Cultivation: I Can Steal Lifespan from Spirit Beasts

If he hadn’t been shoved toward Ye Lingyu by that group of terrified cultivators, Wang Ba—paranoid and cautious to a fault—would never have set foot in the Wind Sun Market.

But since he was here, and since Ye Lingyu had conveniently wandered off, handing him the perfect window of opportunity, he wasn’t going to let it slide. He needed to test his Spirit Root.

He checked his surroundings one last time. No eyes were on him.

He ducked sideways into the shop.

The interior was a claustrophobic box, the air heavy with the scent of ink and cinnabar. The walls were plastered with yellow paper. Every inch of vertical space was covered in talisman strips, layered so densely it was enough to trigger a severe case of trypophobia.

Each strip hummed with a faint spiritual resonance. Beside them, small wooden plaques offered brief descriptions of their effects.

The shopkeeper, a middle-aged man in his forties, sat huddled in the corner, brush in hand. He glanced up as the door creaked, saw the gray robes of a Laborer Disciple, and immediately lost interest, returning to his work.

In the Wind Sun Market, merchants were almost exclusively Outer Sect disciples. To them, a laborer was little more than furniture.

Wang Ba was used to the disdain. In fact, he preferred it. Being invisible was safe.

He moved quietly along the walls, scanning the wares. Suddenly, his eyes snagged on a talisman that looked startlingly familiar.

He realized with a jolt where he had seen it before.

It was identical to the one Ye Lingyu had tossed at him the first time she crashed through his roof.

Wang Ba leaned in to read the plaque, and his jaw nearly hit the floor.

[First Rank Top Grade – Divine Movement Talisman] Effect: Grants speed comparable to 50% of a Qi Refining Level 10 cultivator’s full-speed flight. Duration: Depends on Spiritual Power injected. Maximum one hour. [Price: 97 Low Grade Spirit Stones]

Ye Lingyu… is filthy rich.

The thought screamed through his mind.

She was loaded. Absurdly so. She had thrown a talisman worth nearly a hundred Spirit Stones at him like it was scrap paper.

Then he remembered the second time she crashed, she had tossed him a Middle Grade Spirit Stone. And just earlier, she had pulled out a fistful of talismans to bribe those disciples.

To her, this wealth was nothing. It was pocket change. A drop in the ocean.

“I should have accepted the ones she offered earlier,” Wang Ba thought, a pang of genuine regret twisting his gut.

Of course, it was just a fleeting thought. He knew better. Wealth aroused greed. If a Laborer Disciple were found with such treasures, he wouldn’t live long enough to spend them.

He continued scanning. The price disparity between talismans was staggering. Top Grade ones could cost over a thousand Spirit Stones, while low-quality utility charms went for a mere dozen.

He spotted a “High Grade Armor Talisman” that could withstand a full-force strike from a Ninth Layer Qi Refining cultivator. His heart yearned for it, but the price tag of 150 Spirit Stones—and the requirement of Fifth Layer Spiritual Power to activate it—forced him to look away.

Finally, tucked away in a dusty corner, he found his prize.

[Spirit Root Talisman] Rank: None. No Spiritual Power required. Roughly detects Spirit Root aptitude. [Price: 10 Low Grade Spirit Stones]

The price was steep for a consumable, but acceptable. The stack was covered in dust; clearly, few people bothered with such basic items here.

Wang Ba grabbed one and approached the counter.

The shopkeeper didn’t even lift his head. “Ten.”

Wang Ba didn’t haggle. He counted out ten stones, placed them on the counter, tucked the talisman into his robes, and slipped out the door.

Outside, he checked the rendezvous point. Ye Lingyu was nowhere to be seen. She was likely still lost in the crowd, hunting for the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

Wang Ba hesitated, then looked at a bookstore a few doors down.

Safe.

He ducked inside.

The bookstore was small, but the shelves were groaning under the weight of thousands of volumes. A few Outer Sect disciples were browsing, flipping through pages with focused expressions.

When Wang Ba entered, a few glanced at his laborer robes with mild surprise, but quickly dismissed him. A laborer in the market usually meant they were running errands for a master. No one cared.

The owner, busy chatting with a group of customers, barely spared him a peripheral glance.

Delighted by the neglect, Wang Ba moved quickly. His eyes skimmed over sections labeled “Strange Tales” and “Secret Arts,” finally locking onto the section he needed: “Cultivation Methods.”

