Chapter 69: 67. Mortal Cultivation Method (3/3)

67. Mortal Cultivation Method (3/3)

Leaving his home, Chen An headed straight for the Market.

While passing along a small path by the river, he saw a familiar figure squatting by the water, head lowered, staring blankly at the surface rippling in the wind.

It was Mo Lifang's son, Dabao.

Seeing this small figure now squatting by the river all alone, Chen An felt a complex mix of emotions in his heart.

He calmed his mood, walked to Dabao's side, and asked with a smile:

"Dabao, do you still remember me?"

"Mm, I remember, you are Uncle Alchemist Chen who lives diagonally across from my house."

Dabao said with a slightly dazed expression.

Chen An sat down beside him, smiled, and asked:

"Dabao, why are you squatting by the river all by yourself?"

"I am waiting for my mother to come find me."

Dabao answered with a look of innocence, unaware that his mother was already dead, and that the person who killed his mother was sitting right beside him.

Chen An looked at Dabao beside him, then looked up at the sky, a sense of indescribable melancholy in his heart.

At this moment, an elderly voice suddenly shouted from ahead.

"Dabao!"

"What is wrong with you child, why do you always run to the river?!"

"You didn't drown last time because you had the good fortune to run into me, an old man; do you expect me to be able to save you every single time!"

Following the sound of the shouting, Chen An saw an elderly cultivator walking over.

He looked very old, his figure hunched, lacking color, his face covered in age spots, looking decrepit and extremely aged.

Chen An recognized this old cultivator; he was a small vendor living in North Lane who made a living catching Spirit Fish, and he had met him a few times before when setting up a stall in the Market.

"Alchemist Chen, why are you here?"

The old cultivator saw Chen An, revealed a mouth of yellow teeth that were about to fall out, and smiled with a face full of wrinkles.

Chen An smiled: "I was planning to go to the Market to buy some things, and when I passed by here, I saw a child I knew squatting by the river alone, so I came over to see what was going on."

"I see..."

The old cultivator nodded and said.

Seeing that this old cultivator cared so much for Dabao, Chen An began to chat with him.

He asked about his relationship with Dabao, taking the opportunity to get to know him.

After some idle chatter.

Chen An learned that Dabao had now been adopted by the old cultivator.

The old cultivator's surname was Hu, and when he was young, in order to achieve Foundation Establishment, he had stayed far away from women and focused on cultivation.

However, after cultivating for several decades and his cultivation reaching the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, he could no longer advance any further.

When he realized his immortal path had reached its end and he wanted to return to a mortal life to marry and have children, he discovered his body was already too old, destined to have no descendants.

With no other choice, he could only continue to live out his days alone until his lifespan was exhausted.

The day before yesterday while fishing, this old cultivator had seen Mo Lifang heartlessly push her own son, Dabao, into the river.

The old cultivator, who was no stranger to such things, knew this was a female cultivator crushed by life, wanting to discard her burden to remarry.

So after Mo Lifang hurried away, the old cultivator fished Dabao out.

Seeing that Dabao was still young and could be raised to be close to him, he thought about taking him back to raise as his own son.

So that he would have someone to see him off when he died.

After learning all this from the old cultivator, the guilt in Chen An's heart lessened quite a bit, and he felt that Mo Lifang deserved to die.

He took a few bottles of Qi Nourishing Pill from his robes and smilingly handed them to the old cultivator to build a relationship, saying that he should save some fresh Spirit Fish for him in the future.

Afterward, he turned and left, setting off once again for the Zhenbao Hang in the Market.

Qi Nourishing Pill, this was a type of medicinal pill for novice cultivators, which could help them guide Qi into their bodies.

Giving this type of pill to the old cultivator was actually equivalent to giving it to his adopted son, Dabao.

From this moment on, this karmic tie was ended.

Market, Zhenbao Hang.

As soon as Chen An walked in, Shopkeeper Liu inside greeted him enthusiastically.

"Alchemist Chen, here to sell pills again."

"No, I am here to buy things this time."

Chen An smiled and said.

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Liu's eyes lit up, and he joked with a face full of smiles: "It seems Alchemist Chen has been making a fortune in silence and has saved up quite a bit of money."

"I haven't saved much, just enough to get by."

Chen An kept a low profile, not wanting to be too flashy.

Shopkeeper Liu stopped joking and asked: "I wonder what Alchemist Chen would like to buy?"

Chen An stepped forward, leaned in a bit, and lowered his voice: "Shopkeeper Liu, that manual 'Mandarin Ducks Flying Together' that I came to ask the price of about a year ago, is it still for sale?"

"Yes, yes, Alchemist Chen, please follow me."

Shopkeeper Liu also lowered his voice.

After speaking, he led Chen An into a small cubicle specially used for storing such Cultivation Methods, took out the 'Mandarin Ducks Flying Together' that Chen An had been longing for, and said with a lewd smile:

"Heh, Alchemist Chen, this is the 'Mandarin Ducks Flying Together' you wanted."

"1000 Low-grade Spirit Stones, is that right?"

"Yes."

"Manager Liu, considering that I frequently supply pills to Zhenbao Hang, could you give me a discount on this 'Flying Mandarin Ducks'?"

Chen An began to haggle.

Manager Liu looked troubled: "Alchemist Chen, it's not that I don't want to, but I'm just an acting manager, merely someone who keeps the accounts; I have no authority to adjust prices at all."

"Is that so..."

Chen An pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said: "Forget it then, I won't make things difficult for Manager Liu; I'll go take a look at other shops."

Having said that, he turned and walked away without a hint of hesitation.

"Hey, wait, Alchemist Chen, wait!"

Manager Liu grew anxious, stepped forward quickly to stop Chen An, and said to him with a smile: "Although I don't have the authority to adjust prices according to the rules, as long as we keep it low-key and handle it privately, it shouldn't be much of a problem."

Chen An smiled and said: "Then I wonder what is the maximum discount Manager Liu can give?"

"The most I can do is five percent off."

"How about thirty percent off."

"Alchemist Chen, this is just too..."

"Then forty percent off."

"Thirty percent off, just thirty percent off, take it!"

Manager Liu tossed the 'Flying Mandarin Ducks' in his hand to Chen An and asked him for 700 Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Chen An gave Manager Liu 4 Middle-grade Spirit Stones and 300 Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Afterwards, he thought of his young wife at home and asked Manager Liu:

"Manager Liu, do you have any Cultivation Methods for sale here that even mortals can practice?"

"Yes, yes, yes, we certainly do!"

Manager Liu became enthusiastic once again.

Chen An asked further: "I wonder what kind of Cultivation Methods you have?"

"We have the 'Body Tempering Technique' for strengthening the body, the 'Meditation Art' for calming the mind and sharpening the senses, and the 'Health Preservation Technique' for prolonging life; currently, the shop only has these three Cultivation Methods that mortals can practice, and the price is 20 Low-grade Spirit Stones each."

Manager Liu took out the three Cultivation Methods and introduced them with a smile.

PS: Setting out my bowl, begging for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!