"Where am I?"
Zhao Yu felt a severe headache and slowly opened his eyes. Looking around, he found himself in an extremely simple wooden hut.
The next moment, countless memories rushed into Zhao Yu's head, causing a greater headache, but also granting him a vast amount of information.
"Canglong Mountain Range, Cultivators, this place is the Cultivation World!!"
From the memories of this body, Zhao Yu learned that he was currently in a small market named Heishan, established by the great Cultivation sect Cangling Sect near the Canglong Mountain Range.
In the Cultivation World, Cultivators' levels are divided into the Qi Refinement Realm, Foundation Establishment Stage, Golden Core Stage, Nascent Soul Stage, Divinity Transformation Stage, Return to Void Stage, Transcendence Tribulation Stage, and the Mahayana Realm. After Mahayana, one could become an immortal.
The original owner of this body, also named Zhao Yu, was thirty-eight years old and had the lowest grade of Low-grade Five Elements Spiritual Root, with a cultivation level at the peak of First Level of Qi Refining. He was sold to the Cangling Sect by the Zhao family of cultivators when he was eighteen, just like selling a pig, to become a cannon fodder for pioneering the Canglong Mountains.
Zhao Yu felt a headache: "Thirty-eight years old and only at the First Level of Qi Refining!! Such strength is way too low!! I can't beat anyone!!"
Zhao Yu walked out of the simple wooden hut and looked outside, only to see a field of Spirit Fields before him.
Zhao Yu had been a spiritual farmer for ten years in the Spirit Fields around the small Heishan market of the Cangling Sect, and only then had he gained his freedom, after which he continued to rent three acres of Spirit Fields in the market for cultivation.
Around the vast expanse of Spirit Fields, a few simple wooden huts were scattered, which were the homes of the spiritual farmers.
"Should I continue to be a spiritual farmer, or go to the Ten Mortal Cities to get by?"
A thought surged into Zhao Yu's mind: in the Heishan market, he was at the lowest level of Cultivators. But once he went to one of the Ten Mortal Cities, which was established with Heishan market at its core, he would instantly become a Cultivator lord, a big landowner, a tycoon with no problem at all.
However, going to the Ten Mortal Cities meant cutting off the path to immortality; after all, only in the small Heishan market was there a complete first-order Spirit Vein. The Spiritual Energy was dense, and cultivation speed was more than a hundred times faster than in the Ten Mortal Cities.
Zhao Yu let out a long sigh: "With such cultivation talent, I have no future in the Cultivation World, better to go to a mortal city!"
Some geniuses from various sects had already become Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators by the age of thirty-eight. Zhao Yu was still stagnating at the First Level of Qi Refining. Lacking both talent and resources, staying in the Cultivation World also made no sense.
Zhao Yu took a deep look at the Spirit Fields and returned to the simple wooden hut.
After a bit of rummaging around the room, he found fifty taels of gold, six Spirit Stones, nine grains of Spirit Sand, a Secret Manual of the "Earth Elemental Skill" that could be cultivated to the Seventh Level of Qi Refining, a Magical Technique Manual of the "Minor Wind Blade Technique," three low-grade first-order talismans for warding off evil, one low-grade first-order Minor Spirit Shield talisman, one low-grade first-order Minor Wind Blade talisman, and a Magical Technique Manual of the "Dew Technique."
Those possessions were all that Zhao Yu had managed to save up after being granted freedom and ten more years of being a spiritual farmer.
Spirit Sand is collected from Spirit Stone Mines; it's made up of some broken fragments of Spirit Stones, generally containing the Spiritual Power of one Spirit Stone for every ten grains of sand, though typically eleven grains of sand are needed to exchange for a single Spirit Stone.
"Let me taste the flavor of the Spirit Rice in the Cultivation World!"
Zhao Yu opened the rice bin, scooped out the translucent Spirit Rice within, and put it in the pot. After some flustered preparation, he finally cooked the Spirit Rice.