What struck him immediately was how pathetic the selection was.

Compared to the overflowing shelves of geography and folklore, the “Cultivation Methods” section held only a dozen thin booklets, carelessly tossed onto an empty rack.

The titles were generic, sounding like mass-produced goods.

Everlasting Spring Immortal Scripture, Alchemy Talisman Art, Five Dragons Scripture, Earth and Wood Mystic Method, Metal and Water Profound Way, Three Primordials True Intent…

There were even some ridiculous ones like Nine Heavens Ten Earths I Alone Am Supreme Immortal and Indestructible Heavenly Dao Method and the rather suspicious Heaven and Earth Yin Yang Union Great Bliss Rhapsody.

But Wang Ba didn’t care about the names. Even if they were trash, to him, they were keys to the kingdom.

He picked up a book. He could read the introduction, but the rest of the pages were blank.

The introduction gave the requirements.

Everlasting Spring Immortal Scripture: Best for Wood Spirit Roots, but usable by all. Prolongs life.

Alchemy Talisman Art: No attribute requirement, but demands heavy resource investment in alchemy and talisman crafting.

Earth and Wood Mystic Method: Attribute specific.

Strange. None of them had price tags.

He looked back at the “Strange Tales” section. Those were all clearly priced, ranging from ten to fifty Spirit Stones.

He stepped back and finally noticed a small sign scrawled on the “Cultivation Methods” shelf:

[Freebie Zone: Buy any Secret Art or Strange Tale, pick one manual for free.]

“What is this?” Wang Ba frowned. “Are cultivation methods worthless? Or are these just garbage?”

He wanted to ask, but the cold, indifferent faces of the surrounding cultivators silenced him.

He thought for a moment, then went to the “Strange Tales” section. He picked out the cheapest looking volume: Record of Local Products from the Sen, Chen, and Fu Three Kingdoms.

He approached the counter. The owner had just finished with his previous customers. He looked at the book in Wang Ba’s hand and nodded.

“Fifteen Spirit Stones.”

Wang Ba fished out the stones. Thanks to the booming market for Spirit Poultry, he had saved a decent stash. Fifteen stones hurt, but it was within his budget.

The owner took the stones and formed a single-handed seal. “Release!”

A faint light rippled over the book cover. He handed it back.

“This unsealing is temporary. The ink will fade after a few readings. If you need to read it again later, bring it back. Re-sealing costs one Spirit Stone.”

What a rip-off!

Wang Ba was stunned by the sheer capitalism of the operation.

He flipped the book open. The pages were now filled with text. He quickly snapped it shut, not wanting to waste the “charge.”

“Which freebie do you want?” the owner asked. He didn’t seem to care that Wang Ba was a laborer; business was business. Or perhaps he assumed Wang Ba was buying for a master.

Wang Ba hesitated. He didn’t know his Spirit Root aptitude yet. He needed options.

“I… can I take more than one?”

“One purchase, one freebie,” the owner said, frowning.

He paused, looking Wang Ba up and down. “However… if you add five Spirit Stones, I can give you a summarized micro-copy. It contains the text of every manual on that shelf. But be warned: it lacks the ‘True Intent’ of the original texts. It’s only good for reference.”

Wang Ba’s heart leaped. He nodded vigorously, digging out five more stones.

“Deal.”

Twenty Spirit Stones total. It was a fortune, but to walk away with a library of techniques was a steal. He didn’t know what “True Intent” was, and he didn’t care. He just needed the instructions.

He also picked a physical copy of the Five Dragons Scripture as his official freebie. It was a neutral technique, usable by any Spirit Root, capable of reaching Foundation Establishment, and known for being easy to swap out later. It was the safest bet.

The owner disappeared into the back and returned with a sheet of gold foil.

Wang Ba took it. The foil was densely engraved with microscopic characters and diagrams.

He squinted at it. The layout looked incredibly familiar.

It looked exactly like the Yin Spirit Great Dream Scripture Old Man Sun had given him.

Realization dawned on him. Old Man Sun’s precious scripture… was also a cheap, mass-produced micro-copy bought from a bookstore.

There was no time to dwell on the irony. Wang Ba tucked the gold foil, the Five Dragons Scripture, and the Record of Local Products deep into his robes.

Heart pounding with the thrill of the acquisition, he turned and hurried out of the shop.