After two lives of Cultivation and Reincarnation, Lu Chang'an had seen too much of the cold-hearted and unrighteous; Cultivators were often very realistic.
Yet, unexpectedly, Zhao Siyao, who had already entered the Sect, was willing to fulfill the casual promise made two years ago.
“Hmm, there’s still a year left.”
Lu Chang'an pondered. Considering his identity in this life, as the Young Master of the Nujiang Gang, after two or three years of seeking the Immortal Dao, it was time for him to return to the mortal world and make a clean break.
Making connections with Sect members and having more contacts was always a good thing.
In the Cultivation World, background was very important.
Sects were at the upper echelon, controlling more channels, and could receive news about major changes in the Cultivation World ahead of others.
… …
Bidding farewell to Li Ergou, Lu Chang'an headed to the Mu Family's library.
In the library, Lu Chang'an could only access basic Cultivation books.
Fortunately, he wasn't looking for any Immortal Family secret techniques.
Even the Mu Family's clan-protecting Cultivation Technique might not catch Lu Chang'an's eye.
He was here to look for books on geography.
From his memories of this life, he had already confirmed that he was in a different Cultivation territory than his previous two lives.
Half an hour later.
Lu Chang'an walked out of the library, deep in thought.
“Great Green Cultivation World… Liang Country… Chen Country… Feng Country…”
Within the library, there was very little information beyond the geographical scope of Liang Country.
This Cultivation territory was called “Great Green.”
It was vast, with over a hundred countries.
Not every country had Spiritual Veins above the third rank; some smaller countries had relatively backward Cultivation civilizations, where Core Formation was the ceiling.
Medium to large countries all had 4th-rank Spiritual Veins, suitable for Nascent Soul Stage Cultivation.
Liang Country, where he was located, could only be considered a medium-sized country. Its strongest force was called “Li Huo Palace,” which had a Nascent Soul Immortal Master overseeing it and was the Dominator of this region.
Below Li Huo Palace were the Four Great Sects, each with several Core Formation Immortal Masters.
Golden Cloud Valley was one of them.
Following closely were the Seven Great Cultivation Families, the strongest group of Cultivation Families in Liang Country.
Each of the Seven Great Families had a long Legacy, with at least a False Core Immortal Master and multiple Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators.
They were more than ten times stronger than the Emerald Moon Lake Mu Family.
“One Palace, Four Sects, Seven Families…”
Lu Chang'an roughly sorted out the structure of the Liang Country Cultivation World.
The Mu Family, where he was, was considered a bottom-tier force in the Cultivation World, only slightly stronger than Loose Cultivators and Qi Refining Stage Families.
“Is this Great Green territory in the same world as the ‘Tianheng Continent’ from my previous life?”
Lu Chang'an couldn't draw a conclusion; he probably wouldn't be able to confirm it until he reached a higher Realm.
In his previous life, he only learned that the vast territory called “Great Kun” where he was located was merely a remote corner of the Tianheng Continent after he cultivated to the Core Formation Stage.
It was rumored that the truly prosperous great territories of the Tianheng Continent possessed 5th-rank Spiritual Veins, theoretically allowing for the birth of Soul Transformation Stage Cultivators.
… …
A few months later.
Lu Chang'an opened his eyes from meditation; the Evergreen Magic Power within him was progressing steadily.
“Without Medicinal Pills to assist, at this rate, it will probably take me three or four years to advance to Qi Refining third layer.”
This didn't even account for Bottlenecks.
Lu Chang'an was, after all, re-Cultivating, so he could ignore Bottlenecks at the Qi Refining Stage.
The Ancient Wood Evergreen Skill required absorbing the Qi of time, had the effect of extending life, and Lu Chang'an understood its slow Cultivation speed.
“The Cultivation World is full of changes, and things are unpredictable. My Cultivation speed is also slow, so I need to get some means of self-protection.”
Lu Chang'an understood how to be prepared for danger in times of peace.
