Longevity Begins With Zongmen Handyman

Chapter 30: The Secret Realm of Liyang

"Please come in."

Li An put down his brush.

Tan Qingxue, dressed in white, pushed open the door and saw the talisman paper on Li An's desk. She exclaimed, "Fellow Daoist Li, are you starting to draw middle-grade talismans of the first rank?"

Li An replied, "The success rate has improved recently, so I should be able to sell them soon."

Tan Qingxue nodded and said, "Junior Brother Li, I came here today to discuss the issue of safety with you."

She talked about the news from the Liuyang River Market. After all, she had a deep relationship with Xu Qiuhui, so she would definitely know about such insider information.

"I'm worried that we might also be in danger here..."

Tan Qingxue frowned and looked at Li An.

Because her perception of Li An had changed, she often sought his advice after coming to the talisman hall.

Li An, who came from a family of cultivators in his previous life and managed a spiritual talisman shop, found it easy to give practical and sensible advice.

It can be said that the performance of the spiritual talisman shop and the continuous popularity of the talismans made by Li An were closely related.

As a result, she had become more and more respectful towards Li An, and even... somewhat dependent.

"The demonic cultivators are so rampant..."

Li An frowned and said, "We have to be on guard."

"Yes, Xu Sister also told me to be careful... So, I think we should strengthen the defense of the spiritual talisman shop."

Tan Qingxue said, "Junior Brother, do you have any ideas?"

—In fact, after the incident in the Liuyang River Market, Xunyang Sect strengthened its power in all major markets. However, this protection was for the entire market and it was impossible for the sect to strengthen the defense of a specific shop.

Therefore, for the sake of safety, they had to rely on themselves.

Li An pondered and said, "How about buying a formation?"

Tan Qingxue also said, "That would be best, but formations are very expensive. Even if we exhaust our savings, we probably won't be able to afford a second-rank formation..."

Li An said, "Indeed, they are expensive, but if we want to be foolproof, we can only do this... How about I go to the formation shop tomorrow? If there's a suitable one, I'll buy it."

Tan Qingxue nodded and said, "Alright, Junior Brother, please take care of this matter."

"I have five hundred spirit stones here. Junior Brother, you can use them first. If it's not enough, I'll figure something out."

She took out a pile of spirit stones and handed them to Li An.

Li An was somewhat surprised and said, "Senior Sister Tan, why don't you come with me?"

But Tan Qingxue smiled and said, "Junior Brother, I trust you to handle things."

After saying that, she turned and left.

Li An accepted the five hundred spirit stones and felt quite emotional.

In just a few years, Tan Qingxue had become much more mature.

In fact, in the blink of an eye, Li An was already thirty years old, and Tan Qingxue was a few years older than him.

However, the Immortal Cultivation Technique he practiced greatly increased his lifespan, so he still appeared very young.

Five hundred spirit stones, plus a little from himself... should be enough.

In the following days, Li An occasionally went to Zhang Shouye's place, chatting with him and inquiring about the situation of the demonic cultivators. He seemed worried and repeatedly asked about high-grade formations of the first rank.

Zhang Shouye obviously wanted to sell the leftover low-quality formations that had been stockpiled for many years. He repeatedly persuaded Li An and reluctantly offered a large discount. In the end, Li An only spent six hundred and fifty spirit stones to buy the formation.

After bringing the formation back, Li An immediately set it up in the spiritual talisman shop.

"This formation can be considered between high-grade first rank and low-grade second rank. It can basically kill anyone below the Foundation Building stage..."

Li An was quite satisfied.

Generally, Qi Refining stage cultivators who bought this formation would be deceived because their spiritual power couldn't control the formation plate, so even if they bought it, they couldn't use it.

But Li An happened to have a powerful spiritual power.

"If a demonic cultivator comes, I should be behind the counter or in the back hall..."

Li An carefully deduced the possible situations.

In the end, he placed the defensive part of the formation outside the storefront counter and the offensive part in his own room in the back hall.

After all, this way, no matter if he encountered enemies in the back hall or in the shop, he would have a part of the formation to rely on and wouldn't be helpless.

Moreover, he set it up very discreetly, even Foundation Building stage cultivators wouldn't be able to detect the traces of the formation without using their divine sense.

"It's fortunate that this formation doesn't have an active defense and attack function. It doesn't consume too many spirit stones, only fifteen per month..."

Li An felt a bit distressed, but he could accept it. After all, he would soon be able to sell middle-grade talismans of the first rank.

His income would increase a bit.

He could support it.

With the protection of the formation, Li An felt much more at ease.

In the following days, he started selling middle-grade talismans of the first rank in the spiritual talisman shop.

Mainly ordinary talismans of the first rank, with a few high-quality ones mixed in, such as the Swift Talisman, Cold Rain Talisman, and Earth Sink Talisman. The ordinary talismans were sold for one spirit stone each, while the high-quality ones were sold for two spirit stones each.

