Seeking immortality begins with daily intelligence reports.

It seems this tattered page is completely useless now.

Li Shen tried to probe with spiritual energy again, but the tattered page in his hand remained unresponsive.

He set the tattered pages and the rolled-up animal hide aside and got up to prepare dinner.

In this realm, cultivators can only truly abstain from grains after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. Those in the Qi Refining stage still cannot live without grains and meat, except that what they eat is spiritual rice and spiritual meat.

Li Shen was used to living alone before he transmigrated, so cooking and starting a fire were second nature to him.

Before long, a pot of steaming hot beef soup was already filling the air with its aroma.

After eating until he was half full, he sat down cross-legged and began to circulate the "Evergreen Technique".

Time slips away quietly, and midnight arrives.

Li Shen slowly opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, and his gaze fell upon the intelligence report that had appeared before him as expected:

The gray-robed old talisman master was ambushed and killed by bandits on his way to the mortal realm.

These few words, just over ten, left Li Shen stunned for a long time.

The market is probably really going to descend into chaos.

The next day, early in the morning.

Li Shen sat down at his desk, with all the necessary items ready. Taking advantage of his good spirits, he decided to first try drawing the Breath Concealing Talisman.

He picked up the talisman brush, dipped it in spiritual ink, and the moment the brush tip lightly touched the talisman paper, spiritual power slowly flowed in.

The patterns of the Concealing Breath Talisman are far more complex than those of the Ice Cone Talisman. Not only does it require a steady and even output of spiritual energy, but at several key turning points, special techniques must be used to pause, lift, and press to ensure the energy channels of the talisman are open and the spiritual light is contained within.

With complete concentration, fine beads of sweat quickly appeared on his forehead.

The first half went exceptionally smoothly, the brushstrokes flowing like dragons and snakes, and a faint spiritual light rippled on the talisman paper.

However, just as the final loop was about to be completed, at the most crucial point of "concealing the tip," the spirit of the pen tip suddenly trembled!

laugh!

With a soft sound, the talisman spontaneously combusted without fire, turning into ashes in an instant, leaving only a faint smell of burnt food.

Failed.

Li Shen's lips curled up slightly. He was already used to this kind of scene when he was practicing the Ice Spike Talisman.

After all, failure is the mother of success.

He comforted himself, then closed his eyes and concentrated, carefully recalling the entire process and comparing it with the talisman-making experience of the owner of the torn page.

After taking a moment to calm his mind and brushing away the ashes, he spread out the second talisman.

Although they were more cautious this time, the spiritual energy still stagnated slightly at a bend in the road, and the talisman was burned again without mercy.

Li Shen took a deep breath and laid out the third card.

laugh!

"Again!"

laugh!

"Again!"

……

Ten consecutive attempts, all failures.

Li Shen put down his talisman brush, leaned back in his wooden chair, and looked exhausted.

His spiritual energy and mental energy were depleted, forcing him to stop and recover.

As he closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, his emotions surged.

Am I being too hasty?

Perhaps it would be better to first study the basic first-order talismans listed in "A Brief Explanation of Talismans" and then draw the Breath Concealing Talisman after gaining more experience.

With the task of hunting demons becoming increasingly urgent, concerns about his safety, coupled with the pressure of the "demonest hunting tax," made him somewhat impatient for quick results.

"The path to greatness is long and arduous; why strive for something so short?"

Li Shen muttered to himself, his mind gradually clearing.

He took out the book "A Brief Explanation of the Basics of Talismans" and began to study the simpler fireball talisman.

Time flies, and for several days in a row, Li Shen was immersed in the cycle of "making talismans in the morning, cultivating at noon, and making talismans again at night".

There hasn't been any important intelligence lately, mostly just things like "east wind today" or "light rain tomorrow".

Occasionally, a few pieces of gossip circulate, such as a female cultivator next door having trouble sleeping late at night, or a fellow cultivator who went to a brothel but couldn't pay and was forced to work to pay off his debt...

