Longevity starts from having a daughter in old age - Chapter 31:
Chapter 31: Chapter 22: Spirit Gathering Array i
Translator: 549690339
After deducting the pills he consumed himself, Xu Mu had only acquired six bottles of Jade Marrow Pills and twenty-five bottles of Qi Gathering Pills over the past two months.
The reason it was so few was because he had spent a lot of time improving his spiritual practice and practicing skills.
It was inevitable since he couldn’t have both fish and bear’s paw at the same time
He sold the six bottles of Jade Marrow Pills to the Song Family Pharmacy, receiving ten batches of Jade Marrow Pill materials and four Medium-grade Spirit Stones in return.
At the same time, he received two important pieces of news from Su Qing. One was the planned expansion of the Marketplace, and his current dwelling area would likely be included in it. The other was about the expansion of the Patrol Team, which would significantly increase in number.
The twenty-five bottles of Qi Gathering Pills were sold to Shopkeeper Tu. Xu Mu earned materials for thirty batches of Qi Gathering Pills and four hundred and twenty Lower-grade Spirit Stones.
Lately, the prices of the pills had not only failed to rise but had even fallen slightly, so it was a bit lower than he had anticipated.
However, with four Medium-grade Spirit Stones and four hundred and twenty Lower-grade Spirit Stones, his income still reached a new high.
Now that he had these Spirit Stones, the first thing Xu Mu did was go to the bookstore to buy the jade slip for the tier three Fire-controlling Skill, which cost him three Medium-grade Spirit Stones.
Then he rushed to the Treasure Shop, intending to buy a magic sword.
Unexpectedly, after looking around, he found none that satisfied him.
It wasn’t that the prices were too high!
For tier two attacking magic artifacts, particularly simple ones like flying swords, they generally don’t exceed three Medium-grade Spirit Stones.
Tier three ones were only six Medium-grade Spirit Stones. Given his current wealth, he thought he could afford them.
The problem was that the formations engraved on these magic swords did not meet his preferences.
Forinstance, spells like the Floating Formation, the Pulling Formation, the Sumeru Formation, and the Equipping Formation, which were typically necessary for regular magic swords, were of no use for him.
That’s because he didn’t plan to control the magic sword with his mind to attack enemies at a long distance.
Instead, he intended to hold it directly in his hand, infuse it with Spiritual Energy, and slash close enemies.
A tier two attacking magic sword would usually have just twelve formations engraved, half of which were unnecessary for him.
While for others, these were mandatory; for him, they were somewhat wasteful.
“Canyon custom-make magic artifacts here?”
“Of course! But for now, we can only take custom orders for tier two magic artifacts. For tier three, you’ll need to bookin advance, and we don’t accept orders for tier four just yet!”
“How much does it cost?”
“That depends on what type of magic artifact you want? As well as the formations you want engraved and whether you have any special requirements?”
“I want a magic sword…”
Xu Mu explained his requirements.
The attendant serving him looked astonished as if he had misheard.
“Sir, are you saying that among the formations engraved, ten are for augmenting the Sharp Gold Formation’s attack, and two for enhancing the sword body’s resilience with the Firming Formation?”
“Yes, that’s correct!”
Did his guest intend to hold the sword directly to slash people?
The attendant looked him up and down and noticed that he did seem a bit sturdier compared to ordinary cultivators.
“Sir, your requirements are a bit unique; 1 need to discuss this with the manager!”
“Alright!”
Xu Mu nodded in agreement.
The attendant then went to the back and soon called out a tall elder with a long beard.
After some discussion, they agreed to make this magical sword for Xu Mu.
Moreover, they could increase the Sharp Gold Formation to fourteen.
As a normal magic sword needs to harmonize its various formations and avoid conflicts, the number of formations needs to be strictly controlled. However, the magic sword requested by Xu Mu was quite singular, thus significantly reducing the difficulty of engraving formations. Therefore, he could add two more.
However, due to its custom nature and his unique requirements, the price was comparatively higher – five Medium-grade Spirit Stones were required.
He needed to pay a deposit of two Medium-grade Spirit Stones first.
“When can I pick up the sword?”
“A month at the latest!
“Alright then!”
Xu Mu paid the deposit, received a voucher, and left.
This shop was among the largest Treasure Shops in the entire Marketplace, so he didn’t need to worry about their credibility.
Afterward, he spent twenty Lower-grade Spirit Stones at the Zhenbao Cabinet to buy two hairpins. He wanted to give them to Lan Shijin and her mother as thanks for taking care of his daughter during this time.
Then he went to the market to replenish his rice and meat supply and bought a lot of candies, preserved fruits, white flour, meat, eggs, vegetables, candles, window flowers, and other miscellaneous items.
These were all items that Ye Yingying had told him that they needed for the festival.
He also bought a few yards of fine silk to take home and use to make new clothes for his wife and daughter.
Speaking of clothes, he couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated.
He kept saying that once he had money, he would buy a Vestment robe for his wife, yet after dragging it out for so long, he still hadn’t managed to do so.
Actually, a cheap Vestment robe only cost about thirty to forty Lower-grade Spirit Stones…
But nevermind!
He’d get it next time!
When he was about to leave, he ran into Jia An unexpectedly at the market.
Jia An was buying Spirit Rice.
Not the ordinary Spirit Rice that costs one Lower-grade Spirit Stone per five kilos, but the Xuanjing Rice that cost ten Lower-grade Spirit Stones per kilo.
Even Xu Mu found this type of rice a bit too extravagant to eat.
“I didn’t expect this couple to be s relatively generous, especially during the festival!”
