Chapter 41: "We've Met Once, I Suppose"

Chapter 41: "We've Met Once, I Suppose"

Chen Qiu indulged in his fantasies of the future, but a headache accompanied his thoughts.

His Dao Foundation had indeed widened to ten thousand li, but it was almost empty, devoid of any spiritual energy. No matter how hard he tried, it never seemed to fill up.

To quickly replenish the spiritual energy within his Dao Foundation through absorbing spirit stones, he would need at least 300 of them.

Damn it! Three hundred spirit stones were enough for a Qi Condensation Level one cultivator to directly advance to the Foundation Establishment stage. But for him, it was barely enough to fill his Dao Foundation with spiritual energy?

For some reason, he had a bad feeling about this. His unique Spellcaster combat style might be powerful, but it seemed to consume spirit stones at an alarming rate.

Just then—

"Fellow Daoist, please wait!"

Chen Qiu, walking alongside Fat Dragon on the main road of Ask Heaven Market, suddenly heard a voice beside him. He turned to look at the source.

The street was nearly empty, and an old man with a head full of silver hair sat alone, holding a tattered black flag and speaking in a hoarse, half-smile.

"Fellow Daoist, it's been a few days since we last met, and the number of stray ghosts and spirits around you has become uncountable."

"Don't you want me to give you a reading?"

"Just one spirit stone is all I ask."

"Otherwise, a great danger awaits you within three days."

On the black flag, two lines of slightly crooked words were embroidered in white thread.

"I dare not predict everything, fearing the wrath of heaven and earth's ghosts and gods."

"Words cannot be spoken plainly, lest the world descend into chaos."

"Can you speak?"

Fat Dragon, expressionless, approached the old man, squatted down, and spoke in a hoarse voice, "In your line of work, if you don't curse people, how will you get any business?"

"Not at all, not at all," the old man shook his head, stroking his beard with an air of profound mystery. "Divination is a millennia-old tradition, not a deception."

"Fine," Chen Qiu also squatted down in front of the old man, chuckling as he tossed a spirit stone, "Then give me a reading and see what you can predict."

This was the second time he had seen this old man.

Upon seeing the spirit stone, the old man's eyes flashed with a glimmer of light. He quickly tucked the stone into his bosom as if afraid it would be snatched away the next moment. Only then did he close his eyes and pretend to be deep in thought, pinching his fingers and muttering.

Just then—

"Hey! You old fraud, you're at it again!"

A voice suddenly rang out on the street, and dozens of Ask Heaven Market guards were seen running towards them. The old man, sensing the situation, immediately grabbed the black flag beside him and ran into the alley without a backward glance.

After a few steps, he seemed to remember something and hurried back to Chen Qiu's side. He spoke urgently for a moment before disappearing back into the alley.

"Young Master Chen, you weren't scammed, were you?"

"This old man has been in Ask Heaven Market for over a decade, but he can't really predict anything. He's just talking nonsense."

"It's you!"

Chen Qiu turned to look at the old man's departing figure and then smiled at the head of the guards beside him. "Thank you for the reminder. Are you off duty?"

He remembered this guard; he was the one who had collected the bodies after the incident at the market's gate, where the Huang family's seventh elder had been killed.

"Not yet, we're on patrol tonight," the head guard replied with a hint of exasperation. "Whatever this old man says, don't believe it. I recall a man from some time ago who was convinced by this old fraud that if he knocked his head three times towards the east every morning, his child would definitely break through to the first layer of Qi Condensation with a good Entry."

"That's just nonsense! I tried to explain it to that man, but he didn't believe me. He said that since the old man didn't even charge him a single copper coin, why would he deceive him?"

"Why east?"

"The position he's sitting in right now is to the east of that family's house."

"Anyway, just don't believe him. Today, a cultivator in a red robe with long hair came to have his fortune told. He left all excited, then flew west as soon as he left the city. He must have been fooled too."

"Wait a moment."

Fat Dragon's expression suddenly turned peculiar. "You said a cultivator in a red robe with long hair?"

"Yes, that's right. Do you know him?"

"We've met once, I suppose."

Fat Dragon fell silent, remembering the Demon Cultivator who had mentioned a fortune-telling old man in Ask Heaven Market, saying he would have double happiness today. It seemed this fortune-teller's predictions might not be accurate.

Without further ado, the two groups parted ways, and Chen Qiu stood in his original spot, his eyes narrowing slightly as he pondered.

Before the old man had fled into the alley, he had whispered a few words to Chen Qiu, leaving him momentarily unsure of how to react.

"Kid, I admit my fortune-telling is all nonsense, but this one is true."

"You definitely have a Green Entry, 'Soul Summoning.' Don't give me that look; the resentment on your body is almost ten zhang taller than Ask Heaven Market itself. I noticed it as soon as you entered the city. It's too eye-catching."

"I've seen people with this Entry before. It's a powerful one that can turn the creatures you kill into Malevolent Spirits that fight for you for an hour."

"But think about it. Malevolent Spirits are born from deep resentment. Ordinary people who come into contact with them often catch colds or fall ill. If you stay near them for too long, you'll surely die of a serious illness. You've got six or seven thousand of them on you. Are you trying to become the King of Malevolent Spirits?"

