The Great Dao Had Ten Thousand Paths, Yet All Roads Led to the Same Destination

Cultivators in the Cultivation World did more than painstakingly cultivate. They also took up various side professions.

Most side professions were related to the four great skills of alchemy, talismans, artifact refinement, and formations.

"Alchemy destroys a lifetime, formations impoverish three generations." There was no need to consider those two.

Even Cultivation Households could not afford to support a single alchemist.

Formation masters were even harder to become. They needed not only resources, but also expert guidance and a complete inheritance.

Artifact refinement was not difficult to enter, but breaking through the industry's barriers was.

Every Artifact Refining Shop trained its own apprentices. Outsiders could not get a foot in the door.

The talisman trade was pretty good. The investment was small, and the returns came quickly.

But the threshold was low, so there were more talisman masters among Rogue Cultivators than anywhere else. The competition was simply too fierce.

He even had a copy of True Explanation of First-Order Talismans. Clearly, his predecessor had once dreamed of becoming a talisman master.

Perhaps he lacked talent. In any case, there were no memories related to this field.

Oh right, there was also the Path of Puppetry.

That line of work was out of the question too. Not only was the threshold high, it was also a money-burning business.

Now that he thought about it, becoming a happy Life Skill Player was not so easy.

After thinking it over and over, the Path of Talismans was still the most suitable for him.

So what if it was fiercely competitive? At least the threshold was low.

After wandering around until noon, Su Fan found an inn.

He spent twenty Magic Coins to rent a room, then took out a black hooded cloak and draped it over himself.

He covered himself up from head to toe before walking out of the inn.

There were many cultivators dressed like this in the market town. They were people who had stirred up trouble and feared being recognized by their enemies.

Su Fan circled around the market town several times before entering a shop.

There was no one inside the shop. The shopkeeper sat behind the counter and glanced up at him, showing no intention of paying him any attention.

A young female cultivator beside him walked over with a smile.

"Fellow Daoist, welcome to our shop."

The girl was fifteen or sixteen years old, with a cultivation level of Qi Refining First Layer. She wore a pale blue Daoist robe.

She wore only light makeup. Her features were delicate and pleasing, neither coquettish nor seductive, and her lively eyes seemed almost able to speak.

Her smile was like a spring breeze brushing across the face, carrying an innate sense of intimacy.

Su Fan nodded and asked, "Do you buy Storage Bags?"

The female cultivator smiled and nodded.

"Fellow Daoist, this way, please..."

After a while, Su Fan walked out of the shop.

There were thirty-two spirit stones in his arms.

A Storage Bag from a shop cost fifty spirit stones if it was new.

But if it was sold for recycling, it was worth only thirty spirit stones. Take it or leave it.

Su Fan knew perfectly well that if the Storage Bag were refurbished and placed in the shop, it could still be sold for fifty spirit stones.

But what good did knowing that do? Everywhere else offered the same price, and larger shops would offer even less.

If he sold it at a Rogue Cultivator stall, he might get one or two more spirit stones, but he truly did not dare.

Thirty spirit stones were an enormous sum in the eyes of most Rogue Cultivators.

A person with spirit stones was still a weakling. Did he really expect those desperate outlaws to let him go?

There was no helping it. Being weak was the original sin.

To get a few more spirit stones, Su Fan haggled with the female cultivator for quite some time.

Fortunately, the girl was kind. She put in a good word for him with the shopkeeper, and that was how he managed to get two extra spirit stones.

She even enthusiastically saw Su Fan to the door, waving goodbye with a beaming smile.

He had walked a long way before he was still thinking about the girl's lively eyes, clear as a pool of pure water.

After selling the Storage Bag, Su Fan went to the "Myriad Treasures Tower."

It was the largest shop in Shaoyang Market Town. Supposedly, it had branches throughout the various prefectures of the Western Wilderness.

The goods inside were somewhat more expensive than those outside, but their quality was definitely the best.

When it came to life-saving items, he naturally could not be careless.

The talismans here were indeed expensive.

Five First-Order Mid-Grade Talismans cost him twenty-eight spirit stones.

