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Spring ducks are the first to know when the river warms.
Lan Chang'an believed that the higher-ups of the cultivation sects had keener senses than ordinary cultivators.
Using others as whetstones was something Lan Chang'an had seen in his past life. But a stone too hard to crack would be left abandoned.
Tuoba Jin wouldn't challenge the Fake-Dan cultivators of the Flame Departing Palace.
His enmity with He Yuanwu was only a superficial reason.
With Tuoba Jin's sharpness, he must have crossed paths with many people, not just He Yuanwu.
The fundamental reason was that Huanglong Immortal City was a suitable target. It was strong, but not invincible, and thus Tuoba Jin was unafraid to offend them.
"The current Huanglong Immortal City—and Huanglong Immortal himself—may not be as formidable as one might think." Lan Chang'an mused.
Huanglong Immortal still had more than a hundred years of lifespan left.
As long as he remained as the stabilizing force, without major issues, Huanglong Immortal City might only decline slowly, not collapse rapidly.
"In a few decades, Huanglong Immortal's physical state will inevitably decline, as he enters the decline of old age."
Lan Chang'an speculated that the peak period of Huanglong Immortal’s prime was nearly over.
Huanglong Immortal’s weakness lay in not cultivating a True Dan-level successor.
Among his disciples, only two were Fake-Dan Immortals, and while there were other Core Formation cultivators within the Huanglong Immortal City, they would only follow orders from Huanglong Immortal himself.
A Fake-Dan Immortal could not control the interests within an entire immortal city, nor could weaker core cultivators.
...
The large auction concluded.
Zhao Siyao bid farewell and set off back to Jin Yun Valley.
Lan Chang'an also prepared to leave Huanglong.
Before leaving, he made another transaction with the Beast Taming Zhou Family.
This time, it was Zhou Qingxuan in charge again.
Lan Chang'an obtained a larger superior-grade second-rank demonic beast skin, along with some mid to low-grade second-rank materials suitable for creating talisman paper.
Not all demonic beast skins could be used as talisman materials, and even the specific parts of the hide used were carefully considered. Generally speaking, the heart, neck, and abdomen were preferred. The hides of captive beasts were far inferior to those of wild ones.
Lan Chang'an stayed at Water Moon Residence for a month to complete the transaction.
This time, besides earning a portion of excess materials, he also obtained five top superior-grade second-rank talismans.
Adding the previous three, he now had eight top superior-grade second-rank talismans in total.
"Unfortunately, at the mid to superior second-rank level, the excess material obtained is far less than at the first rank."
Lan Chang'an felt a bit regretful.
This was inevitable. As the talisman level improved, his advantages as a third-rank talisman master in his past life would diminish.
According to Zhou Qingxuan, the next transaction would be at least a few years later.
...
After completing the transaction.
Lan Chang'an vacated his Water Moon Residence and bid farewell to his neighbors.
He took Guan Qiaozhi and left Huanglong Immortal City, where he had cultivated for over twenty years.
Three days after Lan Chang'an left.
A Foundation Establishment aura arrived in front of Water Moon Residence.
The visitor was a clear-eyed youth wearing a large cotton coat.
"Am I too late?"
Looking at the empty courtyard, the youth's expression changed.
"Senior Fu, are you here to find Master Lan? He left Huanglong Immortal City three days ago." Du Wei from Heart Pill Residence warmly greeted him.
The youth in the cotton coat was Fu Dong, Fu Xuemei’s younger brother.
His rise to the Foundation Establishment stage, despite his inferior spiritual roots, had caused quite a stir in Huanglong Immortal City.
"Do you know where he went?"
"Not sure." Du Wei shook his head.
Lan Chang'an was merely a friend with benefits, and after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, they had less contact.
Fu Dong sighed, saying nothing else.
...
A month later.
Lan Chang'an piloted a flying boat, bringing Guan Qiaozhi to Wuqi Mountain.
They landed on Little Turtle Peak.
"Senior Brother Lan, is the whole spiritual vein peak ours?" Guan Qiaozhi’s eyes sparkled, her delicate face flushed with joy.
She opened her arms, dancing lightly in the mountain wind, her skirt fluttering.
"Unless something unexpected happens, this place will belong to us privately for the next few decades." Lan Chang'an smiled, appreciating the youthful vibrancy of the girl.
Guan Qiaozhi was about thirty years younger than him and had been taking beauty-preserving pills from an early age, maintaining a youthful appearance.
Besides inheriting her master’s legacy, Guan Qiaozhi, as Lan Chang'an’s concubine, always had a stable income of spiritual stones from making talisman paper, with a share given by Lan Chang'an.
Her treatment was much better than in regular talisman shops.
Lan Chang'an also occasionally gave her some pocket money.
This considerable income of spiritual stones was used by Guan Qiaozhi for cultivation and purchasing of beauty-preserving pills.
"The place is quite large, including a cave mansion. It will be quite a task to manage."
"It won't be hard at all! I'll make this place beautiful!"
Guan Qiaozhi had never dreamed of enjoying a spiritual vein field as big as a mountain, and it was a second-rank spiritual vein.
It was like moving from a Cinderella’s life to a royal garden, becoming half a mistress.
...
Returning to Wuqi Mountain, Lan Chang'an was seventy-two years old.
