Chapter 48 - 48: Ancestral Secret Technique
He walked out of the house. Shen Ping’s gaze landed on the two Acacia Faction disciples.
Chen Jing was wearing a plain gray robe, and his face had yet to lose its youthfulness. Chen Ying was wearing an aqua blue dress. Her delicate and beautiful face was filled with the innocence of a young girl.
Although he was nervous and vigilant, he still stepped forward generously and cupped his hands with a smile. “Welcome to the small courtyard, Fellow Daoists of the Acacia Faction. In the future, we will be neighbors. I hope you can take care of each other.”
Chen Ying said with a smile, “You’re right, Talisman Master Shen. It should be like this. This time, my younger brother and I are living in Room 4 and Room 6 respectively. We’re usually free and hope that Talisman Master Shen can come over and guide us in the Dao of Talismans.”
Her voice carried a hint of the girl next door. Her watery eyes were clear and sincere, as if she was not affected by the distracting thoughts of the world. At close range, Shen Ping could even see the faint dimple at the corner of her lips. Her silver teeth were slightly parted, and her nimble tongue was fragrant.
“Talisman Master Shen, you must come.”
As her voice fell, Shen Ping almost subconsciously wanted to nod, but at this moment, the smell of unique petals spread over from behind. He immediately came back to his senses and hurriedly said, “Fellow Daoist Chen, I’m usually quite busy making talismans. If I’m free, I’ll definitely visit.”
Chen Ying glanced at Yu Yan at the door of the house and smiled before turning around with Chen Jing to visit the other cultivators in the small courtyard.
After he closed the door, Shen Ping could not help but break out in cold sweat. He said with lingering fear, “This Acacia Faction is really terrifying. If not for Fellow Daoist Yu just now, I would have been tricked.”
He felt that he was still immune to resistance when it came to men and women. He would not have such thoughts as soon as they met. However, when he heard Chen Ying’s voice just now, he subconsciously let his imagination run wild.
“Her voice contained some kind of bewitching technique, but it was only a test. I didn’t feel anything behind the door. I only sensed that something was wrong, so I went out.” Yu Yan frowned. “Fellow Daoist Shen, try not to interact with her in the future. The disciples of large sects all have some unique secret techniques. Individual cultivators like us are limited by resources and can easily fall for it.”
Shen Ping nodded in agreement and said, “In a few days, 1’11 announce to the outside world that I’m in seclusion to cultivate. Fellow Daoist Yu, you have to be careful.”
Early May.
The warm air was filled with the fragrance of pollen. In the past, Yu Yan would go out to collect all kinds of petals to make raw materials for bathing. Due to the current situation of the market, Yu Yan did not dare to go out casually.
Just like Shen Ping, she spent most of her time meditating and cultivating in the quiet room.
Without the help of pills, relying on ordinary spiritual roots, the increase in spiritual energy every day was very limited. Sometimes, even after circulating the cultivation technique for a few cycles, there was no increase in spiritual energy.
If this continued, most cultivators could not take it.
Shen Ping had prepared enough pills this time. He could use them for more than half a year, so he took out a portion and gave it to Yu Yan.
“High-grade Talisman Masters are indeed rich.” Yu Yan said with a smile, but she remembered the spirit stones needed for the medicinal pills in her heart. When the market stabilized, she would still go out and continue killing to earn spirit stones. Regardless of whether she could afford it or not, she had to do it. “By the way, should I leave the door open for you tonight? Shall we exchange our cultivation insights?”
The corners of her lips turned, and there was a hint of anticipation in her eyes. It had been a while since the last time. She thought that with Fellow Daoist Shen’s bravery, he should have recovered more or less. After all, the frequency of the wooden planks vibrating on the roof had increased in the past two to three days.
Shen Ping did not dare to reply. Instead, he changed the topic and said, “Fellow Daoist Yu, I have to go out later. Come with me.”
Yu Yan was stunned and nodded in agreement without asking further. Soon, the two of them made some preparations and left the small courtyard.
