Longevity Begins With The Birth Of A Daughter At An Old Age

Chapter 11: Price Surge

"Hungry? But I just finished eating."

Xu Mu was momentarily confused, but quickly realized what was happening.

It was likely that the system was extracting his internal abilities to strengthen his physical fitness in order to adapt to the Thunder Sword Art.

"It seems like my guess was correct. Body cultivation can indeed indirectly enhance physical fitness, but the cost of enhancement needs to be paid by me!"

Although there were some flaws, Xu Mu was already quite satisfied.

He took out the Qi Suppressing Pill he had snatched from Sun Daocheng and checked it before swallowing one.

"Let's try again!"

Click to add points!

[Thunder Sword Art +10]!

The Qi Suppressing Pill he had just ingested was instantly digested.

The feeling of hunger was much stronger than before.

"It seems that the energy contained in the Qi Suppressing Pill is indeed much inferior to that of demon beast meat and spirit rice!"

"Fortunately, compared to spirit rice and demon beast meat, the Qi Suppressing Pill is more convenient to consume!"

This time, Xu Mu directly ate two pills.

[Thunder Sword Art +10]!

This time, in addition to a faint feeling of hunger, there was also a strange sensation of muscles becoming tighter all over his body.

He took off his shirt to check.

His body was still thin, and there were no muscular lines as he had imagined.

"Is the enhancement too small, or is it just my imagination?"

He took another Qi Suppressing Pill.

[Thunder Sword Art +10]!

Looking again, there seemed to be a slight change.

He lightly waved his arm and could feel a sense of fullness and strength.

"There is improvement, but not much!"

He swallowed all the remaining Qi Suppressing Pills.

[Thunder Sword Art +20]!

Buzz!

This time, there was finally a significant change. Xu Mu saw his muscles wriggling slightly, like little mice.

When everything settled down, he could see faintly visible muscle lines.

Looking at himself, he no longer appeared thin, but rather more robust.

He stood up again, conjured a flame longsword in his hand, and swung it. Xu Mu's swordsmanship was as if he had been practicing for months, with coordinated breathing and techniques, showing a disciplined and precise style.

"Not bad. With my current skills, even without spiritual power and spells, I can easily defeat five or six ordinary people."

To exchange a strong body for a bottle of Qi Suppressing Pills and a meal, Xu Mu was very satisfied with this result.

Unfortunately, the room was too small to test the effect of the Lightness Technique.

And also...

"I'm hungry again!"

Xu Mu no longer had any Qi Suppressing Pills, so he had to return to the kitchen and eat all the remaining food, barely satisfying his hunger.

"The consumption of food during sword practice is too great!"

"This is only the initial stage of cultivating the body. In the later stages, it will involve the skin, tendons, organs, bone marrow, and blood. I'm afraid the consumption will be even greater!"

This was recorded in the Thunder Sword Art. Through continuous training, one could achieve complete coordination of physical strength, allowing the full power of swordsmanship to be unleashed with any movement.

If the physical fitness couldn't keep up and swordsmanship was used recklessly, not only would it fail to harm others, but it would also harm oneself.

"Another money-consuming endeavor!"

Xu Mu sighed inwardly.

But everything was worth it for the sake of survival.

What he feared was that even with money, there was no way to improve his strength.

At this time, the Thunder Sword Art was at the entry level: 60/100, still lacking forty points to advance to the proficient level.

He had 3,495 points of Luck remaining.

For the next half month, Xu Mu immersed himself in alchemy at home.

He gradually increased his Fire Control Technique by five hundred points. It had now reached the level of Grandmaster: 1,051/3,200, further enhancing his attack power and control.

When the food at home was almost gone and all the medicinal materials for fifteen Qi Gathering Pills were used up, he had no choice but to leave the house.

"Stay at home and wait for me to come back. Remember what I told you!"

"Okay!"

Yeyingying nodded heavily, holding the child. Xu Mu finally left the house with peace of mind.

As Xu Mu walked out of the alley, two pairs of eyes had been watching him through the crack in the door for a long time.

Not long after leaving the alley, he arrived at the place where he had targeted Sun Daocheng half a month ago. Xu Mu unconsciously slowed down his pace and observed discreetly.

The large pit on the ground had been filled, and the cracks in the walls on both sides had been roughly repaired. If one didn't look closely, they wouldn't notice.

As for Sun Daocheng's body, it had disappeared. Xu Mu didn't know if it had been taken away by the patrol team in the market.

Seeing all this, Xu Mu breathed a sigh of relief.

Sun Daocheng's death hadn't attracted the attention of the authorities in the market, which was the best outcome.

However, after the relief, Xu Mu became worried again.

If Sun Daocheng could be killed by him inexplicably, could there be a day when he could be killed by someone else in the same inexplicable manner?

The slum was not safe!

He still needed to enhance his strength as much as possible, and his home also needed reinforcement. Just a few sealing talismans were far from enough. It would be best to buy a set of formations.

Of course, Xu Mu's bigger wish was to move to the center of the market.

There, patrol teams were on duty day and night, and the level of security far surpassed that of the slums.

"But now the rent in the city center is probably sky-high, and there may not even be any vacant houses!"

Xu Mu entered the city center and found that there were many more people on the streets than usual.

The crowd was bustling and lively!

"They are cultivators from out of town!"

After careful observation, Xu Mu noticed that the attire of many cultivators was quite different from those in the Bai Shi market.

He remembered what his neighbor Jia An had said half a month ago.

