Novel Full Chapter 21: Complete Beast Hide
Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Complete Beast Hide
Selling the Demon Beast materials fetched fourteen Spirit Stones. Combined with what he’d already saved, Li Yuan now had over twenty in total.
This was the most well-off he had been since transmigrating.
After finishing his patrol of East Street and returning to his residence, Li Yuan sat on the edge of his bed, poured the Spirit Stones onto the table, and counted them.
Twenty-two stones. Enough to make the White Jade Rice’s trait permanent.
White Jade Rice cost one Spirit Stone per jin, so ten jin would be ten stones. The condition for making the trait permanent was to consume a total of ten jin of the same type of Spirit Grain, which meant he had to buy ten jin and eat it all.
After spending that, he would still have twelve stones left, which wasn’t a small amount.
Li Yuan didn’t hesitate. The next day during his patrol, Li Yuan made a round of East Street and North Alley, visiting three stalls that sold Spirit Grain.
The price of White Jade Rice was about the same as before, around one Spirit Stone per jin. One vendor asked for 1.2 Spirit Stones, but Li Yuan ignored him, buying a few jin from the other two stalls for a total of ten.
Back at his residence, Li Yuan spread all ten jin of White Jade Rice on the table. Including the one jin he’d bought before, he now had a total of eleven jin.
He unwrapped the Oil Paper packets. The jade-white Spirit Grains were plump and full, emitting faint fluctuations of Spiritual Qi. Their quality was clearly a notch above the Cyan Jade Rice.
Li Yuan picked up a jin, and the panel appeared:
[Equippable item detected: White Jade Rice (Requires 1 jin)]
[Trait Preview: Five Grains Qi Nourishing (White) — Increases stamina recovery speed by fifty percent, boosts Qi Blood to a certain extent]
[Permanence Condition: Consume a total of 10 jin of the same type of Spirit Grain]
[Current equipment slots are full (2/2). Replace a currently equipped item?]
His equipment slots were full, so Li Yuan unequipped the Iron Bull Skill and equipped the White Jade Rice.
A jin of White Jade Rice transformed into a faint ray of light and merged into his body.
In the next instant, a gentle warmth rose from his abdomen. Unlike the feeling of organ fortification, which was concentrated in his internal organs, this warmth was more uniform. It slowly spread from his Dantian to his limbs, like warm water seeping through his entire body.
Spurred by the warmth, his Qi Blood became more active. It wasn’t that the volume had increased, but that its flow had quickened. The tips of his fingers and the soles of his feet, which would occasionally feel cold, could now feel a steady flow of Qi Blood.
His stamina was also recovering—the slight fatigue accumulated from his afternoon patrol was fading at a discernible rate.
[Equipped: White Jade Rice]
[Trait Acquired: Five Grains Qi Nourishing (White) — Increases stamina recovery speed by fifty percent, boosts Qi Blood to a certain extent]
[Permanence Progress: 0/10]
However, ten jin of Spirit Grain wasn’t something he could finish in one meal.
Although Qi Refining Stage Cultivators could eat more than mortals, Spirit Grain was different from ordinary food. If one ate too much, the body couldn’t digest it.
Following a normal portion size, about one jin a day was a suitable upper limit.
Ten jin would take at least ten days to eat.
’But I have mortal cultivation techniques, so my Qi Blood is more vigorous. I could probably handle two jin a day without a problem.’
Li Yuan rewrapped the excess White Jade Rice in Oil Paper and put it away, leaving out one jin for now. A daily amount of two jin was too much to eat in one sitting.
Cultivators didn’t need any complex methods to cook Spirit Grain; simply boiling it in water was enough. The Spiritual Qi wouldn’t dissipate from the heat.
There was a simple stove in the corner of the wooden cabin, which he rarely used. While Qi Refining Stage Cultivators couldn’t achieve true Fasting, one meal of ordinary food a day was enough, as they relied on Spiritual Qi for sustenance most of the time.
Li Yuan used the Fireball Technique to start a fire. He rinsed the White Jade Rice, placed it in a pot, added water, and put on the lid.
While the Spirit Grain cooked, Li Yuan practiced the five forms of the Iron Bull Skill once in an empty space in his cabin.
Qi Blood washed over his internal organs and limbs. The circulation at the Skillful Realm became increasingly smooth, and his body began to coordinate on its own, hardly needing conscious guidance.
As he finished his practice, the faint aroma of rice wafted from the pot.
The aroma of Spirit Grain was different from that of mortal rice. It was light without being cloying, with a hint of sweetness. One sniff was enough to know it was no ordinary food.
