16: Chapter 16: Taking Inventory of Your Assets

Wang Bin stood in a corner of West Sea City, calculating in his mind.

He had come here hoping for a bargain, but after some searching, he found that there was no hope of finding one.

Since that was the case, his purpose for coming to West Sea City had basically been achieved, so Wang Bin decided to return.

He muttered to himself, "A golden nest and a silver nest are ultimately not as good as one's own doghouse."

In White Cloud City, he was practically all-powerful, living an incredibly free and unrestrained life.

Every blade of grass, every tree, every brick, and every tile there gave him a strong sense of belonging.

In White Cloud City, he could do whatever he wanted, without having to cater to others' moods; this kind of free and easy life was hard for him to find elsewhere.

Wang Bin embarked on his return journey, traveling tirelessly, and finally arrived back at the familiar White Cloud City.

As soon as he entered the city, he eagerly sought out Chen Jun and Huang Youcai to inquire about the recent situation in White Cloud City.

Upon hearing that everything was normal, the stone in his heart finally dropped.

Afterward, Wang Bin returned to the City Lord's Mansion, the place where he usually handled affairs and Cultivated.

He sat in the spacious room and began to meticulously inventory all his possessions, to plan the direction of his future Cultivation path.

Wang Bin's current Realm was at the fourth layer of the Foundation Establishment Stage, which is commonly known as Mid Stage Foundation Establishment.

His main Cultivation Technique was the «Green Wood Art», a common Wood Attribute Cultivation Technique; although its power was average and its Cultivation speed was also average, its methods were gentle and safe, which provided him with a solid foundation on his path to Immortality.

In terms of Spells, besides the Flying Sword, a Spell almost all Cultivators know, he had also learned several unique Wood Attribute Spells.

Among them, Azure Vine Entanglement Technique was his strongest Spell.

This Spell could miraculously summon tough Azure Vines with powerful binding capabilities.

These Azure Vines seemed to be alive, growing rapidly from the ground or surrounding trees and vegetation, instantly entangling enemies with lightning speed.

Enemies bound by the Azure Vines would have their movements severely restricted and would find it difficult to break free.

In battle, this Spell could buy the Cultivator valuable time for attacking or dodging.

Moreover, it could be coordinated with teammates to control enemies before delivering a fatal blow.

For speed-type or melee-type enemies, the Azure Vine Entanglement Technique could provide excellent counter-control.

However, this Spell was not flawless; it had certain environmental limitations.

In deserts, due to a lack of vegetation, Azure Vines were difficult to grow;

In water, the growth of Azure Vines would also be greatly hindered;

In the air, it was basically impossible to use this Spell. Unless one possessed special Azure Vine seeds, in these environments, this Spell would be quite useless.

The Wood Spirit Shield was also one of Wang Bin's important Spells; by utilizing Wood Attribute Spiritual Qi, he could form a shield-like protective layer around his body.

This shield was condensed from Wood Attribute Spiritual Qi and possessed a certain defensive power.

It could block physical attacks and some Spell attacks from enemies, providing reliable protection for the Cultivator.

Compared to shields of other attributes, the Wood Spirit Shield had better toughness and self-repair capabilities.

When attacked, the Wood Attribute Spiritual Qi on the shield would automatically flow, quickly repairing the damaged parts, thereby enhancing the durability of the defense.

When facing group attacks or attacks from powerful enemies, the Wood Spirit Shield could provide effective protection for Cultivators, giving them an extra layer of security in dangerous battles.

The Spirit Wood Healing Art further demonstrated the vitality and vigor of the Wood Attribute.

Wang Bin could inject Wood Attribute Spiritual Qi into the injured person's body, stimulating the body's self-healing ability.

Under the effect of this miraculous Spiritual Qi, the injured person's wounds would heal faster, and their physical strength and energy would rapidly recover.

For Cultivators or teammates injured in battle, the Spirit Wood Healing Art was a very important auxiliary Spell.

It could allow the injured to quickly regain their combat power and continue participating in battle, contributing to the team's victory. In addition, this Spell also had a certain purifying and healing effect on those injured by poisoning or evil Spells, demonstrating its wide applicability.

The Wood Thorn Assault Spell was a Spell Wang Bin quite liked; although its power was not great, it could be cast instantly.

He could mobilize the surrounding Wood Attribute Spiritual Qi to instantly condense sharp wooden thorns.

These wooden thorns could suddenly appear from the ground, trees, or the air, assaulting enemies at extremely high speeds.

The number, size, and speed of the wooden thorns depended on the Cultivator's magical power strength and Spell proficiency.

The advantage of this Spell was its fast casting speed and a certain element of surprise in its attack, allowing it to inflict damage on enemies unexpectedly.

When engaging in long-range attacks or sneak attacks on enemies, the Wood Thorn Assault Spell was a very effective method, catching enemies off guard.

Spirit Wood Catalysis Spell: Primarily used to accelerate the growth and reproduction of plants.

