It was Matchmaker Zeng.
She was visiting again after more than half a year.
Her face was beaming with her signature, standard-issue warm smile, and her body was suffused with a distinctive aroma of rouge.
There wasn't a low-level cultivator in the nearby alleys who didn't recognize Matchmaker Zeng.
"So it's Fellow Daoist Zeng, please come right in."
Shen Ping greeted her warmly.
If he had been able to activate his Goldfinger, strictly speaking, he still owed it to her good offices.
Matchmaker Zeng swayed her hips as she stepped into the small room.
Seeing Wang Yun sitting on the edge of the bed, she smiled and said, "It seems Sister Yun'er is doing quite well here with Fellow Daoist Shen."
Wang Yun hastily stood up, poured a cup of spiritual tea for Matchmaker Zeng, and said respectfully, "Senior Zeng, please have some tea."
Matchmaker Zeng accepted the spiritual tea, sat down on a nearby wooden chair, and looked Wang Yun up and down. "Fellow Daoist Shen, Sister Yun'er has been married to you for over half a year, but her belly doesn't seem to show any signs of progress. The two of you need to hurry up and put in some effort to bring more bloodline descendants into the world so you can continue the family line."
Wang Yun instinctively touched her stomach, her expression turning somewhat bleak.
After so much time and diligent bouts of water-and-fish intimacy every day, normally there should have been some movement in her belly by now.
Yet there was still nothing.
Though she said nothing out loud, she was anxious inside.
If she couldn't bear a bloodline for her husband, then her existence would have no value at all.
Shen Ping smiled. "It's only been half a year. It's still early, no need to rush."
Matchmaker Zeng shook her head repeatedly. "Fellow Daoist Shen has the wrong idea. The earlier you have a bloodline, the earlier you can nurture them. Otherwise, when you grow old, even if your descendants turn out to be exceptional, it will be very hard for Fellow Daoist Shen to enjoy the lingering benefits."
Shen Ping was speechless, but he now understood Matchmaker Zeng's purpose. "Fellow Daoist Zeng, speak your mind."
Matchmaker Zeng no longer beat around the bush and smiled. "Lately, many cultivators want to venture into Yunshan Marsh, and the fighting and killing have increased. Quite a few cultivators are afraid of losing their lives, so they've asked me to look after their descendants. And for young women, the best method is to find a cultivator they can rely on for protection."
"Since Fellow Daoist Shen has now broken through to become a Middle-Grade Talisman Master, your status and position are naturally different."
"What do you say? Would you consider taking another wife? This time, I guarantee I can find Fellow Daoist Shen a dao companion who possesses a Spiritual Root aptitude!"
Wang Yun's face instantly turned ashen.
If her husband were to take another dao companion, how was she, a mere mortal, supposed to get along?
Shen Ping did not immediately open his mouth to refuse. In truth, for the past half year and more, he had considered this issue. After all, his Goldfinger was related to Dual Cultivation; the more people he engaged in Dual Cultivation with, the more Talisman Dao experience he might acquire.
It was just that his own Talisman Dao advancement was already too rapid, and he needed consolidation and concealment.
That was why he had held back all this time.
Seeing that her husband did not utter a sound.
Grief welled up in Wang Yun's heart. Her husband's meticulous care and attention over the past half year and more had led her to treat him as her sole reliance and emotional sustenance.
Yet cultivators and mortals ultimately belonged to two different worlds.
"Husband, Senior Zeng's suggestion is not without reason. If Husband can have a dao companion with a Spiritual Root, the probability of future bloodline descendants having a Spiritual Root will also be higher."
She said this against her own heart.
Matchmaker Zeng hastily praised, "Sister Yun'er is the one who understands the big picture and looks far ahead."
With that, she looked at Shen Ping again and said, "Fellow Daoist Shen, girls with Spiritual Root aptitudes are in high demand. Right now I can still find Fellow Daoist Shen one who is as docile and sensible as Sister Yun'er, but later on that might not be the case!"
Matchmaker Zeng deliberately laid heavy emphasis on the word "docile."
Shen Ping gave a few dry coughs. "Fellow Daoist Zeng, I've been rather busy lately and need to step up the production of talismans. I really don't have the time. Let's talk about it another day!"
Discussing taking another dao companion right in front of his wife—he was afraid it would lower her affection.