"The people who can escape to the Bai Shi market from the frontlines are probably wealthy. No wonder the managers of the Bai Shi market dare to raise the rent so high!"

As Xu Mu walked through the streets, he carefully avoided each cultivator.

Although he had some strength, he wasn't at the level where he could walk with arrogance.

When he arrived at the Song family medicine shop, he straightened his clothes and walked in.

"Fellow Daoist, are you here to sell Gathering Qi Pills again?"

Xu Mu didn't expect to encounter the same maid with the beauty mark who had first received him, and he certainly didn't expect her to remember him.

This made Xu Mu feel a sense of closeness towards her.

"Yes! Fellow Daoist, please show me the way!" Xu Mu politely said.

"Please follow me!"

The maid led him warmly towards the back hall.

"I am Xu Mu, may I know the name of Fellow Daoist?" Xu Mu asked.

"I am Su Qing!" the maid smiled.

"Su Fellow Daoist, do you know the recent situation between our Qinghe Sword Sect and the Soul Refining Sect?"

Although Su Qing was just a maid, she had the backing of the Song family medicine shop, so she must know some insider information that outsiders didn't.

"Well..." Su Qing hesitated, unsure if she should say anything.

After all, the Song family was a vassal family of the Qinghe Sword Sect, and she was essentially a member of the Song family. If she spoke ill of the Qinghe Sword Sect and it became known, she might not even be able to keep her job.

"A small gift, please don't refuse, Su Miss!" Xu Mu noticed Su Qing's hesitation and took out a bottle of Gathering Qi Pills and handed it to her.

"This..." Su Qing was suddenly surprised.

This gift was definitely not small at all!

She was just a maid, not a high-ranking person. Her monthly salary was only a dozen low-grade spirit stones.

Xu Mu's bottle of Gathering Qi Pills directly broke through her defenses.

"Master Xu is really too, too polite!"

After hesitating for a moment, Su Qing couldn't help but accept it and quickly put it in her pocket.

With this bottle of Gathering Qi Pills, she might be able to break through to the next level faster.

After receiving the pill, she didn't immediately respond, but instead led Xu Mu into the back hall before speaking softly.

"I don't actually know much, I just occasionally heard the shopkeeper mention it. Recently, the Qinghe Sword Sect has suffered heavy losses. Several Foundation Building cultivators have died, and they have been continuously shrinking and controlling their territory. In the near future, there will be more and more people from our Baishi Fang market."

She paused for a moment before continuing, "It is said that not long ago, a demonic cultivator from the Soul Refining Sect infiltrated the fleeing group and entered our Baishi Fang market. Many people in the slums have been killed, and even during the day, people are being attacked!"

"Now that the market is growing rapidly, the patrol teams can't keep up. Fellow Daoist Xu should be careful when going out recently and try to travel with familiar people. It will be safer!"

"Oh, by the way!"

Before leaving, Su Qing reminded him again.

"The prices in the market have skyrocketed recently, especially for pills and talismans!"

Xu Mu's eyes lit up, immediately understanding what she meant.

"Thank you for the reminder, Fellow Daoist!"

Su Qing smiled, walked out, and soon returned with a middle-aged pill master.

After checking the pill, with Su Qing's intentional or unintentional help, Xu Mu sold this batch of Qi Gathering Pills for fifty percent higher than the original price.

A total of two hundred and eighty low-grade spirit stones!

After traveling through so many years, this was the largest amount of spirit stones he had obtained.

The only thing that made Xu Mu depressed was that while the price of pills had risen, the price of raw materials had also increased significantly.

The materials for the Qi Gathering Pills, which used to cost two spirit stones per portion, had now risen to three, and according to Su Qing, they would continue to rise significantly in the future.

Considering the current situation, Xu Mu spent ninety low-grade spirit stones to buy thirty portions of Qi Gathering Pill materials.

He also spent one hundred and thirty low-grade spirit stones to buy sixty bottles of Body Tempering Pills and the materials for one hundred Body Tempering Pills.

Buying the Body Tempering Pills was naturally for practicing the Thunderbolt Sword Art.

Of course, he could refine them himself, but it would be a waste of time.

However, what Xu Mu didn't expect was that while the price of Qi Gathering Pills had risen, the price of Body Tempering Pills had increased even more crazily, doubling in price.

This forced Xu Mu to buy some refining materials. If the price continued to rise later, he would have to refine them himself.

Two hundred and eighty spirit stones, and he had already spent two hundred and twenty before leaving the shop.

It really was a case of the pharmacy making money and the pharmacy spending money, not even a penny left to take home.

"Sister Su, I have one more thing to trouble you with!"

After the transaction was completed, Xu Mu spoke again.

"Feel free to speak, Master Xu!"

Su Qing's face was full of smiles.

Receiving Xu Mu's business not only brought her benefits, but also earned her a good commission. Needless to say, she was in a great mood.

"Sister Su, since you work at the pharmacy, you must know many pill masters. I wonder if anyone needs a pill furnace. I happen to have one that I don't need!"

Recently, he had been using the mid-grade pill furnace that Sun Daocheng had given him, which was much better than his original low-grade pill furnace.

Since it was just sitting at home collecting dust, he might as well sell it and exchange it for spirit stones to improve his strength.

When Su Qing heard that Xu Mu wanted to sell a pill furnace, her eyes couldn't help but brighten.

Because she had a younger brother who was currently studying alchemy.

(End of this chapter)