"Mr. Chen, is that you?" The Five Treasures Daoist looked around.
"Itâs been many years, yet you still have the same charisma, and your cultivation has surpassed the past."
Lu Qing walked out of the forest, his appearance now back to looking like "Chen Qing."
Little Li stood on his shoulder, also returning to the appearance of the days when they were with the Five Treasures Daoist.
"Mr. Chen, Little Li, it really is you both."
Seeing Lu Qing and Little Li on his shoulder, the Five Treasures Daoist truly relaxed, revealing a sincere smile.
To be honest, he was really startled when he received the message not long ago.
His first thought was that someone was trying to deceive him, wanting to probe information about Chen Qing.
But after carefully reading the content of the message, he found it unlikely.
Because some things mentioned in the message, he had never told anyone else. Logically, only he and Chen Qing should know.
Moreover, only Chen Qing knew his Communication Jade Token, and he hadnât told anyone else.
So the one who sent the message might really be Chen Qing.
To verify his thoughts, he immediately divined, trying to deduce the origin of the person who sent the message.
But he found the divination results to be utterly chaotic, impossible to interpret, let alone deduce the personâs origin.
Just like when he tried to divine Chen Qing in the past.
Because of this, it made the Five Treasures Daoist determined, willing to take the risk and rush over.
Now that he saw his guess was correct, he finally relaxed.
"Daoist, have you been well?" Lu Qing asked with a smile.
"Not bad. After leaving the secret realm back then, knowing my own vulnerability, I left immediately, missing Mr. Chenâs formidable display of wrath and slaying of a primordial spirit, truly a regret," said the Five Treasures Daoist.
When he followed Qin Zheng and the others out of the secret realm, he directly bade farewell.
And the other forces, respecting the Qiankun Sect, did not give him, a Golden Core Realm loose cultivator, any trouble.
So the Five Treasures Daoist didnât witness the scene where Lu Qing later continuously slew primordial spirits, shaking the four corners.
When he heard the news in Tianshu City afterward, he was shocked and immediately wary, slipping away in secret, leaving Tianshu City.
After all, it was witnessed by many Primordial Spirit Great Powers that he and Lu Qing entered the secret realm together.
If those great powers reacted and wanted to capture and interrogate him, it would be disastrous.
The fact was that, shortly after the news reached Tianshu City, powerful individuals began searching for the Five Treasures Daoistâs whereabouts.
But by then, the Five Treasures Daoist had already changed his appearance and disappeared without a trace.
Besides, he was extremely good at calculation techniques and knew how to shield himself from karmic ties.
So even if others wanted to deduce his whereabouts, they had no clue.
"No wonder I didnât see you back then, Daoist," Lu Qing realized.
During the battle on Tianshu Divine Mountain, he saw Qin Zheng and Ye Qingzhu, but not the Five Treasures Daoist.
At that time, he was somewhat worried, thinking something might have happened while he was in closed cultivation in the mysterious space that year.
Later, seeing the Divine Soul Mark in the Communication Jade Token still present, he knew the Five Treasures Daoist hadnât perished.
Now it seems, this somewhat mysterious chubby Daoist was still as cautious as ever, slipping away right after exiting the secret realm.
"Mr. Chen, your battle back then was shocking to the world, and even now, those sect forces and noble families might still be searching for your whereabouts," sighed the Five Treasures Daoist.
"Then what about you, Daoist? Iâve been labeled by the Holy Alliance as an evil demon with a bounty on my head. Are you still willing to associate with someone like me?" Lu Qing said with a half-smile.
"What are you saying, Mr. Chen? Iâm not someone who easily believes in rumors." The Five Treasures Daoist waved his hand, "Whether you are an evil demon, I can discern that.
The battle that day, to put it bluntly, was just those major forces being jealous of the opportunities you acquired in the secret realm, wanting to seize them.
Itâs not like they havenât done this kind of thing before.
They just didnât expect to hit such a hard rock like you.
