from one of the jade boxes that shared the same source as his Earth Spirit Turtle Clone.
He walked over and picked up that jade box.
"Oh? You're choosing this?" Zhuang Bai was somewhat surprised.
"This is the root of a 'Mystic Water Sunflower,' a water-attribute Spirit Medicine that has miraculous effects for Martial Artists practicing water-system techniques."
"But this item's medicinal properties are cold and yin; without a special technique to guide it, it is actually harmful for an ordinary person to consume."
"I want it." Li Qing didn't explain.
Zhuang Bai smiled and didn't ask further, assuming Li Qing had his own Opportunity.
Next, Li Qing selected a piece of 'Earth Mother Stone Crystal' that emitted a heavy earth-element aura.
And a bottle containing ten drops of a milky-white liquid called 'Thousand-Year Stone Stalactite Milk'.
These two items also contained pure energy and might be helpful for the Clone's evolution.
After selecting the three treasures, Li Qing bid farewell to Zhuang Bai.
Zhuang Bai personally escorted him to the manor gates, giving him one last reminder before he left.
"There are still three months until the Great Xia Martial Selection. Cultivate well; the future of Jinling City depends on you."
Li Qing nodded and turned to leave, carrying his abundant resources.
Returning to his small courtyard in the southern slums, Li Qing immediately closed the courtyard door and entered his room impatiently.
He laid out everything he had obtained today on the table.
The Guest Elder Token, the Profound Rank technique Giant Spirit Body Tempering Art, seventeen Spirit Stones from Duan Tianba's apology, five Spirit Stones gifted by the City Lord's Manor, ten qi nurturing pills, and the three Heaven And Earth Treasures selected from the treasury.
Unprecedented wealth!
Li Qing's mind immediately sank into the body of the Earth Spirit Turtle Clone at the bottom of the river.
Having heard the instructions earlier, the Clone had already arrived beneath the well in the courtyard.
"Let's test the effect of the Spirit Stones!"
With a thought, Li Qing's main body picked up a Spirit Stone obtained from Duan Tianba.
He didn't absorb it himself but threw it directly into the water well.
He then used his Mystic Water Manipulation talent to 'teleport' it in front of the Clone.
The Earth Spirit Turtle Clone opened its large mouth and, like eating a piece of candy, swallowed that Spirit Stone worth ten thousand taels of gold with a 'crunch'.
Upon entering the stomach, the Spirit Stone instantly turned into a majestic and pure torrent of energy, sweeping through the Clone's entire body.
Before Li Qing's eyes, the numbers on the evolution panel began to jump wildly!
[Devoured Low-Grade Spirit Stone, evolution value +100]
[evolution value: 1284.9/50000 (When evolution value is full, evolution can be initiated)]
Just one Spirit Stone had directly increased his evolution value by one hundred points!
He had just asked Zhuang Bai at the City Lord's Manor earlier.
Spirit Stones were divided into Low Grade, Medium Grade, High Grade, and the legendary Top-Grade Spirit Stones.
Spirit Stones were hard to come by, and the City Lord didn't have any Mid-Grade Spirit Stones either.
It was impossible for Mid-Grade Spirit Stones to appear on the black market.
Only Low-Grade Spirit Stones occasionally appeared in the black market.
100 evolution points.
This number was equivalent to all the gains from his previous hard work hunting a single second-rank Middle Stage Vicious Beast!
Li Qing was ecstatic!
He found it!
This was the most efficient way to evolve!
While hunting Vicious Beasts could also yield evolution value, it was full of uncertainty and the efficiency was too slow.
Spirit Stones, on the other hand, were like 'experience pills' tailor-made for the Clone—simple, direct, and incredibly effective!
He immediately picked up a qi nurturing pill gifted by the City Lord's Manor and threw one to the Clone as well.
After the Clone swallowed it, the panel showed no reaction.
It seemed that refined items like Medicinal Pills were ineffective for the Clone.
The Clone could only absorb the most primitive and pure essence of heaven and earth energy.
Next, Li Qing picked up another Spirit Stone, this time attempting to absorb it himself.
He circulated the Giant Spirit Body Tempering Art Mind-Cultivation Technique he had just memorized, guiding the energy from the Spirit Stone into his body.
A gentle energy flowed through his Meridians, nourishing his bones and flesh; his Internal Energy was indeed growing slowly.
But this process was worlds apart from the efficiency of the Clone's devouring.
The energy contained in one Spirit Stone would likely take him several days to fully digest if he absorbed it himself.
The final conversion into Internal Energy was even slower.
Whereas the Clone swallowed it in one gulp and instantly converted it into a solid one hundred points of evolution value!
One was in the heavens, the other was on the ground!
Even a fool would know how to allocate the resources!
"All resources will prioritize the Clone!"
Without hesitation, he teleported the remaining twenty-one Spirit Stones on the table, along with the Mystic Water Sunflower, Earth Mother Stone Crystal, and Thousand-Year Stone Stalactite Milk from the treasury, to the Clone.
While the main body's strength was certainly important, the Earth Spirit Turtle Clone was his greatest trump card and Foundation!
Moreover, the main body's talent was limited and its progress was slow; it was nowhere near as direct and powerful as the Clone's evolution.
As long as the Clone evolved to a sufficiently powerful stage, the main body's safety and strength enhancement would naturally follow.
As for these ten qi nurturing pills, he kept them to assist in cultivating the Giant Spirit Body Tempering Art.
By accumulating some Internal Energy, the main body's Realm also needed to progress.
At the bottom of the river, the Earth Spirit Turtle Clone opened its bloody maw and swallowed the twenty-one Spirit Stones like fried beans.
[Devoured Low-Grade Spirit Stone, evolution value +100]
[Devoured Low-Grade Spirit Stone, evolution value +100]
[Devoured Low-Grade Spirit Stone, evolution value +100]
[Devoured Low-Grade Spirit Stone, evolution value +100]
...