In the world of cultivation, one grinds for proficiency and longevity.

The ugly woman was shocked and hurriedly activated a Vajra Talisman, simultaneously summoning a nine-inch flying sword that shimmered with azure light. "However, let's stop here. This was prepared especially for you!"

Chen Changqing remained calm and took out two Vajra Talismans, one low-grade and one mid-grade.

Swish!Swish!

Instantly, golden light shone brightly, condensing into two light shields of different thicknesses.

Still worried, he held three other cards in his hand, ready to crush them and bless them if things went wrong.

Ding Ding Ding!

The flying sword struck the light shield, sparks flew everywhere, and after a few breaths, it exploded.

However, the second layer of defense only caused a slight disturbance.

"How could such a lowly boar like you possess a mid-grade talisman!" the ugly woman exclaimed in surprise, frantically channeling her spiritual power.

Chen Changqing remained expressionless, but inwardly he was calculating: "This woman has not exhausted her methods; we must not be careless."

He moved both hands simultaneously, activating both a Vajra Talisman and a Concealment Talisman at the same time.

Golden light rose again, enveloping him completely, and his figure became blurred in place.

As long as I don't move, you can't break my defense.

The ugly woman's attacks grew increasingly frantic, yet she could not shake the golden light.

"He... has more than one mid-grade talisman!"

The ugly woman is hard to believe!

As time went by, her spiritual power gradually depleted, her attacks weakened, and she sensed that something was wrong.

Reason had already made her run away, but the grudge she had waited three years for was something she was unwilling to give up!

Perhaps Chen Changqing's cultivation level was too weak, causing her to lower her guard.

She rested for a while, then continued her attack with gritted teeth...

In fact, Chen Changqing used his master-level "Spiritual Power Flick" technique to strike the opponent's magical flying sword or attack the opponent himself.

Even an ugly woman has a 70% chance of not being able to accept the offer.

However, Chen Changqing did not have any magical artifacts on him at the moment and did not want to destroy the seemingly extraordinary flying sword.

Secondly, a 70% success rate is not a guarantee for him.

It has now reached 90%.

But Chen Changqing remained unmoved, tightly huddled under the protection of the double talismans, like an old tortoise hiding in its shell, unmoved by the storms outside.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and the ugly woman, almost completely exhausted, had no choice but to recall her flying sword and turn to flee.

Watching that hastily fleeing figure...

"Alright, the kill rate has increased again!"

call out!call out!

Two poisoned steel balls shot out—easily shattering the ugly woman's defenses and piercing her body.

"I hate it! A mere Qi Refining Level 3 cultivator, yet he concealed his true cultivation level..."

The ugly woman struggled for a short while before dying.

"Still struggling...it seems the poison I got from the library isn't working!" Chen Changqing frowned at first, then smiled.

"Ha, a storage bag? It's mine now!"

"Huh, what's this? An unknown talisman?"

Chen Changqing found a parchment scroll, eagerly infused it with his spiritual sense, and then quickly threw it away while cursing.

It turns out that this is a diary written by divine consciousness, which records how the ugly woman Arong and her brother-in-law had sex, committed adultery, and murdered her husband.

"So immoral and disrespectful, they truly deserve to die!"

Chen Changqing kicked the corpse twice, then dropped a fireball talisman and hurriedly left.

After confirming that the distance was safe, he took out his spoils: a small magic sword and a storage bag.

He set the ritual implement aside and wiped away the remaining spiritual energy from the bag.

"Pah, so poor."

Besides a few women's personal items and a few low-level talismans, the bag contained only seven or eight spirit stones.

It seems they've poured their entire fortune into this magical artifact.

Decisively burning the irrelevant items, Chen Changqing put on a mask, returned to the market, and turned to enter a comprehensive trading building called "Wancai Building".

"Excuse me, does your shop accept talismans?"

He wandered around the store for a while, but seeing that no one paid him any attention, he had no choice but to speak up himself.

The clerk at the counter glanced at him sideways and, seeing that he was only at the first level of Qi Refining, immediately became dismissive: "Bring out all of yours! We'll set a price after we've seen them."

Chen Changqing frowned, turned around and walked away, stepping into the "Seven Hearts Studio" across the street.

"Tch, he hasn't even developed any spiritual consciousness yet, and he's already selling talismans. What's he trying to prove with his big shot act!" A mocking voice came from behind.

"Welcome to 'Seven Hearts Studio'." A kind-looking, middle-aged, portly man greeted us.

