Chapter Seventy: What's This All About?
This True Immortal... "How come he's even poorer than when I first crossed my tribulation?"
In the underground chamber, Li Changshou looked at the seven or eight storage magic treasures in front of him. He took out the useful items from each one and put the useless ones along with these magic treasures into a bag designated for disposing of rubbish.
Even if the chances of being recognized were low, Li Changshou wouldn't use these 'spoils of war' magic treasures. Of course, excluding the top-grade spiritual treasures.
The problem was, the drugs and poison pills he used also had costs. Some of these came from Elder Wanlin Jun's assistance, and their value couldn't be precisely calculated.
The result of this pursuit wasn't ideal...
He was actually at a loss.
This True Immortal indeed didn't have much wealth, reflecting the plight of most wandering cultivators.
With the rise of the human race and the prosperity of the Daoist sects, the Daoist traditions flourished everywhere, and sects emerged like mushrooms after rain. Most of the resources were controlled by these sects. For wandering cultivators who didn't have the support of a sect due to their aptitude, personal experiences, or other reasons, it was not easy to sustain their daily cultivation, let alone accumulate much wealth.
Li Changshou had given the other party a chance to stop earlier purely because he couldn't bear to use the poison powder from his own magic items. So, he shouted that...
Wait a minute.
If the other party had stopped, he would have just stunned him. After all, the poison for killing a True Immortal was indeed too expensive. But the other party didn't stop. They were very professional and determined, dead set on killing him and seizing the treasures.
This left Li Changshou feeling helpless.
Perhaps top-grade spiritual stones themselves weren't that attractive, but someone at the Return-to-Dao Realm who took out top-grade spiritual stones might also have other treasures on them...
This was the root cause of the other party's 'let's give it a try' attitude.
The lesson Li Changshou learned from this incident was twofold: first, he needed to formulate detailed trade plans to avoid being targeted again. Second, if he ever desired someone else's treasures in the future, he should consider the consequences faced by those who had targeted him.
"No matter how good the treasures are, they're only useful if you stay alive."
The trash-like magic treasures wouldn't be useful now, but once his skill in refining reached a higher level, they might come in handy.
However, the more he delved into refining prohibitions, the more he realized how vast and profound this field was, and how few opportunities there were to gain an advantage; modifying or creating prohibitions would be almost impossible without thousands or tens of thousands of years of study.
Moreover, the truly powerful treasures of the Primordial Era weren't refined from precious materials like this, but were natural treasures.
In the realm of refining, the pinnacle was the Meritorious Heaven Spirit Treasures, where the emphasis was more on 'merit' than anything else.
So, he decided to focus on studying storage magic treasures and the kind used to cut paper. His main leisure activities would continue to be studying formations and refining pills.
His main pursuit?
Naturally, it was enlightenment... um, longevity!
Sitting behind his desk, Li Changshou began sorting the herbs and poisons he had obtained this time.
"I'll refine some pills later and send some to Elder Wanlin Jun as a gift." Although it might seem like showing off, it was still a sincere gesture.
After finishing the sorting, Li Changshou put the dozen or so magic treasures that had suppressed the spiritual beast cubs aside. He would take them to the spiritual beast enclosure later to raise them.
Among them, two cubs were for Ling E, who had been complaining for a long time that most of the creatures in the spiritual beast enclosure were poisonous and she wanted a small rabbit or deer... It was hard to come by.
This time, Li Changshou had exchanged two good-tasting and good-looking spiritual beasts for her. They could be kept as pets or raised for a few years and then used as ingredients.
Taking out the sword-shaped 'Confusion Dispelling Poison' magic treasure, Li Changshou smiled calmly...
He put on specially made anti-poison gloves, a mask, protective clothing, and some homemade tools such as tweezers and test tubes, placed detoxification pills within reach, and continued his busy work.
Enjoying the dust in the moment; meticulous preparation before the battle.
This was how everything was. Both the pleasure and the reward came after hard work.
...
After spending two days concentrating in the secret room, Li Changshou was surprised to find that Little Qiongfeng was quite lively today.
