Cultivation: I Can Steal Lifespan from Spirit Beasts

Chapter 121: Cultivating Techniques

This encounter differed vastly from his previous two meetings with the gray-robed cultivator.

This time, Dong Qiyu made no effort to conceal his identity.

He stood with hands clasped behind his back, tall and slender in a Daoist robe as white as snow. His face was as luminous as the moon, his eyes shining like brilliant stars. He exuded a unique aura of carefree elegance, a detachment from the mundane dust of the world.

Had Wang Ba not known that the gray-robed man from before was him, he would never have connected the two. However, faced with Dong Qiyu’s true appearance, Wang Ba couldn’t immediately fathom his intentions.

Before Wang Ba could speak, Dong Qiyu sensed his arrival. He turned, offering a gentle, proactive smile, and raised his hands in a polite salute.

“Fellow Daoist, I am Dong Qiyu. I heard from Junior Brother Bo Xiu that you possess Spirit Poultry here. I wonder if you might be willing to sell some to me?”

Bo Xiu?

Wang Ba quickly recalled the face associated with the name. He was an old regular, though he had stopped visiting over a year ago—likely having switched to a different cultivation method.

One does not slap a smiling face. Wang Ba forced a smile in return. “Well… to be honest, Fellow Daoist, I don’t have many Spirit Poultry left…”

Dong Qiyu’s expression didn’t waver. “I want one thousand.”

“I’m sorry, I really… cough…”

Wang Ba was on the verge of refusal, but the number choked him into silence. He stared at Dong Qiyu, stunned. “How many?”

“One thousand. Male or female, it makes no difference. I will pay four Spirit Stones for each. Naturally, if you have more, I will take those as well.” Dong Qiyu’s smile remained perfectly intact.

Wang Ba, however, could no longer maintain his composure.

One thousand Spirit Poultry. The sheer volume dwarfed any sale he had ever made. While four Spirit Stones apiece wasn’t an exaggerated market peak, Wang Ba’s costs were negligible. Even at one stone apiece, he would be making a killing.

Currently, the farm held a little over a thousand Spirit Poultry and a similar number of Rare Fowl. Feed was limited; if he converted them all, the supply chain would collapse.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Wang Ba nodded. “Deal!”

Wang Ba’s decisiveness was somewhat unexpected for Dong Qiyu. He had anticipated an outright refusal, like the previous times, or at least some haggling. He cast a thoughtful glance at Wang Ba.

Wang Ba wasted no time. He darted into the chicken coop, swiftly extracted their Lifespan, packed the batch, and loaded them into the spirit beast bag Dong Qiyu had provided.

Dong Qiyu was equally efficient. Without even checking the contents of the bag, he handed over forty mid-grade Spirit Stones.

“If you have more Spirit Poultry in the future, Fellow Daoist, contact me. I’ll take them all.” Dong Qiyu smiled, handing Wang Ba a sound transmission talisman.

This time, Wang Ba did not refuse.

He couldn’t help it; the man simply paid too well. And right now, Wang Ba needed Spirit Stones more than anything. If the Rare Fowl didn’t require a few days to break through into Spirit Poultry, he would have sold most of them to Dong Qiyu on the spot. After all, the market for Spirit Poultry was tightening; finding a ‘whale’ willing to buy in bulk was rare.

Feeling the heavy weight of the Spirit Stones, he didn’t dawdle. He headed straight for the market district.

He purchased several practical techniques he had been eyeing, including the Soul Searching Technique. He then squeezed his way into a crowded alchemy shop, spending half the day jostling for position until he finally secured some healing medicines.

They might not be needed, but it was better to be prepared.

It had to be said—this mandatory mission panic had effectively vacuumed up the Spirit Stones that the loose cultivators had painstakingly saved over the last few years.

Fortunately, Wang Ba still had over twenty mid-grade Spirit Stones remaining. It wasn’t that he was unwilling to spend them; there was simply nothing left to buy. Anything of value had long since been snatched up.

Preparations complete, Wang Ba returned to the chicken farm. He had barely settled in when a familiar figure barged in.

“Bu Chan?”

Bu Chan stared at him, her eyes inexplicably glistening with moisture.

“You… why did you take the mission with me?”

“You didn’t have to go!”

Wang Ba frowned slightly. “No respect for your elders. Call me Senior Brother.”

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Bu Chan rushed forward, burying her head against him and pummeling his chest wildly. Her hands, though pale and seemingly delicate, landed with enough force to make Wang Ba hiss and suck in cold air.

He dodged and backpedaled. “Girl Bu… you—if you keep hitting me, I’ll…”

He froze instantly.

A soft, warm body had crashed into his arms, hugging him tightly. Then, she pressed her lips against his.

After a long, breathless moment, the young girl stepped back.

She looked up, meeting his gaze directly. Her usually gentle eyes were filled, for the first time, with a profound stubbornness. She wasn’t a peerless beauty; she wasn’t the type to stun the world with a single glance. But for some inexplicable reason, in this moment, Wang Ba felt there was no one more beautiful.

