The next morning arrived early.

Zhang Meng rose before dawn, prepared breakfast, and then headed off to Yueman Tower for her shift once again.

Watching her go, Qin Lu couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. The capitalists of the cultivation world were even more outrageous than those in his previous life; here, rest days simply didn’t exist.

After watching Xiao Ziyun finish his breakfast, Qin Lu gave the boy some toys to occupy himself. He then returned to sit at the redwood table.

Lying there were two money pouches and three Magical Instruments—his spoils of war.

With a look of excitement, Qin Lu tore open the pouches and dumped their contents onto the table.

Clatter!

The Spirit Stones struck the wood, producing a crisp, delightful sound.

A small hill of thumb-sized Spirit Stones piled up.

A flicker of joy passed through Qin Lu’s eyes as he reached out to count them.

A moment later, a smile spread across his face. This pile amounted to a full one hundred and eighty-seven Spirit Stones. For him, this was undoubtedly a massive sum.

“Murder and arson pave the way to riches, while building bridges and mending roads leave no corpses behind… that saying really holds true.”

After sighing for a moment, he shifted his gaze to the three Magical Instruments.

Two of them were the combat weapons used by the black-clad man that night—a pair of instruments shaped like ghost-head sabers. The blades were marred by small nicks and cracks; at a glance, they were clearly cheap goods.

The third item was a short dagger, about a dozen centimeters long. It was entirely crimson, appeared exquisitely crafted, and possessed an extremely sharp blade.

Beside it lay a small, white, round stone.

Searching his memory, Qin Lu thought for a moment before picking up the stone. He slowly channeled his spiritual energy into it.

The moment his energy made contact with the stone, a sharp, dazzling red light lit up the hilt of the dagger. With a faint pop, the dagger rose into the air.

Looking at the dark red dagger suspended motionless in mid-air, Qin Lu’s eyes filled with wild delight. “Now this is a proper Magical Instrument! The [Shangqing Sword] simply can’t compare!”

Channeling spiritual energy into the [Shangqing Sword] only made it slightly sharper; it had no other functions. Unlike this dagger, which could actually levitate.

With a thought from Qin Lu, the dagger began to move rapidly, circling and darting around the room while emitting a faint buzzing sound.

“Indeed! This little stone is the controller!”

Qin Lu manipulated the dagger with his mind, making it circle continuously above his head.

The dark red dagger was somewhat like a drone from his previous life. As long as he held the controller, he could make it fly, its speed and direction governed entirely by his will.

He played with it for a full half-hour before stopping.

Looking at the Spirit Stones and Magical Instruments on the table, a faint smile appeared on his face. Having so many Spirit Stones meant he didn’t need to go out to earn money for a while.

And staying indoors meant safety!

Feeling that the wound on his chest was no longer oozing blood, Qin Lu let out a slow breath of relief. It seemed the so-called discarded elixir liquid still had some healing effect after all.

At this rate, his injury would be completely healed in five days at most.

“I’ll just lay low at home recently… better not go out…” Qin Lu muttered to himself.

……

Time flowed slowly by. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, over half a month had passed.

During these ten-plus days, Qin Lu stayed home, never stepping out the door.

As expected, by the fourth day, his injury had completely healed. From then on, he resumed Grinding proficiency points without pause.

Meditation went without saying; he performed six sessions daily without fail, tirelessly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

His cultivation progress was quite fast; he had gained a full forty-five points in proficiency. The proficiency for the [Mystic Sun Mantra] was also steadily increasing; it wasn’t far from reaching the Master level.

As for the Gray Shadow Sword Art, Qin Lu chose to practice it three times daily—at noon, evening, and night. Progress was excellent; he already had over one hundred proficiency points. The gap to advancing to the Proficient level wasn’t large anymore.

Spell practice was rather infrequent; he only practiced the [Illumination Technique] and [Cutting Technique] during his spare time.

During his idle moments, he also used up all the remaining talisman paper and ink in the house, successfully drawing thirty-five [Water Qi Shield] talismans.

His life of seclusion was extremely fulfilling.

With a thought, Qin Lu opened his attribute panel.

