The Ring of Greed only gave Li Wei ten days to break through to Tier Three.

If he still hadn’t broken through to Tier Three after ten days...

...his Mana would begin to constantly diminish.

At that point, unless his Cultivation speed could outpace the rate at which his Mana was weakening...

...he would never be able to break through to Tier Three.

Worse, he would grow weaker and weaker.

Eventually, his Mana would completely dissipate, and he would become an ordinary person.

This was even more vicious than the Ring of Arrogance; it struck directly at the very foundation of Li Wei’s power.

’I can’t stand this Evil God Curse for a single day longer!’

Li Wei’s resolve to lift the Evil God Curse was stronger than ever.

The Ring of Greed made him realize that the Evil God Curse would only become more and more outrageous.

The longer he waited, the more shackles he would bear and the more restrictions he would face.

A time might come when it would be impossible to remove the curse at all.

Li Wei rested to recover his Spiritual Power, then seized every moment to continue his Cultivation.

The day’s Cultivation came to an end.

Everyone began to file out of the Cultivation Secret Realm.

Li Wei walked at the back of the group, his gaze fixed on the text hovering before his eyes.

[Crystal Meditation Method (Tier Two Awakening)] 0/10000

’Good. I’ve reached Tier Two Peak and entered the awakening stage.’

’Now, as long as I complete the awakening, I can advance and become a Tier Three Mage.’

Li Wei went to the trading market in the Elemental Tower.

’I need a Tier Three Fire Elemental Crystal Core and Fire Element Treasures that are at least three hundred years old.’

"Hello, do you have any Tier Three Fire Elemental Crystal Cores?"

"We don’t. If you’re looking for Fire Elemental Crystal Cores, try the Zui Wan Commerce Association up ahead. They specialize in selling all sorts of Magic Materials."

"Thanks."

Li Wei arrived at the Zui Wan Commerce Association.

The Zui Wan Commerce Association had the most opulent storefront on the street.

Its main doors were inlaid with multicolored Magic Crystals—an almost decadent display of wealth.

But it also spoke to the Zui Wan Commerce Association’s immense financial power.

As Li Wei entered the Zui Wan Commerce Association, a beautiful maid immediately approached to greet him.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"Do you have Tier Three Fire Elemental Crystal Cores?"

"We do. Please follow me."

The maid led Li Wei to a private VIP lounge.

Li Wei noticed that the Zui Wan Commerce Association provided private shopping spaces for each of its customers.

This was a thoughtful touch, especially for Mages.

After all, some Mages preferred not to reveal what they were purchasing.

There were many reasons for this.

The maid poured Li Wei a cup of warm coffee.

"A Tier Three Fire Elemental Crystal Core is three hundred and fifty gold coins. How many do you need?"

Li Wei didn’t answer her question, asking instead, "Do you also have any Fire Element Treasures that are over three hundred years old?"

"We do. We have three-hundred-year-old Fire Spirit Ginseng, which costs five hundred gold coins per stalk."

"That expensive?"

Li Wei couldn’t help but frown.

The maid explained, "If you just need a three-hundred-year-old Fire Element Treasure to use as Magic Materials, the Zui Wan Commerce Association has three-hundred-year-old Rock Core Fire Tree. The price is much cheaper than the Fire Spirit Ginseng."

"A pound of Rock Core Fire Tree is only two hundred gold coins."

Li Wei shook his head. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

’Rock Core Fire Tree wasn’t suitable as a ritual material for the Fire Spirit Ceremony.’

Gritting his teeth, Li Wei bought one stalk of Fire Spirit Ginseng and a Tier Three Fire Elemental Crystal Core.

He also purchased the other required ritual items: the blood of a Tier Three Fire Element Magical Beast, a Ritual Cloth, a Pure Crystal, and a fifty-year-old Firefly Grass.

The total cost came to nine hundred and twenty-six gold coins.

’The materials for a single ceremony cost nearly a thousand gold coins.’

The cost was a heavy blow for Li Wei.

He thought back to the cost of his Tier Two Extraordinary Trait Awakening.

