Chapter 78: Chapter 76: Surprises Always Come When You Least Expect Them

As night fell, Song Ciwan activated the Duality Heart Protection Array, firmly shielding a three-foot radius around herself.

The Duality Heart Protection Array’s light barrier could be made invisible and also served as a warning system, making it an indispensable item for any traveling cultivator.

Then, Song Ciwan began to take stock of her Heaven and Earth Scale, which now held a great many items for trade.

There were far more than ten of them; she wouldn’t be able to sell them all in two or three days.

Song Ciwan sorted through them carefully. Generally, people whose emotional energy clusters were collected by the Heaven and Earth Scale for the first time would often provide her with a Minor Magic.

The Level of the traded Magic would differ based on the other party’s Cultivation Realm, and whether it was practical or not depended on luck.

Aside from the first time, selling subsequent emotional energy clusters from the same person would often yield cultivation time.

For mortals, a full catty of energy could be exchanged for one year of Cultivation.

Cultivators, however, were different.

For example, Song Ciwan had once collected energy from Tian Junhong. This Innate Martial Artist with Seventy-Two Acupoints opened had provided her with thirty-six years of Cultivation from three catties and six taels of hatred, fury, and regret!

Unfortunately, a figure like Tian Junhong was not easy to come by, and it was difficult for even typical experts to provide such intense emotions as he had.

If Tian Junhong hadn’t died in such an aggrieved and frustrating manner, he probably wouldn’t have leaked such intense emotions before his death.

Consider how Song Ciwan and the Chi Hua Fairy met at the bottom of Bibo Lake. Although they had no direct interaction, they could be said to have shared a hardship. Yet during that time, Song Ciwan hadn’t managed to collect even a single speck of emotion from the Chi Hua Fairy.

Experts guarded their spirit and focused their minds. Even if their emotions fluctuated, it was incredibly difficult to reach the collection standard of the Heaven and Earth Scale.

At this moment, Song Ciwan couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic for her former fiancé, Wang Yi, whom she had treated like a lopsided-mouthed little lamb, fleecing him again and again.

’I wonder how Wang Yi is doing now. Is he still alive? Has his Cultivation improved?’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

’If Wang Yi managed to reach a higher level, his emotional value would be immense!’

As for now, it was a matter of ’not enough experts, so mortals will have to do.’

Song Ciwan first sold the emotional energy clusters she had obtained from Aunt Zhou but hadn’t gotten around to selling yet. There were three clusters in total, and she sold the first two.

She received [One Year and Three Months of Cultivation] and [Two Years and Three Months of Cultivation], respectively.

As time warped, two quarters of an hour passed in the real world, but in the Void Space of cultivation, Song Ciwan had already cultivated for three years and six months.

And this time, perhaps because the Spiritual Qi in Huailing City was undamaged, the effects of her cultivation were clearly better than last night in Su Yang City!

The concentration of Spiritual Qi in the Void Space for cultivation was exactly equal to her current environment in the real world; the only difference was that she couldn’t use Elixirs to assist her cultivation there.

After these two consecutive cultivation sessions, Song Ciwan awoke again and opened her Insight Technique panel.

Song Ciwan:

Age: 15 (Lifespan: 63 years)

Main Cultivation Method: Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting (First Layer, Skilled 2210/10000)

Cultivation Realm: Refining Essence and Transforming Qi (Qi Transformation Perfection 1859/10000)

Compared to before, this was equivalent to three years of non-stop, arduous cultivation. Her Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting proficiency had increased by 90 points, and her Cultivation had increased by 824 points.

Song Ciwan didn’t know if this speed was fast or slow. But then she thought of the Celestial Prides on the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List, like Yun Liuguang. He was not yet thirty years old, but he already had a Late-stage Divinity Transformation Cultivation!

Not yet thirty... Even if he had started cultivating in his mother’s womb, he would have cultivated for thirty years at most.

But as for her, if she included the time spent cultivating in the Void Space, hadn’t she already spent far more than thirty years?

’Is there a problem with my aptitude?’

’Or do the Celestial Prides have other, secret cultivation methods?’

