33: Chapter 33 Enlightenment Pavilion

Xiuchun Market was still bustling with people. The stalls on both sides of the street were still filled with herbs, Ores, low-grade Talismans, and damaged Magical Artifacts. The shouting and bargaining were incessant, and it still looked extremely lively.

However, if one were even slightly careful, one could smell a lingering panic and unease beneath this liveliness.

The passing Mountain Chasers and Loose Cultivators all had hurried expressions, quickened footsteps, and vigilant eyes. Every now and then, they would subconsciously glance toward the market gate, as if there were some man-eating Vicious Beast outside.

Li Qing inquired a little and quickly understood the reason.

It turned out that for the past few days, no Mountain Chaser inside or outside Xiuchun Market dared to take even half a step out of the market gate.

It was not that they did not want to go out to hunt, gather herbs, or search for treasures, but they dared not.

Whoever went out might be forcibly captured and used as cannon fodder, thrown into that newly emerged ruin.

The root of all this lay in that Late Foundation Establishment Stage Puppet guarding the main road deep within the ruins.

That Puppet had existed for no one knew how many years. Its body was as hard as refined iron; sword strikes left no marks, and its spiritual power was terrifyingly profound. Even a Qi Refining Perfection Cultivator could not last more than two or three moves before being blasted into a mist of blood by a single punch.

For a time, all the Qi Refining Perfection experts in the entire Xiuchun Market were red-eyed with anxiety.

There were clearly large amounts of Heaven And Earth Treasures, Cultivation Techniques, and foundation establishment pills inside the ruins, but they were blocked at the entrance by a Puppet, and no one could pass.

Forcing one's way in was suicide.

Taking a detour? There was simply no path.

Consequently, this group of ruthless Qi Refining Perfection Cultivators actually came up with a crazed method—capturing Loose Cultivators.

They specifically guarded the outskirts of the market and the edges of the forest, watching for those lone Loose Cultivators and solitary Mountain Chasers. Once they encountered them, they would suppress them without a word, cripple their cultivation, place a Restriction on them, and then, like driving livestock, forcibly drive them into the entrance of the ruins to let them collide head-on with that Late Foundation Establishment Stage Puppet.

Their goal was simple.

Use human lives to consume the spiritual power stored within the Puppet.

Once the spiritual power inside the Puppet was exhausted, it would completely turn into an immobile wooden statue. At that time, this group of experts would be able to enter the depths of the ruins unimpeded and loot treasures wantonly.

As for those Loose Cultivators used as cannon fodder?

If they died, they died.

In the Yunling Mountain Range region, human life was the least valuable thing, and Loose Cultivators were even more like blades of grass.

Once the news spread, all Mountain Chasers were in a state of panic.

No one knew if they would be the next one captured to fill the pit.

After hearing this, Li Qing felt a lingering fear in his heart and secretly rejoiced.

Fortunately, his trip out had a clear purpose, and he had not been blinded by the so-called ruins, nor had he impulsively rushed up to try his luck.

Greed was a Cultivator's greatest fatal weakness.

If he had been impulsive at the time and followed the crowd to the ruins, he might have already become cannon fodder to consume the Puppet's spiritual power, with not even his bones left.

Li Qing suppressed the waves in his heart and did not linger.

In troubled times, one's own strength was the foundation; he could not manage the lives of others, nor did he dare to.

He first headed straight to the market management office and paid the rent for half a year in advance.

As his cultivation grew higher, the time required for each Breakthrough grew longer. A single seclusion could take a few days, or even up to a month.

He had to pay the rent in advance. If he finished his seclusion and suddenly appeared, only to find the small courtyard had a new owner who happened to be standing at the door, all his secrets would be exposed.

For Li Qing now, once his secrets were leaked, it was more terrifying than death.

After paying the fees and receiving the new residence token, a heavy stone in Li Qing's heart fell.

He remained calm and kept a low profile all the way back to his inconspicuous small courtyard.

After confirming that no one was following or spying on him, Li Qing closed the courtyard gate behind him, then moved his mind, flashed, and entered his Portable Cave Abode.

Upon entering the Immortal Cave, Li Qing first took out the Red-tailed Fox he had brought back.

This Red-tailed Fox had previously been sickly and listless, but as soon as it was placed into the beast enclosure exclusive to the Immortal Cave, the originally weak little beast trembled violently, and its fox eyes instantly lit up.

A gentle, pure, and seemingly innate affinity surged silently into its body.

The Green-feathered Chicken, which had been leisurely in the beast enclosure, suddenly saw this uninvited guest, and its feathers stood on end.

This was a relationship between natural enemies!