Considering that, it wasn’t surprising that awakening a Tier Three Extraordinary Trait would cost so much.

"Thank you for your business. Please come again."

The maid saw Li Wei out with a smile.

Spending nearly a thousand gold coins didn’t make him a major client at the Zui Wan Commerce Association, but it wasn’t an insignificant amount either.

The Zui Wan Commerce Association even gave Li Wei a black membership card.

It would give him a two percent discount on future purchases.

’Spending a thousand would save him twenty gold coins.’

Li Wei could only console himself with the thought.

"Five hundred gold coins! Don’t even think about taking this formula for less than five hundred gold coins."

"Hah! Look at it yourself. Do you really think this formula is worth that much?"

"Giant Dragons are extinct these days. Where is anyone supposed to find these materials? I’m only interested in buying it as a collectible because it’s an ancient Alchemy Formula."

"One hundred gold coins, tops. It’s just a display piece, a collector’s item."

"In your dreams! I’d rather throw it in a cesspit than sell it to you for one hundred."

"Let’s both compromise. I’ll raise my offer. One hundred and fifty gold coins."

The stall owner shook his head, refusing adamantly.

"Not for less than five hundred gold coins. Don’t even think about it."

Li Wei saw a crowd gathered by the side of the road and heard arguing from within. Curious, he instinctively moved closer to see what was going on.

When he heard the words "Alchemy Formula" and "Giant Dragon," his interest was piqued.

’I still have a few unused materials related to Giant Dragons.’

’If this Alchemy Formula is useful, perhaps I should buy it.’

Li Wei squeezed through the crowd and asked, "What’s the Alchemy Formula? Can I have a look?"

The stall owner pointed to an ancient book on his stall. "The Energy Secret Medicine. It’s an ancient alchemical recipe for a Secret Medicine that can restore Spiritual Power."

Seeing Li Wei’s interest, a bystander quickly warned him, "Don’t fall for it. The formula requires Dragon Blood Plant. If you substitute it with other materials, the effect is drastically reduced to the point of being almost useless."

Li Wei’s eyes lit up. ’This is exactly what I need.’

It wasn’t just something he needed, either.

An Energy Secret Medicine capable of restoring Spiritual Power was something every Mage coveted.

For any Mage, Spiritual Power was far more difficult to recover than Mana.

Mana could be quickly restored through meditation or by drinking a Mana Recovery Potion.

Spiritual Power, however, could not.

Potions capable of restoring it were few and far between—incredibly rare.

Therefore, when one’s Spiritual Power was exhausted, the only way to recover was typically through long periods of rest.

Severely overdrawing one’s Spiritual Power would affect their condition for some time, requiring an even longer recovery period.

But to have an Energy Secret Medicine that could restore Spiritual Power at such a moment...

...would be like being brought back from the brink in an instant.

Even if it couldn’t fully restore one’s Spiritual Power, just escaping the overdrawn state and returning to normal would be a huge help.

The recovery rate of one’s Spiritual Power would accelerate dramatically.

Li Wei’s thoughts turned to the Cultivation Secret Realm.

Limited by the recovery speed of his Spiritual Power, his actual time spent cultivating within the Cultivation Secret Realm wasn’t very long.

This wasn’t just true for him, but for everyone.

Out of a full day spent in the Cultivation Secret Realm, one could at most cultivate for three or four hours.

Li Wei’s Spiritual Power was relatively strong, and he also had Soul Crystals to strengthen his soul and nourish his spirit, so he could cultivate for a bit longer.

But even so, he could only manage five hours at most.

He was using less than half of his daily time in the realm efficiently.

A day of cultivation lasted from morning until evening, roughly ten hours.

In those ten hours, he only spent five cultivating his Mana.

The other five were spent slowly recovering his Spiritual Power.

If he had the Energy Secret Medicine, he could make full use of his time in the Cultivation Secret Realm.

His Cultivation efficiency would skyrocket.

Li Wei tossed out five hundred gold coins and said, "I’ll take it."

The stall owner looked astonished, then delightedly snatched up the money and thrust the Alchemy Formula into Li Wei’s hands.

He seemed afraid Li Wei would change his mind.