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

He rose to his full height and stood by the pond, lightly tapping the ground with one foot. Immediately, a stream of vitality-filled Evergreen Technique Power surged out, fully enveloping the entire pond!

From within the mud, the big black fish let out a "squeak."

It swung its tail, emerging from the surface amidst huge waves, nodding repeatedly at Ning Daoran, as if begging for mercy.

"How strange..."

Ning Daoran frowned, remembering he hadn't purchased any carnivorous fish fry initially.

Unexpectedly, this creature must have snuck in on its own.

It seemed that under Ning Daoran's watch, this big black fish constantly fed on fish fry and adult spirit fish, eventually turning from an ordinary black fish into a First-tier Lower Grade demon beast!

If it kept eating for decades, wouldn't it become the Fish King?

"Did I allow you to eat my spirit fish?"

Ning Daoran asked indifferently.

The big black fish trembled all over, its face showing a look of plea.

It saw the look in Ning Daoran's eyes and felt itself one step away from becoming a plate of braised fish.

However, Ning Daoran had no intention of killing it. The anomaly in the fish pond was quite interesting, and he decided to study it further.

"From today onward, you are not allowed to eat spirit fish anymore, just ordinary fish species.

If you dare to overstep again, I'll turn you into sashimi!"

"Squeak, squeak..."

The big black fish shrieked repeatedly. Being sliced up into pieces was truly horrifying.

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

Ning Daoran couldn't be bothered to deal with it any further and went back to the front yard to practice his exercises.

The big black fish swayed its tail and turned to see a group of trembling spirit fish.

With a sigh, it realized that from now on, these spirit fish were only to be watched and not eaten, no different from being eunuchs.

...

Several days later.

Ning Daoran made another round of the fish pond.

"Little Blackie, report immediately!"

"Squeak, squeak..."

The big black fish swished its tail and surged to the surface, exposing its entire fish head above water, its eyes filled with awe.

"Not bad."

Ning Daoran swept his Divine Sense across the pond and smiled, saying, "The pond is only so big, and even ordinary fish species need to be conserved as they are your sustenance. I suggest you try some vegetarian food.

The stalks and leaves of the Green Bamboo Spirit Rice are rich in spiritual energy, you might want to try those; they could aid your cultivation."

"Squeak!"

The big black fish nodded repeatedly.

Although it wasn't very familiar with Ning Daoran, this master had a fairly intense evil Qi.

A single misstep, and it really could end up as sashimi.

Thus, in front of Ning Daoran, the big black fish swallowed the leaves in the water, mouthful by mouthful. Truly, the spiritual energy was abundant, and although the taste was nowhere near that of the spirit fish, the master was right, it benefitted its cultivation even more.

For survival and for the path ahead, it decided to become a vegetarian big black fish from now on.

...

Half a month later.

Ning Daoran decided to take action.

After arranging for Big Stupid Deer to look after the spirit field and his practice at home, he himself, using green bamboo leaves, left the Chaotic Sect and headed to several other workshops within Shanyang County.

For three whole days, Ning Daoran visited nine workshops in total.

At each workshop, he changed his clothes, disguised as another person, using the Perfect Level Breath Concealing Technique to its fullest.

In this manner, at different places, at different times, and under different identities, he disposed of the loot he had acquired over the days!

Among them, the gold-colored short knife from the Wang family's Foundation Establishment sold the best, a Second-stage Lower Grade spiritual artifact without any flaws. Although its damage potential was moderate, its grade was high enough, and it fetched a total of one thousand and fifty spirit stones!

The remaining seven magic artifacts also collectively brought in over a thousand spirit stones, totaling the loot to two thousand five hundred spirit stones.

Plus the spirit stones from the four cultivator's Storage Bags of the Wang family, the total gain was over four thousand spirit stones.

At this point, Ning Daoran had over four thousand eight hundred spirit stones in his Storage Bag, making him quite a wealthy man among Qi Refinement Stage Practitioners.

Actually, the average wealth of an Early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was about five to six thousand Low Grade spirit stones, not as wealthy as one might imagine.

He was full of ambition, and now with so many spirit stones, it was time to acquire a magnificent treasure.

A day later, at Yellow Dragon Square.

Ning Daoran, disguised as a young sword cultivator with trimmed brows, controlled his apparent cultivation at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining, and strode into Qingfu Square.

"Esteemed Daoist, what would you like? I can guide you."

It was Chen Ping'er.

After some time, she had reached the Third Level of Qi Refining, her beauty enhanced, and even her demeanor had become much more elegant, exhibiting a truly graceful and poised essence.

Perhaps due to her advancement in cultivation, Chen Ping'er was now the manager of the first floor of Qingfu Square, no longer just a receptionist.

"I'm looking for protective inner armor; does your store have it?"

Ning Daoran changed his voice, playing the part fully.

Unaware, Chen Ping'er smiled and said, "Certainly, please follow me."

In a shop, various inner armors were displayed.

Ranging from First-tier Lower Grade magical artifacts to spiritual artifacts, there even was a Second Order High Grade spiritual artifact, a purple inner armor emanating a profoundly robust aura, densely covered in various protective arrays, even considered a treasure in the eyes of Late-stage Foundation Establishment great cultivators!

No wonder Qingfu Square did such thriving business; having such a treasure to attract customers, business naturally flourished.

Finally, Ning Daoran's gaze settled on a top-grade magical artifact level inner armor.

That was a set of soft armor, designed in a fish-scale pattern, with multiple miniature arrays such as Gathering Spirit, Clear Heart, Unloading Force, Buoyancy, and others embedded within the inner armor. The dense spiritual patterns were particularly striking.

