Over the next few days, Shen Ping's life continued as before, yet deep inside he felt restless and anxious. His success rate at crafting talismans dropped noticeably, and only when engaging in Dual Cultivation with his wife and concubine, watching the characters flicker on his virtual panel, would a trace of security well up within him.
As a low-level cultivator, the only reason he had survived in Red Willow Alley for so long without incident was due to his extreme caution.
Other cultivators occasionally ventured into the wild to hone their skills, practice spells, or boost their combat prowess, but he had never gone. After all, the chances of running into a Bandit Cultivator out in the wilds were quite high. No matter how practiced his spells or how sharp his reflexes were at the 3rd Layer of Qi Refining, he was no match for those Bandit Cultivators who frequently engaged in brutal combat and possessed vast experience.
More importantly, succeeding in a fight just once could become addictive.
No speed of accumulating wealth could compare to plundering. As the saying went: murder and arson bring gold belts!
Once, twice... do it enough times and it becomes like gambling, getting more and more intoxicating until the ultimate end is a miserable death in the middle of it all. Unless one could guarantee they would always win.
Yet cultivators were inherently fighting against the heavens to seize their destiny; without fighting, without snatching opportunities, Foundation Establishment was an utter impossibility. Shen Ping understood this point clearly, but deep down in his bones, he simply disliked taking risks and killing. Now that he had a Goldfinger capable of continuously improving himself, he had even less inclination to take risks.
"I need to make a trip out!"
"Take advantage of the fact that the outer perimeter of the Cultivation Market is relatively safe right now to buy more spiritual rice, meat, and other living supplies, as well as talisman materials..."
Unable to settle his mind, Shen Ping simply stepped out of his house and headed toward the Cultivation Market along the winding alley paths.
All the way there, he remained extremely vigilant, clutching a Flame Talisman, Earth Trap Talisman, and Freezing Talisman in his hand. If anyone dared to block his path, he would activate the talismans and greet them without the slightest hesitation.
Getting from Red Willow Alley to the main thoroughfare required passing through six or seven alleys, each lined with numerous houses. The closer one got to the main thoroughfare, the more expensive the rental prices became, and those who could afford to live there were invariably middle-to-high-grade cultivators.
Yet right now, these alleys were sparsely populated. Over sixty percent of the residents were among the first and second batches of cultivators who had gone off to Yunshan Marsh. During his several previous trips out, he had not run into any danger.
This time was the same, but his mindset was different.
Stepping onto the main thoroughfare, Shen Ping finally let out a breath. He casually walked up to a vendor selling talismans and asked, "Fellow Daoist, how much for a Protection Talisman?"
"Sixteen Low-Grade Spiritual Stones, non-negotiable!" the cultivator replied flatly, full of confidence.
"What about a Flame Talisman?"
"Ten Low-Grade Spiritual Stones... Are you buying or not?" After just a couple of questions, the cultivator grew impatient.
Shen Ping turned and left directly, the curses of "Poor ghost!" ringing in his back. He didn't take it to heart in the slightest, following the main thoroughfare into the Cultivation Market and heading straight for Xiuchun Pavilion.
As soon as Manager Chen saw Shen Ping arriving, he enthusiastically stepped out from behind the counter and hurried to the door.
"Fellow Daoist Shen, you've finally come."
"Let me tell you, talisman prices have been soaring all the way up lately; they are in huge demand!"
Without a second word, Shen Ping took a thick stack of talismans out of his Storage Bag. These were half of his output over the past two months. Among them were thirty Protection Talismans, sixteen Flame Talismans, and ten Freezing Talismans...
Manager Chen's eyes lit up. "It's still Fellow Daoist Shen who has the goods on hand!"
Shen Ping smiled. "Manager Chen, are the materials for talismans well-stocked?"
"Rest assured. How many do you want?" Manager Chen asked with a beaming smile.
"Materials for one hundred Protection Talismans, fifty Flame Talismans, and thirty Freezing Talismans." Shen Ping rattled off the required materials.
Manager Chen hurriedly said, "Right now, the materials for a Protection Talisman have risen to two Low-Grade Spiritual Stones a portion, and a Flame Talisman is one Low-Grade Spiritual Stone... The total cost for the materials comes to two hundred seventy-four Low-Grade Spiritual Stones, while Fellow Daoist Shen's talismans come to a total of six hundred seventy Low-Grade Spiritual Stones!" As he spoke, he took out four crystal-clear Medium-Grade Spiritual Stones.
