Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

"""

Time flowed like water, and before they knew it, half a year had passed since they settled in Red Pillar City.

Another winter had come.

The dawn was just beginning to reveal its rosy hues, yet the sky wasn’t fully bright.

Outside, the cold wind howled and the snow fell thickly, but inside Red Pillar City, it was a persistent drizzle, creating a misty and blurred vista.

The early risers had already started their busy day in the dim light of dawn.

An elderly couple walked along an alley from a distance; the man carried a load on a pole, while the woman walked beside him, holding an umbrella for him. They both wore semi-new, green Taoist robes that marked their status as low-ranking Loose Cultivators.

The man appeared to be around sixty years old, with rough, dark skin full of wrinkles, a slightly stooped back, and an honest and simple demeanor.

The woman seemed slightly younger but looked to be in her fifties. Time had left its deep marks upon her, making her appear plain yet secure.

"This household’s master really is extravagant; goodness, just one day’s meals would be enough to cover our expenses for several years!" the woman whispered.

"After all, he’s a Foundation Establishment cultivator, something we can’t even imagine. But he is generous with his spending, providing fifteen low-grade Spirit Stones each month; for the two of us, that’s thirty. Ordinary families wouldn’t be able to offer this price," the old man said with a chuckle.

"You mustn’t squander this money; it’s for our third son. His monthly expenses on elixirs are not small, and he’s always thinking about purchasing a top-grade Magic Artifact!"

"I’m saving it. Haven’t been spending it on anything unnecessary; I’ve even given up drinking. It hasn’t been easy to have a child who is a cultivation seed, and we certainly can’t let him down."

"If only he could reach Foundation Establishment."

"Ah, I dare not think about it. If he really does establish his foundation, even if I died right now, I could rest in peace."

"Tch, tch, what nonsense are you talking about?"

As they chatted idly, the couple quickly arrived at a mansion. A high plaque hung with the bold words "Chen Residence".

Bai Wei had already been gracefully waiting at the door. Seeing the couple return, she opened the Formation to let them in, while expressing her displeasure,

"Why have you come back so late? The entire kitchen is waiting for you. The master will soon finish his spiritual practices, and if he can’t have his morning meal on time, it’ll be your fault if you get driven away -- don’t blame others."

The old man was startled and repeatedly apologized, "This old one thought these foods were for lunch and dinner, ordinary families don’t have what you call a ’morning meal.’ It’s my fault for not understanding the rules and being careless. It won’t happen again. Please, Steward Bai, don’t hold this against me this time."

The woman looked frightened as well.

"All right, I’m just giving you a reminder since you’re new. I’ll let it go this time. Just be more mindful in the future, and hurry inside now," Bai Wei said, her tone softening.

"Certainly, certainly!" the old man quickly hurried along with his load.

"Steward Bai is not only beautiful but also kind-hearted, with an elegant figure. One can tell at a glance she is born to be fortunate," the woman complimented softly, bowing her head and scurrying after her with careful steps.

Bai Wei’s cheeks reddened slightly, and although she didn’t respond, her expression cleared a little.

...

Chen Li steeled his concentration as he picked up his brush, the tip of which began to glow dimly with blood-ink.

The next moment.

He set brush to paper, drawing rapidly and smoothly.

One talisman after another.

As he moved the brush, Spiritual Power and mental focus continuously streamed from his body. Yet, his body remained motionless, and his hand as steady as if cast from iron, unaffected by the strain.

Eight talismans in a row.

Not a single one failed.

Chen Li exhaled a breath of turbid air,

His proficiency with the Water Element Talisman had now reached a masterful level, with a success rate over ninety percent, making failures rare.

After taking a Return Yuan Elixir, he felt the Spiritual Energy in his body slowly recover. He gradually regained his strength and looked at the freshly drawn talismans on his desk.

