Seeking immortality begins with daily intelligence reports.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

There was a knock on the courtyard gate, just as Li Shen finished drawing a superior-grade concealing talisman.

Counting the days, it's about time it was my turn.

His eyes gleamed with a blue light as he probed the courtyard with his divine sense.

The result was not as expected.

There was only one person who came, and he was at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Li Shen put away the talisman and went out the door.

All four people in the courtyard are here today.

Lin Xiaoxiao and Liu Rou opened the door one after the other, their expressions different.

Su Qing's door was still closed.

Li Shen greeted Lin Xiaoxiao and Liu Rou.

Then, he stepped forward and peered through the crack in the door to get a clear look at the person who had come in.

He was tall and burly with dark skin; he was none other than Li Niu, his fellow villager.

Upon seeing Li Shen open the door, he immediately grinned, revealing his honest white teeth.

"Shen-ge'er! Long time no see."

Li Niu's voice was loud and clear.

Li Shen nodded slightly and stepped aside:

"Come in and talk."

Li Niu scratched his head, his gaze passing over Li Shen and peering inside. He saw two women looking in their direction and immediately felt a little embarrassed.

Seeing that Li Niu hadn't moved, Li Shen frowned slightly, and immediately understood from his expression.

Turning to look at Lin Xiaoxiao and Liu Rou, Lin Xiaoxiao and Liu Rou nodded slightly in acknowledgment before returning to their rooms and closing the doors.

Li Niu followed Li Shen into the room.

"Shen-ge'er, I've heard about it at the Zhao family's place."

Li Niu's face beamed with joy and pride:

"You're now the Zhao family's revered talisman master! A big shot! I wanted to come see you a couple of days ago, but the market is in complete chaos right now..."

At this point, Li Niu's face showed more worry: "They said that demonic cultivators have entered, and disciples from both the Tang and Song families have suffered. I've been helping them search everywhere, which is why it's been delayed until now."

Li Shen handed Li Niu a cup of spiritual tea, smiled, and naturally followed the topic, asking:

"What big shot? He's just been lucky. How's the investigation going? Any leads?"

Mentioning this, Li Niu's worry deepened unconsciously, and he shook his head:

"The investigation didn't find anything... but we have a few suspects."

Upon hearing this, Li Shen immediately became interested, took a sip of tea, and asked curiously:

"Who are these people?"

Li Niu counted on his fingers and named out four or five names.

Most of them were from the Wild Wolf Gang and the Giant Tiger Gang. As for the remaining few, Li Shen knew immediately that they were mostly independent cultivators who were not cooperating with the investigations of the two gangs.

"Let's not talk about this now."

Li Shen took a sip of tea, then changed the subject, his tone slightly teasing:

"You didn't come here today to investigate me, did you?"

Li Niu waved his hand, remembering the purpose of his visit, the worry on his face disappeared, and his voice regained its excitement:

"Brother Shen, I was just about to tell you! Thanks to you, the elder of the Zhao family has been very kind to me because we're from the same hometown. A few days ago, he was busy managing a general store on West Street in the market, so he handed the job over to me!"

Thanks to me?

Li Shen raised an eyebrow and immediately understood.

He wasn't surprised that the Zhao family was investigating him.

If he were from the Zhao family, he would have done the same.

It seems he discovered the relationship between Li Niu and himself, and offered him some benefits as a favor.

Managing a shop is a lucrative job.

Even the most ordinary shop manager in the market is much better than simply doing manual labor or patrolling and guarding. Not only is it more leisurely, but it's also more lucrative, and you can make a lot of connections.

"Congratulations, Li Niu. This is a good thing; it shows that the elder values ​​you highly."

Li Shen smiled sincerely, not taking the blame for the matter.

Li Niu shook his head repeatedly:

"No, Brother Shen, this must be because of you. Otherwise, the elder wouldn't have put me in charge of the shops so early. And he told me to do a good job, and if I do well, he'd give me a few more shops."

"By the way, I came here today for two reasons: first, to share some good news with you, and second, to treat Brother Shen to a meal to properly thank you!"

His words were earnest, and his gaze was sincere.

Li Shen felt a warmth in his heart as he looked at his fellow townsman.

