4: Medium-grade green bamboo sword!

Xu Qi'an sat cross-legged on the wooden bed in the thatched hut.

A wisp of green light flowed in his palm, it was the middle-grade Spirit Stone, now only the size of a pigeon's egg.

After breaking through to the Refining Qi Level 4, he did not rush to get up but continued to circulate the Azure Wood Art, smoothing out the restless spiritual power within his body little by little.

In his Dantian, the drop of jade-green spiritual energy slowly rotated, and with each rotation, wisps of spiritual power seeped into his Meridians.

Xu Qi'an could clearly feel that his Meridians had widened by nearly double compared to before, and the speed of spiritual power circulation was also much faster.

He carefully guided the spiritual power to circulate within his body, afraid of accidentally damaging his Foundation.

"Hoo..."

A day later, Xu Qi'an let out a long breath and slowly opened his eyes.

The moonlight shone through the window lattice onto his face, casting a faint halo.

He stretched his stiff limbs, feeling the surging spiritual power within his body, and a smile couldn't help but appear at the corner of his mouth.

"I've finally stabilized at the Refining Qi Level 4."

He took out the damaged Qingzhu Sword; its blade was covered in cracks, as if it could shatter at any moment.

It was just past midnight, and the gathering treasure count had refreshed!

"gathering treasure basin, it's up to you now."

Xu Qi'an's face was filled with joy as he pressed the Qingzhu Sword to his chest and submerged his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness.

The ancient bronze gathering treasure basin floated quietly, the runes on its body flowing with mysterious light.

With a thought, the Qingzhu Sword instantly disappeared, and ripples appeared in the gathering treasure basin.

"Buzz—"

A clear sword cry echoed in his Sea of Consciousness, and a green light spurted out from the gathering treasure basin.

Xu Qi'an opened his palm, and a Qingzhu Sword, entirely emerald green, lay quietly in his hand.

The sword body was slender, emitting a jade-like luster, and at the tip, a faint green light flowed, sharp and imposing.

"Middle-grade Qingzhu Sword!"

A hint of ecstasy flashed in Xu Qi'an's eyes.

He lightly swung the long sword, and the blade cut through the air, making a "chi chi" sound.

The cracks on the sword body had long since disappeared, replaced by fine bamboo patterns, as if naturally formed.

"Good sword!"

He couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Not only had the grade of this Qingzhu Sword been upgraded to middle-grade, but the sharp metallic energy contained within the sword body was also more concentrated.

Xu Qi'an could feel that as long as he injected spiritual power, the blade could easily cut through metal and stone.

"With this sword, my strength will increase by at least thirty percent!"

Immediately, he pricked his finger, letting a drop of blood fall onto the Qingzhu Sword, and then used spiritual power to refine the Qingzhu Sword.

In a short while, the Qingzhu Sword was successfully refined.

A middle-grade Magical Artifact is suitable for Cultivators in the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, and for the current Xu Qi'an, it was like an extension of his arm!

He put the Qingzhu Sword into his storage bag and pondered his next plan.

With the Qi Concealing Technique and the middle-grade Qingzhu Sword, his situation in the Qingzhu Market would greatly improve!

The night was still deep, so Xu Qi'an plunged back into cultivation.

When the morning light rose, Xu Qi'an opened his eyes.

"Old Yan Tou should be up by now..."

Xu Qi'an pushed open the door of the thatched hut, and the morning light shone on his face, casting a faint blue halo.

He activated the Qi Concealing Technique, suppressing his cultivation to the Qi Refining Third Level, before walking towards the next-door hut.

"Old Yan Tou, morning!"

Xu Qi'an knocked on the shaky wooden door, a smile on his face.

"Creak—"

The wooden door opened, and Old Yan Tou, hunched over, poked his head out, still holding his dry tobacco pipe.

He squinted at Xu Qi'an and mumbled, "Xu Qi'an, what's the matter so early?"

Xu Qi'an showed an embarrassed expression.

Old Yan Tou immediately thought of something bad, raised his hand to close the door, and grumbled, "You brat, don't even think about borrowing another ling stone from me!"

"After you sell the spirit rice from those two ling stones, hurry up and return them to me, or don't blame me for getting angry with you!!"

