Witch, please have some self-respect!

[Retirement Blessing Scroll: Level Zero (965/1000)]

[Enjoy Blessings: Level 0 players can earn 5 Blessing Points by enjoying life daily.]

[Health Blessing: Daily exercise at level zero earns 5 blessing points]

【技艺爱好：人道符师（学徒601/1000）、紫雷呼吸法（小成303/1000）、滚石诀（小成45/1000）、敛息诀（小成135/1000）气血凝丝诀（大成255/10000）、雕刻（大成356/10000）、养生拳（小成225/1000）...】

[Blessing Points: 65]

[Exclusive Blessing: 15]

You can get 30 points of blessings per day plus exclusive blessings, and the progress is very fast. I only need 35 more points.

Without hesitation, Shen Yun skillfully picked up the inkstone and source stones, prioritizing making money.

[Humanity Talisman Master (Apprentice 601/1000)] +40

With focused concentration, he began to carve mysterious symbols on the source stone.

As the talisman master's progress continues, the requirement for a guaranteed success talisman stone, which initially required 50 points of good fortune, has been reduced to 40 points.

This discovery both surprised and delighted Shen Yun.

The five source stones from fifteen days ago had already been made into protective talismans.

After selling it, he bought ten source stones and a copy of "The Art of Concealing Breath," and gave the remaining one hundred gold to Wan'er.

The family's daily food expenses have increased to two gold coins, with a constant supply of ordinary spirit rice, wild beast meat, and spirit fruits.

The ten source stones have already been used to create four protective talismans, and Shen Yun is now making the fifth one.

Once all ten are sold, the family's savings will be enough to amount to a thousand gold coins.

Then I can go to the proper cultivation shops in the city to broaden my horizons. They have all kinds of treasures that can enhance a cultivator's qi and blood, void bags, blood food pills, and cultivation manuals.

After making the runestone, Shen Yun quickly opened the ancient scroll.

Things have already changed.

[Retirement Blessing Scroll: Level One (5/5000)]

[Enjoy Blessings: Level 1: Enjoy life daily to earn 10 Blessing Points]

[Health Blessing: Level 1 Daily Exercise, earns 10 Blessing Points]

Seeing that the progress bar for the first stage was five thousand, Shen Yun breathed a sigh of relief.

He's really afraid it'll multiply tenfold!

"Daily Blessing Points earned have also doubled!"

It used to be 10 o'clock a day, but now it's 20 o'clock.

This is a good thing; no amount of merit points can ever be enough.

Thinking of something, Shen Yun quickly flipped the ancient scroll over to look at the companion section.

【Part 1: Daily Friendly Communication with Your Retired Partner】

[Exclusive Reward: Based on your partner's intimacy level, you can earn exclusive partner bonus points by communicating emotionally daily (10% of intimacy level)]

[Bonus Reward: Daily Blessing Points are calculated based on partner satisfaction]

Su Wan'er

【Intimacy Level: 99】

[Host satisfaction rate: 98%]

This remains unchanged, but thanks to the doubling of the base value, Shen Yun's daily blessing points cap has been raised to fifty.

One rune stone a day is no problem.

"It's a pity they didn't increase the number of couple slots!"

Shen Yun looked at the (One) behind his partner and was somewhat disappointed that it hadn't changed.

If he's not mistaken, having an extra partner will definitely bring him more blessings.

It's advisable to look for female cultivators in advance to avoid the difficulty of finding a suitable partner later.

Feeling refreshed after the breakthrough, and with the sky still early, Shen Yun stepped out of his house, intending to go shopping.

These days, the management office has issued monthly allowances. After deducting one month's rent, I received twelve gold coins.

It's time to treat the neighbors in the alley to a meal.

Spiritual practice is not about fighting and killing, but also about understanding human relationships and worldly affairs.

Eating and drinking, and making some good connections is never a bad thing.

After arriving in the Holy City, he was completely cut off from information; he was practically in the dark and had no channels for communication.

Stepping out of the courtyard, Shen Yun saw a bamboo pole erected in front of the opposite gate, with a white animal skin banner hanging from it.

Looking across at Wang Xuan's house and next door at Lin Qiaoniang's house, the same thing happened.

"Could it be that some important figure from the Holy Sect has died?"

This situation made Shen Yun feel somewhat uneasy.

Just then, I saw the first house in the alley open its gate, and a sprightly old man was hanging a white animal skin banner in front of the door.

Shen Yun strode forward: "Brother Liu, what serious incident has occurred?"

The elderly man surnamed Liu still had silver hair and beard, and looked younger than Shen Yun, but he was actually seventy-five years old.

He is at the sixth level of the Body Nourishment stage and is also an apprentice of spiritual plants.

On weekdays, I help the plant growers at the Lingtian Management Office with some small tasks.

He was considered an unofficial member of the Holy Sect, and the most prestigious person in the alley, even surpassing Song Da, who was at the ninth level of the Body Nourishing Realm.

Looking at Shen Yun, he greeted him with a smile, "Brother Shen, I really did think about telling you."

"You were in a small town before, without a sect, and you didn't know about our human race's traditional festival—the Demon Slaying Festival."

"The Demon-Slaying Festival?"

Upon first hearing this name, Shen Yun felt an overwhelming aura of killing intent wash over him.

"That's right. A small ceremony is held every three years, and a large ceremony is held every ten years. The purpose is to constantly remind the human race not to forget the deep-seated hatred between them and the demon race."

At this point, the usually easygoing Old Liu's eyes were filled with intense killing intent; the hatred in his eyes was unmistakable.

"A month before and after the grand ceremony, white banners are erected in front of every house in the holy city. On that day, the eight characters 'By blood as a pledge, we will destroy demons for generations' must be written in blood as ink to commemorate the heroic spirits of our human race in heaven and to strengthen the indomitable will of our human race."

