Calamity Cultivator (Seeking Collection)

"Sigh... No Spirit Stones, and I came back empty-handed from a treasure mountain. How pathetic..."

After the exchange event ended, Fang Xi, Nine Profound Venerable, and Di Qi left the Marketplace together.

Nine Profound Venerable stroked his beard, sighing mournfully.

"To be fair, Lu Zhi's clearance sale had many good items, and they were at least ten to twenty percent cheaper than the Marketplace!"

Even Di Qi couldn't help but buy a few Talismans that Master Zong usually made.

Only he and Fang Xi were truly penniless and could only watch enviously.

"Sigh... What am I compared to him? Chen Ping, Fellow Daoist Chen, is truly amazing. He actually managed to inherit Master Zong's legacy!" Di Qi also sighed, a look of unwillingness on his face. "Master Zong's talisman-making skills are quite exquisite. I even suspect he received a second-tier inheritance... I wonder how much he'll reveal in his own notes?"

"That's impossible. How could a second-tier inheritance be worth two hundred Spirit Stones? Does he think Fellow Daoist Lu is an idiot?" Fang Xi chuckled wryly.

In his estimation, the jade slip notes contained the crafting methods for several top-tier first-grade Talismans, which was Lu Zhi treating him sincerely.

"That's true... But Fellow Daoist Chen still has a chance," Nine Profound Venerable said with a serious expression. "If he can marry Fellow Daoist Lu, wouldn't it be killing two birds with one stone? He'd win the beauty's heart and gain access to a true talisman master's secret hoard?"

"Haha! Let's hope so."

The three of them let out a knowing laugh that only men would understand.

The next day.

Fang Xi went down the mountain to buy food, then returned to the Great Liang World to feed the Taisui extensively before harvesting its meat.

After several days, he had accumulated nearly four hundred pounds of Taisui meat.

Hundred Skills Tower.

Bang!

Four hundred pounds of Demon Beast meat landed heavily on the ground, making the shopkeeper Qi Liu grin from ear to ear.

His honest business practices had finally paid off.

Look, this rogue cultivator had brought him the Demon Beast meat!

"Esteemed Fellow Daoist, it is truly the honor of our Hundred Skills Tower that you chose us. Ying Song, serve some tea!"

Shopkeeper Qi smiled kindly.

After all, the dozens of pounds of Demon Beast meat from before had been bought at a high price by a body cultivator, earning him a small profit.

"Please!"

Ying Song quickly brewed a cup of Spirit Tea, but Fang Xi merely raised his cup without drinking.

After all, when navigating the cultivation world, one had to be extra cautious, especially with anything consumed.

"The quality of this Demon Beast meat is the same as before. It should be from the same Demon Beast... Hmm?"

Qi Liu examined it and suddenly looked surprised. "Does this Demon Beast have no bones? Demon Beast bones are valuable things. The marrow can be used as an auxiliary material for alchemy, and the bone can be used for refining tools..."

"Shopkeeper has sharp eyes. This Demon Beast is indeed soft and boneless, very peculiar. Unfortunately, it's the only one..."

Fang Xi feigned a sigh, secretly vowing never to sell Taisui meat in this Marketplace again.

Anyway... after leaving Black Stone City, he could always hunt other Demon Beasts to sell.

The Demon Beasts in the Great Liang World were generally numerous and weak, making them excellent targets for grinding!

"This four hundred pounds of Demon Beast meat totals forty Spirit Stones. What do you say, Fellow Daoist?"

Qi Liu quickly calculated the weight and even rounded it up slightly for Fang Xi.

"The Shopkeeper is generous."

Fang Xi grinned. "But I'd like to purchase a Talisman. Does the Hundred Skills Tower have any?"

Compared to the Heavenly Talisman Hall and Pill Cauldron Pavilion, the Hundred Skills Tower was more like a general store, which was why he asked.

"Oh, what kind of Talisman are you looking for?" Qi Liu asked, somewhat surprised.

"Forbidden Breaking Talisman. A first-tier one will suffice," Fang Xi emphasized.

"A first-tier Forbidden Breaking Talisman?" Qi Liu thought for a moment, then smiled. "You're in luck, Fellow Daoist. Such Talismans are extremely rare. Our tower didn't have one originally, but a customer sold one yesterday. It's in good condition, and not much spiritual energy has leaked out. Please, take a look!"

He lightly patted his waist, and from a brocade pouch, he pulled out a wooden box that looked somewhat familiar to Fang Xi.

Upon opening it, a Forbidden Breaking Talisman, identical to the one from that day, appeared before Fang Xi.

Perhaps it really was Master Zong's collection, and that buyer resold it to the Hundred Skills Tower?

A thoughtful look flashed in Fang Xi's eyes.

But whether this Talisman was related to him or not, it didn't matter much.

After carefully inspecting it, Fang Xi asked the price. "It's good, indeed a top-tier first-grade Forbidden Breaking Talisman. How much is it?"

"Heh heh... This Forbidden Breaking Talisman would sell for at least thirty-five Spirit Stones at the Heavenly Talisman Hall. I won't charge you for the errand fee; you can just give me the original price."

Qi Liu took a sip of tea, speaking very sincerely.

But I clearly remember Lu Zhi selling this Talisman for thirty-one Spirit Stones... Oh well, there's nothing I can say about it.

Fang Xi maintained his aloof persona as a monster-hunting cultivator and nodded, "The shopkeeper is fair!"

Inside, however, he felt like spitting blood.

In just this one exchange, his savings from the past two years had gone up in smoke.

