Ch 2 Sword Arts are too Expensive

After receiving the task to gather Illusion Mist Grass, Magnus wanted to prepare. After all, even though he has a pretty good plan, and the mission isn’t that difficult, a lot could go wrong.

For starters, he decided to choose a weapon he would use from now on, as a weapon would greatly boost his prowess as a cultivator.

Stopping by a cheap shop in the shopping district that read ‘Tyr Crafts’ with a slanted sign on it, Magnus thought it was perfect. After all, he didn’t have many spirit stones to use, and even if he did, as a 7th level Spirit Gathering cultivator, it would be difficult to defend such wealth if he showed off with it.

‘Low-key is best, only high-key when the rewards are worth it.’ Magnus thought he had the strategy down for sure.

As Magnus walked into the store, he was immediately hit with a gust of heat from the forge located not too far from the entrance. Overall, it appeared to be a slightly crammed area with weapons tossed in corners, and only a few hung up. The few that were hung up clearly weren’t meant for Spirit Gathering cultivators as their prices were absurd.

After Magnus observed the surrounding area for a bit the owner of the shop seemed to finally notice he existed.

“What weapon are you looking for.” Tyr immediately got straight to business.

“I would like a saber that would last until I become a Spirit Spring Cultivator.” Magnus replied.

Magnus had thought extensively about this. A saber was more uncommon than a sword and looked cooler than one too. Not to mention was the important aspect of this weapon-he could learn saber intent.

“Alright. Here you go.” Tyr turned back and ruffled through all the weapons on the ground in the messy pile. He then randomly pulled out a saber and threw it to Magnus.

The saber had a purple hilt and a reddish blade. Forged out of red-rock iron which is a common Spirit Gathering material that is used for forging weapons. The saber is more compatible with a fire-type bloodline or cultivation method, so if Magnus awakens a fire-type bloodline he would be able to make the most of the saber.

“Seems good.” Magnus replied as he swung his saber up and down a few times. Although he was a complete newbie to how to use it, he figured that he could learn a saber art relatively cheaply as it wasn’t as popular as swords.

Magnus then thanked Tyr for his weapon and quickly headed out to get a scripture. After picking through the saber scriptures quickly, he picked a scripture that focused on basics called ‘Art of Sharp Saber Slashing’. Magnus figured this would be a good scripture to set a foundation for him. Not to mention, he didn’t like appearing too fancy with his moves, or standing out too much. This would keep his charm to a minimum hopefully.

Magnus then stopped by a few shops to stalk up on pills and a few safety talisman for his journey. In total, it cost 30 spirit stones for everything. 10 for the saber, 10 for the batches of pills, and 10 for the talismans. However, it was worth it. This way, he would have his life, and give his enemies fewer spirit stones if he happened to perish.

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Magnus then made his way from his sect to the Dense Illusion Morass Swamp. It didn’t take more than a few hours with his speed to reach the Dense Illusion Morass despite it being slightly more than a day away for a normal person to travel on foot.

In the Dense Illusion Morass Swamp, one couldn’t trust the landscape in the slightest. There were many poisonous insects laying deep in the pools of muddy water if you were to step in it. The plants could start to strangle you if you miss-identify them as normal plants, rather than plants that have begun cultivating a developing a sense of intelligence. The ‘platforms’ that could be used to cross the swamp could turn out to be a swamp monster that has been awaiting its next prey.

In this dangerous environment, one could see an average looking cultivator with short, slightly wavy black hair moving toward the entrance of the swamp. He had a saber strapped to his back and a spatial pouch tied to his waist.

Magnus looked at the swamp with a nostalgic look. He had spent quite some time in this swamp as it is quite an unpopular place to do tasks for the Liuyubang Sect that he was part of. Honestly, he couldn’t blame anyone who didn’t want to take tasks related to this swamp, after all, even though the tasks paid well due to the unpopularity, the swamp was very dangerous.

Magnus slowly started to enter and navigate the swamp with extreme dexterity and familiarity. He knew the ins and outs of the specific path he was going to take. Where to rest, where to avoid, and what items to bring. Magnus hated dealing with bugs, so he made sure to bring plenty of repellant power and spread it at every rest location. Magnus then made sure to always get rid of the powder using a simple wind spell because he didn’t want to be tracked by any rogue cultivators. After 1 hour of being careful, he finally managed to reach his goal.

Magnus soon arrived at the secret location that he had been cultivating for a while, ever since he came across it. First, he moved the mossy rock to the side, then he used an earth replacement spell while he moved the rock back in place over him. This is so his traces don’t remain, and other cultivators at his level wouldn’t be able to find his traces. Magnus wasn’t too worried that Spirit Spring cultivators would randomly stumble across it as only by going much deeper into the swamp would they make any real gains.

After all, the price of pills for that cultivation level is ten times the price of what a Spirit Gathering pill is. This means that Spirit Spring cultivation pills are worth 100 spirit stones each. These are only the most basic cultivation pills too. Pills that have better effects, or that are used for different purposes cost way more.

Magnus then squatted down and checked the hole he would be squeezing into. He then casted a paper body art, allowing him to twist his limbs in odd positions that wouldn’t normally be possible. With this method, he successfully entered the small hole, and made it into a cavern.

At first glance, this cavern was filled with a row of Illusion Mist Grass. 30 bundles of Illusion Mist grass, to be precise. However, this Illusion Mist grass could be seen growing around a small tree, where three fruits were maturing. They were Spirit Gathering Fruits that were used for cultivation. Magnus planned to bring the fruits back once they were ripe, and consume them in the sect. He would do this over time, slowly, to guarantee a solid foundation, and to avoid too much suspicion over how he improved so much.

Magnus was satisfied. With this batch of Illusion Mist grass, he would have 30 pills, enough for a month more of cultivation. Magnus calmly picked the Illusion Mist Grass and carefully put them in his spatial pouch. After Magnus picked all of the Illusion Mist Grass, he then was prepared to practice his Saber arts for a few days until the fruits were ready to be harvested.

He opened the ‘Art of Sharp Saber Slashing’ manual and started to practice the forms. The focus of the manual was to teach someone how to imbue their spirit energy into the saber, forming a sharp coating. This would work as an inferior version of saber intent. As Magnus practiced slashing down, up, and at several different angles. At the start, his Saber would shake, and his strikes would look clumsy and unprecise. However, as time continued his slashes started to look precise and sharp. It was finally starting to look like he was training his saber arts, and not his clown acts.

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