Chapter 10

Too Timid

A moment later, Shen Ping could not help but reveal a look of joy on his face. Just now, he had tried to cultivate a cultivation method, and the speed at which his spiritual energy circulated through his meridians had actually increased by several times!

According to this situation, as long as he kept improving his Spiritual Root, he might not even need to get rid of the poison and his cultivation would break through to the intermediate stage of Qi Refinement.

“The future is promising, the future is promising!” He danced with excitement. He looked like a child in his forties. However, when he heard the hurried footsteps outside, he quickly calmed down.

His wife and concubine had returned.

Wang Yun’s face was filled with panic.

“What happened?” Shen Ping asked subconsciously.

Bai Yuying said, “A cultivator’s corpse has appeared in the Red Stone River. It’s dripping with blood and has been stripped naked. It must be the work of a robber cultivator.”

Shen Ping frowned when he heard that.

The Red Stone River was not far from Red Willow Alley. It was the only river to the north of the main road of the marketplace. Usually, low-level cultivators would go to this river to wash up. Even high-level cultivators would occasionally go there to wash up. Moreover, there were two alleys to the north where many cultivators lived.

Therefore, corpses rarely appeared in the Red Stone River. Robber cultivators would not leave their corpses in the Red Stone River even if they killed and stole treasures.

“Don’t panic. This might just be a coincidence. In the future, try your best to follow the other female cultivators when you go out during the day.” Shen Ping reminded them.

Cultivators would inevitably produce all kinds of physiological waste when they ate grains. Only when they reached the late stage of Qi Refinement and had a strong spiritual energy in their bodies would this situation gradually decrease.

As for the houses on the outskirts of the market, the Golden Sun Sect did not consider the problem of cultivators’ daily necessities when they built them. Therefore, it was inevitable for them to fetch water, wash clothes, and pee.

The widow living alone next door would often pour bath water on the streets. Some cultivators would even pour their urine on the streets. Every summer, when it was hot, the smell would be unpleasant and there would be mosquitoes.

Shen Ping was already used to this. Wang Yun and Bai Yuying nodded. However, less than two days later, a corpse of a cultivator appeared in the Red Stone River again. Furthermore, it was a female cultivator. She died in a miserable manner. She had even been tortured when she was alive, and her lower body was extremely mangled.

“I heard it’s a widow living alone in Red Stone Alley.”

Shen Ping bumped into Fellow Daoist Yu outside the door. She scolded, “Which damn cultivator did such an immoral thing? If he wants to kill someone, so be it. Why does he keep throwing them into the river? Don’t let me catch him!”

Shen Ping hurriedly said, “Fellow Daoist Yu, keep quiet in case you get into trouble!”

Yu Yan was also a widow living alone, but her cultivation level was at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, so she was not afraid. She said disdainfully, “Fellow Daoist Shen, you’re really as timid as a mouse. What’s there to be afraid of? Hmph, to be able to do this, his cultivation level must not be high. He just wants to use the tragic state of a cultivator’s corpse to cause everyone to panic and fish in troubled waters!”

Shen Ping nodded repeatedly and agreed with this guess in his heart.

If a high-level robber cultivator took action, it would basically be clean and efficient. After that, they would also use corrosive poison or fireball spells to deal with the corpses. If they did not manage to deal with them in time, they would throw them far away. It was impossible to deliberately throw them in the Red Stone River.

“Fellow Daoist Shen, do you still have an amulet?” Yu Yan suddenly asked.

Shen Ping was stunned. He looked at Yu Yan. “Fellow Daoist Yu, what are you doing? Don’t tell me you’re planning to find that robber cultivator!”

Yu Yan pursed her lips and said, “Do you?”

Shen Ping was speechless. “Yes, but Fellow Daoist Yu, you have to think twice. It’s very dangerous to fight with a robber cultivator. If you’re not careful—”

Yu Yan interrupted him. “I want all the amulets you have.”