After Fang Xi left, Qi Liu rubbed his chin, somewhat displeased. "I misjudged... This kid might just be a low-level cultivator who got lucky. With his limited knowledge, he thought he could fool me? Hmph!"

Fang Xi was, after all, just a minor cultivator. Even with the memories of his previous life, his limited experience made some things difficult to conceal.

After chatting with Shopkeeper Qi for a few more sentences, his flaws were exposed.

"A few dozen Spirit Stones... forget it..."

Shopkeeper Qi sighed and slowly returned upstairs to meditate and drink tea...

Meanwhile, Ying Song, who had heard his sigh, rolled his eyes and went to the back courtyard of the shop. Holding a sound transmission talisman, he muttered to himself, "Sixth Uncle, Sixth Uncle... It's not that I don't listen to you, but a few dozen Spirit Stones are nothing to you, yet to me, it's a huge sum..."

His Magical Power surged, and the sound transmission talisman turned into a ball of fire, flying out and disappearing in an instant...

Fang Xi walked out of the Marketplace, habitually taking a roundabout route.

"Hmm, something's wrong?"

At this moment, his Heavenly Sight Earthly Hearing Skill detected something amiss. He quickly lay down, pressing his ear to the ground.

With True Energy bolstering his senses, he heard extremely faint vibrations from the ground.

"Behind me... someone is following... there should be two of them!"

He quickly changed direction and increased his speed.

But no matter which direction he changed to, the two behind him could still keep up. Moreover, the distance between them was actually closing. Clearly, after realizing something was wrong, they had also increased their speed.

Soon, two figures, one tall and one short, appeared in Fang Xi's vision.

'One at early Qi Refining, one at middle Qi Refining!'

Fang Xi sensed their undisguised spiritual energy and malice. He felt a slight sense of relief but outwardly asked with vigilance, "Who are you? Why are you following me?"

"Heh heh, brat, hand over all your valuables!"

The shorter Qi Refining early-stage cultivator, around thirty years old with a face full of freckles, sneered. He held several Talismans in his hand and was circling around to cut off Fang Xi's escape route.

"Bandits!"

Fang Xi's face turned extremely grim. With a flick of his hand, the Green Grain Sword rose against the wind, transforming into a green sword light that slashed towards the shorter cultivator.

"A Magic Tool! Big brother, save me!"

The shorter cultivator first slapped a Golden Light Shield Talisman onto himself. A layer of golden light immediately protected his entire body, and then he cried out in alarm.

"Haha... Such a shoddy Magic Tool, just as I thought, a paper tiger!"

Seeing the Green Rice Sword with nicks on its blade, the taller cultivator laughed instead of getting angry. He reached for a dull-looking small bag at his waist.

A pitch-black Ghost Head Saber Magic Tool appeared, transforming into a dark streak of light that entangled with the Green Grain Sword's green light, even easily suppressing it.

"Low-grade Magic Tool!"

Seeing this, Fang Xi's heart settled even more.

His Green Grain Sword was merely a defective product among Low-grade Magic Tools, so it was understandable that it was easily suppressed by the Ghost Head Saber.

"How... how did you find me?" he shouted in a feigned panic, fleeing in a desperate manner.

"Haha... Big brother, leave this kid to me. He's only at Qi Refining level three, very easy to kill."

The shorter cultivator was incredibly excited. His eyes fixed on Fang Xi as he chanted something, clearly casting a spell!

As the last syllable of the incantation fell, two bright yellow earth spikes formed in front of him.

"Go!"

The shorter cultivator pointed at Fang Xi, and the earth spikes shot out immediately.

Fang Xi rolled like a log, narrowly dodging them. His disheveled appearance made the shorter cultivator even more excited. "You have the 'Three-Day Incense' on you, you can't escape. Die!"

Before he finished speaking, another earth spike pierced Fang Xi's back.

"Ah!"

Fang Xi screamed and fell to the ground.

However, he seemed to have fled too carelessly, and his falling position was very close to the taller cultivator.

"You talk too much!"

The taller cultivator said to the shorter one and walked towards Fang Xi's 'corpse,' suddenly feeling something was wrong.

That sword-shaped Magic Tool, how could it still be entangled with the Ghost Head Saber without the owner's Magical Power support? It wasn't some kind of sentient artifact!

"Not good!"

After realizing this, the taller cultivator was about to retreat.

But it was too late!

Fang Xi, who had originally fallen to the ground, was pursuing him at a terrifying speed, appearing before him in the blink of an eye.

In a moment of urgency, the tall cultivator quickly tore open a Water Shield Talisman, causing a circle of water to envelop his entire body.

The next moment, Fang Xi's fist smashed into the water shield!

Splash!

The water shield showed a terrifying indentation but did not break; only its light dimmed considerably.

"A Body Refining Cultivator, and mid-stage at that!"

Upon seeing this, the tall cultivator's face immediately showed fear: "Fellow Daoist... a misunderstanding..."

"Primordial Chaos Energy!"

But Fang Xi no longer wanted to speak with him. He raised his right hand high, terrifying energy gathering at his fingertips, and brought it down fiercely upon the water shield!

Bang!

He used all his strength, the Primordial Chaos Energy carrying several types of force erupting violently upon the water shield, tearing it apart and revealing the tall cultivator behind it, his face filled with despair.

He still wanted to say something, but Fang Xi's finger had already pierced his throat.

Thump!

Fang Xi casually discarded the body of the tall rogue cultivator and looked at the short cultivator who was still pursuing: "Just now... you were having a good time hitting me?"