Chapter 197 - 172: Augmented Advancement

Chapter 197: Chapter 172: Augmented Advancement

"This is some good stuff. If it were anyone else, Junior Brother, they wouldn’t even get a look."

Ma Rong didn’t ask any more questions. He just grinned, bragged a little, and reached out to open the jade box.

Li Changsheng glanced over and froze.

Inside the jade box, which was no bigger than two palms, lay three dry, yellowish locusts.

’This is the good stuff you were bragging about?’

Li Changsheng snapped out of it and gave Ma Rong a speechless look. He forced a laugh. "It certainly is good stuff. I bet it would be crispy and savory if you deep-fried it." He paused, then quickly added, "But this isn’t really my thing. You should keep it for yourself, Senior Brother."

"Deep-fry it?"

Ma Rong was taken aback. He gave Li Changsheng an odd look and slowly shook his head.

"Frying it would be a terrible waste. You have to eat it raw, or have an Alchemy Master refine it into an essence."

?

Li Changsheng looked confused.

’They’re just a few spirit insects. Why would you need an Alchemy Master for them?’

’Isn’t that a bit extravagant?’

Ma Rong didn’t know what Li Changsheng was thinking, but he didn’t want his gift to be misunderstood. After a moment of thought, he slowly began to explain why these locusts were considered such a good thing.

A moment later.

Understanding dawned on Li Changsheng’s face.

These weren’t so much locusts as they were the condensed flesh and blood essence of cultivators from the "herding" lineage.

And the non-toxic, side-effect-free, satisfyingly crunchy kind, at that.

Ma Rong handed him the jade box with a chuckle. "Junior Brother, you’re at Qi Cultivation Perfection now. Once Steward Lan delivers the unique spiritual catalyst, you can start your breakthrough to the Vein Condensation Realm. This item is remarkably effective; it will be a great help to you."

Li Changsheng had already analyzed it with his Golden Finger, so he knew its effects.

He shook his head without hesitation and politely refused. "This item is incredibly potent, and who knows when you’ll get more. You should keep it for yourself, Senior Brother."

’Not to mention, I still have half an arm in my storage bag. I’m not exactly lacking in this department.’

’Most importantly, I haven’t fallen so far as to resort to cannibalism.’

’I’m just a simple farmer.’ He always kept this phrase in mind.

Ma Rong hadn’t expected his good-natured attempt to deliver a gift would cause his junior brother to think so much.

He tried offering it a few more times.

But while Li Changsheng’s refusals were tactful, he never accepted the jade box.

Defeated, Ma Rong had no choice but to put the jade box away.

After a bit more small talk, he departed in a hurry.

If he hadn’t come to give Li Changsheng the locusts, he would have already entered seclusion to cultivate.

This recent harvest was enough for him to break through to the Mid-Vein Condensation stage, with some left over.

Since Li Changsheng didn’t want them, he could give the remainder to his niece, Ma Zhenyi. Then, once Li Changsheng’s Concentration Flowers matured, he could use them to request a unique spiritual catalyst from one of those wealthy Alchemy Masters.

Combine those two, and if all goes well, the Ma Family would have its second Vein Condensation Cultivator.

Within his Escape Light, Ma Rong was grinning from ear to ear.

As the Ma Family’s strength grew, they could slowly begin to plot for more territory and resources.

And as the family’s de facto leader, the benefits he received would naturally increase, furthering him on his path of cultivation.

In turn, the higher his cultivation, the more prosperous his family would become.

Such was the way of Cultivation Clans that were vassals to a sect.

Li Changsheng watched Ma Rong leave. He checked on Xiaohua and the others, and after confirming they were all right, he stepped into the kitchen.

Before long, a golden light flashed from within the kitchen, accompanied by a harsh, scraping sound.

Earth Crystal truly lived up to its name as a tier-two spirit ore; even in its unrefined state, the raw ore was nearly as hard as a talismanic tool.

It took him three whole days just to grind it into a powder.

A few nights later, Xiaohai dragged a ten-foot-long Tier One High-grade Spirit Beast—a Brute Ox covered in rough scales—back to the small courtyard.

