Novel Full Chapter 52 - 51: Changqing Rice
Chapter 52: Chapter 51: Changqing Rice
Zhao Hu and Zheng Xiaoman got the hang of things faster than expected.
The two of them ran patrols on their own for two days without any issues.
There was no need to worry about Sun Liang, either. He had been on the patrol team for several years and knew the ropes. His injury had just healed, so he wasn’t as nimble as before. He was assigned the West Street section, which had a shorter route and less work.
Li Yuan was completely freed up.
Yesterday, he had shared his detailed insights on pills with Old Sun. This morning, he took a stroll through the marketplace—not on patrol, but to browse the stalls.
Several groups of traveling merchants had arrived recently, and the temporary stalls lining both sides of East Street were more densely packed than before. The variety of goods brought by the traveling merchants was much richer than that of the local Loose Cultivators, ranging from pills and Talismans to Magical Artifact components, Demon Beast materials, and raw ores. There were even a few stalls selling special Spirit Grain from other marketplaces.
Li Yuan walked along East Street from south to north, touching any item he could reach.
Most of them yielded no reaction.
Occasionally, a few items would trigger a panel notification. Most were gray, with a scattering of white—similar to his previous experiences in the marketplace.
Li Yuan stopped when he reached a traveling merchant’s stall in the northern section of East Street.
The stall was twice the size of a typical Loose Cultivator’s, and it was laden with goods. A few old Magical Artifacts were placed in the center of the stall, next to a pile of sorted ore fragments. In the corner were two Cultivation Technique manuals and a worn leather bracer.
Li Yuan’s gaze fell on the bracer.
It was made of dark brown leather with a fine pattern pressed into its surface. The inside was lined with a thin layer of animal hide. The craftsmanship wasn’t delicate, but it was sturdy. The copper buckle was polished to a shine.
Li Yuan reached out and picked up the bracer.
The panel popped up:
[Detectable equippable item: Profound Iron Bracer (Intact)]
[Item Entry Tier: White]
[Note: Item not owned. Cannot be equipped. Detailed information unavailable.]
’A white entry.’
Li Yuan turned the bracer over. The leather was thick, and the hide lining felt good to the touch. When fastened, the buckle fit his wrist snugly—not too tight, not too loose.
"How much for this?"
The stall owner was a robust man in his forties with a full beard. He wore a gray linen tunic over a suit of leather armor—the typical attire of a traveling merchant.
"Twenty-two Spirit Stones."
"Too expensive."
"You get what you pay for." The bearded man patted the bracer on his stall. "It’s double-layered, made of Profound Iron beast hide. The outer layer is from an Iron-Scaled Serpent, and the lining is Horned Lizard belly skin. The buckle is forged from Spirit Copper. You won’t find it at this price anywhere else."
"If you inject Spiritual Power into it, you can raise a Spirit Shield about half a person tall. Its defense is definitely stronger than the Spirit Shield Skill you practice yourself. The Magical Artifact itself is even tougher than the Spirit Shield."
Li Yuan didn’t haggle. He put the bracer back.
He could afford twenty-two Spirit Stones—he had about twenty in his sleeve—but a bracer’s entry was likely defense-oriented, which he didn’t need at the moment. If he bought it, he’d be left with only a few Spirit Stones, and he still needed materials for Talisman crafting.
’Besides, the permanency condition for a white entry is unknown. If the condition is too harsh or takes too long, those twenty-two Spirit Stones would just be money down the drain.’
"I don’t want it."
Li Yuan turned and continued walking.
He walked another half-block along East Street, touching a dozen or so items at several traveling merchants’ stalls along the way.
A fine-looking flying dagger—no reaction.
A copper plate engraved with Spirit Patterns—a gray entry, priced at five stones.
Li Yuan turned the copper plate over. It was palm-sized and made of a dark-toned copper. The front was engraved with a circle of fine Spirit Patterns, while the back was smooth. Its edges were worn round, and it looked quite old.
"What’s the story with this?" Li Yuan asked the stall owner.
The owner was a fast-talking traveling merchant in his early thirties.
"A Mind-Calming Plate. It’s a little gadget to aid cultivation. When you pour Spiritual Power into it, it helps a Cultivator calm their mind and focus. It’s nothing amazing, but its main advantage is that it works. I got this one from an old Loose Cultivator. It’s in decent shape."
