Eternal Life by Daily Divination

Chapter 262: Chapter 191: Changqing Marketplace, Daughter of a Nascent Soul

He had brought enough materials and requested that Li Chang’an refine them.

“Daoist Changqing, what do you think of these materials?”

“Not bad. The quality is excellent. I should be able to refine thirty Fire Essence Pills.”

Li Chang’an inspected them and nodded slightly.

He currently needed a large quantity of materials to practice with and improve his Alchemy Skill.

For clients who provided their own materials, he usually charged a very low fee.

He then opened the Pill Furnace and began his alchemy in front of the two of them.

Under Liu Yuzhu’s incredulous gaze, he refined batch after batch of finished Elixir Pills without a single mistake.

In the end, a total of thirty-three pills were formed!

It was a few more than Li Chang’an had estimated.

“Daoist Wu, I’m glad I didn’t disappoint!”

“Haha, thank you, Daoist Changqing!”

Wu Huaiqian was all smiles. He had only expected twenty-eight pills, but the final count greatly exceeded his expectations.

Clearly, among Tier Two Low Grade Alchemists, Li Chang’an’s Alchemy Skill was absolutely outstanding.

After some conversation, Wu Huaiqian left with the Elixir Pills.

Only Liu Yuzhu remained.

Li Chang’an asked, “Daoist Liu, do you also want me to refine some Elixir Pills?”

“No, no. I’m just a little surprised.”

Liu Yuzhu gave a gentle smile, a hint of languor still lingering within it.

Her figure was slender as she walked a circle around the Pill Furnace, her fair feet bare.

“Daoist Li, you really hide your talents well. Why didn’t you mention you were a Tier Two Alchemist sooner?”

“I only broke through recently. My skills are still unrefined, so it wasn’t worth mentioning.”

“You’re far too modest, Daoist Li.”

Liu Yuzhu had seen other Tier Two Low Grade Alchemists refine pills, but almost none of them could compare to Li Chang’an.

’He’s definitely not a recent breakthrough,’ she thought. ’He must have reached this level long ago!’

Little did she know, Li Chang’an had indeed just broken through; his rate of progress was just a bit fast.

…

In the days that followed, Liu Yuzhu visited often, closing the distance between them.

Yu Hongmei and Xiang Chisong from the other two peaks did the same.

When they first heard the news, they were shaken. They realized they had misjudged him and were grateful they hadn’t treated him with too much neglect.

“Daoist Li, since we are all Cultivators of Cui Ping Mountain, we should interact more often in the future.”

Yu Hongmei’s eyes curved into a smile. Her figure was full and curvaceous, and she carried the faint fragrance of plum blossoms, giving her a unique, mature charm.

Li Chang’an cupped his hands. “Of course.”

After all, the four of them lived on Cui Ping Mountain. If they encountered serious trouble in the future, they might have to advance and retreat together. It wouldn’t hurt to be on good terms.

…

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.

During these three years, Li Chang’an’s Alchemy Skill had broken through to Tier Two Middle Grade, and he could now refine High-quality Elixirs of that Tier.

In other words, he had completely absorbed the alchemy inheritance from the Zheng Family.

The reason for his rapid breakthrough was largely due to Master Dancheng’s notes.

Whenever Li Chang’an felt his progress in his Alchemy Skill was too slow, he would read Master Dancheng’s notes, gaining new insights almost every time.

’Just what realm did this Senior Master Dancheng reach in his Alchemy Skill? A single, disorganized journal has helped me so much. It’s simply incredible.’

Li Chang’an often marveled at this, yearning for that level of mastery.

The Immortal Dao was long and endless.

During these three years, besides his Alchemy Skill, another of his Skills had improved by leaps and bounds: Divination!

The divination inheritance, a gift from Mu Qiuyan during his Foundation Establishment Ceremony, was of the Tier Two Middle Grade.

Li Chang’an had originally only planned to glance through it, but before he knew it, he became engrossed and developed an interest in this skill.

He made a surprising discovery: his talent for this particular skill far surpassed his aptitude for Talismans, Alchemy, and the like. He could be called a peerless genius in the field.

In just three short years, he had progressed all the way from Entry-Level to Tier Two Divination.

’Why is my progress so fast?’ Li Chang’an wondered.

’Could it be related to the daily Divinations that appear?’

Other than that, Li Chang’an couldn’t think of any other reason.

Now, his Divination Skill was on the verge of breaking through Tier Two Middle Grade.

Although he couldn’t be as precise as his daily Divinations, he had no problem occasionally divining fortune and misfortune. After all, he could now actively perform it instead of having to wait passively.

As long as he wasn’t too demanding, it wouldn’t consume his lifespan.

On this day, Li Chang’an was suddenly struck by an impulse and actively performed a Divination.

The Divination revealed an uncertain omen of both good and bad fortune, and a bloody light on the horizon suggested a disaster was about to occur.

’Is the Beast Tide coming?’

