"Reflect on your actions properly," Shao Cheng admonished Lü Shaoqing before swiftly leaving.
As he departed, Shao Cheng felt an immense sense of satisfaction and relief. It was as if a persistent discomfort had finally been alleviated, and his entire being felt wonderfully at ease. Shao Cheng was smug with himself.
If he didn't take this chance to teach the little rascal a lesson now, it would be much harder to do so once Lü Shaoqing's strength caught up.
Lü Shaoqing clutched his backside, looking utterly defeated. If anyone saw him like this, they might think Shao Cheng had done something inappropriate.
"How embarrassing," Lü Shaoqing groaned, looking up at the sky in despair.
"I'm this old and still got spanked. How humiliating!"
Shao Cheng's strength was far superior to his; facing a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, he had no means of resistance.
"Thank goodness no one else saw that. Otherwise, I'd never live it down."
Just then, a bird's chirping came from a nearby tree.
"Tweet, tweet!"
Lü Shaoqing turned his head and saw Little Red clutching its belly with one wing while pointing at him with the other, laughing hysterically.
Lü Shaoqing's expression darkened as he glared at the bird. "You saw everything?"
Little Red only laughed harder, even wiggling its backside provocatively.
Lü Shaoqing, enraged, shouted, "Today, I have no choice but to—no, I mean, kill this bird and silence it!"
Hearing this, Little Red immediately flapped its wings frantically and flew away.
Escaped!
But with Lü Shaoqing's backside still hurting and his anger rising, there was no way Little Red could escape his grasp. Lü Shaoqing caught the bird and gave it a severe beating before tossing it aside, leaving it despondent.
After dealing with the foolish bird, Lü Shaoqing felt a lot better.
"You better stay put and keep watch. If you dare tell anyone what happened today, I'll pluck all your feathers."
Lü Shaoqing threatened Little Red fiercely before finally returning to his room.
He first carefully inspected the formations and barriers outside. In Tianyu Peak, Shao Cheng and Ji Yan wouldn't barge in unannounced, but with a new junior sister around, he had to be cautious.
Just yesterday, Xiao Yi had almost recklessly barged in, nearly causing trouble.
Moreover, with the recent influx of visitors at Tianyu Peak, it was impossible to guarantee that no one would accidentally wander in.
Safety first.
After ensuring everything was secure, Lü Shaoqing entered his Time Chamber within the ring.
He had given it that name himself. The place wasn't large, and there was a small spiritual altar, but Lü Shaoqing found great peace there. This was his secret, his trump card for keeping up with Ji Yan and not falling behind.
Though his talent was decent, it couldn't compare to Ji Yan's. Only by trading spirit stones for time could he stay competitive.
Lü Shaoqing took out the rectangular object he had acquired from the Tang family's shop. After examining it again without any new discoveries, he placed it on the jade table. Soon, it began to emit smoke.
Sizzling sounds arose, as if it were melting.
Lü Shaoqing was alarmed. He had spent 3,000 spirit stones on this—if it only gave him a sound show, he might just spit blood.
After observing for a moment, Lü Shaoqing realized the outer layer was melting away. He sighed in relief.
Thankfully.
After a quarter of an hour, the coating dissolved and evaporated, revealing the true appearance of the object.
Lü Shaoqing leaned in closer and was surprised. "Is this a token?"
On the table lay a jade token about a foot long, rounded at the top and wider at the base. Without even touching it, Lü Shaoqing could tell that the material was the same as that of the jade table.
He picked up the token and noticed that its front was adorned with carvings of a golden dragon and a divine phoenix, with two characters engraved in the middle. However, he didn't recognize the characters. The back was etched with scenes of mountains, rivers, the sun, moon, and stars—grand and majestic.
Lü Shaoqing spent a long time inspecting it, trying everything from burning and soaking it to using blood to forge a connection, but the jade token remained unresponsive.
