Chapter 31

In Qi Xiang's impression, those who cultivated and sought the Dao should live in seclusion in the mountains, enduring the elements, leading a very frugal life. Just like Chen Bixue, even though he came from a wealthy and noble family, his life was very simple.

But as soon as Chen Bixue opened his mouth, he mentioned money, which seemed too vulgar.

He even said that without money, one couldn't cultivate, which was what kind of twisted logic?

Qi Xiang was puzzled.

At this moment, Chen Bixue sneered coldly, "It's a shame you want to cultivate, yet you don't even know the four basic elements of cultivation. To think you could seek the Dao is truly absurd."

"What are the four elements of cultivation?" Qi Xiang's heart stirred, and he took the opportunity to ask.

"Law, Companion, Wealth, and Place! These are the four elements of cultivation."

Chen Bixue didn't hide anything and said straightforwardly, "Generally speaking, to cultivate, one must first have a method to enter the Dao, a master and fellow cultivators to exchange with, and a place for cultivation with a serene environment and abundant vitality."

"However, the most crucial thing is to have enough money to qualify for cultivation and seeking the Dao."

"Do you have any of these four things?"

Chen Bixue waved his hand, "You don't have any of them, so don't waste your time and effort."

Qi Xiang was silent, his brows slightly furrowed, not entirely convinced.

"Don't disbelieve me," Chen Bixue said calmly. "Take me as an example. I started cultivating at the age of ten, and it has been fourteen years. Roughly speaking, do you know how much money I've spent over these years?"

Qi Xiang shook his head slightly but still guessed, "Several tens of millions?"

"Ha..." Chen Bixue sneered, then said calmly, "One billion!"

"Cough, cough..." Qi Xiang's heart trembled, somewhat startled.

"One billion, that's nothing," Chen Bixue said lightly. "As far as I know, there are people who have directly squandered one billion US dollars for cultivation. In comparison, I'm just a small fry."

"Is that true?" Qi Xiang was somewhat skeptical.

Chen Bixue didn't bother to explain, then pointed to the incense formula, "I won't ask about the origin of this item. I've looked at it, and it's indeed good, though somewhat redundant. Most of the incense formulas are useless because the ingredients are extinct."

"However, there are a couple of formulas that can still be made..."

Chen Bixue pondered for a moment, then raised the price, "One million five hundred thousand, I'll buy it. Take the money and go back to run your antique business properly. Don't harbor unrealistic dreams."

Qi Xiang was silent, thinking carefully, and had to admit that Chen Bixue was right.

Throughout history, cultivation and seeking the Dao were not something ordinary people could do. Therefore, in every dynasty, there were many alchemists and Taoists who relied on emperors, nobles, and the wealthy.

Of course, those emperors, nobles, and the wealthy were all big suckers. After Qin Shi Huang was deceived by Xu Fu, they still didn't learn their lesson and continued to fall for scams one after another.

In fact, Qi Xiang suspected that while alchemists and Taoists appeared to be refining elixirs for emperors and nobles, they were actually using their power and wealth for their own benefit.

Once they achieved their cultivation, they would kick the emperors and nobles aside and live freely.

This was called borrowing a chicken to lay eggs, doing business without capital.

The question was, could Qi Xiang do the same?

After asking himself, Qi Xiang shook his head involuntarily. There were few who, after deceiving emperors and nobles, managed to escape unscathed. Most were caught and beheaded due to their lack of skill.

Deceiving emperors and nobles was a high-risk endeavor. Without the necessary skills, one shouldn't attempt it.

Qi Xiang had self-awareness and knew he couldn't do it. While he was deep in thought, someone brought a card at Chen Bixue's call and placed it in front of him.

Qi Xiang hesitated slightly, then took the card and politely took his leave.

"If you have similar items, you can come to me..." Chen Bixue added, waving to bid farewell.

"Definitely!"

Qi Xiang glanced at Chen Bixue, knowing he would definitely come back.

Leaving Moling Manor, Qi Xiang wasn't particularly angry, but he was inevitably disappointed. He knew he had underestimated the matter.

After all, he and Chen Bixue were not related and had no close relationship. Why would Chen Bixue help him?

It seemed that self-reliance was more reliable.

Qi Xiang firmly resolved and took a bus back to Jinling City. At this moment, he hesitated, thinking for a moment, and didn't rush back to his residence. Instead, he bought a new phone and called Jiang Baiwan.

The number dialed, but he only heard a busy signal, with no one answering.

"What's going on?" Qi Xiang frowned slightly, sensing something was amiss. After some thought, he dialed another number, the landline of Jiang Baiwan's villa.

