"Pah, what nonsense. Little Lin, there's no need to be afraid. I reckon he won't be strutting around for long," said Old Huang, spitting on the ground as he watched Zhang Yuan Cheng's retreating figure.
"Old Huang, calm down, don't be so agitated. Even though I'm only at the Qi Refining Three Layers, I'm not scared of him," Lin Yi said, patting Old Huang on the back. He already had a plan forming in his head, a plan to solve this problem so that he could cultivate in peace.
Old Huang glanced at Lin Yi, unable to help but laugh. "You're even calmer than this old man, incredible."
After cracking a few jokes, Lin Yi returned home and descended into the hidden chamber below, took out the Rune Ink he'd bought from the small market and started to add materials. He didn't know how many of these Spirit Farmers in the Outer Sect were learning to produce talismans, but these cheap materials kept coming in batches.
Many cultivators, seeing others making money from making talismans, think they can do it too but end up failing and resorting to selling things to recover their losses. The previous owner of this body had done the same.
After preparing the Rune Ink, he took the Monster Beast hairbrush and, with Zhi Ling as company, started to create Raging Fire Talismans, aiming to brush up to the Great Achievement Level of novice talisman creation.
After creating fifty Raging Fire Talismans, the experience for beginner talisman creation had reached Proficiency Level perfection. He hit a bottleneck in his skill development and couldn't improve any further.
In the past, whenever he had encountered a bottleneck in his cultivation levels or his spell techniques, he had used the enlightenment effect of "Color is Void" to gain insights and break through the bottleneck.
Now, though, due to the treacherous and sinister Zhang Yuan Cheng, he had to send Xiao He, his cultivation partner, away. Relying on his talent for talisman creation to break through the bottleneck between Proficiency and Great Achievement Levels was no easy task.
He thought for a while. It seemed he might need to find a new cultivation partner. He remembered Xiao He saying that another Flower Moon Place nearby was home to one of her good friends who was also kind-hearted and quiet.
However, he wouldn't go to any usual Flower Moon Land until he was sure that Zhang Yuan Cheng was completely defeated. Doing so would only bring harm to the innocent girls there.
Even though such actions would get him some Fury points, he couldn't possibly do such an unconscionable thing just to earn them.
Since he temporarily couldn't reach the Great Achievement Level, the talismans at the Proficiency Level could still make money. Just as Lin Yi was about to continue making them, a grumbling sound came from the side.
Following the noise, he saw Zhi Ling move her paw away from her belly and stare intently ahead, feigning indifference.
"Oh, my stomach's growling. Let's go, Zhi Ling. Let's go get something to eat," Lin Yi said, not exposing her and patting his stomach.
"Squeak, squeak." At the mention of food, Zhi Ling immediately got excited, kicked her little legs, and instantly flew toward the entrance to the underground chamber.
Lin Yi couldn't help but smile at the sight. This little creature sure was cunning. He followed her out of the tunnel and started to prepare dinner.
Unlike the shabby Old Huang next door, he made at least two dishes for every meal and occasionally grilled some Monster Beast meat. No matter how hard cultivation got, he didn't want his life to be miserable.
Just as he finished his meal and was absorbing the Spiritual Energy from the Spirit Rice, there came a knock on the door.
When Lin Yi opened the door, there stood Old Huang. Lin Yi spread his hands out and said with a smirk, "Poor timing, Old Huang. I just finished dinner."
Zhi Ling, on his shoulder, copied him by raising her tiny paws and letting out two squeaks. "Squeak, squeak."
"Ah ha, like master, like pet," Old Huang said with a laugh. "I'm here for something else. As your guide, I can't bear to see you visiting Xun Fang Pavilion every day, so I feel obliged to show you what real romance is."
"Old Huang, are you inviting me to the Xian Huan Pavilion?" Lin Yi's eyes lit up as he hurriedly asked.
