Li Mo felt a slight pang of distress. The mid-grade spirit stones hadn’t even warmed in his hands before they were handed over again. Truly, owning a shop was the most profitable business—no matter what, it was never a loss.
"Elixirs suitable for the childhood phase."
While speaking, Wang Sheng continuously pulled out drawers from all over his body, revealing an array of dazzling resources faintly visible, stored right within him.
"There are three types in total. Taking the Corpse Brain Pill can accelerate Spirit Root Transformation within the internal organs but will corrode the brain, requiring it to be paired with Awakening Soup."
"Jade Pill, which can help purify Spiritual Power."
"Soul Summoning Pill, which increases the efficiency of absorbing external Spiritual Energy in the short term."
Wang Sheng took out a bottle of each elixir. The elixirs were of various colors, appearing extremely eerie, with each one showing a translucent form and a nail-sized worm at its core.
Li Mo’s scalp tingled.
What on earth has alchemy evolved into after these seven thousand years?
Li Mo couldn’t help but ask, "Does Treasure Pavilion have manuals on alchemy techniques?"
Wang Sheng replied, "The Taoist inheritance for alchemy techniques is quite rare. Treasure Pavilion only collaborates with a few alchemists."
Li Mo nodded slightly and bought four of the Soul Summoning Pills and Corpse Brain Pills each, along with one portion of Awakening Soup.
Rare things truly were valuable. Elixirs for the childhood phase were priced in mid-grade spirit stones, making it likely that very few childhood cultivators could afford them.
As Li Mo was finishing up, Jiang Xin’an hurriedly delivered the spirit stones.
Jiang Xin’an knocked on the door and entered the private suite, carrying a brand-new storage bag. "The Deceit Beast was appraised at a value of 189 mid-grade spirit stones. Here’s also a medical manual that Senior Han entrusted me to bring to you."
"Thank you, Elder Jiang."
Li Mo nodded helplessly.
It seemed Jiang Xin’an had gone to verify with Han Cai. Luckily, Doctor Han didn’t expose the truth; otherwise, the Deceit Beast’s corpse price might have been reduced.
Li Mo found that the gifted storage bag contained, aside from the mid-grade spirit stones, a bone scroll of medical skills and the spiritual tablet unique to Jiang Xin’an.
"If you ever need anything, you can come find me at Treasure Pavilion."
Li Mo agreed on the surface but had no intention to interact with Treasure Pavilion under Han Cai’s name. After all, debts had to be repaid eventually.
Jiang Xin’an then turned and left.
"Does Treasure Pavilion have spells suitable for cultivation during the childhood phase?"
Li Mo added, "Exclude the ones with significant drawbacks or incomplete content."
Wang Sheng pondered for a moment before answering, "There are thirty-six spells in total, thirteen of which meet the guest’s requirements."
He opened the drawer on his forehead, and Li Mo took the bone scroll smeared with brain matter, used a cloth on the table to wipe it clean, and placed it on his forehead.
It seemed Treasure Pavilion was not a store specializing in selling spells.
After reading through them, Li Mo was not very satisfied. It wasn’t just because the spells required physical modifications, but primarily because the resource consumption was too high.
Since the spells were closely tied to the Heart Beast Sect,
they all used the method of beastifying organs to raise spirit beasts within the body.
With the spirit stones Li Mo currently possessed, sustaining his cultivation while also supporting Hui Qingyi was already challenging, and there was no need to add further burden.
"What about cultivation techniques?"
"Treasure Pavilion doesn’t sell cultivation techniques. They are reserved as the centerpiece at auctions."
Li Mo was not surprised. In ancient times, Immortal Sects would secretly support black markets for loose cultivators, auctioning off resources of unknown origin.
He inquired about the specific time of the next auction, only to learn it was at least ten years away.
Li Mo naturally hoped the auction would be as delayed as possible. With the growth potential of divine skills, the spirit stone output from the Weak Crown phase would barely suffice.
He then purchased a pile of low-grade refining materials, his acquired resources now ready for him to return to the inn and begin secluded cultivation.