After a while, the landline connected, but a mechanical voice said, "Hello, the villa owner has moved, this is a disconnected number. Hello, the villa..."

"Moved?" Qi Xiang was stunned, immediately realizing something was very unusual.

Jiang Baiwan had lived in Jinling for many years, and he had moved just a few days after Qi Xiang left. What had happened in this short time?

Qi Xiang was puzzled but understood that Jiang Baiwan was probably no longer of any help. After some thought, he turned and entered an internet cafe, then went online to search for local news.

After more than an hour, Qi Xiang was surprised to find that there was no news about Wang Dong's death, neither in the media nor on gossip forums. It was as if Wang Dong had never existed...

"How strange!"

Before returning, Qi Xiang was somewhat worried. Although he believed he had covered his tracks and no one knew he was the culprit, Wang Dong's mysterious death in the alley could still raise suspicions.

Even if they couldn't confirm he was the murderer, they might still summon him to the police station for questioning.

Going to the police station would be very troublesome.

So Qi Xiang wanted to ask Jiang Baiwan about the situation and hoped he could help smooth things over. But he didn't expect Jiang Baiwan to have moved, and he didn't know if he was still in Jinling City.

The strangest thing was that Wang Dong's death seemed to have caused no ripples, everything was calm.

Right, the focus of the news was on the recent fires in the city due to dry weather, which had destroyed many buildings and caused significant property damage, though fortunately, no one was injured.

To ensure the safety of the people, the relevant departments had recently organized a large-scale inspection to eliminate urban safety hazards and restore normal life and work as soon as possible...

In short, the headlines and news were either about politics, livelihood, or gossip, not much different from usual.

Although the situation was strange, Qi Xiang was relieved and immediately went home.

The quiet alley was no different from before, very peaceful, with few people around. Qi Xiang walked through the alley calmly, about to return to his residence.

But at this moment, he suddenly changed direction and, after passing a fork, walked in the opposite direction, away from his residence.

After a while, his figure disappeared at the end of the alley, arriving at a busy street nearby.

Suddenly, Qi Xiang's expression turned serious. As he approached his residence, he keenly sensed that the atmosphere was somewhat subtle, as if someone was monitoring him.

"This isn't an illusion..."

Qi Xiang pondered, then changed direction and continued walking. After about half an hour, he stopped. Across the busy street was his shop.

At this moment, Qi Xiang looked at it, feeling very complex, unsure whether to be angry or melancholic. His shop had been reduced to ashes, with black and yellow burn marks everywhere.

The shop was rented, and he wasn't heartbroken about its destruction. Most of the items inside were cheap, and even if they were all burned, the loss wasn't significant.

The problem was that his shop had been burned shortly after he left, and there was someone monitoring his residence.

This situation made Qi Xiang realize that he shouldn't stay here any longer and should leave...

Qi Xiang was decisive, not hesitating, and left quickly. His pace was neither fast nor slow, no different from other people on the street.

But after a while, Qi Xiang felt something was off, as if someone was following him from a distance. He immediately quickened his pace, and the person behind him also sped up...

Qi Xiang frowned, walking quickly while thinking about how to shake off the person. As he walked, a narrow alley appeared, and he entered it without hesitation.

The alley was straight, and after a short walk, there was a fork.

Qi Xiang quickly hid at the corner of the fork and waited, holding his breath. Soon, hurried footsteps echoed in the alley, and the person rushed past and turned into the fork.

In an instant, Qi Xiang clenched his fist, ready to strike. But when he saw the person's face, his fist froze in mid-air, unable to hit.

"Ah..." The person was startled, then patted his chest, "Qi Xiang, what are you doing?"

Qi Xiang retracted his hand and smiled bitterly, "I thought I was being robbed..."

"Ha, in broad daylight, who would rob you? You're not a frail girl," the person smirked, then asked, "Where have you been these days? What happened to your shop? Why is it so terrible?"

"..." Qi Xiang was vague, "I went to the countryside. I just got back and haven't figured out what happened."

"Ah!" The person sighed, patted Qi Xiang's shoulder, and comforted him, "Many shops have caught fire these days. You're lucky; there wasn't much valuable stuff in your shop, so the loss isn't significant..."

"That's the only way to think about it." Qi Xiang nodded, showing a hint of sadness.

"Let's not talk about this." The person waved his hand, then smiled mysteriously, "Qi Xiang, you're back just in time. There's a big deal you'll definitely be interested in..."

...

During the new book period, I sincerely request your support with collections and recommendations. Thank you.

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends