Chapter 32

However, before officially starting his cultivation, he still needed to go to the Nine-Infant Mountain peak to collect some spirit grain pills and cultivation manuals for basic spells.

According to Xue Yuanhai, these items were all free, but they were essential for the initial stage of a Spirit Disciple's cultivation.

After making up his mind, Liu Ming immediately changed into the dust-repelling robe and left his residence, heading straight for the mountain peak along a winding path.

On the way, he encountered some outer disciples, some carrying large bags and others holding various-sized packages, all going up and down the mountain.

When these people saw the light green dust-repelling robe Liu Ming was wearing, they all showed a respectful look and stepped aside, allowing Liu Ming to pass first before continuing their journey.

It seemed that in the Savage Ghost Sect, the status of Spirit Disciples and outer disciples was indeed worlds apart, incomparable.

The path leading straight to the mountain peak was quite steep. Even with his body trained in certain secret techniques and starting from halfway up the mountain, it still took him about half an hour to truly reach the peak.

The moment Liu Ming's feet touched the square at the mountain peak, he made up his mind that after slightly converting some magical power, the first thing he would learn would be the Levitation Spell.

Otherwise, if he had to go to other distant peaks, a round trip would take most of the day, which would be extremely inconvenient.

While Liu Ming was walking and thinking on the square, a pair of young women walked towards him.

One of the women, with a plump figure, glanced at him and suddenly smiled, saying, "Oh, isn't this Junior Brother Bai? Oh, Junior Brother, are you going to the External Affairs Hall to collect things?"

Liu Ming was taken aback and then realized that the two women were the most beautiful female disciples he had seen among the senior disciples yesterday. He immediately stopped and hurriedly greeted them, "It's the two Senior Sisters. I am indeed going to the External Affairs Hall to collect some spirit grain pills."

"Hehe, it seems Junior Brother Bai doesn't know our names yet. Remember, I am Gu Meishan, and this is your Senior Sister Zhu Lianxing," Gu Meishan said with a smile.

The tall woman beside her, hearing her companion directly tell her name to the young man, blushed slightly and lightly scolded her companion before gracefully greeting Liu Ming.

"Junior Brother will surely remember the names of the two Senior Sisters and will not forget them easily," Liu Ming replied solemnly.

"Alright, Junior Brother Bai, go to the External Affairs Hall quickly. It's in that direction. If you go too late, you might have to wait until tomorrow to get the spirit grain pills," Gu Meishan said, first startled, but then resumed her usual expression.

Then, the woman grabbed Zhu Xinglian's hand and used the Levitation Spell, and in a moment, the two of them flew away on a cloud.

After the two women had gone far, Liu Ming turned his gaze and walked in the direction Gu Meishan had mentioned.

After passing a few buildings, he arrived at a hall with a sign that read "External Affairs Hall."

Although it was called a hall, it was just a larger room.

When Liu Ming walked in, he saw a man in the outer disciple's uniform sitting behind a table, his head lowered, using a golden abacus to calculate something, with a thick open ledger beside him.

"Ah, are you a new senior brother? Are you here to collect spirit grain pills?" The man was quick to react. As soon as he saw Liu Ming enter, he stopped his actions, stood up, and said with a smile.

"That's right. I heard that all disciples in the mountain can collect three months' worth of spirit grain pills for free here," Liu Ming asked without hesitation.

"Yes, please take out your badge. I'll record it, and then you can collect the spirit grain pills," the middle-aged man replied respectfully.

"Alright." Liu Ming took out his badge from his sleeve and handed it over.

The middle-aged man flipped through the ledger to a certain page, took the badge, and pressed it lightly.

Instantly, the three light silver characters "Bai Congtian" appeared on the page.

"Senior Brother Bai, here are the spirit grain pills for three months. Take one pill at a time, and you won't need to eat for three days, just drink a little water," the middle-aged man said, taking a palm-sized gray cloth bag from a wooden rack behind him and respectfully handing it back with the badge.

Liu Ming took the cloth bag and badge, loosened the string, and poured a light yellow pill into his hand, which emitted a faint fragrance.

Indeed, it matched the description of the spirit grain pill given by Xue Yuanhai.

Liu Ming nodded and put the items away. After a moment of thought, he asked the man, "By the way, where should I go to collect and read ordinary spell manuals?"

"Oh, if Senior Brother wants to go to the Spirit Spell Pavilion, just follow the path from the entrance and take the first turn," the middle-aged man said carefully.

Hearing this, Liu Ming smiled and thanked him, then left the room and headed straight for the Spirit Spell Pavilion.

...

"You can borrow a maximum of three basic spell manuals at a time, and each manual costs one spirit stone," a thin, almost emaciated woman standing in front of Liu Ming said in a somewhat harsh tone.

