Yu Zhou looked a little frail, but his eyes shone with a cleverness and he was quite active.
"Brother Zhou, please come here."
"Brother, please take a seat. I'll get you a distribution map."
"Brother, here's the distribution map of the pavilion area. Anything marked in white is an empty house. Take your pick and I'll explain each one in detail."
Yu Zhou was at the third level of the Qi Refining Realm, the same level as Zhou Shu, but several years older. He kept calling me "brother," which made Zhou Shu feel a little embarrassed.
"Yu Zhou, just call me Zhou Shu. I really don't deserve to be your brother." Yu Zhou
shook his head quickly. "You were introduced by Deacon Shen. You're already at the third level of the Qi Refining Realm at such a young age. You'll definitely surpass me in the future. You deserve it."
He became even more enthusiastic, and Zhou Shu had no choice but to let him do what he wanted.
Before long, Zhou Shu had chosen a two-story pavilion, considered mid-range. It contained four or five common formations, including ones for gathering spirits and soundproofing. The monthly rent cost seven medium-grade spirit stones.
Zhou Shu thought for a moment and paid six months' rent in advance.
"Brother, this is your pavilion's token, number Yi 70. Only with this token can you unlock the formations and enter the building. Without it, not even the market administrator can enter."
Yu Zhou handed over a swarthy token, carefully instructing, "Brother, take this. Be sure to keep it safe."
"Thank you,"
Zhou Shu said, taking the token and examining it for a moment. He
then bowed and said, "Thank you for your trouble, brother. Goodbye." Yu Zhou paused, wanting to say something but holding back. He returned the greeting, "Goodbye, brother. Please keep me company if you need anything in the future."
Zhou Shu nodded without further ado.
Always a man of action, he immediately set about moving after finding a place.
There weren't many things, the only problem being the large vat of liquid medicine. His storage bag couldn't hold it all, and an ordinary wooden barrel couldn't block spiritual energy, so he had to borrow a folding barrel from You Jing at the Hundred Workshop. Carrying it along the streets, it attracted quite a bit of attention. After
a busy day, he finally moved from the dilapidated hut to the two-story pavilion, and Zhou Shu was overjoyed.
He was very satisfied with the pavilion. First of all, it was very safe. The formations inside were much more powerful than those in the old hut, and it also blocked spiritual intrusion, which was quite rare. It
was also spacious enough. The first floor was vacant, perfect for receiving guests, and the second floor had a dedicated training room with a sophisticated spirit gathering formation, where the liquid medicine was stored.
He left Xiao Gun alone in a quiet room and gave it a small pile of spirit stones to spend.
He still had high hopes for Xiao Gun. Perhaps if it ate enough, it would mutate and advance. Most importantly, it had already consumed nearly fifty mid-grade spirit stones...
Zhou Shu was trapped.
"You've eaten so many spirit stones! If you're truly useless, I'll make you spit them all out?"
Little Gun twisted its horns, ignoring him.
Zhou Shu glared at it, then reluctantly entered the training room.
He'd been delayed for several days; he had to hurry.
Cultivation was arduous, tedious, and even painful, but without daily persistence, success would never be achieved.
As time passed, Zhou Shu saw faint signs of success.
If his meridians had previously been like a water pipe riddled with holes, now they were coated with a thin membrane.
This membrane, the result of long-term use of medicinal liquids and running water, was fragile and thin, easily ruptured with a single poke. However, for peaceful cultivation, it presented no problem, even without the use of medicinal liquids.
Furthermore, activating talismans or performing simple incantations, such as the Small Cloud and Rain Technique, prevented any leakage of spiritual energy from the meridians.
This was considerable progress.
Of course, expecting the meridians to heal in this way was impossible.
Whenever Zhou Shu performed complex incantations, such as the Shadow Escape Technique, the even slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy within his meridians would cause the membrane to rupture, effectively breaking it. Even the most precise control of his spiritual energy wouldn't last long.
When spiritual energy flowed rapidly and fluctuated greatly, the meridians with the membrane were no longer the same as before. Using the Shadow Escape Technique would drain the spiritual energy completely after ten breaths at most. If his meridians could withstand large fluctuations of spiritual energy, he would have enough spiritual energy to maintain the Shadow Escape Technique for over fifty breaths.
"That's pretty good! As long as I don't use complex incantations, I seem to be no different from an ordinary cultivator. I'll try to use more talismans and avoid complex incantations to minimize spiritual energy fluctuations, and the damaged meridians won't be affected much,"
Zhou Shu thought to himself, feeling somewhat satisfied, but then he shook his head. "Even if the meridians are temporarily safe, the Qi Hai will still be a problem..."
Indeed, such a membrane couldn't form within the Qi Hai.
Compared to the meridians, the Qi Hai was many times larger, and spiritual energy was stored there. Constantly impacted, even temporary repairs were impossible.
Damaged areas can never store spiritual energy, and even with increased cultivation, the increase in spiritual energy is limited.
However, repairing the Qi Sea seems simpler than mending the Qi Channels. It doesn't require high-level fifth-tier materials or elixirs. Several third- and fourth-tier elixirs, such as Huahai Pill and Yiyuan Pill, can do the trick, though the results aren't perfect.
There's even an elixir called Chaos Origin Pill, which can help cultivators open up a second Qi Sea.
However, these pills are made from special demonic elixirs, and the resulting second Qi Sea is far inferior to the original Qi Sea. Not only is it smaller, but it's also less compatible. Even if some cultivators have these pills, they're reluctant to use them, fearing they might affect the purity of their own Qi Sea and make it difficult to control their spiritual energy.
But for Zhou Shu, having something to use is better than his own broken one.
He'd known about this before, but lacked the ability to obtain it, so he'd naturally not given it much thought, as it would have been pointless. But as his spiritual stones accumulated, these were things he could begin to consider.
Ding—
a crisp ring suddenly rang in the room, interrupting his thoughts.
This is the warning formation in the pavilion. Someone should be coming outside. Zhou Shu stood up and looked outside the pavilion.
Yan Yue stood before the attic, her figure slender and graceful in a tight purple robe. A hint of joy graced her beautiful face, her eyes fixed on the door, as if lost in thought.
Beside her stood the slightly petite Yang Mei, seemingly restless, her head lifted, her gaze darting around. Her complexion was as rosy as a peach, and her large, dark eyes occasionally gleamed with a clear, intelligent light, a true beauty.
"Brother!"
Yang Mei was the first to notice him. She quickly raised her hands and waved, her smile radiant, revealing two faint dimples that made her look even more endearing.
Zhou Shu smiled and waved, "Sister, Junior Sister, come in."
As he spoke, he withdrew his token and activated the formation. A gentle breeze blew past the door, and it swung open.
Yan Yue looked up at him, their eyes meeting. She nodded slightly, then walked into the attic with a faintly satisfied smile.
Zhou Shu hurried downstairs. "Why are you free to come here today? Is there something going on?"
"If there's nothing going on, can't I come? Do I have to have something to come to see you?"
It was Yan Yue who was speaking. Her words were very relaxed and even carried a bit of concern, which surprised Zhou Shu.
The last time Yan Mengchu happened, Yan Yue and him were a little awkward, but now it seemed that the impact had completely disappeared.
"Of course, you're welcome anytime."