Staring at the token on the table, Lü Shaoqing asked, "What's this supposed to do? What is it?"
There was no response.
The jade table also offered no information.
Lü Shaoqing felt stumped. He was certain the token was extraordinary, but he had no way of figuring out its function for now.
After some thought, Lü Shaoqing decided to leave it on the jade table.
"I'll just leave it here and see what happens in the future," he muttered to himself.
The token's purpose eluded him, but given its material, it seemed to be linked to the jade table and the spiritual altar.
He then summoned 10,000 low-grade spirit stones, placing them into the incense burner.
"I'll cultivate for another year and see if I can break through to the eighth layer of the Foundation Establishment stage."
However, the words six months appeared on the jade table.
"Six months?"
Lü Shaoqing was stunned, then furious.
Pointing angrily at the token, he cursed.
"What the hell? Don't mess with me!"
"Do you think earning spirit stones is easy? A year's worth of cultivation for 10,000 spirit stones is already expensive."
"And now the time has been cut in half?"
"You better come out and return my spirit stones. I'm not cultivating anymore—give me my money back."
"If you don't return it, I swear I'll smash this spiritual altar of yours!"
Lü Shaoqing was livid.
Did they think earning spirit stones was that easy?
Did they think spirit stones just casually appeared on the street for people to pick up?
Spending 10,000 low-grade spirit stones for a year's worth of time already felt like a loss. Now, they were only giving him six months.
Who could accept that?
At least, Lü Shaoqing couldn't.
Slamming his hand on the jade table, Lü Shaoqing cursed at the token. "Refund me! If you don't, I won't let this go."
"If you want to raise the price, fine. Just give me a heads-up so we can negotiate."
"But to unilaterally raise the price without telling me—do you take me for a fool?"
"I worked hard to earn those spirit stones. You can't just scam me like some greedy merchant!"
"If you don't return the spirit stones, I'm smashing this thing today. I don't care who you are, even if you're an immortal emperor—I'll smash it."
As Lü Shaoqing raged and reached for the token, a white light flashed across the table. Looking down, Lü Shaoqing saw a set of cultivation techniques appear.
"Shocking Spirit Technique!"
Lü Shaoqing was taken aback. He hadn't expected the jade table to display a new cultivation method. His eyes gleamed with excitement.
"A new technique?"
He began to read through the details of the Shocking Spirit Technique. The more he read, the more astonished he became. This technique was incredibly profound, far surpassing the quality of ordinary methods available in the market. It was something only the most prestigious sects or the most ancient inheritance sites might possess.
But as Lü Shaoqing continued, he noticed something peculiar.
"This... it needs a spirit source to activate?"
The cultivation technique required an external spirit source—a highly concentrated and powerful source of spiritual energy. The instructions were clear: without it, attempting to practice the technique would be like trying to start a fire without wood.
"Spirit source... no wonder this jade altar demanded double the spirit stones."
Lü Shaoqing understood now. The jade altar had its own requirements for the cultivation environment it provided. To cultivate the Shocking Spirit Technique, it was compensating for the need of an external spirit source by doubling the spirit stone cost.
Although he was annoyed at the price hike, Lü Shaoqing's interest was piqued.
"If this technique is as powerful as it claims, then even if the spirit stone cost is doubled, it's worth it."
His anger dissipated, replaced by a focused determination. "Fine, I'll accept the deal for now. But you better not try anything else, or I'll really smash you to pieces."
With a snort, Lü Shaoqing positioned himself for cultivation. The jade table glowed softly, and the spiritual energy in the air began to gather around him, forming a dense and powerful aura.
The Shocking Spirit Technique flowed into his mind as he focused, and he felt a rush of spiritual energy unlike any he had ever experienced before.
A smirk tugged at his lips.
"Let's see if this is really worth it."
And with that, Lü Shaoqing began his cultivation, the room illuminated by the growing intensity of the jade altar's light, enveloping him as he ventured into the depths of the new technique.