Qin Zhaoming waved his hand, and the hologram-like status window scattered.
'Should I go out soon?'
It had already been a month since he'd gone outside.
Now that he had stabilized his realm and his stored food had run out, it was time to go out.
'Come to think of it, Fang Yi, the owner of the Spirit Elixir Pavilion, told me to visit him once I became a Qi Refinement practitioner.'
Thanks to Fang Yi, he had obtained a spirit stone and stepped onto the path of cultivation.
Though it was just a fair trade, he was still grateful.
In the cultivation world marked by violence and survival of the fittest, even such "fair" trades were not easy to come by.
He made up his mind to repay Fang Yi's kindness whenever the opportunity arose and left his home.
"Hmm."
Standing under the bright sun after a long time felt refreshing. Walking on the streets in broad daylight, he noticed numerous changes.
The stalls lining the streets looked different today.
'Is that... Three-Colored Grass?'
Though he had seen this plant often, it seemed unfamiliar. This was because his perception had changed since becoming a Qi Refinement practitioner.
Previously, he had thought of Three-Colored Grass as just a colorful herb, but now he truly understood why it was called a spirit herb.
The spirit qi condensed in the Three-Colored Grass was so dense that it felt almost like a spirit stone in plant form.
'Indeed. With such abundant spirit qi, no wonder it's used as an ingredient for elixirs.'
He was pleased with the change in his vision. With his spiritual perception becoming more sensitive, he could now distinguish between spiritual materials and ordinary objects.
He could also differentiate between ordinary people and cultivators.
Practitioners who had entered the Qi Refinement stage all had an aura-like energy emanating from them.
He could naturally determine the ratio of ordinary people to practitioners, which was 4 out of 10 being practitioners.
'Only 40% are practitioners?'
It was hard to believe as it was fewer than he expected.
Despite Zeyang City being a village of cultivators, the proportion of ordinary people was high.
'...No. It's just that I can't detect them with my ability. Almost everyone here is a cultivator.'
He quietly turned his gaze away before getting into trouble.
Among cultivators, there were many eccentric and violent individuals. Just looking at them could provoke a fight.
After finishing his observation, he hastily moved on.
When he arrived at the Spirit Elixir Pavilion...
The Qi Refinement girl on the first floor said with round eyes:
"Huh? You were definitely an ordinary person before. When did you become a Qi Refinement practitioner?"
"I was fortunate enough to enter the stage recently."
The girl, who had been pouting her lips, gave a small snort.
"Even so, you're just at Qi Refinement level 1. I'm already at level 2. Anyway, have you come to sell dew again?"
"No. I came because Senior Fang called for me."
"What? Wait a moment!"
The girl with cute furrowed brows blocked his way.
Naturally, his steps halted, and at that moment, blue mist rippled in her eyes.
'Spirit Eye Technique!'
Qin Zhaoming flinched but remained still, pretending not to know.
Spirit Eye Technique was a supernatural skill that enhanced vision to see through illusions and examine a practitioner's spirit root quality.
Of course, examining someone without permission was certainly impolite, but he could only sigh.
Being young and weak was his crime.
'Still, her talent is remarkable. Using a spell while at Qi Refinement level 2.'
Although Spirit Eye Technique was a basic supernatural skill, it wasn't easy for those in the early stage of Qi Refinement to handle. Since it was a spell related to the optic nerve, a mistake could risk damaging one's eyesight.
For a girl at Qi Refinement level 2 to use this supernatural skill—it meant she had exceptional talent.
"What? Just a trash spirit root. Compared to me, it's nothing, so why does he keep calling for you? Surely he won't take you as a disciple?"
"Who knows?"
"...Hmph. Hurry up. Don't keep Master waiting."
He passed by her and went up to the second floor of the Spirit Elixir Pavilion.
He didn't wait long before someone came down from the third floor. It was Fang Yi, the owner of the Spirit Elixir Pavilion, smiling like a friendly merchant.
"The kid has come... No, since you've now entered Qi Refinement, I should call you Daoist."
"No, Senior Fang can just call me 'kid' as before."
"Hmm? Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Fang Yi, who had been examining Qin Zhaoming observantly, nodded with a satisfied expression. He seemed to appreciate the respectful attitude.
"Good. With that attitude, you won't suffer great losses wherever you go. There's nothing wrong with acting humbly."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Qin Zhaoming nodded without further words, but his true feelings were different.
Since his past life, he had been quite rebellious in nature. He was by no means a docile character.
Acting this obediently was a kind of survival strategy, and also because Fang Yi had helped him.
Anyway, he had no intention of revealing his true feelings and arguing with Fang Yi.
While Fang Yi had indeed helped him, he didn't truly consider him someone he could trust.
"Hmm! Good. I didn't misjudge you."
Fang Yi, who seemed satisfied like a benevolent adult, said:
"By the way, when you didn't come for a month, I thought you were dead. I thought you ignored my words and went to Mount Zeyang. Huhu."
"I apologize for the delay. It took me a month to stabilize my realm and adapt."
"Ah... Usually, those with less talent have more difficulty stabilizing their realm... Ahem! Never mind. It's fine as long as you've stabilized it. Anyway, congratulations on entering the Qi Refinement stage."
"Thank you. But..."
There was something odd about Fang Yi's words.
After a slight hesitation, he cautiously opened his lips. One of the privileges of being a child was asking questions.
"Senior, is there a problem with climbing Mount Zeyang? Actually, after meeting you, I was thinking of going to the mountain to harvest spirit herbs."
Mount Zeyang was a mountain he had climbed countless times over the past three years. Though somewhat dangerous, he had managed even as an ordinary person.
Now that he had become a Qi Refinement practitioner, it should be safer, so why did Fang Yi speak as if climbing Mount Zeyang was a fatal action?
"Tsk tsk! I thought as much. You truly don't know how fortunate you are to have met a kind senior like me."
Fang Yi, putting on airs, said with a chuckle:
"An ordinary person climbing Mount Zeyang and a Qi Refinement practitioner going there are completely different. Vastly different!"
"Pardon?"
"Kid, you probably never encountered a 1st-rank demon beast in the past three years, right? Well, if you had, you would have died long ago, so there's no need to ask. At most, you probably only met ordinary beasts that hadn't become demon beasts."
"Ah... That's right. I never encountered a 1st-rank demon beast. I was lucky."
"Luck? Well, that's not wrong. But luck isn't everything. More importantly, you were an ordinary person without spirit qi."
"An ordinary person?"
"Yes. To a 1st-rank demon beast, ordinary people are tasteless and have no nutritional value. They're no different from roadside stones or weeds."
As Qin Zhaoming stood with his mouth agape at these ominous words, Fang Yi continued his explanation:
"If you were a tiger, would you deliberately seek out and eat weeds? Only when truly starving would you force yourself to eat them. Huhu! But now the situation has changed."
"...You mean that because I've become a Qi Refinement practitioner, I've become delicious food for demon beasts?"
"Yes! You understand well. Now you're not just a simple stone but fragrant food. Hungry demon beasts will be attracted from all directions. If you climb Mount Zeyang, that day will be as good as your memorial day. Huhuhu."
Qin Zhaoming moved his lips several times. He didn't know how to respond.