Chapter 24: A Fortunate Windfall
Chapter 24: A Fortunate Windfall
As Chu Ning relaxed, he began to reflect on the perilous encounter he had just experienced.
He didn't know who the bearded man was, but from the look of delight that appeared on the man's face when they first met, it seemed likely that he had been lying in wait for him.
This man was probably the one who had been tracking his recent frequent solo trips between the sect and the market town.
It was even possible that the robber had seen him visiting Old Sun and knew that he could earn Spirit Stones, which was why he chose to ambush him there.
However, what the robber didn't expect was that today would be the last day of Chu Ning's visits, and that he would be purchasing a large number of talismans with his Spirit Stones.
Thinking of this, Chu Ning felt a sense of relief. It was fortunate that he had been vigilant and bought four talismans; otherwise, he might have been in serious trouble.
"It's a shame that the Thorn Technique can't be cast instantly, or that protective talisman wouldn't have been wasted," Chu Ning muttered to himself.
That protective talisman was mainly to buy him time to cast his Thorn Technique and entangle the opponent.
But this thought had barely crossed his mind when Chu Ning shook his head again.
In any case, he still needed to use that protective talisman.
The robber's offensive spells were clearly much stronger than his, and the Golden Sword Technique was both powerful and fast.
The only thing the robber seemed to lack was defensive talismans or related spells, which was why Chu Ning had managed to escape unharmed.
Thanks to his Vine Armor Technique and the protective talisman, he was able to withstand the robber's Golden Sword Technique three times before finally emerging safely.
You have to stay alive before you can fight! Chu Ning told himself to keep this lesson firmly in mind.
From now on, he would prioritize survival strategies before considering offensive techniques.
Must remember, must remember!
However, the loss of two talismans still pained Chu Ning a little, as they were worth five low-grade Spirit Stones.
With that in mind, he took out the items he had obtained from the bearded man.
There was only one low-grade Spirit Stone, but it was better than nothing.
There was also a Mobility Talisman, which could temporarily increase the user's movement speed and was useful for escaping.
The robber hadn't gotten a chance to use it.
It was worth about two low-grade Spirit Stones, which offset the cost of the Golden Sword Talisman that Chu Ning had used.
Chu Ning then took out two books and began to browse through them.
The first one, which was thinner, contained a metal-attribute spell called the Golden Sword Technique, which the bearded man had just used.
The attack power of this spell was not insignificant, and Chu Ning couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy when he saw it.
However, when he thought of his own talent and speed in cultivating spells outside of the wood element, he sighed softly.
He didn't know if he would even be able to practice it.
Then, Chu Ning turned to the slightly thicker book.
When he saw the title of the book, he paused for a moment.
The words "Nine Transformations Body Refining Art" were written on the cover.
"Nine Transformations Body Refining Art? I've been practicing the Nine Tiger Body Forging Technique. I wonder if there's any connection between the two."
Intrigued, Chu Ning eagerly flipped through the pages.
His Nine Tiger Body Forging Technique was most effective when he hadn't started refining qi, and it still had some benefits for improving his body during the early stages of qi refinement.
However, once he reached the middle stages of qi refinement, the technique no longer had any refining effects.
But when he opened the book, the first sentence he read was, "Refine the body before refining qi."
Without further explanation, Chu Ning didn't dwell on it and continued reading.
"There really is a connection between the two!"
After just a few pages, Chu Ning was amazed.
The body refining postures described in the Nine Transformations Body Refining Art were identical to those in the Nine Tiger Body Forging Technique he had practiced before.
The difference was that this art included instructions on how to channel spiritual power, allowing for better body refining results.
As he continued to flip through the pages, he found that the content in this booklet was far more comprehensive than the Nine Tiger Body Forging Technique he had practiced before.
Just the first volume alone had five records, namely Everlasting Skin, Unwithering Bones, Unbreakable Sinews, Undying Soul, and Indestructible Golden Body.
However, after the Indestructible Golden Body section, it simply said, "End of Volume One."
The Nine Transformations Body Refining Art that he had obtained was merely the first volume. How many volumes were there in total, and what was the complete Nine Transformations Body Refining Art like?
Obviously, there was no one to answer his questions for the time being.
At the same time, Chu Ning was filled with doubt.
How did that bearded man, who was clearly a wandering cultivator, obtain the Nine Transformations Body Refining Art?
Moreover, from his appearance, he didn't seem to be a body cultivator.
Despite these doubts, Chu Ning was still delighted. The Nine Transformations Body Refining Art was an excellent find for him.
Lately, he had been practicing various spells, but the proficiency panel in his mind only showed proficiency in the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art and the Nine Tiger Body Forging Technique.
Since the Nine Transformations Body Refining Art was closely related to the Nine Tiger Body Forging Technique, he wondered if it would also display proficiency.
With this thought in mind, Chu Ning memorized the route of spiritual power circulation for the Everlasting Skin technique and immediately began to cultivate it.
Having practiced the previous Nine Tiger Body Forging Technique countless times, Chu Ning was already very familiar with the various body postures. All he needed to do now was add in the circulation of spiritual power.
There were still nine postures in total, and because he had to maintain the stability of his spiritual power, Chu Ning performed the set much slower than before.
Nevertheless, after completing the set of body refining movements, a smile appeared on Chu Ning's face.
That long-lost feeling of his body slightly heating up and his physique improving had appeared once again.
When Chu Ning's consciousness sank into his sea of consciousness, he immediately noticed a slight change.
【Green Wood Eternal Spring Art (Low-Grade Yellow), Second Layer (70/900)】
【Nine Transformations Body Refining Art, Volume One, Everlasting Skin 1/300】
"As expected, the Nine Transformations Body Refining Art does have proficiency!" Chu Ning was secretly pleased.
Having proficiency meant that if he could cultivate it to perfection, he would be rewarded with an innate divine ability.
However, the Nine Transformations Body Refining Art seemed rather difficult to cultivate. The starting proficiency for Everlasting Skin was 300.
The first layer of the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art only had a total proficiency of 300, which corresponded to the first three layers of Qi Refining.
It seemed like he would have to spend a significant amount of time cultivating this art.
Nevertheless, this was still a huge gain.
Chu Ning carefully kept the booklet containing the Nine Transformations Body Refining Art and turned to the last item, the small jade box.
Upon opening the box, he found a black seed inside.
"What kind of seed is this?"
Chu Ning was slightly surprised because the seed's aura gave him a very familiar feeling.
The next moment, Chu Ning's eyes lit up.
"Seven Stars Spirit Fruit!"
For the past ten days, Chu Ning had been using the Green Wood Springtime Art on the Seven Stars Spirit Fruit at Old Sun's place every day, so he had become very familiar with this spiritual plant.
Even though it was just a seed, that familiar feeling almost made Chu Ning certain of its identity.
"What a coincidence. Could it be that this bearded man's ambush was related to this?"
Chu Ning wondered to himself.
Furthermore, thinking of how Old Sun had treasured the Seven Stars Spirit Fruit, Chu Ning's heart skipped a beat.
"Regardless, I must confirm if it's the Seven Stars Spirit Fruit. If it is, then I've really struck gold!"
In fact, having obtained the Nine Transformations Body Refining Art was already a huge gain, but he still wanted to find out what kind of seed this was.
Chu Ning gritted his teeth and used the Instant Cast Spell on the black seed.
(End of Chapter)
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