Burial Furnace

Lingfu Pavilion.

Zhou Lie sat at a large rosewood desk, with a sheet of high-quality talisman paper in front of him, and an inkstone, cinnabar, spirit ink, and a talisman brush that was entirely green beside him.

He picked up the talisman brush, dipped it in spiritual ink, and with a slight turn of his wrist, the tip of the brush moved swiftly across the talisman paper.

His movements were fluid and steady, each stroke precise and without the slightest hesitation or pause.

As the brush tip moved, the spiritual ink seeped into the talisman paper, leaving behind mysterious patterns with a faint shimmering light.

A moment later, he put down his brush, and the talisman paper shone brightly, then quickly subsided and returned to silence.

Another invisibility charm, done.

Zhou Lie put down the talisman brush, exhaled a breath of stale air, and showed a trace of fatigue on his face.

Since the opening of the Xuanhuang Ruins, cultivators from all walks of life have flocked here, and talismans, pills, and magical artifacts in the town have been selling extremely well.

Invisibility talismans, in particular, are in high demand and short supply—which cultivator going on adventures to secret realms wouldn't want to have a few more invisibility talismans to save their lives?

He had already drawn ten invisibility talismans in a row, which had depleted most of his true energy and left him feeling somewhat exhausted.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from outside.

Manager Chen pushed open the door and entered, his expression strange, a mixture of shock, confusion, and barely perceptible fear.

He walked up to Zhou Lie and lowered his voice, saying, "Shopkeeper, I've heard some unbelievable news..."

"What news?" Zhou Lie opened his eyes and asked casually, picking up the teacup on the table and taking a sip.

"It's about that old man at the crematorium," Manager Chen leaned closer, lowering his voice even further, "I heard that last night two rogue cultivators in the early stages of Foundation Establishment tried to rob him, but he used a Fire Serpent Technique to burn them all to ashes, armor and sword!"

Zhou Lie paused slightly in his teacup, then let out a sneer.

"Impossible." He put down his teacup, his tone full of disdain. "That old man is just a Qi Refining Level 3 trash. How could he kill two Foundation Establishment Stage 1 cultivators? I think he must have set up a very powerful killing array in his hall. Those fire snakes were formed by the array. Don't spread rumors."

He was a cultivator in the early stage of the Golden Core realm and had met Zhang Yuan before.

They knew that Zhang Yuan was just a weak old man with pitifully thin true essence in his dantian.

If he were truly a master of the Mahayana stage, why would he be willing to be extorted by him? Why would he sell him thirty invisibility talismans at half price every month?

"This..." Manager Chen hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "I heard from Duan Tian that the missing Boss Li, Wang Hu, and the others were all killed by the old man in secret because they offended him. That's why they disappeared without a trace."

"Nonsense, spreading falsehoods and misleading the public." Zhou Lie's face darkened instantly, and he slammed his hand on the table, making the inkstone jump.

Manager Chen shrank back in fright, not daring to say another word, and quickly bowed and retreated.

……

……

The sky gradually darkened.

Zhang Yuan and Jiang Yao stopped their cultivation and came out of the secret chamber.

"Thank you, Martial Uncle." Jiang Yao's face was full of gratitude, her eyes sparkling with joy. "You helped me purify my true essence, and I feel like I'll be able to advance to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage very soon."

She paused, then asked hesitantly, "Should I... come with you to watch the shop?"

Zhang Yuan shook his head: "No need, no need, you should go back. Don't delay your cultivation."

Jiang Yao walked onto the balcony, summoned her flying sword, glanced back at Zhang Yuan, and smiled sweetly: "Then I'll come and accompany my martial uncle again next time."

After saying that, she leaped onto the flying sword, transformed into a streak of light, and soared into the sky.

Only a faint fragrance lingered in the air.

A colorful peacock flew in from the clouds, its wings dazzling and its tail feathers trailing long, flowing light, making it look very beautiful.

Two female cultivators in white robes stood on the peacock's back.

Her clothes fluttered in the wind, and her demeanor was extraordinary and refined.

The evening breeze lifted the hems of their clothes and strands of hair, as if they might ride the wind and return at any moment.

"Below is Qingmu Town, where you can buy talismans and spiritual artifacts. Shall we go and purchase some?" one of the female cultivators asked, looking down at the town below.

"Let's buy some supplies." Another female cultivator nodded. "It's better to be well-prepared before going to the secret realm."

The peacock then slowly descended.

The moment they landed, a female cultivator's gaze fell on a direction at the end of the street, and she exclaimed in surprise, "I haven't been here for a while, and there's actually a crematorium in Qingmu Town?"

Another female cultivator was about to answer when she suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "Junior sister, it would have been better if you hadn't mentioned the crematorium. Now that you've brought it up, I remember something. Last time I went to the Xuanhuang Ruins, I overheard someone say that a crematorium had opened in Qingmu Town, and the owner was a relative of Liu Ruxue from the Holy Maiden Sect. Later, I got busy with other things and forgot about it."

"What? My relative?" Liu Ruxue was dumbfounded.

Her family lived in Xishui City, a large city inhabited by ordinary people. Someone in her family held a minor official position in the city, and they lived a peaceful and stable life.

Her family would never come to Aoki Town to open a crematorium.

"Why don't we go take a look?" the senior sister suggested.

"It can't be my relative, Senior Sister must have misheard. There's no need to go see her." Liu Ruxue shook her head.

"Precisely because it isn't true, we need to go and see." The senior sister's expression became more serious. "To prevent someone from using your name and the prestige of our Saintess Sect to protect themselves. Why should we protect someone for no reason?"

Liu Ruxue pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Senior Sister is right. Let's go take a look then."

They pushed open the door to the crematorium and went inside.

"Ru Xue?" Zhang Yuan looked up and was stunned. His voice trembled slightly, and he also felt an overwhelming joy.

He waited for a very long time, hoping to see her again.

He thought she wouldn't come.

Unexpectedly, she suddenly appeared in front of him.

"You're not dead?" Liu Ruxue was also stunned for a moment, then quickly walked over.

Her face was filled with excitement, and her eyes were brimming with joy.

"Yes, I didn't die." Zhang Yuan walked out from behind the counter and said excitedly, "I've even become a cultivator, and I'm already at the fourth level of Qi Refining."

He could no longer control himself and pulled her into a tight embrace.

In that instant, he felt her soft body and smelled her familiar, intoxicating fragrance.

The joy of regaining what was lost overwhelmed him like a tidal wave, leaving him completely immersed in it.

Liu Ruxue hugged his waist tightly, buried her face in his shoulder, and held him tightly, as if to confirm that he was real and not a dream.

"Thank goodness, you're still alive," she murmured, her voice filled with joy.