Li Yuan lifted the pot lid. The jade-white grains had absorbed the water, each one distinct and coated in a subtle sheen.
He served himself a bowl. The first bite was soft and dense, with a smooth texture unlike any rice he had ever eaten on Earth.
The moment the grains were crushed on the tip of his tongue, a warm current slid down his throat, spreading through his chest and abdomen.
It wasn’t Spiritual Power, but Qi Blood.
It was like drinking a bowl of hot soup, warming him from the inside out.
Li Yuan ate one mouthful after another, quickly finishing the entire jin of White Jade Rice.
As he swallowed the last bite, a notification popped up on the panel.
[Five Grains Qi Nourishing (White)]
[Permanence Progress: 1/10]
The effects after eating were more pronounced than Li Yuan had expected.
The feeling of abundant Qi Blood spread from his abdomen to his limbs; even his fingertips were warm.
It wasn’t the feeling of being uncomfortably full, but rather as if his body had been filled with energy from the inside, suffusing him with a sense of inexhaustible vigor.
It was similar to the abundance of Qi Blood he felt after practicing the Nourishing Essence Skill, but this was more direct and faster.
Li Yuan sat cross-legged on his bed and guided his Qi Blood according to the Spell of the Nourishing Essence Skill.
The effect was immediate.
In this state of abundant Qi Blood, every form of the Nourishing Essence Skill flowed much more smoothly than usual. The Qi Blood no longer weakened when it reached his extremities; he could feel a stable flow in his fingertips and the soles of his feet.
More importantly, his cultivation efficiency for the Iron Bull Skill also increased.
Li Yuan stood up and performed the five forms of the Iron Bull Skill in a continuous sequence. The force with which his Qi Blood washed through his internal organs was much stronger than usual, and the opposing tension in the fifth form, Iron Bull Crosses the River, was also more stable than before.
[Iron Bull Skill: Skillful (196/400)]
One run-through increased his progress by nearly ten points, much faster than the usual six or seven.
The reasoning was simple—mortal cultivation techniques trained one’s Qi Blood. The more abundant the Qi Blood, the higher the cultivation efficiency.
The White Jade Rice’s effect was to enhance Qi Blood, which was akin to laying a rich foundation for the cultivation of his mortal techniques.
The decision to make the White Jade Rice trait permanent was yielding a greater return than he had anticipated.
It was more than just gaining another permanent trait.
Once Five Grains Qi Nourishing became permanent, the stamina recovery and Qi Blood enhancement effects would be constantly active, which in turn would boost the cultivation efficiency of both the Iron Bull Skill and the Nourishing Essence Skill.
The faster he mastered the two mortal cultivation techniques, the sooner the "Organ Fortification" trait would become permanent.
It was a virtuous cycle.
Li Yuan practiced the first three forms of the Nourishing Essence Skill two more times. After finishing, he sat down cross-legged and began to circulate the Spirit-Introducing Skill.
Spiritual Qi entered his body, pure and free of impurities, and his cultivation cycles ran at high speed. His three white traits each performed their function, making his cultivation efficiency much higher than that of other Cultivators at the same tier.
The Spiritual Power in his Dantian steadily filled, though it was still far from saturated. Each cycle brought substantial growth.
In the days that followed, Li Yuan maintained a fixed routine.
Each day he would eat two jin of White Jade Rice, then practice the Iron Bull Skill and the Nourishing Essence Skill once each, and finally cultivate with the Spirit-Introducing Skill.
The numbers on his panel climbed steadily.
[Five Grains Qi Nourishing (White) Permanence Progress: 4/10]
[Iron Bull Skill: Skillful (254/400)]
[Nourishing Essence Skill: Entry (158/200)]
After finishing his White Jade Rice, Li Yuan went out on patrol as usual.
The afternoon crowd on East Street was dense. Li Yuan walked along North Alley toward the southern part of the market square.
As he passed a sundries stall, he saw several complete Demon Beast pelts spread out on the counter. They were grayish-brown with coarse, stiff fur, looking like Tier One Low Grade Horned Mane Beast hides.
Li Yuan didn’t break his stride, merely glancing at them out of the corner of his eye.
After taking two more steps, he doubled back.
The stall had more than just pelts; there were also a few beast bones, a small vial of beast blood, and, tucked in a corner, a rolled-up, complete hide. Its color was much deeper than the others, and its edges were cleanly cut and well-processed.
Li Yuan bent down and rested his fingers on the rolled-up hide.
The panel popped up:
[Equippable item detected]
[Trait Grade: White]
[Item not owned. Cannot equip. Cannot view detailed information.]
Li Yuan’s fingers paused for a moment.
