Chapter 3
Alchemist Visit
Less than an hour after leaving the house, Shen Ping came back, mainly because he was short of money and did not dare to shop too much. He pushed open the door.
Seeing the joy on his wife’s face, he smiled. The death of Wang Yun’s father had left a shadow in her heart, so she was too worried about his safety.
However, Red Willow Alley was not too far from the market. As long as one did not reveal their wealth and was cautious, they would not encounter robbers under normal circumstances.
Moreover, his body was injured and he needed to suppress the poison every day. The news that his cultivation had stagnated had long spread throughout the surrounding alleys. Most cultivators knew that he was a poor man and did not have much savings on him. Taking the risk to kill him was purely a thankless task.
That night, his wife made a sumptuous meal.
“Husband, you’ve been tired for days. You need to nourish yourself.” Wang Yun blushed. She was a new woman. They had a lot of sex, and she enjoyed it while worrying that it would affect her husband’s cultivation.
Shen Ping smiled and took out a book from his storage bag. “Yun’er, this is a martial arts cultivation technique. It has the effect of nourishing one’s health and strengthening one’s body. You don’t have a spiritual root, so you can cultivate such a mortal cultivation technique. If you can break through to the Connate Realm, you can extend your lifespan in the future.”
Wang Yun nodded. She took the manual and looked at it. She could not help but feel sad. Without spiritual roots, she could not cultivate. After she was more than fifty years old, her face would turn yellow. At that time, her husband would not take care of her so meticulously. Fortunately, her husband’s aptitude was ordinary. He probably had no hope of advancing to Foundation Establishment in this life. Perhaps they could work together for the rest of their lives.
At night, Shen Ping was energetic and vigorous after eating supplementary food. He continuously obtained experience in the Dao of Talismans.
However, after this night, he changed his plan and reduced the dual cultivation of five times a day to three times. Although it would reduce the gain of experience, he had to do this in order not to lose his foundation in cultivation. Moreover, he had to take care of his wife’s mental state.
“When I have enough savings, I have to buy a suitable Dual Cultivation Secret Technique to assist in my cultivation.”
Shen Ping pondered in his heart.
His golden finger was related to dual cultivation, so the dual cultivation secret technique was a necessity. Only then could he obtain experience healthily and sustainably without damaging his blood essence.
Next, he would create talismans, dual cultivate, and suppress the poison. His days were fulfilling and blissful.
In particular, as his experience in the Dao of Talismans continued to increase, his success rate in making amulets increased again. He could successfully make one out of almost every two sets of materials.
Ten days later, there was a knock on the door. Shen Ping opened the door and saw an unfamiliar cultivator. He could not help but be vigilant.
“Fellow Daoist Shen, I’m He Qin, a cultivator who just moved to the nearby area. I’ve specially come to pay you a visit. This is a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it.” As he spoke, Cultivator He handed over an exquisite jade bottle.
Shen Ping took a glance and revealed a look of surprise. “Fellow Daoist He, you’re an alchemist?”
Inside the exquisite jade bottle were Spirit Concentration Pills. Although these pills were low-grade pills, they were not cheap either. They cost two low-grade spirit stones each. There were three in the jade bottle, which was worth six low-grade spirit stones.
It was just a visit, but he was already so generous. Without a doubt, He Qin was most likely an alchemist.
“I am indeed an alchemist, but I can only refine low-grade pills.” He Qin smiled and said with a hint of pride in his tone.
There are hundreds of arts in the cultivation of immortality, of which, there were pills, weapons, talisman, and arrays. The status of an alchemist was higher than that of an Artifact Master, a Talisman Master, or an Array Master.
After all, pills were a very important resource for cultivators. It could quickly increase one’s realm and magic power. Dharma artifacts, talismans, and formations were only supplementary means to increase the combat power of cultivators.
“Pardon my disrespect. Fellow Daoist He, please come in.” Shen Ping said politely. He Qin put on a self-righteous expression and entered the room. “This is my wife.”
Shen Ping introduced Wang Yun. After learning that Wang Yun did not have spiritual roots, He Qin stopped looking at her at all. Even if a mortal was beautiful, she could not attract the attention of a cultivator. If she could not cultivate, she would just be a pink skeleton after a hundred years.
He poured a cup of tea.
The two of them started chatting. After a while, He Qin stood up and bade farewell.
Shen Ping sent him out and gave him an amulet. The reason why it was a mid-grade talisman was mainly to show off his strength. In the future, if the other party advanced to a middle-grade alchemist, it would be convenient for him to ask him to refine pills.