After the battle against Foundation Establishment, Ning Daoran was very clear about his self-awareness.

The Returning to the True Level Body Tempering Technique was indeed very strong, but even so, he was not truly impervious to blades or spears. Once the opponent's magical artifact was sharp enough, like the Wang family Foundation Establishment's golden blade, it could still cleave into his flesh.

A strong physique did not mean that one must always use their body to block attacks!

Thus, a top-grade inner armor became Ning Daoran's urgent need at present.

"I want this piece."

Ning Daoran pointed with his hand, having already made up his mind, "How many spirit stones is this inner armor?"

Chen Ping'er smiled slightly, "This is a top-grade magical artifact, forged by two Weapon Casting and Artifact Refining masters from Qingfu Square, embedded with a variety of miniature arrays. It's truly one of the best among magical artifacts!"

"You don't need to say so many nice things."

Ning Daoran spoke without any politeness, "Just tell me a price. If I can afford it, 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, encountering such a customer for the first time.

She also did not want to overprice it, lest she miss a big business deal.

If that's the case, just mark up the price by ten percent.

"One thousand spirit stones."

"Deal!"

Immediately, Ning Daoran slapped his storage bag, and a bag filled with a thousand spirit stones floated out, handed directly to Chen Ping'er.

"Someone, fetch the inner armor and give it to this fellow daoist."

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

After passing through several alleys, he directly entered a dense forest. In a moment of crouching, the Perfect Level Concealing Breath Technique, Invisibility Technique, and Sound Absorption Technique were all applied!

He sped east for several dozens of miles, then northwest for another several dozens of miles, and again east for several dozens of miles.

Only after using his Divine Sense to check and confirming that no one was following, did he travel north for several dozens of miles and restored his original attire in a dense forest.

Then, he took a big detour before releasing his presence, riding on green bamboo leaves around to return to the mountain gate.

It was nothing else, only emphasizing prudence and caution.

...

Spiritual Field Courtyard No. 77.

Deep in a secret chamber twenty meters underground, Ning Daoran stimulated the Seventh Layered Evergreen Technique, wrapping Wood Attribute Spiritual Power around the inner armor. After spending an entire two hours, he finally refined this piece of inner armor.

Now, this piece, named "Silver Scale Armor," had become one of his treasures, and he could even nourish it with his Lifebound Essence Qi, waiting for it to transform into a Lifebound Magical Treasure in the future.

Pity that its grade was too low; it wasn't worthy.

Since then, except for bathing times, Ning Daoran always wore this inner armor under his robe.

Nor did he feel too hot; the inner armor contained a Constant Temperature Array, warm in winter and cool in summer, simply miraculous.

How else would one call it a First-tier Top-Grade Magical Artifact? The price of one artifact almost matched some Second-tier Lower Grade Spirit Artifacts.

Life at Qiongbi Peak was quiet and enjoyable.

Big Stupid Deer's Strengthening Technique had already been cultivated to a very high level, with his Cultivation advancing to the Third Level of Qi Refining in a short time, just one step away from Mid-Qi Refining Stage.

Too fast, which made Ning Daoran feel a strong sense of urgency.

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

Unfortunately, the Body Tempering Technique had already been cultivated to Return to Nature, and the advancement in the number of layers in Longevity Technique didn't have a huge impact on cultivation.

Thus, Ning Daoran began cultivating daily, operating the Body Tempering Technique to continue refining his physique, while also running the Evergreen Technique repeatedly to enhance his mana, although the increase in mana with each completion of the Grand Circulation was minuscule, almost negligible...

But wasn't cultivation like this, inching forward bit by bit, until breaking through the bottleneck to achieve a higher realm?

...

On the field banks, several Spirit Farmers still got along harmoniously.

Every day, Ma Quanyou clamped a smoking pipe, puffing away while exchanging cultivation insights with Qin Xiang.

Qin Xiang, whose cultivation was not high, naturally repeatedly praised, "Fellow Daoist speaks truly."

Huang Shan, on the other hand, devoted every day to cultivation, only respectfully greeting, "Fellow Daoist Ning," whenever he saw Ning Daoran.

Perhaps it was because of Ning Daoran's Mid-Qi Refining Stage cultivation.

In the Cultivation World, everything was judged by cultivation level; other things were illusory, like flowers in a mirror or the moon in water.

Granny Yun Cui's age was getting greater, making it more and more difficult to care for the Spirit Fields.

Luckily, Ning Daoran and Big Stupid Deer often helped, and Chen Weimo also gradually grew up, able to help granny plant the fields together.

Granny always told her to spend more time on cultivation. The matters of the Spirit Field were still manageable by her old bones.

But Ning Daoran, Big Stupid Deer, and Chen Weimo's relationship was getting better and better, almost meeting every day under the big banyan tree.

"Chen Weimo!"

"Here!"

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

"Yes, uncle, please look!"

"Impressive, you've even reached the Zero-Layer Peak..."

...

At the fish pond.

As usual, the Big Black Fish was lazy, eating and then sleeping.

Ning Daoran began feeding it Green Bamboo Spirit Rice, throwing the Green Dumplings made from Spirit Rice into the water one by one. The Spirit Fish wanting to snatch them dared not do so and could only watch from afar as the Big Black Fish feasted heartily.

"Little Blackie!"

"Squeak!"

Ning Daoran looked displeased, "You need to properly cultivate. From today, I will feed you a year's worth of Green Bamboo Spirit Rice. If you cannot advance to the First-tier Middle Stage, then prepare to be made into a pot of pickled fish."

"Squeak!"

Big Black Fish's skin all but raised goosebumps, as if struck by a bolt from the blue.