"It's so delicious! It's my first time tasting such delicious rice, no wonder it's Spirit Rice!"
The Spirit Rice was sweet but not cloying, carrying a faint fragrance of rice. After eating it, a gentle stream of warmth flowed through Zhao Yu's body, making him feel thoroughly comfortable.
"Zhao Yu."
"Possesses the Dao Fruit of Devouring."
"Lifespan 38/68."
"Martial Talent: Utterly ordinary (0/10)."
"Spirit Root Talent: Low-grade Metal Spirit Root (0/100), Low-grade Wood Spirit Root (0/100), Low-grade Water Spirit Root (0/100), Low-grade Fire Spirit Root (0/100), Low-grade Earth Spirit Root (0/100)."
"Cultivation Level: Earth Elemental Skill First Level (95/100), Qi Refinement First Level."
"Spell — Minor Wind Blade Technique: Proficient (5/200)."
"Spell — Dew Technique: Mastered (85/400)."
Rows of information appeared within Zhao Yu's consciousness.
"Dao Fruit of Devouring, is this my golden finger? Eating Spirit Rice can increase my talent points?"
Zhao Yu looked around and only saw the option to add points behind the Martial Talent, then he tapped it.
"Martial Talent: Utterly ordinary (1/10)."
Zhao Yu pondered thoughtfully, "It can only enhance Martial Talent? No, since it is about devouring Dao Fruit, the power must be much more than this. I suspect the Spirit Rice grade is too low! Perhaps eating higher-grade Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures will enhance my Spiritual Roots!!"
Spiritual Roots are extremely important for a Cultivator. Without them, one cannot absorb the free-floating Spiritual Power between heaven and earth and store it within the body to transform into Mana. Those people can only remain as mortals for their entire lives, unable to cultivate.
Zhao Yu, a Cultivator with five Low-grade Spiritual Roots, also had the poorest talent among Cultivators. Above Low-grade Spiritual Roots, there are Medium-grade, High-grade, Earth, and Heavenly Spiritual Roots.
Excitement flickered in Zhao Yu's eyes, "I don't need to go to the Mortal Cities anymore! I finally have hope for Cultivation!!"
Sitting cross-legged on the bed according to his memory, Zhao Yu closed his eyes and started to operate his Earth Elemental Skill. He vaguely sensed various attributes of Spiritual Power particles around him.
As he operated the Earth Elemental Skill, he felt like a magnet, slowly and painstakingly absorbing the heavy Earth Attribute Spiritual Power particles into his body, then transforming them into Mana.
Throughout the process, Zhao Yu clearly perceived that most of the Earth Attribute Spiritual Power particles he struggled to draw into his body would disperse again, with only a tiny portion being retained, resulting in an extremely low Cultivation efficiency.
An hour later, Zhao Yu slowly opened his eyes.
"Earth Elemental Skill First Level (95/100)."
Zhao Yu's brows furrowed slightly, "My Cultivation Level hasn't budged at all!! It's too difficult for a Cultivator with Low-grade Five Elements Spiritual Roots! It seems I can only cultivate Mundane Martial Arts as a means of protection!"
Most Cultivators looked down upon Mundane Martial Arts because even Martial Arts Geniuses among mortals who cultivated their arts to the Grandmaster Realm could only sneak attack and kill Cultivators below the Third Level of Qi Refinement.
Even a Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator like Zhao Yu, as long as he used a Minor Spirit Shield charm to cast the Minor Spirit Shield Technique, could fend off the attacks of a Martial Arts Grandmaster, and under the protection of the Minor Spirit Shield Technique, he could use the power of the Minor Wind Blade Technique to kill a Martial Arts Grandmaster in one strike.
Such was the terrifying aspect of Cultivators.
However, if they didn't use defensive spells like the Minor Spirit Shield Technique, the bodies of Qi Refining Stage Cultivators were still mundane, and if ambushed by a Martial Arts Grandmaster, they could be killed.