“We… cough…”

Wang Ba cleared his throat, feigning composure, only to realize he had absolutely no idea what to say. The shift was too sudden. He was mentally unprepared. He simply felt that their pure senior-junior sibling dynamic had fundamentally mutated.

When did this start? How did I not notice? He scratched his head internally.

However, Bu Chan displayed a clarity and perceptiveness Wang Ba had never credited her with.

“Senior Brother, why struggle with it? You and I are cultivators, not mortals. We are both struggling bitterly for the Dao and transcendence.”

“I like you, Senior Brother. I want to be your Dao partner, to support each other on the path of cultivation. But that does not mean you are obligated to like me in return.”

“If I become a burden on your heart, then even if you did like me, it wouldn’t last. So, let things take their natural course. Don’t overthink it. Let’s survive the immediate trouble first.”

Hearing Bu Chan’s words, Wang Ba felt as though he were waking from a dream.

Now was indeed not the time for romantic entanglements.

He organized his thoughts and said, “The mission location I chose—Meng Xing Village—is relatively close to the Heavenly Gate Sect. The probability of the Faith Path appearing there should be low. As long as we stick together and stay vigilant, there shouldn’t be any major issues.”

“But, just in case, take these.”

Wang Ba handed her a storage bag filled with items he had prepared in advance.

Bu Chan didn’t refuse. She took the bag, swept her consciousness over the contents, and her expression immediately shifted to shock.

“This…”

High-grade talismans, magical artifacts, and treasures stuffed the small storage bag to the brim.

“These are things I’ve traded for with other cultivators over the years,” Wang Ba explained casually. He then handed her a spirit beast bag.

Inside rested Alpha-Twelve, wearing a spirit beast collar, and a female Emerald Water Spirit Turtle.

Both were high-grade spirit beasts. The former was approaching top-grade, possessing attack power comparable to an ordinary Ninth Layer Qi Refining cultivator. The Emerald Water Spirit Turtle’s defensive capabilities were even more astonishing; even a Tenth Layer Qi Refining cultivator might struggle to harm it.

Wang Ba already had a top-grade spirit beast for protection, so these two were redundant for him, but perfect for Bu Chan.

Seeing the beasts, Bu Chan immediately understood the weight of Wang Ba’s regard for her. A trace of sweetness welled up in her heart.

But Wang Ba quickly ruined the moment. “Hurry up and familiarize yourself with them! Don’t get cut down by a stray sword before you even manage to release the beasts!”

Bu Chan: “…”

Despite her annoyance, Bu Chan went to the edge of the spirit field to practice mastering the talismans and artifacts.

Meanwhile, Wang Ba began his own technique cultivation. Going to the Spirit Water Courtyard now would offer little benefit, and he had no other preparations to make. It was better to sharpen his spear at the last minute; at least it would add a sliver of survivability.

The first technique he chose was the Golden Wind Swift Arrow Art.

The cultivation method was straightforward: refine Metal Spiritual Iron Sand, blend it into one’s Qi, temper it repeatedly, and then circulate it according to the technique’s pathways. Once activated, the Qi would carry the heavy, crushing momentum of the iron sand. Combined with the technique, it would unleash a torrential, whistling bombardment.

However, after reading the full manual, Wang Ba realized he had been pitted.

This technique was designed for cultivators with a Metal Spiritual Root. Metal-attributed Qi infused with Metal Spiritual Iron Sand could exert terrifying power in their hands, and their cultivation speed would be superior.

Wang Ba had four spiritual roots, but Metal was the one he lacked.

“Still too young…” Wang Ba shook his head helplessly.

He knew this was due to his lack of common knowledge. Unlike most loose cultivators—who were former sect disciples with systematic education—Wang Ba was a wild practitioner who learned by fumbling around. His grasp of basic cultivation theory was likely inferior to a Third or Fourth Layer Qi Refining novice.

He would chalk this up as a lesson learned.

However, he didn’t give up. It would be a waste to leave an attack technique worth two hundred Spirit Stones gathering dust.

Picking up grains of the golden iron sand, Wang Ba attempted to infuse them with Earth-attributed Qi, slowly soaking and enveloping them… But he soon discovered that fully refining just this portion of sand would take months.

“Wait… months…”

Wang Ba suddenly remembered something and hurriedly summoned his Lifespan panel. Sure enough, a new entry appeared under the consumption options.

[Consumable Item: Partial Mutation of Earth-Attributed Qi (Metal Spiritual Iron Sand). Based on comprehensive aptitude and Root Bone, conversion requires 1.5 years.]

“It really works!”

Wang Ba was filled with surprise and joy.

Although the cost was higher than he expected, anything that could be solved with Lifespan was not a problem.

For the Golden Wind Swift Arrow Art, the most time-consuming aspect was refining the sand. Once that was done, he only needed to master the circulation routes to use the technique effectively.

“The only trouble is, many powerful techniques require refining specific treasures to master. Obtaining those treasures isn’t easy.”

“Moreover, refining too many types of foreign energies into one’s Qi isn’t beneficial for cultivation.”

He paused, a thought striking him.

“I can’t cultivate techniques that require specific treasures because I lack resources. But what about ordinary techniques that don’t require external materials?”

“Can those be speed-run?”