Burial Furnace

Hua Jinhuan sat down at the stone table, poured herself a cup of tea, took a slow sip, and then looked up at the sisters who had gathered around her, a charming smile playing on her lips.

"Where else could we go? We spent the night at that old man's place in Aoki Town."

Upon hearing this, the women immediately erupted in uproar.

"What? You really spent the night with that old man?"

"Tell me quickly, tell me, how was that old man? Was he good in bed?"

"..."

A group of enchantresses surrounded them, chattering away and asking questions incessantly, their eyes filled with curiosity and excitement.

Hua Jinhuan was annoyed by their noise, so he waved his hand and laughed, "Ask one at a time, and I'll answer slowly."

"Let me ask first!" the round-faced female cultivator interjected. "Senior Sister Hua, how many spirit stones did that old man charge you?"

"Speaking of this..." Hua Jinhuan put down her teacup, a look of amusement and exasperation on her face. "That old man wasn't stupid at all. I clearly told him it was a Qi Refining stage corpse, but after the cremation, he actually deduced it was a late Foundation Establishment stage corpse based on the amount of spirit stones consumed."

"Huh? Does that mean he'll charge you mid-grade spirit stones?"

"Did you give it to them?"

Hua Jinhuan rolled her eyes at everyone: "How could I give it? Although I have plenty of mid-grade spirit stones on me, it would be a huge loss to give them away. According to his quote, he would charge four mid-grade spirit stones for two Foundation Establishment stage corpses! I just lied to him and said I didn't have a single spirit stone left, and in the end I only gave him two low-grade spirit stones."

"Hehehe, Senior Sister Hua, you're so naughty!"

"Wouldn't that old man be losing money hand over fist?"

"He must be really angry, right?"

Hua Jinhuan shook her head, her smile deepening. "He wanted to get angry, but seeing my pitiful state, he was too embarrassed to do so. In the end, I couldn't bear it and decided to let him stay overnight."

"Wow--"

"That old man is getting on in years, can he withstand your antics?"

Hua Jinhuan spat and laughed, "What are you little sluts thinking about all day? Although I, Hua Jinhuan, am not a respectable person, I still know my limits. That old man was introduced to me by Junior Sister Liu Mei. It's cheap and clean to dispose of corpses. I don't want to kill him. Where will I find such a good place in the future?"

"So you held back?"

"Wouldn't the old man be feeling terrible? Didn't he sleep well all night?"

"Yes, yes, Senior Sister Hua, you tortured the old man all night!"

"No, not at all." Hua Qingxiang shook her head gently. "He slept soundly with me in his arms. I also took the opportunity to get a good night's sleep. I haven't slept so soundly in a long time, having been traveling around these past few days."

"Tsk tsk tsk, looks like that old man knows how to enjoy life."

"For him to get Senior Sister Hua to sleep with him, his ancestors must be incredibly lucky!"

"Next time I'll go to him to dispose of the body. Instead of spending money on cremation talismans, I'd rather go to that old man. It's cheaper and easier."

"Hahaha, you little slut, haven't you been wanting a man for a while now?"

The women burst into laughter, filling the courtyard with a joyful atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yuan, far away in Qingmu Town, had just woken up.

He opened his eyes, stretched, and felt refreshed, energetic, and full of strength.

He rolled out of bed, walked to the window, and opened it.

The morning sunlight streamed in, warm and gentle, shining on his face.

He took a deep breath. The air was filled with the fragrance of roses and the scent of earth, along with a faint, lingering fragrance of flowers in full bloom.

"It's been decades since I last slept with a woman in my arms, let alone such a sexy and alluring vixen. I slept really well last night..."

He sighed.

He truly never dared to dream that opening a crematorium would come with such benefits. Even if he told others, probably no one would believe it.

He washed up, had breakfast at Old Man Xia's shop, chatted with Old Man Xia for a few minutes, then returned to the shop, sat down cross-legged, and began his cultivation.

As the Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique was activated, strands of spiritual energy from heaven and earth converged upon him, flowing into his body with each breath, transforming into true essence, and storing it in his dantian.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that the speed of converting spiritual energy had increased by about two percent.

He didn't use spirit stones to cultivate.

Firstly, I couldn't bear to part with it and wanted to keep it for a rainy day.

Secondly, he is not satisfied with the efficiency of cultivating with spirit stones.

If a genius with a heavenly spiritual root were to absorb a low-grade spirit stone, it could be converted into ten units of true essence; but with his current talent, he could only convert it into one unit, wasting ninety percent of it.

Instead of wasting it like this, it's better to wait until your talent is further enhanced before using it, then you'll achieve twice the result with half the effort.

He had just finished a cycle of cultivation when a cacophony of footsteps and shouts came from outside the door.

"Old man! Come out here!"

"Damn it, you beat up our people and you think you can just run your shop peacefully? Dream on!"

"Get out here!"

"..."

Zhang Yuan frowned slightly, stood up, walked over and opened the door.

There were four people standing outside the door.

The leader was a man in his thirties, burly and dark-skinned, wearing a gray short-sleeved outfit, with a bulging storage bag hanging from his waist.

Behind him were three people: the bald man, the tall, thin man, and the short, fat man, who had been taught a lesson by Zhang Yuan yesterday.

The bald man's broken leg has healed thanks to a healing talisman, but he still walks with a limp.

When he saw Zhang Yuan come out, a hint of fear flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a ruthless look.

"Tiger Lord, it's him!" the bald man said through gritted teeth, pointing at Zhang Yuan. "He's the one who beat us up and cut off our livelihood!"

Wang Hu squinted, looked Zhang Yuan up and down, and a disdainful sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Heh, I thought he was some important figure, but he's just a wretched old man at the first level of Qi Refining."

He saw through Zhang Yuan's cultivation level at a glance, and his heart was immediately at ease.

A level one Qi Refining cultivator is no match for someone at level two Qi Refining.

"Old man," Wang Hu said, arms crossed, looking coldly at Zhang Yuan, "you hit my men and cut off my livelihood. Tell me, how do you plan to resolve this?"

Zhang Yuan leaned against the doorframe, hands tucked into his sleeves, his face showing no sign of panic, and calmly said, "You're Wang Hu?"

"That's right, it's you, Tiger." Wang Hu raised his chin. "Since you know my name, you should understand the consequences of offending me, Wang Hu."

"Oh." Zhang Yuan nodded, then said slowly, "Do you know who I am?"

Wang Hu was taken aback.

Zhang Yuan continued, "My name is Zhang Yuan, and I'm related to Liu Ruxue, the Holy Maiden of the Holy Maiden Sect. She helped me open this shop. If you think you can afford to offend her, then go ahead and do it."