There were only two rows of shelves at the counter, and the end could be seen at a glance.
Yu Yan had been busy since she entered. She took out talismans and puppets from her storage bag and carefully placed each one in a homemade exquisite wooden box.
Shen Ping looked at Yu Yan quietly. The curves of her waist-length robe became even more magnificent. Her black hair was tied up, and her eyebrows were not only enchanting, but they also revealed a mature charm.
She seemed to have noticed the gaze. Yu Yan could not help but smile. "Husband, you're always so energetic."
Shen Ping smiled. "Yu Yan, the pink shirt you wore last night is not bad. It's silky and faintly discernible. It's just lacking something."
"What is it?"
"A string of jade beads."
Yu Yan subconsciously tightened her robe and felt a faint chill rise. She quickly glanced at the door of the shop, took a few steps forward, and said in a low voice, "Tomorrow at seven, I want you to put it on for me personally."
"How do you want it?" Shen Ping asked with a smile.
Yu Yan did not say anything, but the tip of her tongue circled around her lips.
"Shopkeeper Yu, the shop is finally open today. As usual, give me a fewâŠ" A voice sounded at the door. freeweÉnĂžvel.com
Yu Yan immediately retracted the seductive look at the corner of her eyes and revealed a standard smile. "Okay."
âŠ
Happiness was short.
Although Shen Ping missed the life of his wife and concubines, he also knew that the joy of having such a precious day took up a lot of credit.
For the next month or so, his cultivation gradually calmed down. He, who had perfected his spiritual energy and could not advance an inch, had more time to make talismans, but he did not forget to eat and sleep like before.
In the blink of an eye, the end of the month arrived. He stepped into the True Treasure Pavilion again.
Nothing had changed inside, but Shen Ping noticed that there was a hint of respect in the gaze of the external member. There were even two female members who accidentally bumped into his arms.
Unfortunately, it didn't feel good. He came to the counter. Shopkeeper Qu smiled and said, "Deacon Xia is in Room C in the backyard."
Before they reached the room, Deacon Xia's voice sounded. "Talisman Master Shen, come in."
There was a faint smell of spirit wine in the room. After sitting down, Shen Ping originally thought that Deacon Xia was going to talk about the special-class guest elder assessment. However, that was not the case.
"The success of Foundation Establishment depends on two main factors. One is the spiritual sea, and the other is the spiritual energy in the dantian and meridians." Deacon Xia looked at Shen Ping and smiled. "The reason why most old cultivators fail to build their foundation is mainly because their meridians and spiritual energy are affected by their bodies.
It looks like they have been polished to perfection, but they are actually damaged. If their willpower is insufficient, they are destined to fail in building their foundation.
"And the use of the Foundation Establishment Pill, other than providing a huge supply of spiritual energy, it also protects one's meridians to prevent their dantian and meridians from being damaged after failing to build their foundation, this way, there is still hope of building their foundation.
"Last time, I checked. The spiritual energy in Talisman Master Shen's dantian and meridians is perfect and even richer than ordinary perfected Qi Refinement cultivators. Coupled with your Foundation Establishment Divine Sense, there's a high chance of success even without the Foundation Establishment Pill."
Shen Ping listened respectfully. He knew that Deacon Xia would not mention this for no reason.
Deacon Xia waved his hand, and three exquisite jade boxes surrounded by resplendent spiritual light floated up. Soon, the jade boxes opened, revealing the items inside. "Talisman Master Shen. This is your reward for passing the qualification test. Choose one of the three."
Shen Ping was slightly stunned. "There's a reward?"
Deacon Xia said with a serious expression, "Our True Treasure Pavilion values every cultivator with outstanding skills and talent. Pill, talisman, weapon and arrays, as long as you can show your talent in any of them and pass the qualification assessment, you will be rewarded.
"However, it's rare for a Qi Refinement Guest Elder like Talisman Master Shen. It's already rare for a Qi Refinement rogue cultivator to become a Guest Elder."
Shen Ping nodded with emotion.
Most low-level rogue cultivators had mediocre aptitudes. Even if they had talent in terms of skills, it was very difficult for them to survive the early stages. Without resources and the guidance of their seniors, it was easier said than done to rely on themselves to cultivate diligently.
If not for the fact that he could rely on dual cultivation to increase his experience in the Dao of Talismans every day, how could he have reached a cooperation with the True Treasure Pavilion and finally become a guest elder?
Talent, hard work, and resources were indispensable if one wanted to have attainments in the four main arts of cultivation.
He collected his thoughts and looked at the three items: medicinal pills, rare treasures, and Dharma artifacts.
Deacon Xia's voice sounded again. "The medicinal pill is a Spirit Channel Pill. It can greatly expand the meridians and increase the accommodation of spiritual energy and magic power. The rare treasure in the middle is the Hundred Flowers Sun Shell. It's a rare Foundation Establishment-level treasure. On the right is the top-grade offensive artifact, the Blue Sea Pearl.
"Among these three, the Spirit Channel Pills are the most helpful to you at the moment. Your spiritual energy is perfect. After consuming this pill, your meridians will expand. During the next special assessment, you can continue to polish your spiritual energy to the limit.
Once you build your foundation in the future, your spiritual energy will be 20 to 30% stronger than other Foundation Establishment cultivators of the same level."
Hearing this, Shen Ping hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your reminder, Senior."
He really had no use for rare treasures and Dharma artifacts now. When he reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, he might have other methods to obtain such items. He didn't hesitate anymore. He chose the Spirit Channel Pill.
Deacon Xia continued, "I've already applied to the headquarters for a special grade assessment. If everything goes smoothly, an envoy from the headquarters will come to pick you up in two months to take the assessment."