"Selling so many middle-grade talismans of the first rank, the monthly profit can reach around thirty-five spirit stones..."

Li An whispered.

In the following days, he purchased a large amount of high-grade talisman paper and silver sand, spending 240 spirit stones.

In the blink of an eye, his three years of savings and the income from selling stolen goods were reduced to only twenty or thirty spirit stones.

And this was after Tan Qingxue had paid a large sum of money.

...

In the blink of an eye, another three months had passed.

The market in Qingyang District was calm, and news about demonic cultivators, after spreading briefly, gradually faded from people's minds.

On this day, Tan Qingxue knocked on Li An's door and walked in.

"Junior brother, I received news that a secret realm has appeared in the Liyang Valley, possibly containing the cave mansion of a Foundation Building stage cultivator..."

She was quite excited.

The Liyang Valley was not too far from Qingyang District, only about a hundred miles away.

A secret realm had actually appeared in that desolate mountain range? And it was a Foundation Building level?

Li An frowned slightly and said, "This... may not be reliable."

Tan Qingxue was also somewhat intrigued. "I also think it's unlikely to have the cave mansion of a Foundation Building stage cultivator, but there should be many opportunities for the Foundation Building stage..."

"Junior brother, do you think we should go and explore?"

Li An smiled and said, "Senior sister, I think it's better to stay in the market and draw talismans. When the secret realm opens, the sales of talismans will definitely increase."

Seeing that Li An wasn't interested, Tan Qingxue could only say, "Alright, that's fine."

In the following days, as expected, news quickly spread throughout the market, and everyone knew about it.

At the same time, the sales of pills, magical tools, and talismans in the market all skyrocketed.

In just a few days, all the talismans supplied by the Xunyang Sect were sold out. Li An and Tan Qingxue stayed indoors, drawing talismans day and night, and made a good profit.

In just half a month, Li An's income reached sixty spirit stones!

He flipped through them.

"The first layer of the Liyang Valley secret realm has been opened, and a Qi Refining stage cultivator at the fourth level had the luck to obtain a second-grade spiritual herb!"

"The second layer has also been opened, and a magic treasure flew out on its own, very likely a Foundation Building stage treasure!"

"I heard that there might be Foundation Building stage pills in the third layer..."

News about the Liyang Valley kept pouring in day by day.

Everyone in the market was discussing it, and many cultivators couldn't help but venture out to seek opportunities. Even Zhang Shouye from the Formation Shop couldn't resist and went there, resulting in a fruitful harvest of high-grade refining materials.

"It's true, the third layer's restriction hasn't been opened yet, but there might be Foundation Building stage pills inside... This is a great opportunity!"

Zhang Shouye came to the Spirit Talisman Shop and spoke passionately. He wanted to go again and wanted to invite a few powerful helpers, so he approached Tan Qingxue and Li An.

Mainly Tan Qingxue!

After listening to Zhang Shouye's description, Tan Qingxue, who had been thinking all day, found Li An again that night, her face filled with hesitation.

"Junior brother, can't we really go to the Liyang Valley?"

She asked, and Li An looked up and saw the unparalleled desire in her eyes.

Although life in the market was not bad after being expelled from the talisman hall, it would be like this for the rest of her life. Without a great opportunity, she couldn't turn her life around.

Foundation Building stage pills... had an irresistible allure to any Qi Refining stage cultivator.

Moreover, Zhang Shouye had joined forces with many disciples from the Xunyang Sect, and their lineup was indeed strong.

"It's too dangerous."

Li An hesitated for a moment and said, "If you must go, I suggest you buy two things."

"The first-grade high-grade Golden Silkworm Robe and Cloud-Stepping Boots from the magical tool shop."

These two items were treasures and quite valuable!

Li An occasionally strolled around the shops and paid attention to the situation in each one. In fact, he had wanted to buy these two treasures a long time ago. One for protection and one for escape, they were especially suitable for survival.

It's just that he didn't have enough spirit stones.

Now, with the large formation guarding the Spirit Talisman Shop, he didn't need them for the time being.

"Okay!"

After receiving Li An's suggestion, Tan Qingxue's eyes were filled with joy. "Junior brother, will you accompany me?"

Li An shook his head and said, "No... the business in the Spirit Talisman Shop still needs someone to take care of it."

Tan Qingxue felt a little disappointed, but she nodded. The Spirit Talisman Shop really couldn't be left unattended.

She turned and left.

"Don't save money, make sure to buy those two things."

Li An watched her figure and suddenly added another sentence.

Tan Qingxue had performed well in the past three years, and she had been particularly generous recently... From a benefit perspective, Li An didn't want anything to happen to her.

Tan Qingxue turned back, a faint smile on her lips. "I remember."

...

(End of this chapter)