Chapter 185: Piercing Fire -

「On the third day.」

Lu Bai set up his stall across from Wangjiang Tower as usual.

After getting the stall ready, Lu Bai went to Wangjiang Tower to buy some food and, at the same time, ask about the background of the young man from yesterday.

A few of the waiters were completely clueless.

The Chief Shopkeeper of Wangjiang Tower, however, clearly knew something, and shot him an extra glance.

Lu Bai went over to inquire, but the Chief Shopkeeper played dumb, refusing to reveal a single thing.

’Judging by that man’s speech and demeanor last night, he must have a significant background.’

Lu Bai thought to himself as he left Wangjiang Tower and returned to his stall.

He Liangzhi was loitering nearby, keeping a close eye on the situation.

The sun began to set.

By the end of the day, he had earned four Five Emperors Coins.

Including what he had saved up before, he now had sixty-four.

As it neared time to close up, the brocade-robed young man from yesterday had not reappeared.

Just then, a middle-aged man in his forties, who had been lingering for some time, approached with a seven-or-eight-year-old child. He hesitated, then asked tentatively, "Lord Lu, I don’t have any antiques, but I do have a Cultivation Technique. Could I trade it to look at one of yours?"

"What kind of Cultivation Technique?"

Lu Bai asked.

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment before saying, "It’s a Cultivation Technique."

Lu Bai raised an eyebrow.

Ever since he learned he had a Spirit Root, he had been thinking about this.

He wanted to get his hands on a Cultivation Technique to try practicing.

He wanted to see just how bad this Mortal Spirit Root of his really was.

Even if his progress was slow, as long as he could reach the First-Layer Qi Refining, he would be able to use a Storage Pouch, which would make his life much more convenient.

At the very least, he could toss the sixty-odd Copper Coins in his pocket into it.

However, he had been too busy recently and had no money, so the matter had been temporarily set aside.

’I can’t believe I’d get such an unexpected windfall just from running this stall!’

Lu Bai suppressed his excitement, kept his expression calm, and asked, "What tier is the technique?"

"Yellow Tier."

The middle-aged man seemed to lack confidence.

Cultivation Techniques were indeed rare, but you had to find the right person for them.

For the vast majority of Martial Artists, who lacked Spirit Roots, a Cultivation Technique was useless even if they could look at it.

While Lu Bai was picky when it came to the Martial Dao, his standards for Cultivation weren’t nearly as high.

’Something is better than nothing.’

’Besides, I still have Soul Light in the mirror. I’ll master it first and worry about the rest later.’

Lu Bai didn’t agree right away. He asked, "Is this technique reliable? Why aren’t you cultivating it, choosing to practice the Martial Dao instead?"

"It’s reliable!"

The middle-aged man said quickly, "This technique was passed down from my ancestors. One of them even became a Qi Refiner. It’s just that by the time it reached my generation and my son’s, we no longer have Spirit Roots..."

Lu Bai asked, "Alright. Which one do you want to trade for?"

The middle-aged man swallowed hard and asked, "Lord Lu, could I trade for that Earth Tier technique, the *Tiger Subduing Posture*?"

Lu Bai clicked his tongue. "The tiers of these techniques don’t match. That’s against the rules. Do you have any other treasures?"

"N-No, I don’t."

The middle-aged man gave an embarrassed smile.

Then he quickly added, "But rest assured, Lord Lu, there’s definitely nothing wrong with the technique. As long as you have a Spirit Root, you can cultivate it."

"Fine."

Lu Bai handed over the *Tiger Subduing Posture*.

"Thank you, my lord."

The middle-aged man’s eyes lit up. He turned to the child beside him and said, "Xiaochuan, quickly, take it and thank the lord."

"Th-Thank you, Lord Lu."

The child called ’Xiaochuan’ was a bit timid. He kept his head lowered, and his voice trailed off into near silence by the end.

"This child!"

The middle-aged man grumbled, stepped forward to take the *Tiger Subduing Posture*, and placed it in Xiaochuan’s hands, urging, "Quick, look at it! Memorize as much as you can."

Xiaochuan quickly took the *Tiger Subduing Posture* and began to study it intently.

