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Chapter 12: First Encounter with Zhang Tieshan
The Ice Wind Technique was an area-of-effect spell.
The Purple Rose Fairy, controlling the white square handkerchief, could only block one side, and was immediately engulfed by the cold wind, struggling to move.
She strenuously reached out and touched the storage pouch at her waist.
At this moment, Lan Chang'an, like a rotten log, rose from the shrubs ten meters away.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three dark red fireballs were instantly launched, making it difficult for the Purple Rose Fairy to defend herself, her skirt exploding, and ice shards flying.
"Young master, spare me! I'm willing to..."
The Purple Rose Fairy collapsed to the ground, her teeth clattering, her beautiful face already covered in large patches of decay under the dual impact of ice and fire spells.
Even though this woman seemed to have no power to resist.
Lan Chang'an kept his distance, picking up a stone, he used the martial skill Sky Piercing Finger to deliver a long-range strike.
There was a loud "Peng" sound.
The Purple Rose Fairy's head exploded like a watermelon.
"So weak, how dare you come out to rob?"
Lan Chang'an approached the corpse of the purple-skirted beauty, picked up the magical item handkerchief, and took off her storage pouch. Without even looking at the spoils in the pouch, he swiftly withdrew from the scene.
After a cup of tea's time.
Several people including the tall and thin man surnamed Xu arrived at the scene.
Looking at the corpse of the Purple Rose Fairy, the several cultivators shuddered with fear, showing signs of suspicion and dread.
...
An hour later, in the wilderness.
Lan Chang'an confirmed that there were no pursuers and began to check the Purple Rose Fairy's storage pouch.
First, he eliminated anything used for tracking and burned some of the female clothes inside.
Having a storage pouch and a low-grade magical item, the Purple Rose Fairy was considered well-off among the wandering cultivators.
Inside the pouch were more than forty spirit stones, two bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills, one bottle of Qi Recovery Pills, one bottle of Detoxifying Pills, and a few books on immortal cultivation,
There were six first-rank talismans, two of which were middle-grade talismans, both sold by Lan Chang'an. The total value was close to two hundred spirit stones.
"This woman is quite fat! I'm afraid she's probably not an ordinary loose cultivator." Lan Chang'an sighed inwardly.
Indeed, as the saying goes, no grass grows on a busy road, and no one remains poor without a windfall. The wealth earned from a single killing was several times what he had earned from drawing talismans.
"Those who walk by the river are bound to get their shoes wet. In this life, I'm cultivating the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique, so I have to run a steady business and never go down the path of robbing cultivators." Lan Chang'an dismissed the greed in his heart.
Killing people to seize treasures was ultimately risky. Who could guarantee that every strike would hit seemingly weak targets? For example, the Purple Rose Fairy, would she have expected today's outcome?
Lan Chang'an remembered a rumor from his previous life:
There was a wicked cultivator in the Nascent Soul Realm who was unscrupulous in robbing and killing. Because of his unparalleled speed, nearby cultivation forces could not do nothing about it.
Until one day, in a merchant caravan that the wicked cultivator had seized, there was actually a disguised Deity Transformation Realm cultivator among them, whose cultivation was only at the Qi-Refining stage on the surface.
In the end, the wicked cultivator died without peace, and the wealth he had plundered hard for all his life became his shroud.
...
Hengshui Prefecture governed seven counties.
Ande County was one of the seven. The entire county was built along the river, with waterways extending in all directions.
Places with well-developed water resources often had few gangs in the rivers and lakes.
The Angry Bird Gang is the leading gang in Ande County, controlling nearly forty percent of the gray income in the surrounding waterways.
On this day, at the Angry Bird Gang headquarters.
The gang leader, Qi Jingyun, suddenly summoned his three sons to discuss in a secret chamber, and they didn't come out for half a day.
"Foster father, these martial arts masterpieces point straight to the innate nature of martial arts."
"You guys should have heard of the Meridian Easing Pill, Ever Spring Pill, and Great Rejuvenation Pill..."
Lan Chang'an looked at the sixty-year-old, burly figure of his foster father, feeling a warm affection as memories of their past experiences flooded back.