"Within three days, get rid of all these Malevolent Spirits as soon as possible, or the consequences will be unimaginable. I once knew someone with this Entry who, within half a year, went mad, neither human nor ghost. After another half a year, he was found hanged in a dilapidated temple outside the city, his body already rotting and crawling with maggots."

"The Malevolent Spirits you carry are far more numerous than his, so use this Entry to ensure you don't store too many Malevolent Spirits on yourself. Remember, the stronger the Malevolent Spirit compared to you, the faster it will corrupt you."

"If you can find a way to remove this Entry, do it as soon as possible. Otherwise, no matter how carefully you use it, the Malevolent Spirits will still corrupt you, just at a slower pace. I've never seen anyone with this Entry die a non-miserable death."

"You'll have to figure it out yourself. This Spirit Stone I earned from you was truly not in vain."

"Qiu Brother, what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

Chen Qiu shook his head, furrowed his brows, and after half a day of deep thought, he turned to Fat Dragon: "Do you feel the weather getting colder?"

"Yes, it's almost winter, so it's definitely getting colder."

"I mean, do you feel that icy coldness?"

"What icy coldness?"

Fat Dragon, somewhat confused, touched Chen Qiu's hand, and then suddenly jumped up in shock: "Qiu Brother, why is your body so cold? It's like a dead person's corpse!"

"..."

Chen Qiu didn't say anything further, merely shaking his head and heading straight to the guest room. Although he had been feeling a chill these past few days, he hadn't thought much of it, after all, the weather had been getting colder. But after the fortune teller's reminder, he did feel that something was amiss.

He had stored over six thousand Beast Malevolent Spirits, including one with Foundation Establishment Seventh Layer Cultivation Level, which was supposed to be his trump card, ready to be used in the upcoming Celestial Path Secret Realm in Fufeng City.

Carrying so many Malevolent Spirits was indeed a bit exaggerated.

Oh well.

Tomorrow, after entering the Secret Realm, he would first release all these Malevolent Spirits. It was better to do so than to let them corrupt him. With so many Malevolent Spirits being released at once, he just hoped it wouldn't scare the other cultivators entering the Celestial Path Secret Realm.

Tsk.

That night, Chen Qiu used the Enlightenment Stone to raise his Thunder Summoning Art cultivation to the highest level, the Great Perfection. A profound insight suddenly appeared in his mind.

The three characters, Thunder Summoning Art, carved on the Dao Foundation, became even more profound.

At this moment, the Thunder Summoning Art he released was as thick as a hundred-year-old tree, and it could attack enemies within a hundred zhang. Ordinary Foundation Establishment First Layer cultivators would find it difficult to defend against such a move.

And he could use it four to five hundred times.

This was the power of the pink Entry, "Dantian Expansion (Unique)."

Before going to sleep.

Chen Qiu sighed softly, took out a large pile of Spirit Stones from his embrace, and placed them on the bed, preparing to absorb enough Spirit Energy to fill the Dao Foundation. Even with his current possession of the Supreme Heart Technique for Foundation Establishment, "Seven Lights Revealed," this was still an extremely time-consuming task.

One hour has eight quarters, and each quarter is about the time it takes to brew three cups of tea.

Last time, he had filled the Dao Foundation in the time it took to brew one cup of tea. This time, he used... less than half an hour.

Because he used the "Intermediate Foundation Essence-Extracting Talisman." Otherwise, it would have taken at least four hours.

Forget about not sleeping tonight, he wouldn't even make it to the Secret Realm.

This was just a tiny bit, what if it was ten times worse in the future?

Amidst his random thoughts, Chen Qiu fell into a daze and drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow was a big battle, and he needed to rest early to prepare.

The next day, at dawn.

Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon hurried out of the Ask Heaven Market early in the morning, bringing the two Scholars with them, and returned to Fufeng City.

The last time they left Fufeng City, they had fled for their lives. This time, they didn't know where those who had pursued them were, but if they were to meet them again, it would be a chance to show them how much they had improved in just three days.

Today, Fufeng City was bustling with excitement due to the upcoming opening of the Secret Realm.

The entire city's streets were filled with peddlers shouting, and Foundation Establishment cultivators, who were rarely seen on ordinary days, were now everywhere. The young masters of the Foundation Establishment clans, who usually acted arrogantly, were nowhere to be seen, as if they had turned into turtles hiding in their shells.

Just as they stepped into the city gate.

A ragged young servant saw the luxurious robes on Chen Qiu and the others, and his eyes lit up. He ran over, his voice somewhat tense and hurried, saying, "Greetings to the four Immortals. In one hour, there will be a Foundation Establishment cultivator with the Entries 'Nine Bulls' Strength' and 'Self-Cutting Root' in the city square, publicly chopping eight bulls to randomly obtain Entries."

"Are you interested in watching, Immortals?"

"You only need one Spirit Stone to watch up close, and all the randomly obtained Entries will be publicly displayed for everyone to see."

"Many disciples from major families and sects have gone, and there are so many people there. It's very lively."

"Oh?"

Fat Dragon's expression gradually became strange. Public execution?

Could this be the same person who spent 1,500 Spirit Stones at the auction to buy the green Entry, "Self-Cutting Root"?

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end