Cautiously Cultivating Immortality in a Strange World

Chapter 9: I’ve Struck It Rich!

Next, others were examined one after another.

The Soul-Detecting Pearl’s flashing intensity was similar to that of the old man in green, indicating that they had all used the Soul-Splitting secret technique.

Before long, everyone had finished their inspections, leaving only Chen Lin.

Lu Li’s face had already turned extremely ugly.

His eyes gleamed with a fierce light, as if he might erupt into violence at any moment.

The atmosphere had become extremely tense.

Chen Lin observed with his peripheral vision that several talisman masters had already slipped their hands into their sleeves, probably holding magical weapons.

Some people had also formed seals on their hands, ready to cast their spells at any moment.

In short, no one wanted to sit back and wait for death.

With Lu Li’s keen senses, it was impossible for him not to notice this situation, but he seemed completely unconcerned, clearly not taking these people’s abilities seriously.

As Lu Li was about to control the pearl to inspect Chen Lin, Chen Lin hastily pulled out the successfully crafted Soul-Restraining Talisman from his bosom.

“I’m fortunate to have not disgraced myself, and I’ve luckily succeeded once. I don’t know if I’ve met your requirements, Young Master Lu.”

After that, he handed over the talisman .

He didn’t dare let Lu Li inspect him, for if Lu Li discovered that he hadn’t used a secret technique, it would be difficult to explain.

“Ah!”

Lu Li had long since given up any illusions, and he was only thinking about whether he should gather more materials after the inspections were completed and have these people craft the talismans again.

However, he also knew that since they hadn’t succeeded this time, it was likely that even if they crafted the talismans several more times, it would be of no help.

The talisman masters he found were all casual cultivators who were not very high in cultivation and whose craftsmanship was definitely not exquisite. However, he couldn’t force the talisman masters from the major families, and he didn’t have enough leverage to entice them with benefits.

But unexpectedly, just when all hope seemed lost, the last talisman master, who was only at the Qi Refining second stage, actually produced a successful talisman!

Lu Li snatched it over and held it up to examine it.

Then, he burst into loud laughter.

“Ha ha, not bad, not bad! It’s indeed true that you can’t judge a person by their appearance. I didn’t expect your talisman-crafting skills to be so refined, which gave me a huge surprise. What’s your esteemed surname?”

Lu Li happily put the talisman away and his tone also became more amiable.

The tense atmosphere in the hall relaxed slightly.

The others were stunned for a moment before congratulating him in unison.

The talisman had been successfully crafted, so they didn’t have to worry about Lu Li venting his anger by killing them, which was why they were genuinely happy.

Chen Lin cupped his hands together and without a hint of pride he said, “I’m Wang Tieniu, just a low-level talisman master who has just entered the door. It’s purely luck that I was able to craft this talisman.”

“Heh heh, no need to be too humble. Luck is also a part of one’s abilities.”

Lu Li’s face was filled with smiles, a complete transformation from before.

After speaking, he gestured to his cousin, who had been silent the entire time, and she brought over a cloth bag and placed it heavily on the table in front of him with a loud thud.

“These are 50 mid-grade spirit stones. I, Lu Li, am a man of my word. Since Daoist Wang has crafted the talisman, the reward will definitely not be a single piece less!”

50 mid-grade spirit stones!

Chen Lin’s breathing became heavy and rough.

He hadn’t expected that Lu Li would actually keep his promise and give him the reward.

Not only him, but the others’ eyes also sparkled with excitement, fixedly staring at the spirit stones bag.

This made Chen Lin’s heart skip a beat.

If he took these spirit stones out, he estimated that he wouldn’t be able to walk far before being robbed and killed.

With his Qi Refining second stage cultivation, anyone here could overpower him.

However, it was impossible for him to give up this sum of spirit stones.

Thinking of this, he didn’t hesitate to take the heavy spirit stones bag in his hand, then asked Lu Li, “Fellow Daoist Lu, may I take my leave first?”

