Li Xiuchang saw the mid-grade Spirit Stone, yet acted as though he hadn't, walking straight past it.
He was desperately short of Spirit Stones, and then one suddenly appeared on the road. Wasn't that far too much of a coincidence?
Could it be a trap?
Besides, the origins of this Spirit Stone couldn't stand up to scrutiny at all.
All cultivators used Storage Bags, but he'd never heard of anyone's Storage Bag developing a hole and dropping Spirit Stones out.
Even finding a Storage Bag filled with Spirit Stones would have been more believable than finding a single mid-grade Spirit Stone by itself.
Li Xiuchang had seen far too many schemes and calculations in all kinds of cultivation novels, so he easily thought of every possibility.
It wasn't that he wasn't tempted, but he repeatedly warned himself: I have to lie low. I have to be prudent!
People who couldn't control their greed often didn't survive past the first episode in those cultivation novels about the underworld.
Li Xiuchang didn't notice that someone was watching him from a corner.
Zhang Wanzhi watched Li Xiuchang pass by without looking to either side, his footsteps never pausing for even a moment. He chuckled softly.
"He's certainly a cautious sort, with a bit of Chen the Turtle's bearing. But in that case, how am I supposed to deliver the Spirit Stone into his hands?"
Zhang Wanzhi thought Li Xiuchang cultivated too slowly, so he had planned to sponsor him with some Spirit Stones and give him a faster start.
Who would have thought Li Xiuchang was so cautious that he would mistake the Spirit Stone for a trap and not even touch it?
While Zhang Wanzhi was pondering, Li Xiuchang had already returned to No. 18 in the Eastern Geng District.
His heart was far from calm. He still couldn't stop thinking about that mid-grade Spirit Stone.
If it's a trap aimed at me, then after seeing that I didn't take the bait, they should retrieve it. I'll go back later and see if the Spirit Stone is still there.
Li Xiuchang came up with a plan.
The mid-grade Spirit Stone had appeared not far from the entrance to the Eastern Geng District. Few people lived there, and passersby were rare. Besides, everyone else flew through the sky; Li Xiuchang was the only one who walked past on foot.
Therefore, the likelihood of it being discovered soon was low.
If it really disappeared, then it was highly likely to be a scheme aimed at him.
Still, Li Xiuchang felt that it probably wasn't aimed at him. After all, he was merely an ordinary disciple who had just entered the sect. He hadn't made enemies with anyone in the sect, so who would go to such trouble to deal with him?
Could it be that pockmarked Senior Brother, whose heart he'd pierced?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible... Li Xiuchang shook his head. A Tier 1 Talisman Master couldn't possibly produce a mid-grade Spirit Stone.
"Even if it is a trap, it should be aimed at the other four Senior Brothers in the Eastern Geng District."
An hour later, Li Xiuchang pretended to be unconcerned as he once again passed along the small road by the entrance to the Eastern Geng District.
That mid-grade Spirit Stone still lay there quietly.
"It seems unlikely that it's a trap aimed at me." Li Xiuchang speculated inwardly, but he still felt there was something wrong with the Spirit Stone and didn't pick it up.
After taking a roundabout route, he returned to his residence.
Zhang Wanzhi had watched the entire process. Somewhat smugly, he said, "I thought you really weren't tempted. Let's see how long you can endure."
Yet the next day, when Li Xiuchang passed by again, he still didn't pick up the Spirit Stone.
The third day and the fourth day were the same.
Li Xiuchang passed by only once a day, but simply refused to pick up that mid-grade Spirit Stone.
On the fifth day, it snowed in the Immortal Dust Sect.
The Immortal Dust Sect was located in the north of the Immortal Shade Realm, so snow was nothing unusual. More than a foot of snow covered the mid-grade Spirit Stone on the ground.
But Li Xiuchang braved the wind and snow and passed by again. Naturally and casually, he kicked aside the snow covering the Spirit Stone, yet still walked straight past, as though he hadn't noticed it at all.
Zhang Wanzhi, who had been observing from the shadows, finally couldn't hold it in any longer.