One "Golden Blade Talisman" with formidable offensive power, and two "Flash Talismans" he planned to use to ambush people.

There were also two powerful Protective Talismans: a "Golden Shield Talisman" and an "Adamantine Talisman."

The Adamantine Talisman alone cost ten spirit stones.

It made Su Fan's heart ache so badly that it felt like blood was dripping from it.

Fortunately, the talismans from the Myriad Treasures Tower bore the shop's own seal.

Even if he ran short of money one day and wanted to sell them for spirit stones, he would not lose money.

After returning to the inn, Su Fan took off the black cloak and then went back to the market town.

With several talismans tucked into his chest, Su Fan felt more relaxed than ever before, and even his back straightened considerably.

He clasped his hands behind him and strolled leisurely through the market town.

Just then, he caught a faint, delicate fragrance.

He turned his head and saw a young female cultivator standing by the roadside.

The female cultivator wore a Goose Yellow Robe, and her appearance was merely above average.

Yet within her cool temperament was a trace of ethereal purity.

Her eyes were captivating, tranquil as autumn waters and pure and immaculate as Cold Jade.

The female cultivator glanced lightly at Su Fan before turning and entering the shop behind her.

Just before entering, she turned her head for one last look.

Her eyes were like a pool of clear water. As their misty ripples shifted, they brimmed with boundless allure.

Su Fan was dumbfounded. She was both pure and seductive—who the hell could withstand that?

He looked up and saw that the shop was called "Misty Rain Pavilion."

Only after quite some time did he realize what was going on. So she was a Female Bodhisattva.

The brothels of the Cultivation World were all this otherworldly and refined.

Su Fan gave a wry smile and turned to leave.

The demonic sect's "Joyful Union Path" and the immortal sect's "Harmonious Union Path" were both orthodox lineages with ancient inheritances.

The Great Dao had ten thousand paths, yet all roads led to the same destination.

When ordinary people sold seafood, they did it to make money. In the Cultivation World, people like that called it cultivating the Dao.

He would never go to a place like that. It was not just that he could not afford it—if he happened to encounter a Female Evil Cultivator who devoured one's marrow and sucked out one's essence, she could drain his cultivation dry in a single night.

He came to a stall selling books and squatted down to flip through them one by one.

The stall owner was an elderly cultivator with a head of white hair. He watched Su Fan with a chuckle.

"Fellow Daoist, let me help you take a look..."

Su Fan raised his head and glanced at him before saying with a smile, "Senior, do you have any sword techniques?"

"Of course! Today is your lucky day. I happen to have an ancient book I've treasured for many years..."

With that, he rummaged through a bundle beside him and took out an ancient book, handing it to Su Fan.

"Fellow Daoist, this Nine Extremes Consecutive Slashes isn't some Mortal World sword technique. It's a genuine Body Path Killing Sword Technique, a true Ancient Body Cultivation inheritance."

Su Fan took the book and flipped through it before looking up. "How much in Magic Coins?"

"Magic Coins... Fellow Daoist, this is a true Ancient Body Cultivation Inheritance. It has to be at least five spirit stones."

Before Su Fan could say anything, the stall owner beside him, who had been holding it in for a long time, suddenly burst out laughing.

"Senior, I only have fifty Magic Coins left. Will you sell it?"

The old man panicked at once and snatched the book from Su Fan's hands.

"Fellow Daoist, you should buy a Mortal World sword technique instead."

Su Fan did not indulge him. He stood up and left.

He had not gone two steps when the Old Cultivator called out, "Fellow Daoist, please wait..."

When he saw Su Fan turn around, he said with a chuckle, "Two spirit stones. I'll give you an opportunity."

The old man's words amused the stall owner beside him again.

Su Fan shook his head and turned to leave.

"Fellow Daoist, one spirit stone. Take it..."

"Add thirty Magic Coins..."

"Fellow Daoist, don't go! Hey... I'll sell it to you..."

Su Fan had already gone quite a distance, yet the Old Cultivator managed to shout him back.

But he still felt that he had paid too much just now.

