Fire Cloud Armor

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Shen Long walked out of the Martial Practice Garden and headed down the mountain, happening to run into Xu Lei and Sun Yang.

Xu Lei's face was pale and his aura was withered, looking as if he had suffered a severe blow to his vitality.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, Fellow Daoist Sun, you've returned. Where are the others?"

Shen Long asked curiously.

"Xu Wen and Xu Wu were killed. It was only thanks to Fairy Ye activating a Tier 2 talisman that we were able to survive."

Xu Lei sighed, his tone weak.

The Tier 2 demonic bird had wiped out Xu Wen and Xu Wu in a single encounter; if Ye Yuqing hadn't activated a Tier 2 talisman to trap the beast, none of them would have survived.

"What about Fairy Ye and the others?"

Shen Long continued to ask.

"I'm not sure. After she used the Tier 2 talisman to trap the beast, we scattered to save our lives. I ran into several Tier 1 demonic beasts while fleeing and was severely injured, but fortunately, I survived."

Xu Lei said. Everyone had scattered to escape; Sun Yang had come out unscathed, yet he himself had been left with heavy injuries.

After chatting for a few moments, Xu Lei and Sun Yang took their leave, and Shen Long continued walking down the mountain.

Not long after, he arrived at the plaza where rogue cultivators set up stalls, walking around to browse.

"Fairy Ye, you're safe. That's wonderful."

Shen Long saw Ye Yutang and Ye Yuqing; they were safe and sound, without a scratch on them.

If they hadn't set up formations to hunt the demonic beasts, their efficiency wouldn't have been so high.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, have Fellow Daoist Xu and the others returned?"

Ye Yutang asked.

"Fellow Daoist Xu and Fellow Daoist Sun have returned, but Fellow Daoist Xu is severely injured. What about Fellow Daoist Qin?"

Shen Long answered truthfully.

"We scattered to escape and weren't with him, so we don't know his situation."

Ye Yuqing explained.

Shen Long realized the situation. After chatting for a few more sentences, Ye Yuqing and Ye Yutang departed.

He strolled around the plaza once more, but finding nothing of interest, he returned to his residence to cultivate.

Just like that, Shen Long returned to his old routine: cultivating, practicing spells, and wandering the plaza—a simple, repetitive life.

A month passed quickly. Shen Long sat cross-legged on his stone bed, eyes slightly closed, his body enveloped in a layer of blue radiance.

After a while, a sound transmission talisman flew in and hovered before Shen Long.

Seeming to sense something, Shen Long quickly ended his cultivation and opened his eyes.

He grabbed the talisman and crushed it, and the voice of Sun Yiyue rang out: "Fellow Daoist Shen, are you there?"

Shen Long opened the door and saw Sun Yiyue standing at the entrance, saying with a smile: "Fairy Sun, why have you come over? You could have just sent someone."

"My father asked me to bring these things to you. Is it convenient to go inside and talk?"

Sun Yiyue said politely.

Shen Long nodded and invited Sun Yiyue inside.

Sun Yiyue's gaze swept across the room, easily taking in the entire layout.

Her brow furrowed—not out of disdain for the poor conditions, but out of surprise that Shen Long lived in such a harsh environment. Even after resigning, he still sent Sun Huowang a jug of spirit wine every year; such gratitude was rare and commendable.

"This is the inner armor you wanted, the Mid-grade Magical Tool Fire Cloud Armor."

Sun Yiyue took out an inner armor shimmering with red light and handed it to Shen Long.

"Fire Cloud Armor!"

Shen Long took the armor and examined it carefully.

"It's excellent. How many spirit stones in total?"

Shen Long asked.

"My father said not to take your spirit stones; the remaining materials belong to him."

Sun Yiyue said.

"I cannot accept a reward for no merit. Fairy Sun, please give me a price."

Shen Long said earnestly.

He knew that taking things for free would leave him indebted, and it wasn't as if he couldn't afford it.

