Slipping Away

Wang Daoyuan caught the Clear River Carp. Although he was severely injured in the process, he benefited greatly. Not only did he secure a shop for his family, but he also elevated their status within the Netherworld Sect's territory. He himself gained nearly a thousand Spirit Stones and ten Clear River Carp fry.

Despite having many Spirit Stones, he still needed to be frugal. He couldn't directly use Spirit Stones to improve his cultivation; buying Spirit Gathering Pills was more cost-effective.

Besides Spirit Gathering Pills, he also needed to buy some Talisman Paper and Spirit Ink. Wang Daoyuan could now craft First-grade High-grade Talismans and needed extensive practice to officially become a First-grade High-grade Talisman Master.

Although the Pill Talisman Pavilion provided some Spirit Ink, it was rationed. The meager amount they saved was simply not enough.

Wang Daoyuan's primary objective in Qingli Market was to collect some spirit medicine seeds.

Unfortunately, Qingli Market was a large market, and most of the shops belonged to various factions. This prevented him from acquiring any spirit medicine seeds, as no faction would willingly sell valuable spirit medicine seeds.

He was currently under house arrest, and his only way out was the Invisibility Technique he had acquired. After days of diligent practice, Wang Daoyuan's Invisibility Technique had finally reached mastery. To be safe, he decided to test it on his third brother, Wang Daochang.

Wang Daochang was still fishing by the water. Wang Daoyuan cast his Invisibility Technique, walked over, took two fish, and put them into his spatial artifact. Then, he hid in the distance to observe his third brother's reaction.

It wasn't until his third brother caught another fish and was about to put it into the fish basket that he discovered two were missing.

Seeing that it worked well, Wang Daoyuan changed into a black robe and a bamboo hat with a black veil. He hung a "Closed-Door Cultivation" sign outside his residence, cast his Invisibility Technique, and slipped out of the shop. He walked into a secluded alley and revealed himself. Then, he returned to his own shop and entered the Pill Talisman Pavilion as a customer.

Wang Daoyuan swaggered into the Pill Talisman Pavilion, and Wang Daocheng immediately stepped forward to greet him enthusiastically. "Fellow Daoist, are you here to buy pills, talismans, or sell items? Our shop has all sorts of first and second-grade pills and talismans. We are also buying talisman materials in large quantities, with better prices for larger amounts."

He directly produced the discount iron token he had received previously and said, "Give me fifty Spirit Gathering Pills, five hundred sheets of First-grade High-grade Talisman Paper, and twenty catties of Spirit Ink."

Upon seeing the iron token, Wang Daocheng knew he was a regular customer and his smile widened. "Ah, an old customer! These items will cost five hundred and fifty Spirit Stones in total. With the ten percent discount, it's four hundred and ninety-five Spirit Stones. I'll take it upon myself to charge you four hundred and ninety Spirit Stones, senior."

Wang Daoyuan didn't say anything further, paid, and left.

He recalled being ambushed by assassins last time, which left him severely injured and unable to even use his spiritual power. Even though he now had a jade pendant for protection, it might not be activated in time. It would be better to buy a piece of Spirit Armor for self-defense. Even if he had no time to react, the Spirit Armor itself could withstand some attacks.

Facing enemies head-on, with his current abilities, there were plenty of cultivators at the same level who could defeat him. Although he could use talismans to attack, the speed of using talismans was not fast enough. If the enemy was prepared, it would be difficult to succeed with a single blow.

Relying entirely on talismans, he had to throw dozens of talismans every time he defeated an opponent. Those were Spirit Stones being thrown away!

After leaving the Pill Talisman Pavilion, he browsed the old market for a while, visiting several shops that sold magical artifacts. Finally, he arrived at the Divine Weapon Pavilion.

Upon entering the Divine Weapon Pavilion, he was greeted by Zhao Liang, as before. Looking at his honest face, Wang Daoyuan didn't believe he was an honest person. He had been tricked by this young man once when buying the Profound Sun Sword. Although he hadn't suffered a loss, being tricked always felt unpleasant.

After Wang Daoyuan stated his requirements, Zhao Liang's face was full of smiles, his eyes glowing strangely as he looked at Wang Daoyuan, like he was looking at a fat sheep.

Ignoring Zhao Liang's gaze, Wang Daoyuan began to select magical artifacts. Every time he picked up a magical artifact to examine it closely, Zhao Liang would introduce its function and advantages.

