Cultivating Immortality: What kind of cheat can you use if you don't have money?

Chapter 42 Xuan Ce City

Inside the elegant room of Lingming Residence, fine sandalwood incense burned slowly in a white jade incense burner, wisps of smoke curling upwards.

A delicate fragrance filled the room.

Han Feiyu sat by the window, his long, slender fingers repeatedly drawing and drawing from the scabbard of his sword.

Each withdrawal produced a subtle friction sound, which was particularly clear in the night.

"Why hasn't Old Qin arrived yet? Could something have happened to him on the mountain?"

His voice carried a hint of anxiety, and his gaze kept drifting out the window.

Ling'er sat upright on a chair some distance away, giving him a cold glance, a hint of displeasure flashing in her eyes:

Even if you die, he won't die.

Han Feiyu was speechless, and could only pull the horizontal sword in his hand with even more force.

The clanging sounds were particularly jarring in the quiet room, and the blade reflected a cold, sharp light in the moonlight.

"Can you please stop fiddling with that broken knife?" Ling'er slammed her fist on the sandalwood table, causing the tea set on the table to tremble slightly. Deep furrows appeared between her brows. "This sound is so annoying."

Seeing her anger, Han Feiyu reluctantly sheathed his sword, but still couldn't help muttering under his breath:

"I'm just worried about Lao Qin..."

"You really don't know what happened on the mountain?" he couldn't help but ask again, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table.

"If I knew, would I be here worrying?" Ling'er sneered, but her hand unconsciously clenched in her sleeve.

Han Feiyu could tell that Ling'er's anxiety was no less than his own.

The atmosphere inside gradually became stagnant, and the moonlight outside the window seemed to dim a bit.

Just then, a soft knock on the door broke the silence.

A maid's respectful voice came from outside the door: "A young master has asked me to deliver a letter to you two."

A hint of joy flashed in Ling'er's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure: "Present it quickly."

The maid bowed and entered, placed a plain white letter on the table, and then quietly withdrew.

Ling'er eagerly opened the envelope, and Han Feiyu also hurriedly came forward.

The blank white letter contained only six words, the ink still wet:

"All is well, don't worry."

Han Feiyu let out a long sigh of relief, her tense shoulders finally relaxing, and a smile finally appeared on her face:

"It's good that Lao Qin is alright."

But Ling'er's heart sank to the bottom. Qin Feng was gone. What should she do about her own death?

Han Feiyu noticed her unusual expression: "What's wrong? You look terrible."

Ling'er didn't answer, but suddenly got up and rushed out of the room, her clothes stirring up a gust of wind.

She hurried down the stairs, found the maid from before, and eagerly grabbed her wrist:

"Which direction did the young master who sent you the letter go?"

The maid winced in pain, her face contorted with anguish: "After handing the letter to me, he headed north of the city. It seems he intends to leave the city from there."

Upon hearing this, Ling'er immediately sped towards the north of the city, disappearing around the street corner in a few leaps.

……

The moonlight was cool and clear, and people came and went in the streets, with colorful lanterns swaying and shining in the night.

Li Qingyi weaved through the crowd, feeling the autumn breeze of September, and pondered her upcoming itinerary.

A night breeze wafted by, carrying the fragrance of unknown flowers from afar.

"The simulated sightseeing trip took a month; buying a fast horse would save a lot of time."

He silently calculated the distance, his gaze sweeping over the various signs hanging on the street.

He planned to start refining corpse puppets after settling down in Xuan Ce City.

With the Daoist Grand Competition approaching, cultivators from all directions are gathering, making it an excellent time to sell talismans.

Li Qingyi carefully selected a jet-black steed at the post station.

Just as he was about to ride his horse out of the city, a beautiful figure suddenly descended from the sky, landing lightly in front of him, her skirt tracing a graceful arc in the air.

"You can recognize me?" Li Qingyi was slightly surprised. He remembered that this was his own appearance.

"You didn't change your clothes." Ling'er raised an eyebrow, her gaze falling on his ordinary blue robe:

"Besides, I remember your scent very clearly."

"Uh..." Li Qingyi then realized that she had overlooked something.

"Where is Han Feiyu?" Li Qingyi asked awkwardly, and immediately changed the subject.

"Who cares about him?"

"Why do you keep chasing after me?" He shook his head helplessly.

"Didn't you promise to take me in for a month?" Ling'er tilted her head, a sly glint in her eyes.

Li Qingyi was speechless for a moment.

With so many unexpected events happening these past few days, he had indeed forgotten about the matter.

"Aren't you going back to your sect?" he asked casually, holding the horse's reins.

"But you accepted my spirit stones."

"How about I return the spirit stones to you?"

"I don't lack these spirit stones."

"Sigh..." Li Qingyi sighed, feeling like he was being taken advantage of.

A night breeze carried her faint fragrance.

Taking advantage of his unpreparedness, Ling'er secretly made a hand seal, and a barely perceptible ray of spiritual light silently entered his clothes.

