In the blink of an eye, it was already mid-October.
Zhao Zuo spent some time repairing his damaged Magical Artifacts. The Golden Light Mirror and the Feiyun Sword were fully repaired in a total of ten days.
However, the difficulty of repairing the Mountain-Breaking Awl exceeded Zhao Zuo's expectations. Its Mana consumption was so terrifying that Zhao Zuo could only control it to fly at low speed for about thirty seconds. A complete repair would likely take ten days, twice as long as a normal Lower Grade Magical Artifact.
Additionally, he had gained another eight Creation Points from forging Spirit Iron during this period. His comprehension had once again improved by leaps and bounds. However, living in the dark room for so long had started to affect him mentally, and he often felt an uncontrollable sense of irritability.
Whenever this happened, the Clear Heart Jade Pendant would immediately take effect. A cool sensation would spread from his chest and into his head, soothing the irritability welling up within him and returning his mind to a state of placid tranquility.
'The Clear Heart Jade Pendant is great, but its upgrade price is a bit steep.'
Zhao Zuo lay alone in the scorching Earth Fire Chamber, seeking inner peace. Every night, in the hours after midnight, the other workers would stop to rest. The ambient temperature wouldn't start to drop until the early morning.
The surrounding sounds of smithing gradually died down, and the temperature began to drop.
The time was right. Zhao Zuo opened his gourd and took a sip of cool water, then casually poured the rest of it onto the black floor to lower the room's temperature as much as possible.
Zhao Zuo carefully took a Purifying Spirit Pill from a porcelain bottle. The pill was blue, its surface occasionally flashing with a shimmer of Spiritual Light. He placed it in his mouth and quickly swallowed.
'It's actually sweet.'
Zhao Zuo quickly entered a meditative state, entering his cultivation state as fast as he could. He then felt a wave of pure Spiritual Power spreading out from his abdomen. This Spiritual Power was exceptionally pure and gentle, like a babbling brook, requiring only simple Refinement through his Meridians before it could be absorbed.
After a single Circulation, it all returned to his Dantian. At the same time, more Spiritual Power continued to surge from his abdomen. The excess Spiritual Power that he couldn't absorb was expelled from his body through his pores.
This was unavoidable; a portion of the pill's medicinal power was wasted.
If the Pill Medicine contained ten parts of medicinal power, Zhao Zuo could absorb four to five at most. The rest would be expelled through his pores.
The Clear Heart Jade Pendant also played a role during the Refinement of the medicinal power, nurturing and protecting his Meridians. It continuously emitted a cool sensation, like a diligent firefighter. While it couldn't improve his absorption efficiency, it could extend the duration of a single cultivation session.
Over an hour passed, but the Purifying Spirit Pill's medicinal power was still potent. Pure Spiritual Power continued to diffuse from his abdomen. As his Dantian rapidly filled with Mana, Zhao Zuo felt as though his spirit, Soul, and body were all being elevated.
Zhao Zuo felt like he was walking on clouds, crossing a thousand miles with a single step.
Five hours later, Zhao Zuo first soothed his burning Meridians, then exhaled a long, turbid breath. When he opened his eyes, a divine light flashed within them before quickly receding.
This was a sign that his Cultivation had received a massive boost in a short period. Comparing the amount of Mana that now filled his Dantian to before, this single pill was worth at least a dozen days of Ascetic Cultivation.
'This rate of rapid Cultivation improvement is truly addicting.'
As the saying goes, all medicine is poison to some degree, and the Purifying Spirit Pill was no exception. After each dose, one had to wait a period of time for the body to fully absorb the medicinal residue and expel the Pill Poison.
For a pill with the properties of the Purifying Spirit Pill, the ideal interval between doses was ten days.
Zhao Zuo briefly assessed his current state; it was better than ever. When he first transmigrated, he estimated it would take a year to break through to the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer. After discovering the dense Spiritual Power in the center of the Market, he revised that estimate to half a year. Now, he had to change his plan once again.
'With ten more Purifying Spirit Pills, I'm confident I can break through to the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer within three months!'
Before long, the roar of a hammer striking metal once again echoed from the Earth Fire Chamber, ringing out for a long time.
While forging the Spirit Iron, Zhao Zuo noticed that although his technique hadn't obviously improved, his forging speed for each piece of Spirit Iron had increased again. The once-unbreakable bottleneck was now showing cracks.
Every day after smithing, Zhao Zuo would absorb Spiritual Power to advance his Cultivation. No matter how tired he was, he never slacked off on his daily ten hours of cultivation.
'Many things in this world are only difficult at the beginning. As long as you persevere, it eventually becomes a habit, almost like muscle and subconscious memory. All the hardships turn into small problems that are easily overcome. Now, my Cultivation is improving steadily every day.'
「In the blink of an eye, another five days passed.」
Three days ago, Zhao Zuo's Body Refining Technique had reached a bottleneck. He had tried to break through several times, but failed at the last moment each time. His Body Refining progress was stuck.
After several attempts, Zhao Zuo naturally figured out the problem preventing him from breaking through the bottleneck.
The Energy provided by Spirit Rice was too little. It was barely enough for daily Cultivation, but breaking through a bottleneck to reach a new level of transformation required a much larger and purer source of Energy.
'For example, Pill Medicine!'
Zhao Zuo handed in his daily quota of eight pieces of Spirit Iron, a thoughtful expression on his face.
'There are many benefits to Body Refining. It enhances my survivability, and it also helps with forging Spirit Iron. Forging is my only source of Creation Points right now. Until I find another way to get them, it has to be my top priority.'
'So... I can't neglect my Body Refining. I have to break this bottleneck as soon as possible.'
'Since I've already thought of a solution, I'll temporarily alter my seclusion plans.'
Zhao Zuo removed the key to the Earth Fire Chamber from the core of the Array. At the same time, he drained the last of the water from his gourd. After carefully counting the Black Iron Coins he had accumulated, he placed them in his pocket.
Before leaving, he double-checked everything to make sure nothing was missed.
'Twenty-six days. A harvest of thirty-nine Spirit Stones and 10.4 Creation Points.'
Zhao Zuo placed a large bag of Black Iron Coins on the counter. The person in charge poured them out onto the tabletop, creating a crisp, pleasant clatter. A small mountain of Black Iron Coins now sat on the desk.
"Thirty-nine Spirit Stones in total... Please take them."
The man's voice wasn't loud, but the exchange hall was filled with Cultivators, all of whom had sharp eyes and keen ears. The fact that he had earned a large sum of Spirit Stones after nearly thirty days in seclusion couldn't be hidden.
Now, the other workers no longer looked at him with any disdain, only respect and envy. For most Cultivators at the third or fourth layer of Qi Cultivation, around forty Spirit Stones was already a huge fortune.
But along with envy, it was inevitable that some of them would start getting other ideas.
Zhao Zuo was well aware of the principle of not flaunting one's wealth, but it was impossible to hide it in a crowded exchange hall. Fortunately, these people would never dare to make a move inside Moyun Workshop. The real danger was the few miles on the road home.
'If I don't handle this well, it could lead to another bloodbath.'
'I hope I can travel with Taoist Friend Shen today.'
...