However, in just a moment, the Red-tailed Fox became spirited, its fur became smooth and shiny again, and seeing the Green-feathered Chicken nearby, it bared its teeth and pounced over.

Don't look at the Red-tailed Fox as a cub; its strength as a First Stage Early Stage Yao Beast could absolutely crush a Green-feathered Chicken.

"Not good!"

Li Qing seemed to have forgotten the hostile relationship between Yao Beasts. If one Green-feathered Chicken died, it would mean losing 150 Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

To Li Qing's surprise, the Red-tailed Fox, which was about to pounce on the Green-feathered Chicken, seemed to be blocked by a force. No matter what, it couldn't catch the Green-feathered Chicken, making it jump up and down in a hurry!

Li Qing was overjoyed when he saw this.

This Immortal Cave was indeed extraordinary.

It could actually prevent the Yao Beasts inside from killing each other.

Li Qing quickly took out a piece of Yao Beast meat and properly appeased the Red-tailed Fox.

After settling the Red-tailed Fox, Li Qing did not delay any longer.

He turned and entered the stone cave to continue his Cultivation.

Over the next few days, the advancement of the Red-tailed Fish and Green-feathered Chicken seemed to have entered an explosive period.

Every day, one of them would trigger an advancement effect.

Li Qing smiled from ear to ear every day.

A month later, before the current batch of spirit rice was harvested, Li Qing sold all fifteen Red-scaled Fish and five Green-feathered Chickens, harvesting 3,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

At the same time, Li Qing also absorbed the spiritual power of 320 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and his cultivation broke through to Qi Refining Stage 7.

He had officially become a Qi Refining Late Stage expert!

An excited Li Qing chose to upgrade his Immortal Cave immediately.

[Immortal Cave lv3]

[Effect: Unique space, no disasters, no harm, no difficulties.]

[Immortal Cave lv4 upgrade requirements: Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivation, Mid-Grade Spirit Stone × 100, void stone × 5.]

[Unlocked buildings: training room, Talisman room, Pill Refining Room, Artifact Refining room, Formation room.]

Seeing this line of information, Li Qing was stunned on the spot, his mouth slightly open, his face filled with disbelief.

The requirements for a Level 4 Immortal Cave were actually exaggerated to this extent?

First, the cultivation must reach Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

He was only at Qi Refining Stage 7 now, still a hundred and eight thousand miles away from Foundation Establishment.

Secondly, it required one hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

One Mid-Grade Spirit Stone was equivalent to one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones; one hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones meant a full ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

But ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones might not necessarily be able to exchange for one hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

For him now, this was simply an astronomical figure.

Even more outrageous was that there was an additional rare material he had only heard of but never seen—the void stone.

That was a core material for refining spatial equipment like storage rings, and it was not cheap.

Li Qing couldn't help but frown.

Even if the upgrade conditions were harsh, why were the unlocked buildings still just these five: Talisman room, Pill Refining Room, Artifact Refining room, and Formation room?

No new things?

No more powerful functions?

Just as he was puzzled and slightly disappointed in his heart, a familiar, cold, emotionless System prompt suddenly rang out in the Immortal Cave.

"Detected Incomplete Manual, do you want to build the Enlightenment Pavilion?"

Incomplete Manual?

Enlightenment Pavilion?

Li Qing was stunned on the spot.

He stood frozen for a long while before reacting.

Wasn't the Incomplete Manual the Five Elements Art he bought?

The Immortal Cave... had this function too?

It could actually directly detect the Cultivation Technique he possessed?

"What is the use of the Enlightenment Pavilion?"

Li Qing suppressed his heartbeat and couldn't help but ask.

"Cultivation Technique deduction, incomplete copy completion."

Eight words, concise and clear.

Li Qing's eyes widened instantly.

Cultivation Technique deduction!

Incomplete copy completion!

"Yes! Build!"

Li Qing blurted out almost immediately, without a shred of hesitation.

Hum—

Five Spirit Stones disappeared, and the light flashed again.

In the corner of the Immortal Cave, a small, quaint pavilion exuding a faint scholarly aura slowly condensed and took shape. It was not big, but it gave people a feeling of extreme depth, as if it contained infinite mysteries.

[Enlightenment Pavilion lv1]

[Effect: Can consume a certain amount of Spirit Stones to deduce Cultivation Techniques and repair Incomplete Manuals. Current Cultivation Technique deduction limit: Qi Refining Middle Stage.]

[Enlightenment Pavilion lv2 upgrade requirements: Qi Refining Stage 4, Low-Grade Spirit Stone × 50.]

Looking at the newly built Enlightenment Pavilion in front of him, Li Qing was so excited that he couldn't express it in words.