Chapter 39: Knowing You Have an Agenda Actually Puts Me at Ease (Happy New Year)

After leaving the bird market, Feng Xue rented a small villa near the East Station for two hundred wen a month. In terms of floor plan and square footage, this villa was even better than the one he had in Ping'an County, and it even featured a stream running past the courtyard—truly a lovely view. However, the low price naturally had its reasons: it was, after all, near the train station.

Everyone knew what a train station entailed. Although in this era there might not even be one train a day and operations ceased after nine in the evening, those who could afford to live in a villa were certainly not the common poor, and so this drawback was amplified infinitely.

But Feng Xue, a modern man with a slight obsession with real estate, did not care about such a negligible flaw. He promptly paid the deposit of five months' rent plus one, and with that, he had a home in Deer City.

While waiting for the agent who had gone to help with his errands to return, Feng Xue took out the three large bags of jade scraps he had bought in bulk and inspected them one by one.

One look was all it took to give him a start!

They were indeed scraps, but that was relative to large items like bracelets. Among these three bags, Feng Xue found dozens of intact bracelet cores. While the jade quality wasn't top-tier, it was certainly not the kind of merchandise one could buy for ten wen a jin.

"This is practically a giveaway!" Feng Xue picked out the larger pieces, his expression shifting with intrigue. Setting aside the true waste materials, the pieces he had already selected would fetch far more than a couple of strings of cash at any jade shop.

"Could that old man be the fifth expert Auntie Liu mentioned? Is that why the boss of Nanshan Residence was so accommodating?"

Although Feng Xue felt a bit uneasy about receiving such a windfall, it was, at the end of the day, a clear transaction. If nothing else, he could just offer the boss some favor in return later.

With that thought, he pulled out the book titled *Jade Carving*. Initially, he hadn't paid much attention to it, as someone who had once been a sword spirit before transmigrating, he was familiar with such texts. But as he flipped through the pages, he froze.

The book was not the Song Dynasty reference text on jade-polishing abrasives he had expected. Instead, it was a secret manual that could be called *The Jade-Carving Method*, or even *The Jade-Carving Cultivation*.

It did not increase the speed of cultivation, nor did it contain powerful spells; rather, it was closer to the auxiliary techniques practiced by "artifact refiners" in traditional cultivation novels.

Aside from the opening chapter—which served as a general guide on distinguishing the quality of jade and basic carving techniques—the content was divided into two parts: the upper and the lower. The upper part, "Nurturing Jade," involved using mana to guide, transform, gather, and refine the essence within jade to produce stones of higher quality and greater spiritual resonance.

Feng Xue didn't care much for improving the quality of jade, but according to the book, practicing this method could effectively improve one's control over mana.

The lower part, "Consuming Jade," was similar to the "Ingestion" techniques he had bought from Ninth Aunt, only it was more focused on the collection, extraction, and refinement of jade essence. While not as broad as "Ingestion," it was far more detailed.

"Consuming Jade" was still a bit too advanced for Feng Xue, but "Nurturing Jade" was exactly what he needed. Compared to using a candle flame for calibration, this practice could even generate extra profit.

Thinking this through, Feng Xue finally understood the intention behind Nanshan Residence's cheap prices and the included manual. Cultivating "Nurturing Jade" required jade as an auxiliary tool, which was a massive expense. Naturally, Feng Xue would have to deal with Nanshan Residence in the future. Moreover, the fine jade he produced would be more than he could use for crafting artifacts, and the surplus would inevitably flow into the market—at which point Nanshan Residence would be the best choice.

Realizing that Nanshan Residence had its own agenda, Feng Xue felt much more at ease. He took out paper and pen and began to analyze the techniques recorded in the book.

This technique had no name, so Feng Xue tentatively called it the "Jade-Nurturing Incantation." Its essence involved converting mana into a state similar to jade essence to adjust the internal structure of the stone, extracting impurities, and condensing the essence to improve quality.

Analyzing it through the four basic laws from the Yizhuang secret manual, the conversion of mana into "Jade-attribute" mana utilized the "Transformation" of the Thunder-Calling Incantation; distinguishing impurities from essence utilized the "Screening" of the Spirit-Summoning Incantation; removing impurities without damaging the stone utilized the "Transfer" of the Substitution Incantation; and the process of stabilizing and refining the jade essence utilized the "Fixing" of the Spirit-Attaching Incantation.

One technique applied all four basic skills simultaneously. It was not a mechanical process, but one that required adjustments based on the state of the jade. Furthermore, it touched upon the sustainability and precision of mana. It was safe to say that by following this process, one would review all the basic skills a mysterious cultivator should master. If one couldn't progress after this, they truly were a hopeless blockhead.

However, because this technique involved so much, it was naturally harder to master than the Spirit-Attaching Incantation. Feng Xue tried it, only to find that without ritual instruments, he couldn't even manage to convert his mana into the jade attribute.

Fortunately, he remembered the agent would be back soon, so he didn't immediately set up an altar to perform the rite. Instead, he locked the "Spirit-Attaching" entry and continued to inject mana into his jade seal.

Compared to ordinary cultivators, Feng Xue’s advantage in mana was heaven-sent. Ordinary cultivators usually obtained mana either as a byproduct of nourishing their souls or by waiting for it to recover naturally; they were always stingy with it and rarely used spells before achieving enlightenment.

It was like a game where one had to sacrifice their maximum health to quickly restore mana—unless necessary, everyone preferred waiting for natural recovery.

But Feng Xue had locked his maximum health, so he could use it however he pleased. As long as his soul wasn't fatigued, his mana was infinite.

Alternating between locking "Lifespan" and "Spirit-Attaching," Feng Xue immersed himself in the cycle of extracting vitality and outputting mana. The small jade seal began to glow with a faint light, as if it would explode if he continued any longer.

Seeing this, Feng Xue stopped staring at the seal and took out the small green jade sword the boss had given him, repeating the process.

He hadn't been at it for long when the copper bell outside the door rang. Feng Xue halted his practice, confirmed that his "Lifespan" was locked again, and opened the door.

"Mr. Feng, the items you requested have arrived. However, a refrigerator is a rare item and we don't have one in stock in the county. Getting it from the port will require a deposit. Would you..."

The agent stood at the door with a respectful tone, gesturing to the goods being carried by the laborers behind him. Feng Xue simply pulled out two large banknotes and handed them over.

"Money is no issue. As long as you get the job done well, there will be plenty for you!"