12: Chapter 12 Red Copper Essence

The candlelight in the room flickered.

Gu Shen's figure appeared out of thin air on the prayer mat, stirring up a slight airflow that caused the candlelight to flicker on and off.

As soon as he sat down, he quickly checked the Restriction on the doors and windows, as well as the strand of hair used for warning.

Everything was as usual.

Gu Shen's tense shoulders finally relaxed. Although he had stayed in the Wasteland for less than an hour, the pressure of walking on the edge of life and death left him feeling deeply exhausted.

"Wealth is sought amidst danger."

He touched his brow, a curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

At this moment, the Heaven and Earth Furnace was stuffed with loot: two hundred catties of skinned purple copper wire, as well as the massive corpse of the Shadow Cat.

"Process the copper wire first."

Gu Shen's thoughts stirred.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the Great Furnace operated, and phantom flames rose.

The pile of tangled purple copper wire quickly softened and collapsed in the furnace fire. The oxidation layer on the surface of the copper wire and the residual rubber particles dissipated as black smoke under the calcination of the Rules fire.

The purplish-red copper liquid gathered into a ball and rotated slowly at the bottom of the furnace; its volume shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye, but its color became increasingly deep and eerie, vaguely exuding a fiery, dry aura.

Refined a hundred times to become essence.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the refining process ended.

Gu Shen reached out his hand.

Clang.

A fist-sized, entirely purplish-red metal ingot landed on the desktop with a dull thud.

The surface of this metal ingot had naturally formed cloud patterns and emitted a warm aura; just by being placed there, the surrounding air became a bit drier.

"refined red copper."

Gu Shen picked it up and weighed it.

About two catties and three taels.

In the Great Yu Cultivation World, red copper ore is not rare, but to refine refined red copper of this purity, it requires a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator to calcine it with True Fire for several days, or a Qi Refinement Stage fire-attribute Cultivator to spend a large amount of Earth Fire grinding it day and night.

Therefore, items are valued for their scarcity.

"The market price is five Spirit Stones per catty; these two-plus catties are worth at least eleven or twelve Spirit Stones."

Gu Shen calculated in his mind. Adding the Spirit Stones he currently had, his net worth was approaching thirty.

Among the Loose Cultivators in the shanty town, this definitely counted as a huge sum of money. Even that dead robber's entire net worth was no more than this.

After putting away the refined red copper, Gu Shen turned his attention to the main event—the corpse of the Shadow Cat.

A Tier 2 mutated beast, corresponding to a Middle Stage Yao Beast in the Cultivation World.

"Refine!"

The Great Furnace shook again.

This time, the refining process took much longer than the previous walking corpse. The Shadow Cat's flesh and bones were exceptionally tough, persisting in the furnace fire for a long time before beginning to disintegrate.

A mass of black mist was forcibly stripped from the flesh and blood, darting left and right in the furnace fire, emitting shrill cat cries, as if retaining its ferocity from when it was alive.

But under the suppression of the Great Furnace, this ferocity was quickly extinguished, turning into a drop of ink-black liquid.

Immediately after, there was a milky-white ball of light, several times larger than the one refined from the walking corpse, and its radiance was also richer.

Finally, there was a bone spur about two feet long—that was the Shadow Cat's tail.

[Refining complete.]

Three items appeared before Gu Shen.

A bone spur, a drop of black liquid, a mass of white dew.

Gu Shen first picked up the bone spur. It felt icy cold to the touch, its texture as hard as iron, with an incredibly sharp tip that carried an inherent armor-piercing attribute.

"A natural arrow blank."

Gu Shen set it aside; this thing could be forged into a Magical Artifact by someone later, or used in conjunction with mechanisms.

His gaze fell on the small porcelain bottle, which was the black liquid he had just caught.

[Shadow Essence (Minor).] [Produced by Shadow creatures, it can imbue items with weak "breath-concealing" and "stealth" properties.]

"Stealth?"

Gu Shen's heart stirred.

He glanced at the pair of cloth shoes on his feet that had long since worn white. These were still mundane items; although they were quiet to walk in, if he encountered a Cultivator or Yao Beast with keen hearing, his footsteps would still be a flaw.

"Let's try it."

Gu Shen used the tip of his gold-severing saber to dip a little Shadow Essence and carefully applied it to the soles and uppers of the shoes.

Sizzle.

As soon as the black liquid touched the cloth shoes, it quickly permeated them. The originally grayish-white cloth surface instantly turned a matte black, as if it could absorb the surrounding light.

