Chapter 7

For Ding Ning, the incident with Aunt Wu was just a minor episode. He simply couldn't tolerate anyone being disrespectful to his mother. As a child, he was often sickly, but he would still dare to fight with older kids to protect her. Now that he had grown up, this trait had only become more pronounced.

Moreover, after entering the Qi Induction stage, Ding Ning's mindset had also changed. He no longer saw himself as a weakling. Today's events had opened another door for him.

Previously, Ding Ning thought the summer vacation was long, but now he felt it was too short because there was so much to do.

For the first time, he did not study during the holiday but instead devoted most of his time to cultivation.

He was almost certain that he had inherited the legacy of the God of Wealth, which gave him a special affinity for money.

The method of giving money to others to strengthen his mental power had become clearer to him. Now, he knew that one yuan could bring a mental power called "divine sense," which allowed him to observe things from a distance and had many other uses. This was one of the most important means for cultivators.

However, other people's divine senses were gained through continuous cultivation, while his divine sense could only be obtained by dispersing wealth. Was this the difference between the path of the God of Wealth and other cultivators?

Ding Ning was eager to disperse large amounts of wealth to strengthen his divine sense, but he couldn't do so at the moment. His family had no money, and the Chinese knots hadn't sold, making life even harder.

So, he practiced day and night, cultivating the primordial qi within his body, striving to improve his realm. It was like a person on the verge of dying of thirst suddenly seeing a river and wanting to live by the river day and night, not because of a physiological need for water, but because of a psychological fear of being away from it.

Under such intense cultivation, his progress was rapid.

His heart condition improved day by day, and even his master called it a miracle. He even began to teach Ding Ning martial arts.

Ding Ning used this as an excuse to take a leave from his mother, saying he would stay at the Guandi Temple on the mountain for a long time.

However, Ding Ning didn't spend much time at the Guandi Temple. He had already started practicing martial arts, and although his heart couldn't yet handle intense exercise, he could manage moderate activity. Now, when he was with his master, they mostly did basic physical training and fast Tai Chi.

Most of his time was spent searching for a place with spiritual energy.

With the basic knowledge of cultivation, Ding Ning knew that finding a spirit vein could greatly enhance his cultivation.

Dagreenshan had an excellent natural environment, with fresh air that was very beneficial for cultivation. According to common knowledge, such a place might have a spirit vein, though it was a matter of probability.

After three days of searching, Ding Ning discovered that the small pond where he used to play and bathe as a child was actually a small spirit vein.

However, this spirit vein was very small, and the spiritual energy came from the spring water flowing through the mountains, accumulating bit by bit over the years. It had only accumulated a small amount of spiritual energy, and the regeneration rate was very slow.

But Ding Ning was still overjoyed. He had been worried that there might be no spirit veins on Earth and that his memories might be useless. Now, he knew that spirit veins did exist.

During this time, he had already assessed his own abilities.

The Qi Induction stage had ten levels, and he was currently at the first level. To completely cure his heart disease, he needed to reach the third level of Qi Induction.

His memory told him that after reaching the third level of Qi Induction, the body would be immune to all diseases, resistant to cold and heat, and old ailments would heal without medication.

Once he reached the third level of Qi Induction, his martial arts skills would also improve significantly.

Although he had missed the best age for learning martial arts, this was only true for ordinary people. For cultivators, it was never too late to learn any martial arts, with the only exception being that one could not practice child cultivation techniques after losing one's virginity.

However, such cultivation techniques were not very useful for cultivators.

So, Ding Ning's greatest wish now was to quickly reach the third level of Qi Induction, but this was difficult. Fortunately, he had found this spirit vein. If he continued to cultivate, he might reach the second level of Qi Induction before the end of the summer vacation.

Within the Qi Induction stage, secular martial arts were still very useful. Cultivators had not yet pulled far ahead of secular martial artists, and even cultivators who did not practice physical training were at a disadvantage in combat. The only advantage was the use of magical weapons and talismans.

