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

Late at night, during the hour of the dog.

Cloud Peak Inn, guest rooms.

Li Henian held his breath, staring intently at the talisman brush as it left a series of spiritual patterns on the talisman paper. He seemed even more nervous than Zhong Yan.

The brush moved swiftly, its speed astonishing.

Finally, the last stroke fell, and a faint light appeared on the talisman paper, only to quickly fade away, dissipating all the spiritual energy within.

It was a failure.

"Don't be impatient, my dear brother. Take it a bit slower," Li Henian said, feeling somewhat disappointed.

He had never practiced talisman making before and didn't understand where the problem lay. The entire process of making the talisman went smoothly, but it failed in the end. It wasn't even of poor quality; it was simply unusable.

Zhong Yan nodded, took a deep breath, and picked up the brush again, this time slowing down his speed.

This time, the problem occurred halfway through drawing the spiritual patterns, rendering the materials useless.

Li Henian glanced at him and comforted, "Don't be disheartened. After all, it's your first attempt at making a middle-grade talisman."

Although they were both rank one talismans, there was a significant difference in effectiveness between low-grade and middle-grade ones.

For example, the Earth Prison Talisman. A low-grade one could be broken with just one attack, while a middle-grade one could withstand two to three attacks. The cost of buying and selling them also varied greatly.

Therefore, Li Henian hoped that Zhong Yan would succeed so that they could save a considerable amount of spiritual stones on talisman consumption. He believed that with their relationship, as long as he asked, they could get an extremely favorable price, or even just provide the materials for Zhong Yan to help make the talismans.

The third attempt failed, and Li Henian remained silent.

The fourth attempt failed, and Li Henian reminded, "Why don't you take a break, my dear brother?"

After all, they only had ten sets of materials. If they succeeded on the first try, it would be great, but if not, it meant that the timing wasn't right, and they still didn't know how many materials they would need to accumulate experience through trial and error.

Li Henian had only supported Zhong Yan because he had said he was very confident. He couldn't do anything else after that.

They took a break for the time it took an incense stick to burn.

The fifth attempt failed again.

Zhong Yan gritted his teeth and said with unwillingness, "Again! I refuse to believe it!"

Li Henian no longer held any hope and walked to the table, sat down, and drank tea.

After a long while.

"It worked!" Zhong Yan turned his excited face and said, "Brother, come and see!"

"It worked?"

Li Henian immediately slammed the teacup on the table, hurried over, and took a look. A smile appeared on his face as he nodded repeatedly.

"Not bad, not bad. The quality isn't too bad either!"

Once they succeeded once, the success rate wouldn't be a problem anymore. It would naturally increase with time and practice, and the quality of the talismans would also improve.

"With this skill, my dear brother can accumulate a large number of elixirs and break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining. At that time, the Talisman Dao will also rise with you!" Li Henian clapped his hands, feeling quite excited. "Let's try again!"

"Okay!"

...

The sky began to lighten.

Inside the guest room, Li Henian held the talismans in his hand, his eyes shining.

All five sets of materials were successfully made into talismans.

And the quality of the talismans improved with each attempt.

"My dear brother, you truly are a talisman-making genius! If I had known earlier, you should have focused all your efforts on the Talisman Dao!" Zhong Yan laughed. "I didn't expect that I would be so frustrated after consecutive failures."

Li Henian burst into laughter, unaware that his good friend had played a trick on him.

With the system panel, Zhong Yan knew that his 'talent' would gradually reveal itself and couldn't be hidden. He could only try to make it seem more reasonable to others.

After a short rest, the two of them had breakfast at the inn and then checked out to go to the largest shop in the market, the Fire Cloud Pavilion.

Although the items at the Fire Cloud Pavilion were slightly more expensive than elsewhere, Zhong Yan chose it for the convenience and reliability of future transactions.

The prices of talisman materials varied depending on their effectiveness. They spent sixty spiritual stones and bought a total of three hundred and twelve sets.

As they were leaving after completing the transaction, Zhong Yan caught sight of Chen Lianping leading a customer down from the second floor. Suddenly, he realized that the person wasn't out on a journey but had come to the Sun Spring Market for a sect mission.

"What's wrong, my dear brother?"

"That person is Chen Lianping."

Li Henian glanced over and a strange smile appeared on his lips as he whispered, "Remember to invite me next time."

He, as an Independent Cultivator, has struggled and fought his way to the sixth level of Qi Refining. The dangers and restlessness he faces are much greater than those of Zhong Yan.

Afterwards, the two of them went to purchase daily supplies such as Spirit Rice.

In the end, Zhong Yan had only three spirit stones left in his bag for emergencies, and he and Li Henian set off on their way back.

...

...

Azure Sun City, Wutong Lane, Zhong Mansion.

Jiang Ping sat under the eaves, holding a ledger in her hand, absentmindedly flipping through it, occasionally looking up at the gate.

The cold winter wind blew her hair, brushing against her worried face.

The incident where her father and brothers were robbed left a shadow in her heart.

And she had heard that the battles between cultivators were even more brutal than those between martial artists, often resulting in fighting and snatching of resources.

It would take at least two days to travel from Azure Sun City to Sun Spring Market, and the possibility of encountering accidents along the way was not small.

"My husband said that if nothing unexpected happens, he will return today..."

Jiang Ping looked at the gradually darkening sky, feeling more and more anxious, and got up to walk back and forth.

Just then, the gate was pushed open, and Zhong Yan walked in.

"Husband!"

Jiang Ping's worry turned into joy, and she immediately ran towards him, "Did everything go smoothly on this trip?"

"Very smoothly."

Zhong Yan smiled and held her cold hand, leading her inside, knowing that she had been waiting for him outside all this time, "What happened at home these past two days?"

"Everything is fine, sister-in-law came to visit yesterday and brought gifts... Husband must be hungry, let me cook for you!"

She explained the situation at home in detail, and the "sister-in-law" she mentioned was Li Henian's wife, Li Yangshi.

In the evening, Jiang Ping prepared a sumptuous meal and served a bowl of nourishing soup to Zhong Yan.

"Husband, you have been working hard these past few days and have been busy, you need to replenish yourself..."

Meeting Zhong Yan's gaze, Jiang Ping blushed, as a newlywed, she also enjoyed the frequent intimacy between them.

After dinner, Zhong Yan took out three carefully selected books from the market, one on martial arts techniques, one on body techniques, and one on sword techniques.

"Ping'er, try these three techniques first and see if you can cultivate inner energy."

"Yes, I will study them diligently."

Jiang Ping was delighted. Practicing Martial Dao could strengthen the body, and if she could reach the Innate Realm, she might be able to extend her lifespan slightly. That way, she could spend her whole life with her husband, growing old together.

After all, her husband's talent was average, and the chances of him reaching Foundation Building were slim, not much different from an ordinary person's lifespan.

Late at night.

After drinking the Ten Complete Nourishing Soup, Zhong Yan was full of energy, and Jiang Ping, who was overjoyed, naturally cooperated.

After a few rounds of passion, they both collapsed on the bed, exhausted.

Zhong Yan also gained continuous experience bonuses from the system panel.

[Skill Comprehension+1, Talisman Dao Experience+3, Cultivation Progress+1]

[Skill Comprehension+1, Talisman Dao Experience+3, Cultivation Progress+1]

...

More than half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

The couple's love and affection grew stronger every day.

During the day, Zhong Yan "crafted talisman materials," and at night, he "conquered his wife."

In the past two days, he noticed a problem - the Talisman Dao Experience had stabilized at "+3" and no longer fluctuated.

After thinking it over, Zhong Yan speculated that it was probably due to their month-long marriage and his efforts in cultivating their relationship. Jiang Ping had completely devoted herself to him.

Although she had been obedient, considerate, and submissive before, there was more fear in her attitude. After all, in this world, her husband was like a god, not to mention the gap between cultivators and ordinary people.

But now, Zhong Yan could see from her eyes that besides fear, there was also a deep and genuine love.

"So, the importance of my wife's feelings is reflected in this system panel..."

Zhong Yan turned his head to look at his sleeping wife and decided that starting from tomorrow, he would be even more considerate.

He needed to reduce the frequency.

Even though he used his spiritual energy to nourish his wife, her physical condition was acceptable, but frequent mental excitement would also lead to exhaustion.

"Let's reduce it to three times!"

"Perhaps the system panel will undergo other changes in the future?"