Chapter 30: Counting the Harvest!

 

“Are they Dead!?”

 

Lu Changsheng’s heart skipped a beat as the Golden Brick fell. 

 

He stared at the place where the Golden Brick stood like a small mountain.

 

The three didn’t even have a chance to scream under this blow.

 

Several defensive spells and black shield artifacts seemed to disappear under the impact of the Golden Brick.

 

“Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!”

 

After a moment of numbness that confirmed the certainty of their deaths, Lu Changsheng also relaxed, his emotions fluctuating slightly as he gasped for breath.

 

Even though the talismans didn’t consume much spiritual energy, they did consume mental energy. Using nearly twenty of them in a stack was quite exhausting for him. 

 

Most importantly, activating the treasure talisman, the Golden Brick, directly consumed more than half of his spiritual energy.

 

With a thought, Lu Changsheng put the talisman away.

 

The huge Golden Brick immediately retracted its brilliance, returned to its original form, and transformed into the form of a talisman that flew back into Lu Changsheng’s hand.

 

Where the Golden Brick had struck, it left a crater tens of meters wide and deep.

 

In an instant, the three bandits had turned into a mass of bloody mud.

 

As for the black shield artifact, it was directly shattered and deformed by the Golden Brick’s attack, turning into a lump of iron.

 

“Is this the power of a treasure talisman? It’s terrifying!”

 

“I’m only at the third stage of Qi Refining, and I can only unleash a portion of its power.”

 

“If I were at the later stages of Qi Refining, or even at the Foundation Establishment stage, unleashing the full power of the treasure talisman would be even more astonishing.”

 

Lu Changsheng looked at the three figures turning to mush in the giant pit, licked his somewhat dry lips, and felt extremely shocked.

 

This was the first time he had used a treasure talisman and experienced its power.

 

He started throwing more than ten talismans at once, but they were all blocked by three people. 

 

But as soon as the magic treasure came out, it crushed everything effortlessly. 

 

The three of them had no way to defend themselves. 

 

As a result, Lu Changsheng not only witnessed the power of magical treasures, but also got a glimpse of the power of an Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator. 

 

With the power of magical treasures activated by his third stage of Qi refining, he estimated that it was roughly equivalent to a single blow from a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator. 

 

Without daring to think too much, for fear that the commotion he was making might attract attention, Lu Changsheng endured the nausea and jumped into the deep pit, digging out the three people’s storage pouches from the muddy mess of flesh and blood.

 

Using purification techniques, he cleaned the blood and flesh from the pouches, then destroyed all traces of flesh and mud with a flame talisman. 

 

Picking up the damaged and deformed iron shield and flying knife artifact nearby, he used a wind control talisman on himself, jumped out of the deep pit, and quickly left the area. 

 

One hour later. 

 

Having restored his original appearance, Lu Changsheng rode his horse away from Niutou Mountain, stopping about a hundred miles away to rest only when he was sure no one was following him, preparing to replenish his spiritual energy. 

 

“Phew!” 

 

“Thank goodness I didn’t try to conserve energy. After activating the talismans, I immediately used the magic treasure.” 

 

“Otherwise, relying only on low- and mid-level talismans, it would probably be impossible to kill those three.” 

 

“This cultivation world is really incredibly dangerous. Even though I’m being so careful, I’m still being targeted.” 

 

“Looks like I’ll have to be even more careful in the future.” 

 

Lu Changsheng found a grove to rest in and remembered the situation earlier, feeling a bit scared but relieved at the same time. 

 

The thought of being targeted even though he was so cautious made him realize the danger of the cultivation world at a higher level. 

 

He felt that this cultivation world was like a jungle with naked laws of survival, where the strong prey on the weak. 

 

Without strength, one could run into danger and accidents at any time, anywhere. 

 

“It seems that joining a faction and leaning on a big tree is the way to go.” 

 

“Even though I’m just a dependent member of the Lu family, at least I have some security in terms of safety.” 

 

Murmuring to himself, Lu Changsheng also realized the advantages of a family faction.

 

In the family sects, while contributions to the collective are expected, at least in the early stages, someone provides support and stands at the forefront.

 

After a short meditation, Lu Changsheng couldn’t help but shake his head.

 

The spiritual energy in the mundane world was too thin.

 

Restoring himself through meditation was too slow, and he didn’t know how long it would take.

 

He took out a spirit stone and began to meditate to recover.

 

After a long time, the crystal-clear spirit stone became much dimmer.

 

Spirit Stones were mostly used as currency, but they could also be used for cultivation by absorbing the spiritual energy inside to speed up progress.

 

However, for most cultivators, using spirit stones directly for cultivation was too extravagant.

