I Can Upgrade Everything Infinitely-Chapter 88 - 87: Purchasing Materials, Refining Daoist Soldiers (Middle)

Chapter 88: Chapter 87: Purchasing Materials, Refining Daoist Soldiers (Middle)

Refining a Daoist Soldier requires a total of nine materials, each one precious and extremely valuable. They are: Dao Rhyme Spirit Iron, Purple Gold Talisman Paper, Spirit-Imbued Ink, Snake Jiao Tendon, Undissolving Bone, Meteorite Core, Yin Sha Cinnabar, Heart Monkey Spirit Eye, and Spiritual Crystal.

"Shopkeeper."

Xu Qing walked into a Black Market shop. He glanced around, spotting a variety of materials, before his gaze landed on the shopkeeper.

"Sir."

The shopkeeper was a bald man with a scar on his left cheek. He had a smile on his face, but his appearance was naturally quite ferocious. Because of the scar, his smile looked rather menacing. "What can I get for you?"

"Yes."

Xu Qing nodded. "Do you have any Dao Rhyme Spirit Iron here?"

"Dao Rhyme Spirit Iron."

The shopkeeper said with a smile, "Of course we do. Although it’s a very precious material, perfect for refining Divine Weapons, we still have some in stock."

"I’ll take ten pounds," Xu Qing said.

"No problem."

The shopkeeper nodded. "Dao Rhyme Spirit Iron is very expensive. It’s ten thousand taels of silver per pound. If you want ten pounds, that will be one hundred thousand taels."

"Fine."

Xu Qing took out a one-hundred-thousand-tael silver note from his robes.

"Alright."

The shopkeeper’s expression lit up. He immediately went to the warehouse himself and retrieved ten pounds of Dao Rhyme Spirit Iron from its deepest corner, bringing it before Xu Qing.

"Please take a look, sir," the shopkeeper said.

"Mm."

Xu Qing nodded. He inspected it carefully and confirmed there was nothing wrong with the Dao Rhyme Spirit Iron. Ten pounds of it was only about the size of an adult’s fist.

"Good," the shopkeeper said.

Afterward, Xu Qing and the shopkeeper completed the transaction. With both sides confirming everything was in order and the payment and goods exchanged, Xu Qing left the shop and headed elsewhere.

「A few minutes later.」

Xu Qing arrived at another shop on Ninth Street of the Black Market.

"Shopkeeper," Xu Qing called out.

"Sir, how can I help you?" The shopkeeper walked over.

"Do you have any Purple Gold Talisman Paper here?" Xu Qing asked.

"We do," the shopkeeper said with a small smile.

"I’ll take nine sheets," Xu Qing said.

"No problem," the shopkeeper said. "It’s ten thousand taels per sheet, for a total of ninety thousand taels."

"Alright." Xu Qing nodded.

「Time passed.」

Xu Qing walked along Ninth Street in the Inner City Black Market of Qingfeng Town, going from one shop to the next in search of the materials he needed. The silver he carried flowed away like water.

Before he knew it, several hours had passed. He had bought all the materials for refining the ’Daoist Soldier’ and the ’Profound Soldier Talisman’, spending 840,000 taels of silver in the process. He still had over 300,000 taels in silver notes left.

The breakdown was as follows:

Ten pounds of Dao Rhyme Spirit Iron for 100,000 taels; nine sheets of Purple Gold Talisman Paper for 90,000 taels; ten liters of Spirit-Imbued Ink for 100,000 taels; nine Snake Jiao Tendons for 80,000 taels; seven Undissolving Bones for 70,000 taels; one Meteorite Core for 100,000 taels; ten liters of Yin Sha Cinnabar for 100,000 taels; one pair of Heart Monkey Spirit Eyes for 100,000 taels; and ten Spiritual Crystals for 100,000 taels.

’All set.’

Xu Qing left the Black Market. Even though he had visited many shops and spent a long time wandering around to buy so many things, he had still been targeted by some Veteran Hunters from the Qingfeng Town Inner City Black Market. He had bought so many items, all of them precious and extremely expensive materials.

So, naturally, those Veteran Hunters set their sights on Xu Qing, planning to ambush him, rob him, and take his life.

「Moments later, just outside the Inner City Black Market of Qingfeng Town.」

In a deserted alleyway.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Xu Qing, carrying a large bundle on his back, had just stepped out of the Inner City Black Market when figures began to appear all around him.

They surrounded Xu Qing.

There were quite a few of them.

Nine in total.

These Veteran Hunters knew that anyone who could buy so many things in the Black Market was bound to be a tough customer, so they had joined forces and formed a small team.

"We’re just here for your goods, not your life."

"That’s right."

"Just hand everything over, and we’ll let you walk away."

"Whether you live or die is your choice."

"..."

The nine Veteran Hunters surrounding him spoke in low, threatening tones.

SHING!

The next moment, with the ring of a sword, Xu Qing flicked his right hand and drew the Level 10 Iron Sword from his waist. His gaze was glacial, filled with a bone-chilling killing intent, and his figure vanished from its spot.

"Life-taking Thirteen Swords!"

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

In an instant, the deserted alley erupted with a sky full of sword phantoms. Countless flashes of Sword Light flickered, accompanied by spurts of fresh blood splashing against the walls and the ground.

THUD! THUD!

Then, one after another, bodies collapsed to the ground.

It was over in the blink of an eye.

Merely a few seconds had passed.

From the moment Xu Qing attacked to the very end, all nine of the Black Market’s Veteran Hunters were dead. Every one of them had been beheaded, their heads rolling across the ground like balls.

Their headless bodies crumpled to the ground.

