Chapter 27: First-tier Top-Grade Magical Artifact, Silver Scale Armor!

He rose to his full height, standing beside the fish pond, lightly tapping his foot on the ground. Instantly, a surge of life-filled energy from the Evergreen Technique roared forth, completely enveloping the entire pond!

In the mud below, the Big Black Fish actually squeaked.

It wagged its tail, surfaced among the giant waves, and nodded repeatedly at Ning Daoran, looking like it was begging for mercy.

"How strange..."

Ning Daoran frowned, recalling that when he originally bought the fish fry, he hadn't purchased any carnivorous types.

It seemed likely that this creature had made its way in by itself.

This meant that right under Ning Daoran's watch, this Big Black Fish had been consuming both fish fry and the grown Spirit Fish, evolving itself from an ordinary black fish into a First-tier Lower Grade Demon Beast!

Letting it continue for a few more decades, it would probably become the Fish King!

"Did I allow you to eat my Spirit Fish?"

Ning Daoran asked indifferently.

The Big Black Fish trembled all over, a look of pleading in its eyes.

It saw the look in Ning Daoran's eyes, feeling as though it was only a step away from becoming a dish of braised fish.

Ning Daoran didn't really plan to kill it, finding this anomaly in the fish pond quite interesting; he decided to study it further.

"From today on, you're not allowed to eat Spirit Fish anymore, only the normal types. If you overstep again, I'll turn you into sashimi!"

"Squeak, squeak..."

The Big Black Fish shrieked repeatedly, the thought of becoming sliced sashimi was utterly terrifying.

"From today, you'll be called Little Blackie."

Ning Daoran couldn't be bothered to deal with it further and returned to the front yard to practice.

The Big Black Fish, wagging its tail, then saw a group of tremulous Spirit Fish.

It sighed; these Spirit Fish would now only be there for looking, not eating—how was this different from being eunuchs?

...

Several days later.

Ning Daoran patrolled the fish pond again.

"Little Blackie, report immediately!"

"Squeak, squeak..."

The Big Black Fish quickly swished its tail and surged to the surface, popping its head out of the water and looking at the man with a gaze filled with awe.

"Not bad."

Scanning with his Divine Sense, Ning Daoran smiled, "The pond is only so big, even the common fish types should be conserved, they're all your provisions. I suggest you try a vegetarian diet. The stalks and leaves from the Green Bamboo Spirit Rice are rich in Spiritual Energy, give them a try, it might aid your cultivation."

"Squeak, squeak!"

Big Black Fish nodded repeatedly.

Although it wasn't very familiar with Ning Daoran, its master's aura was somewhat intense. An inadvertent mistake, and it might really end up as sashimi.

Therefore, in the presence of Ning Daoran, Big Black Fish began devouring the bamboo leaves from the water; indeed, they were rich in Spiritual Energy. Although the taste was far inferior to that of the Spirit Fish, the master was right—it was more beneficial for its cultivation.

For the sake of survival, for the sake of the great path, it decided from then on to become a vegetarian Big Black Fish.

...

Half a month later.

Ning Daoran decided to take action.

After arranging for the Big Stupid Deer to stay at home to tend to the Spirit field and practice, he himself took a bamboo leaf and left the Chaotic Sect, heading to several other workshops within Shanyang County.

Over three days, Ning Daoran visited nine markets.

In each market, he changed outfits, disguising himself as another person, utilizing the Perfect Level Breath Concealing Technique to its fullest.

Thus, he managed to dispose of all loot acquired over the past days in different places, at different times, and under different identities!

Among these, the most successful sale was a golden short knife belonging to the Wang family's Foundation Establishment. It was a Second-stage Lower Grade Spirit Artifact without flaws. Although its killing power was average, its high grade fetched a whopping one thousand and fifty Spirit Stones!

The remaining seven Magical Artifacts also collectively fetched over one thousand spirit stones, bringing his total takings to two thousand five hundred spirit stones.