The moment Matchmaker Zeng heard this, she knew there was still a chance. She stood up and said with a chuckle, "Very well, then I won't disturb Fellow Daoist Shen any longer."
As he escorted her to the door.
Matchmaker Zeng lowered her voice and said, "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Shen, I will save a docile and sensible one for you!"
With that, she swayed her hips and headed toward the next household.
Shen Ping's mouth twitched, and when he turned back, he caught his wife's resentful gaze.
"Yun'er, I..."
Wang Yun said softly, "Husband, I understand. I only hope that when Husband has a dao companion in the future, you will not forget Yun'er's service during these days."
Shen Ping hastily opened his virtual panel.
Seeing that the affection rating on it had not decreased, he relaxed inwardly. He closed the door, walked over to his wife, and said gently, "Rest assured, Yun'er, even if I take another dao companion, I will treat Yun'er just as I always have. Besides, you are my first woman and also my wife."
Hearing these words, Wang Yun's face broke into a smile once more.
True or false, it at least showed that her husband held a place for her in his heart.
A moment later.
Two scorching bodies rocked against the wooden bed.
Shen Ping proved himself with practical actions.
After the pleasure.
His wife curled up in his arms as docile as a kitten.
Shen Ping looked at the Talisman Dao experience on the virtual panel and thought to himself, *At this rate, in another half a year, I will be able to break through to become a High-Grade Talisman Master.*
Middle-Grade Talisman Masters were relatively common in the Cultivation Market.
But high-grade ones were far scarcer.
And the price of first-tier superior grade talismans started at a minimum of 3 Low-Grade Spiritual Stones and above.
"Taking advantage of the current rise in talisman prices, I must seize the time to earn spiritual stones!"
"I'll strive to purchase a high-grade Detoxification Pill within a year!"
The venom in his body had been festering for too long, and he needed a bottle of pills to clear it out. Once the toxins were purged, he could swallow medicinal pills to increase his spiritual power.
Another dozen days passed.
The first batch of Cultivation Market cultivators recruited by the Jinyang Sect set out for Yunshan Marsh.
Following the main road to the edge of the Cultivation Market, one could see as many as a thousand cultivators stepping on Dharma Artifacts and turning into rainbow streaks that vanished into the sky above.
The majority of these cultivators were market rogue cultivators, and the lowest among them were at Mid Qi Refining.
Yet who knew what percentage of them would actually make it back alive after entering Yunshan Marsh!
Back then, although Shen Ping had been eroded by beast venom, his luck was still considered decent; he hadn't run straight into a fierce beast, otherwise he would already be a pile of fertilizer in Yunshan Marsh.
Returning to the Cultivation Market, Shen Ping went straight into Xiuchun Pavilion.
The materials he bought last time had been used up. Aside from the ones sold to Fellow Daoist Gong, he had twelve Protection Talismans left, six Flame Talismans, and three Lightness Talismans...
Manager Chen greeted him warmly.
With the current rise in middle-grade talisman prices, talisman masters like Shen Ping naturally enjoyed a rather welcome status.
Moreover, Shen Ping's production efficiency was higher than that of other Middle-Grade Talisman Masters.
"Fellow Daoist Shen, here are the one hundred and thirty-four Low-Grade Spiritual Stones remaining from the consignment of talismans last time!"
Protection Talismans and Flame Talismans had both doubled in price.
After deducting the material costs, not a single coin was missing.
Shen Ping took out the middle-grade talismans from his Storage Bag.
Manager Chen had no way of knowing how many transactions he had conducted with Fellow Daoist Gong, so he didn't worry about the other party figuring out his success rate.
Besides, it was entirely possible for him to purchase materials from other shops.
Seeing the talismans, Manager Chen's smile grew even wider. The stock in the major shops of the Cultivation Market had long since sold out, and whenever anyone had talismans, cultivators would swarm right in.
Never mind that a batch had just left, Jinyang Sect had already begun recruiting the next batch.
And the focus of this recruitment was cultivation families; they were even recruiting from the main sect. After all, the large Yanjin vein, though not a spiritual stone mine, was nonetheless extremely precious.
The materials for Dharma Artifacts and treasures were always expensive.
If the Jinyang Sect could mine them on a large scale, the sect's overall financial foundation would increase drastically.