Gu Shen put on the shoes and took a few steps in the room.

Silent.

Even when he deliberately stepped heavily, there was only an extremely faint sensation upon landing, and the sound was almost completely swallowed. Moreover, the shoes seemed to have an additional layer of obscure aura; when scanned with Divine Sense, there was actually a blurry, indistinct feeling.

"Good stuff."

Gu Shen was overjoyed.

This was not just silence, but a form of camouflage against Divine Sense. For someone who follows the Dao of hiding, this was more precious than an attack-type Magical Artifact.

Finally, Gu Shen looked at the milky-white ball of light floating in his palm.

[essence white dew (Medium).] [Condensed from Tier 2 biological essence, the medicinal power is mild and rich, and can significantly advance cultivation.]

"Medium Grade white dew."

Gu Shen took a deep breath, calming his excitement.

Previously, one drop of that "inferior" white dew was worth ten days of hard cultivation. How would this "Medium Grade" one compare?

He sat cross-legged, adjusting his breathing until his heart was like still water.

He opened his mouth and swallowed it.

Boom!

It was as if he had swallowed a compressed bomb.

A massive heat flow exploded in his abdomen, instantly turning into a surging river, rushing into his limbs and bones. The sheer magnitude of this Qi was far beyond Gu Shen's expectations, causing his Meridians to ache faintly from the strain.

"Not good, the medicinal power is too fierce!"

Gu Shen's expression changed; he hurriedly guarded his heart and mind, operating the Longevity Art with all his might.

If the previous inferior white dew was a trickle, then this Medium Grade white dew was a flash flood. The drawbacks of his Five Elements mixed Spiritual Root were revealed at this moment—the speed of absorption and conversion was too slow to guide this torrent in time.

His Meridians bulged, his skin flushed red, and wisps of white smoke rose from the top of his head.

Gu Shen gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain of his Meridians being forcibly stretched, guiding the Qi to wash through his circulation again and again.

One cycle, two cycles, ten cycles...

As time passed, the violent medicinal power was finally tamed bit by bit, merging into the Dantian cyclone.

The cyclone, which was originally only the size of a walnut, began to grow and solidify at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Qi Refining Level 3 Early Stage... Middle Stage... Late Stage!

He did not know how much time had passed.

When the last trace of medicinal power was refined, Gu Shen's whole body shuddered, and a crisp humming sound came from his Dantian.

The rotation speed of the cyclone suddenly accelerated, its volume was a circle larger than before, and the purity of his Qi had also reached a higher level.

Qi Refining Level 3, Perfection.

Just one step away from entering Qi Refining Stage 4 (Qi Refining Middle Stage).

Gu Shen opened his eyes; brilliant light exploded from them, like two bolts of lightning in the dark room.

"Is this the yield from a Tier 2 monster?"

He clenched his fist, feeling the abundant power in his body.

If he were to meditate step-by-step, wanting to cultivate from early Level 3 to Perfection, given his Aptitude, it would take at least three years of grinding, and he would have to consume countless Medicinal Pills.

But now, it was just one adventure, one Shadow Cat.

"No wonder those great Sect Disciples cultivate so quickly; resources are the foundation of cultivation."

Gu Shen sighed with emotion.

He looked down at his body; another layer of faint gray oily dirt had been discharged from his skin—that was the Impurities discharged after his Meridians were further widened and cleansed.

Although he was still a Five Elements mixed Spiritual Root, the toughness and width of his Meridians had already far exceeded those of Loose Cultivators at the same level.

This is "quantitative change leading to qualitative change."

As long as there are enough resources, even a waste can be piled into a Genius.

Gu Shen got up and washed himself simply.

At this time, the sound of a rooster crowing had already come from outside the window.

A new day had begun.

Gu Shen changed into a dry set of clothes, hid the piece of refined red copper close to his body, tidied up his appearance, and restored his usual cautious demeanor.

Today, he did not plan to go to Baicao Pavilion to dump medicine dregs.

His cultivation had reached a Bottleneck; relying solely on the little spiritual liquid in the medicine dregs was no longer enough. He needed to exchange for more Spirit Stones to buy the auxiliary spiritual items needed to break through to Qi Refining Stage 4, or... go to the Wasteland again to do a big job.

But before that, he would first cash in the refined red copper in his hand.

He pushed open the door.

Gu Shen stepped on those black cloth shoes reinforced with Shadow Essence and walked out of Bitter Water Alley without a sound.