Life's Disappointments and Hardships

Chen Qing leaned back on the lounge chair in the shop, looking quite relaxed.

This female cultivator with a plain appearance smiled upon seeing Chen Ganliu return. "You've made this little shop so comfortable. If you hadn't come back, I was about to take over and relax for a while longer. Why rush to find me?"

Cultivators who have been in Suiyang Immortal Market for a long time are actually quite poor and don't have much prospect for advancement. If they don't lack cultivation resources, and still have some ambition, who would waste their time here?

Chen Qing usually worried about business, but she also had other concerns. It was rare for her to feel so relaxed. It was here with Chen Ganliu that his wooden house was designed in the style of an esports room from Earth, giving people a sense of clear breeze and bright moon, a feeling of returning to youth, making her feel happier than in her own place.

Although Chen Ganliu looked young, he had lived three lives and carried himself with maturity. None of the cultivators in Suiyang Immortal Market treated him as a child; they only saw him as an old man who had maintained his youthful appearance. He chuckled and said, "Fairy Chen never visits the Three Treasures Hall without a reason. You must have something else you're looking for me for."

Chen Qing hesitated for a moment and said, "You know, cultivators like us with very low cultivation have a difficult time with business on a daily basis. If we start competing with each other, I'm afraid our lives will become even harder."

Chen Ganliu suddenly understood and said, "The Jade Talismans I'm refining are for my own use."

Seeing the slight hesitation on Chen Qing's face, he knew she didn't quite believe him. He took out two pieces of raw material and said, "The Green Jade Stone I bought yielded three pieces of material. One is being used to refine an Illusionary Technique Jade Talisman to replace my original crude wooden staff. If you're interested in the other two pieces, Sister Chen, I can sell them to you."

Chen Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief. Her business selling low-end Magic Treasures was already difficult. If another competitor appeared, her life would be even harder, which was why she had come to ask.

If Chen Ganliu insisted on going into the business of low-end Magic Treasures, she would try her luck in another Immortal Market.

Chen Ganliu's willingness to sell the extra Jade Talisman material clearly indicated that he had no intention of becoming her competitor, which put the female cultivator's mind at ease.

Chen Qing examined the materials back and forth a few times and said, "I've also been paying attention to Ling Xiaozi's Green Jade Stone for a long time. I always thought it wouldn't yield good quality material, but I didn't expect you to have such good luck and get a small bargain."

"Sister, you want to buy it, but unfortunately, I don't have any spare Talisman Coins."

Although Chen Qing's business wasn't good, over the years she had accumulated some savings, enough to buy these two pieces of material. However, she was kind-hearted and didn't want to push things too far, so she had said that indirectly.

Chen Ganliu's heart stirred slightly, and he said, "Sister Chen, why don't you give me one of your Green Jade Stones in exchange for these two finished pieces of material?"

Seeing the slight surprise on Chen Qing's face, he quickly explained, "I want to refine a protective Jade Talisman, but as Sister Chen can see, these two pieces of material are ordinary, and the one I have isn't much better."

"If I could exchange it for a Green Jade Stone, I'd like to try my luck again."

Chen Qing suddenly understood. Chen Ganliu wanted to refine a Magic Treasure for himself, so naturally, he wanted it to be as refined as possible.

After all, a cultivator's protective Magic Treasure is often used for decades, even hundreds of years. If the foundation is too poor, it needs to be replaced once their cultivation increases slightly, making all previous efforts in vain, which would be a great pity.

Although Chen Qing didn't know if this guy who looked like a child had any chance of further cultivation progress, since he was striving for improvement, no one could say he was wrong. She replied, "I do have a Green Jade Stone, and I also wanted to refine a Jade Talisman, but I never had the courage to break it open."

"Since Fellow Daoist Chen wants it, I won't take advantage of you. I'll also give you an extra piece of Hundred Refined Fine Iron."

The two reached an agreement, and both were in good spirits. Chen Ganliu invited the female cultivator to stay longer, but Chen Qing politely declined. She left with the two pieces of jade material, and within moments, brought over a Green Jade Stone and a piece of Hundred Refined Fine Iron.

From this detail, Chen Ganliu deduced that Chen Qing's storage Magic Treasure probably didn't have a large capacity, which was why she hadn't carried these two heavy items with her.

Although he was curious where Chen Qing hid these two heavy objects, he wasn't the type to pry into others' private affairs. He accepted the items, watched Chen Qing hurry away, and smiled inwardly, suddenly feeling invigorated.

Although he didn't believe that the Green Jade Stone containing the White Emperor's Legacy would be in Chen Qing's hands, having an extra chance was always a happy thing.

Chen Ganliu specifically opened his shop for three days before taking the time to cut open Chen Qing's Green Jade Stone.

This time, his luck was terrible, yielding only two inferior pieces of material, a small loss.

Although Chen Ganliu wasn't present, he still wanted to mitigate some of the losses. After pondering for half a day, he decided to use a Fire Talisman for refinement.

The Fire Talisman was originally an offensive spell. These two inferior quality Jade Talismans couldn't withstand powerful magic. He couldn't refine an offensive Jade Talisman like a pure Fire Talisman, and even if he forced it, the power would be weak. Chen Ganliu changed his approach, focusing on the light attribute of fire to refine two Blazing Fire Talismans.

Blazing Fire Talismans were more powerful than pure Fire Talismans and had the effect of warding off evil. They were high-end Jade Talismans. These two inferior materials couldn't even be used to refine pure Fire Talismans, let alone withstand Blazing Fire Talismans. However, Chen Ganliu abandoned the offensive aspect and reduced the evil-warding effect, repurposing them for illumination. When activated, they would fill the room with dazzling light.

He even specifically adjusted the spectrum. Although there would be significant errors judging purely by eye without the corresponding equipment, they were much more comfortable for the eyes than candlelight or oil lamps.

Daoist Wu Chang and Chen Qing knew that Chen Ganliu had refined two Jade Talismans using Blazing Fire Talismans that could only be used for illumination. Both were greatly dismissive, but they agreed to help him sell them on consignment, each taking one as a favor.

Just as Daoist Wu Chang and Chen Qing predicted, no one showed any interest in these two Jade Talismans. Chen Ganliu was disappointed but helpless.

Several months passed in a flash, and it was time for the small market again.

The originally deserted Suiyang Immortal Market gradually became more crowded with cultivators. These cultivators set up stalls, displaying a dazzling array of marvelous immortal items, which also improved the business for long-term Rogue Cultivators like Chen Ganliu.

The Talismans Chen Ganliu had accumulated during this period sold out in just two days. With no business to do, he had to retrieve the two Blazing Fire Jade Talismans to serve as shop displays.

However, even though Suiyang Immortal Market was becoming more popular, his two Jade Talismans, purely for illumination, still attracted no attention. He had to resort to selling herbal tea and dried fruit, but business remained slow.

In his previous life, although Chen Ganliu often visited Immortal Markets, he had never properly engaged in business. After selling herbal tea and dried fruit for two or three days, he finally realized that Earth was filled with restaurants, coffee shops, bubble tea shops, fruit stores, pastry shops, baozi stalls...

This was a world of cultivation. How would cultivators dare to casually eat food from strangers?

What if they were cursed with witchcraft, poison, or forbidden arts, and were controlled for the rest of their lives, never able to break free? Who would dare to eat food from strangers for the mere pleasure of their taste buds?

By the time Chen Ganliu realized this, the small market was nearing its end, and it would disperse in two or three days. He could only helplessly blame himself for his lack of business acumen.

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