In the cultivation world, human relationships are fickle, and he's probably the only one who still cares about Li Shen.

Just as he was about to agree, there was another knock on the courtyard gate.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

This time, the knocking was louder than Li Niu's earlier.

Li Shen's expression remained unchanged, a flash of blue light appeared in his eyes, and his divine sense quietly spread out.

Three people were standing outside the courtyard gate.

The leader was a middle-aged cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining, followed by two others, both at the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

This was something he had anticipated.

Then there was another knock on the door.

Li Niu understood, immediately stood up, and said with a hint of resentment:

"Shen-ge'er, the search party must have arrived. I'll go talk to them and tell them, how could you possibly be associated with demonic cultivators?!"

Li Shen's lips twitched almost imperceptibly as he muttered to himself:

"In a sense, he really is the Shen-ge you mentioned."

He winked at Li Niu, signaling him to calm down, and then calmly stood up:

"It's alright, Li Niu. The innocent will clear themselves. We still need to cooperate with the work that needs to be done."

After saying that, he pushed open the door and went out.

With a creak, the courtyard gate opened.

The three people outside the door immediately focused their attention on Li Shen.

Then, his gaze passed over Li Shen and fell on Li Niu, Lin Xiaoxiao, and Liu Rou, who came out one after the other.

The middle-aged cultivator from the Song family sized up Li Shen, sensing the aura of the seventh level of Qi Refining emanating from him. His brow twitched slightly, and a formulaic smile quickly spread across his face.

"Fellow Daoist, I apologize for disturbing you."

The Song family cultivator cupped his hands and said:

"My name is Song Shun. I am here on orders from my family to patrol this area and investigate those who may be colluding with demonic cultivators. I would appreciate your cooperation in the investigation."

His tone was calm, and he did not look down on Li Shen just because he was a member of the Song family.

The two family disciples next to him, who were at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, were in the same situation.

However, one person still squinted and scanned the courtyard past Li Shen.

Li Shen remained calm and returned the greeting with his hands clasped.

"I see. My name is Li Shen, the talisman master of the Zhao family. I will cooperate."

As he spoke, he stepped aside:

"Please come in, gentlemen."

He deliberately pointed out his identity as a talisman master of the Zhao family, and also took the initiative to reveal his cultivation level of the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Upon hearing this, the two cultivators behind him immediately became more serious.

A hint of surprise flashed across Song Shun's eyes.

It should be noted that the status of a Foundation Establishment family member is similar to that of an elder.

The person in front of me looks so young, yet he is already a retainer of the Zhao family.

He couldn't figure it out for a moment, and didn't dwell on it any longer.

It is suspected that the other party has probably taken some kind of anti-aging pill.

He had heard of that before.

The three of them entered the courtyard.

Song Shun's gaze swept over the only closed door in the courtyard:

"Fellow Daoist Li, is this room unoccupied?"

"Li Sheng was just about to give a perfunctory reply when Su Qing's door opened before he could even speak."

She wore a plain dress today, her face was aloof, and she simply nodded slightly to the group without saying much.

Song Shun's gaze swept over the four people, lingering especially on Su Qing, who had an outstanding temperament, feeling that she looked somewhat familiar.

Then it landed on Li Niu, who was standing behind Li Shen.

"Who is this?"

Song Shun pointed at Li Niu and asked.

In the outer city, each courtyard is basically a room for one person.

Now there's one more person.

And he was standing at the door of Li Shen's room.

At this critical juncture, Song Shun subconsciously began to have doubts.

Li Shen remained calm and patted Li Niu on the shoulder:

"This is my friend. He's currently the manager of a shop on Zhao Family West Street. He happened to have some free time today, so he came to visit me and wanted to treat me to a simple meal. He also happens to be on duty in the market patrol team. What, Fellow Daoist Song, haven't you met him before?"

He spoke calmly, pointing out the Zhao family while naturally asking a question in return.

Song Shun smiled:

"Fellow Daoist Li, I've only been in charge of the investigation recently, and I'm really not familiar with the patrol guards in the market."

He turned to his disciple and asked:

"Do you remember me?"

The two exchanged a glance, then frowned and began to ponder.