Later in the night, Song Ciwan finished selling the remaining Qi.

She was left with two rewards. The first was: [You have sold one jin and one tael of human desires—greed, worry, and fear—and have obtained the Low Level Magic: Qi Absorption Technique.]

Qi Absorption Technique: A Basic Technique for controlling the external release of True Qi. It is a practical Minor Magic that most Cultivators must learn.

Therefore, the Qi Absorption Technique was less of a Magic and more of a Technique, a Dharma Gate for controlling and training True Qi.

It was unremarkable, but very practical and fundamental. It could also be considered a low-level, simplified version of the Object Manipulation Technique, making it well worth learning.

Song Ciwan diligently memorized the various application techniques of the Qi Absorption Technique and quickly became a Beginner.

She sat cross-legged on her bed, circulating the True Qi in her body. She compressed it to her fingertip and then abruptly released it. A sharp, explosive sound echoed at the same time. PUFF! A wisp of True Qi formed a Finger Wind, striking the floor in front of her bed!

A small pit appeared on the stone slab floor. As expected, its power wasn’t great, but it had strong potential.

Once she became skilled in it, its power would certainly increase. There was no need to rush.

On the Insight Technique panel: Qi Absorption Technique (First Layer, Beginner 5/100).

Song Ciwan calmed herself for a moment, then continued to operate the Heaven and Earth Scale.

[You have sold two jin and three taels of Wish Power from a believer and have obtained one pure Wish Power Pill.]

A Wish Power Pill. This was the second time Song Ciwan had obtained one.

This bundle of Wish Power was provided by the young boy named Da Lin. On this trip, Song Ciwan had posed as a Divine Envoy and helped several people. The others had all provided their own emotions, but only Da Lin had provided Wish Power!

Song Ciwan checked the sky. Seeing that the night was still deep and it was a long time before dawn, she picked up the Wish Power Pill and swallowed it in one gulp.

The Wish Power Pill melted the moment it entered her mouth, like a cool, radiant light that instantly scattered into her limbs and bones. In that moment, her entire body—from her Qi Blood to her True Qi, from her flesh to her Divine Soul—was completely mobilized.

From the inside out, from her physical body to her spiritual essence, everything entered a state of wondrous, harmonious resonance.

This time, what rapidly advanced wasn’t the Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting, but Song Ciwan’s own Cultivation!

Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting (First Layer, Beginner 979/1000)

(982/1000)

(988/1000)

...

(999/1000)

It stopped at 999, the experience points stuck.

Cultivating the Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting was always more difficult the further one progressed. It wasn’t strange to face a bottleneck right before a breakthrough.

But Song Ciwan’s Cultivation had truly taken a huge leap forward!

Cultivation: Refining Essence and Transforming Qi (Late-stage Qi Transformation 7399/10000)

(7693/10000)

(8352/10000)

(8960/10000)

...

’A pure Wish Power Pill is truly worthy of being called a ten-times experience pill!’

Time flew by without her noticing, and it was only when the sky was bright that Song Ciwan was startled awake by the sun’s warmth.

Outside, the Big White Goose was craning its neck, locked in an endless back-and-forth squawking match with the neighbor’s large rooster.

The rooster: "COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO..."

The Big White Goose: "HONK HONK HONK..."

The crowing of the rooster, the honking of the goose, and the laughter of the neighbor’s children.

Under the sunlight, the lively sounds of humanity dispelled the night’s cold silence. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Of course, it was best to ignore the sound of Aunt Tian from next door, who was standing by her door with a wicker basket first thing in the morning, cursing up a storm.

What was she cursing about?

It turned out that during the previous rat infestation, her husband had injured his leg. Now he could only lie at home and recuperate, with her taking care of everything. The family her husband worked for offered no special treatment and even docked his pay.

News had spread from the City God Temple that raising poultry could effectively prevent pest and snake infestations, causing the price of all chickens, ducks, and geese in the city to skyrocket. Geese, in particular, were impossible to buy even if you had the money! With no other choice, she had to pay a high price for a multicolored rooster.

