Immortality and cultivation begin with drawing talismans.

Chapter 58 Fellow Daoist Ge's Prey [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Three months later.

Lin Chang'an, who was purchasing supplies at the market, ran into Ge Li again.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, let's go have a couple of drinks together."

Ge Li arrived travel-worn, his expression still carrying a hint of displeasure, while Lin Chang'an nodded with a smile, also somewhat curious, wanting to find out where the other party had purchased the formation.

After all, advanced formations are something that ordinary cultivator families don't possess; the entire Yue Kingdom is almost entirely monopolized by the three major sects.

Inside a private room at a restaurant.

After a few rounds of drinks, Ge Li, looking travel-worn, couldn't help but recount his experiences over the past few days with a sense of frustration.

"These bastards clearly agreed to work together and finally managed to lure a second-tier demon beast into the formation, but they each had their own agendas, which greatly reduced the formation's power."

They clearly wanted to use someone else to kill them and take everything for themselves. The monster wasn't even killed yet, and these heartless bastards were already impatient. If I hadn't run fast…”

As Ge Li cursed, a hint of lingering fear crept into his expression.

Lin Chang'an comforted him, saying, "Fellow Daoist Ge, we've both experienced so much in the cultivation world that we can't judge a book by its cover. We should have known this long ago."

"I'm just unwilling to accept this."

Ge Li looked aggrieved as he recounted how much he had lost this time.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, you have no idea, I almost didn't make it back this time, and all the wealth I've painstakingly accumulated over the years is gone."

Lin Chang'an offered words of comfort, but a sense of unease lingered in his heart.

But seeing Ge Li's heavy losses, he temporarily suppressed the idea.

……

a few days later.

Ge Li then invited Lin Chang'an to a gathering at the restaurant.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, the more I think about it, the more unwilling I am to accept it. I've lost most of my fortune. Although I'm not good at killing, if I don't take a gamble now, I'll never be able to reach the Foundation Establishment stage in this lifetime. You're a reliable person, and I'm willing to take another chance!"

Like a gambler, Ge Li stared at Lin Chang'an with bloodshot eyes, as if to say that although he was risking his life, he was still willing to gamble his trust again for the sake of Foundation Establishment.

"Fellow Daoist Ge."

Lin Chang'an, who was originally going to comfort him, suddenly thought of something and became alert.

First, he was invited to reveal his intention to hunt monsters, but was refused. He then cooperated with others, losing most of his wealth but escaping with his life.

Anyone who hears this will feel sorry for you, and their guard will drop significantly. At this point, if you propose cooperation again, it means you are willing to trust me.

This is clearly a sign of weakness!

Thinking of this, Lin Chang'an felt a chill run down his spine. Looking at Ge Li with his thick eyebrows and large eyes, he couldn't help but feign hesitation, finally sighing helplessly:
“Fellow Daoist Ge, I don’t have any great ambitions. With things so chaotic outside and that Ghost Three Blades running rampant, I’d better wait until things settle down before making any moves.”

Lin Chang'an looked worried about the turmoil in the market, which made Ge Li furious. Why wasn't he going out?

That's a damn turtle.

……

Stepping out of the restaurant, facing the cool breeze of the market, and recalling Ge Li's miserable expression when they parted, Lin Chang'an couldn't help but become cautious.

"Perhaps I'm wrong, but one should always be wary of others."

He had seen this kind of exploitation of personal relationships before.

He and Erniu had personally experienced this: a friend they had known for many years was tricked out, then murdered and robbed.

The reason was simply the temptation of two spirit stones, and he and Erniu had only narrowly escaped disaster because they were short of money.

This incident was only discovered when the perpetrator was murdering for money, which revealed that he had done this more than once.

"Fellow Daoist Ge, although what you said is very tempting, I still prefer to believe in myself."

Lin Chang'an shook his head inwardly. Ge Li, who had lost most of his wealth and was now acting like he was the weaker party, made him quite wary.

This tactic looks familiar.

……

Meanwhile, inside the restaurant, Ge Li, who looked miserable, had a rather unpleasant expression.

"Damn it, it's not taking the bait."

As the door opened, two cultivators walked in, patting their storage bags at their waists and saying in solemn voices:
"Boss, what do we do if this guy doesn't take the bait?"

"This kid's lucky. Let's find someone else."

At this moment, Ge Li's eyes were filled with ruthlessness, and he was no longer the honest man he had been before.

