Struck it rich!

Next, the others underwent the inspection one by one.

The soul-testing bead, a magical tool, flickered about as brightly for each of them as it had for the Cyan-Robed Old Man. They had all used the secret art once.

Soon, everyone had been tested except Chen Lin.

Lu Li's expression had grown utterly grim.

A murderous gleam filled his eyes, as though he might erupt and kill someone at any moment.

The atmosphere grew especially tense.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Lin noticed that several talisman masters had slipped their hands inside their robes, presumably gripping their magical tools.

A few others had formed dharma seals with their hands, ready to cast spells at any moment.

In short, none of them wanted to sit and wait for death.

With Lu Li's keen perception, there was no way he could have missed this, yet he remained utterly unconcerned. Clearly, he thought nothing of their strength.

Seeing Lu Li direct the bead toward him for the test, Chen Lin hurriedly pulled the successfully crafted Soul-Detaining Talisman from inside his robe.

"Fortunately, I haven't failed your trust. I managed one success through sheer luck, though I don't know whether it meets your requirements, Fellow Daoist Lu."

With that, he handed over the talisman.

He did not dare let Lu Li inspect him. If the test revealed that he had never used the secret art, it would be difficult to explain.

"Ah?"

Lu Li cried out involuntarily.

He had long since abandoned hope and had only been wondering whether, once the inspections were complete, he should gather another batch of materials and make these people try again.

But he also knew that, since this attempt had failed, even several more attempts would probably accomplish nothing.

After all, the talisman masters he had found were rogue cultivators with fairly low cultivation, and their skills were hardly likely to be exquisite. Yet he could not easily force the talisman masters of the great lineages to help, nor did he have enough bargaining chips to tempt them with profit.

Who would have thought that, just as his hope was about to shatter, this last talisman master, merely at the second layer of Qi Refining, would actually produce a finished talisman!

Lu Li snatched it and held it before his eyes to inspect it.

Then he burst into delighted laughter.

"Hahaha! Excellent, excellent! You truly can't judge a person by their appearance. I never imagined your talismancrafting skills would be so exquisite, fellow Daoist. You've given me quite a pleasant surprise. May I ask your name?"

Lu Li put the talisman away in satisfaction, and his tone turned friendly.

The tense atmosphere in the hall eased.

The others stood stunned for a moment before offering their congratulations one after another.

Now that the talisman had been crafted, they no longer had to worry about Lu Li killing them to vent his anger, so their happiness was genuine.

Chen Lin cupped his hands, showing not the slightest trace of pride. "I am Wang Tiuniu, merely a low-ranking talisman master who has only just learned the basics. Producing this talisman was truly a stroke of luck."

"Heh, no need to be so modest. Luck is part of strength, too."

Lu Li wore a broad smile, looking like a completely different man from before.

Then he beckoned to his cousin, who had remained silent throughout. She brought over a cloth bag and set it heavily on the table in front of him with a thud.

"These are fifty medium-grade spirit stones. I, Lu, keep my word. Since you crafted the talisman, Fellow Daoist Wang, your payment won't be short by so much as a fraction!"

Fifty medium-grade spirit stones!

Chen Lin's breathing grew heavy.

He had never expected Lu Li to actually keep his promise and pay him.

Nor was he alone. The others' eyes gleamed as well, fixed unblinkingly on the bag of spirit stones.

This jolted Chen Lin awake.

If he walked out carrying these spirit stones, he probably would not get far before someone murdered him for his wealth.

With his cultivation at the second layer of Qi Refining, he could not defeat a single person here.

But giving up these spirit stones was equally impossible.

At that thought, he took the heavy bag of spirit stones without standing on ceremony, then said to Lu Li, "Fellow Daoist Lu, may I take my leave first?"

Lu Li gave him a knowing half-smile and nodded. "Of course. Take care, Fellow Daoist Wang."

With permission granted, Chen Lin felt a little of the tension leave his heart. Carrying the bag of spirit stones, he walked out of the inn without looking back.

