Chapter 53: No Feast Lasts Forever

Time passed quickly.

Almost in the blink of an eye, Luo Chen had sold all the辟谷丹 (Pigu Dan) and 众妙丸 (Zhongmiao Pills) he had, and it was only just noon.

Without much calculation, with Luo Chen's current Spirit Eye technique, he only needed to glance to know how much he had earned today.

The Pigu Dan brought in one hundred spirit stones, and the Zhongmiao Pills four hundred and fifty.

It didn't seem like much, but think about it, this was just the earnings of half a month, and the cost was only two hundred spirit stones!

In other words, Luo Chen had almost made a net profit of three hundred and fifty!

To think, just half a year ago, he was just a poor, low-level cultivator earning only five spirit stones a month.

It could only be said that once you gained proficiency, being a pill refiner was just that awesome, that well-respected!

Of course, in terms of profit, Luo Chen was clear in his mind.

He placed more value on his current wealth. Adding the spirit stones he had left over, his savings had soared to eight hundred lower-grade spirit stones.

This could be considered a historical peak!

Oh, that time he sold the Flying Swallow Sword was an exception, as unexpected wealth doesn't last long.

It had to be what he earned himself, the most solid and reliable!

After a brief inventory of his wealth, Luo Chen planned where to go next.

With so many out-of-town cultivators at the Dahuang Market, it was said that there were also many stalls set up.

He wanted to see the unique cultivation resources from other places and see if they could be of any help to him.

It could only be said that when a man has money, he becomes bold.

In the past, he would rush to buy raw materials and then go home to continue refining pills.

Not like now.

Head held high, his gaze sweeping over the bustling market of scattered cultivators, Luo Chen felt a sense of superiority, looking down on everyone as if they were all poor beggars.

However, when his gaze fell on the old Daoist, Chen Xiuping, his confidence wavered.

Seeing the other party tidying up his stall, busy packing bags and ropes.

"Chen Daoist, your business was good today, selling out so early," Luo Chen said.

"Hehe, how can I compare to Luo Daoist!"

Chen Xiuping sneered, "I work day and night, only managing to produce a few hundred talismans, earning three or four hundred spirit stones. Luo Daoist, on the other hand, after being away for half a month, comes back and earns five or six hundred. I am far, far behind you!"

What was he trying to say? It sounded like he was mocking me.

Gritting his teeth, Luo Chen painfully took out fifty lower-grade spirit stones, put them in a small cloth bag, and handed them to Chen Xiuping.

"Xiao Luo's cultivation path has been tough, thank you, Uncle Chen, for your support."

Though it pained him, his words were sincere.

Back then, the fifty spirit stones Chen Xiuping lent him played a crucial role in his pill refining career's early stages.

At that time, his Zhongmiao Pills were still in the beginner stage, with a very high failure rate.

It was only with the spirit stones Chen Xiuping provided that he managed to get through the toughest period.

Taking the small cloth bag, feeling its weight, Chen Xiuping fell silent for a moment.

This silence, this deep emotion, even his eyes turning red (from staying up late to make talismans), made Luo Chen somewhat uneasy.

Uncle Chen, don't be so sentimental!

I can't take it!

Unexpectedly, Chen Xiuping sighed and said something Luo Chen hadn't anticipated.

"We are leaving."

"Ah!"

Luo Chen was taken aback, "Where are you going?"

Chen Xiuping affectionately patted his granddaughter, Chen Shuyi, on the head, "In a month, we will follow the Divine Talisman Pavilion cultivators to the Divine Talisman Domain."

Looking at the old and young, a thought crossed his mind.

Luo Chen couldn't help but ask, "Has little Shuyi been accepted into the Divine Talisman Sect?"

"Luo Chen-gege, not yet. But Shuyi is very confident she can pass the trials!" Chen Shuyi lifted her head, her innocent face full of the confidence of a young bull not fearing the tiger.

Chen Xiuping packed away the various bags and sat down on the blue stone slab.

"Not yet, but I have already discussed with a familiar Divine Talisman Pavilion cultivator. This time, when they return to the sect, they will take me and little Shuyi with them."

"Next year!"

"Next year is when the Divine Talisman Pavilion will widely open its doors to recruit disciples. Shuyi is only thirteen years old, has a spirit root, and has been taught the basics of talisman making by me. She has a high chance of passing the entrance test."

