Shen Ping was very cautious about taking a concubine. There were three bottom lines in his heart that he could not touch for the time being.
Those with high cultivation couldn't be touched!
Those who were unrestrained couldn't be touched!
Those with a deep family background could not be touched!
Being obedient and sensible came first. Her looks and figure were secondary. It would be even better if she was alone. And he didn't have any requirements for the spiritual roots.
If they could live forever together, then they would walk down the path hand in hand. If they can't, then he would accompany her until they grew old together.
In this extremely dangerous cultivation world, he did not dare to place his life on that illusory luck.
However, there was still one flaw in the wise man's plan. Shen Ping could not guarantee that he had thought it through. He could only try his best to avoid potential danger.
Therefore, facing Shopkeeper Chen who was acting as the matchmaker, he instinctively wanted to refuse. Although he did not know the strength and background of the family behind Shopkeeper Chen, on the surface, he could not afford to provoke him.
If he were to take in a concubine, he would definitely suffer a crushing blow if anything were to leak out in the future. The market was safe, and no one dared to violate the rules of the Golden Sun Sect. But that didn't mean that people couldn't disappear.
However, he could not directly reject Shopkeeper Chen's good intentions. Hence, he smiled and said, "Shopkeeper Chen, why don't you tell me briefly?"
Seeing that there was a chance, Shopkeeper Chen could not help but perk up and say that there were three people to choose from. These three cultivators were at the first or second level of Qi Refinement. They were all young. Two of them were the daughters of Shopkeeper Chen's collateral family.
The last one was the daughter left behind by his good friend. She had a three-element spiritual root. If one was willing to spend resources, she might be able to become an outer sect disciple of the Golden Sun Sect.
When Shen Ping heard about this three-element spiritual root, his expression changed slightly.
Shopkeeper Chen hurriedly said, "The daughter of my good friend has a tenacious personality and is extremely intelligent. She is currently working as a maid by the side of an inner sect female disciple of the Golden Sun Sect. In the future, it is very likely that she will be in charge of this shop. If Fellow Daoist Shen is interested, I'll arrange for the two of you to meet after some time?"
Shen Ping understood. It turned out that Shopkeeper Chen was trying to rope him in on behalf of the person behind the Spring Embroidery Pavilion. The previous nieces and clan daughters were just foreshadowing. The focus was on this maid.
He thought for a moment. He asked, "Shopkeeper Chen, I wonder if your good friend's daughter is alone?"
Shopkeeper Chen nodded and sighed. "That good friend of mine only left behind this bloodline when he was alive. I made some connections to send her to that disciple's side. Although she was blessed by the heavens, that disciple had more than one maid by her side. It was very difficult to obtain resources."
Shen Ping smiled and cupped his hands. "There's no harm in meeting her. Shopkeeper Chen can just inform me when the time comes."
Shopkeeper Chen was overjoyed.
The two of them chatted for a while. Shen Ping left and returned to the small courtyard in Yunhe Alley. It was almost noon. Just as he was about to enter the house, two cultivators walked out of the third house. "Seniors. I'm Talisman Master Shen from Room 2."
He had lived here for a year, but this was the first time he had seen the brothers in Room 3. As for room four and room six, it was still empty.
The seventh-stage Qi Refinement cultivator among the two brothers glanced at Shen Ping and cupped his hands slightly before ignoring him. Soon, they left the small courtyard.
Shen Ping did not mind. Cultivators had different temperaments, and some were indeed not good at dealing with others.
...
In the blink of an eye, two months passed quietly.
Late at night, It was raining cats and dogs. It landed on the roof and splashed with the sound of rain. The room was exceptionally quiet. Only the even breathing of his wife and concubine could be heard. The two girls had long since fallen asleep.
[Obtained Talisman Dao Experience +4]
[Your wife is deeply in love with you. Current favorability: 100+20]
[Talisman Master: Level One High-grade (46,416/50,000)]
...
[Received metal-type spiritual root aptitude+2, wood-type spiritual root aptitude+2.]
[Current Dao Companion Favorability: 92]
[Bonus: 3]
[Metal Spiritual Root: High-grade (9,629/50,000)]
[Wood Spiritual Root: High-grade (9,521/50,000)]
Shen Ping looked at the attribute panel.
His experience in the Dao of Talisman had almost reached the second level. Every once in a while, he could clearly feel a large amount of comprehension of Talisman Daoism accumulating and surging into his Sea of Consciousness. It was even deep in his muscles. The accumulation seemed to be the tireless efforts he had put in for dozens of years.
Presently, he was able to create high-grade talismans in one go even with the complicated spiritual runes. Originally, he needed ten hours to create talismans every day. Now, he only needed eight hours to complete the previous number of talismans.
And he still needed to accumulate his spiritual roots for several years before he could break through to the next stage.
However, he was also a little worried. After all, the metal and wood spiritual roots were too outstanding, and the remaining water and fire spiritual roots were too poor. They had already dragged him down. If this continued, it was unknown if there would be any impact in the future.
"Bai Yuying is a cultivator. If I continue to take cultivators as concubines, I wonder if I will be able to obtain an increase in the attributes of other spiritual roots?"
Thinking of this, Shen Ping felt that he really had to get a concubine as soon as possible to experiment.
His current cultivation level was steadily increasing. On average, the spirit stones he accumulated every three months could barely buy the next spiritual liquid. If he continued to consume it, it would only be a matter of time before he broke through to the sixth level of Qi Refinement.
As long as he slowly revealed himself as a High-grade Talisman Master in the future, he would not attract much attention when his cultivation increased faster. After all, as long as there were enough cultivation resources below the Foundation Establishment Realm, a pseudo-Spiritual Root could continuously advance.
Of course, he had to be more careful when he reached the late-stage Qi Refinement realm.
Early in the morning, the kitchen was filled with the fragrance of high-grade spirit rice. Unfortunately, there was no smell of petals.
Yu Yan had been out of the Cloud Mountain Swamp for longer and longer. This was not a good sign. He didn't even dare to put the Spirit Protection Talismans on credit anymore. The other party was so desperate because she just wanted to repay her debt as soon as possible.
With Yu Yan's strength, it would take her at least a year to earn more than 30 mid-grade spirit stones.
Buzz.
The communication talisman vibrated slightly. Shopkeeper Chen's voice quickly sounded, "Fellow Daoist Shen, are you free today?"
The meeting came so soon? Shen Ping thought it would take more than half a year. "I'm free."
"Come to the shop. I'll inform my good friend's daughter as soon as possible."
After breakfast, Shen Ping carefully combed himself. After confirming that he was dressed appropriately and had a clean appearance, he left. On the way, he deliberately quickened his pace.
He arrived at the Spring Embroidery Pavilion. Shopkeeper Chen welcomed him warmly. He smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Shen, I specially asked a fortune teller to make a divination today. It's a great blessing. I'm sure everything will go well. There's a private room in the backyard. Fellow Daoist Shen, you can go in and wait."
Shen Ping could not help but look forward to it.
Second level of cultivation. She was alone. She was also dignified. She did not have a deep family background. In terms of connections, she was slightly better than him. If she was obedient and sensible, it would basically be settled. There was no harm in being ugly.
Under Shopkeeper Chen's guidance, he came to the private room and sat down. He drank his spiritual tea and waited.
Time passed slowly. The sun rose and set. Until the afterglow of dusk drew a long shadow through the old locust tree in the small courtyard, the maidservant of the Golden Sun Sect's inner disciple had yet to appear.
Shen Ping's expression was calm. He touched his face and could not help but think to himself, "Could I have been stood up?"