“Yun’er, how’s your cultivation?” Shen Ping asked after he closed the door.
Wang Yun replied, “I’ve already cultivated inner energy.”
“Not bad. The progress is very fast. When Yun’er breaks through to the first-rate level, we can continue to work hard and strive to give birth to more children!” Shen Ping teased.
Wang Yun blushed shyly. “I’ll listen to you, husband. I’ll work hard to cultivate and break through to the first-rate level as soon as possible.”
He Yin’s visit was just a small interlude. Shen Ping quickly resumed his fulfilling cultivation life. Another ten days passed. He became more and more proficient in making amulets, and his efficiency increased. In just twenty days, he had used up the sixty sets of talisman-making materials he had bought. “Thirty-six amulets! My wife is my lucky charm!”
He was in a very good mood.
Originally, according to the previous success rate, it was already not bad if he could make twenty-four or twenty-five amulets with the materials he bought. Now that he had ten more, it meant that his income had increased.
There was no hesitation. After lunch that day, Shen Ping went out and came to the market again.
Spring Embroidery Pavilion.
It was the same shop as before. The name was a little delicate. The owner of this shop was most likely a powerful female cultivator. The shopkeeper’s surname was Chen. When he saw Shen Ping, a standard smile appeared on his face.
Shen Ping did not dawdle. He directly took out fifteen amulets and handed them to the shopkeeper.
Although he had made thirty six amulets, the other party knew how many sets of materials he had bought. With a simple calculation, he could tell his success rate. With such a high success rate, it was inevitable that he would have some thoughts, whether it was to rope him in or anything else. Shen Ping did not want such troubles.
Fifteen was not too conspicuous.
“Fellow Daoist Shen, as usual, these are ninety low-grade spirit stones. If you need any materials, you can buy them from the store.” Shopkeeper Chen smiled warmly. At the same time, he raised his opinion of Shen Ping, who was a low-level Qi Refinement cultivator in front of him. To be able to continuously make amulets, Shen Ping should be a mid-grade Talisman Master.
“I need Fire Talismans, Earth Trap Talismans, Light Body Talismans… and other materials.” Shen Ping listed the materials required for some mid-grade talismans. He was prepared to try making other talismans.
Soon, he spent all the ninety low-grade spirit stones he had just obtained.
Shopkeeper Chen warmly sent Shen Ping out of the shop. After that, Shen Ping went to two other shops and sold the remaining twenty one amulets. He only bought some ingredients with the spirit stones he earned and left them in his storage bag.
…
Days passed.
While maintaining his dual cultivation three times a day, his experience in the Dao of Talisman steadily increased, and his proficiency in making talismans also continuously increased. Other than the amulets, the success rate of the other talismans, such as the fire talismans and light body talismans, increased one after another.
However, Shen Ping knew the importance of being cautious. If he went out too many times, he might be noticed by his neighbors or other cultivators living in the alley. Therefore, even though he had used up all the talisman-making materials, he endured it and did not go out to sell them. Instead, he waited until the daily ingredients were exhausted before he went out to buy ingredients and secretly went to the shop to sell them.
Half a year later.
[Current wife’s favorability: 100]
[Duo Cultivation Bonus: 4]
[Talisman Master: Mid-Grade Level One (5,455/10,000)]
He looked at the virtual interface. Excitement rose in Shen Ping’s heart. Under normal circumstances, it would take him at least decades to accumulate and break through by continuously creating talismans.
But now, it had only taken him more than half a year and he was not far from becoming a High-grade Level One Talisman Master.
This was the terror of having a golden finger.
In addition to the increase in his experience of the Dao of Talisman, he had also accumulated more than 500 low-grade spirit stones, which was equivalent to five medium-grade spirit stones. This kind of accumulation speed was simply unimaginable in the past.
However, Shen Ping was clear that for a Talisman Master who was close to a high-grade Talisman Master, such a speed of earning money was not strange.
“At this rate, my cultivation realm will soon reach a limit.”
Through dual cultivation with his wife in the past six months, his experience in the Dao of Talisman had increased rapidly. The success rate of making various mid-grade talismans had increased day by day. Even some mid-grade Talisman Masters from cultivation families were inferior to him.
However, making mid-grade talismans at the third level of Qi Refinement was already the limit. If one wanted to make high-grade talismans, there was a requirement for one’s spiritual energy. At the very least, one had to be at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement.
“A bottle of high-grade Poison Dispelling Pills costs 20 mid-grade spirit stones. Soon, it’ll be soon. I’ll be able to accumulate them in another two to three years!”