Chapter 542 (2): Everyone Is A Vagrant Cultivator on Narrow and Perilous Paths

Huang Shi's patience was running thin, and he was just about to put an end to Daoist Master Sun's life when the sound of footsteps rang out from outside the water palace. Huang Shi turned around to discover Chen Ping'an stepping into the water palace.

He took a glance at the bag slung across Chen Ping'an's chest and quickly determined that it seemed to have been filled with only some glazed roof tiles and bricks from the Daoist temple.

Does he have terrible luck, or is he simply too much of a coward? He didn't find anything else after coming all this way?

If that were truly the case, then Huang Shi felt like it was almost a waste of energy to put an end to the life of someone so pathetic.

Daoist Master Sun was both elated and exasperated to see Chen Ping'an.

His exasperation naturally stemmed from the fact that Chen Ping'an hadn't heeded his advice to get far away from this place, but at this point, it seemed that they would just have to join forces to oppose Huang Shi together. If Huang Shi really were a sixth tier martial artist as he proclaimed, then neither of them would have any chance against him on their own.

After spotting the paltry spoils that Chen Ping'an had stuffed into his cloth bag, Daoist Master Sun decided that he would gift Chen Ping'an a few of his treasures that didn't appear to have been worth very much once they escaped from Huang Shi.

Chen Ping'an wiped the sweat off his forehead as he said, "I've been looking all over for the two of you! Earlier, I was running over the rooftops, trying to see where you two had gone, but instead of spotting either of you, I saw two more groups of people scaling the mountain, so I hurriedly concealed myself.

“One of the two groups consisted of two people, a young man and a young woman, both of whom look like they're official immortals, and they were both wearing Dao robes. The second group is Zhan Qing's group of five people. One of them is stationed at the arched bridge at the foot of the mountain, while another one rushed straight to the Daoist temple on the mountain summit, and the other three slowly began searching their way up the mountain.

“Clearly, they're trying to prevent us from escaping via the arched bridge, and at this rate, we'll end up in a direct confrontation against them sooner or later. What should we do?"

A grim look appeared on Huang Shi's face.

Those two pure martial artists that they had encountered in that dilapidated pergola from earlier were clearly both at the Vajra Body Tier, and it would take him everything he had just to take on those two.

If he had to deal with the other three as well, then he didn't think he had any chances of being able to escape with his spoils.

Hence, it seemed that he couldn't afford to kill Chen Ping'an and Daoist Master Sun for now.

With that in mind, he smiled and said, "I was joking around just now, Daoist Master Sun. Please don't take it to heart."

"I think it's best to make less of these hurtful jokes going forward, Brother Huang!" Daoist Master grumbled.

A hint of anger flared up in Huang Shi's heart, and he was almost unable to suppress the urge to kill Daoist Master Sun on the spot. In any case, a vagrant cultivator who was supposedly adept in close-quarters combat was nowhere near as useful to him as Chen Ping'an, who excelled in long-range combat thanks to his mastery in the talismanic arts.

He was confident that he could win over Chen Ping'an by killing Daoist Master Sun and temporarily giving all of the latter's treasures to the former for safekeeping.

All of a sudden, Daoist Master Sun asked, "Would you be able to give me a few of your offensive talismans, Brother Chen?"

"I can sell a few to you," Chen Ping'an replied with a smile.

Daoist Master Sun was rendered speechless.

Huang Shi's brows furrowed slightly before unfurrowing just as quickly. He had almost forgotten that Daoist Master Sun was a half-assed Daoist cultivator. His skills in inscribing talismans were perhaps lacking, but it certainly wasn't a difficult task for him to wield talismans.

However, this wasn't a piece of bad news. With Daoist Master Sun and Chen Ping'an both wielding offensive talismans, they would perfectly complement Huang Shi and Di Yuanfeng, and the four of them would be a formidable force to be reckoned with.

Huang Shi stepped out of the water palace before turning to the side to vacate a path for Chen Ping'an, and he was able to see both Qi refiners out of his peripheral vision as he smiled and said, "Whether we'll be able to capture the fated opportunities that we've already claimed will depend on whether we're willing to work together in earnest from now on.

“I was not lying when I proclaimed myself to be a sixth tier martial artist. If we end in a battle, I won't hold back, but if we manage to leave this place alive, the two of you have to each give me a fated opportunity as compensation."

Chen Ping'an patted his bag full of tiles and bricks as he happily agreed, "You can take whatever you like."

Huang Shi's eyelids twitched slightly in dismay and exasperation.

Daoist Master Sun gritted his teeth momentarily, then said, "Aside from that Daoist scripture, you can choose any one item out of my two bags."

Huang Shi hesitated momentarily, then nodded as he agreed, "Deal!"

Chen Ping'an stepped into the water palace, then exchanged a glance with Daoist Master Sun, and there wasn't even any need for communication through their minds' lakes before the two of them gathered behind the deity statue worshipped in the water palace.