 

It was cheaper to buy spirit rice, spirit tea, spirit wine, and other spiritual foods.

 

After using a spirit stone, Lu Changsheng’s spiritual energy was almost restored.

 

He took out the storage bags from the three people and began to inventory his gains.

 

“It’s lucky that these three had storage bags, otherwise this would have been a huge loss.”

 

“I wonder what’s in those storage bags. Will it be enough to make up for my expenses?”

 

With just one talisman used in the confrontation, it was worth about thirty to forty spirit stones.

 

As for the consumption of talisman treasures in that single attack, Lu Changsheng himself couldn’t estimate it.

 

But it was worth at least one hundred Spirit Stones.

 

If these three people were poor, he would be at a loss. 

 

After a while, Lu Changsheng sorted out a total of one hundred and three spirit stones from the three storage bags.

 

There was a flying sword artifact and a bell artifact.

 

Three bottles of Fasting Pills, one bottle of Yellow Dragon Pills, one bottle of Clear Spirit Pills, and three bottles of unknown pills.

 

Fifteen first-tier low-grade talismans, six first-tier medium-grade talismans, and one high-grade talisman.

 

As well as books, bits and pieces, and a few miscellaneous things. 

 

“This flying sword, bell, and flying knife all seem to be low-grade magic weapons. They should all be sold for about fifty spirit stones.” 

 

“As for this shield, even though it’s a magical weapon, all the prohibitions inside have been broken. It can only be sold as scrap metal. I wonder how much it’s worth.”

 

“These three storage bags alone should be worth about one hundred and fifty spirit stones.”

 

“If you add up these odds and ends, the total should be around five hundred Spirit Stones.”

 

After counting the items of the three men, Lu Changsheng’s mood improved significantly.

 

He licked his lips and sighed, “Indeed, robbery and murder are the quickest ways to make money, no matter where you go.”

 

When he first arrived at the Lu Family and became a son-in-law, he only earned two spirit stones a month.

 

As a talisman master, he earned only ten spirit stones a month.

 

Selling one hundred talismans today was the equivalent of one month’s work, and after deducting the costs, he earned about one hundred spirit stones.

 

It couldn’t be compared to the ease and speed of robbery and murder.

 

However, Lu Changsheng had no intention of making money by such means.

 

Apart from his moral principles, which prevented him from committing senseless murders.

 

It was also too risky and didn’t fit his style of doing things.

 

With the system on his side, he didn’t have to resort to such dangerous and illegal methods.

 

Marrying women, having concubines, and raising children was the right way!

 

Besides, he was just a weakling at the third level of qi refinement, relying on talismans and artifacts to win this battle.

 

After sorting everything out, Lu Changsheng took the foot-long flying sword and tried to control it.

 

Cultivators at the third level of Qi Refining could control artifacts with the Object Control Technique.

 

Previously, Lu Changsheng had been rewarded with a flying sword by the Lu family for being the first to have a child, but he hadn’t experienced it before because he sold it to make talismans.

 

Now that he had a flying sword in his hand, he couldn’t help but itch to try it out.

 

“Swiss…”

 

Under Lu Changsheng’s control, the flying sword immediately turned into a silver streak and shot out.

 

Ordinary artifacts didn’t need to be refined, they could be controlled with the Object Control Technique.

 

Spiritual artifacts used by Foundation Establishment cultivators needed to be refined and recognized by the master before they could be controlled.

 

There were also some high-end artifacts made by master refiners that required special Object Control Techniques to manipulate.

 

However, those kinds of magical weapons are also relatively high-end, and this flying sword was obviously not one of them.

 

Under Lu Changsheng’s control, the flying sword was like a silver dragon, its sword aura swallowing everything, cutting through the surrounding trees like tofu.

 

Then, with a ‘pu’ sound, it easily pierced through a huge rock, turned into a silver light, and returned to Lu Changsheng’s side.

 

“It’s truly a magical tool!”

 

“Compared to low-level spells, its power is not inferior in the slightest, but it consumes much less. If two immortal cultivators were to fight against each other, there would be a world of difference between having a magic weapon and not having a magic weapon!” 

 

After a brief experience with the flying sword, Lu Changsheng’s face showed joy as he exclaimed.

 

When he used a spell like Fireball, he could only cast it four or five times before exhausting his spiritual energy.

 

But with the flying sword, he estimated that he could control it for about fifteen minutes and launch several attacks.

 

Due to his limited spiritual energy, Lu Changsheng didn’t try any other magical tools. He put down the flying sword and rode towards the Crimson Whale Gang.

 

He was ready to meet Li Feiyu, settle his family, and then return to Qingzhu Mountain as soon as possible.

 

The outside world was still too dangerous. It was better to stay with the Lu family to improve his strength and have more children.