Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

Chen Li went to the marketplace, but not just for this.

Next, he visited a magic artifact shop and dealt with some surplus magic artifacts he had on hand.

Two low-grade first-order magical instruments, from the two men who had been monitoring him that night.

One mid-grade first-order magic artifact, which he had traded for.

In total, he sold the three items for five mid-grade Spirit Stones.

With the ten Spirit Stones sponsored by the Green Clothes Gang, the twenty-four given by Zhou Hong, and his remaining three, his wealth soared to a total of forty-two mid-grade Spirit Stones.

After leaving the magic artifact shop, he headed straight for his target—the robe shop.

Chen Li used all his wits and engaged in intense haggling.

In the end, he gritted his teeth and bought a top-grade first-order robe for twenty-six mid-grade Spirit Stones.

If it were for himself, he might have been reluctant to spend so much.

But for Zhou Hong, he was willing.

The robe was Zhou Hong’s favorite, bright red, looking vibrant as if a flame was dancing. It was embroidered with six Arrays: Dust Avoidance, Gathering Spirit, Transforming Wind, Eternal Spring, Perfect Fit, and Body Protection; the abundance was almost extravagant.

The first three Arrays go without saying.

Chen Li’s own robe also had them, the only three he possessed.

The remaining three Arrays:

Eternal Spring: Constant temperature, impervious to heat and cold.

Perfect Fit: True to its name, when worn it can change size as desired, always providing the perfect fit.

Body Protection: When attacked, can passively trigger a Body Protection Skill (once per day).

Among these Arrays, the most valuable was the Body Protection Skill, which, in some dangerous situations, acted like an extra life. This was also why it was known as a top-grade first-order robe.

The grade of a robe is not determined by the quantity of Arrays but by the level of the highest Array it bears.

Upon leaving the robe shop, Chen Li felt his legs go slightly weak.

He touched the coin pouch on his sleeve, which had deflated considerably.

Chen Li took a deep breath,

"Isn’t money meant to be spent? If it runs out, I can always earn more!"

At that moment, he remembered his previous promise to buy Zhou Hong a nice hairpin, but after thinking it over, he decided to leave it for next time.

The robe he bought this time would be enough to give Zhou Hong a pleasant surprise.

Sometimes one plus one does not equal two; a surprise plus another surprise is still just one surprise. It’s better to buy them separately.

Afterward, he went to the pill shop.

He had almost run out of Qi Replenishing Pills and needed to restock.

Upon arrival, he asked only to discover that the Qi Replenishing Pills had increased in price.

Each bottle had gone up to fifteen low-grade Spirit Stones, a fifty percent increase from the original price.

Chen Li had no choice but to buy them.

Isn’t it said that the best investment is to invest in oneself?

This time he purchased fifty bottles of Qi Replenishing Pills in one go; after all, he was not alone anymore. After asking about which pills were beneficial for Body Refinement, he then gritted his teeth and bought ten bottles of Qi and Blood Elixir, too.

He spent nearly nine mid-grade Spirit Stones in total.

Looking at his coin pouch, which only contained seven mid-grade Spirit Stones and a bunch of scattered low-grade Spirit Stones, Chen Li felt as if he had been cleaned out.

"Sigh, back to square one, I must spend more carefully from now on."

...

When he got home, Zhou Hong was already up, tidying the house.

"Why did you go out this morning?" Zhou Hong asked.

"Went to the marketplace to buy some things," Chen Li said with a smile, placing all the items he had bought on the table.

Then, from a cloth bag provided by the robe shop, he took out the bright red robe, gave it a gentle flick, and it unfurled like a wave of flames.

Zhou Hong’s eyes suddenly became fixed in place, her voice trembling a bit, "This...what is this?"

"A first-tier, high-quality magic robe, embroidered with dust-repelling runes... I saw you didn’t have a magic robe and thought we had plenty of money at home, and I just made some extra cash the other day, so I bought you one."

"A first-tier, high-quality magic robe!? How much did that cost? Why did you buy this for me? You don’t even have a high-quality magic robe yourself!" Zhou Hong’s face was filled with disbelief. She reached out tentatively, then hesitated.

"Don’t worry about the price," Chen Li said with a smile. "Why don’t you try it on quickly?"

Seeing her so surprised, Chen Li felt that no amount of money spent could have been more worthwhile.

With Chen Li’s urging, Zhou Hong finally accepted the robe, her face flushed with red tinge as she walked back to the bedroom.

It took quite a while before she came out unnaturally in the magic robe, her face showing a touch of shyness, "Don’t you think this magic robe is too eye-catching? I think I still need to put on another piece of clothing over it when I go out."

"Up to you, wear it however you like," Chen Li said.

As far as survival experience in the shantytown was concerned, Zhou Hong was much more experienced than him, and he wasn’t worried in the slightest.

Zhou Hong gave him a glance, her eyes sultry like silk, "Come into the bedroom. I think there’s an issue with the hem of this magic robe, help me check it out."

...

When they went out in the evening, Chen Li felt completely drained.

"I’m middle-aged, I can’t be so unrestrained. This can’t go on..." he thought to himself.

Then he thought again:

"At my age on Earth, I would probably only be able to soak wolfberries in a thermos cup, unlike now where I still possess the fighting strength of a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old."

Following the address given by Zhang Yan, Chen Li found that it wasn’t far from his new home.

A few minutes later.

"This is the place!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Chen Li stepped forward to knock on the door, and soon after, the door creaked open.

"Fellow Daoist, who are you looking for?"

The person who opened the door was a young female cultivator dressed in a light blue flower-patterned magic robe. She looked to be only about fifteen or sixteen years old, with an immature, egg-shaped face and a well-endowed chest that exuded a strong sense of youthfulness.

Chen Li even began to doubt whether he had come to the wrong place.

"Is this Zhang Yan’s home?" Chen Li asked.

"Yes, what do you want with my dad? He just went out and will be back soon," the female cultivator said, hesitation crossing her face before she added, "Or you can come in and sit for a while."

"No, that’s alright. I shouldn’t impose, I’ll just wait outside," Chen Li said.

"What do you want with my dad?" the female cultivator persisted, her eyes curiously scanning Chen Li.

After all, Chen Li was a transmigrator, with a quite different aura from the loose cultivators here, so first impressions were always filled with novelty.

"I’m here to consult him about drawing symbols," Chen Li said with a smile.

"Oh!" The female cultivator suddenly lost interest. "Then wait, my dad should be back very soon."

After saying that, she was about to go back inside when she stopped and turned to say, "I’m going to close the door, you don’t mind, do you?"

"Go ahead!" Chen Li said indifferently.

"Then I’ll keep it open!" the female cultivator changed her mind again.

Chen Li was helpless, just about to speak.

But then, in a blink of an eye, the female cultivator changed her mind again, "No, I’ll close it. There are so many bad people around these days."

The door slammed shut.

Chen Li couldn’t help but roll his eyes and wait bored at the door.

He didn’t know how long he waited; the female cultivator came out a few times to check if he was still there. It wasn’t until it got dark that Zhang Yan finally arrived.

Upon seeing Chen Li, Zhang Yan feigned surprise, "I didn’t expect Fellow Daoist to come so early. My apologies, have you been waiting long?"

"Not at all, I’ve only just arrived," Chen Li said.

Since he needed a favor, what else could Chen Li do but to grin and bear it?