Longevity Begins With Zongmen Handyman

Chapter 21: Falling into a Pit

After searching the market for a long time, Li An still couldn't find anyone selling the Body Refining technique.

This made him quite disappointed, but it was also normal since the Body Refining technique was rare.

He had no choice but to visit the Scripture Pavilion and spent fifteen spirit stones to obtain the reading rights for several bookshelves.

Each bookshelf in the Scripture Pavilion was sealed, and some shelves contained core cultivation techniques that could only be exchanged for contribution points. Fortunately, Li An didn't require anything too high.

On the bookshelf in front of him, all he saw were low-grade Huang-tier cultivation techniques, all of which were worn out from being flipped through by others.

After searching for a while, Li An finally found a Body Refining technique called the "Copper Skin Technique" from a corner.

Thanks to the rarity of people cultivating Body Refining, this technique was slightly newer compared to other books. Li An spent the entire morning reading it in the Scripture Pavilion before leaving.

- Li An didn't want to expose his Iron Tree Decision, so he definitely needed to find an ordinary technique to cover it up.

The Copper Skin Technique was not bad.

Then, he went to the Refining Hall, registered at the entrance, and waited for a long time before Wang Dazhu came out.

He was shirtless, with only a dirty apron tied around his chest, making his body appear even darker and stronger. Li An noticed that his blood and qi were more vigorous than an average person.

Moreover, Wang Dazhu's cultivation had actually reached the fourth level of Qi Refining, which was perfect.

This cultivation speed was not much weaker than Mu Qingwan, who had a mid-grade Huang-tier spiritual root.

"Could there be something wrong with his bloodline?"

Li An's heart trembled, mainly because of Wang Dazhu's blood and qi, which triggered some speculations.

Some cultivators had a trace of unusual blood flowing in their bodies, but it was difficult to awaken.

Could it be that while working in the Refining Hall, Wang Dazhu awakened some kind of bloodline?

This was not impossible.

"With a physique different from ordinary people, coupled with a pure Dao heart..."

Li An couldn't help but sigh. Wang Dazhu could be considered "fortunate fools."

The path of immortality was difficult, and scheming was common. Most people who could go far on this path were accustomed to deceit and trickery.

But there were also a few individuals who possessed a pure Dao heart and focused solely on cultivation. These people would actually progress faster.

Which of the two was superior or inferior was hard to say.

"Ange, you're here. I've prepared everything you wanted."

Wang Dazhu directly pulled out a storage bag from his apron, and in the blink of an eye, a large bag of iron sand appeared in front of Li An.

Using the storage bag... truly worthy of being a disciple of the Refining Hall.

Li An still hasn't used it until now.

Mainly because the storage bag is a spatial artifact after all, and it is quite valuable. If exchanged at the exchange center, even the lowest-grade one would cost forty spirit stones. Li An currently doesn't have a particularly urgent need for it.

"Alright, Dazhu, here are the spirit stones, keep them safe."

Li An untied the bundle and handed thirty spirit stones to Wang Dazhu.

"Ange, these are just scraps from the hall, not recorded in the accounts. I ground the sand myself, no need for money..."

Wang Dazhu chuckled, but Li An still said, "No, one Unified Harmony is one Unified Harmony, I can't let you suffer a loss."

He stuffed the spirit stones into Wang Dazhu's hands, then carried two hundred catties of iron sand and left.

...

After leaving the Refining Hall, he went to the Medicine Hall.

Similarly, after completing the registration, it didn't take long for Zhao Xianchuan to come out.

"Brother Li, the medicine you wanted, I personally asked the master to prepare it."

He handed Li An many bottles and jars.

Li An checked them one by one, then said, "Thank you, Brother Zhao!"

The medicine only cost fifteen spirit stones.

"By the way, Brother Li,"

Before leaving, Zhao Xianchuan suddenly said, "I received some news that the Spirit Beast Mountain Range has reopened. Many people are going back in. It was sealed off for four or five years, and there are many valuable spiritual herbs inside. Do you want to give it a try? If you obtain any medicinal materials, I can buy them from you at a high price!"

Li An had known this news half a month ago, but he just smiled and said, "It's too dangerous. I'll stick to drawing talismans slowly."

...

After returning to his residence.

Li An poured the two hundred catties of iron sand into the bathtub!

These iron sands were carefully polished scraps of spiritual materials. Each grain of iron sand couldn't be too sharp, otherwise Li An's physical body wouldn't be able to withstand it, but it also couldn't be too smooth, otherwise it would be useless for Body Refining.

Half a year ago, Li An asked Wang Dazhu for help, and it took until now to collect this much.

