Bamboo Mound

Chapter 73 Advancement

"I see..." Ning Chang nodded.

How much beef jerky do you have here?

"Well... it depends on how much you want, sir. We can still provide anything under a hundred or so pounds."

"Hmm..." Ning Chang estimated the space and pointed to an empty table next to him, saying:

"I can't estimate the weight either. You can calculate how much silver it would cost if it were piled up to the size of this table."

"Alright, please wait a moment, sir!" Upon hearing Ning Chang's request, the waiter was overjoyed and quickly agreed, then strode into the door next to the counter.

Meanwhile, the shopkeeper copying the ledgers and the patrons in the shop couldn't help but frequently cast sidelong glances at Ning Chang.

Before long, the servant came out, still smiling, but bowing even deeper. "It will cost thirteen taels of silver plus three hundred and sixty coins."

"It's quite cheap!" Ning Chang thought to himself.

"Here are fourteen taels, keep the change."

"Ah! What a generous man! May he prosper!"

The servant put away the silver and gave up his seat before Ning Chang could speak.

"This way, sir. The dried meat has been weighed, but it hasn't been packed yet."

After saying that, he turned around and walked straight towards the door.

Ning Chang followed them inside. There were several tables at the entrance, with various restaurant items displayed on the tables and around the room.

Follow the servant around the table to a corner of the room.

The first thing you see is a very steep staircase leading underground.

Following the servant up the steep stairs to the basement, a unique, salty aroma of cured meat wafted through the air, filling the entire basement.

The basement was dimly lit, but by the faint candlelight, one could see rows of staggered wooden shelves, which were filled with all kinds of smoked meat and dried meat.

At that moment, the servant walked to the side and lit a few more oil lamps.

After looking around, Ning Chang's gaze finally landed on a wooden cutting board on the ground in front of the wooden shelf on the left.

This cutting board is more than three square meters in size, and at this moment it is piled with jerky of different shapes, about one square meter in size.

"These... are alright, they should last for a while."

If his spatial bag hadn't only had about one square meter of space left, he probably would have bought another whole bunch, even if he couldn't finish them all, he couldn't let himself go hungry.

Just as Ning Chang was pondering, the servant put down the tinderbox and came over. "Sir, these are all. How would you like us to pack them up?"

"No need." Ning Chang didn't mince words, stepped forward, and waved his hand to collect the pile of dried meat.

The size is just right; once the space bag is filled, there are only a few small gaps left.

Upon seeing this method, the servant's eyes widened.

"This humble one pays respects to the Immortal Master!" He bowed even deeper than before, his body trembling slightly.

After a few breaths, the servant, who had not seen any further movement, tentatively raised his head, only to find that Ning Chang had already disappeared from the spot.

...

Ning Chang put away the dried meat and took a few steps out into the woods outside the city.

After determining the direction, he hurried forward.

As they moved forward, they kept turning their heads to look for a place to hide or a more suitable spot.

It took Ning Chang the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before he saw a sycamore tree that was about the size of three people's arms.

Seeing that so much time had passed, he stopped and decided to begin his cultivation on this paulownia tree.

Only when you get closer can you see the details clearly.

The trunk of this sycamore tree is covered with mottled brown bark, which, together with the exposed white inner layer, outlines the traces of time.

Golden-brown seeds dot the verdant canopy, while the ground beneath the tree is covered with golden-brown seeds interspersed with patches of green leaves.

What's interesting is that when the trunk reaches the top, it splits into three large branches, forming a bowl shape with the top of the trunk as the base!

He leaped onto the tree trunk, moved an empty bird's nest to another tree, swept the top of the tree, then sat down cross-legged, regulated his breathing a few times, and began to cultivate.

He had previously used six spirit stones to replenish his empty meridians and advance from the initial stage of Spirit Fusion to the third stage of Spirit Fusion. On average, he used two spirit stones per stage, but obviously the number of spirit stones required for the first and third stages of Spirit Fusion is different.

If it is arranged in a sequence of one, two, three, it is also quite possible, after all, considering his meridian capacity, it is reasonable to have one more at each level.

After completing the calculations, he took out four spirit stones, divided each into four portions, and placed them on his lap.

Then, he used three strands of spiritual energy to guide a vortex of spiritual energy, which swept up all four spirit stones and began to absorb them.

Although the spiritual energy here is less than half as thin as in the previous sect, with spirit stones present, the spiritual energy is not so important.

.....

Ning Chang opened his eyes again when the sun shone directly on him through the leaves above.

To his surprise, he advanced to the fourth level of the Spirit Fusion Realm as soon as he started cultivating, and then the spiritual energy from the four spirit stones allowed him to barely advance to the fifth level of the Spirit Fusion Realm!

"An unexpected surprise..." he murmured.

Since reaching the third level of Spirit Fusion, the consumption and absorption of spiritual energy through the Azure Cloud Step has replaced the meridian enhancement effect produced by cultivation!

This meant that his meridian strength was just one step away from reaching the fourth level of the Spirit Fusion Realm, and with the replenishment of spirit stones, he immediately completed the advancement!

Moreover, this cultivation advancement produced almost no tearing sensation caused by the expansion of meridians!

He concluded that his meridians had expanded to a suitable size and were beginning to strengthen in terms of intensity.

Although he now has the idea of ​​strengthening his foundation, he really doesn't know how to do it. Every breakthrough is a natural process without any obstacles, so the method of compressing bottlenecks is naturally not feasible.

Moreover, now is not the time to be meticulous. The key is to cultivate to the Spirit Platform Realm as soon as possible, then find a sect to obtain the Bigu Pill, as well as the method and precautions for cultivating to the Fetal Heart Realm.

"If four are at level five, then five should be at level six."

After a day of swirling spiritual energy, the spiritual energy in this area thinned out again, making things that were already insignificant even more insignificant.

Fortunately, I don't feel hungry during the cultivation process. Even if I cultivate for ten days or half a month, my stomach feels like only half an hour has passed.

After pondering for a while, he took out five more spirit stones, divided them, and created a vortex of spiritual energy, and began to advance to the sixth level of Spirit Fusion once again.

……

"Fifteen already and it's still not enough?"

Five days later, Ning Chang frowned and asked himself.

Having just finished his cultivation, he unabashedly exuded the aura of a ninth-level Spirit Fusion cultivator.

In fact, he had already advanced to the ninth level of Spirit Fusion yesterday. His viscous liquid spiritual energy had already begun to solidify, and he was just one step away from advancing.

He thought he would encounter a bottleneck when advancing to the Spirit Platform, so he deliberately used five more spirit stones than when advancing to the ninth level of Spirit Fusion. However, he found that it was still not enough after absorbing all of them!

"Then let's have ten more. We've already reached the ninth rank; it wouldn't make sense not to break through."

Just as he took out ten more spirit stones from his spatial bag, the bottle stopper that appeared under the spirit stones caught his attention.