’Five Spirit Stones, a gray entry, and I don’t even know the specific effect.’
’Five stones isn’t a lot. The effect of a gray entry probably isn’t strong, but the permanency conditions for gray entries are usually simple.’
’The Clean Physique and Valley Qi Condensing Spirit from before were both gray. One became permanent just by learning the Cleaning Skill, and the other was settled by eating five pounds of Spirit Grain.’
’The cost-effectiveness of a gray entry often lies not in the effect itself, but in its low threshold for permanency.’
"Three stones," Li Yuan offered.
"Four. Can’t go any lower."
"Done."
Li Yuan took out four Spirit Stones and slipped the copper plate into his sleeve.
A few steps away from the stall, Li Yuan stopped by a secluded wall and took out the copper plate.
[Detectable equippable item: Mind-Calming Plate (Intact)]
[Entry Preview: Stable Mind (Gray) — Slightly increases resistance to mental interference.]
[Permanency Condition Preview: Accumulate six hours of cultivation in an environment with mental interference, or be hit once by a mental attack of sufficient power.]
[Current equipment slots are full (3/3). Replace a currently equipped item?]
’Stable Mind. A mental resistance-type entry. The effect isn’t strong, as expected of a gray entry.’
’The permanency condition isn’t too harsh, either. It’s not difficult, but it does require a specific scenario.’
Li Yuan tucked the copper plate back into his sleeve and continued along East Street.
When he reached the intersection of East Street and North Alley, a louder-than-usual commotion drifted over from the direction of the alley.
Li Yuan turned into it to take a look.
Three flatbed carts were parked at the entrance to North Alley. Several traveling merchants were unloading goods—some carried boxes, others set up stalls—while a crowd of curious Loose Cultivators gathered around to watch.
It was a newly arrived group of traveling merchants.
Their clothes were travel-worn, and a few of them still had bloodstains on them that hadn’t been cleaned off.
The leader was a skinny old man of about fifty, who was directing his men to move things.
Li Yuan didn’t get closer. He stood by the wall at the alley’s entrance and listened for a while.
"Weren’t you guys supposed to go sell at the Loose Cultivator Marketplace? What are you doing here?"
Another traveling merchant, who seemed to recognize the old man, piped up with a question.
"Don’t even mention it. The area around the Loose Cultivator Marketplace is also crawling with Demon Beasts, far more troublesome than here. We couldn’t gather enough people, and you run into Demon Beasts and murderous cultivators out there all the time."
"I thought the Loose Cultivator Marketplace was under the Primordial Yang Sect’s protection."
The skinny old man scoffed, thumping the wooden crate in his hands onto the stall.
"The Primordial Yang Sect’s protection? Sounds nice, doesn’t it? The Loose Cultivator Marketplace doesn’t have a Foundation Establishment Cultivator stationed there. It’s just a place cobbled together by a bunch of Loose Cultivators. They managed to get cozy with a Foundation Establishment elder from the Primordial Yang Sect, but that elder just lends his name, takes a few ’tributes,’ and doesn’t actually manage anything."
"But isn’t that still a backer?"
"A backer?" The skinny old man opened the crate and started taking out his wares.
"You really expect that Foundation Establishment Cultivator to lift a finger?"
"He just sent a few Late-stage Qi Refining disciples to swing by, kill a few Demon Beasts, and then they left."
The skinny old man shook his head.
Li Yuan listened for a bit more from his spot by the wall, committing the information to memory.
’The situation at the Loose Cultivator Marketplace is different from Qinghe Marketplace. Qinghe Marketplace is the Wang family’s property, and the important positions in the marketplace are basically all held by Wang family members.’
’The Wang family is a Foundation Establishment family with direct interests at stake; they can’t just stand by and do nothing.’
’The Loose Cultivator Marketplace lacks that kind of foundation. When trouble arises, that nominal Foundation Establishment elder can’t be relied on at all.’
Li Yuan stood there a while longer. Hearing no new information, he went back to browsing the stalls.
As he reached the latter half of North Alley’s middle section, he saw a stall displaying several types of Spirit Grain, each a different color.
