Immortality and cultivation: Heaven rewards diligence, and success is inevitable.

Hearing this, Jiang Shi quickened his pace.

"Hey, don't go!" Ma Yilan saw Jiang Shi leave and quickly chased after him.

But Lu Wenming stopped him.

"Senior Brother Lu, what are you doing?" Ma Yilan asked.

"How dare you say that? You shameless scoundrel!" Lu Wenming glared angrily at Ma Yilan.

While the two were locked in a stalemate, a servant reported the situation to Liu Yue.

Liu Yue rushed over immediately.

"Junior Brother Lu, Junior Sister Ma, you are both disciples of the Qingyun Sect. What is there that you can't overcome?" Liu Yue tried to mediate.

Both of them were disciples of the Qingyun Sect, and both came from prominent families.

If a fight breaks out here, he, a rogue cultivator, won't be able to handle it.

"Hmph." Lu Wenming flicked his sleeves and walked out the door.

Ma Yilan wasn't angry. She smiled charmingly and said to Liu Yue:

"Senior Liu, would you mind introducing me to Master Li?"

Ma Yilan was also very interested in Jiang Shi, a master of talisman making, who was very worthwhile to win over.

If Jiang Shi were willing, she could even arrange for him to marry into the Ma family.

If she could win over a master talisman maker, she could escape her current status as a marginal disciple and become a core disciple of the Qingyun Sect.

The Ma family will likely favor her with resources, and she might have the opportunity to compete for the Foundation Establishment Pill in the future.

"This matter still needs to be discussed with Master Li; I cannot make the decision on my own," Liu Yue politely declined.

He naturally saw Ma Yilan's intention to win over Jiang Shi.

But he didn't want to let Jiang Shi go; a master talisman maker was more important to the Liu family.

Especially now that the threat of demonic forces is imminent, having a low-grade second-rank spirit talisman will provide the power to protect oneself.

That way, one can have a chance to survive in this crisis.

After Liu Yue rejected Ma Yilan, Ma Yilan's face turned cold.

"What role did your Qingyun Sect play in this scourge of the demonic path?" Liu Yue wondered, watching Ma Yilan's departing figure.

Liu Yue walked quickly into Jiang Shi's courtyard, just as Jiang Shi had not yet entered the house.

"Master Li, may we talk?" Liu Yue asked.

"Of course, please come in." Jiang Shi pushed open the door and gestured for Liu Yue to come in for a talk.

Upon entering the room, Liu Yue immediately set up an isolation array.

[View the complete isolation formation; an introduction to isolation formations.]

[Proficiency +30]

[Isolation Formation: Beginner (30/500)]

"There was an unexpected bonus." Jiang Shi was overjoyed, but he didn't show it on the surface.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, what brings you here?" Jiang Shi asked directly, without beating around the bush.

"Master Li, what is your opinion on this scourge of demonic forces?" Liu Yue asked a question before directly stating his purpose.

"The dangers of the demonic path are immense; a single misstep can lead to utter ruin," Jiang Shi replied.

"What does Master Li think of the Qingyun Sect?" Liu Yue asked, changing the subject and speaking earnestly.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shi understood. Liu Yue suspected that the trouble caused by the demonic path was related to the Qingyun Sect.

After all, the first demonic disturbance occurred at the Qingyun Sect.

"It's hard to say, I can't say." Jiang Shi avoided the topic altogether, pretending he didn't want to offend the Qingyun Sect.

"Master Li, I understand your concerns. But this matter is of great importance, and I believe you understand that we are now in the same boat," Liu Yue said to Jiang Shi.

Jiang Shi didn't respond to Liu Yue's words; he understood what Liu Yue meant.

But he hadn't decided yet whether he wanted to align himself with the Liu family.

Although he can change his identity, the identity of a talisman master cannot be changed at will.

Otherwise, if two talisman-making masters appeared in such a short time, and one of them went missing, even a fool would realize something was wrong.

Liu Yue knew what Jiang Shi was thinking. After all, the two hadn't known each other for long, so it was normal that they couldn't confide in each other.

"Master Li, this is the spiritual contract we signed that day. I'm returning it to you." In order to gain Jiang Shi's trust, Liu Yue took out the spiritual contract.

Jiang Shi accepted the spirit contract. It was of no use to him, but he still had to pretend to value it.

The moment he received it, he used his spiritual sense to invalidate the contract.

Next, Liu Yue took out some cultivation pills and a bottle of cinnabar.

"What is this?" Jiang Shi didn't look at the cultivation pills; his gaze was drawn to the bottle of cinnabar.

Jiang Shi picked up the cinnabar, opened the bottle, and saw the deep blue cinnabar inside.

"This is a second-grade cinnabar, made from the blood of a Foundation Establishment stage demon beast. The blood from the entire body of one Foundation Establishment stage demon beast is used to make this bottle of cinnabar."

"With this cinnabar, and combined with a second-grade spirit brush, Master Li will be even more adept at making second-grade spirit talismans. He might even be able to make a mid-grade second-grade spirit talisman," Liu Yue said.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shi immediately put the bottle of cinnabar into his storage bag.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Liu, for the cinnabar. If it is successful, I will certainly attach two mid-grade second-rank spirit talismans to express my gratitude," Jiang Shi said, rising to thank you.

This item is extremely important to Jiang Shi. With this second-grade cinnabar, he will have the opportunity to create a second-grade superior spirit talisman.

That's equivalent to a spell in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Once used, it can trap even those in the mid-Foundation Building stage.

That would greatly increase his ability to protect himself.

"And Fellow Daoist Liu, rest assured, I am very satisfied with the Liu family. With the Qingyun Sect's aristocratic families in power, we rogue cultivators are nothing but cattle and horses."

Liu Yue was very satisfied with Jiang Shi's words.

"Master Li is absolutely right. Those scions of noble families have no freedom at all. It's much more carefree for us independent cultivators."

"I wonder if Master Li is married? I can introduce you to someone."

Liu Yue's goal was still to win over Jiang Shi, ideally by marrying his daughter to him.

This completely binds Jiang Shi and the Liu family to the same boat.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, I am single-mindedly pursuing the Dao and have spent my life seeking immortality. I have no time to consider marriage and concubines right now." Jiang Shi refused outright. He might run away any day, so why would he have a burden to carry around?

If you want to get married and become a Daoist partner, wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?

"Fellow Daoist Liu, don't worry. As you just said, we are all in the same boat. We should unite and overcome this difficulty together." Since Jiang Shi had accepted the gift, he had to say a few nice words to reassure the other party.

"Alright! Well said. Since Master Li has put it that way, I'll tell you the truth." Liu Yue said very seriously.

"I didn't want to give up on this market for rogue cultivators, but in the past few months I've been inquiring around and found that this scourge of the demonic path is extremely dangerous, and it always brings bloodshed."

"We rogue cultivators have no ability to protect ourselves. We might as well take advantage of the opportunity while we still have it and go to other major cities."

"Other major cities? Wouldn't those be too far away? There's bound to be danger along the way," Jiang Shi asked.

"It is dangerous, but compared to the danger of the demonic path, it is still worth the risk. With Master Li's second-grade low-level spirit talisman and my Qi Refining stage tenth level Great Perfection cultivation, we will definitely be safe and sound."