Shen Ping said yes respectfully and hesitated. "Senior Xia, I have a question and would like to ask."
Deacon Xia took a sip of spirit wine. "Go ahead."
He took a deep breath. Shen Ping said slowly, "What kind of treatment does a special-class guest elder receive? Even a Golden Core Daoist like you values them so much."
Deacon Xia did not look surprised. He stood up and walked to the door of the room with his hands behind his back. He stood for a while before turning around and answering an irrelevant question. "Talisman Master Shen, you've been a guest elder of the True Treasure Pavilion for a while. You should know what's the most important thing in the True Treasure Pavilion, right?"
"Contribution, authority." Shen Ping replied.
"That's right! This is the True Treasure Pavilion." Deacon Xia's voice became low. "As long as you have enough contribution points and the corresponding identity authority, you can buy rare treasures, medicinal pills, cultivation techniques, and so on. The Foundation Establishment Pill was placed in the auction and many cultivators will bid for it.
In the True Treasure Pavilion, you can easily buy it with contribution points as a third-grade guest status. Although there's a limit to the number, there's no need to fight for it.
"It's the same for Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and other supplementary resources. What is the most fundamental thing for us cultivators to pursue longevity? Resources! The True Treasure Pavilion is spread across the five continents and four seas. How can ordinary cultivators imagine the resources it has?"
Speaking of this, Deacon Xia sat down again and continued to drink the spirit wine. There was a hint of envy in his tone that could not be erased. "I'm not sure about the specific treatment of a special-class guest elder, but I know one thing. The identity and authority of a special-class guest elder can buy most of the resources of the True Treasure Pavilion, and it's not limited to contributions."
Shen Ping's body trembled when he heard this. Authority was too important.
Snow Ganoderma Pill. Spirit Jade Ginseng Ointment. These two dual cultivation resources were extremely helpful to cultivators at the Qi Refinement Realm. The spirit liquid was secondary to the fact that he could break through to the perfected Qi Refinement Realm so quickly. It was mainly because of the support of the Snow Ganoderma Pill.
However, he could not buy it in the True Treasure Pavilion. He could only wait for the auction or go to the pill hut of that alchemy expert who liked to dance to buy it.
On the surface, the True Treasure Pavilion's Snow Ganoderma Pill and Spirit Jade Ginseng Ointment were both scarce. But in fact, he had heard from Shopkeeper Qu that a second-grade guest elder could reserve a certain amount of Spirit Jade Ginseng Ointment every month.
Spirit Jade Ginseng Ointment was even more effective than the Snow Ganoderma Pill. If he used such an item when dual cultivating with his wife and concubines, Yu Yan would probably only need three times to successfully break through to the eighth level!
"Thank you for clearing my doubts, Deacon Xia!" Shen Ping stood up and bowed respectfully.
Then, Deacon Xia talked about some matters regarding the special-class guest elders and asked Shen Ping to leave. However, before he left, he added, "Talisman Master Shen, don't feel pressured. Just wait patiently. You have the qualification jade token now. Your identity and authority are comparable to a second-grade guest elder.
It's fine even if you don't pass the special-class assessment in the future. When you build your foundation and become a first-grade guest elder in the future, you can continue to apply!"
âŠ
He walked out of the room in the backyard. Shen Ping could not wait to go to the contribution room on the second floor of the True Treasure Pavilion. He took out the qualification jade token. Indeed, his identity and authority had increased.
He could buy more resources and items. Among them, the Snow Ganoderma Pill, the Spirit Jade Ginseng Ointment, and a few Foundation Establishment treasures that could only be seen at auctions were included.
Most importantly, the number of Foundation Establishment Pills had increased to six. However, Shen Ping quickly realized that if he wanted to buy these items, he could only use the contribution points of the True Treasure Pavilion and could not use spirit stones.
He did not care. Instead, he immediately took out the Level Two talismans he had accumulated over the past few days and exchanged them for contribution points.
"Spirit Jade Ginseng Ointment, buy!"
"An excellent Qi Refinement Support Pill. Buy!"
"A higher concentration of spirit liquid, buy!"
"Pill ginseng that nourishes one's vitality. Buy!"
"Foundation Establishment Treasure⊠My contribution points are gone!"
He had lost all his savings.
Shen Ping looked at the dazzling array of resources and items and could only sigh to himself. He would come back when he had accumulated enough contribution points in the future.
It was almost noon. He returned to the Cloud Fir Street in the small courtyard in Huiquan Alley. The warm winter sun shone on his body. He walked slowly in a good mood.
With the qualification jade token, after reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm, he could also use talismans to quickly obtain resources at the Foundation Establishment Realm. At that time, his cultivation speed would still not fall much.
Moreover, his wife and concubines had hopes of stepping into the Foundation Establishment Realm. Most importantly, it was Luo Qing. Previously, Shen Ping had seen spirit wine that could solve Luoqing's physique problem on the resource items. It was a little expensive, but it could be bought at any time.
He was about to reach the corner of the street when a beautiful figure walked over.
It was Fairy Cai Shang.
Shen Ping did not expect to see this Foundation Establishment female cultivator in the same position again. This time, he did not greet her. However, just as they passed each other, Fairy Cai Shang's voice sounded, "You live here?"
Shen Ping stopped in his tracks. He cupped his hands and replied, "Yes." Then, he walked away quickly.
Fairy Cai Chang's beautiful face flashed with shock. However, she shook her head indifferently. So what if he lived in Huiquan Alley? A Qi Refinement cultivator was most likely a relative of a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.