The abandoned cannon fodder girl's path to immortality

Chapter 248 Farewell

Two days passed in the blink of an eye inside the space, but only half a day had passed outside.

Chen Jinshu cultivated himself while tending to the spiritual plants in the spiritual plant space, thus calming his mind and spirit.

She was seen sitting cross-legged in front of the bamboo house in the space, her hands forming a mudra, and the "Azure Wood Transformation Technique" was slowly activated.

The vast and pure spiritual energy of the plants and trees in the space seemed to have found its way home, flowing towards her continuously, merging into her meridians, nourishing her golden core, and cleansing her mind, which was slightly tired from the recent setbacks.

Chen Jinshu's emotions gradually settled down.

The incident involving Zhou Wanning has become a wake-up call for her.

The path of cultivation is unpredictable and treacherous; a single misstep can lead to death or annihilation.

However, only strength can reveal the key to everything.

……

Not long after, in the Yaowangfang market area.

On both sides of the long street, stalls lined up one after another, displaying a dazzling array of spiritual herbs, ores, and monster materials.

The sounds of bargaining, the hum of furnaces, and the cries of mythical beasts filled the air.

The air was filled with the sweet fragrance of flowers and the spicy smell of medicine.

Chen Jinshu changed into an inconspicuous gray-brown linen dress, concealing all the aura of a Golden Core cultivator, and mingled in the bustling crowd.

Perched on her shoulder was a small, grey titmouse that had also lost its mystique, its tiny eyes scanning the surroundings warily, round like two small black pearls.

In the past few days, she has harvested a lot of spiritual herbs from her space and plans to sell some of them at the market to exchange for a batch of spirit stones in preparation for her upcoming trip to the Hundred Herbs Secret Realm and any possible unexpected events.

Although she has now acquired such a good place as Meiyun Residence, Liu Qingchen has no intention of charging her rent.

However, after buying spiritual plants for several consecutive days, her pockets were empty.

Furthermore, now that one has reached the Golden Core stage, the price of the required resources has increased exponentially.

The spirit stones I have are not enough.

She walked through the crowd, her eyes scanning each stall.

Finally, they stopped in front of a stall that wasn't in a great location, but the stall owner was a seemingly honest-looking mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator with a thick beard.

The stalls mainly displayed common second-grade spiritual herbs and ores.

"Fellow Daoist, do you buy spiritual herbs?" Chen Jinshu asked directly.

The bearded stall owner raised his eyelids and glanced at her.

"I'll take it! We'll see what it's like to see the goods."

Chen Jinshu didn't say much, and took out several jade boxes from a slightly worn storage bag at his waist.

The box was opened, and although the medicinal properties were not deliberately activated, the earthy fragrance of herbs and plants instantly filled the air.

The plants of Dewdrop, Fire Root, and Earth Vein, all of excellent quality, lay neatly in the box. Their leaves were plump, their roots intact, and they were all over fifty years old, clearly carefully cultivated rather than picked from the wild.

The bearded stall owner's cloudy eyes lit up for a moment. He put down the ore, picked up a Dewdrop Grass and examined it carefully. He then brought it closer to smell it and rubbed the leaves between his rough fingers.

"Tsk, good quality, full of spiritual energy, a freshly harvested gem. Dew-condensing grass... Fire-root... Earth-vein vine..."

He muttered to himself as his fingers clicked across the abacus.

“Dew Grass… one plant costs you fifteen spirit stones, Fire Roots twelve, Earth Vein Vine twenty… in total… um, fifty-six plants, totaling seven hundred and eighty low-grade spirit stones.”

He quoted a reasonable price, which was noticeably lower than the market price—a common tactic used by street vendors.

Chen Jinshu remained calm. She knew the price was too low, but she couldn't be bothered to haggle over such a small amount. More importantly, she wanted to sell it as soon as possible without attracting attention.

"I'll give you all eight hundred spirit stones," she said decisively.

A hint of joy flashed in the bearded man's eyes, as if he hadn't expected the other party to be so agreeable and had thought the other party was going to raise the price.

Fearing she might change her mind, he quickly nodded, "Deal! It's a deal! Fellow Daoist, you're a straightforward person!"

He deftly put away the jade box, then counted out a pile of shiny low-grade spirit stones from his waist pouch, and reluctantly added a few more of the slightly inferior ones, piling them in front of Chen Jinshu.

Chen Jinshu scanned the number with his divine sense, confirmed it was correct, casually put it into his storage bag, and turned to leave.

The bearded man behind her greeted her warmly, "Fellow Daoist, remember to come again if you have any good stuff!"

She then sold several batches of high-quality second-grade spiritual herbs in similar manner at stalls in several different areas.

After she quietly completed the transaction, she had more than 2,500 low-grade spirit stones in her storage bag. Although it was not a huge sum of money, it was enough to cover her daily expenses for a period of time.

However, during this time, she also encountered the schemes of many cunning cultivators who tried to replace her spiritual medicine with inferior ones when she was not paying attention, and thus lowered the price.