「The next morning.」

The pungent smell of blood wafted out from the small courtyard. It was so strong that Xu Li and the two others tending the Spirit Field on the mountaintop thought Li Changsheng was practicing some powerful Magic. Afraid of seeing something they shouldn’t, they all turned and headed back down the mountain.

In the center of the courtyard, a two-by-two-meter pit had been dug.

At the edge of the pit, next to the carcass of the Brute Ox.

Li Changsheng’s clothes were spattered with blood. In front of him was a cutting board, upon which sat a slab of fresh, red Brute Ox meat.

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

The Bone-Chopping Knife, imbued with a sharpening technique, flew up and down in a blur. In no time at all, the Brute Ox meat was reduced to a pulp.

Li Changsheng scraped the pulp off with his knife, letting it fall into the pit.

He continued without pause, turning slab after slab of fresh Brute Ox meat into pulp and dropping it into the pit.

This continued until evening.

Most of the Brute Ox meat had been turned into pulp.

"That should be enough."

Li Changsheng leaned over to take a look and nodded slightly. He then took out a jade box containing Bone Refining Flowers and Muscle Forging Grass.

He took out ten stalks of each, crushed them, and put them in a nearby wooden basin that held the Earth Crystal and Spirit Stone powder.

After mixing them together thoroughly, he poured the contents into the pit.

He then took out a piece of ironwood as thick as a man’s calf.

Li Changsheng gripped one end of the ironwood.

The Three-leaf Mark between his brows flashed, and a stream of jade-green light flowed from his palm into the ironwood.

Once a few twigs and leaves had sprouted from the lower end of the ironwood, Li Changsheng plunged it into the pit of pulp and began to stir vigorously.

Wisps of life-aspected spiritual energy radiated out, forming a fine net that enveloped the meat pulp, the Bone Refining Flower, the Muscle Forging Grass, the spirit ore, and the Spirit Stone powder.

As he stirred with all his might, the various ingredients slowly began to fuse.

Time trickled by.

By Noon, the pit’s bloody stench had transformed into a cloyingly sweet fragrance.

Li Changsheng continued to stir until the pulp in the pit met the requirements for empowering Little Wooden Head’s Magic, at which point he finally stopped.

He looked at the pulp in the pit, which now gave off a fluorescent Yellow Jade glow.

With a mere thought from Li Changsheng.

RUMBLE... The ground trembled and split open, sending dust billowing into the air.

A moment later, three eyeless, bucket-thick pythons crawled out from the dust cloud and slowly lowered themselves into the pit.

Soon.

Little Wooden Head’s entire body was coiled within the pulp.

Time passed, and the pulp was absorbed at a rate visible to the naked eye.

By the time it emerged from the pit.

Li Changsheng sized it up.

Little Wooden Head’s three python-like roots were now significantly thicker. Their scales were broader, appearing tougher and more solid, and the fangs in their mouths had grown thicker and longer, glinting with a sharp luster.

He had no way of testing its new strength, so after observing it for a moment, he had Little Wooden Head root itself back in the courtyard.

He filled in the pit, then turned and went back to his wooden house.

「Three days later.」

Li Changsheng, who was in the middle of refining his Spiritual Power, suddenly felt a heaviness in his spirit. He snapped out of his trance and realized that Xiaohua and Big Flower had successfully advanced a tier.

Hearing the grunts and squeals from outside, Li Changsheng got up and went downstairs.

He stepped into the courtyard.

Xiaohua looked the same as always, but the bristles on Big Flower’s hide had grown a little darker.

With a thought, Li Changsheng focused his gaze on Big Flower.

[Target: Big Flower]

[Species: Tusked Pig (Female)]

[Tier One High-grade: 1%]

[Innate Magic: Iron Hide.]

[Status: Healthy.]

"You finally awakened an innate Magic..." Li Changsheng couldn’t help but grin. He stepped forward and gave Big Flower’s head a vigorous rub, then walked into the kitchen, humming a little tune.

If one had to ask which of his Tusked Pigs he was fondest of, it was without a doubt Big Flower. Her name alone made that clear.