Chapter 138: Cultivation

Chapter 138: Chapter 138: Cultivation

"Senior Brothers, what do you think the Recovery Technique is worth?"

After Xie Xichen left, Liu Chen looked toward Yang Haichen and Ren Xunchun. One sold Spiritual Cuisine, and the other handled the books. More importantly, both had been cultivating longer than Liu Chen, so their knowledge in this area was likely a bit better than his own.

"If it were in the Marketplace, it’d be around four hundred Spirit Stones. Basic Magic Techniques normally go for five hundred Spirit Stones, and rarer ones are a bit more expensive. But first, the Recovery Technique isn’t rare, and second, most Cultivators rarely buy it."

Yang Haichen gave it some thought. If Liu Chen needed them, he had some Magic that hadn’t come from his master; he’d have no issue passing them on to Liu Chen.

"That’s right. However, prices in Fire Dragon Valley are double what they are outside. Frankly, Junior Brother Liu, you’d be better off buying it after you leave Fire Dragon Valley."

Ren Xunchun nodded in agreement. He also wanted to repay his debt of Spirit Stones faster, but he knew that if he brought it up without Liu Chen mentioning it first, it would only create distance between them. After all, he’d worked hard to close that distance.

"It’s fine. Let’s just price it like a Basic Magic Technique. We’ll count this Recovery Technique as one thousand Spirit Stones. Senior Brother Xie still owes me plenty of Spirit Stones anyway."

Liu Chen shook his head. ’Among the Magic I have left, there aren’t many I can practice. Celestial Thunder Technique, Spirit Arrow Technique, and Dragon Locking Skill are too conspicuous. As for the rest, I’d master Golden Body Technique and Golden Sword Technique long before the trial ends. Even adding Concentration Technique and Solid Spirit Technique wouldn’t be enough to last me. I’m better off buying a few more Basic Magic Techniques.’

"Then we’ll do as you say, Junior Brother."

Ren Xunchun felt like he was being shown up. He would only ever complain about having too few Spirit Stones, but for someone like Junior Brother Liu, a full day of cultivation, even with the aid of Spirit Stones, would consume a few hundred at most. In contrast, Liu Chen only needed to sell three servings of Spiritual Cuisine a day to earn six thousand Spirit Stones.

And that was under normal circumstances. In Fire Dragon Valley, earning Spirit Stones would only be easier.

"If either of you Senior Brothers have any Magic you’d like to sell, feel free to offer them."

Liu Chen looked at the two of them. Yang Haichen and Ren Xunchun exchanged a glance, but in the end, they were too embarrassed to say anything and simply shook their heads helplessly.

An incense stick’s time later, Liu Chen returned to his room with the Secret Manual for the Recovery Technique.

Time spent cultivating passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was the morning of September 18th. Nine crescent-moon-like Spirit Wheels appeared around Liu Chen. The nine Spirit Wheels would sometimes converge and sometimes scatter around him; this was the result of his Spirit Wheel Skill evolving into his own unique version.

The original seven Spirit Wheels became nine, and the abilities to scatter and converge were added to the original technique. They could now scatter to engage nine separate targets or converge to unleash their greatest power.

Even the appearance of the Spirit Wheels had changed from the common type used by the Black Feather Dynasty, altering to fit Liu Chen’s own aesthetic. ’Hopefully,’ he thought, ’the next time I run into anyone from the Black Feather Royal Family, they’ll even recognize this as the Spirit Wheel Skill.’

After the Spirit Wheel Skill, Liu Chen chose to cultivate the Golden Body Technique. According to Senior Brother Yang, a certain senior sister had traded it, along with a Cyan Steel Sword, for Spiritual Cuisine. But after studying the Golden Body Technique for a bit, Liu Chen was left bewildered.

The Golden Body Technique was different from the Body Protection Technique. The Body Protection Technique was, in essence, still constructing a Spiritual Power Shield, just one that clung closer to the body. Liu Chen had even managed to completely merge his Body Protection Technique into his skin, achieving an effect similar to an absolute defense.

