Chapter 76: Ideas

Sanyin Temple, backyard.

Chen Ci was nurturing the Ancient Bronze Lamp in a yin-attuned area while inspecting the Five Fierce God Statue in his hand.

As the first spoils of war in this life, Chen Ci still had some lingering affection for it; otherwise, he would not have preferred to let it gather dust in the storeroom rather than sell it off cheaply, just treating it as a trophy.

Yet he had not expected that the five Fierce Gods inside could still have other uses.

"Huh, these five Fierce Gods seem to be Five Fortunes, which is quite rare. No wonder this item has changed hands many times, yet there are still people willing to refine it from scratch."

As he used the Soul Fixing Talisman daily to scrub away their baleful energy and ferocity, these five Fierce Gods finally returned to the state of yin spirits. They were no longer five rolling blood shadows, gradually recovering some human form. At a glance, their builds and expressions were surprisingly similar, clearly having been carefully selected by some evil cultivator, rather than being five people found at random to refine into a Dharma Artifact.

The so-called Five Fortunes are quintuplets born and raised alive; in this era, they are even rarer than cultivation seeds.

It is just a pity that good fortune cannot overcome karma; without protective means, the aura of the Five Fortunes is instead prone to inviting fatal disasters.

"It is truly a waste for you all to be Fierce Gods. Behave yourselves well; if this master attains the Dao in the future, following by my side as spirit children will count as a stroke of good fortune for you."

Although he felt the timing was about right, Chen Ci still decided to nurture them for a while longer and use the Soul Fixing Talisman to scrub them thoroughly for a few more days.

Why does this Five Ghosts Transportation Method need to use the Ancient Bronze Lamp as a foundation to bear it?

These five ghosts are, in reality, the lamp wicks.

Boiling bones to refine oil, using ghosts as wicks—as long as one of these five ghosts harbors ulterior motives, lighting the lamp wick naturally provides plenty of means to discipline them.

Little things, daring to disobey? Do you really think this master from the He Mountain Sect is easy to get along with?

Like taming beasts, using both kindness and severity, and applying the method of collective responsibility, they were naturally obedient. The five ghosts were as responsive as his own limbs. Once they became exceptionally agile, he could attempt to guide the Five Ghosts Entering Body and cultivate the Five Ghosts Possession Great Method.

And the risk of the Five Ghosts Possession Great Method lies right here: since it is beast taming, how can you know they won't turn and bite their master?

Chen Ci used the Soul Fixing Talisman every day to scrub away their baleful energy and ferocity. Although he was grinding down their temperaments, he was also saving them from a sea of bitterness; it was much better than the punishment of the Sky Lamp after being placed on the Ancient Bronze Lamp.

"Grind their temperaments for another half a month, and it should be about right. Nurturing five spirit ghosts is truly not easy."

Chen Ci shook his head slightly. He still needed these five Fierce Gods to be sensible; if they were not, he would have no choice but to grant them transcendence and seek other spirit ghosts.

Cultivating methods is truly not easy.

He glanced at the Gold Finger panel again.

Stomach Earth Nourishing Gold Method: Five Yin Gold Evil/17/100

After half a month of refinement, the color of one strand of Five Yin Black Evil in the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag gradually changed. Unfortunately, it was not the golden-white Chen Ci had expected, but a matte gray. It looked unremarkable and was somewhat similar to the original color of the Five Yin Black Evil.

The dream of having golden-white sword Qi swirling around his hands was shattered, and it could no longer set off his status as a man of the Dao.

Chen Ci sighed. Could it be that he had been cheap and used iron essence to nourish the gold Qi, causing this?

"Forget it, as long as it works well. As for the appearance... it's not important."

However, the power of this strand of evil energy had changed. If it went to shred an ancient tree, it would not grind it into powder like the other Five Yin Black Evil, but would instead slash it into seven or eight small pieces in one go, very cleanly.

The speed had also increased by more than thirty percent. As it currently appeared, it was indeed a positive improvement, and Chen Ci's heart was finally set at ease.

"If two strands of Five Yin Gold Evil were hidden within the Five Yin Black Evil, who could block that?"

Chen Ci rubbed his chin and almost laughed out loud.

