Chapter 25

Smaller Movements

For several consecutive days, Shen Ping was immersed in his cultivation after the transformation of his high-grade spiritual root. Even his daily routine of creating talismans and dual cultivation had greatly decreased.

This state where he could feel his spiritual energy increase every day was simply too amazing. In the past, he rarely cultivated in seclusion, but now, he really wanted to swallow a fasting pill and directly cultivate in seclusion for a few years to improve himself.

But in the end, he suppressed this urge. It was important to increase his cultivation level.

However, Shen Ping knew very well that the reason why he could have such a change was all because of his dual cultivation with his wife and concubine. If he lost one, then forget about longevity, even the possibility of reaching Foundation Establishment was very slim.

He walked out of the quiet room. He went to the small kitchen in the cubicle and began to make thin meat spirit porridge for his wife and concubine. As he cooked, he frowned and pondered. Now that his spiritual roots had been upgraded to high-grade, he had to properly arrange the time for his daily cultivation, talisman crafting, and dual cultivation.

“It’s more comfortable to spend four hours on dual cultivation four times a day. There’s no need to shorten it for the time being. It takes at least ten hours to make talismans. The remaining ten hours can’t be used for cultivation. I have to take some time to summarize my cultivation of the Dao of Talismans. In addition, I have to eat, accompany my wife and concubine, and familiarize myself with the mysteries of cultivation methods.”

He thought about it.

Shen Ping could not help but shake his head. Time was still too tight.

Excluding the three and a half hours of meditation and cultivation, he only had one and a half hours of free time left. This little time was not enough for him to familiarize himself with the cultivation methods. If he wanted to read and memorize the various knowledge of cultivation, he would have to move at least another four hours.

Moreover, if he went out, these arrangements would have to be suspended.

“Let’s eat. I can squeeze out more time to accompany my wife and concubine, but dual cultivation involves my foundation. I can’t reduce it.”

Eventually, he gritted his teeth and decided to shorten the time needed to craft the talisman. Ten hours of talisman crafting included high-grade and mid-grade talismans, as well as mental recovery. If it was shortened, he could only reduce the number of mid-grade talismans.

When his wife and concubine returned, the kitchen was filled with the fragrance of rice. Shen Ping scooped three bowls each and brought them to the wooden table outside. “You’ve worked hard all night. Eat quickly.” He said with a smile.

Wang Yun and Bai Yuying held onto the corner of their clothes and did not move.

“What happened?”

“H-husband, we accidentally dirtied your new robe.”

Shen Ping thought it was something important. When he heard that it was such a small matter, he said nonchalantly, “It’s fine. I’ll just wash it later.”

His wife and concubine nodded repeatedly, their expressions relaxed.

Another three days passed. Not long after his wife and concubine left, Shen Ping quietly followed behind. They left Yunhe Alley. The two women quickly walked for ten minutes and arrived at the place specially used to deal with the waste of grains.

However, after dumping the waste, one staggered and fell to the ground when the two women returned. Her face was covered in dust and was stained with a pungent stench. Bai Yuying stared angrily at the cultivators not far away, but Wang Yun quickly dragged Bai Yuying away.

Shen Ping saw all of this. His expression darkened slightly. No wonder he had smelled the stench back then. It turned out that his wife and concubine had been bullied by other cultivators. One was a mortal, and the other was a low-level Qi Refinement cultivator.

In Red Willow Alley, with his reputation as a mid-grade Talisman Master, there would still be quarrels, insults, and even fights. Now that he had come to the marketplace, it was normal for them to be played by some cultivators who did not care about his senior’s reputation. However, when this matter happened to him, it inevitably angered him.

However, he knew that anger was useless. No killing was allowed in the market. But one could cripple someone. As long as he did not destroy the other party, the ones who would suffer would definitely be his wife and concubine. He took a deep breath.

Shen Ping forced himself to calm down, then turned around and returned to the small courtyard.

