He hastily opened the book.
'Having spirit qi-laden water when beginning helps. If you succeed in distinguishing water qi among the five elements by placing spirit water in a container...'
He skipped the introduction and turned the page.
He raised his concentration to the extreme. Quickly turning pages, he first grasped the principles of the spell.
Just as he succeeded in memorizing the core incantation...
Thwack!
The spotted hand of the old man covered the page.
"Customer? I'm sorry, but if you want to read more, you'll need to purchase the spell."
The old man's eyes narrowed. His chilled gaze suggested what he was suspecting.
Before the atmosphere turned hostile, Qin Zhaoming honestly confessed:
"I'm sorry. Actually, I'm a bit short on spirit stones. But! I have a source of spirit stones coming soon. I came to check out the spells I want to buy in advance."
The old man's expression, which had been getting as cold as ice, gradually softened toward the end.
"Hmm. I see. But customer, examining books without purchasing them can cause misunderstandings, so please be careful in the future."
"Yes. I'll come back when I get spirit stones soon."
Half driven out, Qin Zhaoming left the Scripture Pavilion and sighed in relief.
The Concealment Technique and the Cloud and Rain Gathering Technique.
He had discovered the principles of the two spells needed to harvest dew on Mount Zeyang.
'Success.'
Normally, it would be impossible to learn spells in such a short time.
Even heaven-blessed geniuses would be the same.
But he wasn't trying to master the spells. He only wanted to reduce the consumption when the Supreme Great Power mimicked the spells.
'Let's experiment.'
He recited the core incantation of the Concealment Technique he had just learned.
He concentrated his mind to trap spirit qi inside his body and controlled his breathing. Then he consumed the Supreme Great Power to make a wish.
Crack!
The moment one golden sphere turned to powder and disappeared...
A mysterious wave swept through his entire body. It traveled through his limbs and meridians, seeping into the spirit qi accumulated in his dantian.
'Hmm...?'
It was a strange sensation.
Spirit qi is the source of a practitioner's power.
Even a tiny amount of spirit qi can produce a thousand-jin force. Naturally, spirit qi had a tremendous presence like a volcano, but at this moment, the spirit qi in his dantian became tranquil.
As if it had disappeared.
'Amazing?'
He couldn't feel anything even when focusing his senses. It was as if he had returned to being an ordinary person.
Woosh!
When he experimentally swung his fist, he felt immense power.
'Oh?'
The spirit qi hadn't disappeared.
It was just hidden by the mysterious wave; he could use the spirit qi whenever he wanted.
However, there was a problem.
The consumption of the Supreme Great Power increased dramatically if he used spirit qi during the Concealment Technique.
To maintain the hidden state, he couldn't use spirit qi, let alone spells.
Swish swish!
Moving here and there in admiration, Qin Zhaoming went out to the street.
He loitered in front of a stall operated by a Qi Refinement practitioner. He even waved his hand in front of their face, but there was no reaction.
'The effect is better than I thought?'
It felt like becoming an invisible man.
Just to be sure, he tested it on several people, and the results were the same. None of the Qi Refinement practitioners noticed him.
After wandering around for some time...
The Concealment Technique wore off, and the presence of spirit qi returned.
'The duration of one sphere is 1 hour. It's perfect except for the high consumption of the Supreme Great Power.'
He was very satisfied. It seemed much more powerful than an ordinary Concealment Technique.
Next was the Cloud and Rain Gathering Technique.
He returned home to start experimenting without attracting attention.
Woong!
He used an awkward spell according to the principles of the Cloud and Rain Gathering Technique, and the Supreme Great Power filled in the gaps.
The moment the spirit qi in his dantian decreased rapidly, the spell that would have otherwise failed to activate succeeded.
Drip drip!
Clear water droplets began to fill the empty jar.
By the time nearly half of his spirit qi was consumed, he was able to fill a jar as large as his torso.
"Whew!"
Though he felt weakened from using too much spirit qi in a short time, the result was excellent.
The spirit qi consumption was large, but the Supreme Great Power was barely consumed.
'That's fortunate.'
As the Supreme Great Power was precious energy, he needed to conserve it if possible.
After catching his breath, he reached out his hand again.
Woong!
Spirit qi ebbed like the tide, and the water in the container rose into the air.
After several experiments, he succeeded in figuring out the characteristics of the Cloud and Rain Gathering Technique.
'Manipulating existing water is much easier than condensing water qi from the air.'
He smiled at the good news.
What he wanted was to harvest dew on Mount Zeyang. Naturally, this characteristic was welcome.
After finishing his experiments, Qin Zhaoming closed his eyes and operated the Five Elements Qi Refinement Technique.
He intended to recover his spirit qi and practice the Cloud and Rain Gathering Technique and the Concealment Technique again.
Though they were spells he had only roughly grasped the principles of, spells were spells.
