Chapter 13: The Ambush
Liu Shunyi’s first friend in the cultivation world was a scholar named Zhao Qing.
They had both arrived at Qinglian Sect together.
But unfortunately for Liu Shunyi, he ended up as a Servant Disciple.
Zhao Qing, lacking any spiritual roots, opened a shop in the market at the foot of Qinglian Mountain.
But Liu Shunyi found Zhao Qing quite mysterious.
How to put it?
Anything you wanted, Zhao Qing seemed to have it.
If you couldn’t think of it, it didn’t exist in Zhao Qing’s inventory.
After finishing their trade, Zhao Qing didn’t rush off.
Why?
Free meal!
Zhao Qing was generous though, serving up fine food and drink.
Meanwhile, while Liu Shunyi was enjoying his meal, Zhao Qing was busy revising his notes on the Analects.
Liu Shunyi paid attention while eating.
And then, he was taken aback.
Because Zhao Qing’s new annotations were actually genuine interpretations of the Analects.
Wow, this scholar was seriously knowledgeable.
After revising the text, Zhao Qing was quite satisfied.
“This is a great book, all-encompassing, even containing truths!”
Then he glanced at Liu Shunyi’s notes.
Suddenly, he scratched his head.
“If I think about it carefully, there seems to be nothing to critique in your annotations!”
Liu Shunyi chuckled.
“It’s all about practical application; different occasions call for different interpretations!”
Zhao Qing felt a sense of understanding.
Then he looked gratefully at Liu Shunyi.
“Thanks for clearing that up!”
Liu Shunyi waved him off.
“I just got lucky! If we’re talking knowledge, I can’t hold a candle to you!”
Zhao Qing smiled but didn’t pursue the topic any further.
Instead, he looked at Liu Shunyi with curiosity.
“It seems you’ve run into quite the fortune lately; you’re almost at the Qi Refinement Sixth Stage now!”
Liu Shunyi chuckled.
“Don’t just talk about me; you can’t be just an ordinary guy either! Ordinary folks couldn’t survive in the cultivation market!”
Zhao Qing didn’t hide the truth.
“Actually, during the talent test, I did have a spiritual root. It’s just that mine is attribute-less, and the disciple testing my root didn’t understand, so he thought I had none!”
Liu Shunyi was utterly bewildered.
He’d read plenty of cultivation novels.
If someone has a spiritual root but no attributes…
His eyes widened suddenly.
“You can’t be an Empty Spiritual Root, can you?!”
Zhao Qing nodded.
“Indeed, I am an Empty Spiritual Root, and now I’m at the Qi Refinement Twelfth Stage.”
Liu Shunyi felt a mix of envy and admiration.
He was afraid his buddy was struggling, yet worried he was secretly cruising around in luxury.
He finally understood that feeling.
“Wow, buddy, that’s pretty underhanded!”
Liu Shunyi felt a bit sour.
Zhao Qing chuckled.
“But the main thing is, when I was leaving Qinglian Sect, I found a pearl along the way. I tried refining it, and guess what?”
Liu Shunyi stayed silent, watching Zhao Qing intently.
Zhao Qing grinned.
“After refining one layer of the seal, I found a mountain of spiritual herbs, techniques, and spells inside! Even a bunch of materials for refining tools, but they’re all for the Qi Refinement Stage!”
“So, I’m really short on spirit stones! If I could get my hands on some, I could refine the second layer of the seal, and I’ll split everything with you!”
Without hesitating, Liu Shunyi handed over all his spirit stones.
“Take them! But if you find something good when you break that second layer, you need to focus on enhancing your strength first. The stronger you are, the more I can ride your coattails!”
Zhao Qing nodded with a smile.
In this world, Liu Shunyi didn’t have many people he can trust.
Zhao Qing was definitely one of them.
After all, when Liu Shunyi first showed up in this hostile world, he had no idea he’d have died countless times without Zhao Qing.
Their bond was forged in fire.
Zhao Qing wasn’t shy about it either.
———
As evening approached, Liu Shunyi, having learned the concealment technique, masked his cultivation level to Qi Refinement Second Stage and left Zhao Qing’s place.
Before he left, Zhao Qing, hearing Liu Shunyi intended to refine pills, practically gave him all the spiritual herbs from his pearl.
Liu Shunyi didn’t refuse.
Zhao Qing was eager.
“Good buddy, when you finish making pills, sell them through me, and we’ll split everything fifty-fifty!”
That was a good proposal, and Liu Shunyi readily agreed.
Zhao Qing even gifted him a set of soft armor and a top-grade magic sword.
Liu Shunyi felt like he was being showered in good fortune.
Too bad those spells and techniques Zhao Qing could offer were non-transferable—he could only understand them tacitly, not share them verbally.
Liu Shunyi waved it off.
“No worries! I’m at Qinglian Sect, and I’ll learn those spells sooner or later. Just be careful; I shouldn’t need to explain the dangers of having something valuable, right?”
Zhao Qing nodded earnestly.
“Don’t worry, I’m cautious!”
Liu Shunyi nodded, then headed to Qinglian Mountain.
But after Liu Shunyi left, Zhao Qing let out a sigh.
“How terrifyingly perceptive! Just one glance at a spell, and he’s mastered it to the extreme in a day!”
Zhao Qing stayed silent for a long time.
Man, this chapter still has more; click to the next page to continue reading; it’s about to get even more exciting!
Finally, he picked up the pearl, wanting to use the spells within.
But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t extract anything.
“That’s odd! It seems I can’t retrieve it for Liu Shunyi, but when it’s for myself, it’s effortless!”
Zhao Qing looked up at the sky, bewildered.
……
……
This time down the mountain, Liu Shunyi was practically loaded.
Now his Storage Bag was stacked high with spiritual herbs.
Most were basic herbs, but enough for him to practice alchemy.
Once he mastered alchemy, his future would truly take off.
Because then, he wouldn’t need to worry about pill toxins or unstable foundations from using pills.
All the adverse effects would directly transfer to his enemies.
But speaking of enemies, Liu Shunyi didn’t quite get it.
“The clearance of Qinglian Mine was caused by a mighty figure from Qinglian Sect, with Zhao Gou as the instigator. How does this relate to me? Why does Zhang Beiping want to kill me?”
Liu Shunyi shook his head, puzzled.
Of course, understanding it didn’t really matter.
Now that he had the Golden Scroll, he wasn’t worried about Chen Beiping.
What scared him was people trying to kill him twice within a second.
That three-second gap felt truly long!
Right now, the most important things were alchemy and boosting his strength.
With that in mind, Liu Shunyi quickened his pace.
He was really eager to spend his fortune.
But as he walked, Liu Shunyi suddenly frowned.
And his steps began to slow as five black-clothed men emerged around him.
Liu Shunyi squinted slightly.
His spiritual energy flowed throughout his body, with faint arcs of lightning dancing around him.
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