Chapter 23: A Generous Gift!

“Gifted successfully!”

“Gift: Ten middle-grade Qi-Nourishing Pills.”

“Returning feedback….”

“Tenfold feedback, reward: One hundred middle-grade Qi-Nourishing Pills.”

Back in his room, Ye Chen had no trace of sorrow on his face. Listening to the system’s notification, he nodded contentedly. Lu Jing had indeed provided the tenfold reward. With this, Lin Ke’er’s importance had significantly decreased in his mind.

However, the female cultivator from Green Cloud Shop, who had a fifteenfold feedback, still lingered in Ye Chen’s thoughts. After all, the extra five times was no small matter. Over the course of years, that would amount to an astronomical sum. Not to mention, many things couldn’t be measured simply by spirit stones.

For example, gifting spells. The difference between a tenfold and a fifteenfold reward was like heaven and earth. For the female cultivator from Green Cloud Shop, Ye Chen had already formed an idea after seeing Lu Jing’s actions.

He had also done some inquiries over the past few days. The person in charge of Green Cloud Shop was Sun Ye. And Sun Ruoxin was his daughter. Sun Ye was rather greedy, but his talisman-making skills were decent.

He had once been an outer disciple of the Green Cloud Sect. It seemed he had been injured during a sect competition and was unable to progress any further. He was then reassigned to be the steward at the Green Cloud Shop in Silver Moon Market.

Sun Ye being so greedy made things easier. Ye Chen decided to pay the tuition and learn talisman-making from the other party.

Unlike Lu Jing, who was an apprentice without paying any fees and had to work for the master, Ye Chen would pay to receive proper guidance, essentially hiring him as a teacher.

Given Sun Ye’s personality, it was clear that learning talisman-making from him would not be cheap. But once the connection was established, Ye Chen could also meet Sun Ruoxin, thereby gaining access to the fifteenfold feedback channel.

This would be a further fivefold increase in the feedback reward. The small tuition fee would easily be recouped.

Ye Chen had no doubts about his choice. As for whether learning talisman-making would be a waste of time now that he was already an alchemist, Ye Chen thought it didn’t matter much.

The more skills, the better. If he could learn, that would be great. If not, then it didn’t matter, since his main target was the fifteenfold feedback from Sun Ruoxin. However, since for now, his savings were still insufficient, he needed to accumulate more before proceeding.
…

The next morning, Ye Chen continued his usual routine of cultivation. Though he was always full of energy and vitality when he woke up, he wasn’t in a rush because he understood the value of delayed gratification.

The cultivation world was full of dangers. Only cultivation and strength mattered; everything else, including women, was trivial. They would only hinder the speed of his cultivation. Once he became stronger, what couldn’t he enjoy?

So unless the system’s cold, detached notifications demanded it, he wouldn’t bother to leave the house to meet female cultivators.

However, by the afternoon, Lu Jing came again. She came under the pretense of caring for Ye Chen, offering him comfort.

On the third day, Lu Jing came by again, conveniently passing by on her way home from work to check on Ye Chen. On the fourth day, she even brought Ye Chen the first talisman she had crafted herself, a “Clear Evil Talisman.”

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In the cultivation world, souls and spirits were very much real. If a cultivator died in a place with special conditions, by sheer chance, they could turn into something strange, a distorted form of their former self.

The “Clear Evil Talisman” was highly effective against such aberrations. Lu Jing practically came by every day. She always found reasons to check on Ye Chen. She thought this continuous barrage of attention had to yield results.

After all, if a mature and curvaceous woman sought you out every day, most male cultivators would surely entertain impure thoughts. They’d begin to wonder if the other person was interested in them.

Not to mention, Lu Jing crafted a persona for herself, sending small yet meaningful gifts, like the talisman, that carried sentimental value. Add in her inherent allure, and it was a winning combination. Most male cultivators would fall for it.

Ye Chen’s reactions were exactly what Lu Jing expected. In the previous few days, he had been in a melancholic mood, occasionally gazing longingly in the direction of the mountain peaks during their conversations.