Wang Lin looked at his nephew's utterly calm face and couldn't help sighing inwardly.
“He doesn't crave wealth or luxury in the slightest. No matter what danger he encounters, he's always this calm!”
“Just in terms of composure, I'm already far behind him. Perhaps Baoling will go farther than I did on the path to immortality.”
“Second Uncle, I feel we shouldn't delay. I can leave right now!” Wang Baoling said with a solemn expression.
Wang Lin, who had been sighing inwardly, suddenly came back to his senses. His nephew didn't seem to have an especially good temperament after all. He was simply afraid of dying.
“No need. Even if Xu Wuhui breaks through, it'll take at least a year. During that time, you need to go into seclusion and break through to the second level of Qi Refinement. You still have two Spirit Gathering Pills, which should be enough to get you there,” Wang Lin said.
“That's right, Second Uncle. Xu Lu and her fiancé, Li Mingchun, gave me two Spirit Awakening Pills, saying they were engagement gifts. Every disciple of the Xu Family received some. I didn't dare use them, so take a look!”
Wang Lin examined them carefully before saying, “That's right. They're Spirit Awakening Pills. There's nothing wrong with them.”
“Two Spirit Gathering Pills and two Spirit Awakening Pills should be enough to get you to the third level of Qi Refinement.”
“Hurry up and enter seclusion. Even if you have to pile spirit pills on yourself, you still need to break through to the second level of Qi Refinement as soon as possible.”
Wang Baoling nodded and immediately turned around to begin his seclusion.
At the Li Family in Qingzhou.
Li Mingchun said seriously to Li Junren, “Grandpa, I've gotten engaged to Xu Lu of the Xu Family. The next step is the wedding.”
“As for the Xu Family treasure you mentioned, Grandpa, I tried asking around indirectly. Xu Lu really doesn't seem to have heard of it.”
The Li Family patriarch, Li Junren, said, “Impossible. The second Xu brother told me himself while drunk last time. There can't be any mistake.”
“Xu Jinghui? Wasn't he injured?” Li Mingchun asked in astonishment.
“Injured my ass. The people who attacked them were from our Li Family. We wanted to seize their Foundation Establishment Pill, but we never expected Xu Guohui to be so powerful. He took on the three of us by himself. That old bastard has definitely already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment,” Li Junren said warily.
“This…” Li Mingchun was also shaken to the core. He never imagined that the people who had attacked the Xu Family would actually be from his own clan.
“Grandpa, what treasure does the Xu Family have, exactly?” Li Junren asked in confusion.
“We don't know either. But judging from how nervous Xu Jinghui was, it must be an invaluable treasure!” Li Junren said greedily.
“All right!”
In the blink of an eye, half a year passed. A terrifying pressure suddenly swept over everyone from above the Xu Family.
Wang Baoling, who was in seclusion, was startled by the pressure as well. He looked into the distance, his face filled with terror.
“Xu Wuhui broke through!”
“Congratulations, Third Master, on breaking through to Foundation Establishment!” the Xu Family members shouted excitedly.
“Baoling, have you broken through to the second level of Qi Refinement?” Wang Lin asked.
“Not yet. I'm just a little short,” Wang Baoling explained to his second uncle.
“We can't stay at the Xu Family any longer. I have a shop in the Da Shu Market. It's on the territory of the Taiji Immortal Academy, and I have some ties with the elder who manages the market. No one will dare touch you there!” Wang Lin said with a serious expression.
Although Baoling didn't know why his second uncle was in such a hurry, he didn't ask. Instead, he said, “When are we leaving?”
“Right now, while Xu Wuhui is still immersed in his joy.”
“Take all the spirit medicines from the back courtyard!” Wang Lin ordered.
A short while later, Wang Baoling had finished packing everything and followed his second uncle down the mountain.
As soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, a Xu Family disciple guarding the gate asked curiously, “Elder Wang Lin, where are you headed?”