"Sanniang, how is it? Is the longevity pill I gave you satisfying to eat?"

It was the day to deliver wild game from the mountains to Yunshi Shan again. Chen Ci sipped his longevity tea and asked indifferently. Even that profiteering shopkeeper at Baibao Pavilion didn't make a peep after eating one, so he didn't believe that Shi Sanniang, who practiced the miscellaneous arts and loved to enjoy herself, would be dissatisfied.

"Sigh~"

Shi Sanniang hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping. After a long while, she sighed and said, "Great Master Chen, although your longevity pill tastes good, you should still give me Bigu Pills. By the way, does the price difference you mentioned last time still count?"

Chen Ci put down his teacup, his expression unchanged, and asked curiously, "Huh, Sanniang, what do you mean by that?"

Inside, however, he felt a bit sheepish. Ever since the essence of the five grains he ingested had to be used to knead the longevity pills, the amount of Bigu Pills in his hands had never increased; to this day, he only had sixty or seventy of them.

"Ai, don't mention it."

Shi Sanniang felt a bit listless: "This pill made me feel quite refreshed, but after eating it, those lovers of mine were all lackluster. It's no fun at all."

Pfft~

Chen Ci was almost choked by his tea. So it wasn't that the longevity pill was bad; it was that the field was too fertile, and the ox wasn't up to the task, right?

This... there really is nowhere to reason with this.

"Uh, Sanniang."

Chen Ci coughed lightly and advised: "Why don't you share some of these longevity pills with fellow practitioners in the mountains? Wouldn't it be delightful for two strong forces to contend?"

"There are only twelve in total. The medicinal properties of this longevity pill are too mild; one or two pills don't show any effect."

Upon hearing this, Shi Sanniang's spirits lifted: "Great Master Chen, do you have any more of these longevity pills? If there were more, that wouldn't be bad."

"I do have pills, but they are priced at five taels of gold each. I am not deceiving you; I really sell them at this price when I go to Xishan Market. The last time was already a discounted price for you."

Chen Ci's heart stirred. If the longevity pills could be consumed near Changping County without him having to travel far to Xishan Market, that would actually be quite good.

As long as he could sell them for a good price, it didn't matter who he sold them to. If it were quick and convenient, he would be happy even if it were a little cheaper.

"Five taels of gold each? How many fellow practitioners can afford that?"

Shi Sanniang's eyes widened, and her chest heaved heavily a few times.

A bottle of twelve pills would be six hundred taels of silver. Although she couldn't say she couldn't afford it, she didn't live solely on these few pills every month. In a year, how could her place in Yunshi Shan afford that?

"Actually, if you have Five Elements Divine Sand, that would also work. One catty of divine sand can be exchanged for twenty-five pills."

Chen Ci said with a smile, but then, a bold idea inexplicably welled up in him. He paused slightly and continued: "Essence Refining also works; ten drops of Essence Refining can be exchanged for one pill. Gold, iron, spirit herbs, and Spirit Materials are all acceptable, though the price would need to be estimated."

"However, my relationship with you, Sanniang, is naturally extraordinary. I will give you one for only three taels of gold, or five for ten taels of gold. How about it? Do you want to exchange for some more longevity pills to take back this time?"

Chen Ci chuckled and took out a bottle of longevity pills. Since he had already said this much, he didn't believe Shi Sanniang wouldn't be tempted.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Shi Sanniang still chose a bottle of longevity pills and wheedled him into giving her dozens of Bigu Pills before leaving happily with the pills in her arms. Coming from a mountain background, if she didn't know Great Master Chen, where would she ever get to eat such high-quality and inexpensive pills?

Chen Ci watched Shi Sanniang leave and clicked his tongue twice. The fellow practitioners in the mountains really needed to step up their game.

He had developed a bold idea.

He dared not open a market; he had no source of goods, no force, and his background wasn't that solid. Even if he opened one, he wouldn't be able to hold it.

But a small shop with a few signature products—that he could surely open, right?

If a reputation can truly be built, while I wouldn't dare say it will lead to great wealth, at the very least, scraping by with enough for food and clothing shouldn't be a problem.

Hehe~

(End of chapter)