Wang Daoyuan took a liking to a soft armor and a pair of spirit boots, both First-grade High-grade magical artifacts.

The soft armor was named Silk Armor, made from spirit silkworm silk. It could weaken attacks from the Qi Refining Peak by thirty percent, and the weaker the enemy, the stronger the weakening effect.

The spirit boots were named Wind-Treading Boots. Their refining materials contained the quills of two Gale Eagles, which could increase speed by twenty percent. Wang Daoyuan only knew one Water Evasion Technique, which was useless for fighting on land. With the spirit boots, his chances of escaping if he couldn't win would greatly increase.

Seeing that Wang Daoyuan had selected two magical artifacts and had no intention of selecting more, Zhao Liang recommended a First-grade High-grade long sword. Wang Daoyuan glanced at the long sword and recognized that the refining technique was identical to that of the Profound Sun Sword. He knew immediately that Zhao Liang had refined it himself and was trying to sell it here.

It seemed he was already capable of refining First-grade High-grade magical artifacts.

Defensive magical artifacts were far more expensive than other magical artifacts. The soft armor alone cost one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones, and the Wind-Treading Boots were eighty Spirit Stones.

After paying the Spirit Stones and refusing Zhao Liang's further recommendations, he turned and walked out of the Divine Weapon Pavilion.

He had bought everything he needed. Next, he wanted to satisfy his appetite.

Having transmigrated to this world over a decade ago, he had never actually eaten at a restaurant. Today, having finally gotten the chance, he couldn't let it pass.

Following the principle of keeping business within the family, he naturally went to the restaurant their family owned to eat and drink.

After the Wang family took over the shop, they opened a restaurant called Drunken Immortal Restaurant. After more than a month of preparation, it had opened two days ago.

The specialty of Drunken Immortal Restaurant was its Spirit Wine. With the dedicated research of Wang Daoyan, a drunkard, the Wang family's Spirit Wine was quite good. However, the dishes were rather ordinary.

The Wang family had no legacy of spirit chefs. The head chef of Drunken Immortal Restaurant was hired from outside, and his skills were merely adequate.

Previously, the family was in a difficult situation, and most of the Spirit Fields were used for planting spirit medicines for alchemy, as well as raw materials for Talisman Paper like Yellow Cloud Grass. A small portion was used to plant Spirit Grain to cultivate young family disciples.

Due to their geographical location, the Wang family transported all goods by boat and did not raise any Spirit Beasts. Currently, the ingredients for Drunken Immortal Restaurant relied entirely on fish and their own Spirit Grain.

Fortunately, there were many people fishing now, and Drunken Immortal Restaurant could purchase fish from them, thus obtaining enough fish. Terrestrial Demonic Beasts were quite scarce. After all, Qingli Market was located in the central area of Qingli Commandery, and the surrounding Demonic Beasts had been cleared out hundreds of years ago. The nearest Demonic Beast gathering place was over two to three thousand li upstream of Clear Stream.

Although the family had expanded their Spirit Grain cultivation area and raised some fast-breeding Spirit Beasts, the distant help couldn't solve the immediate problem, and they couldn't fill the gap for the time being.

Wang Daoyuan, dressed in a black robe and wearing a veiled bamboo hat, entered Drunken Immortal Restaurant.

Drunken Immortal Restaurant's business wasn't too good. In the cultivation world, there was no such thing as grand opening promotions; it was all about steady, long-term business.

Any shop with good business either had a level beyond its peers, like the Divine Weapon Pavilion, or was an old shop of several hundred years, having accumulated a vast network of contacts and reputation, like the Wang family's Jade Spring Grocery Store.

It was normal for a newly opened shop without any reputation to have poor business. Moreover, Drunken Immortal Restaurant currently lacked ingredients, so having too much business would be unmanageable.

The shopkeeper and waiters were all family members, and most of them were older than him, and those of the same generation were also older than him. If he lifted the veil of his bamboo hat, everyone would recognize him and have the right to beat him up before dragging him back to the backyard to be confined. Therefore, eating in a private room was safer.

He entered a private room, picked up the menu, and ordered. Most of the ingredients on the menu were Spirit Grain and fish, with very little Demonic Beast meat. He had no interest in Spirit Grain, as he ate it every day and it held no novelty. He ordered five jars of Crimson Blood Brew and seven or eight dishes, including various fish stews, braised fish, and pan-fried fish