"Yes!"
Zhong Xiuping sighed. "A hundred years pass in the snap of a finger. Time is merciless, and the Great Dao is more merciless still.
I've spent nearly a century in the sect, a hundred years toiling like an ox or a horse. How sorrowful, how lamentable!"
Yang Bailao smiled. "Why dwell on that, Senior Brother Zhong? Soon you'll Lay Down Arms and Return to Secular Life, breaking free of your prison. You should be rejoicing."
"Hahaha!"
Zhong Xiuping laughed at that and said, "For the hundred years I've been in the sect, this old man has thought every moment about the day I could Lay Down Arms and Return to Secular Life. Then, with one plow ox and half a plot of land, I'll be at peace whether walking or sleeping. When the rain passes and the sky clears, I'll take out a little boat, fish on one side and wine on the other. What a carefree life that would be."
The thought stirred Yang Bailao, and he said gladly, "When this humble Daoist Lay Down Arms and Return to Secular Life, I'll do just that."
Listening to their conversation, Xu Changshou fell silent.
Whether Zhang Zhengyuan, Liu Chuansheng, Yang Bailao, or Zhong Xiuping, these older servant disciples never spoke of Foundation Establishment. Every other word was about laying down their arms and returning to secular life.
Perhaps, to them, life only truly began after they Lay Down Arms and Return to Secular Life.
Once cultivators passed a hundred, they grew old and clumsy, no longer of any value to the sect.
Only then were they entitled to enjoy life. How tragic.
Perhaps these people had dreamed of Foundation Establishment when they were young, too.
In their youth, they had probably harbored ambitions that soared into the clouds, just like Ye Shanhua, Han Zong, Su Mo, and Jiang Xiaochuan.
Even Su Mo, who had ordinary talent and nothing to his name, had declared that man could conquer Heaven. He firmly believed he would achieve Foundation Establishment.
Perhaps, years from now, they too would be like Yang Bailao, no longer discussing Foundation Establishment, but instead talking about Lay Down Arms and Return to Secular Life after a hundred years.
Can I still achieve Foundation Establishment? Should I never have dared to dream?
Xu Changshou suddenly questioned himself.
In his heart, he had never abandoned the idea of Foundation Establishment. Now he questioned himself and his aspirations, wondering whether he was as naive as Su Mo and the others.
No, I'll definitely achieve Foundation Establishment. I'm different from them. I have the Bloodline Jade Talisman.
Xu Changshou's gaze grew resolute.
Back in his little courtyard, Xu Changshou buried himself in drawing talismans.
He drew nothing but Windwalking Talismans, the kind Yang Bailao had taught him.
He did not draw any Three-Thousand-Li-a-Day Windwalking Talismans. He intended to keep those for his own use and had no plans to sell them until he found a sales channel.
The talismans he knew how to draw could bring him enormous wealth, but enormous danger came hand in hand with it.
So he had to be cautious, then more cautious still.
With Xu Changshou's current abilities, fifteen Windwalking Talismans a day was just right. It neither interfered with his cultivation nor wore his body down excessively.
Over the course of a month, he drew another four hundred and fifty, bringing his stock of ordinary Windwalking Talismans to nine hundred.
Li Dao Path had set his monthly quota at a hundred and forty. These Windwalking Talismans were enough to fulfill more than six months' worth of assignments.
Compared with Yang Bailao and the other servant disciples, he completed his assignments far too easily.
On the last day of the month.
Xu Changshou went to Yang Bailao to turn in his assignment and received his monthly stipend of one spirit stone.
"I finally have a spirit stone! My first pot of gold! Hahaha!"
Xu Changshou was delighted to receive the spirit stone.
After all, this was the first time he had been paid for his labor.
It was far better than working at Wang Yuanwai's household. Wang Yuanwai had never paid him anything. The most he had ever received was four coarse-grain buns, and that vicious woman had withheld two of them.
Whatever else the Green Immortal Sect might be, it was better than that vicious woman. At least it did not withhold the servant disciples' pay.
Being a servant disciple wasn't so bad, really.
That was how Xu Changshou comforted himself.