[Name: Qin Lu]

[Lifespan: 36/112 years]

[Cultivation: Qi Refining Fourth Layer: 46/100]

[Cultivation Method:]

[Mystic Sun Mantra] (Proficient): 529/600

[Skills:]

Spells:

[Ignition Technique] (Master): 4/3000

[Finger Flick Technique] (Master): 15/3000

[Illumination Technique] (Proficient): 121/600

[Cutting Technique] (Proficient): 122/600

[Soft Wind Technique] (Proficient): 144/200

Talisman Crafting:

[Water Qi Shield] (Proficient): 462/600

[Cleansing Talisman] (Novice): 46/100

Sword Art:

[Gray Shadow Sword Art] (Proficient): 148/200

[Innate Talents: None]

After a quick glance, Qin Lu closed the interface.

He stood up and stretched lazily. Looking at the messy work desk, he casually tidied it up.

“Hmm… I’m out of talisman paper and ink. Should I go out today?”

Qin Lu stroked his chin, pondering silently.

“Spirit rice seems to be running low too… looks like I need to replenish our food stores… Then I’ll go out for a stroll today. Might as well sell these talismans too.”

Having made up his mind, Qin Lu changed into thicker clothes. He gathered his stall items into a bundle and tucked the [Shangqing Sword] at his waist.

Only then did he walk out of the room.

In the courtyard, Xiao Ziyun was holding a wooden sword, swinging it up and down. His movements and stances carried the air of a master swordsman.

On the ground lay many crushed peach blossom petals and the corpses of various mosquitoes, insects, and butterflies—clearly the results of his sword practice.

Lately, Qin Lu felt increasingly that something wasn’t right. The way he looked at Xiao Ziyun grew stranger by the day.

The boy’s progress in swordsmanship was simply too fast. It didn’t seem normal for an ordinary person at all.

Moreover, he was utterly addicted. He spent all day in the courtyard waving that sword around, ignoring the silly games other children his age played.

Just think about it: A child who would have just started kindergarten in his previous life, wielding a wooden sword to execute an extremely graceful yet fierce sword art…

Anyone who saw this would be startled.

Standing there watching for a while—even though he already knew the answer—Qin Lu still spoke up.

“Ziyun… Uncle is going out now. Do you want to come with me?”

“I’ll stay home,” Xiao Ziyun replied in his childish voice, pausing his movements.

“Alright.”

This answer was within Qin Lu’s expectations. After giving the boy some simple instructions, he walked out of the courtyard toward the market district.

……

The cold weather didn’t dampen the atmosphere of the bustling market district. At high noon, the place was crowded with people coming and going; the sounds of haggling rose and fell continuously.

Qin Lu held his bundle tightly with his right hand, carefully navigating through the crowd as he searched for an appropriate vacant spot for his stall.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

Among the stall owners, he spotted an acquaintance!

He immediately changed direction, heading straight for that spot.

Approaching closer, Qin Lu squatted down beside the man, chuckling cheerfully.

“Brother Li! Haven’t seen you for quite some time.”

This person was precisely the old Loose Cultivator who had sold Qin Lu many books and sword arts last time—Li Gui!

“Oh! Fellow Daoist Qin! Long time no see! What brings you here today? Going to take care of this old man’s business?”

Li Gui pointed toward the various worn-out books displayed on his mat, hinting that Qin Lu should buy a copy or two.

“Hehe.”

Qin Lu chuckled lightly before swiftly taking a black cloth from his bundle and placing it on the ground beside them. Raising an eyebrow, he grinned mischievously.

“What books should I buy? Today I’m here to set up a stall too! Not much space left around here anyway… make some room, let’s squeeze together.”

“Hey, hey…”

Before Li Gui could even react, Qin Lu had already spread out the black cloth neatly, then expertly arranged each talisman alongside a price sign.

Seeing the situation unfold, Li Gui could only sigh helplessly. He shifted his own mat over slightly, leaving half the space open.

Both men were now squeezed together in the small spot.

“Forget it, forget it… chatting with a Fellow Daoist while running stalls helps pass the time anyway,” Li Gui said, slowly stroking his beard and laughing softly. His attitude remained quite amicable.

Qin Lu’s eyes darted around before he suddenly asked, “So… want to buy a [Water Qi Shield] talisman, maybe?”

Li Gui’s expression froze momentarily.

The smile gradually faded from his face as he turned his head away, retorting coldly, “Not buying!”