In battle, Wang Bin could use this Spell to rapidly grow surrounding plants, forming natural barriers or traps.

For example, he could make tree branches grow quickly and intertwine, blocking the enemy's path;

Or make ground vines spread rapidly, trapping enemies and restricting their movement.

In addition, the Spirit Wood Catalysis Spell could also be used to obtain some special plant resources.

For instance, rapidly cultivating some plants with medicinal value or special functions to provide more help to himself and his teammates.

Overall, this Spell was considered an auxiliary profession, but if used in the right environment, it would play a huge role.

Especially in forests, Wang Bin could fully utilize the advantages of this Spell, allowing himself to gain the upper hand in battle.

Wang Bin's entire fortune was truly pitifully small; he meticulously inventoried it.

He possessed 8500 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, which might be a considerable sum in the eyes of some low-level Cultivators, but for Wang Bin, who pursued higher Realms, it was far from enough.

Among his equipment, the Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact shield, the Ice Shield, was the most valuable item he owned.

The Ice Shield emitted bursts of cold air, capable of blocking enemy attacks at critical moments.

In addition, he also had one Low Grade Magical Artifact Daoist robe, one Medium Grade Magical Artifact Flying Sword, and one pair of Magical Artifact boots.

Although these equipments were somewhat useful during the Qi Training Stage, they still felt somewhat inadequate when facing enemies at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Wang Bin also possessed a shield talisman, which could defend against attacks from Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators for a period of time, buying him valuable escape opportunities in dangerous situations.

He had two Storage Pouches, one he carried himself, and the other was a complimentary item when he bought things at the Four Seas Commerce League.

The complimentary Storage Pouch was only one cubic meter in size, with limited space.

Wang Bin's own Storage Pouch, however, had ten cubic meters of space, capable of storing more items.

In these Storage Pouches, there were also some miscellaneous items and some Medicinal Pills.

However, these Medicinal Pills were all for Cultivators at the Qi Refining Stage, and none of them were valuable, which made Wang Bin quite helpless.

As for side professions, Wang Bin knew absolutely nothing.

He only knew how to set up a Gathering Spirit Formation and a Concealment Formation, which almost all Cultivators must learn.

These two Formations were very common for Loose Cultivators; almost every Loose Cultivator knew them.

When Cultivating, a Gathering Spirit Formation needed to be set up to gather the thin Spiritual Qi in the air, improving the efficiency of Cultivation.

The Concealment Formation, on the other hand, was used to hide one's aura when resting in the wilderness, making it difficult for enemies to discover one's presence.

When fleeing for one's life, the Concealment Formation could also play an important role, allowing one to evade enemy pursuit.

Although these two Formations were simple and practical, for Wang Bin, they were far from meeting his expectations for the future.

After meticulously inventorying all his possessions, Wang Bin sighed deeply.

Without even looking, he knew that with his current financial standing, the hope of reaching the Golden Core Dao was slim.

If nothing unexpected happened, he could still live for seventy or eighty years.

Actually, living such a life was not bad; peacefully spending the rest of his days could also be considered a kind of happiness.

However, deep down, he was still filled with unwillingness.

Having come to this miraculous Cultivation World, he did not want to live a mediocre life like this; he yearned to pursue higher Realms and explore more unknowns.

But reality was so cruel; he felt as if he had returned to his previous life, able to see his future at a glance, without any surprises or expectations.

However, Wang Bin did not give up because of this.

He knew that as long as he had Spirit Stones, he could change everything immediately.

Currently, his income came from only two sources.

One was guarding White Cloud City, with an annual salary of 2000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones and ten School contribution points.

This income was really quite low, which made him feel somewhat helpless.

The other was renting out the four Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivation Rooms on the Spiritual Vein node in White Cloud City.

The rent for each Cultivation Room was 50 Low-Grade Spirit Stones per day; ideally, he could rent them out for 200 Spirit Stones a day.

But he also had to give one-tenth to his subordinates, so calculating at an average daily income of 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, it would be thirty-six thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones a year.

This income was relatively good; indeed, as long as one held a casual position under a major power and used one's brain, the income would be much higher than that dead salary.

Ten years would be three hundred sixty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones; this prospect gave Wang Bin a glimmer of hope.

As long as he remained low-key, avoided trouble, and reasonably planned his income and expenses, then he still had the possibility of advancing on the path of Cultivation.

Moreover, the project of researching the Lei Sha Pearl also had a bright future.

Wang Bin remembered that the power of a battery explosion was not small; although he did not know how to make batteries, as long as he could generally research the external Materials of the Lei Sha Pearl and make it capable of storing lightning, wouldn't that work?

He believed that as long as he diligently studied, he would definitely find a way to Breakthrough.

Indeed, as long as one's mindset does not falter, there are always more solutions than difficulties.

Wang Bin secretly made up his mind that he must carve out a world of his own on the path of Cultivation, at least to let people know that he had existed in this world!