What Li Ping did not know was...
Shortly after he left the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, Miao Rou entered the rear quarters. After a series of twists and turns, she arrived in a lavishly decorated room.
Inside, a black-robed old man sat cross-legged. He had a triangular face and a hooked nose, giving him a distinctly sinister appearance. Most striking of all was his complexion, which, for some unknown reason, was as pale as waxed paper.
Sensing Miao Rou enter, the black-robed old man instantly opened his eyes and looked at her.
Under his gaze, a barely perceptible flicker of fear passed through Miao Rou's eyes, even though they were both Foundation Establishment cultivators. "Protector Yan."
"Well? Did the brat agree?" Protector Yan parted his lips slightly, an unpleasant voice scraping out of his throat.
Miao Rou shook her head. "No matter how I tried to persuade him, he refused to make the trip."
"He refused? It seems the brat has also noticed what that woman Dai Sangyu is planning. That must be why he feels uneasy and doesn't dare leave the Immortal City." Protector Yan frowned, seemingly pondering something.
Miao Rou spoke again. "If you ask me, Protector, you've already damaged Dai Sangyu's state of mind. As long as you remain hidden and avoid discovery, she's doomed to have no hope of Core Formation. Why should we seek out Fellow Daoist Li and invite needless trouble?"
At that, Protector Yan glanced at her and suddenly let out a laugh like a night owl's cry. "Heh heh... Windmist True Person has a blood feud with Our Cult over its destruction. If Dai Sangyu succeeds in Core Formation, master and disciple will join forces and inevitably cause Our Cult a great deal of trouble. Since the cult sent me here to sabotage Dai Sangyu's Core Formation, I must be absolutely certain of her current condition."
"But finding out how Dai Sangyu is doing right now isn't easy. She has met only a handful of people lately, and this brat is one of them. What a shame that he's so cautious... otherwise..."
At this point, Protector Yan's voice unconsciously dropped.
He was confident that, with his strength, he could easily capture a newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator.
But if he attacked within the city, even the slightest disturbance could easily alert Windmist True Person. Against a Core Formation True Person, he would undoubtedly die, regardless of what tricks he had.
Only once Li Ping left the city and passed beyond the third-tier formation's surveillance would he dare strike directly.
In truth, what Miao Rou did not know was...
Protector Yan practiced a fragmentary cultivation method of mysterious origin, suspected to have come from the Upper Realm. It granted him a trace of a divine ability that let him seek good fortune, avoid calamity, and receive sudden premonitions.
Although he had previously used the matter involving Lin Yue to damage Dai Sangyu's "clear sword heart" state of mind, preventing her from attempting Core Formation...
The plan seemed flawless, yet that sliver of spiritual intuition in his heart still stirred with faint unease. It was as though something he had done still contained a loophole, and he had not truly prevented Dai Sangyu from achieving Core Formation.
What frustrated him, however, was that he had no idea where this unease came from.
That was why he was so eager to capture Li Ping, search his soul, interrogate him, and uncover the cause.
Protector Yan looked at Miao Rou. "Find a way to lure that brat outside the city! But don't approach him yourself, lest you arouse his suspicions! Our Cult put considerable effort into planting you in the Sword-Washing Pool. You may prove very useful in the future, so you must not expose your identity."
"Understood."
After leaving the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, Li Ping visited several other merchant associations to inquire.
Yet the results left him deeply disappointed when he asked to buy second-tier spiritwood.
These merchant associations either did not sell it at all or quoted exorbitant prices several times the normal rate, which he simply could not accept.
In the end, Li Ping could only return in disappointment.
His original plan had been to gather the resources first, provide nourishment for the Inheritance Tree, become a second-tier mid-grade Talisman Maker, then earn spirit stones by drawing second-tier talismans to buy a cultivation method and rent a second-tier cave abode.
He had never expected to encounter a problem at the materials stage, bringing the entire plan to a standstill.
This left Li Ping quite troubled.
Previously, he had earned around thirteen hundred spirit stones in just a few months by dumping talismans onto the market like mad. But now that he had attracted the Talisman Alliance's attention, accepted its gifts, and made a promise, he clearly could not do that again.
Of course, his earlier frantic dumping had already saturated the Immortal City's first-tier talisman market. It might take a long time for all those talismans to be absorbed.
Even if Li Ping broke his promise, he could no longer earn large quantities of spirit stones through first-tier talismans.
An ordinary first-tier upper-grade Talisman Maker in the Foundation Establishment Realm earned only a few hundred spirit stones a year.
And if he wanted to attempt Core Formation or even reach Nascent Soul in the future, the cultivation method he chose should ideally include sections for those stages. A cultivation method covering the Core Formation Realm and Nascent Soul Realm would cost at least a thousand spirit stones.
Thus, if he bought a cultivation method and rented a cave abode now, exhausting all his spirit stones...
He might have to spend a very long time gathering enough resources to inherit second-tier mid-grade talisman-making skills.
And without second-tier mid-grade talisman-making skills to earn cultivation resources, it was easy to imagine how slowly he would cultivate with his three-spirit root aptitude.
"Sharpening the axe doesn't delay the chopping of firewood. Buying a cultivation method and cultivating can wait a little longer." Li Ping soon made his choice. "The spirit stones I have now are barely enough to buy a piece of second-tier mid-grade spiritwood at the normal price, plus a thousand spirit stones' worth of nourishment for the Inheritance Tree. I'll wait a month or two first and see whether I can buy the spiritwood!"
At the same time, Li Ping prepared for both possibilities.
If he truly could not buy second-tier mid-grade spiritwood at the normal price in the short term, he would accept the prices those merchant associations had marked up severalfold.
Of course, in that case, he would not have enough spirit stones.
But the spirit stone problem was easy to solve.
After learning that his master was gravely ill, he had planned to return to the Jiang Kingdom. To deal with any dangers he might encounter along the way, he had specifically bought two second-tier lower-grade magic artifacts for protection, one offensive and one defensive.
Now, since he intended to stay safely tucked away in the Immortal City for a long time...
Magic artifacts were no longer necessities. He could sell the two artifacts first and turn them into spirit stones.
Once his finances were more comfortable, there would still be time to buy suitable magic artifacts.
Turning these plans over in his mind, Li Ping arrived at his third brother Gu Musheng's general store.
He had neither the time nor the connections to purchase second-tier spiritwood himself, so it was best to leave this matter to Gu Musheng.
Gu Musheng's business was buying spiritual materials and selling finished products. Among the Seven Siblings of the Shared Boat Association, he was also the person best suited to the task.
Upon hearing Li Ping's request, Gu Musheng promptly took the whole matter upon himself. "Don't worry, Big Brother. I'll put the word out right away. If anyone comes to sell second-tier spiritwood, I'll notify you immediately."
Li Ping nodded in satisfaction, not forgetting to add, "Oh, and let Cheng Yao and the others know too. Ask them to keep an eye out for me."
"No problem, Big Brother!"