Song Ciwan sat cross-legged, operating the Heaven and Earth Scale.
[You have sold nineteen Low Level Demon Beast Mouse Demon Corpses and obtained nineteen portions of Qi Circulation Powder.]
What?
Song Ciwan froze for a moment. She had only heard of the Qi Circulation Pill, never Qi Circulation Powder.
Looking closely, she saw that the Heaven and Earth Scale had an explanation for the Qi Circulation Powder.
[Qi Circulation Powder: A semi-finished product of the Qi Circulation Pill that failed to fully form. Each portion has approximately seventy percent of a Qi Circulation Pill's efficacy. It can assist Cultivators at the Organ Refining Stage, Early-Stage Innate, Energy-Introducing Stage, Qi Transformation Stage, Iron Bone realm, or Qi Nourishing Realm, and other realms of equivalent Power in their Cultivation.]
Song Ciwan took out a packet of Qi Circulation Powder. She saw that the powder was dark red and felt quite fine and smooth when rubbed between her fingers. When she sniffed it, it had the faint aroma of cooked food...
She couldn't help but frown slightly as she fell into thought.
She had sold the Pork Demon's stir-fried large intestines and received Strengthening Pills from that cooked food; she had also sold untreated Snake Demon offal and gotten over a catty of fertilizer in return.
When cooking, if she could prepare the Demon Beast offal in more creative ways—for example, if instead of simple stir-fried intestines she made something complex like a pork-stuffed chicken—she could get two Strengthening Pills.
So, it was understandable that selling this pile of Mouse Demon Corpses only yielded Qi Circulation Powder.
In truth, Song Ciwan had considered cooking these Demon Corpses into dishes before selling them. However, the Heaven and Earth Scale was not a flexible storage space. Once something was placed on the Balance Plate, Song Ciwan couldn't take it back out unless she sold it.
And while roaming the city, she couldn't possibly carry a large bundle just for her spoils. If she did, she wouldn't be able to use Escape into the Night so lightly and freely.
Therefore, she chose to use the Heaven and Earth Scale's Balance Plate. But in doing so, the advantages were as clear as the disadvantages.
It could only be said that there were gains and losses; it all depended on her priorities.
Song Ciwan looked at the Qi Circulation Powder in her hand and, at that moment, smiled faintly.
A strong desire for a Storage Magical Artifact had taken root in her heart, but she didn't feel any regret for only getting Qi Circulation Powder this time.
The Heaven and Earth Scale had collected the seven emotions and six desires of humans so many times. Watching all this, Song Ciwan's biggest realization was: in life and in work, moderately curbing greed is the Dao to longevity.
Greed is an intrinsic part of life, one of the driving forces of human progress. However, excessive greed will only lead one into the Abyss!
The Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting, a Dual Cultivation of Life and Spirit.
Life, the source of existence, is the Cultivation Body, the Dharma Body—this was not difficult to understand.
'So what is "Spirit"?'
Previously, Song Ciwan thought "Spirit" was the Divine Soul, the psyche, the Thought. But after this period of Cultivation, she gradually came to understand that "Spirit" was not only the Divine Soul and Thought, but also one's will, one's disposition!
'Cultivation isn't just about cultivating Great Magical Power, but also about cultivating Great Willpower!'
Song Ciwan felt she still had a long way to go, but she wasn't afraid. She had enough time to walk this path, on and on.
She returned the Qi Circulation Powder in her hand to the Heaven and Earth Scale's space and continued with her sales.
It was now past Midnight, so the next day had arrived. Last night, Song Ciwan had made eight sales before being interrupted by the arrival of the Mouse Demons.
Today, she had ten sales opportunities again. Having sold the Mouse Demon Corpses once, the next thing she would sell was the Mouse Demons' Death Qi.
[You have sold twenty-seven wisps of Death Qi from Low Level Demon Beast Mouse Demons and obtained the special item: Profound Iron Wok.]
Song Ciwan: 'Huh? Eh?'
'Selling Death Qi actually got me a wok!'
Profound Iron Wok: Can withstand the forging flames of One-star to Two-star Low Level Spirit Flames. It can handle various cooking methods such as stewing, stir-frying, pan-frying, and deep-frying. It is a rare and excellent wok.
Song Ciwan chuckled.
She was really laughing—not in sarcasm, but in dumbfounded amusement.
'Say what you will, the Heaven and Earth Scale is truly wondrous.'
'Too bad what I need right now isn't a wok, but Demon Beast ingredients!'
'No matter. I'll keep selling.'
The Mouse Demon that had previously entered the Song Family Courtyard, the one that called itself the Matchmaking Flower God of Giant Deer Country, was different from the other ordinary Mouse Demons. Its corpse was listed separately in the Heaven and Earth Scale: Spirit Communication Level!