In the past few days, Shen Ping made five amulets, so he took them all out. After thinking about it, he took out two Earth Trap Talismans and Freezing Talismans. These two talismans were not as expensive as the amulets and Fire Talismans in the marketplace. They were also more complicated to make, so they were sold less in the marketplace.

However, the two talismans were very useful in battle.

Yu Yan’s eyes lit up. “Fellow Daoist Shen, I didn’t expect your talisman skills to reach such a level. You can even make Earth Trap Talismans and Freezing Talismans. It’s been so long, and I’m looking at you in a different light!”

Fellow Daoist Shen hurriedly waved his hand. “Fellow Daoist Yu must be joking. I’ve only broken through to become a mid-grade Talisman Master less than a year ago. It’s not easy to make an amulet, so how can I make an Earth Trap and Freezing Talismans? I bought this in the market as a backup.”

Yu Yan suddenly understood. She did not doubt his words. After all, she had been neighbors with Fellow Daoist Shen for several years. He had always been cautious and could stay in the house for months. It was normal for him to buy talismans to save his life.

“Let’s follow the market price.” She took out a spirit stone from her storage bag and handed it to Shen Ping before returning to her room.

Another half a month passed. The corpses of cultivators appeared in the Red Stone River again. The cultivators in the surrounding alleys, especially the widows who lived alone, were all in danger. They rarely went out during the day.

Shen Ping was worried that something would happen to his wife and concubine, so he accompanied them to throw the pee during the day.

Late at night the next day. He had just finished exercising with his wife and concubine when he heard hurried footsteps outside the house. His heart immediately skipped a beat.

There was a formation in the house. There were also many mid-grade talismans. If they really fought, a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator might not have the advantage. However, the footsteps quickly passed through the door and stopped at the door next door. In the blink of an eye, the commotion disappeared.

There was an amplifying talisman pasted on the door of his house. As long as someone was within three meters of the house, he would be able to hear everything. He would not be affected by the Soundproof Talisman.

“Could it be Fellow Daoist Yu? What’s she doing out in the middle of the night? Don’t tell me she’s really looking for that robber cultivator?” Shen Ping was dumbfounded.

For the next four to five days, he could hear footsteps outside the house in the middle of the night.

On this day, while accompanying his wife and concubines to throw the pee, he saw many cultivators surrounding the Red Stone River. “Someone died?” He frowned but did not go over to watch. When he returned, he heard the cultivators discussing.

“That’s great. That robber cultivator has gotten his retribution!”

“I wonder which senior killed it!”

“How satisfying!”

Shen Ping’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Fellow Daoist Yu killed him? He let his wife and concubine return to the house while he admired the date tree outside.

Not long after, Yu Yan went out to splash the bath water. Cultivators usually knew basic spells like the Cleansing Technique. Those who never cultivated could use the low-level Cleansing Talisman to wash away the dirt on their bodies. However, Fellow Daoist Yu had always liked to bathe. She would pour bath water every two days, never changing.

“Yo, Fellow Daoist Shen, are you waiting for me to splash the bathwater on you?” Yu Yan saw that Shen Ping was absent-mindedly admiring the date tree. From time to time, he would glance at her house from the corner of his eye. She teased, “Does it smell good? How does it taste compared to your two wives and concubines?”

Shen Ping’s face twitched as he probed, “Fellow Daoist Yu, I heard that the robber cultivator who harmed the widow cultivators died.”

Yu Yan said indifferently, “So what if he’s dead? I say, Fellow Daoist Shen, you don’t think I killed him, do you? I don’t have that ability!” As she spoke, she turned around and returned to her room.

Shen Ping shook his head. Then, he could not help but laugh at his concern for this matter. No matter who killed him, it had nothing to do with him. After returning to the house, he looked at the virtual interface. The Dao of Talisman’s experience had already exceeded the breakthrough requirements.

“High Grade Talisman Master. Other Talisman Daoists, even if they are talented, will need dozens of years of hard work to accumulate. However, I’ve only activated the Goldfinger for a little more than a year, but I’ve gone from low-grade to high-grade.”