Fortunately, her spiritual sense had already reached the Golden Core realm; otherwise, how could she have seen through the changing techniques of a mid-to-late Foundation Establishment cultivator with only the spiritual sense of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator?

After several attempts, Chen Jinshu decided to try a different way to earn spirit stones.

The next day, in the inner district, a long street paved with green jade slabs.

Chen Jinshu still concealed his Golden Core aura, disguising himself as an ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. He found a reasonably crowded intersection, spread out a plain coarse linen cloth, and with a flick of his wrist, several small jade bottles and several well-sealed jade boxes appeared on the cloth.

The bottle contains the 'Red Sun Melting Snow Pill,' which is round and smooth, exuding a subtle warmth, and is quite beneficial for stabilizing the foundation of the fire element.

Inside the box were several excellent hundred-year-old Concentration Flowers picked from the Spirit Field and a section of purple-veined He Shou Wu root full of spiritual energy. These were items that Foundation Establishment cultivators coveted for nourishing their souls and strengthening their foundations.

"The finest Red Sun Melting Snow Pill, strengthens the foundation and nourishes the vital energy! The hundred-year-old Concentrating Spirit Flower Stamen nourishes the sea of ​​consciousness!" She called out in a clear, cool voice, neither too loud nor too soft, quite different from the hoarse shouts of some of the other stall owners around her.

Soon, some cultivators were attracted and stopped to watch.

A pale-faced, slightly weak-breathing middle-aged cultivator picked up a bottle of Crimson Sun Pills, uncorked it, and sniffed it. His face immediately lit up with joy: "Fellow Daoist, this pill is excellent! What is the price?"

"Three hundred low-grade spirit stones per bottle, or equivalent value in gold and earth attribute spirit materials," Chen Jinshu quoted a fair price.

The middle-aged cultivator hesitated for a moment, then readily counted out spirit stones: "Deal!"

He carefully put away the pills, his face regaining some color, and left with light steps.

The Ning Shen Hua and He Shou Wu also attracted several buyers, and the transactions went quite smoothly.

"Sure enough, setting up your own stall earns you more money."

At this point, she had only sold a few items, yet her spirit stones had already reached several thousand.

Her expression was calm, but she was secretly planning to use the spirit stones to exchange for some auxiliary materials for refining higher-level pills, and also to inquire about any clues about the secret technique of transforming plants into human form.

However, not long after she handed a piece of Polygonum multiflorum root to an old monk, a shadow fell over the stall.

Two young cultivators, dressed in the distinctive light blue disciple robes of Medicine King Valley and with "Patrol" badges hanging from their waists, stood in front of the stall.

The leader, with a fair complexion and a slightly raised chin, scanned the bottles and jars on the stall with a scrutinizing gaze, finally settling on Chen Jinshu's ordinary face. His tone carried an unquestionable arrogance:

"Where do you come from? Selling medicinal herbs here, do you have a 'Hundred Herbs Contract' issued by my Medicine King Valley?"

Chen Jinshu looked up, somewhat surprised: "I'm new to this place and don't know what this is. You need a contract to sell some of your own harvested spiritual plants?" The disciple scoffed, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

"What a joke! My Medicine King Market is a sacred place for spiritual plants and alchemy across the Five Continents! How could it be a place where any Tom, Dick, or Harry can just dig up a few wild herbs and set up a stall?"
Without a contract or invoice, its origin is unknown! At best, it disrupts the market order; at worst, it mixes in inferior medicines and fake elixirs, harming fellow practitioners!

His other disciple stepped forward half a step in coordination, his hand already on the hilt of the standard magic sword hanging at his waist, and a faint aura of intimidation emanated from him.

Several customers who were about to step forward immediately shrank back and watched from a distance.

A chill ran through Chen Jinshu's heart. The arrogance of Medicine King Valley was truly ingrained in their very bones; even a patrolling disciple was so overbearing.

Her fingers, hidden in her sleeve, curled slightly, then slowly relaxed.

Revealing your identity or causing conflict over such a trivial matter at this moment would only create more trouble and might attract unwanted attention.

She lowered her eyelids, concealing the cold light in her eyes, and said in a somewhat impatient voice, "In that case, let's pack up and leave."

With that, he ignored the two disciples and deftly put the remaining pills and spiritual plants back into his storage bag.

The pale-faced disciple seemed surprised that the other party had so readily given in. He punched empty air, a hint of boredom flashing across his face, and he snorted.

"You're smart to know what's good for you! If you dare to sell without a discount again, it won't be so cheap!"

The two then strode away with their heads held high and their heads held high.

Seeing this, Chen Jinshu was about to leave when he caught the hushed conversation of several stall owners nearby.

"Have you heard? There have been strange people lurking around the rocky forest in Black Wind Pass to the west lately, acting very suspiciously."

"Black Wind Pass? That godforsaken place? It's not far from the waste dump."

"Shh! Keep your voice down! Someone saw someone who looks like that 'Alchemist Lin' who was expelled by Elder Liu a few days ago."

"Lin Xiao? He hasn't gone far yet? What's he doing hiding in that place?"