As his proficiency increased, the consumption of spirit qi and the Supreme Great Power would decrease, so he had to work hard.
※※※
One week later.
Qin Zhaoming, who woke up at dawn, headed to Mount Zeyang.
Having completed thorough preparations, there was no hesitation. He was full of confidence as he had become somewhat familiar with the Concealment Technique and the Cloud and Rain Gathering Technique.
Crack!
He consumed the Supreme Great Power to deploy the Concealment Technique. He moved his steps unhesitatingly along the familiar path.
'Oh?'
After climbing Mount Zeyang for a while, he naturally felt good.
The difference was stark after becoming a Qi Refinement practitioner. The once arduous hike was now so easy.
Terrain that was so treacherous that one could lose their life if careless now felt as free as walking on flat ground.
No matter how long he walked, he didn't get tired, and his breathing remained calm.
Just as he was enjoying the feeling of the surroundings whizzing by...
'I've arrived already?'
He had reached the giant tree he had named the Dew Tree. It was twice as fast as when he was an ordinary person.
Indeed.
He couldn't help but admire it. Even though he had become a Qi Refinement practitioner, the Dew Tree was still magnificent.
No, with his changed vision, it seemed even more impressive.
The whole tree emitted such enchantingly dense spirit qi that he almost approached it as if bewitched.
Also...
He sensed the presence of numerous poisonous insects crawling between the dense branches.
The buzzing sound of wings, the rustling noise of something being gnawed on—tension rose with these sounds.
Swish.
He approached carefully to ensure no footsteps were heard.
Stopping about five steps away, he habitually surveyed the surroundings.
After confirming no one was around, he concentrated his mind and summoned the Supreme Great Power.
Splash!
Hundreds of dewdrops abundant on the tree poured down in a parabolic trajectory.
Like rain, they spiraled into the gourd bottle.
Simultaneously, one Supreme Great Power sphere shattered.
'Success!'
It was an enormous harvest.
The special gourd bottle, which could hold a hundred jin of water, became heavy. This amount would surely exceed the value of 1 spirit stone.
The ecstatic joy was short-lived.
Buzz!
Goosebumps rose at the sharp wing sound. All sorts of poisonous insects sleeping in the Dew Tree woke up simultaneously.
There were too many to count.
Buzz buzz buzz!
The ominous sound was like a cutting wind.
As if a beehive had been disturbed, all kinds of insects flew around madly, sweeping in all directions to find the thief who had stolen the dew.
'Huh!'
With an instinctive sense of crisis, he backed away like a spring. He maintained the Concealment Technique with all his might and lowered his posture.
Boom!
At that moment, a nearby rock shattered into pieces. Like a bomb had exploded, nothing remained where the swarm of insects had swept through.
Everything within a 3-meter radius of the tree turned to powder.
'Crazy!'
The consumption of the Supreme Great Power to maintain the Concealment Technique increased dramatically.
This fact alone made him realize how dangerous these poisonous insects were.
He immediately turned around and kicked the ground.
Buzz!
Cold sweat flowed at the fierce aura of the enraged poisonous insects felt from behind.
It was fortunate he had concealed his presence with the Concealment Technique; otherwise, not even his bones would have remained.
'To think such dangerous poisonous insects lived in the Dew Tree.'
His spine tingled.
The saying "ignorance is courage" truly fit the situation.
His face turned pale as he recalled the past when he had frequently used the Dew Tree without knowing anything.
Crack!
Another Supreme Great Power sphere turned to powder.
His intention to roam around Mount Zeyang until sunrise completely disappeared.
Not even an hour had passed, but already three golden spheres had vanished.
He felt in his bones how dangerous Mount Zeyang was.
He hurriedly descended the mountain and, fortunately, was able to reach home without incident.
"Whew."
While massaging his tired shoulders, he checked his physical condition.
Though there were no particular injuries, about half of his spirit qi was consumed, and a total of 4 Supreme Great Power spheres had disappeared.
It would take approximately 12 days to recover the 4 golden spheres.
This meant he could climb Mount Zeyang once every two weeks, to be safe.
'Two weeks. Not bad.'
A smile appeared as he checked the consumption. Now it was time to check the harvest.
He unfolded the bundle on his shoulder and took out the gourd bottle.
Slosh!
It was heavy. Unlike usual, the gourd bottle was almost completely full.
'With this much... I could really get two spirit stones?'
He calculated instinctively.
He could harvest dew once every two weeks, and the expected income was 2 spirit stones.
'Even with bad luck, I could get 3 spirit stones a month.'
It was an incredible income.
It was so high that the countless early-stage Qi Refinement mountain gatherers in Zeyang City would go mad with jealousy.
With 3 spirit stones, he could not only solve his food, clothing, and shelter needs but also purchase resources necessary for cultivation.