……

"Junior Sister Lu?" Lin Chang'an was taken aback when he saw Lu Qingqing with her child while walking on the streets of the market and buying some supplies to go back.

This junior sister usually doesn't go out much, so why is she out with a child today, and carrying a wooden box too?

"Brother Lin."

When she ran into an acquaintance, a hint of embarrassment flashed in Lu Qingqing's eyes, but she quickly smiled and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Shen Lie has been so busy these past few days that he’s hardly ever home. He looks quite haggard, so I came to check on him.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Chang'an couldn't help but sigh that Shen Lie was truly blessed.

"Junior Sister Lu, things haven't been peaceful in the market lately, let's go together."

Arriving at the other end of the market, Shen Lie could be seen in the distance at his stall. Apart from the daily home delivery, Shen Lie spent most of his time selling leftover monster meat at his stall.

"It's top-quality monster meat, the quality is absolutely guaranteed."

"Old Shen, you're really going all out."

"Haha, I have another son. If I don't work hard while he's young, won't he suffer like his father when he's old?"

Shen Lie joked and laughed with his three or five friends who were also setting up a stall, but Lin Chang'an and Lu Qingqing stopped in their tracks, both of them looking somewhat silent.

Beneath Shen Lie's smiling face lay high-grade demon beast meat, yet he was eating dry, astringent fasting pills.

Bigu pills and Bigu pills differ by only one character, yet they are worlds apart.

“No wonder.” Lu Qingqing muttered to herself after stopping to witness this scene, while Lin Chang’an tactfully walked away.

"Junior Sister Lu, I'll go buy some materials for drawing talismans nearby first. You go find Brother Shen first."

"Thank you very much, Brother Lin."

Lu Qingqing took a deep breath and walked over with the child and the wooden box.

"Qingqing, what brings you here!"

Shen Lie stared in astonishment at Lu Qingqing and his child, awkwardly holding the cheap fasting pills in his hand.

"What can I do here? You are a great cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining, you can't let your cultivation be delayed."

Lu Qingqing smiled and took out a meal she had prepared at home from the wooden box. It was made with the finest spirit rice and monster meat.

"I……"

Shen Lie looked away awkwardly, but when he looked down, his eyes were already red. Lu Qingqing, on the other hand, seemed not to notice and turned to the side, teasing the child with a smile on her face.

"Eat quickly. We just happened to run into Brother Lin on the way. My child and I will head back soon, so don't worry."

"it is good."

As Shen Lie ate with his head down, glistening drops of liquid fell from his bowl.

Lu Qingqing, who was turning to the side to tease the child, appeared perfectly normal, but her eyes were already red-rimmed.

Lin Chang'an happened to see this scene from a shop in the distance and couldn't help but sigh slightly.

Men can endure any hardship when they are away from home, but what they fear most is suddenly having someone show them compassion.

With Juxianlou gone and the market in chaos, Shen Lie was burdened with quarterly rent and cultivation expenses. He wasn't alone; he had a wife and children.

He didn't want his descendants to follow in his footsteps, so after discovering that his son had spiritual talent, he started laying a foundation for his descendants from a young age.

He is neither a talisman master nor an alchemist; he cannot afford to live off his savings and needs to plan ahead.

Shen Lie was just starting out selling high-grade monster meat, so he chose to earn very little in exchange for a stable customer base.

So outsiders only saw that Shen Lie had once again held up a piece of the sky, but they didn't see the hardships behind it.

Of course, more importantly, after breaking through with the Breakthrough Pill, Shen Lie realized that his potential had greatly diminished, so he began to focus on nurturing the next generation.

"Reporting only good news and not bad news, perhaps this is the responsibility that the head of the family and the pillar of the household should bear."

Lin Chang'an's expression was somewhat envious, but more so, it was resolute.

His journey is far from over, and it's not time for him to stop. If he's to find a partner, he should find someone who can walk with him on this path.

Rather than stopping halfway, the lonely road would only add to the sadness.

"This world of cultivation is truly both alluring and somewhat annoying."

Looking up at the beautiful scenery of the world and the Foundation Establishment cultivators passing by, Lin Chang'an murmured to himself with a complicated expression.

At this moment, Lin Chang'an seemed to have an epiphany, and the world seemed to become clearer.

On Monday, I'm asking all my fellow readers for your monthly votes to help me climb the new book charts.

[Tomorrow is Tuesday, so please remember to read it tomorrow. It's a four-round PK recommendation.]



(End of this chapter)