Don't look at how stable and peaceful his Cultivation was now.
Perhaps in the next moment, the Mu Family would face a catastrophic disaster.
Lu Chang'an had experienced such things in his previous life.
In terms of self-protection, Lu Chang'an, as a Martial Dao Grandmaster, could increase his survival ability.
“A Martial Dao Grandmaster needs to be in close combat to threaten a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator. This is a limitation.”
Lu Chang'an mused.
“Why not practice some hidden weapons?”
The “Heavenly Bullet Finger” he used to kill the Zheng Family's Qi Refining third layer Cultivator last time could be used with hidden weapons.
Hidden weapons, combined with the potent poisons of the Cultivation World, might have unexpected effects.
Of course, true self-protection still relied on the Immortal Dao.
“I have to resume my old trades from the previous two lives.”
Lu Chang'an smiled knowingly.
Two years ago, when he first entered Qi Refining first layer, his Magic Power was too weak. Now at Qi Refining second layer, he could put his ideas into action.
In his first life, he was a Talisman Master, with exquisite skill.
In his second life, over several hundred years, he became a third-rank Talisman Master.
Talismans, whether for self-protection or earning Spirit Stones, were a good choice.
After determining his approach, Lu Chang'an needed to prepare the Materials and tools for drawing Talismans.
He initially thought buying Materials would be quite troublesome.
Soon, he learned from Li Ergou that the Emerald Moon Mountain Village held a small internal trade fair in the middle of each month.
The location of the trade fair was the Nine Moon Pavilion in the village.
… …
Seven days later, it was the full moon.
Lu Chang'an and Li Ergou arrived at the Nine Moon Pavilion.
The Nine Moon Pavilion was built on a stream, ancient and elegant, with pavilions and waterside structures, quiet and refined.
On each pavilion, Mu Family members set up stalls, with goods placed on stone tables.
There weren't many people; including the stallholders, there were only a few dozen. Some of them were not Cultivators but direct descendants of Cultivators within the Family.
After all, there were only about a hundred Cultivators in the entire Mu Family.
Lu Chang'an visited a few pavilions.
Stallholders not only sold items but also sought to purchase some Cultivation resources.
On two or three of the stalls, there were Talisman paper, cinnabar, and Talisman brushes for sale.
However, the quality was worse than Lu Chang'an expected, and they were scattered; no single vendor could provide a complete set of his needs.
“Let's sell some Spirit Stones first.”
Lu Chang'an found an empty pavilion and took out the inferior Magical Artifact from when he killed the Zheng Family Cultivator last time, along with a Windwalking Talisman, to sell.
“Lu Dage, why are you selling Magical Artifacts? If you don't have enough Spirit Stones, I can lend you some.”
Li Ergou's expression changed.
“No need, I have my own plans.”
An inferior Magical Artifact held little meaning for Lu Chang'an.
It was better to convert it into Spirit Stones, earn money through Talisman artistry, and increase his means of self-protection.
Lu Chang'an was a new face.
Some Mu Family members were curious and came to his stall to look, but most were not interested and just asked casually.
After waiting for a while, he finally met a sincere buyer.
“How much for this Magical Artifact iron sword?” It was an old, withered man speaking, past sixty, with a Cultivation of Qi Refining third layer.
Lu Chang'an quoted: “Forty Spirit Stones.”
“Too expensive! A common Low Grade Magical Artifact only sells for fifty or sixty Spirit Stones. This inferior item of yours can easily be damaged if used in combat for too long…”
The old man frowned, picking faults.
Lu Chang'an smiled. Wasn't he just trying to haggle?
“You're talking about the worst Low Grade Magical Artifact. This Magical Artifact of mine, with a little repair, isn't much worse than that.”
“If you're sincere about buying, the fixed price is thirty-five Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and I'll include a Low Grade Windwalking Talisman.”
Lu Chang'an didn't want to argue further and directly gave a price slightly below market value.