This is a unique tracking technique of the Zhengyang Immortal Sect. Unless one's cultivation reaches the Foundation Establishment stage, it is extremely difficult to detect.

"Alright, stop looking so gloomy." Ling'er smiled sweetly. "Having me with you on this journey will keep you entertained, won't it?"

"How do you plan to relieve your boredom?" Li Qingyi looked her up and down, his tone tinged with a hint of teasing.

It must be admitted that Ling'er's figure is indeed stunning.

Her original coarse linen clothes had been replaced by a light yellow flowing fairy dress, which made her look even more ethereal and otherworldly.

The bells tied around her waist jingled crisply in the night breeze.

"If Brother Feng wants to, it's not impossible." Ling'er lightly touched her lips with her slender finger, still putting on an innocent and naive appearance.

Li Qingyi's lips twitched. "You're kidding me."

He didn't believe a word Ling'er said; the girl seemed innocent, but in reality, she was very shrewd.

Now that things have come to this, he doesn't have any better options.

Judging from Ling'er's attitude, she's determined to follow him.

Although he couldn't figure out her purpose for a moment, he thought about it again and realized that having a beautiful woman by his side for half a month and getting five spirit stones for free didn't seem like a bad deal.

Li Qingyi comforted herself in this way.

The two then rode together on a single horse, leaving the city under the moonlight.

……

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and on this day, the two finally arrived at Xuan Ce City.

Compared to Yishan City, Xuanze City is several times larger in scale.

People came and went at the city gate, and the guards, clad in spirit armor, scrutinized the passersby with eyes as sharp as lightning.

The streets were bustling with pedestrians, and occasionally one could feel the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from Qi Refining stage cultivators.

The streets were bustling with activity, lined with all sorts of shops, from talisman shops and ritual implement shops to elixir shops, their signs gleaming in the sunlight.

Li Qingyi rented a quiet courtyard in the suburbs for the two of them to stay temporarily.

The courtyard is regularly maintained, with blue tiles and white walls, and is clean inside and out, requiring no further maintenance.

The courtyard is a standard four-sided layout, with an ancient tree in the center that takes five or six people to encircle. Its branches and leaves reach the sky, and the emerald green leaves rustle in the breeze.

Stone tables and benches were placed under the shade of the trees.

Li Qingyi nodded in satisfaction: "This place is acceptable."

He sensed the spiritual energy flowing within the courtyard; although it was thin, it was much better than the outside world.

"What brings Brother Feng to Xuan Ce City?" Ling'er asked curiously, her fingers gently brushing against the rough bark of the ancient tree.

"Earn spirit stones."

"Is Brother Feng really that short of spirit stones?"

Li Qingyi said calmly:

"Wealth, companions, methods, and land—wealth comes first. Without spiritual stones, what's the point of cultivating immortality or seeking the Dao?"

"Then... do you need a Daoist partner?" She looked at Li Qingyi expectantly, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Faced with this question, Li Qingyi's lips curled into a slight smile:

"Women only slow down my sword-drawing speed. With no woman in my heart, my sword-drawing speed is naturally divine."

Ling'er pouted, "Sometimes, I really want to tear your mouth apart."

She stomped her foot angrily and turned to walk towards the side room.

"Hehe..." Li Qingyi chuckled nonchalantly.

He wouldn't fall for Ling'er's tricks.

If I had agreed just now, I would have immediately faced her endless schemes.

The two have spent the last two weeks together, sleeping in the mountains and forests, and have become quite familiar with each other.

Bickering and joking around had become commonplace, and Ling'er was always exasperated by Li Qingyi.

"How long do you plan to stay here?" Ling'er's slightly impatient voice came from inside the room.

"I should stay for a while," Li Qingyi replied vaguely.

Ling'er didn't ask any more questions. She silently pushed open the carved wooden window, letting the sunlight stream into the room, but sighed softly as she turned away.

As her seventeenth birthday approached, she felt increasingly uneasy.

"Two more months..."

Many times, she wanted to return to the Zhengyang Immortal Sect and hide for ten or eight years.

But when he thought about how mysterious and unpredictable fate is, he had to suppress the thought.

Master once said that the only way to resolve a calamity is to face it head-on; avoiding it will only make the calamity more ferocious.

I don't know if staying by his side is the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do...

Amidst her turbulent thoughts, Ling'er took out the True Disciple Token, the white jade token gleaming warmly in her palm.

She looked at it for a moment and then put it away.

"Master should still be in seclusion. We haven't heard from him for half a month, so let's not disturb him."

Outside, Li Qingyi stared at Ling'er's door, her brows slightly furrowed.

He naturally noticed Ling'er's unusual behavior.

Throughout the journey, she frequently displayed the same worried expression she had just shown.

"As a true disciple of the Purple Mansion Sect, what is there to worry about?"

Li Qingyi was completely baffled and finally shook her head:

"Never mind, the most important thing is to buy some talisman paper and talisman brushes first."

He straightened his robes, stepped out of the courtyard, and his figure gradually blended into the bustling street.