161: Chapter 161 The Minor Teleportation Talisman!

You took the Talisman with both hands, and upon closer inspection, your eyes widened in shock.

Minor Displacement Talisman!

A First-Grade Peak Talisman! As the name suggests, this thing is a trump card for saving one's life and escaping. Once activated, you can designate a direction and instantly teleport ten miles away. Although it is only a First-Grade Peak item, the difficulty of refining it is extremely high; many Second-Grade Talisman Masters cannot draw it, and the Materials are incredibly expensive, making it priceless and hard to find on the market.

"I brought three when I left home, used one, and have two left. I'll share one with you." Shen Qingluan looked at you, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "At a critical moment, it can save your life. Don't die."

You gripped the Minor Displacement Talisman tightly, your eyes slightly reddening. You looked at this Sword Cultivator before you, who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, took a deep breath, and spoke in a tone of unprecedented solemnity.

"Sister Qingluan, I, Shuang Wan, will engrave today's kindness in my heart. If one day you are in trouble, I will do everything in my power to help you, through life and death, never abandoning you!"

Shen Qingluan looked at your serious expression and couldn't help but chuckle. "Good, then I will wait for you. You must Cultivate quickly; don't be unable to even take one sword strike from me by then."

Having said that, she lingered no longer and formed a sword gesture with her fingers.

"Clang!"

The long sword unsheathed, transforming into a brilliant sword light that shot into the sky. Shen Qingluan stepped onto the sword and left, disappearing into the vast night in the blink of an eye.

You stood in the empty courtyard, looking up at the direction where she had disappeared.

You knew that she didn't actually take your promise to heart. In her eyes, you were just a small Loose Cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining with a Low Grade Spiritual Root, no background, and relying on a bit of beauty to struggle at the bottom of the market. Surviving under Meng Si's suppression was already a stroke of luck.

Your lips moved slightly, and you murmured in a voice only you could hear: "The me you see is only the current me. One day, I will stand at the Peak of this Cultivation World."

After Shen Qingluan left, the courtyard became completely desolate.

You did not go out again, locking yourself in your room all day. Apart from meditating and Cultivating, you spent your time frantically practicing drawing Talismans.

After your cultivation reached the second level of Qi Refining, your Qi was more abundant. Coupled with the boost to your Divine Sense from the Taixu Visualization Method, your progress in the Talisman Dao was advancing by leaps and bounds.

You felt that you were only one step away from successfully drawing your first First-Grade Low Grade Talisman.

Just like that, a month passed in a flash.

During this period, the entire Qingyue Market was calm. The revenge from Meng Si and his father that you had anticipated did not come. You even quietly went to the vicinity of Xuanmo Workshop to inquire and learned that Meng Si had not returned to Qingyue Market at all in these past few months.

"What good fortune..." You sat by the stone table, toying with the teacup in your hand, feeling a trace of disappointment in your heart.

"Never mind, important matters come first."

Early in the morning, you opened your eyes, your body filled with Qi, feeling refreshed and energetic.

You took a clean, plain-colored long dress from your Storage Pouch and put it on. You tidied your appearance in front of the bronze mirror. The person in the mirror had eyebrows like a painting and skin like congealed fat. Even in the simplest attire, it could not hide that innate, stunning beauty.

You hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided not to wear a veil.

Since you had decided to show your true face, there was no need to hide. The Zhao Clan wanted a Guest Elder, not a vase. But if this face could add points to the first impression, why not?

You tucked your Storage Pouch away close to your body, locked the courtyard gate, and walked briskly toward the north side of the market.

The location for the Zhao Clan's Guest Elder selection this time was set at the "Martial Arts Platform" in the North District of Qingyue Market. It was an open stone platform specifically designated by the Zhao Clan, surrounded by carved formation patterns. It was usually used as a venue for arbitrating trading disputes in the market, and it served as a site for public gatherings whenever major events occurred.

