Cultivation Starting from Choosing Augments

Chapter 312 - 175: Crown Feather and Purple Scales: Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Level 9

The scales Xiao Chen had picked up were all newly formed, and their content of Thunder Spiritual Power was exceptionally rich.

More importantly, such items were the kind money couldn’t buy in the Southern Domain.

It wasn’t a question of how many Spirit Stones they cost, but that there were simply no channels through which to purchase them.

Even the Golden Core True Men didn’t have enough for themselves, so how could there be any extra Tier Three Spiritual Objects to put up for sale?

The very few extra Tier Three Spiritual Objects that did appear were almost always traded among themselves or taken to the Eastern Domain in exchange for other resources.

’Should I make a trip back to Li State? Or find some desolate mountain and enter seclusion?’

Hiding in a mountain ravine dozens of miles away, Xiao Chen waited for the Blade of Night while pondering how to handle the Crown Feather and the scales.

Golden Core True Men were a constant presence within the Lingyuan Sect, so he wasn’t sure if he dared to take out the items and absorb them there.

If he were to be discovered, it would be very difficult to handle.

The best solution was to not return to Elemental Magnetic Peak for now and instead find a place to use up all the materials.

’Returning to Li State seems unnecessary. It’d be better to just find a desolate mountain out in the West.’

’I’ll specifically look for a place with sparse Spiritual Qi to hide out in. I guarantee no one will ever think to look there.’

Although he was a full day behind, Xiao Chen still managed to catch up with Song Jingyi and Qi Xingwen before they left the Ten Thousand Demons Mountain Range.

He told them a half-truth, saying that he had watched for a full day but had unfortunately failed to comprehend anything.

Upon hearing this, the two of them actually comforted him in return, saying that achieving enlightenment was an inherently difficult matter and that he shouldn’t dwell on it.

As for the Tier Three Spiritual Objects, the thought hadn’t even crossed their minds.

After all, no Foundation Establishment Cultivator had ever dared to snatch a beast’s spoils from right under the nose of a Golden Core Demon Beast.

The three of them returned to Xianghe Market together.

"Ah, Xiao, Song, Qi, you’re finally back."

Seeing them, Qiu Qichen’s breath grew ragged with excitement. "You’ve been gone for nearly a month! I was worried about your safety every single day."

There was some sincerity in his words; after all, the Qiu Family’s hopes of getting the Spirit Turtle Eggs depended on the trio’s safe return.

"Mr. Qiu, here are the two Earth-Storage Spirit Turtle Eggs we agreed upon. Please inspect them."

Xiao Chen began by taking out two Spirit Turtle Eggs and handing them to Qiu Qichen.

Initially, the Qiu Family had thought there were only two pairs of Spirit Turtles there, so the agreement had been for just two Spirit Turtle Eggs.

As for the three remaining eggs, Xiao Chen had originally suggested they each take one.

But Song Jingyi said that as a lone cultivator, he had no use for it, and raising one would just be a waste of a Spiritual Object.

He also argued that Xiao Chen had contributed the most on this mission and deserved the extra spoils.

Qi Xingwen also shook his head, stating that the Qi Family was already raising a Clan Guardian Spirit Beast and didn’t have the extra resources to care for a second one.

As a Beast Taming Family, the Qi Family was different from other families.

Nearly every generation had a new Foundation Establishment Spirit Beast, so they truly weren’t in need of this one Spirit Turtle.

And so, the three remaining Spirit Turtle Eggs became Xiao Chen’s extra spoils.

However, he didn’t particularly want to raise a Spirit Turtle himself.

So, he took out the other three Spirit Turtle Eggs and began discussing a price with Qiu Qichen.

.

However, the Qiu Family didn’t have enough Spirit Stones.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t afford the Turtle Eggs, but taking into account the considerable follow-up costs of raising them, they couldn’t support five Spirit Turtles at once.

If all their resources went to feeding Spirit Beasts, the morale of the clan members would likely collapse.

Several Qiu Clan Elders deliberated for a long time before finally deciding to bite the bullet and spend another twenty thousand Spirit Stones on one more Turtle Egg.

As for the remaining two, they were truly willing but lacked the resources.

"Xiao, I have a rather presumptuous request to make."

Qiu Qichen said as he walked Xiao Chen to the door, "If it’s convenient for you, please sell the last two eggs in Li State."

Xiao Chen nodded. "That’s no problem. You can rest assured, Mr. Qiu."

Items like these weren’t difficult to sell; there would be plenty of people who wanted them, even in Li State.

Alternatively, he could consider leaving them with the Chen Family. In any case, dealing with them would be easy.

After leaving Xianghe Market, Xiao Chen immediately headed West to enter seclusion, just as he had planned.

He deliberately sought out an unremarkable small mountain peak and took over a black bear’s cave to use as a temporary dwelling.

The black bear was only a Mortal Beast and fled on its own after being startled by his aura.

In an environment so lacking in Spiritual Qi, it would be very difficult for an ordinary Cultivator to achieve a breakthrough or gain new insights.

But Xiao Chen had come prepared, bringing a portable version of a Spirit Gathering Array.

It was the very same set he had traded for during the last gathering at the Qiu Mansion.

Now, he took the Array Plates, buried them one by one in their designated positions, and embedded them with the maximum of three hundred Spirit Stones.

Once all the Array Plates were activated, a massive amount of Spiritual Qi was released, yet it was tightly confined within a radius of ten yards, not a single wisp leaking out.

The Spiritual Qi concentration within the array quickly multiplied several dozen times, becoming even richer than on Elemental Magnetic Peak.

Standing within it was nearly equivalent to standing inside a Tier Two Spirit Vein.

’These things really are convenient.’

Xiao Chen couldn’t help but marvel. The creations from the Eastern Domain were truly effective.

Portable Array Flags, like those for the Yellow Wind Flowing Sand Formation, could only be used five times, and their power was a notch below that of the original Grand Array.

But this Portable Array Plate could almost perfectly replicate the effects of the original Array, and it could be used hundreds of times, making it feel virtually limitless.

Moreover, it was incredibly simple to set up, requiring basically no expertise.

This small glimpse was enough to see that the Eastern Domain’s crafting techniques were far more mature, vastly superior to those of the Southern Domain.

With his preparations complete, Xiao Chen sat cross-legged and took out his Wind and Thunder Dual Swords.

As he channeled his Magical Power into the Dual Swords, the Wind and Thunder Power began to surge.

Then, holding one sword in each hand, he began to recall the scene of the two Golden Core Spirit Beasts locked in magical combat.