Dark Immortal Cultivation

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, this is my husband."

Upon seeing Zhang Qing, Madam Xu smiled and said, "Having learned that you have just moved here, I have come to pay my respects."

The middle-aged cultivator bowed and said, "My name is Ye Fengchun, greetings, fellow Daoist."

Zhang Qing quickly returned the greeting: "So it's Fellow Daoist Ye, please come in!"

If it were his old house, he would really be embarrassed to entertain guests—the conditions were just too basic.

This new house isn't exactly luxurious.

It is also much stronger.

There's no problem with at least a few people sitting around a table talking.

Ye Fengchun possessed an extraordinary temperament and elegant demeanor, resembling a well-read Confucian scholar, with every gesture exuding gentleness and refinement.

But Zhang Qing had a vague feeling that the other party's cultivation level was above his own.

It's probably more than one level higher!

After the three of them sat down, Madam Xu handed the bamboo basket she had brought to Zhang Qing and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, these are pastries I just made. If you don't mind, please try them."

A bamboo food box was placed in the bamboo basket, and Zhang Qing could smell the aroma of the pastries.

He immediately accepted it with both hands: "Thank you, fellow Daoist."

Regardless of what kind of person Madam Xu is, their intentions must be respected.

Ye Fengchun smiled and said, "My wife's cooking skills are quite good. I've been tasting her food for over ten years and I still haven't had enough."

Although the words carried a hint of jest, they sounded quite witty coming from the mouth of this refined monk.

She's quite a remarkable person.

Madam Xu gave Ye Fengchun a coquettish glare, but her eyes were full of tender affection.

Before Zhang Qing could even taste the pastries, he was first stuffed with a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection)!

He could only manage an awkward laugh.

Fortunately, Ye Fengchun only subtly showed affection and had no intention of harming Zhang Qing.

After talking with him, it was learned that this middle-aged cultivator was actually a talisman cultivator who usually made a living by refining talismans.

Among the various arts of cultivation, artifact crafting, talisman making, and alchemy are ranked in the top three, and without talent, one simply cannot master them.

Zhang Qing's predecessor once dreamed of becoming a talisman cultivator.

Unfortunately, he lacked the talent in this area.

Ye Fengchun is not only a talisman cultivator, but also has a cooperative relationship with the Changfeng Society. He has lived in this alley for nearly three years.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, if you need any talismans in the future, just come to me to buy them."

Ye Fengchun smiled and said, "I'll give you a 10% discount."

Zhang Qing quickly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you very much, fellow Daoist!"

Talismans and pills are essential items for cultivators, consumed in large quantities, and their prices on the market are very transparent.

A 10% discount may not seem like a big deal, but it's actually a significant favor.

Even the most skilled talisman cultivators cannot achieve 100% success.

Losses account for a large portion of the cost of talismans.

"No need to be so polite."

Ye Fengchun waved his hand: "We are destined to meet, and we live opposite each other. It is only natural for us to help each other. I might even need your help someday."

As he spoke, he took out three talismans from his sleeve and gently placed them in front of Zhang Qing.

"A small token of my appreciation to congratulate you on moving to your new home!"

That's so meticulous!

Zhang Qing felt more and more that he had made the right choice in moving this time.

Ye Fengchun and his wife did not stay long. They chatted with Zhang Qing for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before taking their leave.

This made Zhang Qing a little embarrassed.

We were not treated well!

Only after the couple left did he open the food box that Madam Xu had given him.

Inside were five kinds of pastries.

Zhang Qing tried a piece, and the sweet taste was really good.

He slept soundly that night.

Since his transmigration, Zhang Qing had never slept so comfortably.

The next morning, the talisman that had been pasted on the door was still intact, showing no signs of being disturbed by evil spirits.

Indeed, there's a reason why things are expensive.

In the days that followed, Zhang Qing calmed down and focused on his spiritual practice.

Refining wooden puppets and practicing the "Art of Puppet Control" became one of the key focuses of his daily efforts.

But as the days went by, Zhang Qing soon realized something was wrong.

This wooden puppet is a bit of a rip-off.

It's not just a little bit of a trap, it's a complete disaster!

Refining is the first step to mastering this wondrous object. Without refining it to a certain degree, the subsequent twelve spells will be like castles in the air—visible but unusable.

That's exactly where the problem lies.

The initial refining was very simple and didn't take much effort from Zhang Qing.

However, as the level of refinement deepens, more and more magical power needs to be injected into the wooden puppet.

It could even drain all the true energy he had painstakingly cultivated in one go.

This isn't some exotic item, it's clearly a foodie's delight!

The practice of cultivating Qi is about cultivating true Qi. Only with true Qi can one unleash magical power and cast spells.

Now, all the true energy Zhang Qing cultivated was poured into the wooden puppet. Where would he get the magic power to practice the Blazing Fire Technique and the Weapon Control Technique?

These two spells were also very important to him.

If the mana is distributed evenly, the effect of the ritual will be greatly reduced.

Zhang Qing finally understood why he hadn't found a single talisman coin in Gao Qiang's storage bag.

This Qi Refining Level 3 cultivator's magical power has probably been completely consumed by the wooden puppet.

Therefore, Gao Qiang had no spare resources to refine talisman coins, so in order to make money, he plotted to harm Zhang Qing and others.

Now that Gao Qiang has received his retribution, it's Zhang Qing's turn to be troubled.

He was inclined to abandon this rare item and wait until his cultivation level improved before refining it again.

However, giving up halfway was not in Zhang Qing's nature, and as he deepened his refinement of the wooden puppet, he increasingly felt the extraordinary nature of this strange object.

The idea arose that it might be possible to repair, or even strengthen, the wooden puppet through "powerful energy."

Zhang Qingzhen couldn't bear to let go!

Unable to accept this or that, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and try to shorten his usual rest time.

He devoted more time to cultivation.

Time flies, and it's that time of year again when the Yingji Night Market opens.

Having developed dark circles under his eyes from staying up all night, Zhang Qing temporarily put aside his obsession and left Qing'anji for another camp.

He easily found the cultivators from the Corpse Demon Cave in the night market of the camp.

They sold the two corpses from their "stockpile".

I exchanged some large talisman coins for them.

With some extra money, Zhang Qing gritted his teeth and made a tough decision to buy ten catties of spirit rice.

Spirit rice is one of the most common spiritual items. The difference between it and ordinary rice is that it contains spiritual energy, which is helpful for cultivators' practice.

There are many varieties of spirit rice, produced from spirit fields of different grades.

The outer city area of ​​Luoshan City has countless fields, but the area of ​​spirit fields is less than one percent of that, so the value of spirit rice is self-evident.

Few of the lower-level cultivators who frequented the camps could afford even the cheapest spirit rice.

At most, we'll have a little treat during the Lunar New Year.

These ten catties of white jade spirit rice consumed most of Zhang Qing's savings.

After bringing it back, he cooked three ounces of rice for dinner.

I almost cried while eating it.

The experience was fantastic!

Only after eating the spirit rice can one truly understand what kind of life those high-level cultivators who are above others lead.

Taste and flavor are merely superficial; the key lies in the benefits that spiritual rice brings to cultivation.

With the help of these ten catties of spirit rice, Zhang Qing's progress in refining the wooden puppet suddenly accelerated.

Just as he was about to run out of spiritual rice, he finally completed all the sacrificial methods in the general chapter of "The Art of Puppet Control".

After reaching the maximum progress, Zhang Qing's control over the wooden puppet reached a whole new level!