Chapter 24
Breakthrough of the Spiritual Root Again
On the way back to Yunhe Alley, Shen Ping felt extremely relaxed. Although he had spent a lot of money today, the feeling of not having to worry about robber cultivators tailing and attacking him at any time was indeed very good.
Looking at the cultivators whose temperament and appearance were stronger than Red Willow Alley, he could not help but smile. Now, he was a little poor and his cultivation was a little low. But the future holds promise.
He passed by the Talisman Treasure Hall. He hesitated for a moment before turning a corner and walking towards the Talisman Treasure Hall. The streets here were very quiet as there was a soundproof array.
He arrived at the main hall. Behind the counter, a dignified-looking female cultivator lowered her head and looked at the talisman.
“Fellow Daoist.” Shen Ping’s voice was very soft. “How much do I have to pay to come to the Talisman Treasure Hall to cultivate the Dao of Talismans?”
The dignified female cultivator raised her eyes and sized up Shen Ping. Then, she said, “Ten mid-grade spirit stones every year. If a high-grade Talisman Master preaches the Dao, there will be additional charges. The specifics will be informed later.”
The Talisman Treasure Hall, Pill Treasure Hall, and other specialized venues for cultivating Hundred Arts were all built by the Golden Sun Sect in the marketplace. Their main purpose was to attract rogue cultivators and win over the talents of rogue cultivators.
Shen Ping used to cultivate here for a period of time. The fee was very low, and the high-grade Talisman Masters who often preached Dao were free.
But now, there were not many mid-grade Talisman Masters who could take out a large sum of spirit stones every year. However, in order to improve themselves, most Talisman Masters would grit their teeth and pay. As for low-level Talisman Masters, they could forget about such a situation.
He took out ten mid-grade spirit stones and paid. He re-administered the cultivation procedures of the Talisman Treasure Hall and obtained a wooden token to enter and exit. With this wooden token, his previous excuse could barely withstand investigation.
In any case, there were more than a hundred high-grade Talisman Masters in the Golden Sun Sect and the unaffiliated cultivators in the marketplace. No one could figure out who he was related to.
He left the Talisman Treasure Hall. The stone in Shen Ping’s heart fell. He quickened his pace and returned to Yunhe Alley not long after.
He had just walked into the small courtyard when he noticed that the door of house number two was open, and a middle-aged man in his fifties was sorting out the herbs inside. He seemed to have sensed Shen Ping’s gaze.
The middle-aged man raised his head and said gently, “Are you the Talisman Master that Fellow Daoist Yu mentioned?”
Fellow Daoist Shen hurriedly said respectfully, “Yes, I’m Shen Ping. I’ve been making talismans in my room for many days, so I haven’t visited you.”
The middle-aged man smiled and said, “It’s fine. The house has an isolation array, so it’s inconvenient to visit. Everyone lives in the same courtyard, and we’ll meet sooner or later. My surname is Feng, and my name is Yu. You can call me Fellow Daoist Feng or Elder Feng.”
“Fellow Daoist Feng!”
The other party had a deep aura and was clearly at the late-stage of the Qi Refinement Realm. However, he seemed to have a good temper and did not have the airs of a high-level cultivator.
They chatted for a while before Shen Ping returned to his room. It was still early, and his wife and concubine were all cultivating in the quiet room.
It was rare for them to live in a spacious house, so they did not dare to relax at all. When they had time, they would use it to improve themselves. For example, even if Wang Yun knew that she could not live forever, she wanted to cultivate the martial arts technique that her husband had given her to perfection so that she could nourish her face and extend her lifespan.
It was almost noon when his wife and concubine ended their cultivation.
“Husband, you’re back?”
“Wait a moment. I’ll go and cook now.”
The two girls quickly got busy.
As there were only two compartments in the room, one was used to make talismans, and the other was originally used to process materials, but Shen Ping separated it again with wooden boards and made a small kitchen and a narrow bathroom so that his wife and concubine could wash up.