Wang Sheng led Li Mo out through a side door of Treasure Pavilion to avoid hidden spies.
Li Mo followed a narrow and secluded alley and arrived at a spell-selling shop called "Magic Hall."
The Magic Hall was noticeably inferior to Treasure Pavilion. The shop’s decor was no different from that of an ordinary bookstore, with shelves filled with paper books that summarized various spells.
Li Mo opened one of the books, and on the first page was the store’s statement.
The Magic Hall would ensure that any specific spell wouldn’t have excessive duplicates in the market, to prevent the corresponding cultivation resource prices from skyrocketing.
Li Mo flipped through the books one by one, noting that the spells offered were quite pedestrian.
Almost all of them failed to escape the limitations of limb beastification, which would hinder the use of the Universal Skillful Hand, making them rather not worth it.
It seemed that the top-quality spell inheritances were likely all in Rong Town.
Only through such comparisons could the profoundness of Hui Qingyi be highlighted. After all, being able to accommodate seven Tattooed Beasts on the skin demonstrated immense potential.
Li Mo shook his head in mild disappointment and perfunctorily flipped through all the books in the store.
Some spells indeed piqued Li Mo’s interest, but their cultivation steps were incomplete.
For loose cultivators, this was inconsequential, but it would reduce the spell’s full potency.
[Great Fortune and Longevity Scripture]: Replace your spine with thirty-six segments of animal vertebrae.
[Golden Book Jade Scroll Map]: Alter the distribution of blood vessels within the body to enhance physical attributes.
[Taiwei Longevity Scripture]: Use Tai Sui Meat to replenish flesh and gain self-healing abilities.
Many low-level loose cultivators exhibited similar behavior in the shop, hoping to glean some insight into the spells from the partial information. Such actions elicited disdainful looks from the shop attendant.
Li Mo suddenly noticed a particularly unique spell. Though it lacked its most critical cultivation steps, it was nonetheless highly useful to him.
First, it was certain that this spell was not inherited from the Heart Beast Sect.
Li Mo picked up the Golden Book Jade Scroll Map, and after paying twenty-seven mid-grade spirit stones, he left the shop under the surprised gaze of the shop attendant.
Having the Golden Book Jade Scroll Map on hand was a precaution. If he ever wanted to use the Creation Book to engrave blood vessels in the future, it might come in handy.
The type of spells he chose differed entirely from the mainstream of loose cultivators in the black market.
Loose cultivators only considered the immediate benefits spells brought and ignored drawbacks, even if they pushed their bodies to the brink of collapse.
Returning eagerly to the Tushan Inn, Li Mo began analyzing the incomplete spell.
[Primordial Postnatal Dao Body]:
The Primordial Postnatal Dao Body, upon mastery, allowed one’s physique to perfectly synchronize with their Spiritual Power. Not only would cultivation become twice as effective with half the effort, but other spells would also gain at least a thirty percent boost in power.
However, the Primordial Postnatal Dao Body caused Spiritual Power to become uncontrollably corrosive, radiating an effect akin to radiation on its surroundings.
Additionally, the entry-level steps were missing, making mastery near-impossible.
Li Mo’s expression turned puzzled as he carefully read through each word, feeling that something about the Primordial Postnatal Dao Body was profoundly wrong.
The spell content within the bone scroll was incredibly seamless, showing no signs of missing parts. It was as if the spell had been created without entry-level steps in the first place.
Combining this with the memories drawn from the Creation Book, Li Mo immediately came to a conclusion.
It seemed that cultivators who could master the Primordial Postnatal Dao Body were born with physiques inherently synchronized, allowing them to bypass the entry-level stage entirely.
"Why does it feel like..."
Li Mo quickly retrieved the Artifact Refining Technique, excitement flashing in his eyes as he suddenly realized that there might be a fortuitous opportunity hidden within.
"No rush, no rush—I’ll break through to the third layer of the childhood phase first."
He knew that his ideas required cultivation as a foundation and a certain level of artifact refining skill before he could confidently proceed.