Chapter 47
Upon hearing these words, everyone present was shocked.
Liang Yiqing, surprised, asked, "Are you a practitioner, Miss Lu?"
Qiao Wan, subtly replied, "Not yet."
So that means you want to become a practitioner.
"The path of cultivation is not easy." Liang Yiqing shook his head, not completely agreeing, "Please think it through, Miss Lu."
But since they had only just met, and seeing that Qiao Wan wasn't interested, he didn't say much more.
Liang Yiqing gave the order, and the group immediately started packing up.
There were many stalls at the market selling magical tools and manuals, but also selling counterfeit goods. Although they might deceive Yu Sanniang, they couldn't deceive Qiao Wan.
Qiao Wan could proudly assure them that even though she wasn't the strongest disciple among the Twelve Peaks, she had seen many good things and had a good eye for it.
Except for those who boasted about their manuals and magical tools.
Of course, there were also those who clearly didn't care about deceiving others.
"Miss, take a look at this." A certain man lowered his voice and whispered, "This is a glove that Ma Huaizhen used. It's made of silk from the silkworm, invulnerable to knives and poisons. I only have one."
"Ma Huaizhen, do you know him, Miss? He's the head of Wenshi Hall in Kunshan."
Qiao Wan looked at the glove on the man's left hand and fell silent.
For anyone who knew about Wenshi Hall in Kunshan, there was no hope of entering the inner sect for people like Yu Sanniang and Liang Yiqing, who didn't have high qualifications. They could only hope to join the dark faction.
Yu Sanniang didn't show any extra expression on her face, but it was obvious from her eyes that she was wavering and interested. She deliberately lowered her voice and asked, "How much does it cost?"
Even Liang Yiqing showed a hint of hesitation in his eyes.
Qiao Wan corrected them seriously, "Ma Huaizhen severed his left hand."
Yu Sanniang: "..."
Liang Yiqing: "..."
Next, Yu Sanniang took a liking to a book called "Master Fire Magic in Thirty Days," and Liang Yiqing was interested in a book called "Easy-to-understand Sword Techniques." Qiao Wan corrected them all diligently.
After this tour, Liang Yiqing was surprised to find that although Miss Lu's cultivation seemed low, her discerning eye was quite good.
This kind of discerning eye was not easy to develop.
Unless one was accustomed to seeing good things, it would be hard to tell the difference.
Liang Yiqing couldn't hold back and said, "Miss Lu seems to be quite knowledgeable about these magical tools."
Qiao Wan made up a prepared excuse, "I have an older brother who works at the Treasure Pavilion, so I've learned a bit by osmosis."
But there were also people on Nan Street who knew how to distinguish good items.
Like the female cultivator in front of them and Yu Sanniang, who both had their eyes on a bottle of Pulse Cleansing Pill.
The female cultivator looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, followed by several servants. She was wearing a flowing and vibrant blue robe, with a white lotus flower embroidered on the skirt, and a red gemstone-adorned sword at her waist. She exuded an air of extravagance.
With a glance at the white lotus flower, it was clear that her eyes couldn't hide the disdain.
"Give that to me."
Qiao Wan didn't say anything, she raised her hand to stop her from reaching for the medicine.
Bai Hehua looked at Qiao Wan from head to toe and laughed, "I see you also want to join Kunshan? But with such poor cultivation, even if you have this elixir, it's useless."
The servant behind Bai Hehua quickly flattered, "Our miss is definitely going to join the inner sect. These fools probably can't even get near the gate of Kunshan."
Bai Hehua sneered, "Inner sect disciple? I'm definitely going to join Yuqing Spiritual Master's sect, and then join the dark faction."
Qiao Wan was a little surprised.
The servant continued to flatter, "Yes, I know you admire Yuqing Spiritual Master the most, miss."
When Bai Hehua's older brother mentioned the immortal that she admired, her face turned a bit red, and her eyes showed a hint of longing.
She had seen that Yuqing Spiritual Master before.
Her father had some connection with Yuqing Spiritual Master, so this spring recruitment, she was certain she could join Yuqing Spiritual Master's sect.
Thinking about it, Bai Hehua felt a bit uneasy, "I wonder if the three elder martial sisters are easy to get along with."
"Never mind," Liang Yiqing shook his head and stopped Qiao Wan.
In front of them, Bai Hehua, dressed and carrying herself, did not seem ordinary, and she had a servant with her.
It seemed like they came from some small sect.
They were both independent cultivators, without a background or a strong support. It wasn't worth making enemies over a bottle of elixir.