Before setting off, Shen Ping hesitated and hung the wooden sign given by the True Treasure Pavilion on his waist. Although this was a little high-profile, he did not know what the situation was in the market. It was better to be high-profile than to get into trouble for no reason.
When they arrived at the True Treasure Pavilion, Mu Jin saw Yu Yan beside Shen Ping and couldn’t help but smile sweetly. “Fellow Daoist Shen, are you taking your Dao companion to the auction?”
Shen Ping nodded. The reason why he went out this time was to auction two or three more drops of spiritual liquid. Next, he would announce that he was going into seclusion to cultivate. After handing over a few high-level talismans to settle the spirit stones, he brought Yu Yan to the underground auction hall with a bronze mask.
This was the first time Yu Yan had participated in an auction like this. Shen Ping could clearly feel her nervousness.
“The True Treasure Pavilion has a fixed auction every month. The White Whisker Tree Ginseng that eradicated the poisonous insects in your body was auctioned here.” He transmitted his voice.
Yu Yan said fearfully, “Fellow Daoist Shen, you’re really getting more and more powerful. Even that Fellow Daoist Gao can’t come into contact with such an auction.”
There were many teams hunting in the Cloud Mountain Swamp.
Fellow Daoist Gao’s team that she had once joined was considered relatively famous in the market, but she had never heard him mention that there was an auction in the True Treasure Pavilion.
It was obvious that he had not come into contact with it. This was because with Fellow Daoist Gao’s personality, if he could really participate in such an auction, he would definitely reveal it without a trace. This represented status and strength. It could increase the cohesion of the other cultivators in the team.
Shen Ping smiled and said, “It’s all because of the identity of a Talisman Master. Let’s go to the back row.”
After sitting down, he glanced at the other cultivators who came in one after another. A few of them were like him. Not only were they wearing masks and robes, but there was also a special wooden token on them.
Time passed slowly.
After most of the cultivators arrived, the auction host came out of the high platform.
Next was the auction of all lands of rare treasures, medicinal pills, dharma artifacts, and other items. For example, when the Beauty Pill came out, the voices of the female cultivators in the entire auction hall rose and fell.
Yu Yan’s eyes could not help but light up as she muttered, “The Beauty Pill. There’s actually a Beauty Pill!”
Shen Ping hurriedly said, “The Beauty Pill will appear every two or three times.”
Yu Yan glanced sideways and smiled. “I understand. Fellow Daoist Shen, there’s no need to be nervous.”
It was time for the Spirit Liquid.
The number of cultivators competing was relatively small.
As long as one swallowed the spirit liquid, they would understand that this kind of supplementary resource was the most effective when breaking through the bottleneck, and it would take a long time to break through the bottleneck at the late-stage of Qi Refinement.
Shen Ping gritted his teeth and bought two drops. The spirit stones in his storage bag were almost used up. He left the True Treasure Pavilion. They went to the Talisman Treasure Hall to take off their bronze masks. Then, they walked to the entrance of a shop.
“Fellow Daoist Yu, wait outside for a while.”
He stepped into the shop.
The shopkeeper welcomed him warmly. He recognized Shen Ping at a glance. “Fellow Daoist, it’s been a while since you came to my place. Is it because the content of that illustration isn’t rich? Don’t worry, I have more than ten new books. I guarantee that you’ll be satisfied.”
Shen Ping sensed the shopkeeper’s attitude, but he did not care. He lowered his voice and asked, “Shopkeeper, you should know some special physiques in that area, right?”
The shopkeeper immediately understood and could not help but size up Shen Ping. He was extremely envious. “Fellow Daoist, you actually encountered that kind of characteristic. Tsk tsk, you’re blessed!”
Shen Ping’s face darkened. “What fortune? 1 can’t even enter the door!”
“It’s normal!” The shopkeeper chuckled and said, “Once a cultivator forms this physique, they are much stronger than mortals. Not to mention Fellow Daoist, even the cultivators of Acacia Faction who are proficient in dual cultivation might not be able to enter.
“However, it’s the right choice for you to come. The store has a secret technique passed down from our ancestors.. It’s definitely not difficult to enter!”