Jia Ren, a transmigrator, came with the essential 'golden finger': the Proficiency Panel. Fifteen days had passed since his transmigration, and he was already familiar with it. The Proficiency Panel, as the name suggests, allowed proficiency to grow each time a spell was used. Effort was always rewarded.
Jia Ren, a fishing enthusiast, could only claim to have a basic understanding of bait. He had made a few simple types of bait, but his skill level wasn't high. With the help of the Proficiency Panel, however, his bait-making skills improved dramatically, leading to a unique craft. His deepening understanding of bait, coupled with changing materials, led to the creation of Tempting Bait (Fish) that could be described as exquisite and highly effective in luring fish.
In half a day, Jia Ren caught twelve Green Scaled Carps and one Jade Carp, while other Loose Cultivators caught at most two Spirit Fish. The gap was not only in fishing skills; bait was also crucial. By ensuring his secret recipe wasn't leaked, other Loose Cultivators had no chance of competing with him in terms of bait.
If Loose Cultivators use specially made bait, their catch will surely increase significantly, leading to a ripple effect.Cultivators with a smaller catch won't be able to resist buying the bait, and the business will grow.Although the bait market in the Great Wilderness Market is small, the income earned should not be bad.
Jia Ren picked up a piece of smoked fish with his chopsticks and savored it carefully. The flesh was tender and contained a faint trace of Spiritual Energy. Paired with a mouthful of soft and sticky Green Bud Rice, it was quite a treat.
The quality of the food ingredients is the most important; food that has been treated with seasoning can never reach the top flavor. Green Bud Rice was something you never got tired of eating. It slowly supplemented Spiritual Energy, and long-term consumption could even improve one's physique.
Earn Spirit Stones with bait, improve my strength, and buy treasures to extend my life.My lifespan is tragically short at sixty-five. I absolutely don't wish to die young.
For those at the Third Level of Qi Refinement, living to one hundred and eighty was not a problem. Sixty-five was akin to being short-lived among Cultivators. Speaking of which, this was also a problem brought on by the original host's demon hunting. In his early years, he nearly died at the hands of a beast. To save his life, he took a Burning Spirit Pill, which overdrafted both his life and potential. One-third of his lifespan was consumed.
Jia Ren was anxious to replenish his lifespan, not only because it concerned his future longevity but for an even more critical reason… Skill Breaking Points! As a seasoned gamer who had played countless games, he could guess their effects based on the name. Spells have limits. With the use of Skill Breaking Points, one could surpass these normal limits to reach heights unattainable by ordinary people, thus widening the gap with regular Cultivators. This was of utmost importance.
After fifteen days of careful observation, Jia Ren had confirmed the method of acquiring Skill Breaking Points. Every day, he would gain a fixed 0.065 Skill Breaking Points, a figure that seemed to correspond to his current lifespan limit of sixty-five years. Thus, fifteen days amounted to exactly 0.975 Skill Breaking Points. A third of his life overdrafted meant a permanent loss of one-third of future Skill Breaking Points. It was essential to increase his lifespan.
There are Shouyuan Pills that can increase lifespan. I wonder if there are any secret techniques for longevity? Coupled with the Proficiency Panel, that would be perfect.Almost forgot, there might be cultivation techniques as well.
Jia Ren practiced the common Return to Origin Technique, which wasn't particularly outstanding. Its only notable feature was its inherent Return to Origin Sword Qi, specializing in combat, making it a popular choice among low-grade cultivation techniques. As someone accustomed to a secure modern life, he tried to avoid life-or-death fights unless absolutely necessary. Switching to a longevity-focused cultivation technique and staying away from such struggles was the true path.
Jia Ren quickly finished the food on the table and started to tally his possessions:
One Spirit Stone and three Fragmented Spirit Stones.
One hundred thirty-five taels of gold.
One Low-Quality Magical Artifact, the Black Fang Sword.
Twenty-five jin of Green Bud Rice.
One Water Spirit Shield Talisman.
One Quicksand Technique Talisman.
Two Sound Transmission Talismans.
One portion of Insect Repellent Powder.
One Detoxification Pill.
Fifteen pieces of specially made Tempting Bait (Fish).
One chunk of Spirit Musk the size of a little finger's pad.
Half a piece of Yellow Essence Mushroom.
Three jars of Fruit Wine.
Ten Earth Dragon Worms.
One Trilateral Storage Bag.
Ten jin of tallow wax.
In a word: poor!
The Spirit Stones the former host had earned were either spent pursuing dual cultivation with female cultivators in search of the Great Dao or on purchasing Minor Yuan Elixirs to enhance his cultivation level. Aside from the Magic Artifact and talismans, he hadn't left Jia Ren much of an inheritance. The most valuable item was the Low-Quality Magical Artifact, the Black Fang Sword. Its quality wasn't good, and its price was around fifteen Spirit Stones.