Each grain was carefully polished by Wang Dazhu, so Li An was willing to spend a lot of money, thirty spirit stones, to buy these iron sands.

He stripped naked, only wrapping certain particularly vulnerable parts with cloth for simple protection, then jumped into the wooden tub!

The cold iron sand, with its rough edges, rubbed against the skin, causing Li An to grit his teeth in pain, and then quickly activate his spiritual energy according to the Iron Tree Technique.

He "swam" in the iron sand, allowing every inch of his skin to come into close contact with it!

The iron sand quickly turned red from the blood that seeped out!

"The Life Seed has made my recovery ability very strong, and the speed at which wounds stop bleeding and scab over far surpasses that of an ordinary person!"

Li An was pleasantly surprised. With this, his cultivation progress might be faster than he imagined.

Two hours later.

Li An finally emerged from the iron sand and poured hot water into another large wooden barrel, then added a bottle of blue liquid.

He entered the bath filled with the liquid.

The tingling sensation, as if ants were gnawing at his skin, made Li An quickly stop the operation of his heightened senses technique. Otherwise, the pain would be too intense and he would faint!

...

In the blink of an eye, another year had passed.

During this half year, the talismans Li An purchased from the exchange center, as well as the talismans issued by the talisman hall last year, were all rendered useless.

Today was the day to turn in the talismans again. Li An lined up and took out five Spirit Gathering talismans and five Qi replenishing talismans, the required number of tasks to complete.

Then, he took out six Flame talismans.

"Hmm?"

Tan Qingxue was counting the talismans submitted this month and looked at him in surprise.

This quantity meant that Li An had become an outstanding first-tier low-grade talisman master.

However, it was normal for Li An to reach this level after two years in the talisman hall.

During these two years, Tan Qingxue had also observed Li An closely, but he had performed so mediocrely that she gradually stopped paying attention to him.

After all, the competition in the talisman hall was so fierce, and she didn't have the spare energy to focus on someone with average talent.

"Six high-quality first-tier talismans, plus an additional contribution of thirty points."

She quickly noted it down.

After she finished registering, Li An didn't leave but said, "Senior Sister Qingxue, I want... to apply for high-quality talisman brushes and high-quality talisman paper."

To draw a high-quality first-tier talisman, one had to use high-quality brushes and paper.

But they were too expensive to buy on his own, costing thirty to forty spirit stones!

It was painful!

Since he started practicing the Iron Tree Technique, his expenses had always been high, making it impossible for him to afford them.

Mainly, Li An couldn't reveal his true talisman-making level. Otherwise, with his current inventory of talismans, if he sold them all... he would instantly make a considerable fortune.

"You have just reached the threshold for refining high-quality first-tier talismans. It is still too early to apply for them."

Tan Qingxue said, "Now is not the right time."

In her opinion, Li An's desire to use high-quality brushes was aiming too high.

"Here's the deal, Senior Sister Qingxue. Can I make up the price difference for the high-quality brushes?"

"My low-grade brushes are worth about eight spirit stones per year, and the cheapest high-quality brushes are about thirty spirit stones. I need to make up twenty-two spirit stones..."

Li An took out a pile of spirit stones and counted them, with a talisman pen mixed in. He carefully put the talisman pen aside before handing the spirit stones to Tan Qingxue.

Tan Qingxue glanced at the talisman pen in Li An's hand and couldn't help but be surprised.

She was very familiar with this talisman pen... because it belonged to Xu Qiuhui!

So Xu Qiuhui sold her talisman pen to Li An.

Li An didn't use it until it was scrapped, but cherished it...

She suddenly said, "Forget it, in consideration of Senior Sister Xu, I'll help you apply for one for free."

Li An was instantly surprised by her words. Tan Qingxue was so generous??

After all, he only showed Xu Qiuhui's talisman pen to let Tan Qingxue make a concession. He didn't really want to take advantage of the talisman hall.

Although he was puzzled, he quickly said, "Thank you, Senior Sister Qingxue! Thank you!"

"Don't thank me," Tan Qingxue's eyes flashed with a cunning light as she said, "In a few days, I plan to go to the Spirit Beast Mountain Range. I heard that someone discovered a second-grade spirit herb there... Will you accompany me?"

The Spirit Beast Mountain Range was quite dangerous, and disciples of the talisman hall rarely went out on missions, so she lacked experience.

The talisman pen in Li An's hand reminded her of Xu Qiuhui's warning. Li An was a person with a good character and very cautious... With him by her side, perhaps it would be useful?

Li An was stunned when he heard this.

In his heart, Tan Qingxue was not an easy person to deal with... Her generosity was not easy to take advantage of.

He had fallen into a trap!

...

(End of this chapter)