Therefore, Song Ciwan decided to sell it separately from the ordinary Mouse Demons.
[You have sold the Spirit Communication Level Mouse Demon Corpse with a hundred years of cultivation, and obtained five Blood Essence Pills.]
Blood Essence Pill: A Two-star Level Healing Elixir, effective against various internal and external injuries below a certain Level.
Song Ciwan was overjoyed and quickly stored the Blood Essence Pills away.
This was the first time she had obtained a healing-type Elixir, and she got five at once!
Healing Elixirs were no less important than Cultivation Elixirs, and these were even Two-star Level Elixirs.
Her previous acquisitions, whether the Strengthening Pills or the Qi Circulation Powder, had only been Level One elixirs.
In comparison, obtaining a Two-star Level item was a leap across tiers!
Song Ciwan continued selling: [You have sold one wisp of Death Qi from the Spirit Communication Level Mouse Demon and obtained the special item: one Paper Soul Puppet.]
Paper Soul Puppet: This Paper Soul Puppet can transform into the image of the Mouse Demon Flower God. It possesses the ability of Earth Escape for passing through walls and can temporarily store items.
This item is vulnerable to water, Fire, and lightning. It can be used three times and is extremely fragile.
Reading the notes about the Paper Soul Puppet, Song Ciwan couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
For a moment there, she had truly wondered if the Mouse Demon calling itself the Flower God was actually the Matchmaking Flower God of Giant Deer Country.
But then she thought it over. 'If it were a real Matchmaking Flower God, it shouldn't have been so weak. Killed by a single Palm Thunder from me? That doesn't match the status of a Flower God.'
Song Ciwan then recalled the sky-covering giant claw that had emerged from the Light Sect, and the sword strike from Chi Hua Fairy that was like a river of stars pouring down.
Having witnessed such things firsthand made her understand deeply that the experts of this world were far more unfathomable than she could ever imagine.
And in this world of Humans and demons, perhaps there was also a martial arts world, and compromises. And many, many more secrets that she could not yet hope to uncover.
With all the Mouse Demon items sold, Song Ciwan finally placed the ball of the seven emotions and six desires she had gotten from Wang Yi onto the Balance Plate.
Wang Yi had provided this after gaining Talent, just before bidding Song Ciwan farewell. This mass of the seven emotions and six desires was clearly different from when he was a mortal. Song Ciwan had saved it for last, one could say she had been looking forward to this for a long time.
[You have sold the human desires (greed, anger, and ignorance) of a Qi Nourishing Realm Scholar, weighing eight taels and seven maces, and obtained eight years and seven months of Cultivation.]
Song Ciwan had previously sold the seven emotions and six desires of ordinary mortals, where about one catty was equivalent to one year of Cultivation.
But for a Qi Nourishing Realm Scholar, the exchange rate was ten times better!
Instantly, Spiritual Qi surged throughout the world, and tides were born from the Void. A mysterious power pierced through the cracks of time and space, arriving silently in the dark of night.
Song Ciwan seemed to once again be swept into the torrent of time, and eight years passed in a flash!
During these illusory eight years, she had no Elixirs to aid her. She was simply immersed in the wonderful state of wholehearted Cultivation.
This time, Song Ciwan chose to split the time, using half to cultivate Divine Power Insight and the other half to comprehend Palm Thunder.
The wonders of Divine Power Insight were self-evident, and Palm Thunder had proven its might in actual combat today, demonstrating a powerful suppressing effect on evil demons. Song Ciwan seized the opportunity to deepen her understanding, spending the rest of the night completely focused.
At dawn, Song Ciwan checked the status panel she had compiled for herself.
Basic Taoist Skill: Palm Thunder, Skilled (35/1000)
Basic Divine Communication Technique: Insight, First Layer - See the Self (Beginner 37/100)
Palm Thunder had broken through from Entry Level to Skilled, but after "four years" of cultivating the Insight Technique, her proficiency had only increased from Beginner 23 to 37!
This was a testament to how difficult the Insight Technique was to cultivate.
'For a Human to See the Self is truly this difficult.'
Nevertheless, Song Ciwan was still delighted. She got up and pushed open the window. Outside, the light snow had stopped again. A sea of clouds churned in the eastern sky, and a wisp of purple mist trailed away into the distance.
Su Yang City welcomed the morning sun, and the clamor of voices once again rose from the surrounding neighborhoods.
There were still those who cried and those who laughed. Someone shouted in loud delight, "The House Protection Talismans from the City God Temple really work! Last night, that demon saw me take out the Talisman and didn't dare come near, hahaha!"
"Quick, quick! The Demon Refining Platform has put up a public notice! Anyone with Demon Corpses can take them over there! The Demon Refining Platform is paying silver for them!"
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's go..."
The laughter and clamor suppressed the faint sounds of crying, just as the light snow would eventually melt under the sunlight.