Making a Getaway

Wang Daoyuan had caught a Clear River Carp. Though it had left him severely wounded, he had gained a tremendous bargain: not only had he secured a shop for the Lineage and elevated its standing within the Netherworld Sect's territory, but he had also obtained nearly a thousand Spirit Stones and ten Clear River Carp fry.

Though he had plenty of Spirit Stones on hand, he still needed to be frugal. Using Spirit Stones directly to raise his cultivation was too wasteful; 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 Tier One High-Grade Talismans, but he needed extensive practice before he could officially become a high-grade first-order Talisman Master.

Although Pill Talisman Pavilion provided some Spirit Ink, there was a fixed quota. The little bit he had painstakingly pinched and saved was nowhere near enough.

Wang Daoyuan's main goal in staying at Qingli Market was to gather some spirit herb seeds.

Unfortunately, Qingli Market was a large market, and nearly all its shops belonged to forces great and small. This made it impossible for him to buy spirit herb seeds. After all, no faction would willingly sell valuable spirit herb seeds.

He was currently confined to his quarters, so getting out would have to rely on the Invisibility Technique he had seized. After several days of diligent cultivation, Wang Daoyuan's Invisibility Technique had finally reached mastery. To be safe, he tested it on his third brother, Wang Daochang.

Wang Daochang was still fishing by the water. Wang Daoyuan used the Invisibility Technique, walked over, took two fish, and placed them in his spatial storage. Then he hid some distance away and watched his third brother's reaction.

It was not until his third brother caught another fish and went to put it into the fish basket that he noticed some fish were missing.

Seeing that the technique worked quite well, Wang Daoyuan changed into a black robe and donned a bamboo hat with a long black veil. He hung a "Closed-Door Cultivation" sign outside his cave dwelling, used the Invisibility Technique, and slipped out of the shop. Once he reached a secluded alley, he revealed himself. Then he returned to his own shop and entered Pill Talisman Pavilion as a customer.

Wang Daoyuan swaggered into Pill Talisman Pavilion. Wang Daocheng immediately came forward to greet him warmly. "Does Fellow Daoist wish to buy pills or Talismans, or sell something? Our shop has every kind of first- and second-order pill and Talisman. We also purchase Talisman and pill-making materials in large quantities—the more you sell, the better the price."

He directly took out the discounted iron token he had obtained last time. "Bring me fifty Spirit Gathering Pills, five hundred sheets of First-grade High-grade Talisman Paper, and twenty jin of Spirit Ink."

The moment Wang Daocheng saw the iron token, he knew this was a returning customer, and his smile grew even brighter. "So it is an old customer. These items come to five hundred and fifty Spirit Stones in total. With a ten percent discount, that comes to four hundred and ninety-five Spirit Stones. I'll make the decision and charge Senior four hundred and ninety Spirit Stones."

Wang Daoyuan said nothing more. He paid and left.

Thinking of how the assassin's sneak attack had severely wounded him last time, leaving him unable even to use spiritual power, he decided it would be better to buy a piece of Spirit Armor for protection. Even though he now had the jade pendant to defend himself, he might not have time to activate it. A suit of Spirit Armor could still block some attacks on its own, even if he had no time to react.

In a head-on fight, with his limited abilities, there were plenty of cultivators at the same level who could knock him down. Though he could bombard people with Talismans, using Talismans was ultimately not fast enough. If the enemy was prepared, it would be difficult to succeed in a single strike.

If he relied entirely on Talismans, he would have to throw out dozens every time he defeated an opponent. Those were Spirit Stones he was throwing away.

After leaving Pill Talisman Pavilion, he wandered around the old market for quite a while and visited several shops selling Magic Tools. At last, he arrived at Divine Weapon Pavilion.

When he entered Divine Weapon Pavilion, Zhao Liang was once again the one who came to receive him. Looking at that honest face, Wang Daoyuan would never mistake him for an honest man. Zhao Liang had fooled him once when he bought the Profound Sun Sword. Although he had not really suffered a loss, being fooled still left a bad taste in his mouth.

After Wang Daoyuan explained what he wanted, Zhao Liang's face broke into a broad smile, while a strange light gleamed in his eyes. He looked at Wang Daoyuan as though he were a fat sheep.

Ignoring Zhao Liang's gaze, Wang Daoyuan began selecting Magic Tools. Every time he picked up a Magic Tool and examined it carefully, Zhao Liang would stand beside him, introducing its functions and strengths.