"You know my father's temperament. If he says he doesn't want them, he doesn't want them. Don't make things difficult for me; just buy a jar of good wine to send him next year."

Sun Yiyue said.

"Alright then! Please thank the shopkeeper for me."

Shen Long agreed.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, my father wanted you to be my cultivation partner. Why didn't you agree? Is it because you think I'm ugly, or is there another reason?"

Sun Yiyue asked.

She considered herself quite attractive and had her fair share of suitors. Having inherited Sun Huowang's mantle, her attainments in artifact refining were not low; at the very least, she had a small reputation in Thousand Bamboo Valley.

When Sun Huowang first planned to marry her off to Shen Long, she hadn't been happy about it. Shen Long was simply too ordinary, and there were many rogue cultivators like him. Sun Huowang had valued Shen Long's sense of gratitude, believing he wouldn't be the type to abandon his partner, which was hard to say for others.

After much persuasion from Sun Huowang, Sun Yiyue had finally agreed. She had assumed Shen Long would jump at the chance, but who could have expected him to refuse without a moment's hesitation?

"I don't want to get dragged into your conflict with the Li Clan, not because I think you're ugly."

Shen Long spoke the truth.

Sun Yiyue nodded; this explanation was reasonable enough.

"If there were no Li Clan, would you have agreed to take me as your wife?"

Sun Yiyue continued to ask.

"No. We have no feelings for each other. The shopkeeper values me not because I am outstanding, but because I know how to be grateful. There are many Qi Refining cultivators better than me; you don't need to choose me."

Shen Long said honestly.

One must have self-awareness. Shen Long did not consider himself a heaven-favored child; he was just a very ordinary Qi Refining cultivator.

There were plenty of Qi Refining cultivators with higher cultivation, better looks, and sweeter tongues than him. Why would it ever be his turn? Most importantly, he and Sun Yiyue had absolutely no feelings for each other.

"I understand. If you have time, go visit my father more often. He likes you very much. Thanks."

After saying this, Sun Yiyue turned and left.

Shen Long put away the Fire Cloud Armor and walked out, just in time to see Qin Qing walking toward him.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, I couldn't tell! If you had won over Fairy Sun, you wouldn't have to worry about food or clothing in the future."

Qin Qing said with a meaningful tone.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, you've misunderstood. She was just following Shopkeeper Sun's orders to pass on a few words to me. I'm glad you're alright."

Shen Long said.

"It's all thanks to Fairy Ye. I never expected her to have even a Tier 2 talisman. A single Tier 2 talisman costs thousands of spirit stones; I wouldn't even dare to think about it."

Qin Qing said with an envious tone.

"Indeed! It's fortunate that we had Fairy Ye."

Shen Long expressed his deep agreement. At his wealthiest, he had only possessed nine hundred spirit stones and couldn't even afford a single Tier 2 talisman, yet Ye Yutang had casually unleashed one.

"By the way, are Fellow Daoist Xu and Fellow Daoist Sun alright? I haven't been able to contact them."

Qin Qing asked.

"Fellow Daoist Xu was injured and is likely recovering. Fellow Daoist Sun wasn't injured, so he might be in secluded cultivation. He won't be heading into the mountains for a short while."

Shen Long said.

After chatting for a few moments, Qin Qing took his leave.

Shen Long walked toward the foot of the mountain, arrived at the entrance of the Treasure Pavilion, and strode inside.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, you've come. Please, head upstairs."

Seeing Shen Long, Lin Dong hurried over to greet him and led him to a guest room on the upper floor.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, have you managed to acquire any beast materials?"

Lin Dong asked.

"No. I would like to purchase some high-power Tier 1 talismans. I wonder what Fellow Daoist Lin might recommend?"

Shen Long asked.

"These are the Tier 1 talismans we have in the shop. Please take a look, Fellow Daoist Shen."

Lin Dong took out a golden, shimmering dharma disk and handed it to Shen Long.