Qi Jingyun was a first-rate expert in the Jianghu, operating in Ande County for decades, dominating the upper and lower reaches of the river.
Meeting today, Qi Jingyun's majesty still remained the same, only a few more strands of grey hair at the temples.
"Meridian Easing Pill, Ever Spring Pill, and Great Rejuvenation Pill." The other three foster sons' eyes glowed as they stared at the three bottles of pills on the table.
The Ease of Meridian Pill, could ease the meridians and cut down the marrow, improving martial arts qualifications.
Great Rejuvenation Pill, which could improve one's power for several decades.
Ever Spring Pill, which had the effect of prolonging life for mortals.
"Chang'an, these pills should be very expensive, right?"
Qi Jingyun's face was hesitant as he looked at the bottle of Evergreen Pill, it would be disingenuous to say that he wasn't moved.
Qi Jingyun hesitated, looking at the bottle of Ever Spring Pill with a hint of temptation in his eyes.
"For us cultivators, these are not worth much."
Lan Chang'an did not tell them that the three pills only cost one and a half spirit stones, which was quite cheap.
"Good! Chang'an, you have a kind heart."
Qi Jingyun's face was filled with contentment.
He was getting older, and he had a strong need for the Ever Spring Pill. The other two pills were better left for the younger generation.
"Chang'an, the position of gang leader was originally intended to be passed on to you. Since you've embarked on the path of immortality, I plan to let Li Hong handle the internal affairs of the gang in the future," Qu Jingyun said, expressing his own arrangements but also seeking Lan Chang'an's opinion.
"I believe in Second Brother's ability." Lan Chang'an replied with a smile.
His foster brother, Li Hong, was a stern-looking young man, a second-rate martial artist in the Jianghu. Li Hong was ambitious and had previously wanted to compete with Lan Chang'an for the position of gang leader, leading to some slight discord between them.
Today, however, Lan Chang'an had transcended that level entirely and no longer cared about the position of gang leader.
"Chang'an, do you think we can cultivate immortality?" Li Hong was silent for a moment and finally couldn't help but ask. Previously, Lan Chang'an had demonstrated immortal techniques in front of them.
Several years had passed, and Lan Chang'an's appearance remained unchanged, showing no signs of aging.
For Li Hong and the others to say that they didn't yearn for it would be self-deceiving.
"Immortals cultivators need spiritual roots, and besides, you've all missed the age for cultivation," Lan Chang'an said with a smile, understanding their feelings.
So, he took the opportunity to check the spiritual roots of his three foster brothers and foster father. The result was that none of them had spiritual root qualifications. In fact, there was no one in the world who had absolutely no Immortal Cultivation qualifications. A sensing degree above ten indicated a low-grade spiritual root.
A sensing degree below five indicated an inferior spiritual root.
A sensing degree below one could be ignored, effectively meaning there were no qualifications.
...
After nightfall.
Lan Chang'an privately spoke with his foster father again and gave him several first-rank low-grade talismans.
In the future, if his foster brothers were unfilial, Qu Jingyun would have the talismans to easily suppress them.
"Oh, foster father, what happened to Taoist Master Guan, who introduced me to cultivation back then? I wonder where he went?" Lan Chang'an inquired.
Taoist Master Guan was a destitute wandering cultivator who had been seriously injured years ago. He had fled to the territory of the Angy Birds Gang and been sheltered by Lan Chang'an. It was also he who had introduced Lan Chang'an to the path of immortality.
" After sending you to the sect's assessment Taoist Master Guan stayed in the Hengshui Prefecture for two months before leaving without saying goodbye..." Qu Jingyun recalled. 𝘧𝘳ℯ𝓮𝘸𝓮𝑏𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓁.𝘤ℴ𝘮
"Two months?" Lan Chang'an couldn't help but suspect that Taoist Master Guan might have learnt that he had failed the Sect Examination and lost interest in investing.
The next day, Lan Chang'an didn't linger in the Angry Bird Gang.
At the request of his foster father, he left behind a copy of the Origin-Opening Scripture and drifted away.