Including the spirit stones from the storage bags of four cultivators from the Wang family, he gathered over four thousand spirit stones.

Now, Ning Daoran's storage bag held a total of over four thousand eight hundred spirit stones, making him extremely wealthy among those in the Qi Refinement Stage.

In fact, an average early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator had roughly five to six thousand low-grade spirit stones, which wasn't as wealthy as one might imagine.

Feeling ambitious, with so many spirit stones, he thought it was time to acquire a worthy treasure.

A day later, in Yellow Dragon Square.

Ning Daoran, disguised as a young sword cultivator with trimmed eyebrows and demonstrating the skill level of the Sixth Level of Qi Refining, strode into Qingfu Square.

"Fellow Taoist, what would you like? I can show you around."

It was Chen Ping'er.

After some time apart, she had reached the Third Level of Qi Refining and looked even more beautiful, her demeanor much more refined, exuding a gracefulness like a delicate standing figure.

Perhaps due to advancements in cultivation, Chen Ping'er now managed the first floor of Qingfu Square, no longer merely a hostess.

"I'm looking for a set of protective inner armor; does your shop have one?"

Ning Daoran altered his voice, playing the part fully.

Chen Ping'er clearly had no clue and cheerfully responded, "Certainly, we do have. Please follow me."

Inside a shop, various types of inner armor were on display.

Ranging from First-tier Lower Grade Magical Artifacts to Spiritual Artifacts, there was even a Second Order High Grade Spiritual Artifact—a purple inner armor radiating a profoundly solid aura, densely embedded with protective arrays, considered a treasure even in the eyes of a late-stage Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator!

No wonder Qingfu Square thrived with such treasures anchoring the business; it naturally drew lively transactions.

Finally, Ning Daoran's gaze settled on a Top-grade Magical Artifact-level inner armor.

It was a piece of soft armor, fish-scale design, with an inner armor embedded with various micro arrays like Gathering Spirit, Clear Heart, Unloading Force, Buoyancy, and many compact spiritual patterns that were very eye-catching.

After the battle with Foundation Establishment, Ning Daoran had a clear self-awareness.

The Returning to Nature Level Body Tempering Technique was indeed strong, but even so, he was not really invulnerable to swords and spears; if the opponent's magic artifact was sharp enough, just like the Golden Blade of Wang family's Foundation Establishment, it could still cleave into his flesh.

Having a strong body doesn't mean you have to take every hit with your body!

Thus, a Top-grade Inner Armor had become an urgent need for Ning Daoran.

"I want this one."

Ning Daoran pointed his finger and had already made up his mind, "How many spirit stones for this inner armor?"

Chen Ping'er smiled slightly, "This is a Top-grade Magical Artifact Inner Armor, forged by two Artifact Refining Masters from Qingfu Square, embedding a variety of micro arrays; it certainly stands out among magical artifacts!"

"You don't need to say that much nice stuff."

Ning Daoran was not polite in his speech, "Just tell me a price. If it's affordable, I'll buy it; if not, I'll turn around and leave. There's nothing more to say."

For a moment, Chen Ping'er's mouth twitched slightly, encountering such a customer for the first time.

She didn't want to quote an exorbitant price and risk losing a big deal.

Since that was the case, she decided to mark up the price by ten percent.

"One thousand spirit stones."

"Deal!"

Ning Daoran immediately slapped his Storage Bag, and a bag filled with a thousand spirit stones floated out and was handed directly to Chen Ping'er.

"Someone, take down the inner armor and give it to this Fellow Taoist."

After obtaining the inner armor, Ning Daoran immediately turned around and left.

After passing through several alleys, he directly entered a dense forest, and in the blink of an eye, he deployed the Perfect Level Breath Concealing Technique, Invisibility Technique, and Sound Absorption Technique!

He dashed eastward for several tens of miles, then northwest for several tens of miles, and east again for several tens of miles.