The old man's eyes flickered, trying to cut the price further.
Lu Chang'an ignored him.
“Fine, we'll deal at this price.”
The old man gave an awkward smile.
Just like that, Lu Chang'an sold his spoils from last time, getting thirty-five Spirit Stones.
With the Spirit Stones in hand, Lu Chang'an prepared to buy a set of Talisman drawing Materials.
“Lu Dage wants to buy Talisman drawing Materials? Why not go to Young Miss Mu Xiuyun.”
Li Ergou offered a suggestion, his eyes glancing at a nearby pavilion.
“You mean, the Mu Family's Young Miss?”
Lu Chang'an followed his gaze.
On that waterside pavilion, two beautiful women had just set up their stall.
One of them was indeed Mu Xiuyun.
Under the bright moonlight, the young girl's skin was as white as snow, and she was as gentle as jade; her long skirt and shoes, with her green hair and skirt hem swaying in the wind, fluttered like light clouds emerging from the mountains.
“The Young Miss is a first-rank Talisman Master.”
Li Ergou didn't dare to look too much, masking his expression of admiration.
“A first-rank Talisman Master? She should be able to meet all my requirements.”
Lu Chang'an walked calmly towards Mu Xiuyun's stall.
Li Ergou followed closely, his heart pounding, thinking: “As expected of Big Brother, he's not intimidated by the Young Miss at all.”
Seeing Lu Chang'an and his companion approach.
Mu Xiuyun nodded slightly, gesturing for them to look around themselves.
However, a girl in a red dress beside her looked at the two with surprise.
Lu Chang'an subtly scanned the stall, nodding inwardly.
As expected of a ranked Talisman Master, Talisman paper, Talisman brushes, and cinnabar were all available, and the quality was good, meeting all his needs.
“How much for this Talisman brush?”
Lu Chang'an picked up a dark green Talisman brush.
“This is a Low Grade Magical Artifact Green Record Talisman Brush, priced at seventy Spirit Stones.”
A clear, spring-like young girl's voice came.
“What about this one?”
Lu Chang'an picked up another Talisman brush, black and yellow, somewhat mottled.
“This one… a severely worn Black Bristle Talisman Brush, sells for twenty Spirit Stones. I need to explain that it can draw at most one hundred more Talismans before it's completely Waste.”
Looking at this Talisman brush, Mu Xiuyun hesitated slightly, a hint of reluctance in her eyes.
“I'll buy it.”
Lu Chang'an could tell the brush had a good foundation, and the other party's price was reasonable.
“And a small bottle of Spirit Blood Cinnabar, twenty sheets of first-rank Talisman paper.”
“What's the price for first-rank premium Talisman paper? Oh, give me three sheets.”
Lu Chang'an bought all the Talisman drawing Materials in one go.
Because of limited funds, he bought a relatively small quantity of each item.
“That will be forty Spirit Stones and thirty taels of spiritual sand. I'll take forty Spirit Stones.”
Mu Xiuyun smiled brightly.
“Eh! I only have thirty-five Spirit Stones? How about we just settle at this price?”
Lu Chang'an said shamelessly.
Actually, Mu Xiuyun's quoted price was fair.
He tried to haggle a little.
If it didn't work, he'd just return a few sheets of Talisman paper; there was no loss anyway.
Hearing this, the red-dressed girl beside Mu Xiuyun scoffed:
“Boy! You probably don't know the rules, Sister Xiu Yun's stall doesn't bargain!”
The red-dressed girl was quite pretty, with fair skin and long legs, a delicate oval face, eyebrows like slender willows, and almond eyes with full lips.
Li Ergou, being thin-skinned, said awkwardly: “Lu Dage, forget it! I'll lend you a few Spirit Stones…”
“You, are you Lu Chang'an?”
Suddenly, Mu Xiuyun's starry eyes shifted, fixing on Lu Chang'an, her expression unreadable.