Wang Daoyuan took a liking to a suit of soft armor and a pair of spirit boots, both high-grade first-order Magic Tools.

The soft armor was called Silk Armor. It was made from Spirit Silkworm Silk and could weaken attacks at the Qi Refining Peak by thirty percent. The weaker the enemy, the stronger the weakening effect.

The spirit boots were called Wind-Treading Boots. Their refining materials contained the feathers of two Gale Eagles, allowing them to increase speed by twenty percent. Wang Daoyuan only knew the Water Evasion Technique, which he could not use to fight enemies on land. With these boots, his chances of escaping when he could not win would greatly increase.

When Zhao Liang saw that Wang Daoyuan had selected two Magic Tools and showed no intention of choosing more, he recommended a high-grade first-order longsword as well. Wang Daoyuan merely glanced at it and saw that its refining methods were exactly the same as those of the Profound Sun Sword. He immediately knew that Zhao Liang had refined it himself and was trying to sell it.

It seemed Zhao Liang could now refine high-grade first-order Magic Tools.

Defensive Magic Tools were far more expensive than other Magic Tools. The Silk Armor alone cost one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones, while the Wind-Treading Boots cost eighty Spirit Stones.

After paying the Spirit Stones, he rejected Zhao Liang's sales pitch and turned to leave Divine Weapon Pavilion.

He had bought everything he needed. Next, it was time to satisfy his appetite.

He had crossed into this world more than ten years ago, yet he had never eaten at a restaurant. Now that he finally had the chance, he could not let it slip away.

Since good water should not flow into outsiders' fields, he naturally went to eat and drink at a restaurant owned by his own Lineage.

After the Wang Clan took over the shop, it opened a restaurant called Drunken Immortal Restaurant. After more than a month of preparations, it had opened two days earlier.

Drunken Immortal Restaurant's signature offering was its Spirit Wine. With Wang Daoyan, that drunken fool, devoting himself to research, the Wang Clan's Spirit Wine was quite impressive. Its dishes, however, were rather ordinary.

The Wang Clan did not possess a Spirit Chef inheritance. Drunken Immortal Restaurant's head chef had been hired from outside, and his skill was only so-so.

Previously, the Lineage had been relatively strapped for resources. Most of its Spirit Fields had been used to grow spirit herbs for pill refinement, as well as Yellow Cloud Grass and other materials for Talisman Paper. A small portion was used to grow spirit grain for raising the younger members of the Lineage.

Thanks to its geographical advantage, the Wang Clan transported all its goods by boat and did not raise spirit beasts. At present, Drunken Immortal Restaurant's ingredients depended entirely on fish and its own spirit grain.

Fortunately, there were many people fishing now. Drunken Immortal Restaurant could purchase fish from them and obtain enough supply. Land-based Demon Beasts, however, were rather scarce. Qingli Market lay in the central region of Qingli Commandery, and the surrounding Demon Beasts had been nearly wiped out several hundred years ago. The nearest Demon Beast gathering grounds were two or three thousand li away, upstream along the Clear Creek.

Although the Lineage had expanded its spirit grain planting area and begun raising some spirit beasts that reproduced quickly, distant water could not quench immediate thirst. It could not 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 was not particularly good. In the cultivation world, there was no such thing as grand opening promotions. What mattered was a slow, steady flow that ran long.

Any shop with good business either possessed standards beyond its competitors, like Divine Weapon Pavilion, or was a centuries-old establishment that had accumulated extensive connections and goodwill, like the Wang Clan's Jade Spring Grocery Store.

It was perfectly normal for a newly opened restaurant with no reputation to have poor business. Besides, Drunken Immortal Restaurant was currently short on ingredients. If business were too good, it would instead be unable to keep up.

The shopkeeper and servers were all members of the main family, and most were senior to him in generation. Even those of his own generation were older than him. If he lifted the veil on his bamboo hat, everyone would recognize him, and every one of them had the right to beat him up before dragging him back to the back courtyard for confinement. Thus, eating in a private room was safer.

After entering a private room, he picked up the menu and ordered. Most of the dishes on the menu used either spirit grain or fish as ingredients, with very little Demon Beast meat. He had no interest in spirit grain; he ate it every day, and there was nothing new about it. He ordered five jars of Crimson Blood Brew and seven or eight dishes—fish stewed in soup, braised fish, pan-fried fish...