The talk of evil demons is just them finding a pretext for themselves."
When he said this, there was sarcasm in the Five Treasures Daoistâs eyes.
Clearly, there must be many stories behind this person as well.
"I never expected to earn such trust from you, Daoist. Iâm truly honored," Lu Qing laughed.
"Haha, what those major forces like to do most is label others as evil demons, placing themselves on the moral high ground. This isnât new. Many other forces probably understand whatâs going on but just donât expose it," the Five Treasures Daoist laughed heartily.
"It seems you have had your share of experiences, Daoist."
"Those are things of the past, not worth mentioning." The Five Treasures Daoist shook his head and said, "By the way, Mr. Chen, what brings you here to see me this time?"
The Five Treasures Daoist knew well that his relationship with Lu Qing was far from a heart-to-heart, life-and-death close bond.
The fact that Lu Qing braved the risk of exposure to find him must mean there is something important.
"To be honest, I do have something Iâd like to consult you about."
Lu Qing didnât pretend but stated directly.
"Oh, feel free to speak." The Five Treasures Daoist became serious, "If thereâs anything I can help with, I will do my best to assist."
Back then in the secret realm, Lu Qing saved him more than once.
Later, he selflessly shared the mysteries of the Exotic Beast Bloodline with him, significantly increasing his strength.
After coming out, he successfully mastered a powerful secret technique from his sect.
All these kindnesses, the Five Treasures Daoist kept in mind.
"Actually, itâs not a huge matter. I am currently in need of Spirit Stones. Do you have any ways to quickly accumulate Spirit Stones?" Lu Qing asked bluntly.
"You need Spirit Stones? How much? I do have some saved up..."
The Five Treasures Daoist instinctively thought that Lu Qing was a little tight on resources and was about to say he could spare some, but Lu Qingâs next words made him stop.
"A minimum of a hundred thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones. The more, the better, with no upper limit."
"...A hundred...a hundred thousand and above?"
The Five Treasures Daoist paused for a moment, stammering slightly.
He was really taken aback by Lu Qingâs figures.
You must know, Lu Qing was talking about Middle Grade Spirit Stones. If converted to Lower Grade Spirit Stones, it would be astronomical.
"If it werenât so, I wouldnât have come looking for your help, Daoist."
"Mr. Chen, you must think too highly of me. What abilities do I have to help you get over a hundred thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones?" The Five Treasures Daoist said with a bitter smile.
"Youâve misunderstood me. I wasnât asking you to get that sum of Spirit Stones for me; I was hoping you could point out a few paths to quickly earn Spirit Stones. After all, Iâm not familiar with the Heavenly Origin Great World."
The Five Treasures Daoist fell silent again.
He wasnât surprised when Lu Qing said he was unfamiliar with the Heavenly Origin Great World.
He had long suspected that this individual wasnât a native of the Heavenly Origin Great World but came from elsewhere.
Otherwise, someone this exceptionally talented shouldnât have been unknown before.
He thought seriously for a while before slowly speaking.
"Actually, to earn Spirit Stones quickly, there are only a few paths."
"In the cultivation world, there are a few types of cultivators who are generally the wealthiest: Alchemists, Artifact Refiners, and Talisman Masters."
"After all, in the path of cultivation, one cannot do without Elixirs, Magical Treasures, and talismans."
"If a cultivator can achieve any success in one of these three skills, they would become very popular and sought after by all cultivators."
"But given your sensitive identity, these three paths require frequent interaction with other cultivators, which might not be suitable for you."
Lu Qing nodded slightly.
He had also thought about what the Five Treasures Daoist mentioned.
He wasnât afraid of interaction, but refining Elixirs and Magical Treasures required a lot of time, not suitable for his current situation.
"Since those three paths arenât suitable, I do know another unconventional method that might help you quickly accumulate Spirit Stones."
"Oh, what might that be?" Lu Qing raised an eyebrow, showing interest.
"Assassination bounties!"