Old Huang waved his hand generously, "Let's go, I've got the entrance fee covered. Today is the celebration day of Xian Huan Pavilion, there will be grand performances in the hall. There will be these alluring special performances, and the Flower Fairy of Xian Huan Pavilion will also take the stage to play music. We can't miss it, if we're late we won't get a seat." Towards the end, his face revealed a sly expression.
Then, without further ado, he pulled Lin Yi along and headed out.
"Wait, let me grab some stuff." Lin Yi grabbed the gate and said. Afterwards, he picked up some talisman-making materials from his room and stuffed them in a bag. There would be tempting performances, so it would be a real waste not to make talismans while watching.
"You're bringing stuff too? Let me make it clear, I'm only covering the entrance fee, whatever girl you take an interest in, has nothing to do with me." Seeing Lin Yi also brought things, as if planning to stay overnight at Xian Huan Pavilion, Old Huang's face changed, and he quickly said.
"Don't worry, it's none of your business, let's go." Lin Yi said with a hint of amusement, today he was looking forward to seeing the grace of the female cultivators at Xian Huan Pavilion.
To save time, both of them used a Swift Movement Talisman each, and headed towards Qing Yun City. After entering the city, they headed straight for Xian Huan Pavilion.
Xian Huan Pavilion and Xun Fang Pavilion were not in the same direction, so, Lin Yi had not passed by it even once in the past month.
Upon arriving at the entrance of Xian Huan Pavilion, they were immediately stunned by the scene before them. There were colorful silk and satin decorations hanging everywhere and there were pots of bright flowers on both sides. The scene was comparable to the grand opening celebrations of shopping malls on Earth.
In front of the entrance, some lower-level cultivators were lining up to enter, occasionally, a Foundation Building cultivator would directly enter the pavilion, further confirming the grandeur of this celebration performance to the onlooking cultivators.
The greeters were two slim and shapely young girls, their every frown and smile capable of causing ordinary people to lose their minds, no doubt they were cultivators. Besides them, there were also two full-figured mature women, whose allure was not any less potent than the younger female cultivators.
"Xiao Qing, I'm here, did you miss me?" Old Huang didn't bother about the people queuing and walked directly to one of the mature women in a purple skirt, softly patted her and called out affectionately.
Hearing Old Huang call Xiao Qing 'little sister', Lin Yi suddenly felt a chill and had a hard time accepting it.
After the woman in the purple skirt turned her head and saw Old Huang, she immediately revealed a hearty smile, and quickly linked arms with him, "Big Brother Huang, you haven't been here for a long time. Xiao Qing has been thinking about you day and night."
"Hehe, then tonight, let me make you happy. Is there still a spot inside? I purposely brought a younger brother with me." Huang De Sheng's face revealed a floating smile as he patted the woman's waist, then pointed at Lin Yi.
"Oh my, stop it. There are, but the spots are all quite remote. You know, everyone that has arrived today is quite influential." The woman in the purple skirt trembled at the touch, lightly fanning Old Huang's head with her fan and nodding.
Old Huang laughed, "Well then, the younger brother and I will go in first." Saying this, he didn't forget to take advantage of the situation and led Lin Yi into the pavilion.
Upon seeing this, the woman in the purple skirt frowned slightly, waving her fan to block their path, "Hold on, Big Brother Huang, you're a regular customer and although you don't need to queue, you still have to pay today's entrance fee, two spirit stones per person, complimentary tea and fruit included. If you want a better spot, you need to add more spirit stones, thank you for your patronage."
"Isn't it usually one spirit stone?" Huang De Sheng asked pretending to be surprised.
"Today is Xian Huan Pavilion's celebration day. Our Flower Fairy, Fairy Song, will also be performing. You should know, on a regular day, if you want to see her performance, it won't be possible without a hundred spirit stones." The woman in the purple skirt responded with a beaming smile.
Old Huang turned his head to look at Lin Yi and seeing him immobile, gritted his teeth and with a pained expression took out four spirit stones from his pocket and placed them in the box at the entrance, "Ah, that's a loss, a big loss."