Qiao Wan glanced at Liang Yiqing and stopped.
The group of people walked out of the shop and turned into another one at the corner.
Recalling Qiao Wan's earlier experience, Liang Yiqing picked up a sword manual cautiously and asked, "Miss Lu, what do you think of this sword technique?"
Qiao Wan replied, "This sword technique is genuine."
Liang Yiqing breathed a sigh of relief.
"But..." Liang Yiqing raised another concern.
"This sword technique should only be practiced in the later stages of Qi cultivation. Practicing it now might lead to deviation in the true Qi."
Liang Yiqing relaxed again and waved his hand, "As long as it's genuine, it'll be fine. I will naturally be cautious during my cultivation."
Qiao Wan remained silent, and Liang Yiqing seemed cautious, but also a bit proud.
Although he was only in the early stages of Qi cultivation, he had recently started his cultivation path after being active in the martial world, and even gained some reputation. He was considered a successful swordsman.
Liang Yiqing had confidence in himself, and Qiao Wan didn't say anything else. Instead, she turned to ask the shop owner.
"Boss, do you have any manuals for body cultivation?"
"Body cultivation?" The shop owner looked at the girl in the devil mask in front of him, a bit puzzled. "What do you need a manual on body cultivation for?"
Qiao Wan actually found a "Essentials of Body Refinement" there, which was tattered and randomly rolled up in a corner, neglected by everyone.
The binding was loose, and as soon as Qiao Wan picked it up, a page fell out. She dusted off the dirt from the book and flipped through the crumpled pages.
She read it carefully, her heart beating a bit fast, feeling a bit dry in her mouth.
Body cultivation can be roughly divided into five stages: refining the skin, training the blood, cultivating the flesh, strengthening the tendons, and building the bones. Each stage also has several smaller stages.
Refining the skin makes one impervious to knives and spears.
Training the body allows the blood to flow throughout the body, nourishing the muscles and cultivating inner energy. It can also condense the blood into arrows.
Cultivating the flesh makes one's body as strong as a diamond.
Strengthening the tendons ensures that they remain healthy and can contain more spiritual energy.
As for building the bones.
One can "extract bones to create weapons and transform bones into shields."
Every part of the body becomes a shield and a weapon.
However, building the bones is the most difficult stage in body cultivation.
To advance, one must shatter all the bones in the body.
The pain of shattering bones is unbearable for most people.
Even if they can endure it, most fail and only a few succeed.
Shattering all the bones in the body is not a trivial matter. Failure means everything is lost.
So, considering the pros and cons, very few cultivators dare to attempt it.
"There are few people in this world who practice body cultivation."
Suddenly, a male voice came from above.
Qiao Wan looked up and saw Jiang Kai.
Seeing Qiao Wan engrossed in reading, truly intending to follow the path of body cultivation, Jiang Kai couldn't help but feel concerned.
Meeting each other is fate, and he didn't want this taoist friend to focus solely on useless training, running on a path of self-destruction.
The young man pointed at the book in Qiao Wan's hands, "I remember that only noble families like the Cen family and the Lu family would cultivate the body using Thunder Body Refining, Silver Vein Injection, Jade Liquid Irrigation, and True Fire Refinement."
Qiao Wan closed the book and shook her head, "Thank you, but I still want to give it a try."
Jiang Kai scratched his head.
It's her choice then.
Holding the book, Qiao Wan silently made a decision in her heart.
She had the secret manual, now she needed the appropriate weapons.
Forging weapons take too long, so Qiao Wan went straight to the weapons store. Ignoring the shopkeeper's boasting, she headed straight to the shelf and picked out a pair of iron hammers.
With her strong body, the hammers felt comfortable to wield, but they were limited to close combat and couldn't achieve swift kills.
However, they were powerful, especially when fitted with iron chains, they had a wide attacking range.
"I want this one." Qiao Wan pointed at the iron hammers.
Yu Sanniang was stunned when she saw the two big golden gourds, "Miss Lu, aren't you going to look?"
But in the blink of an eye, she saw the girl with the pink hairband holding the golden gourds and discussing with the shopkeeper on how to modify them to suit her preferences.
Witnessing this, Yu Sanniang kept her words to herself.
After making plans to come back the next morning to collect the hammers, Qiao Wan and Yu Sanniang left the shop together.
However, they encountered a problem on their way back.
At a corner, they saw an elderly man with white hair lying on the ground, lifeless. Not only was he dead, but all his belongings had been stolen.