“I'm making a trip to the Da Shu Market to buy my nephew a Marrow-Washing Pill,” Wang Lin said with a smile.
Xu Dong, the gate guard, looked at Wang Baoling with envy. Although he was a Xu Family disciple, he didn't have the privilege of using a Marrow-Washing Pill to temper his body.
There were simply too many Xu Family disciples. It was impossible to give every one of them a Marrow-Washing Pill. If everyone got one, the Xu Family would go bankrupt in an instant!
“Safe travels, Elder Wang Lin!”
Wang Lin took Wang Baoling with him and set off openly in a carriage toward the Da Shu Market.
“I spent my entire fortune buying a shop in the Da Shu Market. Otherwise, my cultivation wouldn't have remained stuck in place all these years,” Wang Lin said helplessly.
“Are shops in the Da Shu Market really that valuable?” Wang Baoling asked curiously.
“Hmph, of course they are. When I bought this shop, it cost me two thousand lower-grade spirit stones,” Wang Lin said with a smile.
“That many?” Wang Baoling was equally astonished.
“Now, a shop in the Da Shu Market costs five thousand lower-grade spirit stones,” Wang Lin said smugly.
Wang Baoling: “…”
Sure enough, the end of the universe was real estate speculation!
After traveling for half a month, they finally arrived in a desolate stretch of wilderness.
“Second Uncle, there aren't any trees or even small hills around here. Where is the Da Shu Market?” Wang Baoling asked in confusion after looking around.
“Wait a moment!” Wang Lin took out a jade pendant and channeled his spiritual energy into it.
A burst of blinding light flashed before them. A vast cluster of ancient buildings appeared, along with the sounds of people coming and going and hawkers calling out their wares.
“This is one of the largest markets in Qingzhou. It was built by the Taiji Immortal Academy!”
“The other major market in Qingzhou is Ruyi Market, which is backed by the Myriad Talisman Sect.”
“In the beginning, the Myriad Talisman Sect's Ruyi Market was the largest trading market in Qingzhou.”
“After all, the Myriad Talisman Sect specializes in making spirit talismans. Seventy percent of all the spirit talismans in Qingzhou come from them.”
“Even throughout Qingyang City, the Myriad Talisman Sect's output of spirit talismans is quite substantial.”
“So when the Taiji Immortal Academy built the Da Shu Market, many people didn't think much of it. I took the opportunity to buy a small shop to use for my retirement!”
“But unexpectedly, the Taiji Immortal Academy produced a Golden Core Adept, and the Da Shu Market became lively as a result.”
As he finished speaking, a smug smile appeared at the corner of Wang Lin's mouth.
“The formations and restrictions outside are meant to keep ordinary people from accidentally entering the market.”
Wang Baoling nodded and followed his second uncle through the formations and restrictions into the Da Shu Market.
At a glance, he saw a street stretching endlessly into the distance. Three-story shops stood on both sides, and people streamed back and forth everywhere. It was incredibly lively.
“Fellow Daoist, take a look at my spirit talismans! I don't cheat the old or swindle the young!”
“Fellow Daoist, I've got spirit pills here! Come take a look!”
The cries of hawkers rang out around them in wave after wave.
Wang Lin ignored them and continued forward with Wang Baoling.
After walking for most of the day and crossing more than half the street, they stopped in front of a three-story shop with its main doors tightly shut.
“This is the shop I bought!”
Wang Lin took out a jade pendant and instantly opened the shop's restrictions and formations.
Wang Baoling followed Wang Lin inside curiously.
The first floor was roughly forty square meters, and the shop had three floors in all.
The first floor was the storefront, the second was a storage room containing an alchemy furnace and raw materials, and the third was a cultivation chamber. A small Spirit-Gathering Formation had even been set up in the ceiling.
“Not bad, not bad!” Wang Baoling couldn't help exclaiming.
“You'll stay here for now. Once I've dealt with the Xu Family, this place will be our home,” Wang Lin said with a smile.