First, I need to make the Tempting Bait to earn Spirit Stones.
He took out ten jin of Green Bud Rice from the Storage Bag and cooked it until the grains absorbed the warm moisture, becoming crystal clear, plump, and distinct. Compared to mixed rice, the fragrance of pure Spirit Rice was much richer. Even though Jia Ren had just eaten lunch, he couldn't help but salivate.
The cooked Qingya Spiritual Rice was set aside to cool. He put ten thinly sliced Earth Dragon Worm corpses into the pot to stir-fry. Normally, air-dried Earth Dragon Worms would be most effective. But there was no time. He needed to sell the bait tomorrow, and air-drying was no longer an option. Adding small amounts of dry firewood each time, he controlled the heat, slowly drying the slices over a low flame. In less than half an hour, the Earth Dragon Worm slices were roasted to a crisp brown, all moisture gone.
Jia Ren took out a stone mortar, added the dried Earth Dragon Worms, ten slices of Yellow Essence Mushroom, and two qian of Spirit Musk, then crushed them all into powder. He sprinkled the mixed powder onto the Green Bud Rice, poured in two pots of Fruit Wine, and mixed and stirred until it was semi-dry. An unusual, thick aroma spread through the air, exuding a peculiar sweetness. Only one step remained: rolling the mixture into soybean-sized pellets by hand.
After more than two hours of work, he had produced over 12,200 pieces of Tempting Bait (Fish), slightly exceeding his expectations. Normally, the Tempting Bait would be used up in a few days, so preservation wasn't a concern. With over 12,200 pieces now, it was unclear how long they would take to sell, so he had to consider preservation. He melted the tallow wax until it boiled, then coated each piece of bait with a layer of wax for storage. The wax coating could preserve the unique fragrance for a long time; one only needed to break the wax layer to use it.
In just that short time, the Tempting Bait (Fish) had undergone an amazing transformation.
[Tempting Bait (Fish): Grandmaster (Limit)]
It hit the limit?To continue improving, I can only use Skill Breaking Points.
The Proficiency Level of the Bait Tempting Technique increased really fast. It would be great if actual spells also increased this quickly. The Bait Tempting Technique wasn't a true cultivation skill. Each pellet of bait contributed to proficiency, hence its swift rise. There was no shortcut for spells; casting a spell only increased proficiency by a single point each time.
A cost of about four Spirit Stones to make over 12,200 pieces of Tempting Bait is practically a windfall.These 12,200-plus pieces of Tempting Bait can be sold for a long time. If all are sold, I could earn one hundred twenty-two Spirit Stones. I hope everything goes smoothly; otherwise, I'll have to lower the price.
After finishing with the Tempting Bait, I'll move on to improving other proficiencies.The Wind Control Skill is two points away from leveling up. I'll upgrade it first.
After Jia Ren deployed the Wind Control Skill, his speed increased more than tenfold, making it a superb skill for traveling and escaping.
"Done!"
The Wind Control Skill broke through without hindrance. Jia Ren felt as light as a swallow, creating a series of afterimages. His speed had increased by more than fifty percent compared to before. There weren't many cultivators who had achieved the Skilled Level in the Wind Control Skill, but it wasn't rare either. He didn't have much of an advantage in terms of speed for the time being.
Fighting comes second; survival is first. Jia Ren planned to make the Wind Control Skill the second spell he raised to the maximum level. Speed is important. As long as I can run fast enough, even if the enemy is stronger, they won't be able to catch me. Provided the enemy doesn't possess a Flying Artifact... Flying Artifacts were exclusive to top Loose Cultivators, Sect disciples, and members of powerful clans. He wasn't strong enough yet, so for now, there was no chance of attracting such powerful enemies.
With limited Spiritual Power at the Third Level of Qi Refinement, he could only use the Wind Control Skill nine times before depleting his internal Spiritual Power. Returning to his bed, Jia Ren sat cross-legged and began to meditate. He circulated the Return to Origin Technique, running his Spiritual Power through the Grand Circulation to slowly recover the spent energy.
It took more than an hour for his Spiritual Power to fully recover. Jia Ren opened his eyes, feeling refreshed. Using Elixirs and Spirit Stones could shorten the recovery time, but being as poor as he was, he couldn't afford such luxuries.
My cultivation level is still too low, and the Spiritual Power in my body is too scant. I must advance to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining as soon as possible. The first to third levels are the Early Stage of Qi Cultivation, while the Fourth Layer is the Mid Stage of Qi Cultivation. Spiritual Power at the Fourth Layer is double that of the Third Level. Reaching this stage would also greatly increase the efficiency and speed of improving Proficiency Levels.