But the Golden Body Technique used Spiritual Power to enhance the physical body’s strength. It could even be called a type of Body Refining Technique. Once mastered, in addition to directly increasing the body’s physical defense, one could also inject Spiritual Power to temporarily boost it further.

If Liu Chen had evolved his Body Protection Technique into a unique version to constantly increase his defense against sneak attacks, this Golden Body Technique could tangibly increase his physical defense right from the start.

Liu Chen truly couldn’t imagine how that elegant True Inheritor Senior Sister, in Senior Brother Yang’s eyes, could cultivate and even use the Golden Body Technique in combat. Anyone who thought her close-quarters combat was a weakness would probably die a miserable death.

The cultivation stages of the Golden Body Technique were surprisingly similar to the Body Tempering Technique. The Beginner level had no effect. Minor Success gave a Bronze color, Great Success a Silver color, and Perfection a golden-yellow hue.

Liu Chen spent a day raising this Basic Magic Technique from Beginner to Perfection. As he infused it with Spiritual Power, patches of golden yellow appeared beneath his skin.

"The Golden Body Technique might be able to merge with the Body Protection Technique. When that happens, it will manifest as golden Dragon Scales."

Liu Chen couldn’t help but ponder this. He even had the idea of completely fusing the two Magic, but for now, it was just an idea.

Liu Chen knew he couldn’t do it right now. Even if the Golden Body Technique evolved into his own unique version, the most he could do was overlap the Magic Veins of the Body Protection Technique and the Golden Body Technique, enjoying the defensive effects of both Magic simultaneously.

As for directly breaking down and reassembling the two Magic Veins to create a brand new Magic, Liu Chen didn’t have the confidence for that yet. But one could dream; perhaps he would be able to do it later.

Liu Chen’s cultivation of the Golden Body Technique continued until just before dinner on September 19th. The golden patterns produced by the Golden Body Technique deconstructed and reconstructed in his mind, gradually becoming compatible with the Dragon Scale shield of the Body Protection Technique.

Subsequently, the golden protective patterns formed by the Golden Body Technique merged into Liu Chen’s skin, steadily engraving themselves beneath the golden Dragon Scale patterns left by the Body Protection Technique. The two did not connect or fuse, but it didn’t stop them from jointly forming Liu Chen’s physical defense.

’The Golden Body Technique has evolved into its own unique version. My life-saving abilities have gone up another notch. But is there really no way to directly fuse two Magic of the same type? Or am I just too weak to do it right now?’

Liu Chen narrowed his eyes, unable to stop thinking about this problem. Logically, he had already studied the Body Protection Technique and the Golden Body Technique thoroughly—something achievable at the Perfection realm. Not to mention, he had evolved both Magic into his own unique versions.

The Magic Veins of both now even manifested as Dragon Scales, yet he just couldn’t see a single point of commonality between them. This left Liu Chen very frustrated.

But since he couldn’t find any common ground for the time being, Liu Chen could only turn his attention elsewhere. After the Golden Body Technique, he began cultivating the Golden Sword Technique he had bought from the Black Market.

This was a method of condensing a Golden Sword to kill enemies. At the Beginner level, one could condense the tip of a sword. At Minor Success, a Broken Sword. At Great Success, one could condense what looked like a complete longsword. Perfection was a step further; the condensed Golden Sword could not only attack enemies from a distance but could even be used as a Spirit Sword.

This was why Liu Chen had taken a liking to the Golden Sword Technique. A Spirit Sword needed to be replaced as one’s Realm increased if it was to maintain its power. But a Magic one personally mastered was different. If he cultivated the Golden Sword Technique to Perfection, Liu Chen would no longer have to worry about not having a suitable Spirit Sword in the future.

He also wouldn’t face the awkward situation of having his Spirit Sword stolen and being unable to use his skills. By expending just a little Spiritual Power, he could construct a Spirit Sword that perfectly suited his will.

Furthermore, it would grow stronger as his Realm increased and would never become obsolete.