During the meal, he looked at the forced smile on his wife and concubine’s face and said slowly, “Yun’er, Ying’er, I’ll accompany you when we go out next time.”

Wang Yun’s expression changed. “Husband, y-you know?”

Shen Ping grabbed his wife’s wrist. “I’ve been immersed in my cultivation recently and neglected this. If I had accompanied you earlier, this might not have happened.”

Previously, Yu Yan had been accompanying his wife and concubine. Yu Yan had not returned for the past few days. He thought that there wouldn’t be any problems in the market, but he was still careless.

After all, wives and concubines were not qualified to live in the marketplace, especially Wang Yun. If a mortal could live in the marketplace, it was inevitable that some cultivators would be agitated.

“Husband, we’ll be fine. We’ll try our best not to go out in the future. When Fellow Daoist Yu comes back, this won’t happen. Don’t take it to heart.” Wang Yun hurriedly said. Bai Yuying also chimed in. The two women were afraid that if there was a conflict, their husband would not be able to control his anger and cause trouble. It wasn’t easy for them to move to the market. They cherished this life and didn’t want to cause any trouble.

Shen Ping shook his head. “Don’t worry, I’m just protecting you.”

Seeing this, the two women did not try to persuade him anymore. However, they ate very little every time they ate. It was obvious that they were trying to minimize the waste of grains.

Four days later, Yu Yan’s travel-worn return from the swamp made his wife and concubine secretly heave a sigh of relief. The unique fragrance of the bathwater in the house filled the air again.

After washing away her fatigue, Yu Yan came upstairs and said with a smile, “Fellow Cultivator Shen, my harvest this time is not bad. It’s all thanks to the Spirit Protection Talisman you gave me. Here are five mid-grade spirit stones. I’ll return a little first and slowly return the rest in the future.”

Shen Ping took the spirit stone and extended his hand. “Please sit.”

They both sat down. They chatted about the Cloud Mountain Swamp. He mentioned what happened to his wife and concubine a few days ago and said respectfully, “Thank you for your protection previously.”

Yu Yan was silent for a moment. Then, she sighed faintly and said, “Fellow Daoist Shen, it’s very difficult to avoid such a thing unless you let your wife and concubine take a fasting pill. However, this is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause.”

Shen Ping understood what Yu Yan meant.

If he wanted to resolve this matter from the root, he could only increase his strength and status, or buy high-grade magic robes for his wife and concubine. Just relying on the Spirit Protection Talisman alone would not be able to shake the cultivators in the market. High-grade magic robes were expensive, and without a certain level of strength and status, it was impossible to buy them. If he let his wife and concubine change into them, as long as they were not stupid, they would generally not offend them.

They chatted for a while more.

Yu Yan went back downstairs, but before she left, she whispered, “Fellow Daoist Shen, this main room has the same structure. When you have sex with your wife and concubine, be careful. You can take it, but I might not!”

Shen Ping looked embarrassed. “Of course, of course!”

Previously, the Dual Cultivation Secret Technique required a large range of movements, but now, the commotion caused by the “Dragon Playing with the Pearl” was much smaller, and it wouldn’t disturb Yu Yan.

However, he was puzzled. Although it was connected from top to bottom, he only needed a silent note to isolate the sound. At most, the wooden board would tremble a little.

“Fellow Daoist Yu shouldn’t be listening to me everyday, right?” He shook his head. He suppressed his distracting thoughts. He returned to the talisman making room and buried his head in making talismans again.

Although Yu Yan’s return could temporarily solve the problem of his wife and concubine going out, Fellow Daoist Yu could not stay at home like him forever. Moreover, he was unable to increase his strength explosively in a short period of time to intimidate and deal with those cultivators.

Therefore, changing into a high-level robe had to be put on the schedule.

“I hope nothing happens to you guys.” Shen Ping had already memorized the cultivators who bullied his wife and concubine.