He hurried along under cover of darkness.

He could not be certain how long Lu Li would keep the other talisman masters there, so he pushed himself as hard as he could, sending snow flying in all directions as he plowed through it.

Soon, he reached the place where he had changed clothes and disguised himself earlier. He looked around, and after confirming that no one was nearby, burrowed into a snowbank.

Before long, a young woman in a white dress emerged.

The woman's face was somewhat pale, and snowflakes still clung to his hair.

He warily surveyed his surroundings, then adjusted the bundle slung over his shoulder and hurried along a narrow path trampled through the snow.

After winding through numerous turns, he stopped outside the gate of a dilapidated courtyard.

He looked back once more to check. After making sure he had not been followed, he pushed the gate open, slipped inside, and closed it behind him.

High in the air a short distance away, Lu Li and his cousin appeared out of thin air, hovering silently.

Lu Li raised his sharp brows slightly and studied the courtyard gate with interest. "To think it was actually a woman. Her disguise technique is quite good, and she's cautious enough, too."

"Cousin, should we capture her and bring her back?"

Seeing that her cousin had made no move, Lan Yuqing asked in puzzlement.

"Why would we capture her? A mere fifty medium-grade spirit stones aren't enough to make me break my word. I just wanted to establish where this person lives and who she is. She might prove useful again someday."

Lu Li replied with a sidelong glance and a cold smile.

Lan Yuqing nodded and said nothing more.

Her cousin was rather arrogant, but he always kept his word. That was one of the reasons she liked him.

"All right, let's head back. We'll leave the city first thing tomorrow morning, so get some rest while you can."

Lu Li glanced at the courtyard, then controlled his magical tool and departed side by side with Lan Yuqing.

Not long after the two had gone, the snowbank beneath the courtyard's rear wall suddenly trembled, and a figure crawled out.

It was none other than Chen Lin.

He had not noticed Lu Li and his cousin spying on him. He merely looked around out of caution, then circulated his mana and swiftly departed.

This time, there were no further complications. He made his way back to his own lodging, quietly opened the door, and slipped inside.

After bolting the door and taking some time to calm himself, Chen Lin removed his outer robe and took the bag of spirit stones from his waist.

He gently stroked it, then untied the opening and poured out all the spirit stones inside.

They spilled out with a clatter.

A glittering spread covered the tabletop.

Chen Lin felt wave after wave of dizzy enchantment, and his breathing grew heavy again. He picked up one stone after another until he had handled every last one.

This time, he really had struck it rich!

One medium-grade spirit stone was worth a hundred low-grade spirit stones. Fifty meant five thousand low-grade spirit stones!

A fortune!

Only after nearly an hour of excitement did Chen Lin finally calm down. He put away the spirit stones and considered how to spend them.

At the same time, he went back over whether anyone might have followed him earlier.

He felt that, given Lu Li's status, the man probably would not secretly tail him over these spirit stones. Otherwise, there would have been no reason to let him go, much less allow him to leave before the others.

Still, his habitual caution had driven him to change identities twice in succession and even use one of the hideouts he had prepared earlier.

He had secretly rented that dilapidated courtyard a month ago while posing as a woman. He had never used it, keeping it as a place to hide if he encountered danger. This time, to leave no loose ends, he had used it after all.

But Chen Lin felt it was worth it.

He was far too weak at present. When it came to his safety, no amount of caution was excessive.

That night, after observing Red Lines Fill the Sky once more, Chen Lin could not fall asleep no matter what he tried, so he simply got up to meditate and cultivate.

With his pockets full, he indulged himself by using a medium-grade spirit stone. The results were indeed much faster than ordinary cultivation, but the energy was impure and lacked sufficient explosive force to let him break through.

Early the next morning, Chen Lin washed up and went to the Multitreasure Pavilion.

After buying ten sets of pill-refining ingredients and a basic Pill Cauldron, he hurried back.

Once home, he hung a "Do not disturb" sign outside the door and began attempting pill refining.