13: Chapter 13 Qi and Blood Potions

The matter with Lin Hu had completely settled, and Lin Qing's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was finally at ease. He returned to his regular and monotonous cultivation life, practicing the Panshi Stake Technique at the martial arts hall every morning and health preservation Cultivation Techniques at his small courtyard in the afternoon.

His cultivation had slackened slightly due to the influence of the Lin Hu incident, but it had only been paused for two or three days.

It was now late June, and as time passed, various health preservation Cultivation Techniques merged into his physical instincts.

As the Cultivation Techniques fused, his cultivation became faster and faster. In the past, it would take him at least two or three days to completely fuse a single health preservation Cultivation Technique, but now he could easily master two within a day. The circulation of Blood Qi in his body became increasingly smooth, and he was constantly surrounded by a gentle force of Blood Qi. His overall spirit was far superior to before.

However, this joy did not last long, as Lin Qing soon noticed something unusual.

The improvements brought by these health preservation Cultivation Techniques were slowing down at a visible rate. When he first started, every fused technique made his Blood Qi noticeably fuller and his physical strength stronger. But now, even after fusing two techniques in a day, the feedback from his body was minimal. It was like a cup already filled with water that could no longer hold any more.

He knew in his heart that health preservation Cultivation Techniques were the most basic of basics, and he was now reaching his upper limit for them. After some time, when they completely lost their effectiveness, he would have to focus all his efforts on cultivating the Panshi Stake Technique.

[Host: Lin Qing]

Realm: Mortal (Breakthrough time: 20 years)

Fused Cultivation Techniques: Spleen Strengthening Health Preservation Technique, Meridian-Soothing Mind-Calming Technique (Expand)

Recorded Cultivation Techniques: Panshi Stake Technique (160/530), An Yuan Gu Ben Technique (6/10)...

On this day, the morning's Stance Training cultivation at the martial arts hall ended on time. Everyone was exhausted and ravenously hungry, flocking toward the canteen.

The canteen was bustling with noise, tables were filled with steaming dishes, and the simple aroma of food filled the air, whetting everyone's appetite.

Lin Qing found an empty seat and began to eat. For some reason, he felt his appetite had grown lately, and not just by a little. He had to eat more than ten large meat buns in the morning just to barely last until the end of the collective cultivation.

Even after several bowls of rice, he still felt a lack of satiety.

As he lowered his head to continue eating, Wang Yuan looked at him with a strange expression and said:

"Lin Qing, are you really a Genius?"

Lin Qing rolled his eyes but still asked:

"Why do you say that?"

Wang Yuan lowered his voice and leaned into Lin Qing's ear, speaking with a hint of certainty:

"Your appetite is clearly not right. Your Panshi Stake Technique is almost at Minor Achievement, isn't it?"

Hearing this, Lin Qing froze with his utensils in hand, a look of surprise on his face. He put down his bowl and chopsticks, turned to Wang Yuan, and asked in confusion, "How could you tell?"

Seeing Lin Qing's bewildered look, Wang Yuan immediately realized that Lin Qing had likely been so focused on his cultivation that he didn't understand the inner workings. He laughed, shook his head, and patiently explained the basic knowledge related to the Panshi Stake Technique.

"You might not know this, but the Panshi Stake Technique is a Tier 1 Cultivation Technique meant for formal Martial Artists. For apprentices like us who haven't become formal Martial Artists yet, if we stay at the Entry-Level, the energy consumed each time we Cultivate is limited. Normal food is just barely enough to replenish that energy."

"But as your mastery of the Stance Training improves, your tempering efficiency increases significantly, and the energy consumed by your body skyrockets. At that point, the energy in normal food isn't enough. Once your Stance Training reaches Minor Achievement, you'll probably need to eat a full meal after every single practice session."

Lin Qing, who had been troubled by his appetite lately, immediately asked Wang Yuan for advice:

"Is there any solution?"