The next two months were busy.
Setting up the protective formation, renovating the cave residence.
Planting spiritual grains, medicinal herbs, and spiritual wood seedlings.
The Earth Burrowing Rat was the main laborer, digging tunnels and fields, which was its talent.
Guan Qiaozhi was busy every day, meticulously designing and modifying the layout of each room in the cave mansion, including the outside garden and medicinal fields.
The large pond in front of the cave residence had many rusted items with dark poison.
To give the Profound Water Turtle a comfortable environment, Guan Qiaozhi painstakingly used spells to clean the rust from the pond. The ten-mu pond had its water changed seven or eight times before she was satisfied.
By now, Guan Qiaozhi had long forgotten about inheriting the old man's legacy.
She was very satisfied here, she had the cultivation site she dreamed of and followed her senior brother, a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, to train in talisman drawing, raising turtles, and growing plants together.
In two months, the formation setup, cave renovation, and spiritual field cultivation on Little Turtle Peak were basically completed.
Lan Chang'an noticed that Guan Qiaozhi worked tirelessly every day, often until her waist ached.
Before, this little maid would occasionally wear transparent gauze dresses, subtly seducing Lan Chang'an, but recently she had no such thoughts. Mainly, Little Turtle Peak was too large, and Lan Chang'an had planted many spiritual grains, medicinal herbs, and spiritual wood seedlings.
The daily tasks of watering, pest control, and weeding were already a huge workload.
This didn’t even include the use of spiritual spells.
Little Turtle Peak had a second-rank spiritual vein, which provided a certain enhancement to low-grade spiritual rice and medicinal herbs with short cultivation periods.
Lan Chang'an’s gaze turned to the Profound Water Turtle by the pond.
"I've raised you for over thirty years. It's time you learned to fend for yourself."
Lan Chang'an walked over and knocked on the turtle shell with the back of his hand.
"From today onwards, the task of watering the spiritual grains, medicinal herbs, and seedlings on the mountain is yours."
"Zizi!" The Earth Burrowing Rat crawled out of a hole, baring its teeth and raising its paws in agreement.
The Profound Water Turtle looked at Lan Chang'an with tearful eyes.
Seeing that he was unmoved, it moved its limbs and headed to the medicinal herb area.
In front of a medicinal field, it cast a minor spiritual spell.
A shower of rain fell, emitting a faint green glow.
Lan Chang'an nodded in satisfaction, noticing that the Profound Water Turtle’s spiritual spell contained the vitality of the wood element.
This Profound Water Turtle had leaf-like patterns on its shell when it hatched.
Lan Chang'an speculated that the Evergreen Technique, which cost him six months of lifespan to hatch the turtle, had influenced its physique.
...
After setting up the cave mansion on the mountain, Lan Chang'an invited the other two peak masters of Wuqi Mountain.
Under the witness of Jin Yun Valley cultivators.
Lin Ye, Shi Manrong, and Lan Chang'an signed a new joint spiritual contract.
The rent for Wuqi Mountain’s spiritual vein was twelve thousand spiritual stones every ten years, divided equally among the three.
The annual rental fee might not seem like much, but time passed swiftly for cultivators with their long lifespans. Renting for ten or twenty years at a time would be a considerable expense.
After signing the spiritual contract.
Lan Chang'an hosted a banquet in his cave mansion, entertaining Lin Ye and Shi Manrong.
The two Foundation Establishment cultivators highly praised Guan Qiaozhi’s culinary skills.
Guan Qiaozhi’s dexterity wasn’t limited to making talisman materials; she excelled at all crafts requiring hands-on skills.
She also did well in handling puppet parts.
"Daoist Lan, did you purchase the second-rank formation on your mountain from Huanglong Immortal City?" Shi Manrong, elegant and calm, her eyes clear as water.
"Daoist Lan, are you doubting Fairy Shi's formation skills?" Lin Ye’s dark red old face showed a hint of teasing.
Shi Manrong was a renowned formation genius in the area.
"Of course not! My original plan was to set up two formations: one for defense and the other for illusions and attacks, which I intended to entrust to Fairy Shi." Lan Chang'an explained his idea.
The formation he set up was from his past life, with good resistance to spiritual sense probing.
Shi Manrong nodded, inquiring about Lan Chang'an’s specific needs.
She didn’t stay for the drinks, bowing slightly and leaving early.
Lin Ye, an alchemist who loved alcohol, brought two jars of spiritual wine.
Lan Chang'an drank and chatted with him for a long time, learning about the surrounding conditions of Wuqi Mountain.
"Daoist Lan, do you know why I chose you to rent the third peak?"
After a few rounds, Lin Ye’s expression became mysterious, and he set up a soundproof barrier.
"Why is that?"
Lan Chang'an couldn’t figure it out.
Shi Manrong had a bad relationship with Gu Lai and wouldn't support him. In Wuqi Mountain, Lin Ye had the highest cultivation and skills, giving him more say.
Lin Ye’s next words startled Lan Chang'an:
"Alchemist Hua is my senior brother."
Lan Chang'an’s pupils contracted, feeling wary.
"Haha, Daoist Lan, don’t worry. We are friends, not foes. The way that animal Hua schemed against you, others might not see through it, but how could I not guess?"
(End of chapter)