Fairy Enters My Embrace

Li Xiuchang happily acquired his first Flying Boat.

From then on, he was no longer a target for the "rent-a-boat drivers" trying to drum up business.

On the way back, Senior Brother Wang Long was still riding in Li Xiuchang's Flying Boat. However, even though it wasn't raining, he insisted on pulling the canopy over and squatting inside, which left Li Xiuchang quite puzzled.

The two flew leisurely towards the sect, chatting about their Smoked Spirit Meat business.

"Sales in the Outer Sect have been a bit sluggish lately. The last batch of spirit meat took two days to sell out. Fortunately, the reputation of Smoked Spirit Meat has now reached the Inner Sect, and I believe we'll be able to open up the Inner Sect market soon," Wang Long said.

Li Xiuchang had already anticipated this situation. The target audience for Smoked Spirit Meat was too small, and it was concentrated within the Immortal Dust Sect.

When they shipped in large quantities, the Outer Sect market quickly became saturated.

Even if they opened up the Inner Sect market, it would only last for a little while longer.

Inner Sect disciples were generally more financially well-off than Outer Sect disciples, and most of them lived the life of ascetic cultivators, either in seclusion for cultivation or out on missions to slay demons and monsters.

Therefore, Inner Sect disciples consumed Grain-Aversion Pills more quickly, and Smoked Spirit Meat definitely had a market in the Inner Sect.

However, the number of Inner Sect disciples was also much smaller than that of Outer Sect disciples, and the number of Qi Condensation Cultivators who needed Grain-Aversion Pills was even smaller.

So, the Inner Sect market wasn't large either and might become saturated soon.

Li Xiuchang said nonchalantly, "When sales in the Inner Sect also weaken, if we can't find new sales channels, our Smoked Spirit Meat jerky sales will definitely plummet. But it doesn't matter, we'll earn what we can. We're not expecting to live off this forever."

Wang Long nodded, "Later on, we might mainly rely on repeat customers. At that time, we'll directly reduce our production scale, or even stop production altogether, and stock up beforehand to sell slowly."

Neither of them expected to make Smoked Spirit Meat a long-term business; they just wanted to earn some Spirit Stones to get by.

Once their skills or cultivation improved later on, they might not even care about the small amount of Spirit Stones they were earning now.

Senior Brother Wang Long's goal was to become a Tier 2 Talisman Master, while Li Xiuchang wanted to use these Spirit Stones to help him break through to the Third Layer of Qi Condensation.

Once he reached the Third Layer of Qi Condensation and possessed Spiritual Sense, he would be able to perceive the Mana in his Dantian. Then, he could try to directly use "length" to increase his Mana and improve his cultivation.

If he succeeded, he would no longer need to spend time cultivating. He could just focus on practicing his skills and accumulating length, and his cultivation would soar.

Zhang Wanzhi finally returned after being away for more than half a month. He was carrying an old man and was followed by a burly, middle-aged man with a fierce face, who didn't look like a good person.

"This kid, tsk tsk..."

Zhang Wanzhi looked in the direction of Eastern Geng District, Number 18, unsure of what to say.

He had given Li Xiuchang fifty Spirit Stones back then, intending for Li Xiuchang to cultivate diligently and improve his cultivation quickly.

But upon his return, he discovered that Li Xiuchang had successfully started a business with that small amount of seed money.

"His special attribute Mana is quite interesting, and his cultivation hasn't fallen behind either; he's already at the Second Layer of Qi Condensation. It seems Old Gui's prediction was correct; there's something special about this kid," Zhang Wanzhi said with some joy.

He wasn't afraid of Li Xiuchang having problems; he was afraid of Li Xiuchang being too ordinary.

The more problems Li Xiuchang had, the more special and monstrous he was, the greater the hope he could bring them.

They had long been stuck in a dead end and were just waiting for an opportunity to break through.

Behind Zhang Wanzhi, the burly man with the fierce face said in a flat tone, "Still not fast enough. If he practiced demonic cultivation techniques, I could get him to Foundation Establishment within a year."

Zhang Wanzhi shook his head, "That's not necessary. Pulling up seedlings to help them grow isn't a good thing. We've waited so many years; there's no need to rush now."

He paused, then pointed to the crowd near Eastern Geng District, Number 18, "Old Mo, what should we do about these people?"

Under their maintenance, the Eastern Geng District had always maintained a quiet and peaceful environment. But now, with so many people busy around Li Xiuchang's residence, Zhang Wanzhi was a bit troubled.

There were ten fire tenders working busily inside and outside the courtyard, and dozens of people were flying in the sky collecting smoke, like flies.

The Eastern Geng District had never been this lively.

They were all people carrying secrets, and with so many eyes around, they felt uncomfortable speaking and acting.

The burly man, Old Mo, glanced over and said, "Create an accident and give him tens of thousands of Spirit Stones. This smoked meat doesn't earn much. When he sees that he can't earn much, he'll naturally stop working."

Zhang Wanzhi chuckled, "You don't know that kid's personality. He's as stubborn as Chen the Turtle. I had a hard time getting him to accept fifty Spirit Stones. Tens of thousands of Spirit Stones... he'd probably think someone wants to kill him... Let's find a way to get him to move those stoves elsewhere."

Old Mo thought for a moment and nodded, "Leave it to me."

Li Xiuchang didn't know when Zhang Wanzhi had left, nor when he had returned.

After returning from the market, he finished his tasks and entered the cultivation room again for secluded cultivation.

Time passed into the night.

For cultivators, there was no difference between day and night.

Especially with the Immortal Dust Sect's Guardian Array, which condensed moonlight, visibility was excellent even in the dead of night.

Inside and outside the courtyard, ten late Qi Condensation cultivators who served as fire tenders and Tier 1 Talisman Masters worked rhythmically. In the sky, over forty Qi Condensation cultivators were collecting smoke. No one stopped working or rested because it was dark.

Senior Brother Wang Long was in the quiet room of Li Xiuchang's house, diligently drawing talismans.

After working with those fire tenders for a long time, they had developed a tacit understanding. He didn't need to supervise them constantly, only checking on them occasionally.

Senior Brother Wang Long was also more financially comfortable now. Whenever he had free time recently, he practiced drawing Tier 2 Talismans, aiming to become a Tier 2 Talisman Master.

"Failure!"

Senior Brother Wang Long watched the talisman turn to ash in his hand and sighed.

"It's so quiet tonight."

He paused, then felt something was off. It was too quiet tonight... Were those guys slacking off?

He pushed open the door and walked out, the scene before him making him freeze in place.

The few fire tenders all had silly grins on their faces, their eyes unfocused, swaying back and forth in place, their arms still fumbling at the air in front of them.

Above them, the forty-plus people were the same. Only a few of the female disciples were slightly better off, but their faces were also filled with confusion, their minds clearly ensnared.

Wang Long's vision blurred. Suddenly, he saw a fairy of peerless beauty, as pure as jade, gracefully walking towards him. The fairy's clothes were disheveled, half-revealed, causing him to lose himself for a moment.

Wang Long didn't know what was happening to him. He lunged uncontrollably towards the fairy, who was clearly in trouble.

He grabbed the fairy, but when he turned his head, it wasn't a fairy at all!

It was just a skeleton with flesh and skin still clinging to it.

Ghosts!