A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

The old Taoist priest looked at Zhou Ping with a face full of doubt, his eyes clearly showing suspicion.

"Judging from your appearance, you don't seem like a wealthy person. Do you have spirit stones to buy these secret strategies from this old Taoist priest?"

Zhou Ping looked distressed, shook his head, and sighed.

"Before I parted ways with my master, that old man only gave me one spirit stone, saying it would be enough for me to squander. Who would have thought it wouldn't even be enough to buy a handwritten book!"

"Oh? You actually have spirit stones?"

The old Taoist priest's eyes lit up, and he asked in surprise.

Zhou Ping reached into his pocket, pulled out a lustrous spirit stone, secretly waved it in front of the old Taoist priest, and then hurriedly stuffed it back.

"Senior, I won't bother you any longer. I'll go explore other places."

Seeing that the other party was about to leave, the old Taoist priest immediately became anxious and quickly spoke up.

"Young friend, aren't you going to buy this secret strategy?"

Zhou Ping frowned, and asked in confusion,

"Senior, your secret strategy costs three spirit stones, which I can't afford. I'll have to look elsewhere."

"Since you really like it, how about this: you pick one, and it'll only cost you one spirit stone—I'll sell it to you!"

The old Taoist priest closed his eyes and said with a resolute expression, as if he had suffered a great loss.

"Well... I really don't know which book to choose. I'll ask the old man for enough spirit stones next time before I come back to pick one."

Zhou Ping looked troubled, glancing left and right, but he really didn't know which book to choose, so he gave up and turned to walk away.

Upon seeing this, the old Taoist priest panicked, got up and chased after Zhou Ping, grabbing his sleeve.

"Young friend, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Consider it making friends, here you go!"

As he spoke, he took the three handwritten books that Zhou Ping had chosen from the stall and pushed them into his arms, as if afraid that Zhou Ping would run away again.

Zhou Ping stared blankly at the other party's series of actions, his heart filled with joy. The old man was getting impatient when he saw that Zhou Ping had actually taken out a spirit stone.

"How could I possibly accept this..."

Zhou Ping had an honest and simple expression, which, combined with his naturally dark and dull face, made it seem like he wasn't faking it.

The two started pushing and shoving each other, one saying "It's nothing" and the other "I'm sorry," attracting strange looks from other stall owners nearby.

The old Taoist priest was somewhat bewildered. What was going on? He had been offering a spirit stone to sell the three secret strategies, but the other party was unwilling?

He followed Zhou Ping's gaze and found that Zhou Ping was staring at another book on his stall, looking at it absently.

So, steeling himself, he grabbed it again and shoved it into Zhou Ping's hand, then said urgently,

"I won't beat around the bush anymore. How about adding this book as well? If not, it seems I won't be making this friend today."

Seeing this, Zhou Ping's expression became embarrassed. He was genuinely embarrassed now, and it seemed that he had no choice but to buy it today.

So he sighed softly and said with a face full of gratitude,

"Since you are so sincere, senior, it would be ungrateful of me to keep being coy. So, I will do as you say and keep this spirit stone."

After receiving the spirit stone, the old Taoist priest rubbed it vigorously against his body, examined it carefully, and then put it back in his pocket with satisfaction.

"Then I'll take my leave. Thank you for your generosity, senior!"

Zhou Ping tidied up the four books, raised his hand in a junior's greeting, and then walked towards the other stalls under the old Taoist's sullen gaze.

Shortly after Zhou Ping left, the owner of a nearby stall came over. He had a crooked mouth and slanted eyes and looked extremely lewd. He immediately started mocking the old Taoist priest.

"I'm telling you, Master Mingxin, you're making spirit stones way too easily! Why can't I ever run into a fool like you?"

"All these tattered books of yours aren't even worth half a spirit stone..."

The old Taoist priest Mingxin was wiping the spirit stones he had just acquired in his robes when he heard the other person's words. Immediately, his eyebrows shot up and he began to curse.

"You shameless, black-hearted bastard, how dare you criticize this old Taoist priest?"

"You even sell your own mother into prostitution? Are you even human? Look at the junk you're selling! A bunch of broken stones picked up from the deep mountains and forests, and you dare to label them as extraterrestrial meteorites!"

"I think you shouldn't be called Bond anymore, you should just be called 'Shameless'!"

Upon hearing this, the crooked-mouthed, squinting monk Bond spat under his breath, turned and swayed toward his stall, not arguing, since what the old Taoist Mingxin said was the truth.

"What the hell! It's a disgrace to us cultivators!"

The old Taoist priest Mingxin raised his hand and waved it, trying to dispel the scent left by the other party, his face full of disgust.

In any case, the information recorded in his books is genuine and not something he made up. For those who need it, it is worth the price, and he has no regrets about earning the spirit stones.

Zhou Ping, of course, had no idea what was happening next; at this moment, he was already overjoyed.

He hadn't been this happy in a long time. If he weren't still in Guiyuan Pavilion, he would have shouted out his excitement.

It's no wonder he was so excited. At the age of sixteen or seventeen, acquiring so many valuable books at once completely resolved his initial confusion and bewilderment upon entering the world of cultivation.

Regardless of whether others consider these books worthless, Zhou Ping believes that even if he spends more spirit stones, it would be worthwhile, even though he doesn't have any more spirit stones.

Thus, the deal was reached with both parties being extremely satisfied with the outcome.

At this moment, Zhou Ping had no intention of continuing to wander around. He left Guiyuan Pavilion directly along the original route and hurriedly headed towards the inn.

He needs to go back and study these books carefully before coming to Guiyuan Pavilion. Anyway, he's somewhat idle now, so he can make plans after he has a general understanding of the cultivation world.

On the way back, Zhou Ping recalled Chen Dafu's strange look when he left Guiyuan Pavilion and pondered it to himself.

When Chen Dafu was observing him, Zhou Ping immediately noticed, but he just pretended to be engrossed in reading books.

In Zhou Ping's view, the two had long been like strangers and there was no need for them to meet again.

It seems I need to be more careful when going out in the future. The other person's eyes clearly showed that they had seen something. If they recognize me again, I might get myself into a lot of trouble for no reason.

Upon returning to the inn, Zhou Ping didn't even bother to eat a bite of food before heading straight back to his residence.

After checking the items on the floor and finding nothing missing, he felt relieved and took out the books he had brought back from Guiyuan Pavilion, flipping through them with great interest.

Surprisingly, Zhou Ping didn't immediately flip through the three books he had previously chosen. Instead, his eyes gleamed as he fixed his gaze on the last book that the old Taoist priest Mingxin had slipped into his hand.

"A Brief Introduction to the Dao of Enlightenment and Alchemy".