Using magic was still difficult for Ding Ning. Perhaps at the second level, he could use some minor spells, but the current primordial qi was not enough to support him in casting spells.

So, talismans were a very important means for cultivators. Using the daily accumulated primordial qi to make talismans, they could be instantly activated in critical moments to save lives.

Ding Ning understood the importance of gradual progress. After finding the spirit vein, he practiced diligently but also spent some time making talismans.

In rural areas, yellow paper was easy to find. Ding Ning took out his savings, about 60 yuan, and bought yellow paper, brushes, and ink. He then went to the Guandi Temple alone, practicing martial arts with his master every morning and returning to the spirit vein to cultivate and make talismans after lunch.

As time passed, Ding Ning's demeanor gradually changed.

The increased physical activity from climbing the mountain back and forth, combined with his changed mindset, made him slightly slimmer, though not noticeably. He could feel the difference himself.

He knew many cultivation techniques, but none specifically for weight loss. Although he wasn't too concerned about his appearance, being overweight was inconvenient, so losing weight was necessary.

Additionally, Ding Ning began to exude a spiritual aura from within. To others, he looked clean and pleasant, despite his weight.

This was due to the gradual strengthening of the primordial qi. At a low cultivation level, cultivators could not control the overflow of qi, causing this visual effect. As his cultivation deepened, the qi would be internalized, and others would not be able to judge whether someone was a cultivator just by looking at them.

The old man gradually noticed some changes in Ding Ning. Ding Ning even thought about how to answer if his master asked, but the old man did not ask and instead urged him to practice martial arts even more.

Since Ding Ning's heart condition improved, the old man seemed to have discovered a treasure and increased his efforts to train Ding Ning. He ate breakfast and lunch at the Guandi Temple and went hunting and gathering herbs in the afternoon.

After practicing martial arts and cultivating, his physical strength consumption increased, and making talismans drained all the primordial qi in his body. He was always tired, but his appetite did not decrease; it even gradually increased.

The summer vacation was already halfway through, and the spirit vein's spiritual energy was also largely depleted.

In front of the spirit vein, Ding Ning sat down and sighed.

"I was a bit too optimistic. I am now at the mid-first level of Qi Induction, and the spirit vein's spiritual energy has been depleted by more than two-thirds. It seems that even if it is completely depleted, I will only barely reach the late-first level. To reach the second level, I still need a lot more."

"I need to find another spirit vein, preferably one where I can cultivate spirit herbs. Spirit veins will eventually be depleted, and only elixirs can last long-term."

Ding Ning had already mastered the methods of alchemy and weapon forging and had an intense desire for elixirs.

At his current low level, the most basic Spirit Gathering Pill would be enough to support him for a while.

The Spirit Gathering Pill was the simplest to refine, requiring two main herbs, seven auxiliary herbs, and one catalyst, as well as a pill furnace.

Herbs might be available at a large pharmacy, but the catalyst was hard to obtain, and pill furnaces were virtually extinct in modern society.

"Perhaps I can buy some materials and make a pill furnace myself..."

Ding Ning pondered. No matter how many twists and turns, the issue always came back to money, which was crucial for him.

There were not many ways to make money at the moment. After practicing for some time, his success rate in writing the "Spring" talisman was decent, about two out of ten, meaning he could accumulate two "Spring" talismans per day.

However, these talismans were not very useful. They might be helpful in the desert, but he couldn't openly sell them, and there would be few buyers.

Ding Ning racked his brain. Perhaps talismans with powerful attack capabilities or special functions would have better sales.

Since he had decided to sell talismans, he needed to create new ones.

While thinking by the spring, he suddenly heard bubbling sounds from the water.

Ding Ning's body tensed, and he looked down. The usually clear spring water had become murky, and bubbles were rising from the bottom. A dark shadow gradually emerged from the water!