Song Ciwan had many questions. She hoped that after arriving in Pinglan, she would be able to find answers to all of them from a new perspective.

She continued with her trades. This time, Song Ciwan decided to sell some of her gains from Cold Hill Mountain to see what she would get.

[You have sold scattered and disordered Malice, three taels and two maces, and obtained thirty-two years of Lifespan.]

’My Lifespan is finally increasing again!’

Age: 15 (Lifespan: 95 years)

[You have sold scattered Mountain Charm Ghost Spirits, two taels and three maces, and obtained one Two-star Level Marvel: Puppet Paper Clothing.]

Puppet Paper Clothing: Put on this paper garment, and you become invisible. A paper-made robe, single-use, limited to one quarter of an hour.

Song Ciwan’s heart skipped a beat. ’The Mountain Charm Ghost Spirits yielded a surprise!’

Another sale: [You have sold scattered Mountain Charm Death Qi, two taels and one mace, and obtained one Two-star Level Marvel: a White Candle.]

White Candle: Light it, and aberrations will unconsciously retreat from you. The candle’s burning speed depends on the strength of the aberration. Once it burns out, it can no longer be used.

Continuing to sell: [You have sold scattered and disordered Yin Qi, three taels and one mace, and obtained one One-star Level, low-grade Yin Soul Pearl.]

Yin Soul Pearl: A type of Artifact Refining material, a consumable, and an item commonly used by Evil Cultivators.

At this point, she had already used up six of her trades for the day.

Song Ciwan paused for a moment and decided to try a different type of sale.

Earlier, outside the Xu Mansion, she had captured the servant Yu Shu. This little lamb had been fleeced bald by her, providing so much emotion that Song Ciwan wouldn’t have to worry about her cultivation for the next few nights.

Furthermore, when selling this person’s "human desires" for the first time, Song Ciwan should also be able to obtain a Technique.

[You have sold the human desires—greed, obsession, and joy—of a Refining Tendons Stage Mortal Martial Artist, two catties and three taels, and obtained the Side Door Daoist Skill, Dharma Transmission, First Layer.]

Side Door Daoist Skill: Dharma Transmission (First Layer, Beginner 5/100)

Stretches of profound incantations poured into Song Ciwan’s mind. Her hands reflexively began to form hand seals as she comprehended the memories and carefully contemplated the use of this Daoist Skill.

Dharma Transmission. As the name implied, when this Daoist Skill was cast, it granted the user a passive ability similar to being blessed with a teacher’s aura.

Under the shroud of Dharma Transmission’s aura, any Dharma Gate, principle, technique, or Cultivation Technique she explained would have the special effect of greatly enhancing the listener’s comprehension.

As for how strong this enhancement could be, it mainly depended on how high a level Song Ciwan could cultivate her Dharma Transmission to.

At first glance, this Daoist Skill seemed to only benefit others and not herself. In reality, however, if applied to everyday life, it would be an extremely powerful skill of persuasion.

’If used in battle, could it shake an enemy’s Dao Heart?’

’And if I combine it with that "Doubt" Character Technique I got from Wang Yi... whoa, then this Daoist Skill could get really interesting.’

Taking it a step further, and thinking a bit bigger, the Dharma Transmission skill was clearly a technique of enlightenment and teaching!

Like the great religions of the world, or those Immortals and Buddhas—which of them didn’t establish an altar to preach the Dao upon their ascension?

Preaching until flowers rained from the heavens, until the sun and moon ascended, until the stars themselves galloped across the sky, until the blue seas turned to mulberry fields!

It was too much to imagine; the very thought was terrifyingly grand.

Surprises really do have a way of appearing when you least expect them!

Of course, Dharma Transmission at only the First Layer was surely nothing... ah, no, it was still a million miles away from making flowers rain from the heavens, but the potential was certainly wonderful.

Song Ciwan silently recited the Heart Method and cultivated the Dharma Transmission skill for a while.

She discovered that although this Daoist Skill could be improved through arduous cultivation, the speed was extremely slow. The true method of cultivating it was through practical application.

She had already made seven trades today, with three chances remaining.

’No rush. I’ll finish all the sales first, then I’ll go test out this "Dharma Transmission"!’