Only after using his Divine Sense to confirm that no one was following him, did he continue heading north for several tens of miles, and in a dense forest, he returned to his original attire.

Then, he took a large detour before releasing his breath and returning to the Mountain Gate using Green Bamboo Leaves.

There was no other, only to emphasize steadiness and caution.

...

Spiritual Field Courtyard No. 77.

In a secret chamber twenty meters underground, Ning Daoran stimulated the Seventh Layered Evergreen Technique, and wood attribute spiritual power intertwined around the inner armor, finally refining the armor after an entire two hours.

Now, this Top-grade Magical Artifact named "Silver Scale Armor" had become one of his treasures, and he could even use his Lifebound Essence Qi to nourish it, hoping to transform it into a Lifebound Magical Treasure in the future.

Unfortunately, its grade was too low, and it didn't qualify.

From then on, except for bathing time, Ning Daoran always wore this piece of inner armor under his robes.

It didn't feel stuffy, as the inner armor had a Constant Temperature Array; warm in winter and cool in summer, not ordinary at all.

Why else would it be called a First-tier Top-Grade Magical Artifact? Its price was almost comparable to some Second-stage Lower Grade Spirit Artifacts.

Life at Qiongbi Peak was pleasantly peaceful.

Big Stupid Deer's Strengthening Technique had already reached a very high level, and its cultivation had rapidly advanced to the Third Level of Qi Refining, just a step away from the Qi Refining Middle Stage.

It was too fast, giving Ning Daoran a strong sense of urgency.

He couldn't let Big Stupid Deer's cultivation surpass his own, otherwise, what face would he have as the elder brother?

Unfortunately, the Body Tempering Technique had already been cultivated to the Return to Nature, and the advances in the layers of the Longevity Technique didn't have as much impact on the improvement of cultivation.

Thus, Ning Daoran began to cultivate daily, operating the Body Tempering Technique to continue refining his body, and also running the Evergreen Technique over and over to enhance his mana, although each Grand Circulation only increased his mana by a negligible amount...

But wasn't cultivation just like this, incrementally growing one's cultivation until breaking through bottlenecks to achieve a higher realm?

...

On the ridge, several spirit farmers still got along harmoniously.

Every day, Ma Quanyou would be seen holding a smoking pipe, puffing away as he exchanged cultivation experiences with Qin Xiang.

Qin Xiang, not highly cultivated, naturally praised continuously, "What Fellow Taoist says is very true."

Huang Shan was buried in cultivation every day, but he respectfully called out "Fellow Taoist Ning" whenever he saw Ning Daoran.

Probably because of Ning Daoran's Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivation.

In the Cultivation World, all was judged by cultivation level; everything else was illusory.

Granny Yun Cui was getting older and found it increasingly strenuous to take care of the spirit fields.

Luckily, with the help of Ning Daoran and Big Stupid Deer, and Chen Weimo growing up, able to help granny with planting, Granny often advised her to spend more time on cultivation; she could still manage the affairs of the spirit field with her old bones.

The affection among Ning Daoran, Big Stupid Deer, and Chen Weimo grew stronger, and they almost met every day under the big banyan tree.

"Chen Weimo!"

"Present!"

"Routine check, have you practiced your Basic Skills today?"

"Yes, uncle, please look!"

"Amazing, already reaching the Zero-layer Peak..."

...

Over by the fish pond.

The Big Black Fish was as lazy as ever, eating and then sleeping.

Ning Daoran began feeding it Green Bamboo Spirit Rice, throwing green dumplings made from the spirit rice into the water one by one; the other spirit fish didn't dare to compete and could only watch the Big Black Fish enjoy its feast.

"Little Blackie!"

"Squeak!"

Ning Daoran looked displeased, "You need to properly cultivate; starting today, I'll feed you Green Bamboo Spirit Rice for a year, and if you can't advance to the First-tier Middle Stage, be prepared to be made into sour cabbage fish."

"Squeak!"

Big Black Fish's skin almost crawled, as if struck by lightning.