Originally, he was ready to leave, but thinking it over, he decided to buy a kilo for his wife to try.
After returning home and putting away his purchases, Xu Mu, carrying the hairpins, headed towards Lan Shijin’s house.
“Friend Xu, you are too polite!”
After packing up the gifts, Lan Shijin led Xu Mu to the living room and poured two cups of tea.
“I have to thank Friend Lan for taking care of my wife and daughter during this time!”
Xu Mu took a sip of his tea and said
He didn’t know until he took a sip, the way the other party brewed the tea was quite extraordinary, even better than that in the tea house.
“We are neighbors, so helping each other is natural. Besides, I quite like both of them, especially Little Ling’er!”
Lan Shijin smiled softly, very gently, like a gentle drizzle, making people unconsciously want to get close.
Today, Lan Shijin didn’t wear her blue robe, but wore a loose white brocade dress, and her hair was simply tied up, radiating a lazy and comfortable aura.
As for Leng Yuening, she was nowhere to be seen.
After chatting casually for a while, Xu Mu stated his intentions.
“You want to set up a Spirit Gathering Array at home?”
Lan Shijin stared at Xu Mu, showing a hint of surprise.
Through her interactions with him over this period, she did know that Xu Mu’s income wasn’t low, but a Spirit Gathering Array was a money-drainer, something even she was currently reluctant to set up.
“That’s right! I wonder how many Spirit Stones are needed?” Xu Mu asked.
“Setting up the formation doesn’t consume many Spirit Stones. The key is that once the formation is activated, it cannot be stopped. It needs to consume at least ten Lower-grade Spirit Stones every day. Are you sure you want to set it up?”
Ten Lower-grade Spirit Stones!
That means it needs at least three hundred Lower-grade Spirit Stones a month!
To be honest, this cost is a bit higher than he expected.
After a moment of hesitation, he still nodded his head.
It seems that he needs to increase the sales ratio of Jade Marrow Pills in the future and reduce the cultivation of Qi Gathering Pills.
There might be certain risks in doing so, but Xu Mu believes that with his current strength, he should be able to handle it.
“You really are a good father!” Lan Shijin exclaimed with a smile when Xu Mu agreed.
Xu Mu was dazed for a moment, not understanding the implications.
As if Lan Shijin had seen through his confusion, she frowned and said, “Isn’t the reason you’re setting up the Spirit Gathering Array to improve Little Ling’er’s aptitude? Children who grow up in a rich spiritual environment generally have better talents!”
“Eh?”
I primarily want to enhance my own cultivation.
And also allow my wife to enhance her cultivation!
As for my daughter…
“Cough, cough! Friend Lan is really clever, you guessed it right away! If it isn’t for my daughter, I wouldn’t be willing to spend so many Spirit Stones!”
The setup of the Spirit Gathering Array was not too complex. It took Lan Shijin only two days to complete. The materials used in total only cost over fifty Lower-grade Spirit Stones which was cheaper than the defensive array he bought.
Of course, this was because Lan Shijin had given him a discount.
If not, just hiring an Array Master would cost quite a lot of Spirit Stones.
The entire Spirit Gathering Array perfectly covered the bedroom. It wasn’t very large, it could only be considered a mini Spirit Gathering Array.
After it was set up, Xu Mu immediately experienced its effects.
Firstly, the environment inside.
Stepping into the Spirit Gathering Array from the outside world was like stepping into a dust-free room from a polluted environment.
Even without meditation and cultivation, each breath taken felt comfortable, as if one’s body and mind were getting cleansed.
Without taking a Qi Gathering Pill, the cultivation speed could increase by more than twice. After taking a Qi Gathering Pill, it could directly increase to twice or even close to three times.
Obviously, the more abundant the spiritual energy, the better the effect of the Qi Gathering Pill.
Little Ling’er, now seven months old and able to sit up, turn over, and crawl, suddenly became sleepy with the activation of the Spirit Gathering Array.
Lan Shijin mentioned that this was a normal phenomenon.
Infants have a poorer adaptation than adults. In the face of changes in the environment, they need a long period of acclimation, but with their adaptation to the environment, their talents will make marked progress.
Small Ling’er’s talent in the future would definitely far surpass Xu Mu and Ye Yingying.
Xu Mu already had a plan. Once Little Ling’er could eat normally, he would start feeding her Jade Marrow Pills to lay a solid foundation from a young age.
The significant progress he made during this period was also greatly attributed to the Jade Marrow Pills.
Unlike the Qi Gathering Pills, the Jade Marrow Pills could directly improve the talent of the cultivators. One or two times might not show significant effects, but in the long run, the benefits would far exceed those of Qi Gathering Pills.
The only downside was that with Xu Mu consuming a large amount of Jade Marrow Pills, their effect was gradually weakening.
In the future, he either had to switch to other pills, or he would have to improve the quality of the Jade Marrow Pills.
However, to refine higher-end or top-notch Jade Marrow Pills, the Luck Value needed was extremely high, and he was still hesitant to make a decision.
“I really need to increase the rate of acquiring Luck Value!”
He thought of marrying a wife and taking a concubine, and then of Lan Shijin.
She was a widow, he wondered…
Cough,cough!
It’s still better to wait until the end of the year, see the situation, if it’s stable, it’s more practical to get Ye Yingying ready for the second child.
As time passed, the annual Spring Festival arrived.
Every household was brightly lit and festooned with lanterns and streamers, it was extraordinarily lively.
At Lan Shijin’s suggestion, the two families celebrated the festival together.
During dinner, Xu Mu finally saw Leng Yuening smile for the first time.
Actually, she looked quite beautiful when she smiled!