Xu Qi'an was shut out, but his mood was exceptionally cheerful.

"It seems the Word Concealment Art really worked!!"

Xu Qi'an responded with a smile and turned to leave.

He was secretly delighted.

With this secret technique, he could Cultivate with peace of mind, without worrying about attracting others' attention.

Cultivators in the Qi Refining stage cannot extend their Divine Sense outside their body and can only judge cultivation levels based on the aura displayed by a Cultivator.

Therefore, the fact that Old Yan Tou did not notice the change in Xu Qi'an's cultivation meant that this Qi Concealing Technique had taken effect.

As for encountering Cultivators of the Foundation Establishment Stage... that situation should be extremely rare.

At least, in Xu Qi'an's memory, he had never encountered one.

However, the market master of the Qingzhu Market is a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The Qingzhu Mountain Range is a middle-grade spiritual脈 (vein), and the closer one gets to the center, the denser the spiritual energy.

It is said that this Foundation Establishment cultivator Cultivates in the Qingzhu Market all day long and rarely goes out.

Of course, even if he went out, a minor Cultivator like Xu Qi'an wouldn't know.

Moreover, high-level Cultivators like those in the Foundation Establishment Stage wouldn't pay attention to Qi Refining Cultivators like Xu Qi'an.

What can attract the attention of Cultivators of the Foundation Establishment Stage, besides treasures from the Foundation Establishment Stage and treasures that can promote Dan Formation, is probably nothing else.

Xu Qi'an tidied up his mood and headed towards his own spiritual field.

Maintaining the speed of Qi Refining Third Level, he didn't take long to arrive at the spirit rice field.

The amount of ling stone this little spirit rice could bring Xu Qi'an was naturally not worth mentioning.

But he still had to put on a show and tend to it.

Spirit rice matures two to three times a year, entirely depending on the spiritual energy condition of one's spiritual field and how it is managed.

Xu Qi'an's spiritual field could harvest a maximum of five ling stones at a time.

If he was lucky, he could harvest fifteen ling stones a year.

But after deducting the rent to be handed over to the Qingzhu Market, he could earn at most five or six ling stones a year.

And after deducting other expenses, like buying some elixirs and Talismans, there would truly be nothing left by the end of the year.

This was the year of a Spiritual Farmer.

He worked hard for a year and earned nothing.

The four arts of formations, elixirs, artifacts, and Talismans are the most profitable, but the investment is astronomical, and without some talent, one simply cannot do it.

Xu Qi'an was now planning that when his strength improved and he bought what he needed, he would leave the Qingzhu Market and move to a more distant market.

A complete transformation! He wouldn't have to be a Spiritual Farmer anymore.

Among the four arts of formations, elixirs, artifacts, and Talismans, he would force out at least one!

"Hoo..."

Xu Qi'an let out a long breath, pulled out the sickle from his back, and prepared to attach a Golden Light Technique to weed the field.

But as soon as he entered the field, he froze.

"Where's my spirit rice?!!!"

He looked at patch after patch; the originally golden rice ears were now just bare green leaves.

"It couldn't have been done by other Spiritual Farmers!"

The Qingzhu Market has its rules, and Spiritual Farmers also have their rules among themselves; whoever dares to do this would lose their head.

Xu Qi'an carefully investigated for clues.

Finally, he saw a bite mark on a few green leaves, with a faint demonic aura remaining on them.

"There's a demonic beast?!!"

Xu Qi'an was startled.

One should know that the demonic beasts around the Qingzhu Market had long been wiped out.

Demonic beasts had once become a scarce commodity, as Body Refinement Cultivators are the fondest of demonic beast meat.

"A demonic beast that feeds on spirit rice, could it be a Rice Rat?"

The Rice Rat is a natural enemy of spirit rice, with no real strength to speak of, basically a first-grade low-level demonic beast, timid by nature, only appearing at night, and relatively fast.

Xu Qi'an thought to himself, looking at the large area of spirit rice still left in his field.

He felt that this little creature would definitely come back.

There was nothing he could do; Xu Qi'an's spirit rice was regularly tended to, and its quality could be considered excellent.

"Hmph! I just got a middle-grade Qingzhu Sword, perfect for testing its power!"