This added a touch of fun to his days of ascetic practice.

Until one late night, about two weeks later.

The brushstrokes are subtly brilliant, ending perfectly with the final stroke.

On the table, a talisman lay quietly, its patterns deep and mysterious, its aura subtly concealed.

Become!

Looking at the first concealment talisman he had drawn, Li Shen was filled with excitement and could hardly contain his urge to test it on the spot.

But the good news doesn't stop there.

On that very day, among the intelligence reports that appeared as promised, a line of words suddenly appeared that sent a jolt through him:

Thirty miles east of Laoshan lies a seemingly ordinary, desolate cave, but it is actually the ruins of an ancient cultivator. Within the cave are ten ancient spirit insect eggs, still teeming with life. The spiritual energy maintaining the cave's concealment and defensive formations will be completely depleted in seven days.

"Ancient cultivator's ruins, ancient spirit insects."

Li Shen muttered to himself, pinching his chin as he pondered.

Any one of these words appearing in the outside world would be enough to trigger a fierce battle among Qi Refining cultivators and even Foundation Establishment seniors.

The former implies potential inheritance, such as elixirs or magical artifacts, while the latter is even rarer. Although ancient spirit insects are relatively weak in the early stages, they possess extremely strong growth potential. Once nurtured, they will become a great help to cultivators, whether in battles against other cultivators of the same level or in seizing opportunities.

He subconsciously glanced at the newly made concealment talisman on the table; it was his confidence and his only shield.

A first-tier high-grade talisman is sufficient to evade the divine sense detection of late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, while a high-grade one is comparable to an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.

However, he had heard of the area thirty miles east of Laoshan Mountain, though he had not ventured deep into it. He knew that the terrain was treacherous and monsters often roamed there.

Even ordinary mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators need to be extremely careful when traveling in groups.

With my current cultivation level of the third level of Qi Refining, I have only mastered the first-grade low-level Breath Concealing Talisman. Blindly plunging in would be no different from suicide.

"Seven days of preparation time is still too short."

Thinking this through, Li Shen pinched the bridge of his nose and suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness due to his lack of strength. It was the cold reality that he had to face after he had to soberly recognize his own limitations.

But with the opportunity right in front of him, it was impossible to make him give it up.

If we give up now, what will we rely on to attain immortality in the future!

Li Shen took a deep breath. The candlelight flickered, its brightness uncertain. After a long period of contemplation, he decided to focus his efforts on hunting demons.

...

The next day, early in the morning.

Li Shen dressed early and, as usual, focused on the Dao of Talismans, maintaining a clear mind.

Just as he was drawing three fireball talismans with swift strokes, a knock on the door interrupted him.

Bang bang bang!

Li Shen was puzzled. He only had nodding acquaintances with his fellow cultivators in the neighborhood, so they shouldn't be disturbing him so early in the morning.

As for the others, he could only think of two people at the moment.

The first was the steward in charge of registering and collecting rent, and the second was Li Niu, who had accompanied him when he first entered the market.

The former had just paid rent not long ago, while the latter, Li Niu, was from the same hometown as him. He was left at night by an old Taoist priest in town who revealed that he possessed spiritual roots, and they subsequently embarked on a journey to seek immortality together.

However, both of them possessed pseudo-spiritual roots, and none of the three sects of Yunhe Mountain were willing to accept them as disciples.

Although both of them decided to stay in the market to cultivate immortality, unlike Li Shen's life as a rogue cultivator, Li Niu was chosen by the Zhao family, a Foundation Establishment family in the market, and became their son-in-law.

It's said that she recently gave birth to a big, healthy baby boy for the Zhao family, so she should be staying home taking care of the child.

Unable to figure it out for a moment, Li Shen heard the knocking again. He had no choice but to put away the talisman paper and brush, put his hands behind his back, pinch a low-grade fireball talisman, and go to open the door.

Upon seeing the person's appearance, Li Shen was somewhat taken aback.

"Brother Shi, what brings you here?"