The middle-aged man looked at Lu Bai and smiled. "At my age, my life is pretty much set. The boy, however, still has a future."

Then, as if remembering something, he reached into his robes. After fumbling around for a while with his head down, he finally pulled out a thin, yellowed booklet of only a few pages and handed it to Lu Bai.

Lu Bai took it and looked.

Three words were written on the cover: *Piercing Fire Chapter*.

For Martial Arts Techniques, because the focus of cultivation differs in the early Realms, each Realm has its own corresponding technique.

But Cultivation Techniques were different.

A Cultivator starts from the Qi Refining Stage by drawing Spiritual Qi into their body, then advances to the Foundation Establishment Stage, the Golden Core Stage, and then the Nascent Soul Stage.

The only difference was that as Spiritual Qi entered the body, one’s Magical Power would undergo continuous qualitative changes.

A Yellow Tier Cultivation Technique, for instance, might only have one or two layers, allowing one to cultivate only within the Qi Refining Stage.

A Profound Tier Technique would have more layers and Chapters, allowing one to cultivate up to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

An Earth Tier Technique could support cultivation up to the Golden Core Realm.

And a Celestial Tier Technique could potentially allow one to reach the Nascent Soul Realm.

As for Ultimate Skills, they were even more powerful in every aspect.

Lu Bai flipped through the *Piercing Fire Chapter*, quickly skimming it in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The beginning of the technique even provided some background on its origin.

This technique was created in Ancient Times by a certain Qi Refiner.

Because this person had only a Mortal Spirit Root, he had no opportunity to practice a proper Cultivation Technique. After entering a Sect, he was treated merely as a servant and assigned menial tasks in the Alchemy Room.

Unwilling to accept his fate, the disciple pondered day and night. From constantly facing the furnace flames, he quietly observed the birth and death of the fire, its light and shadow, its flickering and leaping, and suddenly had an epiphany.

He combined the body-strengthening *Qi-Introducing Technique* with his understanding of the nature of fire, and thus this Chapter was born.

After finishing his chores in the Alchemy Room, the disciple would use his spare time to cultivate.

In a corner where no one paid him any mind, this disciple, relying on this technique and his Mortal Spirit Root, spent over ninety years to reach the Ninth-Layer Qi Refining!

A mortal’s lifespan is less than a hundred years.

But the lifespan of a Qi Refiner can reach around one hundred and twenty years.

He was only discovered by the Sect because this white-haired old man in the Alchemy Room had already surpassed the century mark!

The entire Sect was shaken.

They were moved by his persistence and determination, and they also admired his aptitude.

In the Cultivation Realm, this was nothing short of a miracle.

To be able to create a Cultivation Technique while still in the Qi Refining Stage... if not for the limitation of his Mortal Spirit Root, his comprehension would have led to limitless achievements!

In most Cultivation Sects, those in the Qi Refining Stage were considered only outer disciples.

After this incident, the Sect made a special exception and accepted him as an Inner Sect Disciple, providing him with Foundation Establishment Pills and a large number of Spirit Stones to help him break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Once one stepped into the Foundation Establishment Realm, their lifespan could extend to over two hundred years.

Unfortunately, the disciple failed to break through to Foundation Establishment several times. At the advanced age of one hundred and seventeen, his lifespan was exhausted, and he passed away.

Lu Bai didn’t feel much about the technique itself.

But the story of this disciple’s life left him filled with emotion and sighs.

No wonder the Old Gambling Ghost had advised him against Cultivation that day.

His own natural talent and comprehension were surely no match for that disciple’s.

If he were to walk the path of Cultivation, he would most likely end up the same way.

’However, I have the Ancient Mirror. Maybe I can create a legend of my own.’

Lu Bai immersed his Heart and Spirit in the Ancient Mirror.

A new line of text had appeared after the technique’s entry.

[Piercing Fire Chapter · Yellow (Not Mastered)]

Lu Bai took a deep breath, manipulated one of the strands of Soul Light, and merged it with the entry, silently chanting ’Master’ in his mind.

In that instant, Lu Bai immediately understood all the obscure and difficult terms from the booklet.

A wealth of insights and countless experiences regarding this technique flooded into his mind as if poured into him from on high.

It was as if the disciple himself were personally teaching him.