Lu Li looked at him with a hint of a smile and nodded his head, “Very well, Daoist Wang, take your time.”

Receiving permission, Chen Lin’s heart relaxed slightly, and he carried the spirit stones bag out of the inn’s main gate without looking back.

He took advantage of the night to hurry along the road.

He didn’t dare to be certain how long Lu Li could keep those talisman masters occupied, so he used all his strength to traverse the snowy terrain with his feet flying in all directions.

He quickly arrived at the place where he had changed his clothes and disguise earlier. He looked around cautiously, and after making sure no one was around, he dove into the snow pile.

Soon, a young woman wearing a white dress emerged.

Her face was a bit pale, and there were still snowflakes on her hair.

She cautiously looked around, then adjusted the bundle on her shoulder and quickly proceeded along the small path that had been trampled out.

After several twists and turns, she stopped in front of a broken-down courtyard door.

After checking back to make sure he wasn’t being followed, he pushed the door open, stepped inside, and closed the door again with his backhand.

Not far away, Lu Li and his cousin’s figures suddenly appeared in mid-air, floating quietly.

Lu Li raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at the courtyard door with interest. “I didn’t expect it to be a woman. Her disguise technique is quite good, and she’s also very cautious.”

“Should we catch her, Big Brother?” 

Seeing that her cousin didn’t move, Lan Yuqing spoke in confusion.

“What’s the point of catching her? Fifty mid-grade spirit stones aren’t enough to make me go back on my word. I just want to confirm her residence and identity. Who knows, maybe we can use her in the future.”

Lu Li returned with a sideways sneer.

Lan Yuqing nodded and said no more.

Her big brother’s personality was a bit arrogant, but he was also a man of his word, which was one of the reasons she liked him.

“Alright, let’s go back. We’ll leave the city early tomorrow morning, so let’s get some rest.”

Lu Li glanced at the courtyard, then drove his artifact and left with Lan Yuqing by his side.

The two of them had just departed when the snow pile behind the courtyard wall suddenly trembled, and a figure emerged from within.

It was none other than Chen Lin.

He hadn’t discovered Lu Li’s surveillance, and merely out of caution, he looked around before quickly departing.

This time, there were no detours, and he quickly returned to his residence.

He locked the door, calmed himself down, then took off his outer clothes and retrieved the bag containing the spirit stones from his waist.

He gently stroked the bag, then opened it and poured out all the spirit stones inside.

Clatter!

A dazzling array of spirit stones covered the table.

Chen Lin felt dizzy and mesmerized, and his breathing became rough. He picked up one piece, then touched all the spirit stones.

He had struck it rich!

This time, he had really struck it rich!

One mid-grade spirit stone was equivalent to one hundred low-grade spirit stones, and fifty pieces meant five thousand low-grade spirit stones!

A huge sum of money!

Chen Lin was excited for nearly half an hour before calming down, he put the spirit stones away, and thought about how to spend them.

At the same time, he also reflected on whether he had been followed earlier.

Although he felt that Lu Li, with his identity, wouldn’t bother to secretly tail him for these spirit stones, otherwise, he wouldn’t have let him go and even allowed him to leave first.

However, his habitual cautiousness still led him to change his identity twice and use a previously prepared hideout.

That broken-down courtyard was one he had rented a month ago using a female identity, and he had never used it before. It was meant to be a safe haven in case of danger, and this time, he had used it to avoid leaving any traces.

But Chen Lin felt it was worth it.

He was currently too weak, and for safety, he couldn’t be too cautious.

That night, Chen Lin couldn’t sleep, so he got up and began to meditate and cultivate.

With his pockets full, he extravagantly used a mid-grade spirit stone, and the effect was indeed much faster than normal cultivation. However, the energy was slightly unstable and not explosive enough to help him break through.

The next morning, Chen Lin washed up and went to the Treasure Pavilion.

After buying ten sets of alchemy materials and a simple alchemy furnace, he hurried back home.

Back at home, he hung a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door and began to attempt alchemy.