The next day was the first of the month, a rest day.
On every rest day, most of the servant disciples on Green Ink Peak slept the entire day away, replenishing their energy.
Drawing talismans consumed not only spiritual energy but mental strength as well. They could not keep going without sleep.
Of course, Xu Changshou was an exception. Drawing talismans was easy for him.
On the first and fifteenth of every month, the market on Cinnabar Clouds Peak opened. He planned to visit Cinnabar Glow Market.
He needed to buy some Qi Gathering Pills. He had long since used up his two pills, and without them, his cultivation progressed at a turtle's crawl.
Without Qi Gathering Pills, it would take him at least three years to break through to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.
Besides buying Qi Gathering Pills, Xu Changshou had two other things to do.
The first was to sell talismans. He had drawn far more than he could ever use, so naturally he intended to sell them.
The second was to look for materials needed to draw Thunderstorm Talismans.
He planned to draw Thunderstorm Talismans, but ordinary Spirit Brushes and yellow hemp paper could not withstand the power of lightning.
Crafting the Spirit Brush required a Moon-Gazing Rhino's horn and hundred-year yellow weasel bristles.
He also needed Black Antelope Thunder Ox hide as the medium.
Xu Changshou wanted to see whether the market had any such materials.
Soon, Xu Changshou took the Public Flying Boat to Cinnabar Clouds Peak.
The Public Flying Boat stopped halfway up Cinnabar Clouds Peak, while the market stood at the foot of the mountain.
After disembarking, Xu Changshou hurried down the mountain path.
From a distance, Cinnabar Glow Market looked extraordinarily lively. It had clearly grown much larger since his last visit.
There were nearly a thousand people in the market.
Xu Changshou understood why. The new batch of servant disciples had started work. Now that they had earned spirit stones, they naturally wanted to buy things.
Before entering the market, Xu Changshou found a deserted spot, took out a talisman, and slapped it onto himself.
"Thousand Faces Talisman, transform me!"
With the talisman attached, Xu Changshou transformed into a burly, red-faced man.
The Thousand Faces Talisman could freely alter one's build and appearance. Its effects lasted twenty-four hours. Cultivators of the same realm could not see through it, but before a mighty Foundation Establishment cultivator, there was no hiding.
Xu Changshou wanted to sell talismans without revealing his identity, so he chose to disguise himself with the Thousand Faces Talisman.
Cinnabar Glow Market mainly served as a trading place for Qi Refining Period disciples. Mighty Foundation Establishment cultivators rarely came, and even if they did, it did not matter. No Foundation Establishment cultivator would care whether a mere servant disciple like him was disguised.
Once disguised, Xu Changshou strode into Cinnabar Glow Market.
Vendors' cries rang out without pause.
"Yellow hemp paper! Top-quality yellow hemp paper!"
"Red-Scaled Horse! Who wants my Red-Scaled Horse?"
"Hundred poria! Come take a look! Only one specimen! Don't miss it as you pass!"
Xu Changshou wandered along, stopping here and there, until he finally halted before a puppet horse taller than a man, its entire body covered in fiery-red scales.
This Red-Scaled Horse had been crafted on Heavenly Pivot Peak. It was fast enough to travel a thousand li a day.
Having a puppet horse like this would be extremely convenient during the Qi Refining Period.
After all, the Green Immortal Sect's Public Flying Boat had only one stop on each peak.
Every peak was enormous, and traveling on foot wasted a great deal of time. A puppet horse to ride would be perfect.
"Junior Brother, would you like to buy a Red-Scaled Horse?"
The Red-Scaled Horse's owner was a young man with a bulbous nose, whose cultivation was at the Tenth Level of Qi Refining.
Seeing Xu Changshou stop there, he enthusiastically pitched his puppet horse.
"Senior Brother, how much is this puppet horse?" Xu Changshou asked.
The bulbous-nosed young man smiled. "Not much. Ten spirit stones."
"Uh... that's too expensive. I can't afford it."
Xu Changshou shook his head and left with a rueful smile.
It was a fine thing, but unfortunately far too expensive. He had no money now. It would have to wait until he did.
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