So he added another ten Magic Coins and picked up an ancient Fist Technique as a bonus.

After Su Fan left, the old man glared fiercely at the stall owner beside him.

"What are you laughing at? If it weren't for you, I could have sold it for dozens more Magic Coins..."

The stall owner laughed heartily. "Do you take people for fools? With a lousy book like yours, I wouldn't want it even if you gave it to me for free."

The Old Cultivator had not lied. The two books really did come from an Ancient Body Cultivation inheritance.

In the ancient Cultivation World, Body Cultivators were as common as dogs.

They refined their bodies with dense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, nourished their physiques with all kinds of heavenly treasures and earthly treasures, and tempered their flesh as if it were a magic treasure.

When a great Body Cultivator tempered his body to the extreme, he could transform into heaven and earth, overturn mountains and seas, and wield the great divine ability of the Law Heaven and Earth form.

But that was the ancient era, when spiritual energy was incomparably abundant and all kinds of heavenly treasures and earthly treasures were readily available.

In today's Cultivation World, not to mention heavenly treasures and earthly treasures, even the concentration of spiritual energy could not compare. Even the few remaining Spirit Veins had been completely divided up by the various sects.

The Body Path had long since declined. Most of its inheritances had been severed, while some had been scattered among the various market towns.

Apart from a few Body Cultivators who had achieved something in body refinement, no one would buy an Ancient Body Cultivation inheritance like this.

The old man could only deceive ignorant low-level cultivators.

Of course, in ancient times, this Nine Extremes Consecutive Slashes had indeed been formidable.

But cultivators of the present day simply could not bring out the power of this sword technique.

Ancient Body Path inheritances were fierce and explosive, emphasizing charging forward without hesitation, advancing but never retreating.

For Rogue Cultivators, fighting in such a style was no different from courting death.

They might as well buy a sword technique from the Mortal World. It allowed for both offense and defense, and was much cheaper.

Body Cultivators were a joke in this world now.

But Su Fan did not know that. He had only just transmigrated and did not understand much about cultivation.

He had asked about the prices that morning. Mortal World sword techniques cost only thirty to fifty Magic Coins.

In Su Fan's eyes, this ancient sword manual looked far better than those shabby books from the Mortal World.

He had tentatively named a price, never expecting the old man to actually sell it. He had simply gone along with it and bought it.

In his eyes, all sword techniques were the same anyway.

Next, Su Fan went to the Spirit Rice Shop and bought two hundred pounds of spirit rice.

He also bought dozens of pounds of smoked Demonic Beast Meat from a nearby stall, along with some pickles, seasonings, and the like.

Su Fan deliberately bought a carrying pole, loaded the goods onto it, and left the market town.

After leaving the market town, he saw that no one was following him. Only then did he finally relax.

The sky had already cleared. It looked as though it had been washed with water.

Warm sunlight fell upon his body, making him feel incomparably comfortable.

He had returned with a full haul, and Su Fan was in a good mood.

He carried the pole and strode home excitedly, humming a song as he went.

A cool and aloof figure surfaced in his mind. It was the Female Bodhisattva he had encountered that day.

"She was such a lovely girl. How could she..."

Su Fan shook his head. Why had he suddenly thought of her?

If he were choosing a Dao companion, the girl from the shop would be the better match.

He could never forget the girl's clear eyes.

He could visit that shop a few more times in the future. Maybe affection would grow with time.

Then he thought of his ex-wife, the woman who had hurt him the most.

Why could he never forget that woman?

By the time he returned home, it was already afternoon. Ravenously hungry, Su Fan cooked a sumptuous meal.

A large bowl of heaping spirit rice, with several thick slices of smoked Demonic Beast Meat.

With richly flavored pickles on the side, he sprawled across the bed after finishing his meal.

Su Fan felt that his life was complete. He could die without regrets.

He was simply that useless. If life had not forced him otherwise, he could have lain flat until the day he died.

That was why his ex-wife looked down on him.

Why had he thought of that woman again?

He would cultivate. He had better forget that damned woman as soon as possible.