Li Chang’an frowned in thought.

Such a dense, bloody light in the sky was a sign of a chaotic era to come.

This Beast Tide was not as simple as many people thought. ’Perhaps it is the prelude to a great upheaval!’

“An age of chaos is coming!” Li Chang’an sighed softly.

Although opportunities arose from chaos, he much preferred a peaceful life.

He then passed the news of the coming turmoil to the people at the foot of the mountain, telling them to prepare well.

After more than three years of development, a large number of fertile fields had been opened up on the Spiritual Land at the foot of the mountain.

Some were used for planting Spirit Rice, others for cultivating Spirit Plants, presenting a scene of thriving prosperity.

Luo Kun, Wang Hu, and Chen Yuanshan had each established their own Qi Refining Clan. They worked hard to manage them, absorbing a large number of unaffiliated Loose Cultivators.

Not long after, the three major families joined forces to establish a Marketplace, naming it “Changqing Marketplace.”

As per their prior agreement, all income from operating the Marketplace was divided into four shares.

Although Li Chang’an didn’t manage it, the land was his, and they were borrowing his name, so he received a large share.

The other three families divided the remaining income equally.

At this point, the structure at the foot of the mountain was formally established.

The three major families jointly managed the Marketplace and the surrounding Spirit Fields.

Li Chang’an would occasionally go down the mountain to take a look.

Recently, that old man Luo Kun seemed to have found a new lease on life. He was full of energy every day, not only managing a large number of businesses but also finding time to take more than ten beautiful concubines, vowing to expand the Luo Family.

’That guy is really living comfortably.’

A smile touched Li Chang’an’s face, but he didn’t disturb him.

It was much the same for Wang Hu and Chen Yuanshan.

Their cultivation philosophies were actually similar to Zheng Yuandao’s; in the end, they could not separate themselves from family and descendants.

…

「Half a month later.」

News arrived from Yellow Crane Immortal City.

The Beast Tide had indeed begun!

However, the initial wave of the Beast Tide was relatively easy to handle. Not even a single Tier Two Great Demon appeared; the ones charging the defensive lines were just some Tier One Minor Demons, which didn’t cause much trouble.

The Cultivators stationed on the front lines suffered few losses. Those who survived basically all made a good profit, and every one of them was beaming with joy.

“Haha, so this is all the so-called Beast Tide amounts to!”

“I slayed two Tier One Middle Stage Demon Beasts today! They’ll fetch a good price!”

“The speed at which you can earn Spirit Stones by slaying Demons here is much faster than farming back at the Sect!”

…

The atmosphere at the front was still relatively relaxed.

But back in the major Sects and Noble Families, the atmosphere was incredibly tense.

This was because the few Tier Three Demon Kings they had been monitoring for years had all vanished, as if they had never existed.

They weren’t afraid of the Demon Kings launching a frontal assault.

What they feared were sneak attacks from these Demon Kings in the shadows.

If a Tier Three existence was determined to launch a sneak attack, it would be incredibly difficult to stop.

「A few days later.」

Li Chang’an received a message from Su Yuyan.

The message informed him that the situation on the front lines was very delicate, that something unexpected was likely to happen, and told Li Chang’an to prepare early.

…

Strangely, for more than a year after that, the scale of the Beast Tide remained small.

Although the nerves of the major Sects and Noble Families were stretched taut and they were fully prepared, the large-scale Beast Tide they were waiting for never arrived.

This waiting was sheer torture.

’The Demon King behind this Beast Tide is clever. This is clearly a war of attrition.’ Li Chang’an stared at the distant horizon, deep in thought.

As long as they dragged it out long enough, the Human Race Cultivators’ defensive line would eventually grow lax and show openings. That would be the time for the Demon Beasts’ formal offensive.

「A few months later.」

Li Chang’an was once again struck by a sudden impulse.

His gaze deepened as he looked down at the Mortal Realm below the mountain. He suddenly felt like taking a walk around there.

’I’ve been so busy with cultivation, I haven’t been back to the mortal world in a long time. It might be good to go back and soak in some of its mundane atmosphere.’

Li Chang’an returned to his cave residence. He didn’t plan to act immediately, wanting instead to see what his daily Divination would suggest.

He did this because he sensed something strange.

’Why would I suddenly want to return to the mortal world?’

Ever since he had learned the Divination Skill, he would occasionally get these sudden impulses. They either heralded a premonition of change or a sense of danger.

’But a mere Mortal Realm should have nothing to do with either of those things.’

He sat cross-legged, cultivating while he waited.

「That night, at Midnight.」

A golden light appeared as usual.

[Divination has been refreshed]

[Today’s Divination: Auspicious]

[Tired of the quiet, you decide to act. You travel to the Mortal Realm and take in a seemingly ordinary wandering girl, but her father is a Nascent Soul Cultivator.]

The content of the Divination stunned Li Chang’an.

“The daughter of a Nascent Soul Old Monster is wandering the Mortal Realm?”