But as it turned out, the rooster wouldn’t crow on time even when the sun was high in the sky. It had to wait for the goose next door to honk before it would start arguing with it.

The kids were still ignorant, carefree, and only knew how to eat and play foolishly. They’d knocked over a bucket of water early in the morning, and fetching water was back-breaking work...

Just ask, just ask, who wouldn’t be annoyed living this life? Who wouldn’t curse?

Song Ciwan was alarmed. ’Oh no, I lost track of time while cultivating! I woke up late today, I’ve already missed roll call at the Washing Room!’

So, should she hurry over, be late, and get a scolding? Or should she just skip work altogether and use the time for something else?

Song Ciwan didn’t hesitate for a second and chose the latter.

The Washing Room wouldn’t miss one person, and the Stewards couldn’t care less who showed up and who didn’t. Even if she skipped work for two days and went back the day after tomorrow, the Stewards would be too lazy to ask questions.

Of course, she couldn’t skip work for more than three consecutive days. Any more than that and her name would be struck from the Washing Room’s roster.

Song Ciwan got up and tidied herself. Feeding the goose was a must. If she didn’t shut the fellow’s mouth soon, who knew how long it would keep arguing with that rooster?

The hustle and bustle of the mortal world was the most comforting thing to the heart.

Song Ciwan quickly finished her morning chores, left a basin of food for the Big White Goose, and instructed it to watch the house. Then she changed her clothes, disguised her face, and hopped over the rear courtyard wall to leave.

This time, she’d adopted the sallow, unremarkable face of a young boy, the kind you’d lose in a crowd. The boy wore gray clothes and seemed to have a natural aura of invisibility as he walked through the noisy streets, heading straight for the City God Temple.

It was only after her last visit to the City God Temple that Song Ciwan realized the real street for Cultivators was located there!

There were Elixir Medicine Shops, Talisman shops, two large Spiritual Material Shops, and even stalls run by the Independent Practitioner Association.

To this day, Song Ciwan had never come into contact with the true world of Cultivators. She didn’t know how vast it was, and now that she had the chance, she was determined to go out and see it for herself.

She also needed to buy some Talisman Paper materials. The Paper Crane used in the Paper Crane Tracking Technique required at least Level One Talisman Paper to be successfully made; ordinary Mortal Paper wouldn’t work.

Song Ciwan followed the flow of people onto City God Temple Street. There, she saw an endless stream of ordinary mortals coming to the City God Temple to worship and pray. She also saw various types of Martial Artists with weapons mixed into the crowd. Occasionally, when someone dressed like they were from a Taoist Sect passed by, people would hurry to make way as a sign of respect.

She walked and watched, feeling a bit overwhelmed by all there was to see. At the same time, she paid close attention to the prices of various items at the roadside stalls. The biggest difference between this place and a mortal vegetable market was that everything started at a price in silver; basically, no one used copper coins for transactions.

Often, Cultivators would also barter. The most common items used as equivalent exchange were Qi Nourishing Pills and Strengthening Pills. These things were even more useful than silver.

Song Ciwan observed for a while before choosing the stall of a vendor who seemed the most amicable in his business dealings.

This stall owner was known as Ma the Fourth. He had a slightly round face and eyes that were often smiling, thin and curved like friendly, gentle crescent moons. He looked young, but he already seemed to have the principle of ’amiability breeds wealth’ etched into his very bones.

As soon as Song Ciwan walked over, he greeted her enthusiastically, "Hey, little brother, you’re here!"

His tone was so familiar it was as if the two were old acquaintances.

Song Ciwan, however, remained silent and reserved. She just turned to the section with Talisman Paper materials and asked the price for blank Level One Talisman Paper.

Ma the Fourth said with a broad smile, "Since it’s you, brother, I’ll give you a straight price. A single stack of this Talisman Paper is one tael of silver. A stack has twelve sheets. If you buy ten taels’ worth at once, little brother, you’ll get an extra stack for free, so eleven stacks in total."