Zhao Yu carried three pieces and nine grains of Spirit Sand to the Market.
The main district of the market at Little Black Mountain was bustling, crowded with people and thriving with activity.
The Canglong Mountain Range was a mountain chain that had never been developed by humans, housing many demons and beasts, as well as numerous precious Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. Little Black Mountain, being the only market nearby, naturally attracted countless Loose Cultivators.
Zhao Yu scoured the market at Little Black Mountain and eventually entered a general store.
"Shopkeeper, how much for these Mundane Martial Arts Manuals?" Zhao Yu asked as he picked up a "White Crane Technique Secret Manual" from the corner of the store.
The eyes of the general store's shopkeeper lit up, offering eagerly, "Those that can be cultivated to the Innate Realm are one Spirit Sand per manual, those to the Grandmaster Realm are five Spirit Sands each! I have one that can be cultivated to the Great Grandmaster Realm, just one Spirit Stone each, are you interested?"
Zhao Yu's eyes also lit up; Martial Arts Great Grandmasters among mortals were exceedingly rare, but each of them had battle power comparable to an expert at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining.
Even Minor Spirit Shield Techniques, lower-tier Grade One defense spells, cannot withstand the full force strikes of those Martial Arts Great Grandmasters — it takes a mid-tier Grade One defense spell like the Spiritual Shield Technique to fend off an attack from a Martial Arts Great Grandmaster.
"I'll take that manual! But that manual is too expensive, I want these few manuals as a bonus!" Zhao Yu then picked up three more manuals on Flying Daggers, Qinggong, and swordsmanship.
The shopkeeper said, "Unless you add another Spirit Stone and buy a bottle of Qi and Blood Pills, those manuals can only be given to you as a bonus! A bottle of Qi and Blood Pills has ten pills, and each one refined is equivalent to an additional year's worth of cultivation. If you buy them at Duo Bao Building, a bottle of Qi and Blood Pills is also one Spirit Stone!
If you're thinking of cultivating Mundane Martial Arts, Qi and Blood Pills are definitely the right purchase!"
"I'll buy it!"
Zhao Yu feigned hesitation for a while before carefully taking out two Spirit Stones, still speckled with unhusked rice, from his bosom and handing them to the shopkeeper.
Poor Spirit Farmer!
Upon seeing the rice on the Spirit Stones, the shopkeeper guessed Zhao Yu's identity and a trace of contempt flashed deep within his eyes as he handed over the three manuals and the bottle of Qi and Blood Pills to Zhao Yu.
Hardly anyone would rob these poor Spirit Farmers because they were too poor and mainly didn't possess any Spirit Stones. Moreover, killing these miserable farmers could easily lead to a manhunt by the market patrol.
"Another fool trying to change his fate through martial arts! If martial arts were useful, what would be the need for Cultivators?" the shopkeeper sneered quietly to himself as he watched Zhao Yu's retreating figure.
The manual he sold to Zhao Yu was genuine, but what he didn't mention was that only one person had ever succeeded in cultivating that manual to become a Martial Arts Great Grandmaster, and that person had taken several decades to achieve it and died of old age within three years of his accomplishment.
After receiving the manuals and Qi and Blood Pills, Zhao Yu promptly left the market and headed straight back to his residence, breathing a sigh of relief only after reaching his simple wooden house.
Only then did Zhao Yu start to carefully read the Martial Arts Manual, "Chi Yang Divine Skill," that he had purchased from the store owner.
The "Chi Yang Divine Skill" was an extraordinary Martial Arts technique; cultivating to the Seventh Level could reverse the ordinary and become an Innate Expert. Reaching the Tenth Level would leapfrog one to Martial Arts Grandmaster status, and achieving the Twentieth Level would elevate one to Martial Arts Great Grandmaster.
If the "Chi Yang Divine Skill" had found its way into the mundane world, it would definitely cause countless disputes and lead to bloodshed. However, in the Little Black Mountain market, it was only worth a single Spirit Stone.