Wang Yuan looked at the serious Lin Qing and didn't beat around the bush:

"Of course there's a way. One is Vicious Beast meat. The Blood Qi energy in Vicious Beast meat is incredibly terrifying. Given your current situation, even a small piece of the most basic Tier 1 Vicious Beast meat would provide enough energy for a whole day of cultivation."

Wang Yuan paused, took a sip of soup, and continued:

"The second method is Qi and Blood Potions. Compared to Vicious Beast meat, they are gentler and more suitable for apprentices like us to absorb. Drinking an appropriate amount of Qi and Blood Potion alongside your normal daily diet is enough for your daily cultivation."

Lin Qing realized. He had heard of Qi and Blood Potions before; they were sold at the martial arts hall, but he hadn't been wealthy before and hadn't paid much attention. Now it seemed he wouldn't be able to avoid this expense in the future.

Since they were on the subject, Lin Qing took the opportunity to ask Wang Yuan about the purpose of Medicinal Baths.

Wang Yuan was also very forthcoming and explained in detail:

"Do you know why the martial arts hall only requires half a day of cultivation?"

Before Lin Qing could speak, he continued:

"When we Cultivate the Stance Training, we are tempering our muscles, bones, and skin. If we Cultivate too frequently, our bodies won't be able to handle it in a short time. Over time, not only will it leave hidden injuries, but it will also seriously affect future cultivation."

"Medicinal Baths are prepared from various precious herbs. Soaking in them can quickly soothe the body's fatigue and repair the minute damage caused by cultivation, allowing for multiple sessions a day."

As he spoke, Wang Yuan seemed to remember something and looked at Lin Qing in shock:

"You haven't taken a Medicinal Bath yet, have you? That won't do! You'll break your body practicing like that!"

Seeing Lin Qing's rapid progress, Wang Yuan naturally assumed he was still practicing on his own after going home every day.

However, Lin Qing wouldn't tell Wang Yuan that he didn't practice the Stance Training at all after returning home.

Two hours in the afternoon and one hour at night—if he practiced the Stance Training, it would only increase his progress by 12 points.

But using that time to Cultivate health preservation techniques, reaching Perfection in one could lower the proficiency limit of the Stance Training by dozens of points.

He remembered that when he reached Perfection in his first health preservation Cultivation Technique, the limit for the Panshi Stake Technique dropped by 100 points. Although it was dropping less and less now, his cultivation of health preservation techniques was getting faster. Overall, it was still more cost-effective to Cultivate health preservation techniques.

Lin Qing did not plan to buy Qi and Blood Potions at the martial arts hall. He had been there for too short a time, and buying them now would be too conspicuous.

Wang Yuan only thought he was practicing the Stance Training at home and was close to Minor Achievement, which could be explained away by having a bit of talent.

But in reality, Lin Qing's Stance Training was not only already at Minor Achievement, but it wouldn't take long for him to reach Perfection. By then, his consumption of Qi and Blood Potions would likely be significant, so finding a more discreet and stable supply channel in advance was the better plan.

However, he still went to the martial arts hall to buy one Medicinal Bath. Although he felt that he didn't need it because of his health preservation techniques, it was safer to soak once to confirm.

After finishing lunch, Lin Qing thanked Wang Yuan and left the martial arts hall. Instead of returning to his courtyard, he headed toward the center of Qingyang County, where several large pharmacies were located.

From a distance, he saw a large pharmacy occupying three storefronts. He walked toward it, but after seeing the characters on the sign clearly, Lin Qing turned around and left.

The sign read "Huichun Hall" in large characters, which was exactly the Huichun Hall where the group of pharmacists he had traveled with belonged.

If they saw the thin young man from twenty days ago now needing Qi and Blood Potions to assist his cultivation, it would undoubtedly bring him a lot of unnecessary trouble.

He found another decent shop a bit further away called "Baicao Hall." The process of buying the potion was uneventful. Many people bought Qi and Blood Potions, but due to the recent Vicious Beast incident at Qingyang Mountain, the price was slightly more expensive than usual, at 110 wen per dose.

Lin Qing could only be grateful for the gift from Big Brother Lin Hu.