His divine sense had been hovering around the array formation outside the alchemy room.
Liu Yan'er and Wang Qi, this pair of Daoist companions, had come to have tea and chat with Ling E.
Li Changshou knew the reason for this.
After Ling E went to apologize last time, Liu Yan'er was afraid that Ling E would think too much, so she sent her a paper crane message, saying many things.
As a result, these two became familiar with each other over time.
Ling E's cultivation had now reached the Third Stage of the Return-to-Dao Realm, which was quite remarkable for her age, showing her aptitude as an immortal seed.
Due to Ling E's twenty-year banishment imposed by him, Liu Yan'er had come to Little Qiongfeng to meet her a few times over the years. Today, Liu Yan'er and her junior apprentice-brother came together, just casually strolling around after their cultivation.
But...
Li Changshou sensed through his divine sense that the woman sitting gracefully beside them, like a lotus flower in the snow, was playing the role of an immortal with Liu Yan'er and her junior brother...
What was she doing here?
Her cultivation had reached the Second Stage of the Return-to-Dao Realm?
Did her rapid progress in cultivation result from fewer disturbances from Yuan Qing?
Sure, she had now firmly secured the position of the chief disciple of the contemporary generation.
But it wasn't a good thing for Qing Xuan to come to Little Qiongfeng. She was too conspicuous, and every move she made would be watched by everyone in the sect.
Li Changshou pondered for a moment...
Visitors were guests, and he couldn't directly drive her away just because of this minor matter. Offending the entire sect's leadership over such a trivial matter wasn't worth it.
Coming out of the forest, Li Changshou walked straight back to his grass hut without deliberately concealing his whereabouts.
He activated the concealment array, changed into a daoist robe, and sat beneath the large characters hanging on the wall, quietly meditating on how to deal with Qing Xuan's matter.
Many cultivators liked to hang large characters in their residences.
For example, the powerful beings who had lived since ancient times liked to hang the characters 'Heaven' and 'Earth'; in recent tens of thousands of years, cultivators liked to hang the characters 'Dao' or 'Great Dao'.
These are pretty common things among cultivators. They often hang big characters according to their own preferences, like 'calm', 'strength', 'mystery', 'wonder', and stuff like that. Some of them are a bit quirky, like 'return', 'sister', and such. But the big character behind Li Changshou's back is something else. Probably in the vast wilderness, among countless cultivators, there aren't many who are like him. It's the character 'steadfast'!
"Brother!" Outside the window, beyond the array light wall, Little Ling'e was waving vigorously.
Li Changshou smiled helplessly, stood up, opened the door, deactivated the array, and stepped out. "What's up?"
"Brother, come join us for tea and chat! Qinyu... we've been waiting for you for so long," Ling'e said, blinking at him, exchanging a knowing glance with her 'brother', indicating her message, "Brother, Qinyu is here again to see you. I can't handle it, so you have to handle it!"
Li Changshou chuckled. "I just finished making pills and I'm a bit tired. I thought you guys were having fun, so I didn't want to disturb you."
Nearby, Qinyu heard this and immediately stepped forward a couple of steps. "If Brother Changshou is tired, it's fine. I don't have anything important to discuss. I've been in seclusion for too long and I just wanted to come and seek some guidance from Brother."
Li Changshou gave a courteous nod to Qinyu and the other two. "I apologize for the delay. Please forgive me."
The three each returned the courtesy. Wang Qi and Liu Yanner said they had no business. Liu Yanner seemed to sense something and smiled knowingly. Qinyu's eyes were particularly bright at the moment, and there was a hint of hesitation on her otherwise flawless face.
But she was not someone who was hesitant for long. She quickly took out a brocade box from her bracelet and walked towards Li Changshou. "Brother Changshou, this is a gift for you."
Li Changshou was momentarily surprised. He was waiting for Qinyu to explain why she was giving him a gift, whether she had something to ask for, or wanted to personally thank him for saving her life... But all Qinyu said was this one sentence as she handed over the brocade box. There wasn't much expression on her face, but there was a hint of nervousness in her eyes.
