The previously motionless Polar Insect began to move, slowly opening its mouth to swallow the powder.
One minute, two minutes... the seventh minute... Suddenly, there was a slight sound, and the Polar Insect's belly exploded.
"Again!" Xu Ping, expressionless, took out another Polar Insect.
Ten minutes later... Failure!
"Again..."
Time passed as Xu Ping continued to fail repeatedly.
Evening.
The golden sunset cast through the window onto Xu Ping's tense face. A drop of sweat slid across his forehead, but he didn't dare to wipe it.
He was completely focused, staring at the Polar Insect, while the mana from his index finger steadily and continuously flowed.
In the jar, the previously pure white Polar Insect began to show patterns on its body, and as the feeding continued, the patterns multiplied.
Suddenly, the Polar Insect stopped eating and emitted a clear sound, resembling a weakened cicada's chirp, as its entire body became covered with patterns.
"Suc...success!!" Xu Ping's heart raced with excitement.
After enduring more than twenty failures, he finally succeeded.
Xu Ping opened the panel.
[Hundred Flowers Gu Entry Level: 5/100]
Looking at the data on the panel, he couldn't help but feel like crying!
"It's not easy!"
Thankfully, he had the skill panel. Without it and given his poor insect refining talent, he probably wouldn't achieve insect refining in this lifetime or the next.
"Let's continue tomorrow, I'm truly exhausted today." Xu Ping shut the panel, planning to fill his stomach first.
He was extremely hungry, especially since cultivating the 'Nourishing Life Skill' made him feel hungrier faster in a day.
...
Late night.
Bedroom.
Xu Ping swallowed a Qi Nourishing Pill.
Sitting cross-legged, he began to circulate the Five Elements Skill, refining the pill.
After more than half an hour, Xu Ping opened his eyes, his gaze falling onto the panel.
[Realm: Qi Cultivation Fourth Level: 4/100; Nourishing Life Skill First Level: 7/100]
[Cultivation Technique: Five Elements Skill Proficient (Fourth Level): 32/400]
"Slowing down!" Xu Ping frowned.
Since he broke through to the Qi Cultivation Fourth Level, the effect of consuming the Qi Nourishing Pill has greatly diminished.
The realm only increased by one point each time, and the cultivation technique increased by only four points.
More importantly, the Spiritual Qi around the market's outskirts was too sparse. He continuously absorbed Spiritual Qi, always depleting all the surrounding Spiritual Qi and needing quite a while to recover.
This intermittent feeling was truly discomforting.
"Ah, it's a pity that the houses within the market have all been rented out, otherwise I could move there." Xu Ping sighed.
"Endure for another month or so, then I can leave this dreary place."
The plan now was to just hold on for a bit longer; once he moved to Longevity City, things would be better.
...
...
Three days later.
Scorching sun.
The blazing sunlight was like an invisible layer of fire roasting the earth.
Xu Ping, bare-chested, was digging in the bedroom.
Soon, a big pit was dug.
He walked to the corner of the bedroom, gently cradling a few wine jars, cautiously placing them into the pit, afraid of damaging his hard work.
This was the 'Hundred Flowers Brew' he painstakingly crafted, investing so much effort and Spirit Stones; if it failed, he'd be heartbroken!
Over the past three days, Xu Ping successfully refined eight Hundred Flowers Gu insects.
Though the Hundred Flowers Gu insect was on the list, its success rate wasn't very high.
Entry Level was merely the foundation; proficiency was when true advancement occurred.
Then, the success rate would greatly improve.
Xu Ping picked up the last jar of wine, scrutinized it, and solemnly buried it.
The Hundred Flowers Gu insects would decompose Spirit Medicine and Spirit Fruit, fermenting them into Spirit Wine, taking about twenty days.
Quietly wait for more than twenty days, then it'll be ready to savor!
Xu Ping exhaled deeply, wiped the sweat from his forehead, came to the table, and drank a mouthful of cold water.
"I wonder what the effect of the Hundred Flowers Brew is? If the effect isn't good, then it's a waste of Spirit Stones and labor."
"Forget it, no point worrying; I'll know naturally after the breakthrough, practice swordsmanship, practice swordsmanship!"
Ever since realizing his talented affinity for swordsmanship, Xu Ping's addiction to practicing swords grew immensely; each day, he spent most of his time practicing.
In just a few days, he had broken through to the proficient level.
...
...
Time passes quietly.
Xu Ping spent every day at home, almost never going out, nor socializing.
Aside from eating and sleeping, he constantly practiced various skills.
Such peaceful yet fulfilling days truly put one's mind at ease.
The only downside was the Demon Beasts intruding into the market city had greatly increased, incidents of Demon Beast attacks happened almost daily.
Some rogue cultivators took the opportunity to commit evil, massacring many people.
The market city's safety environment began to rapidly deteriorate, everyone felt insecure.
Reluctantly, the Longevity Sect had to organize personnel to sweep away the Demon Beasts, and maintain safety.
But facing the raging beast tide, the effects were limited.
...
That day.
At home.
Xu Ping wielded his sword single-handedly, demonstrating the Flowing Cloud Sword techniques, each move fluid and natural.
His posture, like flowing water, was agile, and the sword edge cut through the air with a clear sound of breaking wind, resonating sharply in the quiet woods.
His movements grew faster, sword shadows overlapping, resembling a cloud floating around him.
At this moment, his mind fully immersed itself in swordsmanship, deepening comprehension of the Flowing Cloud Sword techniques, capturing every subtle change in detail.
Suddenly, Xu Ping felt a strange power surging within him, as if he was breaking through an invisible barrier.
He slashed out a sword strike, its brilliance like lightning splitting the bed before him.
Boom!
The bed was split in two.
Xu Ping emerged from the marvelous state, opened his eyes, breathing slightly heavier.
Eagerly, he opened the proficiency panel.
[Flowing Cloud Sword Proficient: 1/400]
"Proficient!" Xu Ping smiled at the corners of his mouth.
"I truly am a genius with swordsmanship; soon the proficiency of the Flowing Cloud Sword will catch up to the Geng Metal Finger."
"With my current Body Refining first level strength plus proficient level Flowing Cloud Sword, I should be able to match a Qi Cultivation Fourth Level practitioner."
Xu Ping twirled the sword elegantly before placing it into his storage bag.
Gurgle...
His stomach rumbled thunderously.
Although he had eaten not long ago, the energy consumption from practicing the 'Nourishing Life Skill' was enormous, and he was hungry again.
Xu Ping went to the kitchen and stewed a large pot of Demon Beast Flesh, devouring it alongside Spirit Rice.
Delicious!
Soon the large pot of Demon Beast Flesh was finished.
After eating and drinking to his fill, Xu Ping lazily lounged in the chair, not wanting to move.
At this moment.
Thump thump thump....
The sound of rough knocking came from the door.
"Anyone there? Open the door quickly!"
Xu Ping was startled; the voice was somewhat unfamiliar.
Upon opening the door, two cultivators in Longevity Sect attire stood at the entrance.
Xu Ping froze for a moment before respectfully asking, "May I ask, what business do you have with me, esteemed cultivators from the sect?"
One of the Longevity Sect cultivators, expressionless, said, "The beast tide at Dongwu Market is surging now, requiring deployment of personnel from the Longevity Sect main branch to protect your safety. Naturally, this protection won't be free."
"Hence, everyone needs to hand over eight Spirit Stones."
"Eight Spirit Stones?"
Xu Ping gasped; that was equivalent to his previous year's earnings.
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