The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Li Lang, Wei Ping, and Long Yi strode down the wide corridor within the halls of Bloodwave Conclave’s bazaar, heading toward the section where Qi beasts were traded.

They soon came out into a convention hall-like clearing, where dozens of tables were neatly lined up, each with a person present.

Numerous people were crowding around the tables, inspecting the Qi beasts within the cages behind. The entire place was like a market with open stalls where people negotiated with the shopkeeper.

Occasionally, they spotted people in red and black robes patrolling around.

The trio slowly sauntered through the area as they watched and listened to everything around them.

“One hundred spirit stones for that peak Energy Gathering Dark Panther!”

“Fifty red spirit crystals for that Foundation Establishment realm Shadow Mantis!”

“Look over there! Someone finally bought the Redscale Serpent!”

The crowd quickly steered toward the stall in question, and Li Lang’s group did the same.

They watched as a man walked up to the small cage that hosted a thick red serpent, peering out threateningly with its bright orange eyes. When it hissed, a small stream of fire came out of its mouth.

The man received a key from the shopkeeper and proceeded to draw his weapon. He swiftly thrust out his sword through the gaps of the cage. The metal tips of the sword easily penetrated the stationary target and green blood began dripping.

The serpent hissed violently and spat out a torrent of fire like a flamethrower. However, the cage’s defense mechanism was activated, and a small barrier thwarted the attack.

The man repeated his attacks at the helpless target and soon, the Redscale Serpent became motionless. The cultivator wasted no time and quickly opened up the cage. He pressed his hand against the serpent’s head and assumed the lotus position.

“This…You would think they’d do this privately.” Long Yi muttered.

“It probably means this is a common occurrence around here. Just quietly watch. We can discuss it later.” Li Lang reminded.

The spectacle around the man only grew as he began to absorb the cultivation of his prey. It took him a whole ten minutes to finish whatever demonic technique he used to absorb the snake’s essence. When he was done, he abruptly stood up and let out a hearty hiss, much like that of the serpent. There was even a stream of fire coming out of his mouth before he composed himself.

At that point, the crowd disbanded as they went about their own business.

Li Lang and his companions toured the area some more and witnessed similar scenes before they exited the Qi beast area, returning to the main lobby.

“Well, that was something. Having witnessed that, I think I am going to buy demonic techniques to study them.”

“Are you serious about studying demonic cultivation techniques? Those guys who practiced it become more and more like what they absorb. And it seems like you either need a lot of money or venture into Qi beast territory very often to fuel your cultivation. I mean, did you hear how much those Qi beasts went for?” Long Yi immediately quipped.

“Those prices were for beasts in the upper stages of Energy Gathering or even Foundation Establishment. But yeah, I can see how inefficient it can be compared to orthodox cultivation. However, it is a good alternative if my research fails. After all, demonic cultivation works regardless of your talent.”

“Well, I’m just warning you. You better investigate the pros and cons carefully first. As for me, I’ll stick to the orthodox method.”

“N-not everyone has h-high aptitude like y-you, Long Yi.” Wei Ping quipped.

“That’s not what I meant!”

Wei Ping and Long Yi quickly descended into a childish argument and Li Lang didn’t bother to wait for them as he headed for the cultivation techniques section.

This time, the path led to an expansive library. It had a unique atmosphere with the naked stone walls combined with the wooden bookshelves spread across the book room. There was even a mezzanine that held even more bookcases.

People strolled freely through the library, and Li Lang dove straight in.

He picked out a book at random, only to find it wouldn’t open no matter how hard he tried. He glanced around and saw someone in red and black robes staring his way. The woman directed him a curious glance before approaching.

“Hi there, child. Did you want to buy that book? It’ll be thirty-five spirit stones.”

I see, I can’t open it until I pay…That is pretty pricey for a basic cultivation technique

“Maybe, if I can find the right one. Can I ask if I can borrow it as well?”