Once there, they crouched down onto the ground together, and Daoist Master Sun asked, "How many types of offensive talismans do you have, Brother Chen? And how many do you have of each?"

"I have three types," Chen Ping'an replied. "The lightning talisman from earlier is my most precious talisman and one of my trump cards. It's called the Five Lightning Righteous Talisman. Outside of that, I have the Vast River Severing Talisman and the Earth Pinch Mountain Talisman. I'm sure you can tell just from their names that they're both extremely precious talismans. As for how many I have of each..."

Daoist Master Sun's patience quickly ran out at Chen Ping'an's long-winded explanation, and he snapped in a decisive manner, "You can keep that lightning talisman as a life-saving trump card, I'll take everything else you have!"

He was extremely confident in the face of Chen Ping'an, and he was convinced that the latter had made up those names to make his talismans sound more powerful than they actually were.

"Do you have that much money, Daoist Master Sun?" Chen Ping'an asked in a skeptical manner. "I almost lost my life on several occasions trying to secure these precious talismans from the ruins of another immortal abode, and they're not going to be cheap."

"Didn't you say that you inscribed these talismans yourself?" Daoist Master Sun asked in bewilderment.

"And you just took my word for it?" Chen Ping'an scoffed. "If I were capable of inscribing offensive talismans of this caliber, why would I continue to run around as a vagrant cultivator? I would've become a guest elder of a sect like the Rainbow Sparrow Residence or Cloudtop City long ago!"

Daoist Master Sun threw a hand to his forehead in dismay, then sighed, "Tell me how many talismans you have, Brother Chen. I'll buy them all."

Chen Ping'an shook his head as he said, "I respect you as a senior, Daoist Master Sun, but business is business, so you'll have to show me the money first. These are all precious life-saving talismans for me, and it pains me to sell even a single one."

"You're asking for too much, Brother Chen!" Daoist Master Sun snapped.

"I don't think so," Chen Ping'an disagreed, refusing to back down.

Daoist Master Sun was feeling a little dejected.

It seemed that even this gullible old man wasn't so easy to fool, after all.

After some deliberation, Daoist Master Sun opened the cloth bag that he had fashioned out of that Dao robe, then spread it open on the ground as he proposed, "I'll take three each of your water and earth talismans, and in exchange, you pick out one of the priceless treasures in here."

Chen Ping'an pulled out two ordinary yellow paper talismans from his sleeve, then began rummaging around in a pocket behind him as he countered, "I'll give you two talismans in exchange for a treasure of yours, which I think is fair because all of them are broken anyway."

A furious look appeared on Daoist Master Sun's face, and right as he was about to pack up his bag, Chen Ping'an set down the two talismans onto a corner of the bag as he compromised, "I'll give you two more talismans once I've picked out a treasure to my liking."

Only then did Daoist Master relent as he sighed, "This deal is completely skewed in your favor, Brother Chen."

Chen Ping'an's gaze roamed over the two dozen or so treasures in Daoist Master Sun's bag, and while carefully examining them, he asked, "Daoist Master Sun, if you're a cultivator of the Lightning God Manor, then why didn't you bring a few lightning talismans with you? You really shouldn't be blaming me for your own complacency and lack of foresight."

Only then did Daoist Master Sun recall that he was supposed to be playing the part of an unfathomable official immortal, and he stroked his beard as he smiled and said, "There are infinite mishaps that could arise on a journey, and it's impossible to account for them all. If everything were accounted for, that would defeat the purpose of the journey, would it not?"

Chen Ping'an nodded in response as he continued looking over the treasures in the bag.

There were only two that had caught his eye thus far, and after some more examination, he spotted a third one.

The first two items had caught his eye for different reasons. The first was one that he felt would be a perfect gift. It wasn't necessarily a treasure of a particularly high caliber, but he felt like it would be a gift that Li Huai would cherish.

It was a wooden deity statue about the same height as the length of a hand.

The statue had been crafted in the visage of a Daoist primordial lord, and its facial features were identical in appearance to those of the female deity statue in the water palace. The depicted woman had a slender and elegant body, and there was a tranquil look on her face, while her slim fingers were clasped into a hand seal.

Even though it was a wooden statue, her robes had been so masterfully carved out that they resembled real flowing silk, and the hem of her robe was draped over the base of the statue, engraved onto the bottom of which was a phrase in small text that read: "Observe the inner clarity, do not be confounded by external demons."

The second item was an antiquated and rather effeminate round fan that appeared quite valuable, and Chen Ping'an was thinking that he would perhaps be able to sell it for a good price in his Pi Fu shop on the Spring Dew Garden's Old Locust Street, or the Cloth Wrapper Shop on Ox Horn Mountain.

After all, when it came to shopping, female cultivators were just as willing to spend as mortal women. As long as it was something that caught their eye, they would be willing to spend exorbitant sums of money without any regard for the fan's true worth.

The final item was the most surprising one to Chen Ping'an.