Immediately after, Xu Qing began looting the corpses. He took all their silver, silver notes, and anything else of value, collecting a total of about one hundred thousand taels of silver.

It was a decent haul.

’Not bad.’

Xu Qing nodded. With a leap, he swiftly left the area. He even spent an hour circling around outside to throw off any pursuers before finally removing his disguise, taking off the Evil Ghost Mask, and returning to his new residence.

「Late at night.」

Dian Anhua was already fast asleep when Xu Qing returned to the courtyard.

"Phew..."

Xu Qing took a deep breath. Carrying the materials he had bought, he didn’t return to his bedroom but went to a side room instead. He planned to refine the ’Profound Soldier Talisman’ and the ’Daoist Soldier’ there.

Inside the side room, Xu Qing laid out all his items.

Then, Xu Qing sat down cross-legged and slowly adjusted his state of mind.

’First, my ’Daoist Skill—Profound Soldier Talisman Technique’ is only at Level 1. And the condition for gaining Experience seems rather strict—I need to refine ’Profound Soldier Talismans’ and ’Daoist Soldiers’.’

’This means that refining one ’Profound Soldier Talisman’ or one ’Daoist Soldier’ will grant one Experience Point. It’s definitely not going to be easy.’

’After all, I spent a full 840,000 taels of silver on all these materials in the Black Market. To upgrade the ’Daoist Skill—Profound Soldier Talisman Technique’, I need a thousand Experience Points.’

’That means I need to perform the refining process for ’Profound Soldier Talismans’ and ’Daoist Soldiers’ a thousand times.’

’Of course, I get one Experience Point per attempt, regardless of success. That makes it a bit better and lowers the requirement significantly.’

’Let’s begin.’

Xu Qing’s eyes glinted. He took out the Purple Gold Talisman Paper, Spirit-Imbued Ink, Yin Sha Cinnabar, and Spiritual Crystals—the four materials needed to draw a ’Profound Soldier Talisman’.

First, Xu Qing began creating the Spiritual Ink needed to draw the ’Profound Soldier Talisman’. He divided the four types of materials into nine portions, enough for nine attempts.

Next, he took out the Yin Sha Cinnabar and a Spiritual Crystal. He ground the Spiritual Crystal into a fine powder and then combined it with the Yin Sha Cinnabar.

Xu Qing then poured in the Spirit-Imbued Ink.

The three materials began to merge in a peculiar way. Xu Qing pricked the pad of his middle finger and let a drop of his blood fall into the mixture.

BUZZ! BUZZ!

Xu Qing circulated his Innate Gang Qi, channeling Heaven and Earth Energy and infusing it into the ink. He performed a special harmonization process, causing the materials to slowly fuse together.

Soon, the materials successfully merged. Since Xu Qing had already mastered the ’Daoist Skill—Profound Soldier Talisman Technique’, it was natural that he wouldn’t make a mistake while mixing the Spiritual Ink.

BUZZ!

A flash of spiritual light pulsed from the Spiritual Ink. It shimmered with a faint glow, turning a deep black-purple color. Within the ink, countless specks of light glittered like the myriad stars in the night sky.

’Not bad.’ Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction.

’Record.’

With a thought, Xu Qing’s consciousness connected to the Encyclopedia of All Things.

SWOOSH!

The Encyclopedia of All Things flickered with a fluorescent light.

At the same time, the Spiritual Ink in Xu Qing’s hand flashed with a white light.

[Recording Complete!]

[Mystic Soldier Talisman Spirit Ink LV1: 0/100 (This is an ordinary Spiritual Ink refined by a Martial Artist who has reached the Innate Gang Qi realm. It has some minor flaws and is mainly used for drawing ’Profound Soldier Talismans’.)]

’Hmm.’ Xu Qing pondered. The Encyclopedia of All Things had also sent him information: gaining Experience Points for the Mystic Soldier Talisman Spirit Ink was relatively simple. Since the ink itself was used for drawing ’Talismans’, he just needed to use it to draw to gain Experience Points.

Of course, the Spiritual Ink would naturally be consumed during the drawing process, but after leveling up, the consumed ink would be fully restored.

’I’ll give it a try,’ Xu Qing mused.

Next, Xu Qing took out an ordinary sheet of Talisman Paper and a Talisman Brush. It was a common Talisman Brush he had bought in the Black Market.

Of course, Xu Qing had already successfully recorded this Talisman Brush.

[Wolf Hair Talisman Brush LV1: 0/10 (This is an ordinary Talisman Brush made from the tail hair of an old wolf and ten-year-old bamboo. It can be used to draw ordinary Talismans.)]

Additionally, the condition for the Talisman Brush to gain Experience Points was also simple: use the brush to draw runes. For every minute of use, it would gain one Experience Point.

’Begin.’

Xu Qing soaked the Wolf Hair Talisman Brush in his hand with the Spiritual Ink, composed his mind, and began to draw runes on the yellow Talisman Paper, becoming completely absorbed in the task.

Soon, Xu Qing finished drawing on one sheet of Talisman Paper. However, the finished talisman was useless; it wasn’t infused with any Extraordinary Power.

[Experience +1]

However, the Spiritual Ink’s Experience had increased by one point.

’It works.’ Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction.

...

[Experience +1]

...

[Experience +1]

...

Prompts appeared one after another.

「A minute later.」

[Experience +1]

The Wolf Hair Talisman Brush in Xu Qing’s hand also gained one Experience Point.

「An hour later.」

"Phew..." Xu Qing felt a trace of fatigue. He had already drawn on one hundred sheets of Talisman Paper. ’The Spiritual Ink has gained one hundred Experience Points, and the Wolf Hair Talisman Brush has gained sixty.’

’Not bad.’ Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction.