Longevity: Starting From Getting Down The Mountain And Marrying A Wife

"Dear husband, be careful! I'll be waiting for you to come back!"

"Ping'er, don't worry."

The next morning.

After giving some instructions to his wife, Zhong Yan and Li Henian rode their horses out of the city together.

In mortal towns, there were few cultivators, and they would privately trade small amounts of resources.

If they wanted to buy materials, they had to go to Yangquan Town, 800 miles away from Azure Sun City.

"When my cultivation level improves, I'll have to find a new place to live."

With the system panel and the capital to continue cultivating, Azure Sun City was no longer the best choice.

Otherwise, the round trip would be far and could easily encounter accidents.

Even if Li Henian didn't mind, Zhong Yan didn't want to trouble him every time.

The two of them hurried on their horses. Since they had a lot of spirit stones with them, they didn't dare to travel at night. They rested in a village overnight and arrived at the market square at noon on the third day.

Looking at the arched stone gate and the cultivators coming and going, Zhong Yan felt quite emotional. He didn't expect to arrive at this gathering place for cultivators so quickly.

"The guard has changed. The person is called Ma Zhida, at the 8th level of Qi Refining, a disciple of the Fire Cloud Sect. It seems that he entered the sect around the same time as you, my junior brother. Do you know him?"

Beside the entrance of the market square, there sat a middle-aged man with a sturdy build, his eyes lowered, and his hands holding a sword to his chest.

Zhong Yan looked over and shook his head slightly, speculating that the other party must be a martial artist.

The Fire Cloud Sect had tens of thousands of disciples, with a Gold Core expert sitting in the sect.

Tasks like guarding the market square, which were easy, profitable, and had a lot of benefits, were only given to inner disciples, and they had to have connections within the sect.

They settled their horses and paid the money.

The two of them walked forward.

"Fellow Daoist Ma!" Li Henian greeted with a cupped fist.

Ma Zhida nodded slightly and glanced at the unfamiliar Zhong Yan.

"I have met Senior Brother Ma! Zhong Yan has just settled in Azure Sun City. I hope Senior Brother will take care of me in the future. Please accept this small token of appreciation."

Zhong Yan smiled and stepped forward to pay his respects, handing over a small cloth bag.

Ma Zhida took it and pinched it, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. There were three spirit stones inside.

For low-level outer disciples like Zhong Yan with poor aptitude, it was common for them to leave the sect and settle down, and in such situations, they would offer some gifts to seek "verbal" care.

This was an unwritten rule.

But usually, it was only one spirit stone, and many times it was just some low-level pills or talismans.

After all, most of these disciples were only at the early stage of Qi Refining and couldn't accumulate many resources.

Ma Zhida flipped his palm and accepted the gift, and his expression eased as he looked at Zhong Yan.

"It's wise to return to the mortal world when it's difficult to make progress in cultivation."

"You're right, Senior Brother."

"Remember not to fight or cause trouble in the market square, otherwise, don't blame me for not cherishing our past friendship!"

"Naturally, I won't cause trouble for Senior Brother. I won't disturb you any longer."

Knowing when to stop, Zhong Yan bid farewell with a cupped fist and walked into the market square with Li Henian.

The main road was over thirty feet wide, paved with bluestones, and the neat shops on both sides extended to the end of the field of vision, with people coming and going.

Although Yangquan Town was not big, the daily flow of people in the market square was stable at over a thousand. Many cultivators from Azure Sun City and the surrounding cities and towns gathered here to trade resources.

The shops here were from the three sects led by the Fire Cloud Sect and some small and large cultivation families.

The safety in the market square was very high, and few cultivators dared to cause trouble here. Since its establishment, there had been very few incidents resulting in deaths.

After walking for over a hundred meters, Li Henian whispered, "It is said that Ma Zhida is a cultivator of both immortality and martial arts. His martial dao cultivation is about to reach the late stage, and his combat power is comparable to the peak of Qi Refining. He has only been on duty for half a year, so he must have a strong backing in the Fire Cloud Sect. My junior brother, if you have a good relationship with him, it will be very convenient..."

Zhong Yan nodded. Practicing martial arts and cultivating immortality, and being about the same age as himself, he must have a talent of at least three spiritual roots.

The two of them strolled to the place where the individual sellers were on West Street. There were stalls on both sides of the street, selling techniques, pills, Law Weapons, animal skins...

There are all kinds of things being sold, with vendors calling out their wares one after another, making the side streets seem more noisy and chaotic compared to the main road.

In a corner, Zhong Yan found an empty spot, spread out a cloth mat, and took out all the talismans, arranging them on the mat. He also set up the prepared cardboard.

"Younger brother, go ahead and start selling. I'll be back soon," Li Henian accompanied him for a while before leaving for his own business.

"Alright."

There were a total of forty-four talismans, more than half of which were inferior ones made in the past.

Originally, he wanted to buy materials and recycle them for everyone's convenience in the shop.

But the next time he would make a move, it would be with Rank One Middle Grade talismans, which would be more secure after breaking through the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

In the time it took for two incense sticks to burn, several waves of customers approached, but when they saw the cardboard sign that said five spirit stones for a bundle, they asked a few questions and left without any room for negotiation.

"Oh, isn't this Junior Brother Zhong? Why did you come to Sun Spring Market?"

Two cultivators dressed in Fire Cloud Sect attire, a man and a woman, walked over. The man had a playful expression on his face and pretended to be surprised.

"Oh, I heard you've left the sect and are enjoying life in the mortal world! Well, it's been almost twenty years since you reached the third layer of Qi Refining, so it's about time!"

His voice was quite loud, attracting the attention of the surrounding vendors and passersby.

This person's name was Chen Lianping. He had a cultivation base of the sixth layer of Qi Refining and had a sister who was a backer in the inner sect. He was somewhat arrogant among the outer sect disciples.

It was because a few years ago, he had a conflict with another disciple, and Zhong Yan, who was present at the time, did not step forward to help, which caused a rift between them. Every time they met, Chen Lianping would mock and ridicule him.

"Senior Brother Chen is right!" Zhong Yan smiled and stood up, cupping his hands. "Greetings, Senior Sister!"

Every time he punched the cotton, Chen Lianping glanced at Zhong Yan and then squatted down to fiddle with the talismans on the ground.

"You dare to sell such rubbish... These few are passable in quality."

As he spoke, he picked up three talismans that were made later and asked, "Any objections?"

"How could I? I should show respect to Senior Brother!" Zhong Yan smiled.

"Consider yourself smart." Chen Lianping sneered and left with the female cultivator, saying, "Such a coward, really embarrassing the Fire Cloud Sect..."

The surrounding independent cultivators withdrew their gazes, some shaking their heads, not knowing whether they were criticizing Chen Lianping or sympathizing with Zhong Yan.

Zhong Yan remained calm, seemingly unaffected.

At this moment, Li Henian returned. "Younger brother, how is it going?"

Zhong Yan shook his head. "It will probably take some more time."

"Li Fellow Daoist!" A cultivator who had been watching the commotion earlier called out as he passed by.

Li Henian turned his head and saw a familiar fellow cultivator. He went up to greet him.

After a whispered conversation, Li Henian looked at Zhong Yan with a surprised expression on his face and couldn't help but mutter to himself: "It's really true that the old man hangs himself when he's tired of living!"

Outsiders may not know, but he knew Zhong Yan's true nature and temperament very well. Despite his usual smiling and easy-going demeanor, he was a bold and ruthless person.

If he really provoked him, it didn't matter if he was at the sixth layer of Qi Refining or had an inner sect sister, he would be killed without hesitation.

Back at the stall, Li Henian asked in detail.

Zhong Yan shook his head and smiled. "It's a small matter, just a few talismans and some sarcastic remarks. It's not a big deal."

In reality, in his heart, Chen Lianping was already a dead man. He shouldn't encounter him again next time.

Once or twice was fine, but every time he came to mock, even a clay figure would have some fire in its heart.

In the past, he might have endured it, but now that he had a platform and his cultivation had improved, he would kill him like slaughtering a dog!

"Heh~" Li Henian chuckled softly and said, "Such foolish people, I don't think he'll live for many more years. Just think about how you've been able to stay so stable in the outer sect of the Fire Cloud Sect for so many years. You're not an ordinary person."

The Fire Cloud Sect was as solid as iron, with a constant flow of outer sect disciples.

Either they advanced to the inner sect or went out to experience and died, leaving only those who left the sect or descended the mountain.

There weren't many outer sect disciples like Zhong Yan who had stayed for so long without any accidents.

Until the sun set.

Zhong Yan lowered the price to four spirit stones before selling all the talismans in bundles.

Afterwards, the two of them found a small shop and bought materials for ten Middle Grade talismans before checking into an inn.

...