It was a pair of small cages woven from bamboo and golden thread. The bamboo material of the cages was still a vibrant green color, but just like most of the artifacts in this place, the cages were riddled with fine cracks that severely compromised their worth. Each cage was around the size of a human fist, and they resembled grasshopper cages sold in the mortal world. The cages bore the inscriptions of "Battling Flood Dragon" and "Prowling Coiled Dragon."

Sweat was beginning to bead up on Chen Ping'an's forehead at the sight of the two cages, and he was truly feeling a little anxious.

He felt like if the opportunity arose in the future, then he had to go on a treasure-hunting journey with Daoist Master Sun.

Meanwhile, Daoist Master Sun was beginning to grow a little uneasy at the sight of Chen Ping'an's awkward expression. Could it be that he had realized that no matter how precious the treasures in these cloth bags were, they still couldn't match up to the value of his talismans in this particular situation?

After all, all of those talismans were life-saving trump cards, while all of the treasures in the world wouldn't do one any good if they couldn't leave this place alive. With that in mind, Daoist Master Sun was also beginning to grow a little anxious, and reached out to grab those two talismans in secret before tucking them up his sleeve.

With the two talismans secured, he heaved an internal sigh of relief, and he was just about to tell Chen Ping'an that those two talismans would be enough in exchange for a treasure when, to his surprise, Chen Ping'an picked up the round fan, then dutifully handed over another pair of talismans to him.

After that, Chen Ping'an reached into the same cloth bag that contained all the bricks and roof tiles to pull out another neatly folded cloth bag, and he shook open the second bag before placing the round fan inside.

Daoist Master Sun was both surprised and impressed to see this. The fact that Chen Ping'an was carrying around so many cloth bags clearly indicated that he was a very experienced treasure hunter.

Chen Ping'an pulled out four more talismans and set them down onto Daoist Master Sun's Dao robe, then tucked the primordial lord deity statue into his bag as well.

Daoist Master Sun was ecstatic to see this, and he encouraged, "Take a closer look, Brother Chen! You can take any other item of your liking for four more talismans!"

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

After a long hesitation, Chen Ping'an fished out a stack of over twenty talismans from his sleeve, three of which were golden in color!

Daoist Master Sun took a glance at the stack of talismans in Chen Ping'an's hand, and he deduced that this was most likely all Chen Ping'an had left.

Daoist Master Sun took an internal deep breath to compose himself, but despite his best efforts, his smile still came across as very stiff and nervous as he asked, "Is there something else that's caught your eye, Brother Chen? I can do a buy-one get-one-free deal for you as long as you give me four more offensive talismans."

Chen Ping'an shook his head as he replied, "I'll pass. After selling you those eight talismans, the majority of the ones I have left are Barrier-Shattering Talismans, so I can't afford to sell any more."

"Do you not want to return with me to the Lightning God Manor and become an official immortal, Brother Chen?" Daoist Master Sun reminded.

Chen Ping'an shook his head and replied, "It's yet to be seen whether I'll even be able to leave this place alive."

"Looks like your determination to pursue the Great Dao is still lacking," Daoist Master Sun sighed in a forlorn manner.

A hesitant look appeared on Chen Ping'an's face, and he took another glance at the collection of treasures laid out before him, then prepared to pull out four more offensive talismans, only for Daoist Master Sun to grab him by the wrist as he smiled and proposed, "How about this, Brother Chen. I'll take those two talismans in your hand, one in exchange for a treasure, and the other in exchange for entry into the Lightning God Manor. What do you say?"

"You sure drive a hard bargain, Daoist Master Sun!" Chen Ping'an scoffed in a disgruntled manner.

Daoist Master Sun stroked his beard as he smiled and said, "It's a fair trade. If you miss this opportunity, it's not going to come again, so make sure you consider my offer carefully and cherish this chance."

A hesitant look appeared on Chen Ping'an's face.

Outside the water palace, Huang Shi was beginning to grow tired of waiting, and he called out in a disgruntled manner, "Are you two planning to live in there for a few days?"

In the end, Chen Ping'an acquiesced, handing over two golden talismans to Daoist Master Sun, but only one of them was a lightning talisman, while the other one was a Barrier-Shattering Talisman.

However, Daoist Master Sun didn't try to press the issue, merely throwing a jab at Chen Ping'an for being an unscrupulous businessman.

There was only one golden talisman left in the stack, and Daoist Master Sun presumed that it was most likely an offensive talisman that Chen Ping'an was keeping for himself. However, he didn't insist that Chen Ping'an hand it over. After all, he had to leave Chen Ping'an with at least one final life-saving trump card.

At the same time, Daoist Master Sun became even more convinced that Chen Ping'an really wasn't a Daoist cultivator adept in the talismanic arts.

Chen Ping'an took the pair of woven bamboo cages, the value of which Daoist Master Sun was completely oblivious to, and he was just about to reach out for another item, but Daoist Master Sun was already packing up his treasures as he smiled and said, "The two cages count as two items."

Before Chen Ping'an had a chance to argue, Daoist Master Sun had already packed up his bag and slung it across his chest.