As for the usual processing of grain waste, they could only use chamber pots and wooden barrels.
The Golden Sun Sect’s construction of Cloudriver Alley did not take into account the need for middle- and low-level cultivators to eat, drink, and shit. However, there were other alleys not far from the alley that were specially used to deal with waste. Previously, it was always Yu Yan who brought his wife and concubine there to pour the waste.
There was a skylight. The room wouldn’t be filled with the smell of smoke.
After dinner, Shen Ping smiled and said, “Yun’er, Ying’er, go take a shower. I have a surprise for you.”
Wang Yun subconsciously asked, “Husband, do you have a new move?”
Shen Ping’s face darkened. “What are you thinking about all day long! Go quickly!”
After taking a shower, his wife and concubine obediently crawled into the blanket. Shen Ping took out two brand new female cultivator robes from his storage bag, causing the two women to be stunned.
“H-husband, is this a magic robe?”
“Yes, I bought it for you. Change into it quickly and let me take a look.”
Wang Yun and Bai Yuying were instantly excited. They couldn’t care less about their naked bodies and came out of the blanket to change into the robes. Their temperament instantly changed.
As their beautiful hair was tied up, his wife and concubine looked like immortals.
“Thank you, husband!”
“Husband is too good to us!”
Joy appeared on the two women’s faces as they kissed Shen Ping’s cheeks shyly. Shen Ping said seriously, “Let me check the quality of the material of this robe for you.” As he spoke, he pounced forward like a wolf in a flock of sheep.
…
Two days later. Late at night, he looked at his wife and concubine who were sleeping with rosy cheeks. Shen Ping looked satisfied. Although the shopkeeper was a little wretched, he did not sell fake goods. He opened the virtual panel.
[Obtained Dao of Talisman Experience +2]
[Current wife’s favorability: 100]
[Duo Cultivation Bonus: 4]
[Talisman Master: Level One High-grade (14,096/50,000)]
…
[You have obtained metal-element spiritual root aptitude+2, wood-element spiritual root aptitude+2.]
[Current Dao Companion Favorability: 92]
[Duo Cultivation Bonus: 3]
[Metal Spiritual Root: Mid-grade (10,125/10,000). Can be broken through.]
[Wood Spiritual Root: Mid-grade (10,017/10,000). Can be broken through.]
He glanced at it. Joy appeared in his eyes. His spiritual roots had once again met the requirements for a breakthrough. He had been waiting for this day. He carefully got up from the brocade blanket and quickly walked to the quiet room. He suppressed his distracting thoughts.
After his spirit platform was emptied, he stared at the virtual interface and muttered, “Breakthrough!”
The virtual frame shook slightly.
As if infused with invisible energy, the depths of his body suddenly became scorching hot. Even his blood was faintly boiling. The abundant spiritual energy in the quiet room was like a shark that had smelled blood and crazily surged towards Shen Ping.
Boom.
The spiritual energy in his meridians instantly circulated violently.
Shen Ping hurriedly sent his divine sense into it and tried his best to guide this violent spiritual energy to accelerate along the circulation of the cultivation technique. This process only lasted for a few breaths in his perception.
Click.
The faint sound of glass shattering came from the depths.
Immediately after, Shen Ping’s eyes suddenly widened. His entire body stiffened as he fell to the ground and twitched. Intense pain spread throughout his entire body, as if his bones had been forcefully cracked open. However, this pain quickly passed.
Hoo.
Ha.
He panted heavily and endured the pain in his body as he sat cross-legged again to circulate his cultivation technique.
Time passed slowly.
He slowly opened his eyes and ended his cultivation at dawn. He carefully sensed the spiritual energy in his body.
Shen Ping could not hide his excitement. In just two large circulations of cultivation techniques, the spiritual energy in his body had actually increased by a trace.
According to this cultivation progress, he only needed to cultivate for another two years to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refinement.
“Is this the effect of a high-grade spiritual root?!”