"I am Manager He here. Is there anything I can do to help you, fellow cultivator?"

"Does your establishment collect talismans? What is the price range for a low-grade, first-tier talisman?"

"Waiter, bring this gentleman some tea," Manager He instructed the shop assistant before replying.

"We accepted it. Our offer was 46 spirit fragments."

Of course, if the quantity is large, say twenty or more, the price can be slightly increased.

"I'll offer around a hundred," Chen Changqing said calmly.

"Hey, you should have said so earlier."

"Waiter, quickly pour out this inferior tea and replace it with fine tea," Manager He said, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Young master, please come to the private room on the second floor."

"I plan to offer 30 low-grade talismans and 110 mid-grade talismans. Could you please revise your pricing and let me know if it's reasonable?"

"What! 100 mid-grade talismans?!" Manager He's eyes lit up at first, then he burst into laughter:

"Then let's trade using spirit stones!"

A low-grade talisman costs half a spirit stone; a mid-grade talisman costs two spirit stones.

What do you think, young master?

"That's fair enough."

In the end, Chen Changqing obtained a total of 15 + 220 = 235 spirit stones from selling the talismans.

Besides these, he also had 24 low-grade talismans and 7 mid-grade talismans left on him.

After drinking a cup of spiritual tea, Chen Changqing felt that his spiritual power seemed to have increased, which made him interested.

"Shopkeeper, how much is your tea?"

"If you'd like, young master, I can give you two small packets. If you want to buy them, they're five spirit stones per ounce. To be honest, this spirit tea is most effective the first time you drink it; the effect diminishes after the second time."

"Thank you for telling me the truth, and give me three ounces too!"

"Alright!"

Now that he considers himself quite wealthy, Chen Changqing wanted to inquire about the talisman brushes and ink needed to draw high-grade talismans, only to find that the cheapest single item cost three hundred spirit stones.

I had to temporarily abandon this idea.

Generally speaking, it's very difficult to obtain high-grade talismans from mid-grade talisman equipment, but the reverse is quite common.

Chen Changqing turned his attention back to the product display.

"Three innate secret manuals for mortal beings, and 300 spirit fragments."

"A five-year youth-preserving pill costs 10 spirit stones; a ten-year youth-preserving pill costs 30 spirit stones..."

After strolling around for a while, Chen Changqing spent several dozen spirit stones to buy gifts for his family, and even exchanged ten spirit stones for a thousand taels of gold.

He thought this might be the last time he returned to the secular world, so he was willing to spend the money.

As I stepped outside, Manager He saw me off and presented me with a jade pendant as a symbol of a distinguished customer.

Chen Changqing had no intention of showing off, and put the jade pendant away the moment he received it.

However, the scene of the "Seven Hearts Studio" manager bowing and scraping to Chen Changqing was still discovered by the owner of "Ten Thousand Colors Pavilion".

Immediately, the servant who had previously looked down on Chen Changqing began to wail in pain.

"Manager He, that kid is just a first-level cultivator, a fat sheep, how about..."

Shortly after Chen Changqing left, a figure dressed in black darted out from a corner of the "Seven Hearts Studio," his cultivation level fluctuating at the fourth level of Qi Refining, and he made a throat-slitting gesture.

"Are you blind?" Manager He sneered. "He's hiding his cultivation level, can't you tell? That magic sword doesn't belong to him, yet he can dispose of it easily, which means he's killed a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator!"

Are you going to your death?

The man in black was sweating profusely.

"Furthermore, befriending a top-tier talisman master is far more worthwhile than killing and robbing treasures."

Besides, we're running a business, not thinking about fighting and killing all the time!

Understand?"

"Yes... I know I was wrong."

After the shopkeeper left, the man in black couldn't help but mutter, "You invited me here to fight and kill, yet you tell me not to keep thinking about fighting and killing. What exactly do you want?"

He was puzzled.

Chen Changqing retrieved his horse and headed straight for the mortal realm.

……

The State of Lu had a vast territory, encompassing twenty-eight commanderies.

Each prefecture has six to eight sub-prefectures, and larger prefectures usually have two to three additional sub-prefectures in their heartland.

Chenzhou Prefecture in Huaiyang County was the birthplace of Chen Changqing.

Of course, the above does not include blessed lands of immortals.

A fine horse is born from the best of both worlds, possessing the bloodline of a fine horse and being quite fast.

A month later.

Chenzhou Prefecture, Yunmeng County, Zhatian Gang.