This attribute-less Origin-Opening Scripture, if a mortal could cultivate it, would prove their qualification for immortality.
...
"In this life, without family or relatives, there's nothing much to miss in the mundane world."
Lan Chang'an felt as ease both physically and mentally as he stepped onto a flat boat and drifted downstream.
For the next month or so, he travelled in the waves along the river.
In the quiet of the night, he meditated on the boat, practicing the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique, drawing on the mysterious qi of the years.
Lan Chang'an discovered that although it was difficult to refine his mana when in the secular world, it didn't affect the Evergreen Technique's ability to absorb the Qi of the ages. He took the Qi Nourishing Pill and combined it with spirit stones to make up for the gap in the refinement of his mana.
It wasn't until the time agreed upon with Li Ergou approached that Lan Chang'an returned to the Hengshui Prefecture City.
...
Inside the Royal Marquis Mansion.
Li Ergou had just arrived half a day ago, with a look of melancholy on his face, obviously having parted with his loved ones not long ago. In addition to the two of them, there was another immortal cultivator as a guest in the mansion.
"Brother Lan, let me introduce you. This is Zhang Tieshan, an outer disciple of the Jin Yun Valley."
Lin Yi welcomed a burly, slightly dark-skinned young man into the room.
"Zhang Tieshan?"
Lan Chang'an observed this third layer Qi-Refiner, dressed plainly but with a somewhat familiar name.
"Ha ha! Zhang Tieshan was the first in the Illusion Heart Platform three years ago when we participated in the sect assessment together. Brother Lu, do you remember?" Lin Yi laughed heartily.
"So it's fellow daoist Zhang, nice to meet you."
Lan Chang'an thought for a moment and recalled. Three years ago, when he had just recovered his memory, he hadn't paid much attention to who was the first on the Illusion Heart Platform.
But there was indeed such a person in the assessment, though his presence wasn't particularly strong. For this person to become the first on the Illusion Heart Platform, he was definitely not an ordinary person!
"Fellow daoist Lan, I've also heard of your deeds." Zhang Tieshan smiled, not showing any arrogance.
Deeds about himself in the sect?
Lan Chang'an didn't need to think too much. It was probably an anecdote about an "older" middle grade spiritual root who was eliminated in the examination and had no choice but to marry into a cultivation family.
Lan Chang'an was curious about why Zhang Tieshan had come to the Marquis' Mansion. Zhang Tieshan wasn't a immortal seedling from the Hengshui Prefecture.
"Fellow daoist Lan, I've come to you this time for a sect mission..."
After chatting for a while, Zhang Tieshan explained his purpose.
"Brother Lan, the danger of that haunted house isn't high, it's just that the evil spirit inside has a bit of cunning. Although fellow daoist Zhang can defeat it, one person is not good enough to take it down, which is why he seeks our assistance." Lin Yi obviously knew the situation and helped to add.
"Haunted house evil spirit?" Li Ergou shivered.
It turned out that Zhang Tieshan had taken on a sect mission to exterminate a ghost in a haunted house within the Hengshui Prefecture.
The owner of that haunted house was a descendant of a cultivator from the Jin Yun Valley. After learning about the situation, Lan Chang'an felt that the danger was indeed not high.
However, he didn't want to go.
Firstly, Zhang Tieshan hadn't explicitly mentioned any remuneration, perhaps because he was a disciple of the outer sect and didn't have much money.
Secondly, although the ghost seemed weak, who could guarantee that there weren't any other factors or traps involved?
The risk did not match the reward.
Although he was willing to get acquaninted with Zhang Tieshan, he didn't want to take unnecessary risks.
"Unfortunately, our deadline for returning to the family is coming up, and we can't afford to be delayed outside. I'll have to let Brother Zhang down." Lan Chang'an declined tactfully.
"Right! Time's tight, my wife is urging me to return, so I can't go to that haunted house." Li Ergou hurriedly agreed.
Zhang Tieshan's expression changed slightly, seeming a bit stunned.
It seemed that he hadn't expected Lan Chang'an, who he thought would easily help exterminate the ghost, to refuse.