Chương 393: A Vow (VI)

I approached the new Spirit Stone extraction art in a similar fashion to what I did back in the day with the Augmentation one; focusing on Qi Extraction, but upping the ante considerably and adding a few secondary 'buffing' effects, as it were. Honestly, it was so simple I wondered why I hadn't done this months ago, at least.

Being flushed with points suddenly is sort of like being flush with cash after being broke for a while; you either spend it all or you build a 'nest', waiting for that moment when you abruptly need lots. It's just that the moment like that never came, and I'm now simply sitting on over ten thousand points again. It took me about an hour to sort out all the details, with the art ending up costing 395 points in total. At least I remembered to name it before clicking the 'confirm' button.

[Congratulations, Host, on creating the 'Spirit Qi Purification' Special Art] [...] [Spirit Qi Purification] [Type: Special Art] [Rank: low-Myth tier] [Host Comprehension: Minor] [...] [As Qi imbues itself within objects, it begins to permeate them and suffuse with their natural materials; in the process, a good amount of it becomes permanently fused with the object itself, its survival tied to the integrity and structure of the object. Allows for full extraction and complete purification of all Qi-suffused objects, Spirit Stones included. Not only does it extract the purest Qi, but it can also mass-extract lower-quality Qi and purify it into a higher-order one. Cannot purify objects or artifacts of Divine grade and above by itself] [...] [Tinkerer (Epic) trait has been triggered! A new special effect is added] [...] [May infuse purified Qi back into the object to increase the quality. Conversion: 39 low-quality Spirit Stones may be used to convert into one mid-quality Spirit Stone; 57 mid-quality Spirit Stones may be used to convert into one high-quality Spirit Stone; 938 high-quality Spirit Stones may be used to convert into one Divine Spirit Stone. Further conversions are impossible] [...] [Creation Points Value: 395/400] [Comprehension Difficulty: Prodigious] [...] [Creation Bonus: Minor evolution of Host's one trait; Grand Art of the Arrays and Formations and How Their Nature Circumvents the Laws of Man and Heaven, Volume I (???)] [Creator of Myths (Legendary) Trait undergoes a minor evolution] [Creator of Myths (Legendary) -- all arts created by you have a chance to embody a trace of the Principle Dao. Imbuing concepts costs fewer points. Quality of the imbued Concept that is triggered through the art is increased by one tier] [...] [Grand Art of the Arrays and Formations, and How Their Nature Circumvents the Laws of Man and Heaven, Volume I (???) -- outlines the basics of the Arrays and Formations. Can only be used by your Direct Disciple] Huh. As per usual, I've bargained for some tomatoes, and I got both tomatoes and some ketchup. I mentally checked the unusually titled little pamphlet inside my spatial ring, which wasn't a pamphlet, it turns out, but a fucking codex.

As in, that shit had about 2000 pages, minimum, and it was just volume I. Alright. I guess I'll have to find some sucker--I mean, some talented kid to inherit it. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. While there, I also saw 4 pills that were neatly deposited just adjacent to the codex: Yin Qi Pills. I whipped one out and rechecked the window, as I recalled getting a bit mad the last time I did it. [Yin Qi Pill (Myth) -- contains 200 years' worth of Yin Qi. May be used to increase cultivation, power Yin-charged arts or formations, or act as poison to Yang Qi practitioners. Only those who exclusively cultivate Yin Qi will see any benefits from swallowing the pill] Cool, cool. Yet another thing I can't use that will be sitting in some corner somewhere, gathering dust (or whatever the hell gathers in the spatial rings). It's not like I already have a heap of things that I need to keep track of. Haah. Putting it all away, I stood up and stretched rather lazily.

I'm honestly quite happy with the art. The biggest shocker of them all, however, were the exchange rates; as far as I knew, in reality, it was closer to 1000 low-quality Stones for one mid-quality Stone. Tsk, talk about getting ripped off. This way, at least, we won't be paying premium on higher-quality Qi. It will take a while for the kids to comprehend it, but they'll get there. Certainly quicker than me.... which brings me to an awkward point.

I've been meaning to ask kids for their permission to learn everything they learned about any of the arts we both can practice, but I could never quite find the time. Or, well, that's the convenient excuse I've made for myself. It's not that I fear they'd reject me--no, I'm pretty sure it would rain brimstone and fire-retardant frogs at the same time before they'd reject any of my requests--but... well, I'm not quite sure what it is. Some semblance of pride I still retain? Desire to uphold the image of a Master?

Pfft. Yeah. Like that's not gone.

"Alright, everyone, let's take a break," I said, causing them all to shuffle over. I looked at Shuren and made a choice; she'd already sworn not to say anything, so, hopefully, my trust in people will pay off once again.

"I have something for you all," I added as they all settled down, procuring enough tomes for everyone, including the five men on Shuren's end.

"It's a slightly upgraded variant of the old Spirit Stone Augmentation Art. As the latter had gotten a bit outdated, I dug around my third uncle's second cousin's ex-wife's heritage and chanced upon this little thing. Will be rather helpful with the Spirit Mine and all."

"... slight improvement?" Lao Shun voiced with a sigh.

"Uh, F-Fellow Daoist..." Shuren stammered.

"This... w-what is this?"

"My thanks for your help," I said.

"I just hope you will keep it our secret."

"..." she merely stared at me for a moment before looking back down at the little book that was about sixty pages long or so.

"We have got quite a few stones, so why don't you all slowly practice? Remember the ratios: 39 low-quality stones make one mid-quality stone, 57 mid-quality stones make one high-quality stone, and 938 high-quality stones make one Divine Spirit Stone. We don't have nearly enough for that, so focus on converting most stones into mid-quality ones. If there's an excess and a way to divide equally between us, we'll see to converting them into high-quality ones."

"Yes, Master!"

"A-ah, Zhao'er, can you stay back for a moment?" as everyone dispersed, with Lao Shun, Long Tao, and Shuren just staring at me in a fairly familiar way by now, Xi Zhao stayed behind, his slightly maturing eyes brewing with curiosity. It would soon be the time for them to age up yet again, I realized. Time was slowly picking up its speed, for certain...

"How far have you comprehended the Surging Spirit Art?" I asked.

"Ah, yes! I recently reached Intermediate Comprehension, Master!" Wow. Okay. He's probably the smartest one next to Long Tao and little Feng.

"Mind sharing what you learned with Master?"

"Of course!" he beamed into a smile and immediately broke into a monologue that lasted an hour. An entire hour. Oh my God. Does this mean, as the comprehension increases, lectures will start getting longer and longer?... it does, doesn't it? Haaah.