"What? Alchemist Su?"
"What was he doing in your spirit field?" Old Cai asked, puzzled.
Qin Ming patiently explained that Alchemist Su had come to collect Crimson Spirit Dew.
"You actually grew Beast Tooth Rice?!"
Old Cai was dumbfounded, his worldview shattered once again.
He had been here for over a decade and had tried cultivating Beast Tooth Rice himself.
But without exception, every attempt had failed.
Old Cai had even begun to suspect that the local spirit vein wasn't suitable for growing Beast Tooth Rice.
He tried to convince himself that Qin Ming was just pulling his leg.
But when he went to the back of the mountain and saw the half-grown Beast Tooth Rice in Qin Ming's field, he was left speechless.
Yes.
He was jealous.
This time, he was genuinely envious of Qin Ming!
"Qin Ming, you're really something! After all the wine I've shared with you, you didn't even tell me you grew Beast Tooth Rice?"
With that, he didn't forget to greet Alchemist Su warmly.
Then he leaned in close to Qin Ming and whispered, "Where did you get the seeds for Beast Tooth Rice?"
Qin Ming looked at him, slightly taken aback. "I bought them from Manager Liao."
"I took a gamble, risking everything I had."
"You're really lucky. You actually managed to grow it."
"I don't even know what to say to you."
Qin Ming chuckled awkwardly. "Alright, when the Beast Tooth Rice matures, I'll treat you to a meal at the Gathering Pavilion."
"You better mean it!" Old Cai finally let it go.
...
Two days later.
The chaos caused by the demonic beast attack had subsided, and the Spirit Feather Sect had added some protective measures around the spirit fields.
However, due to the vast area, they only set up some simple alarm arrays.
After this incident, Qin Ming's desire to improve his strength grew even stronger.
Without a trump card, he felt no sense of security.
He was always at risk of losing his life.
At Green Sun Market, Qin Ming once again arrived at the Ruan family's courtyard.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
He rapped on the red-painted gate.
Before long.
A middle-aged cultivator opened the door. He was at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, with a weary expression, his hair half-gray and tied up with a wooden hairpin.
"Fellow cultivator, who are you looking for? What brings you here?"
Qin Ming clasped his hands in greeting and got straight to the point. "Are you Fellow Cultivator Ruan? My name is Qin. Manager Liao recommended me. I heard you have a body refining technique for sale, so I came to visit."
Fellow Cultivator Ruan was momentarily stunned, then invited Qin Ming into the Ruan family courtyard.
Once inside, the place looked desolate. Aside from Fellow Cultivator Ruan, there was no one else in sight.
"Since Manager Liao recommended you, I assume he's already told you the conditions?"
"Unless you have blood-enhancing pills or spirit materials, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed," Fellow Cultivator Ruan said, sizing up the young cultivator before him, who seemed rather ordinary.
"Of course."
"Could you tell me more about this technique? I'd like to consider it carefully," Qin Ming asked.
"Sigh, I'm afraid you'll find this laughable," Fellow Cultivator Ruan said with a long sigh.
He pointed around the courtyard, his voice filled with weariness.
Then he spoke frankly, "This vast family estate has fallen to such a state, all because of this technique."
He took out a piece of beast hide from his storage bag and showed it to Qin Ming before continuing, "This technique is called the **Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture**. It has been passed down through my family for generations."
"The exact origins are unknown, but my ancestors treasured it deeply."
"However, cultivating this technique has a rather demanding prerequisite: it requires blood-enhancing heavenly treasures as supplements to proceed..."
As Fellow Cultivator Ruan explained further, Qin Ming began to form an understanding of the technique.
The **Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture** was completely different from any body refining technique Qin Ming had encountered before.
Its approach to body refinement wasn't about tempering the flesh, opening acupoints, or strengthening the bones.
Instead, it focused on—
Blood replacement!
The term "Hundred Treasures" referred to heavenly spirit materials that enhanced blood and vitality, and they had to be of a certain grade.
The higher the grade, the better.
The so-called blood replacement involved circulating and enhancing one's blood to a certain level, then entering a marrow-refining stage to replace old blood with new blood.
By continuously enhancing blood vitality, when compressed to the limit, it could even reach a state where the blood was as thick as mercury.
Transcending the limits of the human body, breaking through to a new level.
"Glazed" referred to the transformation of one's blood after replacement, making the body as clear and radiant as glazed glass.
After reaching the fifth layer of the **Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture**, the blood would undergo multiple transformations, allowing the cultivator to condense a "Glazed Treasure Robe" outside their body.
This robe would repel evil, resist all poisons, and be nearly indestructible. It even had some resistance to spells.
"Spell resistance?" Qin Ming was secretly amazed.
At its highest levels, this technique could achieve a flawless, radiant body, with physical strength reaching incredible heights.
Ultimately, it could lead to the "Flawless Glazed Body"!
However, that was just what the technique claimed. No one had ever reached such a level.
"Because of this, the amount of spirit materials required to cultivate this technique is absolutely staggering," Fellow Cultivator Ruan said calmly.
"It's practically a bottomless pit."
"If you don't have a steady supply of spirit materials, I'd advise you to give up."
"The resources spent on this could easily buy you more than one top-tier cultivation technique."
"And even after such a huge investment, there's no guarantee of success, making it somewhat of a niche choice."
"Moreover, this technique is incomplete. The **Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture** has twelve layers in total, but the beast hide I have only contains the first nine layers, suitable for Qi Refinement body cultivators."
After hearing this, Qin Ming fell into deep thought.
He wasn't lacking in spirit materials—he could just accelerate their growth.
What others saw as a massive expense was actually an advantage for him.
In short, as long as he had enough blood-enhancing spirit materials, the **Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture** should allow for rapid progress.
"May I ask, Fellow Cultivator Ruan, how many layers have you cultivated so far?"
Fellow Cultivator Ruan sighed at the question. "Over the years, I've exhausted my family's wealth, spending thousands of spirit stones and traveling far and wide to gather blood-enhancing materials. And yet, I've only reached the third layer."
"Has anyone in your family reached the fifth layer?"
"No, the highest anyone has reached is me."
"..."
Qin Ming now understood why he was willing to sell it so cheaply.
After careful consideration, Qin Ming made a decisive offer.
"How about a hundred spirit stones, plus ten pounds of Beast Tooth Rice, for this technique?"
"What? You have Beast Tooth Rice?"
Fellow Cultivator Ruan's previously despondent demeanor vanished.
He suddenly perked up, his eyes lighting up with interest.
(End of Chapter)