Hidden Dangers

A sleepless night.

The next morning, Chen Lin got up early to prepare for a trip to the Market to buy materials, but before he could even leave, someone knocked on his door.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, it's me, Zhao Zhengyuan."

What does he want now?

Chen Lin was a bit puzzled, but still walked over and opened the door.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao, what business do you have so early?"

The door opened, and Chen Lin invited him inside.

"Ah, don't even mention it. I drank too hard last night and actually forgot the important matter."

Zhao Zhengyuan shook the snow off his hat and said in a deep voice, "It's about the time we were possessed by that Evil Spirit."

Then he immediately gave a sidelong, cold smirk and added, "But don't worry, if something comes up, this Zhao will handle it. In this Kaiyuan City, there's nothing this Zhao can't handle!"

Chen Lin returned the sidelong, cold smirk in kind, then lowered his head and said nothing.

The worry that had been lodged in his heart surfaced in his mind.

The original owner's death was not a natural one.

A month ago, the original owner and a few companions went to the Wilderness to gather materials. After returning, he became dazed and confused, then died inexplicably—and Chen Lin transmigrated into his body.

Of course, to outsiders, he just seemed sick for a few days before recovering as if nothing had happened.

But those companions who went with him all died one after another, leaving only this Zhao Zhengyuan in front of him.

So in truth, only this man had survived, which was why Chen Lin was on guard against him.

As for the sidelong smirks and the Fine Lines, he had long since ignored them. Everyone in the city was the same; there was no way to guard against them all.

Except at midnight, when the Red Thread appeared and he dared not come out, he just lived in this world as if it were normal.

"What, have you found something?"

Chen Lin also wanted to know what had really happened back then, and looked at the other man with a probing gaze.

The shift to a sidelong, cold smirk was only momentary; now Zhao Zhengyuan had returned to normal. He shook his head and said, "It's not that I've found something, but that someone else has run into trouble—in the exact same state we were in back then!"

"What?"

Chen Lin was startled.

"Someone else has run into trouble? Who, and what cultivation level?"

Zhao Zhengyuan's expression turned grim. "This time, there are quite a few—over a dozen. The highest is at Late Qi Refining, and among them are cultivators from the Five Great Families."

Then, he immediately gave another sidelong, cold smirk and said, "The Five Great Families are nothing. With Old Zhao here, you can rest easy!"

"So many people, and even members of the Five Great Families?"

Chen Lin's face darkened.

The Five Great Families referred to the five clans in the city that had Foundation Establishment Cultivators—the true rulers of this city.

If even their people had run into trouble, things were far more serious.

"That's right. And these people also fell ill after returning from the Wilderness. If they all die, the two of us will probably face an investigation."

Zhao Zhengyuan's tone was heavy.

This was exactly what Chen Lin had been worried about.

The people who had died before were all Rogue Cultivators at Early Qi Refining Stage—no one cared whether they lived or died.

But now that a Late Qi Refining cultivator had been affected, along with clan cultivators, it would definitely draw attention. An investigation was likely unavoidable.

He wasn't afraid of anything else, but he was terrified that his identity as a transmigrator might be uncovered, or that the fact he was different from the people here would be exposed—that would be the end.

Even though the cultivators here were all Puppets, they still acted according to normal routines. Even if he was somewhat special, he was still just a low-level laborer cultivator.

"Let them investigate. Is it a crime not to die?"

Though his heart was uneasy, Chen Lin put on a nonchalant air.

Zhao Zhengyuan sighed. "That's easy to say, but I'm afraid some people will take a trifle and make a big deal of it, deliberately making things difficult. Then we'll have to fork over a pile of spirit stones."

Chen Lin's expression also darkened.

This was almost a certainty.

At ordinary times, those administrators would skin them alive if they could. If they used the excuse of investigating the Evil Spirit, they wouldn't stop until they had drained them dry.

Without spirit stones, he couldn't quickly raise his cultivation, and his escape plan would be thrown off.

"Then what do you plan to do? Leave this place?"

Chen Lin looked at the other man and probed cautiously.

If he could organize a group to leave together, even if their cultivation was weak, there might still be a sliver of hope.

He didn't want to stay in this eerie place for even a moment longer.

But to his surprise, Zhao Zhengyuan shook his head repeatedly.

"Leave? Are you joking? This snow is falling far too abnormally—I have no desire to go outside the city and court death. Besides, we haven't done anything wrong. If we run, they'll think we're guilty. That's just asking for trouble."

Then his demeanor shifted, and he gave a sidelong sneer. "Do you take me, Zhao Zhengyuan, for some mangy cur that would flee with its tail between its legs?"

Chen Lin had no choice but to nod.

The other man couldn't sense the abnormality here; his thinking could never align with Chen Lin's. Their goals simply couldn't converge.

"Ah well, I'll take it one step at a time. If it's a blessing, it's a blessing; if it's a calamity, there's no dodging it. In the end, I'll have to part with some money to ward off disaster. What can we do? We're low in cultivation and have no backing."

Chen Lin shrugged.

Zhao Zhengyuan wore an expression of deep agreement.

The two discussed it a while longer but couldn't come up with any good solution. They could only pray that this time, as many of the people caught up in the incident as possible would survive—ideally, not a single one would die.