A few words, but they carried a sense of sighing and reflection.

Luo Chen stood before him, also feeling a sense of reflection.

These past years had been tough for him, but wasn't it the same for Chen Xiuping?

Don't look at how much more Chen Xiuping used to earn, but he also had to support a young granddaughter's cultivation, teaching her the basics of talisman making.

Cultivators learning the four arts of cultivation is a bottomless pit.

Usually, only large factions would cultivate new talent. For Chen Xiuping, a mere Sixth Layer Qi Refinement cultivator, to do this, it was unimaginably difficult.

Not only that, but Chen Xiuping also had to save enough spirit stones from his meager earnings to support this long journey.

Think about it, from the most remote Dahuang Market in the Yuding Domain, crossing the Tianfan Domain and the Medicine King Domain to reach the Divine Talisman Domain, it would be a long and arduous journey.

Most Qi Refinement cultivators might never travel so far in their entire lives.

For Chen Xiuping to get the Divine Talisman Pavilion cultivators at Dahuang Market to agree to take them, he must have paid a substantial sum of money.

And that was just the first expense.

The expenses after setting off, the expenses for the year after arriving in the Divine Talisman Domain, and even if Shuyi fails to enter the sect, how they would live, and if she succeeds, how they would continue to support her, all had to be considered.

Just thinking about it, the total amount of spirit stones needed was enormous.

Even if Luo Chen could earn spirit stones, he couldn't possibly earn that much in a short time.

All of that, Chen Xiuping had earned and saved bit by bit.

In the bustling market, in front of the empty blue stone stall.

The old, the middle-aged, and the young, the three of them stood in silence.

Chen Xiuping and Luo Chen were lost in the hardships of the past, while Chen Shuyi was filled with anticipation for the future.

"This blue stone slab, I brought it back from the mountains years ago, just to distinguish my stall from the other scattered cultivators, to show that my stall was different."

"After I leave, go to the Yuding Sword Pavilion market management and change the name of this stall!"

"I'll give you this blue stone slab too."

"Of course, from now on, you'll have to pay one whole spirit stone per month for the stall fee."

Chen Xiuping chuckled softly at the end.

Luo Chen's lips twitched, looking at the polished stone slab, he took a deep breath.

"Chen Daoist, this isn't a life or death farewell, why are you being so sentimental?"

"Come, let the Mid-Qi Refinement cultivator Luo Chen treat you to a farewell feast!"

Chen Xiuping was taken aback, then seemed to remember something.

He stroked his beard and laughed heartily.

"Then I'll have to take you up on that!"

Luo Chen waved his hand, "It's just a few spirit stones, let's go to the Zhongding Family for the feast, I'll treat you today!"

"Do not worry about the road ahead, for there are many who know you in the world."

"Spoken well, I, Chen Xiuping, have few friends in my life, and you, Xiao Luo, are one of them. Let's drink this cup full, and if things don't work out in the future, you can go to the Divine Talisman Sect. By then, Shuyi will likely have reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and she will take care of you."

"Haha, underestimating me, how do you know I can't reach the Foundation Establishment stage?"

"Come on, your spirit root is even worse than mine."

"Then what? Then you pay for this meal!"

"Daoist, you have the potential to reach the Golden Core stage, it's my poor eyesight that failed to see it."

In the afternoon, Luo Chen bid farewell to the old and the young, and walked home alone.

His expression was one of gritted teeth and a scowl.

"Shrewd merchants, damn it, all shrewd merchants!"

"Just a double set meal, a pot of wine, and two plates of meat, and they dare to charge fifty spirit stones."

"Who told me the Zhongding Family doesn't make money? The Yuding Sword Sect, they are making a fortune!"

Muttering to himself, Luo Chen's brows suddenly furrowed.

His pace didn't change, and he didn't look back. As he passed a corner, a small wooden armadillo spirit puppet nimbly landed on the ground and disappeared into the shadows.

Behind him, two figures followed at a leisurely pace.

Thank you to all the friends who supported me with starting coins last week, especially Xu Heng (500), Heifengzhai (100), and Ji De He Re Shui (100), and those who left chapter segment rewards without showing their names.

Thank you all for your support.

(End of Chapter)