Compared to the tranquil nature of the First Order Ninth Grade Golden Light Body Protection Talisman, the freshly drawn Second Order Fourth Grade Water Element Talismans were undeniably more mystical in appearance.

These talismans emitted a faint blue, watery glow. Although they weren’t dazzling, they contained enormous energy that flickered intermittently, as if breathing. After repeating several times, the immense energy began to subside and calm, eventually becoming contained within the talismans.

Once the ink on the surface had naturally dried, Chen Li placed these eight new, still-warm talismans on top of a thick stack of talismans.

"""

And just like that, the talismans were arranged in order, already accumulating five stacks.

’With these eight, exactly five hundred, I’ll go to the talisman shop tomorrow to see if I can sell this batch,’ Chen Li pondered.

He had already thoroughly understood the price of Water Element Talismans here.

They are a bit cheaper than in Luoluo City.

In Luoluo City, it’s six Mid-grade Spirit Stones each, but here it’s five.

Of course, that’s the retail price. If he chooses to sell to the shop, Chen Li guesses he can only get four. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Even so, that was still a considerable fortune, enough for half a year’s expenses.

’Alas, if only the illusionary body could draw talismans! Then a thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones per year would be trivial!’ Chen Li thought regrettably to himself.

Perhaps because symbol drawing required a concentrated spirit, and a high degree of mental focus, it simply couldn’t be done by an illusionary body.

Otherwise, how many Water Element Talismans could an illusionary body with the level of Sixth Layer Foundation Establishment Spiritual Power draw?

That wouldn’t be an illusionary body; that would be a money printing machine.

After indulging in fantasy for a moment, Chen Li cleaned the symbol brush, sealed the blood ink, casually tidied up the talisman-drawing room, and then stepped out.

As his studio, the talisman-drawing room contained too many miscellaneous items; he never let anyone touch anything there, not even for cleaning, which he always did himself.

Outside, the smog was hazy, and everything was damp.

The air was filled with a musty smell.

"This damned weather!" Chen Li cursed.

If there was a season he hated most throughout the year,

He felt it was the winter here, without a doubt.

In Green River District, he had nearly frozen to death.

And later, when he moved to the Cultivation City,

With the City Defence Array, he wasn’t freezing anymore, but it still felt damp all the time.

Thanks to the array’s spring-like-all-seasons function, every winter when there was heavy snow outside, it rained inside; even on clear days, when the cold and hot air met above, the city would be covered in mist as well.

Sometimes, it’s still damp in the city even at noon.

The entire winter, it scarcely dried out.

If not for the Cleaning Skill, he felt he could grow mold on himself.

Chen Li saw Bai Wei and waved.

Bai Wei hurried over quickly, "Master, do you have any instructions?"

"Are the two new servants still behaving?" Chen Li asked.

Including Bai Wei, the Chen Residence originally had three maids; all of them mortal, they did menial tasks and served people adequately enough, but were not up to errands like going out to purchase goods.

For one thing, they were all young girls, unexperienced in such tasks.

For another, this after all was a Cultivation City, most of the people coming and going were cultivators who could kill without batting an eye; it was very dangerous for mortals to be outside.

In fact, you wouldn’t even need to mention mortals; even cultivators weren’t much safer.

If he wished, he could stealthily kill any lower-order Loose Cultivator without anyone noticing.

What limited him from doing so was not the law, but the morals in his heart, and he believed that the moral bottom line of the vast majority of the cultivators in this world was lower than his own, much lower in fact—it was an incredibly dangerous world, and a slight lapse could lead to an untimely death.

"Reporting back to the master, I’ve checked the purchase ledger and haven’t found any errors. However, it’s only the first day, which doesn’t prove much. I will keep a close eye on it," Bai Wei said earnestly.

Chen Li smiled, "As long as there’s nothing majorly wrong, that’s fine."

"Yes, Master!"

PS: Sorry for the delay, I was checking the previous parts while writing, and it was agonizingly slow.