Chapter 12: Bait, Future Plans
Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Bait, Future Plans
Inside a simple, ancient palace of cyan marble.
A gray-robed female cultivator sat cross-legged, a three-foot-long, hiltless Flying Sword resting across her knees. A dark glimmer occasionally flashed across its blade.
"RUMBLE~"
The palace doors were pushed open and an elegant figure walked in. It was Meng Qingyi. She looked at the gray-robed female cultivator and called out respectfully, "Thirteenth Senior Sister, I have followed your instructions and had Fellow Daoist Li leave."
"Mm," Dai Sangyu said slowly, her voice as calm and still as a deep well, yet it resonated like the ring of a sword, trembling one’s very soul. "Next, have everyone spread the news through other channels that Li Ping was rejected by our Immortal City, along with the reasons why."
Meng Qingyi hesitated for a moment before agreeing, "Yes."
"Alright. If there’s nothing else, you may leave," Dai Sangyu said indifferently.
Meng Qingyi nodded and started to turn away, but she stopped halfway. After a moment of hesitation, she couldn’t help but voice her confusion. "Thirteenth Senior Sister, we all know that Fellow Daoist Li had nothing to do with what happened to Nephew Lin. He doesn’t even know the villain who hurt him; he was just involved by coincidence. Why do you believe we can use Fellow Daoist Li to lure out that scoundrel?"
Hearing this, Dai Sangyu’s previously placid voice grew agitated. "Besides this Li Ping," she said coldly, "do we have any other leads?"
Meng Qingyi’s lips moved, but she stopped herself before speaking. In the end, she said nothing, simply turning to leave in silence.
’Thirteenth Senior Sister is already over one hundred and seventy years old,’ Meng Qingyi thought. ’She’s a Sword Cultivator and often engaged in Magical Combat in her youth, suffering many injuries that even damaged her Origin. Her remaining lifespan is probably short.’
’Encountering this incident now has shattered her state of mind, making it impossible for her to attempt the breakthrough to Core Formation.’
’It’s only natural for her to be agitated with her end approaching.’
Although Meng Qingyi didn’t believe they could lure out the attacker using Li Ping, she understood her senior sister’s desperation. She truly hoped that Thirteenth Senior Sister would be able to slay that scoundrel.
And with a perfected state of mind, break through to the next realm!
...
After Meng Qingyi left, only the gray-robed Dai Sangyu remained, sitting cross-legged in the simple, cyan palace.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes. Her gaze was no longer the sharp, aggressive one she wore around her junior brothers and sisters.
Instead, it was like a clear spring in a mountain forest—calm and serene.
’A Sword Cultivator... Heh, everyone thinks I’m a Sword Cultivator... Heh heh... "Ruin the Sword Cultivator’s state of mind so she can’t suppress her Heart Demon." You can all rest easy now, can’t you!’ she murmured to herself.
’Yue’Er, it was I, your master, who got you into this mess!’
’When I reach Core Formation, I will get justice for you!’
...
Li Ping strolled unhurriedly toward the Outer City, forcibly suppressing the joy in his heart.
Not long ago, after gifting him the brush, Meng Qingyi had personally escorted him away from Cyan Dragon Mountain before gracefully departing.
And with that, the series of bizarre encounters he had experienced today was finally over.
As he walked, Li Ping mulled over the day’s gains and losses, as well as his plans for the future.
’First, my original plan to join the Cyan Dragon Mountain lineage and become an Honored Guest Elder of the Immortal City is completely ruined.’
’That means no free Cultivation Technique and no free cultivation abode. I’ll have to find a way to get both of those on my own now.’
’Second, because of the Foundation Establishment Pill, I’ve probably offended that Sword Cultivator, Dai Sangyu. She might even hold a grudge against me. When I was on the mountain, everything was out in the open. Perhaps she didn’t move against me then out of concern for the Immortal City’s official reputation.’