He had originally wanted to see how long Li Xiuchang could endure before picking up the Spirit Stone, but now he was the first to lose patience.
"I've wasted five days over a lousy Spirit Stone!"
"You brat, you really know how to lie low!"
"You and Chen the Turtle would definitely get along. You're practically two turtles sharing the same shell!"
After cursing and grumbling to vent his emotions, he finally took a deep breath and decided not to wait any longer. He would take matters into his own hands.
Li Xiuchang trudged through the snow, one foot sinking deep and the other shallow, when a voice suddenly came from behind and called out to him.
"Junior Brother Li!"
The moment Li Xiuchang heard the voice, he knew it was Zhang Wanzhi. At the same time, his heart gave a thump, and his thoughts became tangled.
At such a close distance, Li Xiuchang knew Zhang Wanzhi would certainly notice that mid-grade Spirit Stone.
He had kept watch over the Spirit Stone for several days because he wanted to wait a few more days. If nothing unusual happened, he would put it in his pocket.
But now that Zhang Wanzhi had seen it, his plan was disrupted.
For a moment, he was both reluctant to give up that mid-grade Spirit Stone and worried that Zhang Wanzhi would fall into a trap by picking it up, bringing danger upon himself.
Sure enough, Zhang Wanzhi exclaimed in surprise, "What's this?"
Zhang Wanzhi moved extremely quickly—or perhaps he had lost patience and couldn't be bothered to keep acting. Before Li Xiuchang could warn him, Zhang Wanzhi had already picked up the mid-grade Spirit Stone.
"I actually found a mid-grade Spirit Stone! Junior Brother Li, did you drop it?"
Zhang Wanzhi's acting was somewhat exaggerated, but countless thoughts swept through Li Xiuchang's mind in an instant, so he didn't notice.
He shook his head to indicate that he hadn't dropped it, then appropriately showed a trace of frustration, as though regretting that he hadn't noticed it himself.
This wasn't entirely an act, either. Seeing Zhang Wanzhi pick up the Spirit Stone and apparently suffer no ill effects, it would have been a lie to say Li Xiuchang felt no regret at all.
Even so, he generously congratulated Zhang Wanzhi.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Wanzhi laughed boldly. "Finders keepers. We'll split it half and half."
With that, he took fifty low-grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag and stuffed them into Li Xiuchang's hands.
Li Xiuchang was stunned for a moment, but ultimately didn't refuse. For one thing, he truly needed Spirit Stones. For another, these were Spirit Stones Zhang Wanzhi had given him. Even if the mid-grade Spirit Stone still concealed some sort of danger, it no longer had anything to do with him.
Senior Brother Zhang really is generous... Li Xiuchang was completely satisfied with this outcome.
Although he had ultimately received only half the spoils, he didn't have to bear any risk.
Having finally gotten Li Xiuchang to accept the fifty Spirit Stones, Zhang Wanzhi felt somewhat exhausted. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he left.
"After wasting five days to get this done, I should be on my way. Hopefully, when I return, this brat will have made some progress."
Zhang Wanzhi shook his head and was just about to leave on his sword when he suddenly thought of something and rushed into No. 8 in the Eastern Geng District.
Before long, he emerged carrying Old Gui's physical body.
"I'll take his physical body along too. When his Primordial Spirit returns to its body, it'll happen to land right in my hands."
A smug smile appeared on Zhang Wanzhi's face. With a flying sword beneath his feet and the old man dangling from his hand, he transformed into a streak of escaping light and vanished.
At that moment, Li Xiuchang was carrying more than fifty Spirit Stones and was in excellent spirits. Humming a little tune all the way, he returned to his residence.
Although he had gone to inspect that mid-grade Spirit Stone once every day for the past five days, he hadn't neglected his practice of the basics of Spirit Chef Arts.
By now, he had initially mastered some methods for processing spiritual ingredients.
As expected, practicing Spirit Chef Arts really could increase his Length Value, and the rate of increase was far faster than practicing martial arts!
Before you continue