Li Changshou thought to himself, 'Forget it. I can't blame her for liking someone. There's also the matchmaker's role in this.' But he had to set things straight and return to normal. Since he had no intentions, he shouldn't let the girl have too many thoughts. It's best to cut it off decisively.
"Thank you, Qinyu Sister," Li Changshou smiled and accepted the box. He then took out a device from his sleeve, which contained the suppressed spirit beast cubs, and said, "I didn't prepare anything on the spur of the moment, so this is a return gift for Sister. I hope you won't dislike it."
"Uh...uh!" Qinyu's lips curled slightly as she held the spirit beast cub device in her palm. "Thank you, Brother Changshou."
Beside them, Ling'e couldn't help but purse her lips, but she didn't say much. Li Changshou held the brocade box and said slowly, "When I traveled with Sister Qinyu to the Northern Continent in those days, I also gained a lot. In the future, if Sister Qinyu has nothing else to do, she can come to Xiaojiongfeng. My sister and I don't have many friends in the sect, apart from Brother Wang Qi and Sister Yan'er, there are also Senior Jiujiu and Senior Jiuwu. If Sister Qinyu doesn't mind, both my sister and I can be both fellow disciples and friends with Sister Qinyu."
Upon hearing this, Wang Qi and Liu Yanner suddenly understood something and both looked puzzled. In theory, being favored by Qinyu was a great opportunity and blessing for Li Changshou. Why did he decisively refuse like this?
Wang Qi suddenly realized that it was probably because their cultivation levels were too different. Brother Changshou felt that he was far inferior to the chief disciple, so he refused... probably.
As for Ling'e, she felt helpless in her heart. Her brother was such a troublesome person...
Although Ling'e was quite happy that her brother could refuse other female cultivators, especially someone as exceptional as Qinyu, it also meant that it would be difficult for her to make further progress in her relationship with her brother.
[What kind of person does Brother like?] Ling'e wondered in confusion.
However, what caught them off guard was that when Qinyu heard Li Changshou's words, she actually... smiled knowingly!
Her eyes were lively, without too much emotion showing, but everyone could feel that she was in a very good mood. It wasn't a forced smile, but a genuine expression of happiness...
And it seemed that even her tone had brightened a bit...
"Really?" Qinyu's words carried a hint of excitement.
"Of course," Li Changshou nodded with a smile, but he couldn't help feeling a bit puzzled. His intention was so obvious, didn't Qinyu understand?
Qinyu immediately bowed her head respectfully and said, "Brother Changshou, please rest well. I'll come visit you next time I come out of seclusion. Please don't overexert yourself in alchemy. And Sister Ling'e, too... Well, I'll take my leave now."
"Sister, take care and come visit often!"
"Of course, I will!"
Qinyu bid farewell to Wang Qi and Liu Yanner, then rode her cloud and drifted away, as if the tips of her hair were dancing with the wind.
Watching the three of them leave, Li Changshou frowned. He really couldn't figure out the poisonous route...
Didn't he express himself clearly just now?
In the future, they would be fellow disciples and friends, not a romantic relationship, right?
This...
Was this poison in their bones?
"Hey brother, what about my gift!"
Li Changshou took out another spirit beast ball from his sleeve and handed it to his junior sister, standing there with a trace of suspicion in his eyes.
Ling'e admired, "Sister Qinyu is so beautiful, and her cultivation level is so high."
"Heh, heh," Li Changshou sighed dejectedly, feeling somewhat powerless against Qinyu, "Can it not be? With her personality, she probably won't encounter a heart demon in her whole life."
Ling'e was suddenly puzzled. "Huh? Why? Isn't it said that if the Dao Heart is unstable, the demon might appear at any time?"
Li Changshou looked up at the sky, unable to give a specific answer. "Maybe it's fate."
Beside her, Ling E had already started unsealing the artifact sphere. Soon, with a cry of admiration, she pulled out the spirit beast cub from inside.
"Wow! So cute! Is this... the cub of the Hundred-Toothed Gold-Eating Beast? Thanks, Senior Brother!"
"Yeah, as long as you like it."