’But there’s no guarantee she won’t attack me in secret to vent her anger.’
’In other words, there’s a good chance I’ve made an enemy of a Sword Cultivator at the Perfect Foundation Establishment realm.’
’Those were the downsides. But today wasn’t a total loss; there were benefits, too.’
When he thought of the Tier Two Middle Grade Talisman Brush, ’Purple Phoenix,’ in his Storage Bag, Li Ping could barely contain his smile.
’With this Talisman Brush, I can become a Tier Two Middle Grade Talisman Maker!’
’Once I’m a Tier Two Middle Grade Talisman Maker, given the ’one hundred percent success rate for crafting Spirit Talismans of the same tier’ granted by my ’Tree of Legacy,’ I can only imagine how quickly I’ll be earning Spirit Stones.’
’Buying a Cultivation Technique and renting a cultivation abode will be no problem at all.’
’But the nutrients for the Tree of Legacy require other resources besides the Talisman Brush. I’m still far from meeting the requirements, and I have no idea when I’ll be able to gather everything.’ At this thought, Li Ping’s joy subsided, and he sighed inwardly.
[A Talisman Brush containing the skills of a Tier Two Middle Grade Talisman Maker, 1000 Lower Grade Spirit Stones, three liters of Tier Two Middle Grade Talisman Ink, three feet of Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Wood. Offer as nutrients to master the Tier Two Middle Grade Talisman Making skill.]
He couldn’t afford one thousand Spirit Stones right now.
Three liters of Tier Two Middle Grade Talisman Ink shouldn’t be hard to find in the Immortal City, but a single liter of it would cost at least a hundred Spirit Stones, meaning a starting price of three hundred Spirit Stones for three liters.
As for three feet of Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Wood, Li Ping had never even seen Spiritual Materials of that grade, so he had no idea what it would cost. He estimated it wouldn’t be any cheaper than the Talisman Ink, so that was another three hundred-plus Spirit Stones.
He hadn’t realized until he did the math, and the total gave him a shock.
For Li Ping to become a Tier Two Middle Grade Talisman Maker, he would have to spend over 1,500 Spirit Stones—that was half the price of a Foundation Establishment Pill!
Of course, if other cultivators learned that one could instantly become a Tier Two Middle Grade Talisman Maker for a mere 1,500 Spirit Stones, they would go insane with envy.
After all, even someone like Meng Qingyi, who had a Core Formation Master for a backer and possessed immense personal talent for the art,
had still spent nearly a century of arduous effort to become a Tier Two Middle Grade Talisman Maker. The value of the Talisman Ink and Talisman Paper she had wasted along the way was far, far greater than 1,500 Spirit Stones.
And that was for a Talisman Maker, a profession considered relatively less resource-intensive.
If one were to train a Tier Two Middle Grade Alchemist or Artifact Refiner, the cost would be painful even for a faction backed by a Core Formation Cultivator.
Not to mention that once Li Ping broke through, he would gain permanent mastery and the special effect of a ’one hundred percent success rate.’
’In the end, it all comes down to Spirit Stones,’ he thought, his resolve hardening. ’I need to get Spirit Stones. I have to get enough Spirit Stones!’
...
「Outer City, Mist and Smoke Lane.」
Li Ping stopped in front of a tidy-looking general store. He glanced at the shop’s ’Green Bamboo’ sign for a moment, then walked straight inside.
The general store wasn’t large, only about thirty feet square inside. At the back of the shop, a shelf was laden with all sorts of Low-Tier materials, Dharma Artifacts, Pills, Talismans, and more.
In front of the shelf, a four-foot-high counter separated the customers from the merchandise.
Behind the counter, a dark-skinned young man in a blue Magic Robe sat with his head bowed, organizing something.
As Li Ping entered the shop, the sound of his footsteps startled the young man.
When he looked up and saw it was Li Ping, the dark-skinned youth hurried out from behind the counter. He stood before Li Ping and said respectfully, "Big Brother."