"Who knows what a Golden Core cultivator is thinking? But that place is full of yin energy and snakes, insects, rats and ants, so it's a good place to hide."

Chen Jinshu paused, then turned and left without making a sound.

My heart pounded heavily in my chest, and a sense of foreboding crept in.

……

Ten days passed quietly in the tranquility of Meiyun Residence, the occasional entry into the spiritual plant space to care for new seedlings, and the spare time to go to the market to sell spiritual pills and plants.

That day, Chen Jinshu pushed open the door to the meditation room, preparing to begin a new day of cultivation.

The moment I stepped across the threshold, my gaze froze.

Beneath the inner crack of the vermilion gate of Meiyun Residence, which was engraved with simple defensive runes, lay an object quietly.

It was a wooden box about one foot square.

The box was exceptionally well-made, with rounded and smooth edges and a surface covered with a mysterious sheen.

Next to the box, there was a plain white letter.

Suddenly, an ominous premonition gripped Chen Jinshu's heart.

She quickly stepped forward, first cautiously scanning the wooden box and letter with her divine sense to confirm that there was no danger, before casting a spell to send them to her.

The letter paper was the most common kind found in the market.

Unfold it, and you'll see familiar handwriting—it's Zhou Wanning's.

[To Fellow Daoist Chen:]

Greetings, Fellow Daoist Chen:
I am deeply grateful for the generous gift of this miraculous elixir. Its potent effects have brought me back to life, like withered trees blossoming in spring, and my frail body finding renewed vitality. I am profoundly grateful for this kindness and will forever remember it.

For two centuries, the stench of the slag heap has seeped into my bones, leaving me utterly weary. Now that my attachment has been released, I have no more lingering feelings for this place. I have resolved to travel far away, to find a quiet place to spend the rest of my days. My departure is hasty, and I have not been able to say goodbye in person; I hope you will forgive me.

……

This wooden box contains the culmination of a lifetime of study in the art of array formations. In his early years, he boasted that he had glimpsed some of the workings of the universe, only to later realize that it was merely a glimmer of light. However, the basic principles of array formations, methods for dismantling restrictions, and his clumsy insights into forcibly creating "purity" in filthy places may still hold some use.

If you, my fellow Daoist, are fortunate enough to encounter a worthy successor in the future, someone with a steadfast heart and unwavering devotion to the Dao, I earnestly request that you entrust this humble transmission to me so that it may not be lost to time. If so, my remaining wish will be fulfilled.

Inside the box is a "Kun Yuan Boundary-Stabilizing Talisman," a treasured possession. Activating it allows one to deploy the "Kun Yuan Earth Array," instantly becoming impregnable, capable of withstanding a powerful attack from a late-stage Golden Core cultivator for a short time. It is difficult to refine; use it sparingly in times of crisis, as it may offer a sliver of hope. This is merely a small token of my appreciation.

This journey is long and arduous, and we may never meet again.

……

Neighbor bids farewell in the evening.

Chen Jinshu stared at the letter in his hand for a long time, and finally let out a soft breath. The heavy knot in his chest seemed to dissipate a little with that breath.

She carefully put away the warm letter.

She gently opened the box.

The space inside the box utilizes a simple spatial expansion array, making it several times larger than it appears from the outside.

What came into view were several scrolls made of tanned hides of unknown animals, in varying shades of color.

Beside the animal skin scroll was a thick stack of neatly arranged jade slips, each one polished smooth, clearly having been repeatedly wiped and caressed by its owner.

These are the culmination of Zhou Wanning's life's work on array formations.

"I am skilled in alchemy, but I don't know much about formations. Fellow Daoist Zhou's formation inheritance can help me improve my knowledge. However, it would be a waste to keep it in my hands."

She thought that in the future she would definitely find a successor with good array formation talent to pass on Zhou Wanning's array formation knowledge and her indomitable will.

Above these ancient texts, there was a palm-sized, irregularly hexagonal, earth-yellow jade talisman.

Chen Jinshu gently picked up the jade talisman; it felt slightly heavy in his hand, as if he were holding a small, condensed mountain.

She could clearly feel the vast and stable earth elemental power sealed within, as well as the powerful defensive will brought about by the extremely precise rune structure.

This was by no means the trump card Zhou Wanning mentioned, but rather her true life-saving trump card.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou actually gifted me such a life-saving item?"

Chen Jinshu looked surprised, and his heart suddenly felt heavy.

The yinshan tit seemed to sense its owner's heavy mood, and quietly perched on her shoulder, gently nuzzling her temple with its little head for comfort.

Although she and Zhou Wanning had only known each other for a few days, they had already formed a bond that was no less than that of close friends.

Because Zhou Wanning had given her guidance and saved her life, she then gave her healing pills so that she could have a chance to recover from her injuries.

Although they owe each other nothing, they are still connected in some way.

Recalling the rumors she had overheard in the market not long ago, her ominous premonition grew stronger.

"I wonder whether Fellow Daoist Zhou's journey will bring him fortune or misfortune..."