’Demon Beast pelts can be equipped, too.’
’I’ve touched plenty of beast hides and bones before, both in the market and while hunting Demon Beasts, but the panel never reacted. Yet this one does.’
’What’s the difference?’
Li Yuan turned the hide over, and the stall owner immediately came closer to introduce it.
"This is a complete shed skin from an Iron-Scaled Serpent. It’s Tier One Middle Grade and in excellent condition, not a single tear on it."
’A complete shed skin. Not one that was stripped off after a kill, but a complete hide naturally shed by the Demon Beast.’
’No wonder the fragmented materials from kills never got a reaction—they weren’t complete enough.’
’Of course, being completely intact doesn’t necessarily mean it’s equippable.’
Li Yuan placed the shed skin back, his expression unchanged.
"How much?"
"Twelve Spirit Stones."
’Not cheap, but not unaffordable either.’
’I have enough Spirit Stones on hand, but my equipment slots are full. Even if I buy it, I can’t equip it, and I won’t be able to see the detailed trait information.’
’If the trait turns out to be mediocre, that’s twelve Spirit Stones wasted.’
Li Yuan memorized the stall’s location and the price but didn’t buy it on the spot.
’I’ll wait until an equipment slot frees up.’
"I’ll think about it." Li Yuan nodded, turned, and continued his patrol.
When he returned to his residence that evening, the wooden door of his neighbor, Fang He, was open. The man was sitting on his doorstep, sharpening a knife.
A short blade rested on his knee as he pushed a whetstone back and forth, making a soft SHUSH SHUSH sound.
Seeing Li Yuan, Fang He stood up and gave a cupped fist salute.
"Deputy Li, there’s something I’d like to ask you about."
Li Yuan stopped.
Fang He didn’t put down the whetstone in his hand and got straight to the point.
"I’m just idle right now with no source of income. I know a thing or two about preparing Demon Beast skins for talismans. I was thinking of joining the market’s guard team. Could you put in a good word for me?"
Li Yuan glanced at him.
"It’s no use asking me. I’m with the patrol team; I have no say over the guard team."
Fang He nodded and took a step back.
"Then just helping me get some information would be fine. Is the guard team still recruiting? What are the requirements? What’s the process?"
Li Yuan leaned against his doorframe, not answering immediately.
’Fang He comes from a Demon Beast hunting team. He has combat experience, and his Cultivation isn’t bad either.’
’Logically, since his team disbanded, the most sensible choice would be to wait for his captain to regroup and head back into the mountains, not come to the market to join the guard team.’
"Didn’t your captain say he’d regroup the team after things blew over?" Li Yuan asked. "You have experience with a Demon Beast hunting team. Wouldn’t it be more reliable to go back to that?"
Fang He tucked the whetstone into his robes and was silent for a breath.
"The captain can’t be trusted."
Li Yuan didn’t press the matter.
"I’ll ask around about the guard team for you. I’ll let you know if I hear anything."
Fang He nodded, gave another cupped fist salute, and turned to go back into his cabin.
Li Yuan pushed open his own door and slid the bolt shut.
’Fang He doesn’t want to go back to the hunting team. He didn’t go into detail, but I can tell it wasn’t an impulsive decision.’
’But that’s Fang He’s own business. It has little to do with me.’
’Asking around is easy enough, and the guard team is indeed short on people right now.’
Li Yuan put the matter aside and sat on the edge of his bed.
On the table were six neatly arranged Oil Paper packets of White Jade Rice, one jin per packet.
He unwrapped a packet, started a fire, and began to cook the grain.
While the Spirit Grain cooked, Li Yuan sat cross-legged and circulated the Spirit-Introducing Skill. Pure, unadulterated Spiritual Qi entered his body, and his cultivation cycles spun rapidly as the Spiritual Power in his Dantian steadily grew.
When the aroma of the rice began to fill the air, Li Yuan concluded his practice.
After finishing a bowl of White Jade Rice, his Qi Blood was once again abundant, and a warmth spread from his abdomen to the tips of his limbs.
[Five Grains Qi Nourishing (White) Permanence Progress: 5/10]
’Halfway there.’
Li Yuan cleaned his bowl and chopsticks, then stood up. Taking advantage of his abundant Qi Blood, he practiced the five forms of the Iron Bull Skill once, followed by the first three forms of the Nourishing Essence Skill twice.
After he finished practicing the two Cultivation Techniques, his body was slightly warm and a thin sheen of sweat beaded on his temples, only to be instantly cleared away by his Cleansing Physique.
He concluded his practice and closed his eyes to rest.
Moonlight streamed in through the window, and the wooden cabin was quiet.