Clearly, it was a robbery and murder.
The fatal blow struck the head, shattering the skull, and red and white liquid spilled all over the ground.
Qiao Wan crouched down and glanced around.
The person clutched a packet of candy tightly in their hand before they died, and no one had taken it.
It was probably bought for their grandson to eat.
Yu Sanniang turned pale, covered her mouth, and almost vomited.
Liang Yiqing's face darkened, "This was likely done by members of the Bodhisattva Society."
Qiao Wan asked, "Bodhisattva Society?"
Yu Sanniang scoffed, "You arrived late and don't know, but recently, there have been a group of cultivators in town wearing Bodhisattva masks, specializing in killing and robbing treasures."
The corpse lay there, and no one dared to approach out of fear of getting into trouble.
Liang Yiqing was also afraid, so he quickly grabbed Yu Sanniang and Qiao Wan and ran away.
As the sun set, the group returned to the "Yue Xian Inn" with a bountiful harvest.
Back at the inn, Qiao Wan continued to meditate, and soon broke through to the second level of cultivation.
The second level of cultivation was already considered quite high.
Anything beyond that was not achievable for Qiao Wan, who struggled to keep up with her physical condition.
Combining the second level of cultivation with body refinement would allow her to use it for some time.
With this in mind, Qiao Wan opened the book "Essentials of Body Refinement."
Previously, she had focused on attacking techniques in her body refinement, emphasizing strength. But this book, "Essentials of Body Refinement," was more comprehensive.
In the early stages of skin refining, the focus was primarily on defense. And in the blood refining stage, one could condense the blood into arrows, balancing defense and attack.
Since her meridians were damaged and she had nothing to lose, Qiao Wan decided to give it a try and started practicing from scratch.
With the motivation of reaching the second level of cultivation, Qiao Wan made rapid progress and reached the third level of skin refinement.
At the third level, ordinary swords and knives couldn't harm her anymore.
When she opened her eyes, Qiao Wan was a little surprised, a little excited, and full of joy. She took out the small booklet and pen she had bought during the day from her storage bag, and sat on the bed, diligently writing.
"Radiant and Thunderous" and "Throw Your Thunder" were not Kunshan techniques. Although they were suitable, their power was reduced.
Her divine consciousness was no longer needed.
Qiao Wan put down the pen and leaned against the bed, feeling a bit regretful.
Spiritual energy will eventually run out.
Body refinement brought tangible results.
Resting on the bed for a while, Qiao Wan took out a flute from her sleeve.
She had bought it along with the hammer.
Music could calm the mind.
Lu Pihan had always wanted to groom her into a refined lady of the cultivation world. Under his supervision, Qiao Wan had learned to play many musical instruments, although not proficiently. Thanks to Lu Pihan's patience and guidance, she had learned a bit of the piano and flute.
Seeing Qiao Wan put the flute to her lips, Yu Sanniang was a bit surprised. "Miss Lu, you can play the flute?"
Qiao Wan hummed in response, "A little."
Yu Sanniang, no longer able to meditate, stopped and listened to Qiao Wan play the flute.
Qiao Wan played the soothing music called "Falling Plum Blossoms" that Gao Lanzhi had taught her. It had a calming effect, but only a little.
Elder Martial Brother often had trouble sleeping at night, so she went to Xixia Peak to learn a little bit from Gao Lanzhi. She wasn't a healer and didn't know how to combine healing with music, she only knew this one piece.
As they grew older, Lu Pihan didn't let her enter his cave to watch him sleep anymore.
He had too much pride.
Even though he had raised her, Lu Pihan felt a bit uncomfortable with her sitting beside him and watching him sleep.
Qiao Wan truly didn't have any other thoughts.
Lu Pihan looked young, but his demeanor was too serious.
Maybe it was because he acted like a father figure.
Qiao Wan had actually considered Lu Pihan's appearance seriously.
Honestly speaking, Elder Martial Brother wasn't ugly, although he might not be as attractive as the beautiful women in the cultivation world, but sometimes a simple meal could be just as satisfying as fancy dishes.
Sick beauties were only beautiful because of artistic embellishments. Real sick people, with dark circles and emaciated bodies, weren't really good-looking. It was already rare for Lu Pihan to see a hint of coldness in that mature and serious face. Unfortunately, Elder Martial Brother had too much of a fatherly presence, so even if Qiao Wan had any romantic thoughts, she didn't dare to express them.
If she did...
Qiao Wan thought awkwardly to herself that she felt guilty for having such thoughts about her father.