“You can only borrow it from here if you’re from an official organization, then we can lend it to you for ten spirit stones a week. Otherwise, you’ll have to buy it.”

“Official organization? Does the Alchemist Guild count?”

“Are you new here? …Nevermind. Yes, Alchemist Guild counts. Just present your ring when you’re ready to check something out.”

“Thank you. I will.”

Li Lang quickly dove back into the sea of knowledge as he perused through the titles. There were a lot of different genres, ranging from mundane knowledge, geography, and diaries, to even orthodox cultivation techniques.

It didn’t take him long to find the section for demonic cultivation techniques. Unlike the ones he had browsed through in Spirit Grove, the ones here were thick books and had a wide selection.

Li Lang took the time to read through each title until someone poked him in the shoulder. He turned to find Wei Ping and Long Yi staring at him.

“B-boss, you s-should make a d-decision soon. We s-still have to check out t-the other areas.”

“Oh, sorry. I got too absorbed. You’re right, it doesn’t matter which one I pick for now. I’ll just take this one here.”

Having been brought back to reality, Li Lang found another librarian in red and black robes to help him check the book out. After giving them the Qi stones and his alchemist ring, they took the book away for a few moments before returning with it.

The librarian had done something to the book that allowed Li Lang to open the book.

Reining his urge to read the book right away, the trio swiftly made their way to the next section of Bloodwave Conclave’s bazaar, as the day was approaching its end.

They passed by the main lobby briefly once more and went to the path leading to the crafting materials section.

The next hall they arrived at reminded Li Lang of the supermarkets he was so familiar with. Instead of labeling each aisle with various food items, they were labeled with various heavenly resources. Li Lang did not hesitate to head straight for the sections of alchemy-related materials.

A plethora of herbs and Qi beast parts were neatly laid out before him. The majority of them exuded such power that it was, without a doubt, beyond what any cultivator in the Energy Gathering realm could handle.

Li Lang greedily lusted over them, but he could only give up when he glanced over at the price tags. A few were priced in hundreds of Qi stones, but most of them required bartering rare types of Qi beasts.

“Who knew Qi stones were worth so little…” Li Lang muttered.

Just as his shoulders drooped, he felt a hand land on it.

“B-boss, it’s u-unavoidable. It’s a g-given that Qi s-stones are worth less i-in the Luminescent Domain. Demonic c-cultivators don’t n-need them for cultivation.” Wei Peing comforted.

Demonic cultivators mostly consisted of people with little talent. Their need for Qi stones was only for powering their various artifacts, like their Skyrunners and formations.

Meanwhile, orthodox cultivators with adequate talent could absorb Qi stones to speed up their progress. The further one progressed, the more Qi they needed. Practically all Foundation Establishment cultivators absorbed from Qi stones instead of the ambient Qi, as it would otherwise take too long.

It only took a split second for Li Lang to realize this truth as well. He shook his head wistfully as he continued to browse the wide selection.

For a brief moment, he considered discreetly absorbing some materials into Ruby, but his rationality swiftly reined in his impulses. It was a given powerful cultivators stood watch nearby, and only a fool would believe they could avoid the consequences. With Ruby’s ability to absorb things into the artifact space requiring physical contact, Li Lang knew it wasn’t realistic to think he could get away with it.

“We need to start earning more...or even harvest these materials ourselves. Maybe you guys should venture out during the day while I refine pills?”

“Are you kidding me? Didn’t Wei Ping already tell us? All the Qi beasts around the city that are weak enough for us to handle have already been caught. We would need to head further away from the city. And that is not an idea I will entertain in a hotspot of demonic cultivators.” Long Yi retorted with vigor.

“Okay, okay. It was just an idea. We can think this through more…”

If we plan on progressing in our cultivation further, we’ll have to venture out at some point to gain combat experience and gather resources.

We should consider joining one of these demonic ‘sects’ for protection and guidance. As we are, we’re too weak to do anything…