Pointing to the white banner made of animal hide, Old Liu's voice became even more forceful and resonant.

"What kind of hatred do we have for the demon race?" Shen Yun wondered.

He understood the principle that those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts.

But this kind of grand sect ceremony, which is also a declaration of oath, a show of annihilation and a fight to the death, must have another reason.

"Legend has it that in the ancient, primordial era, the demon race refined ordinary humans into blood pills, transformed powerful humans into an inexhaustible spring of blood, and awakened the intelligence of billions of demons, resulting in the near extinction of humanity across countless realms..."

"Before coming to the Holy City, the city I was in was breached and fell by a great demon wolf of the demon race. They not only ate my people, but also enjoyed torturing and killing my people."

At this point, Old Liu's face showed a trace of painful recollection.

The pain wasn't just that he couldn't take revenge, but also that the memories of his enemies had become blurred over the years.

But there will always be someone who will remember him.

Demon-slaying festival.

"The brutality of the demon race is built upon the countless corpses of our human race..."

"Understood, I'll go back and raise the white flag immediately."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yun's expression turned solemn. Racial hatred should not be taken lightly or disrespected.

Although he sought only to maintain a safe and secure life, he was never ambiguous when it came to matters of principle.

"A month before and after the Demon Slaughtering Ceremony, the Holy Sect will focus on inspecting courtyards where white banners are not erected, as soon as possible."

Before leaving, Old Liu added, worried that Shen Yun might not be attentive enough.

Not everyone will hold racial hatred in their hearts; personal safety is a greater wake-up call.

Shen Yun went to the street and found a shop selling white banners made of animal skins. He then inquired about the Demon Slaying Ceremony.

Starting the day after tomorrow, a thorough investigation of lurking demons will be conducted within the city for two months.

Each time a demon-slaying ceremony is held, a large number of demons are found within the city, and they are all annihilated by lightning.

In the end, Shen Yun bought an ordinary white banner made of wild beast skin for one gold coin. It wasn't the cheapest one, nor was it a high-quality white banner made of genuine demon fur.

These kinds of decorations are everywhere in the alley; they suit his status perfectly.

Furthermore, after the grand ceremony, the Holy Sect will reclaim the white banners, and at a premium of 10%.

If even a demonic sect like the Fude Holy Sect behaves this way, it shows how deep the conflict is between humans and demons.

"Three jars of five-year-aged spirit rice wine, three catties of savage beast meat, and a bag of jade-like spirit peaches..."

Shen Yun made a point of asking a few people if they could have a meal together during the grand ceremony, and only then did he feel at ease enough to start his shopping.

Lingmi Niang is a wine brewed from Lingmi rice. One jin of rice yields one and a half jin of wine, which has a mellow and fragrant taste and does not cause headaches.

The spirit wine isn't made from wild beast meat; its aroma is too strong to be concealed.

Shen Yun's image in the alley was low-key and unassuming; he hadn't bought any to try yet.

Three jars of spirit wine and three catties of wild beast meat, along with plenty of ordinary food, will be used to feast the neighbors in the alley—that's quite generous.

That evening, Shen Yun first visited Old Liu, and then, accompanied by him, knocked on doors from house to house, promising to host a banquet for all his friends and neighbors the next day.

Upon hearing that there was spirit wine and beast meat, most people said they would come the next day.

......

Lingnongfang, with eight lanes and six courtyards on East Street.

Of the fifteen households in the alley, thirteen have moved in, and ten have come to offer their congratulations. Some are heads of families who are monks, while others are ordinary people who have come to express their congratulations.

Su Wan'er sat down at a table with Tongtong and a few other ordinary people.

Shen Yun, Elder Liu, Lin Qiaoniang, Wang Xuan, Wei Jiao, and Wei Hu were at one table of cultivators.

Wei Jiao and Wei Hu are twin brothers. Although they are in the mid-stage of the Body Nourishing Realm, they can fight against late-stage Body Nourishing Realm warriors when they work together. They are wilderness hunters who explore the wild.

In terms of practical combat ability, he is the strongest in the alley.

Even Song Da, who was in the late stage of the cultivation realm, had been farming for over a decade, yet he was still no match for the two brothers.

When Shen Yun went to invite them yesterday, they happened to be at home, and the two of them came after being invited.

"Elder Liu, you are the oldest, and you are not far from becoming a Spirit Plant Master through your minor cultivation. You are also working in the management office, so please take the seat of honor."

After some persuasion, Old Liu insisted on sitting in the main seat.

"Everyone's here, I'm late."

Suddenly someone pushed open the courtyard gate, and Song Da walked in carrying gifts, followed by a figure dressed in a yellow robe.

Upon seeing the yellow-robed figure behind them, with a river of blood embroidered on his chest, everyone stood up.

"Brother Song, what's wrong with Zichen?"

Yellow robes and a river of blood—the symbol of outer disciples of the Holy Sect.

"My son has worked hard for many years and finally entered the Holy Sect yesterday. Three days later, I invite everyone to the Holy Spring Pavilion to taste the Snow Dew."

Song Da cleared his throat and said with a hint of excitement.

After he finished speaking, the courtyard was filled with congratulatory voices.

"I told you Zichen could do it."

"Brother Song Da has finally gotten his wish."

...

Shen Yun also cast an envious glance and stepped forward to congratulate him.

In the holy city, this represents a fish turning over a new leaf and becoming a phoenix soaring to the top.

This elderly father, at the seventh level of the Nourishing Body realm, worked hard in the fields to save money so that his son could enter the Holy Sect. He had lived in Lingnongfang for more than ten years.

My wish has finally come true.