"Cheap?"

Jiang Xu’s interest was piqued, and he walked over to the stall owner who had just spoken.

A quick glance revealed that this stall owner was also selling various Cultivation Techniques and Magic, but he was different from the last one.

The items sold by the stall owner before him were all hand-copied books, not Jade Scrolls.

"Fellow Daoist, the Spirit Stones we Servant Disciples have don’t just appear out of thin air. Every single one is the precious fruit of our labor and can’t be wasted.

Look at what I have on my stall. You can cultivate with all of them, but the price is less than a third of a Jade Scroll.

It’s not that Jade Scrolls are bad; it’s just that hand-copied books are more cost-effective."

The stall owner’s words had somewhat swayed Jiang Xu.

Talismans and the like were all consumables; how could they be better than cultivating something for himself?

"But I heard from another stall owner that hand-copied books might have problems."

As soon as he heard this, the stall owner became instantly agitated.

"Slander! Pure slander!

That’s just nonsense spouted by those who sell Jade Scrolls!

The hand-copied books we sell have all been personally reviewed by the Elders of the Scripture Pavilion. They’re only allowed to be sold after passing review.

They even have the seal of a Scripture Pavilion Elder on them. If you don’t believe me, look!"

As he spoke, the man casually picked up a book and flipped to the last page.

Jiang Xu looked and saw that there was indeed such a mark.

"Don’t worry, Fellow Daoist. Practice with peace of mind. I guarantee there won’t be the slightest mistake. I’ve been running this stall for so many years, and not a single person has come back to me because they messed up their body from practicing!"

’They probably couldn’t come find you even if they wanted to.’

Despite his cynical thought, Jiang Xu began to rummage through the items on the stall.

It couldn’t be helped. With no Spirit Stones, he could only go for the cheap stuff.

To be honest, the selection of Cultivation Techniques on the stall was quite complete.

There were Tier One Lower Grade Techniques like the Water Arrow Spell, Tier One Middle Grade Techniques like Palm Thunder, and even ordinary Mortal Martial Arts.

This made Jiang Xu curious.

"Why do you even have Mortal Cultivation Methods? How do you sell mortal stuff? Still for Spirit Stones?"

"Tsk, what servant has enough Spirit Stones to buy Magic?

Without Magic, martial arts become the next best thing.

Besides, when we Cultivators use our Magical Power to drive Mortal Martial Arts, the effect is quite impressive.

So, Fellow Daoist, which book has caught your eye?"

"What are your prices?"

"Tier One Lower Grade Techniques are two or three Spirit Stones a book. Mortal Martial Arts are three books for one Spirit Stone. Qi Cultivation Stage Techniques are ten Spirit Stones."

Jiang Xu gasped.

’Still so expensive!’

Jiang Xu had just enough Spirit Stones to buy two books.

He browsed for a long time, first picking out the Light Body Spell he had already planned on buying.

To save your life, the first priority is to run fast.

Whether you run faster than the enemy or faster than your teammates, your chances of survival increase severalfold.

For the second book, Jiang Xu had originally planned to buy the defensive Golden Light Spell, but his gaze was suddenly captivated by another Magic.

"I’ll take these two."

"Alright, the Light Body Spell is two Spirit Stones, and the Concealing Breath Spell is three Spirit Stones. That will be five Spirit Stones, thank you!"

The second book Jiang Xu had chosen was indeed the Concealing Breath Spell.

Running fast was one thing.

The second was making it so the enemy couldn’t find you.

That was the true secret to escaping.

As for the Golden Light Spell...

Being hard to kill was great, but if you could avoid being hit by the enemy in the first place, it was best not to get hit.

As long as you ran fast enough that their attacks couldn’t land...

...then your own Defense wasn’t that important.

"Can the price be a little lower? I only have four Spirit Stones on hand. Can you cut me a deal?"

Jiang Xu hadn’t even finished bargaining before the other party started complaining.

"It’s not easy for us to run a small business. For a Tier One Lower Grade Technique like the ones you’re buying, the Scripture Pavilion charges me half a Spirit Stone just to put their seal on it—and that’s half a Spirit Stone per book!

Furthermore, copying these Magic manuals isn’t like copying mortal books. Transcribing them requires a great deal of mental effort.

One book often takes more than half a month, and sometimes it’s common to spend over a month. It’s not as easy as you think."

The stall owner saw that Jiang Xu still wanted to bargain after he finished speaking, so he said:

"How about this, I’ll throw in a little something extra. For each technique book, I’ll give you a Mortal Martial Arts book for free. How does that sound? Two Mortal Martial Arts books are worth almost a Spirit Stone."

Seeing the stall owner’s stance, Jiang Xu didn’t waste any more words. He rummaged through the Mortal Martial Arts, picked a Horizontal Cultivation Method and a Swordsmanship manual, and paid the Spirit Stones.

And just like that, all five of Jiang Xu’s remaining Spirit Stones were gone.

Clutching the books, he didn’t linger, quickly leaving the trading market.

Since it was a trading market within the Sect, security was guaranteed, so he didn’t encounter any Tribulation Cultivators or the like along the way.

Nevertheless, Jiang Xu remained cautious the whole way, afraid of being followed. He deliberately took a few detours before returning to his own place.

Only after he was safely home did he take off the bamboo hat and Face Cloth he was wearing.

This was actually an unwritten rule among the servants. Everyone concealed their appearance and voice, and kept their wealth hidden. That way, no one could gauge another’s true strength or trump cards, and naturally, greed wouldn’t arise.

Jiang Xu had another reason: he was afraid of being discovered by Nie Mengyun.

He had just told her that morning that he’d spent all her Spirit Stones, and then that afternoon she sees him buying things at the trading market.

Wouldn’t that be a direct admission that something was up?

’Sigh, if only I could have gotten three more Spirit Stones. I could have bought at least one more Magic and another Mortal Martial Arts book.

Oh well, this is actually fine too. If you bite off more than you can chew, you won’t digest it.

I now have four more skills to grind the Skill Level for. These seven will be enough to keep me busy practicing for a long time.’

With a heart full of excitement, Jiang Xu opened the Light Body Spell and began to read it through.

He hadn’t been reading for long before he realized just how obscure and difficult to understand the Light Body Spell was.

"No wonder there’s such a huge price difference between Jade Scrolls and hand-copied books. It really is hard for an ordinary Cultivator to learn on their own."

The basic principle of Magic is to circulate Magical Power through corresponding meridians to unlock one’s potential, chant a Spell to have the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi enhance oneself to amplify the effects of one’s Magical Power, and use Dharma Seals and hand gestures to connect one’s will and merge the three into one.

Every Magic has its own complete and independent system.

To successfully cast a spell, one must understand all these steps and not make a single mistake.

From starting cultivation to successfully casting the spell for the first time, an ordinary Cultivator needs to spend at least a month or more.

Most of that time is spent mastering this system.

But Jade Scrolls are different.

As long as a Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivator makes contact with it using their Spiritual Sense, they can receive the entire system as if by enlightenment, and with just a few more days of practice, they can cast the Magic with skill.

It truly is convenient and fast.

One Magic saves a month. A few more, and you could save nearly a year.

No wonder they can be sold for the high price of ten Spirit Stones.

But...

Jiang Xu didn’t think he belonged in the category of "ordinary Cultivator" anymore.

"Is this forcibly giving me a beginner’s boost? System, you’re really something else!"