Qin Zhaoming, who had entered the Scripture Pavilion, managed his expression.
As confidently as possible, he approached an old man with a goatee who was cleaning with a duster.
"Proprietor, I'd like to buy a spell. May I ask you some questions?"
"Hmm...? Of course! Our Scripture Pavilion has many cultivation techniques as well as spells. What would you like to know, customer?"
Fortunately, the old man was very friendly.
He acted as if he couldn't see Qin Zhaoming's worn-out, shabby clothes. It was almost moving, reminiscent of the service spirit from his past life on Earth.
With a brightened expression, Qin Zhaoming immediately stated his business.
"I've heard that a Qi Refinement early-stage practitioner needs to use a Concealment Talisman to enter Mount Zeyang."
"That's correct. You have excellent insight, customer."
"Then, are there any concealment spells that could substitute for a Concealment Talisman?"
"Of course there are. It's called the Concealment Technique, one of the five essential spells for Qi Refinement practitioners. The price is 20 spirit stones."
"..."
20 spirit stones, not spirit stone fragments. He couldn't help but swallow at the exorbitant price.
With his income as an ordinary person, it would take 60 years of climbing Mount Zeyang to gather such a fortune.
As he forgot what to say, the proprietor smiled gently.
"Customer, the Concealment Technique is very popular. As the demand is high, naturally the price is somewhat steep."
The old man was still friendly, but his words hit differently now.
He held back the sigh that was about to escape. In truth, since he didn't have a single coin anyway, whether it was expensive or not didn't really matter.
With a calm expression, he said:
"Then... could I perhaps take a look at it? I've heard that there are many fake spells circulating in the market."
"Hoho. Those untrustworthy mountain gatherers carelessly sell hastily copied fakes without any responsibility. But our Scripture Pavilion is different. We only deal with authentic works where not a single character is missing. Here! See for yourself."
He opened the book the goateed old man handed to him confidently. He quickly skimmed through the beginning as if inspecting its quality.
'Concealment Technique. The most basic concealment technique, its principle is to close the pores to trap the spirit qi that naturally leaks out inside the body. When mastered, it works even on sensitive 1st-rank demon beasts, not to mention late-stage Qi Refinement practitioners.'
Qin Zhaoming's eyes moved rapidly. He maximized his concentration.
He desperately tried to remember the key principles.
Then he turned the page and memorized the core incantations, but his breath caught.
'What does this even mean?'
The principles of the spell were logical and easy to understand. But when it came to learning the specific implementation methods, it felt like facing a huge wall.
The incantations that included methods of handling spirit qi made no sense no matter how much he examined them.
It felt like reading an alien language.
'...Fine. Let's focus on memorizing as much as possible.'
His eyes moved rapidly. Fortunately, since his memory had improved after becoming a Qi Refinement practitioner, he was barely able to succeed.
'Whew.'
About two minutes had already passed, and he closed the book with some regret.
After all, with the proprietor watching from the side, he couldn't examine everything.
The proprietor's expression grew increasingly displeased the longer he spent flipping through the book.
'That's enough. This should be sufficient.'
Fortunately, he gained confidence that he could use the Concealment Technique with the Supreme Great Power.
It would become more certain after he left the Scripture Pavilion and experimented.
Though he could end here having achieved his goal, he felt a bit unsatisfied.
He praised the goateed old man:
"Indeed! The Scripture Pavilion's reputation is well-deserved. It's clean without any missing characters. Do you perhaps have a spell that can control water?"
"I recommend the Cloud and Rain Gathering Technique. It's a 1st-rank low-grade water-element spell that can condense water qi in the air to form clouds and rain, and when mastered, you can even ride clouds to fly through the sky. The price is 10 spirit stones."
Cloud and Rain Gathering Technique!
He was immediately tempted upon hearing it. If he could control water qi, he would naturally be able to manipulate dew containing spirit qi.
If he mastered the Cloud and Rain Gathering Technique, it would become very convenient when harvesting dew on Mount Zeyang.
It wouldn't be a dream to collect all hundreds of dewdrops abundant on the Dew Tree.
"Could I take a look?"
"...Of course."