When you arrived, there were already over a hundred people standing in a dense crowd around the Martial Arts Platform.

There were Loose Cultivators who came to participate in the selection, as well as market residents who were simply there to watch the excitement. Most of the participants were young Cultivators, both men and women, gathered in twos and threes to chat in low voices, their expressions unable to hide their nervousness and anticipation.

In the center of the Martial Arts Platform stood a two-zhang-tall blue stone stele. On the stele, the six characters "Qingyang Zhao Clan · Talent Recruitment Meeting" were engraved with Qi, the strokes vigorous and powerful, with Spiritual light faintly circulating.

There were already seven or eight Zhao Clan disciples on the platform maintaining order. They were uniformly dressed in moon-white Family-standard long robes, wearing jade plaques engraved with the Zhao Clan crest at their waists, and each had a decent-quality Magical Artifact on their wrist.

You glanced at them casually; those few Magical Artifacts alone were worth at least over a hundred Spirit Stones.

"They are all quite wealthy." You calculated secretly in your heart.

If the Zhao Clan also doesn't accept you, why not just rob the Zhao Clan along with Meng Si when the time comes? Anyway, these people all look quite wealthy.

You performed a simple risk assessment in your heart, then temporarily pushed that thought to the back of your mind.

Let's go through the proper procedure first.

But the words "inconspicuous" had never applied to you.

As soon as you stood still, many gazes stuck to you, first with astonishment, then followed by whispering.

"Hey, is that... the 'Xuanmo Fairy'?" A young male Cultivator poked his companion's arm.

"It's her. I've seen her before when I was buying Talismans at Xuanmo Workshop. She is even more... hiss... in person than the rumors say."

"Shh, keep it down. Don't you know about her? The one who had a falling out with Meng Si from Tianhuo Peak."

"Of course I know. Who in the entire market doesn't? It is said that Meng Si wanted to take her as a concubine, but she refused him to his face. Afterward, Meng Si made it so she didn't even have a place to live."

"Tsk, then what does it mean that she's here to participate in the Talent Recruitment Meeting? Does she want to climb the high branch of the Zhao Clan?"

"You can't say it like that, right? The Talent Recruitment Meeting is intended for all Loose Cultivators. She has a Spiritual Root and Cultivation; why shouldn't she be allowed to come?" Another slightly older female Cultivator retorted.

"Exactly, her cultivation at the second level of Qi Refining is much stronger than you, who has been stuck at the eighth level of Aperture Opening for two years without moving," someone nearby chimed in.

The thin male Cultivator's face darkened. He wanted to retort but couldn't find the words, so he could only huff dejectedly.

You remained calm throughout, not saying a word.

About two quarters of an hour later, a low humming sound suddenly came from the northern sky.

Everyone looked up one after another.

A jade-green Spirit Boat, about ten zhang long, broke through the clouds. Both sides of the boat's hull were covered with complex formation patterns, and Spiritual light flowed like living water at the bottom. The tail of the boat trailed a pale golden wake, approaching from afar and silently hovering thirty zhang above the Martial Arts Platform.

This was a First-Grade Peak Flying Boat. The value of this boat alone was worth the entire net worth of all the Loose Cultivators present.

"They're here, they're here! The people from the Zhao Clan are here!"

"A First-Grade Peak Flying Boat... as expected of the Qingyang Zhao Clan, they have this kind of grandeur for just a casual outing."

"Look at the formation patterns on the Flying Boat; is that a variation of the Flowing Cloud Formation? Just engraving this set of patterns must have cost over a thousand Spirit Stones."

"Tsk, when will I ever be able to ride something like this..."

Amidst the exclamations, the Flying Boat slowly descended and stopped on the open ground behind the Martial Arts Platform.

A light door opened on the side of the boat, and the first to walk out was a tall, thin old man in a gray robe with white hair and a youthful face. His features were refined, his eyes held a restrained brilliance, and the Spiritual Pressure around him was subtle and unassuming.