Instead of taking them, Shen Ping said, "Manager Chen, Protection Talismans outside have risen to sixteen Low-Grade Spiritual Stones, you know. You're only offering fifteen."
Manager Chen gave a dry chuckle. "You know how it is—setting up a stall outside naturally has to be higher than in the Cultivation Market."
Seeing that Shen Ping remained unmoved, he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, we'll go by sixteen." He then produced another twenty-six stones.
A smile appeared on Shen Ping's face. For a shop in the Cultivation Market, customer traffic was the most important thing; once a reputation was established, simply selling a few Dharma Artifacts or high-grade pills would yield a massive profit.
Before he left the shop, Manager Chen urged him, "Fellow Daoist Shen, hurry up and craft those talismans! We are desperately short on stock right now!"
Shen Ping ignored him and instead made a round through the Cultivation Market, purchasing a large quantity of spiritual rice, meat, and other goods. Only then did he go to other shops to sell his talismans. Just as Manager Chen had said, all the major shops were severely lacking in stock, and the shopkeepers looked even more excited seeing talismans than they would have seeing Dharma Artifacts.
On the return journey, Shen Ping grew nervous once again, but fortunately, nothing happened.
Closing his front door, he relaxed his entire body completely. These houses were uniformly built by the Jinyang Sect; anyone who dared to destroy one without authorization was provoking the sect. Outer sect prefects came to inspect them every half year, and even those arrogant Bandit Cultivators didn't dare to damage the houses.
"The net profit from my hard work crafting talismans over the past two months is one Medium-Grade Spiritual Stone higher than before. However, because I bought four months' worth of living supplies, the net profit didn't change much."
"My current savings stand at seventeen Medium-Grade Spiritual Stones!"
"Must keep working hard!"
Shen Ping calculated in his mind. He was getting closer and closer to being able to afford a high-grade Detoxification Pill; on his next trip out, he would finally shake off the miserable days of being corroded by fierce beast venom.
"Husband is back."
"Dinner is ready, come eat."
Neither his wife nor his concubine had eaten yet; they had been waiting for him at home. Looking at the sumptuous spread of dishes on the table, Shen Ping felt his appetite surge. "You two sit down quickly as well."
***
Late at night, beneath the embroidered quilt on the bed, it was as warm as spring. Even though the house was small, the wife and concubine were extremely satisfied with their life.
Holding his beloved wife and concubine in his arms, one on each side, Shen Ping opened the virtual panel.
[You engaged in Dual Cultivation with your wife once, gaining Talisman Dao experience +2]
[Current affection of wife: 100]
[Dual Cultivation bonus: 4]
[Talisman Master: Rank One Mid-Grade (9612/10000)]
...
[You engaged in Dual Cultivation with your Dao companion once, gaining Metal Spiritual Root aptitude enhancement +2, Wood Spiritual Root aptitude enhancement +2]
[Current affection of Dao companion: 80]
[Dual Cultivation bonus: 2]
[Metal Spiritual Root: Low-Grade (1108/1000) ready to breakthrough]
[Wood Spiritual Root: Low-Grade (1002/1000) ready to breakthrough]
This was the result of his diligent cultivation over the past two months. Among them, the Metal Spiritual Root could have broken through days ago, but he had held back, intending to wait until the Wood Spiritual Root also reached the breakthrough threshold so they could advance together.
Stroke Bai Yuying's delicate shoulders, Shen Ping shook his head inwardly. A cultivator was still different from a mortal. Take his wife Wang Yun, for instance—treating her just a little bit better yielded a very obvious feedback, and her affection quickly maxed out. But his Dao companion Bai Yuying had remained stuck at eighty, never able to reach the maximum.
To this, he felt understanding. After all, cultivators wouldn't give someone their wholehearted, blind trust—not even the most intimate Dao companion. Moreover, low-level cultivators lacked a sense of security; although he was a Middle-Grade Talisman Master, his actual combat strength was too low, and there was no telling when he might meet his end out there.
Under such circumstances, how could Bai Yuying possibly invest her emotions completely? Of course, it was also possible that the time they had spent together was simply too short.
The next day, while his wife and concubine went to empty the chamber pot, Shen Ping calmed his mind, looked at the "ready to breakthrough" notification on the virtual panel, and silently chanted to break through.
Boom.
An invisible force poured down from the ether.
He felt a violent, tendon-pulling, marrow-cleansing pain wracking his body. This pain vanished as quickly as it came, and the very instant it disappeared, the surrounding spiritual Qi of heaven and earth rushed rapidly into his meridians.