Next up was the Cloud-Gathering Rain Technique.
He headed home so as not to draw attention and started his experiments.
Hum!
He executed a clumsy attempt at the spell following the Cloud-Gathering Rain Technique's principles, letting his Supreme Great Power fill in the gaps.
The moment his dantian's spirit qi dropped sharply, a spell that normally wouldn't have activated at all succeeded.
Patter, patter!
Clear droplets of water began to fill the previously empty jar.
By the time nearly half his spirit qi was spent, he'd completely filled a jar roughly the size of his torso.
"Phew!"
The rapid spirit qi expenditure in such a short time left him feeling drained, but the results were excellent.
The spirit qi cost was high, but the Supreme Great Power consumption was almost negligible.
'Thank goodness.'
Supreme Great Power was a precious resource, so he had to conserve it wherever he could.
He caught his breath and extended his hand again.
Hmmmm!
His spirit qi receded like a tide, and the water sitting in the vessel lifted up into the air.
After several more experiments, he managed to identify the Cloud-Gathering Rain Technique's characteristics.
'Manipulating water that already exists is way easier than condensing moisture from thin air.'
Good news always brought a smile to his face.
What he wanted was to harvest dew on Crimson Sun Mountain. It was only natural that he'd be happy about this.
With his experiments done, Chen Xiaoming closed his eyes and circulated the Five Elements Qi Refining Technique.
He planned to recover his spirit qi and then practice the Cloud-Gathering Rain Technique and Breath Concealment Technique again.
They were spells he'd only roughly grasped the principles of, but they were still spells.
The more proficient he became, the lower his spirit qi and Supreme Great Power consumption would be, so he had to put in the work.
* * *
One week later.
Chen Xiaoming rose before dawn and headed for Crimson Sun Mountain.
He'd made every preparation, so there was no hesitation. He'd grown fairly comfortable with both the Breath Concealment Technique and the Cloud-Gathering Rain Technique, and his confidence was high.
Crack!
He spent his Supreme Great Power to activate the Breath Concealment Technique and set off down the familiar path without breaking stride.
'Oh?'
Before long after climbing Crimson Sun Mountain, a sense of ease settled over him on its own.
Becoming a Qi Refining cultivator had made a world of difference. The grueling mountain trek felt effortless now.
Terrain so treacherous it could cost a careless man his life was nothing more than flat ground to him.
No matter how long he walked, he never tired, and his breathing stayed even.
He was enjoying the scenery rushing past him when...
'Already there?'
He arrived at the base of the massive tree he'd named the Dew Tree. It was nearly twice as fast as when he'd been an ordinary person.
And sure enough.
He had to stop and marvel. Even now that he was a Qi Refining cultivator, the Dew Tree was just as awe-inspiring as ever.
No, actually, with his senses sharpened, it looked even more extraordinary than before.
The entire tree radiated a breathtakingly dense spirit qi. It was so intoxicating that he'd almost drifted toward it in a daze.
And on top of that.
He sensed the presence of countless poisonous insects crawling through the thick branches.
The buzzing of wings, the faint gnawing and scraping sounds tightened his nerves.
Carefully, he approached without making a sound.
He stopped about five steps away and scanned his surroundings out of habit.
Once he was sure no one was around, he focused his mind and drew up his Supreme Great Power.
Whoooosh!
Hundreds of dew drops clinging to the tree arced through the air in a sweeping torrent.
Like rain. Spiraling through the air and pouring into the gourd bottle.
It happened at the exact moment one Supreme Great Power bead crumbled to dust.
'I did it!'
What an incredible haul.
The special gourd bottle that could hold a hundred pounds of liquid grew heavy in his hand. This amount would easily be worth more than one spirit stone.
But his elation didn't last long.
Zzzzing!
A sharp, piercing wing-buzz made his skin crawl. Every poisonous insect sleeping in the Dew Tree jolted awake all at once.
He couldn't even begin to count how many there were.
Bzzzz, bzzzz, bzzzz!
The ferocious sound was like a gust of bladed wind.
Like someone had knocked over a beehive. The swarm of insects flew into a frenzy, sweeping in every direction to hunt down whatever had stolen their dew.
'Ugh!'
Instinctive alarm snapped him back, and he sprang away. He poured everything into maintaining the Breath Concealment Technique and dropped low.
BOOM!
A nearby boulder exploded into pieces. Like a bomb had gone off, nothing was left standing in the path the insect swarm had torn through.
Everything within a three-meter radius of the tree had been reduced to powder.
'What the hell!'
The Supreme Great Power drain needed to maintain the Breath Concealment Technique spiked sharply.
That alone told him just how dangerous those insects were.
He turned and immediately kicked off the ground.
Zzzzing!
Cold sweat dripped down his back as the enraged insects' killing intent bore down on him from behind.
Thank god he'd kept the Breath Concealment Technique up. Without it, there would've been nothing left of him.
'I had no idea such dangerous insects were living in the Dew Tree.'
A chill ran down his spine.
It was a perfect example of what people meant when they said ignorance is bliss.
His face went pale as he recalled all those times he'd casually used the Dew Tree without knowing any of this.
Crack!
Another Supreme Great Power bead crumbled to dust.
Any thought of wandering Crimson Sun Mountain until sunrise vanished on the spot.
Less than an hour had passed, and already three golden beads were gone.
He felt in his bones just how dangerous Crimson Sun Mountain really was.
He hurried down the mountain and, thankfully, made it home without incident.
"Whew."
He rolled his sore shoulders and took stock of his condition.
He wasn't injured anywhere, but he'd burned through roughly half his spirit qi, and four Supreme Great Power beads in total were gone.
Recovering four golden beads would take about twelve days.
In other words, he could climb Crimson Sun Mountain roughly once every two weeks.
'Every two weeks. Not bad at all.'
He started out checking his consumption but found himself smiling. It was time to count the spoils.
He slipped the pack off his shoulder, pulled out the gourd bottle, and set it down.
Slosh!
It was heavy. The gourd bottle was nearly full, unlike any time before.
'At this rate... I could actually get two spirit stones for this.'
He did the math instinctively.
He could harvest dew once every two weeks, and the expected income was two spirit stones per trip.
'Even on a bad month, I should be pulling in at least three spirit stones.'
That was an incredible income.
It was the kind of money that would make the early-stage Qi Refining rogue cultivators crawling all over Crimson Sun Market green with envy.
Three spirit stones a month was enough to cover food, shelter, and clothing, with plenty left over to buy cultivation resources.