The bluish-green one was Cyan Jade Rice, he didn’t recognize the pale yellow one, and there was another type of Spirit Grain with small, light gray kernels. It was in a worn cloth sack with the mouth open, revealing the grains inside.
’Changqing Rice.’
Li Yuan’s pace slowed.
The last time he’d seen Changqing Rice was when a Spirit Farmer had given him some while he was collecting rent in the Spirit Field District.
’The gray entry for Changqing Rice isn’t strong, but its permanency condition is extremely simple.’
Li Yuan walked to the stall and squatted down.
The owner was a young Female Cultivator in her early thirties who looked like a Spirit Farmer, with slightly dark, sun-tanned skin and rough fingers.
"How much for the Changqing Rice?"
"Three pounds for one Spirit Stone."
Changqing Rice was a bit cheaper than White Jade Rice. Its yield was higher, so its price was naturally lower.
Li Yuan picked up a handful of Changqing Rice to examine it closely. The kernels were small and uniform, with a faint gray luster on the surface. The Spiritual Qi fluctuations were very faint, only perceptible when he brought it right up to his nose.
[Detectable equippable item: Changqing Rice (1 pound required)]
[Item Entry Tier: Gray]
[Note: Item not owned. Cannot be equipped. Detailed information unavailable.]
Li Yuan remembered that the Changqing Rice’s entry effect was reducing mental consumption during cultivation, and the permanency condition required five pounds of the same grain.
’It takes one pound to equip, and the permanency condition is to eat five pounds, so I’ll need six pounds of the Spirit Grain in total. That’s only two Spirit Stones.’
’There’s no reason to pass up a permanent buff that’s practically free.’
"Six pounds," Li Yuan said.
"Alrighty."
The Spirit Farmer carefully weighed out six pounds from the sack, divided them into six packets, wrapped them in Oil Paper, and handed them over.
Li Yuan paid with the Spirit Stones and tucked the six packets of Changqing Rice into his sleeve.
「Back at his residence.」
Li Yuan bolted the door, sat down on the edge of his bed, and took out a packet of Changqing Rice.
[Detectable equippable item: Changqing Rice (1 pound required)]
[Entry Preview: Valley Qi Condensing Spirit (Gray) — Reduces mental consumption during cultivation by 10%.]
[Permanency Condition: Consume a total of 5 pounds of the same type of Spirit Grain.]
[Current equipment slots are full (3/3). Replace a currently equipped item?]
With a thought, he first unequipped the Talisman Crafting Manual.
Equip Changqing Rice.
[Equipped: Changqing Rice]
[Entry Acquired: Valley Qi Condensing Spirit (Gray) — Reduces mental consumption during cultivation by 10%.]
[Permanency Progress: 0/5]
One pound of Changqing Rice dissolved into an extremely faint gray glimmer and merged into his body.
The change was subtle, like a thin layer of coolness had formed on the back of his head. It wasn’t obvious, but it was definitely there.
Li Yuan closed his eyes and tried circulating his Spirit-Introducing Skill for one cycle.
The difference was very subtle.
Previously, after a dozen or so cycles, his mind would feel faintly weary. It didn’t affect his cultivation, but he would need to rest and adjust briefly to maintain his focus. Now, the rate at which this weariness accumulated was slower. Li Yuan estimated he could manage another seven or eight cycles.
Although cultivation consumed mental energy, the mind itself also recovered slowly.
Li Yuan unwrapped the second packet of Changqing Rice, walked over to the stove in the corner, and started a fire to cook the grain.
The aroma of the Changqing Rice was much fainter than that of White Jade Rice; it was clean and thin, like he was cooking a pot of watery rice soup.
He ladled out a bowl. The first bite was coarse and grainy, far from the soft and sticky texture of White Jade Rice. But after he swallowed, a cool sensation slowly sank from his throat down to his stomach, connecting with the coolness at the back of his head.
It wasn’t bad, just bland.
After he finished the pound of Changqing Rice, a notification popped up on the panel:
[Valley Qi Condensing Spirit (Gray) Permanency Progress: 1/5]
After finishing, Li Yuan took a moment to assess. The Changqing Rice was easier to digest than White Jade Rice. Combined with the fact that his strength had increased considerably, he estimated he could finish the rest by tomorrow.