If that happened, it would mean the problem wasn't too serious, and it wouldn't stir up the Five Great Families.

After all, their Foundation Establishment experts had all gone missing; they probably had no leisure to bother with such trivial matters now.

After Zhao Zhengyuan left, Chen Lin sat on a stool, frowning in thought.

Relying on others was truly unwise. He had to raise his cultivation quickly.

Early Qi Refining Stage was far too weak—not even a match for a skilled martial artist. To cast spells, he still had to rely on talismans.

Once he reached Qi Refining Mid-stage, he could not only cultivate spells but also use Magic Artifacts. Only then would he count as a true cultivator.

With some means of self-preservation, he would leave this eerie city as soon as possible. He had no desire to spend every day surrounded by people who sneered sidelong at him.

He thought for a while.

Then he got up, left the room, and braved the snow straight for the Market.

The streets were cold and empty. Occasionally a few figures appeared, but they all hurried past with an air of "keep away."

Chen Lin paid them no mind and soon arrived at the Market.

He came to the small market in the shantytown district of the outer northern city, not the Inner City.

Because of the abnormal heavy snow and the disappearance of the Five Great Families' Foundation Establishment cultivators, the Inner City had been locked down. Getting in would be troublesome.

"Market" was a generous term—it was really just a crude little alley with a few shops.

Before the snow, some Rogue Cultivators would set up stalls outside, but now not a single person could be seen.

Familiar with the route, he walked up to a shop door and pushed it open.

"Oh, if it isn't our Grand Talisman Master Chen! Come to sell more Great Strength Talismans?"

A gaunt, pockmarked middle-aged man spotted Chen Lin entering and immediately greeted him with a sidelong sneer and a teasing tone.

His attitude wasn't warm; he didn't even bother to get up from his chair.

Chen Lin came here almost every so often to sell Great Strength Talismans, so he was quite familiar with this Shopkeeper.

As for the sidelong sneers and the arrogant smirk, he had long since stopped paying them any mind—he just treated it as normal behavior.

Knowing the man's sharp tongue, Chen Lin didn't take offense. He gave a sidelong sneer of his own, then pulled out a Fireball Talisman and waved it in front of the other man. "Zhang Mazi, open your beady little eyes and take a look. Didn't you say I'd never refine a single first-grade mid-rank talisman in my whole life?"

"What?! You actually succeeded?!"

Seeing the Fireball Talisman, the man jumped up from his chair.

With an expression of disbelief, he took the talisman and examined it carefully for a long moment before setting it on the counter with a look of astonishment.

"Impossible! With your garbage chicken-scratch talisman-drawing technique, you actually managed to make a Fireball Talisman? There's no justice in this world!"

Chen Lin feigned anger at the remark.

"What do you mean, 'garbage technique'? My talisman-crafting skill has a proper lineage! How dare you call it garbage? Are you buying or not? If not, I'll take it next door to Duobao Pavilion!"

"I'll buy, I'll buy! Don't get angry. Duobao Pavilion could never offer you a price as good as mine."

The Shopkeeper forced a smile and repeatedly apologized.

But the moment he turned around, he shot Chen Lin a sidelong sneer. "A mere little Rogue Cultivator dares to threaten me? Go next door and try it—I'll beat the crap out of you!"

Chen Lin kept telling himself that these people were all sick. Suppressing his irritation, he asked, "How many spirit stones can you give me?"

The Shopkeeper didn't answer right away. Instead, he picked up the talisman again and examined it closely.

After a long while, he exclaimed in admiration, "Not only did you manage to refine a Fireball Talisman, but its quality has reached perfection! Could it be that you really are a talisman-crafting genius?"

Chen Lin knew that this talisman he had made was indeed perfect—after all, it was the product of his Talent Ability. That was why he had some expectations.

For an ordinary Fireball Talisman, the purchase price was standard—around seven or eight Low-grade Spirit Stones.

"Why are you being so long-winded? Just tell me how many spirit stones you can give."

Chen Lin urged again.

The Shopkeeper stopped beating around the bush. After thinking for a moment, he held up one finger.

"Ten spirit stones?"

Chen Lin frowned.

"That's right. With the recent bad situation, talisman prices have gone up a bit. The usual purchase price for a Fireball Talisman is around eight spirit stones. Yours has excellent quality, and you're a regular customer, so I can give you ten."

The Shopkeeper nodded, a cold sneer curling on his face, as if he were doing Chen Lin a favor.

Chen Lin was somewhat dissatisfied.

Ten spirit stones left hardly any profit.

After all, he could only rely on his Talent Ability to refine them now, succeeding once out of ten tries.

"Can you add a bit more? I'm not just making this one sheet—there'll be plenty more in the future?"

Chen Lin looked at the Shopkeeper's pockmarked face and began to haggle.

Every extra stone he could squeeze out counted; otherwise, it would take who knows how long to save up enough for ten batches of alchemy materials.

Hearing Chen Lin's words, the notoriously sharp-tongued Zhang Mazi surprisingly didn't refuse outright or sneer back.

There was hope!

Chen Lin's eyes lit up.

His anticipation grew even stronger.