DIV Chapter 8: Taking Stock of Gains

Zheng Qingqing raised her willow-like eyebrows and looked Li Chang'an over again.

This meeting hadn't been long after their last encounter. Li Chang'an still had that cautious and careful appearance.

"I heard that you were able to kill those two rogue cultivators because you used talismans in a surprise attack, catching them off guard?"

"That's exactly right," Li Chang'an responded truthfully.

The whole process sounded very normal, but Zheng Qingqing was very clear about one thing. When facing two vicious rogue cultivators, not everyone would have the courage to act. Many cultivators would just hide aside. Even if their good friend was being attacked by rogue cultivators, they wouldn't dare to act rashly.

With Li Chang'an's cautious and careful personality, he must have been fully prepared before deciding to save someone.

In other words, Li Chang'an's trump cards were far more than just two Mad Blade Talismans.

But where would an ordinary rogue cultivator get the spirit stones to prepare so many trump cards for himself? Either he had encountered great fortune, or he was hiding some skill for earning spirit stones.

Zheng Qingqing's mind turned, and she asked directly, "Li Chang'an, are you a talisman master?"

"The young miss is exceptionally wise, I cannot hide it from you," Li Chang'an complimented with a very sincere tone.

Zheng Qingqing smiled charmingly, seeming quite pleased, and her gaze changed subtly.

Originally, in her eyes, Li Chang'an was just an insignificant passerby. But now, Li Chang'an with his talisman drawing skills was worthy of her attention.

"You want to end the spiritual contract early and regain your freedom?" Zheng Qingqing asked softly.

Li Chang'an nodded.

"Young miss, is there any difficulty with this matter?"

"Rest assured, this matter is simple," Zheng Qingqing called over a maid and gave her some instructions.

The maid hurried away. Before long, she returned with a spiritual contract. It was exactly the spiritual contract Li Chang'an had signed with the Zheng family years ago!

This spiritual contract severely restricted Li Chang'an. If he violated the Zheng family's wishes, he would suffer backlash. At best he would be injured, at worst he would die!

He couldn't unilaterally dissolve the spiritual contract, but the Zheng family could.

Next, Zheng Qingqing raised her delicate hand, and her pale fingers flashed with a faint light as she gently brushed over the three characters "Li Chang'an" at the end of the spiritual contract.

"Done!" Zheng Qingqing smiled.

On the spiritual contract, Li Chang'an's name slowly disappeared, leaving only a blank space, as if it had never existed.

He immediately felt his whole body lighten, as if some shackles had been unlocked. His entire being felt reborn, and even his soul felt incredibly comfortable.

"Thank you, young miss!" Li Chang'an was delighted and quickly expressed his gratitude.

Zheng Qingqing smiled with pursed lips, "You eliminated two rogue cultivators for my Zheng family. This is what you deserve."

From now on, Li Chang'an and the Zheng family were even. He would interact with the Zheng family anew in his capacity as a rogue talisman master.

After a while, Li Chang'an and Chu Daniu left the Hall of All Affairs.

Chu Daniu didn't dissolve his spiritual contract. After all, he didn't kill the rogue cultivators. He only received two bottles of healing pills. Even so, he was very grateful.

"The young miss is truly a good person, both beautiful and kind, without any of the arrogance of aristocratic family members. I wonder who will be fortunate enough to marry her in the future," Chu Daniu said, holding the pills with sincere emotion.

Actually, quite a few young cultivators in the market secretly admired Zheng Qingqing. After all, whether in terms of status or cultivation talent, she was worthy of admiration from most rogue cultivators.

Li Chang'an smiled and glanced at Chu Daniu.

"Daniu, focus on healing your injuries. Don't think too much."

"Brother Li is right!" Chu Daniu scratched his head. He wouldn't dare to harbor such hopes.

Afterward, the two parted ways and returned to their respective rooms.

Li Chang'an closed his door and took out the two rogue cultivators' storage bags.

"Finally I can examine the spoils of war!" He smiled, feeling quite good.

This time taking action, though somewhat risky, was completely worth it.

"I never had storage bags before, which made doing things somewhat inconvenient. Now I won't have that trouble."

Two storage bags were enough for Li Chang'an to store necessary items.

He spent some effort breaking the restrictions the two rogue cultivators had left on their storage bags.

Opening the bags and seeing what was inside, his mood became even better!

"The spirit stones from both bags add up to over one hundred."

"There are five bottles of Qi Nurturing Pills, three bottles of Qi Recovery Pills, and some healing and calming pills."

Li Chang'an smiled as he examined the medicine bottles one by one.

Besides pills, there were various first-tier low-grade spiritual medicines, mostly for healing, and quite a few of them.

There were also two magical artifacts: a meteor hammer and a large axe, both first-tier low-grade magical artifacts.

"There are also more than ten first-tier low-grade talismans, as well as three first-tier mid-grade talismans, all for self-defense."

Li Chang'an picked up a talisman and secretly felt fortunate.

Luckily he had attacked directly by surprise and succeeded in one strike. Those two rogue cultivators didn't have a chance to activate their talismans.

"In the future, if I must take action, I'll ambush whenever possible, even when facing those with lower cultivation than me."

Li Chang'an reminded himself, then continued his inventory.

Finally, he roughly calculated that the items in the storage bags were worth over three hundred spirit stones in total!

Additionally, each of these two storage bags was worth over one hundred spirit stones.

"Truly worthy of being rogue cultivators, their wealth is considerable!" Li Chang'an sighed.

How could ordinary early-stage Qi Refining cultivators have so many spirit stones?

It made sense when he thought about it. The business of murder and arson had always been quite profitable since ancient times!

"Though the money comes fast, the risk is extremely high and it's too vile. I'll stick to honestly drawing talismans."

Li Chang'an put away all the items and took out the inheritance jade slip he had previously obtained from the fish's belly.

He began studying the craft of first-tier mid-grade talismans.

That evening, Steward Zheng Jinbao came to visit.

"Chang'an, it's me. Are you home?"

His voice was more enthusiastic compared to last time.

Li Chang'an got up to open the door and saw Zheng Jinbao standing outside with a face full of smiles.

"Steward Zheng, what brings you here?" Li Chang'an asked calmly with a normal expression.

Zheng Jinbao smiled, "Chang'an, you really hid it well, quietly becoming a talisman master without making a sound. You know, drawing talismans really tests one's talent!"

He praised Li Chang'an's talent for a few sentences, then revealed his purpose.

"The young miss asked me to tell you that although your spiritual contract with our Zheng family has been dissolved, the room you're currently living in still belongs to you."

"Oh? No need to rent it?" Li Chang'an was slightly surprised.

The house he was currently living in was assigned to him by the Zheng family. After all, according to the spiritual contract he originally signed, the Zheng family had to provide them with cultivation spiritual grounds.

Qinghe Market was built on a second-tier spiritual vein, making cultivation here extremely effective.

But now that the spiritual contract had been dissolved, Li Chang'an would either have to pay spirit stones to rent a dwelling like other ordinary rogue cultivators, or leave the market.

Of course, now that he was a talisman master, he could afford the spirit stones for renting a house.

Zheng Jinbao shook his head with a smile.

"Chang'an, the young miss said that you've done so much for the Zheng family over these years, you're like half a family member. As long as you remain in Qinghe Market, this house belongs to you."

"I see." Li Chang'an pondered that ordinary cultivators probably didn't receive such good treatment.

His special care was likely due to his talisman master status.

This was a good thing that came to his door. He didn't refuse.

The path of cultivation couldn't do without spirit stones. It was best to save wherever possible!

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