Chapter 14: Ancient Secret Realm

"Wu Yun’s Talisman Brush was also Tier One Low Grade, but of slightly better quality than mine."

Li Chang’an examined a Talisman Brush.

The Talisman Brush he used was the one he had bought at the very beginning.

The quality was very average.

After all, he had been quite poor back then.

’Now that I’m not short on Spirit Stones, I can consider buying a Middle Grade Talisman Brush.’

Li Chang’an mused.

A Middle Grade Talisman Brush was superior to a Low Grade one in every aspect, especially in conducting Spiritual Power, but the price was also quite steep.

Even one of ordinary quality sold for over one hundred Spirit Stones.

For his past self, this was an astronomical price.

Now, that price was within his means.

’It sure is nice to have money!’

Li Chang’an sighed. In the past, he used to pinch every Spirit Stone.

He put down the Talisman Brush.

He continued to take inventory of the other items.

Soon, a dark red stone caught his attention.

"Huh? It’s actually an Earth Fire Stone!"

Li Chang’an was slightly surprised.

Earth Fire Stone, a Tier One Top Grade Fire Element Treasure!

It was extremely rare and quite valuable.

It was highly sought after by Artifact Refiners.

Using an Earth Fire Stone as the main material and adding a few supplementary materials, one could refine a Tier One Top Grade Fire Element Magical Artifact of excellent quality!

’A pity it’s not a Wood Attribute Treasure. I can use it for a trade in the future, though.’

Li Chang’an shook his head inwardly. He himself had a Wood Spirit Root.

A Fire Element Magical Artifact was incompatible with his own Spiritual Power.

He figured Wu Yun had also planned to trade the Earth Fire Stone, since Wu Yun also had a Low Grade Wood Spirit Root.

After putting away the Earth Fire Stone, Li Chang’an continued to take stock of the remaining items.

The rest of the items were not very valuable.

He quickly finished his inventory.

...

「The next day.」

Li Chang’an made a trip to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

He spent one hundred and thirty Spirit Stones to purchase a decent quality Middle Grade Talisman Brush.

Manager Qian of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion didn’t quite understand this.

"Daoist Li, you’ve only mastered the Skills for Low Grade Talismans. You can’t even draw a High-quality Talisman yet. You have no use for a Middle Grade Talisman Brush, so why waste the Spirit Stones you’ve worked so hard to save?"

Manager Qian tried to persuade him.

He was a conscientious businessman with a rather good reputation in the Marketplace.

Li Chang’an showed a helpless expression and replied,

"Sigh, my craft has hit a bottleneck recently, and I can’t seem to make any progress. Perhaps a better Talisman Brush will help."

Seeing his insistence,

Manager Qian didn’t press the matter further.

He simply reminded him, "Daoist Li, everything should be centered around your Cultivation. Skills are merely supplementary. You should buy more things that are helpful for your Cultivation."

"Manager Qian is right!"

Li Chang’an nodded, then left the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

「That afternoon.」

He regulated his Magical Power and calmed his mind, then used the new Talisman Brush to attempt drawing a Middle Grade Talisman.

The brush tip glided slowly and steadily across the Talisman Paper.

The entire process was exceptionally smooth.

It was much easier than before.

Before he knew it, a Middle Grade Golden Saber Talisman was successfully drawn!

’Indeed, a craftsman must first sharpen his tools to do his work well!’

A smile appeared on Li Chang’an’s face.

The money spent on the Talisman Brush was well worth it!

「For the next few days.」

He spent all day at home practicing his Cultivation and Talisman Painting, just as before.

...

「One evening.」

Wu Feng’s voice suddenly sounded from outside.

"Daoist Li, are you home?"

Hearing the voice,

Li Chang’an opened the door.

He was all smiles as he cupped his hands in greeting to Wu Feng.

"Daoist Wu, it’s been a while."

"Daoist Li..."

The moment he saw Li Chang’an, Wu Feng’s expression changed slightly.

His gaze lingered on Li Chang’an for a moment.

"Daoist Li, have you seen my younger brother recently?"

"Daoist Wu Yun?"