"Senior Sister, didn't you say that borrowing manuals is free?" Liu Ming was slightly taken aback by the words of the female Spirit Disciple.

"Hmph, one spirit stone per manual is not much different from free. If you're really short on spirit stones, you can borrow fewer manuals and wait until next month to borrow more," the thin woman said impatiently, showing no respect to the new junior brother.

"Alright, I'll borrow these three then." Liu Ming felt a bit angry but showed no sign of it on his face. He handed over the three manuals he had chosen, three spirit stones, and his badge.

The spirit stones were actually three rectangular crystals, about the size of a finger, cut to the same size and emitting a soft white light.

The thin woman took the three manuals, glanced at the covers, and said expressionlessly, "Levitation Spell, Fire Flame Spell, Water Condensation Spell. They must be returned within a month."

As she spoke, she recorded Liu Ming's identity with his badge and threw the three manuals back to him, instantly putting away the three spirit stones.

Liu Ming did not want to stay any longer. As soon as he received the badge and manuals, he turned and left the pavilion.

However, he had not gone far from the gate when he encountered two people walking towards the Spirit Spell Pavilion.

The one in front had a proper face, it was Shi Chuan, and the one behind was the red-haired youth Yu Cheng, who had been taken as a personal disciple.

"Ah, Junior Brother Bai, you've already chosen your manuals. I'll take Junior Brother Yu to pick some spell manuals too," Shi Chuan said with a smile when he saw Liu Ming.

The red-haired youth also greeted Liu Ming.

"Senior Brother, does borrowing manuals from the Spirit Spell Pavilion require spirit stones?" Liu Ming asked with a smile, seemingly casually.

"What, did Senior Sister Zhao charge spirit stones for borrowing manuals again? That's outrageous! Junior Brother, don't take it to heart. Senior Sister Zhao has some connection with Master Gui, so she sometimes acts a bit over the line, but for Master Gui's sake, it's best not to hold it against her. By the way, how many spirit stones did she charge you? I'll repay you," Shi Chuan first showed a hint of anger, but then sighed and tried to take out some spirit stones to give to Liu Ming.

"Senior Brother, what kind of person do you think I am? A few spirit stones are nothing to me. Since Senior Sister Zhao has a connection with Master Gui, I won't take it to heart. Senior Brother and Junior Brother Yu, please go ahead, I'll take my leave." Liu Ming waved his hand and left.

Shi Chuan sighed, watching Liu Ming's retreating figure, and then continued to the Spirit Spell Pavilion with Yu Cheng.

By the time Liu Ming returned to his residence, it was already afternoon.

He had no intention of resting and instead carried a bucket of fresh water into a room with only a mat, sat down cross-legged.

He reached out and took out the small cloth bag containing the spirit grain pills, poured one pill into his hand, and swallowed it directly.

The seemingly hard spirit grain pill immediately turned into a liquid in his mouth and flowed into his stomach.

A warm feeling spread throughout his body, and his stomach felt slightly full.

Liu Ming sensed this and was delighted.

The effectiveness of the spirit grain pill was truly beyond his expectations. This way, he wouldn't have to worry about eating at all and could focus entirely on cultivation.

Thinking of this, Liu Ming moved his arm and took out the brocade book containing the Bone Meditation Technique from his chest, and began to read it carefully from the beginning.

Although Liu Ming had spent most of his time on the Savage Island, there were indeed many well-read people among the island's bandits. Additionally, he had the talent of "dual thinking," so his knowledge was probably not much less than that of the famous scholars in the outside world.

However, even so, after reading the Bone Meditation Technique once, he found that every sentence was profound and every word was full of mysteries, making it impossible to comprehend in a short time.

Liu Ming was inwardly startled. His expression turned serious, and he pressed his fingers on his temples, took a deep breath, and used his dual thinking talent, dividing his consciousness into two parts. One part continued to study the technique, while the other part fell into a deep sleep.

Before long, Liu Ming's mind was completely immersed in the study of the technique, unaware of anything else.

After an unknown amount of time, when a strong feeling of hunger in his stomach finally woke him up, he stood up and immediately felt a heavy head and blackness in his eyes, almost falling to the ground.

His face turned pale, and he hurriedly took out a spirit grain pill from his chest and swallowed it, then grabbed the wooden bucket beside him and drank a few mouthfuls of water, which made him feel better.

However, at this time, Liu Ming still felt a splitting headache, a clear sign of excessive mental exhaustion.

His previous study had unknowingly lasted for five days and five nights. If it weren't for the intense hunger, he might still be immersed in the study and unable to break free.

The Bone Meditation Technique was truly very strange!