Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

Fellow Daoist Yu?

Chen Li’s mind stirred.

Could it be that family?

Chen Li slapped a Cleaning Talisman on himself but still maintained the guise of a butcher, glaring fiercely at the middle-aged Loose Cultivator, "Damn it, you can’t even convey a message properly, are you referring to that newly relocated Foundation Establishment family?"

"Exactly, exactly. Fellow Daoist Yu assumed... assumed that he would like to purchase a batch of Demon Beast Meat from you," the Loose Cultivator, scared stiff and shrinking in stature, hastily spilled the beans with an apologetic smile.

At this moment, he had none of the little assertiveness he had when he spoke earlier.

"Lead the way!"

"Yes, yes, Fellow Daoist, right this way," the Loose Cultivator wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

The female cultivator was standing not far away and couldn’t help but take a deep breath when she saw Chen Li approaching. Her gaze met the grim face, "Yu Fan Zhen has met Fellow Daoist. I am sorry for troubling you to come here personally..."

"No trouble... Have you called me over to buy Demon Beast Meat?" Chen Li glanced at the young and pretty female cultivator and then looked away, speaking in a casual manner.

"Uh, yes, the quantity I’m purchasing is somewhat large. I wonder how much stock you have left?"

"Freshly killed last night. I just started selling this morning, still have over ten thousand jin at home. How much do you want?"

"Three... maybe five thousand jin, could you make it a bit cheaper?"

"Ten jin for one Low-grade Spirit Stone, that’s already very cheap. You can go and ask around, throughout the entire market, no one sells Demon Beast Meat cheaper than old Chen here. Top quality and low price, honest business that doesn’t deceive the old or the young."

"Uh, okay then!" Yu Fan Zhen, intimidated by that fierce face, lost all her bargaining spirit, "Could you deliver the meat to my residence?"

"It’s a bit far and not very convenient. Tonight, I’ll place the meat in a location, and I’ll notify you in the market tomorrow morning. You can send someone to pick it up then," Chen Li thought for a moment before speaking,

"Right, payment first!"

In a world without law where the strong prey on the weak, one must be cautious and careful to survive—especially when dealing with a Foundation Establishment family, for he did not wish to let anyone track his movements.

"Where in the world do you find business done this way? What if you run off with the money when the time comes?" Yu Fan Zhen’s normally composed face could barely hold back her annoyance as she argued.

"That’s how I do business, always pay first, then deliver the goods. Frankly speaking, I don’t really want to make this deal; I have no shortage of customers for my Demon Beast Meat, and this transaction isn’t earning me any more. I agreed only because of the Foundation Establishment senior," he responded.

Yu Fan Zhen felt her heart skip a beat upon hearing this, and she realized there was truth in his words, suddenly finding herself without a solid footing, "Fine, fine, it will be as you say, five Mid-grade Spirit Stones, right?"

She took out five Mid-grade Spirit Stones from her storage bag.

Chen Li took the Spirit Stones, weighed them in his hand, then tucked them into his sleeve pocket, laughing heartily, "Fellow Daoist Yu is straightforward. Wait for my notification tomorrow morning."

Yu Fan Zhen watched him disappear into the crowd, and it took a gust of wind for her to come back to her senses.

Replaying the negotiation in her mind, she had been utterly defeated, led by the nose in every aspect. She had accepted all of the other party’s demands without question.

If the other party didn’t keep their promise, wouldn’t she have been swindled out of five Mid-grade Spirit Stones for nothing?

"I really lack experience in these worldly affairs," Yu Fan Zhen felt a tightness in her chest.

In the past, such mundane affairs would naturally be handled by those family members without hope of advancing on the Daoist path, never requiring her to step forward. But now that the family had shut its doors and kept to itself, with the market in total disarray and robbery and murder being common occurrences,

the family needed someone to represent them out in the world, and she had no choice but to step up.

She brooded over this for a while, then rallied her spirits to continue purchasing other items.

...

Late at night.

Chen Li chose a dilapidated house near his home, far from other residences and uninhabited.

He used a Traction Skill to dig out a large hole, laid down a big animal hide at the bottom, and transferred the five thousand jin of Demon Beast Meat into it in batches. Then he used the Traction Skill again to cover it back up.

He left the dilapidated house and stayed hidden in the shadows for half an hour, sensing that nobody had paid any attention, and only then did he walk away.

It was a bit bothersome, and there was the risk of theft, but it was safe.

Safety first; in comparison, money and other things are minor issues.

Early the next morning, when the sky was still dimly lit, Chen Li left home with a big bag of Demon Beast Meat on his back. He passed by the dilapidated house, took a brief look inside, and discovered that the spot where he had buried the Demon Beast Meat was still untouched. His mind was immediately put at ease.

He made his way to the marketplace.

Yu Fan Zhen had been waiting there for him for quite some time now.

Only after Chen Li specified the location and drew a map of the directions did she hurry off.

As to whether this trade was successful,

it clearly was.

At least for the next several days, when Chen Li continued to sell meat in the early mornings, Yu Fan Zhen never came knocking on his door to demand an explanation.

...

A few more days passed.

Chen Li, who had been studying Palm Thunder for nearly half a month, finally began to see the light of success.

Palm Thunder was about as difficult as Traction Skill, also requiring three spells, but not needing any hand signs. Instead, the circulation of Spiritual Power was more complex, emphasizing the harmony of yin and yang.

...

He moved his mouth silently, and the air around him hummed in response.

At the same time, a resonance between the heavens and the earth occurred, and the fluctuations of Mana appeared faintly.

"Crackle!"

Threads of electric arcs danced and flickered in his palm.

The air was filled with a heavy amount of static electricity, constantly crackling, and Chen Li’s hair began to float.

The electric light in his palm flickered a few times.

As if due to a poor connection, it disappeared without a trace.

"I’m just one breath away!"

Chen Li retracted his hand and meditated briefly to calm the agitated Spiritual Power.

Opening his eyes, he once again began to cast his spell.

This time, it went incredibly smoothly.

"Bang!"

A loud noise erupted.

One could see a long, chopstick-thick arc of electricity instantly cross a distance of five to six meters and hit the mud wall opposite him, bursting into a dazzling light and making a tremendous noise.

"I’ve finally succeeded!"

Chen Li was exhilarated.

He walked over to the mud wall to examine the effect of the attack.

The part of the mud wall that had been hit was slightly charred and had a shallow pit the size of a fingernail cap.

A pure first-order intermediate attack spell clearly had more power than what was apparent on the surface. The glaring white light just now could not be faked.

He looked at the wet mud wall and realized why.

Such a conductive body wouldn’t retain much damage even if struck by lightning.

He had seen videos of lightning strikes that were spectacular, but they only left a footprint-sized hole in an asphalt road at the end.

Moreover, electricity is not known for physical destruction but for its lethal effect on life.

"Now I have another first-order intermediate spell. Although casting it is slower, it frees up my hands without the need for hand signs, and it doesn’t interfere with combat," Chen Li said with a satisfied breath, "But the level is still a bit low, just stepping into the threshold of first-order intermediate spells... Fortunately, there’s room for further improvement!"

"Alas, time is becoming increasingly tight."