Li Chang’an shook his head slightly.

He looked puzzled and asked, "Has something happened?"

"It’s nothing, just... my brother and I have had a bit of a falling out recently."

"I see."

Li Chang’an feigned a look of realization.

He pondered for a moment.

"Daoist Wu, you two wouldn’t be fighting over the distribution of that Earth Dragon Saliva, would you?"

Li Chang’an glanced around and lowered his voice.

"It’s not my place to say, but when it comes to something as important as Foundation Establishment, even blood brothers must keep clear accounts."

"This..."

Wu Feng was taken aback.

He clearly hadn’t expected Li Chang’an to steer the conversation in this direction.

The so-called Earth Dragon Saliva.

Was just a lie they had fabricated to lure Li Chang’an out of the Marketplace!

The two talked for a while longer.

Li Chang’an never gave him any useful information.

Wu Feng seemed to lose interest and finally cupped his hands to take his leave.

After turning around,

a hint of killing intent appeared in his eyes.

「A few days ago.」

Wu Yun had felt that waiting around was not a solution and decided to go to Li Chang’an’s door and act directly.

The others had disagreed.

So, Wu Yun left alone, vowing that he would definitely return with Li Chang’an’s head.

But...

after that, all contact was lost.

It was as if he had vanished from the face of the earth!

’Could Li Chang’an have killed him?’

Wu Feng’s face was grim.

He didn’t think Li Chang’an had the ability, but there were always exceptions.

...

「Inside the house.」

Li Chang’an closed the door, his expression growing colder.

’This Wu Feng is more vigilant than Wu Yun.’

He wondered what this group of Tribulation Cultivators would do next.

In any case,

with the prompts from his Divination, Li Chang’an held the upper hand in terms of information.

「Over the next few months.」

He kept a close eye on his Divination and paid constant attention to all matters, big and small, inside and outside the Marketplace.

To his surprise,

Wu Feng never came again. It seemed he had given up completely.

During these months, however, a major event occurred that captured the attention of nearly every Cultivator in the Marketplace—

An Ancient Secret Realm!

「Not long ago.」

In a valley not far from the Marketplace, the ground had suddenly collapsed,

revealing a passage.

Passing through that passage led to a dilapidated Secret Realm.

It might contain Treasures left over from Ancient Times.

Such Secret Realms were not uncommon; news of them appearing in various places could be heard from time to time.

"It’s said that in Ancient Times, a world-shattering war took place that left the entire world in ruins."

"The countless Secret Realms we have now are all a result of that great war."

"The Zheng Family has put out a call, encouraging Loose Cultivators to enter and seek opportunities..."

Chu Daniu and the others couldn’t make up their minds, so they all came to find Li Chang’an.

The four of them reunited in Li Chang’an’s house.

"Brother Chang’an, what do you think?"

Sun Yulan asked softly, her beautiful eyes like pools of water.

"Me?"

Li Chang’an shook his head slightly.

He had no intention of going at all.

After all, he wasn’t short on Spirit Stones. Wasn’t it better to stay safely at home and practice Talisman Painting?

"I won’t be going. If you want to go, I can sell you a batch of Talismans at a low price to give you more ways to protect yourselves. But of course... it’s best if you don’t go."

Although his Divination hadn’t given him any prompts,

this kind of Ancient Secret Realm was always fraught with danger!

Chu Daniu immediately said, "Since Brother Li isn’t going, then I’m not going either!"

Ever since his walk through the Ghost Gate,

he had resolved to learn from Li Chang’an’s cautious ways.

Xu Fugui and Sun Yulan, however, were hesitant.

They had no special Skills to rely on.

If they didn’t take the risk, they were fated to never reach Foundation Establishment in this lifetime.

"You two should wait a bit longer. Go in to look for opportunities after the first few batches of Cultivators have explored it."

Li Chang’an offered his advice.

The first few batches of Cultivators might find more opportunities, but they would also face more unknown dangers.

Those in the Middle Stage and Late Stage of Qi Refining had better means of survival.

As for those like Xu Fugui, who were in the Early Stage of Qi Refining, it wasn’t advisable to rush to the front.