4: Earthworm Taoist

Deep within the Sea of Consciousness, Chaos churned.

As the lingering echoes of the midnight bell faded, that ancient bronze tortoise shell once again floated within the Void Realm, exuding a heart-palpitating majesty.

Zhou Wannian held his breath and focused, suppressing the excitement in his heart. The previous two divinations—one saved his life, and the other gave him a Legacy. This filled him with an indescribable anticipation for this third hexagram, even giving rise to a trace of unrealistic greed.

He took a deep breath and silently recited the question he had prepared:

"May I ask the heavenly secrets, where around the Qinghe Market can I find another ownerless and high-value Opportunity like the 'secret paintings of the spring palace' recently?"

However, this time, the bronze tortoise shell in his Sea of Consciousness did not immediately provide a specific directional guide like the previous two times. It only rotated slowly and coldly once, emitting a faint intent as if mocking his overambition.

Immediately following, a single ancient character smashed heavily into the Void Realm, its golden light dim and ripples unperturbed:

[Ordinary.]

No Opportunity location, no specific hexagram verse.

Only a line of small annotations like flowing water emerged afterward:

[Today's fortune is ordinary. No disasters or hardships, but also no great wealth or honor. Suitable: Knowing one's place and working diligently; Avoid: Being overambitious and taking risks for greed.]

Then, the light dissipated, and his consciousness returned.

"..."

Zhou Wannian sat in the dim, dilapidated house, stunned for a long time.

"That's... it?"

He touched his brow in disbelief. The first two times were because he was in a desperate situation, and the tortoise shell manifested to save his life. Now that his crisis was resolved and he just wanted to be greedy, it only gave a cold "Ordinary."

"It seems this Golden Finger isn't an omniscient wishing machine, but more like a... crisis warning system?"

The impetuousness that had swollen in Zhou Wannian's heart due to consecutive successes was instantly extinguished by this cold splash of water. He fell back onto the bed in disappointment, staring at the blackened roof beams.

But soon, the disappointment in his eyes gradually faded, and a thoughtful curve instead hooked the corner of his mouth.

"An ordinary hexagram... good."

"For those Geniuses eager to find Opportunities, an ordinary hexagram is a waste of time. But for a bottom-tier Loose Cultivator like me, who not only has no background but also harbors secrets, the words 'no disasters or hardships' are the greatest blessing!"

Since the Heavenly Dao said tomorrow would be ordinary, it meant that—as long as he didn't seek death—tomorrow in the market would be absolutely safe.

No Robber Cultivators, no enemies, and no sudden calamities.

"Since it's 'suitable for diligent work,' then I'll work!"

Zhou Wannian stopped overthinking, rolled out of bed, lit the nearly extinguished glowstone, and spread out the Talisman paper.

Since there was no windfall from the sky, he would rely on his craft for food.

He once again opened that greasy 'secret paintings of the spring palace,' and this time, his gaze fell on the third page.

It was a high-difficulty posture called "Upside-down Lotus," where the woman's body in the painting leaned back at a staggering angle. There was no trace of lewdness in Zhou Wannian's eyes, only an obsession with "spiritual energy circulation techniques."

"If this backstroke is used on the core of a tranquility talisman, the spiritual energy loss can be reduced by at least half a percent... Although the lines drawn will be somewhat distorted, the structure will be more stable."

In the dead of night, the only sound in the dilapidated house was the rustle of the brush tip across the Talisman paper.

Such days, though plain, were... actually quite good... The hexagrams for five consecutive days were all neutral.

For the next five days, Zhou Wannian completely became a shut-in who didn't step out of his door.

When hungry, he gnawed on hard spirit grain cakes; when thirsty, he drank cold water; when tired, he meditated instead of sleeping. The rest of his time was entirely spent drawing Talismans.

As his understanding of that strange book deepened, the style of the Talismans he drew became increasingly "bizarre."

The originally orderly runes became winding and twisted under his brush, with nine bends and eighteen turns. At first glance, they not only lacked the beauty of immortal Talismans but instead looked like a messy ball of yarn, hideously ugly.

But only Zhou Wannian knew what smooth spiritual energy circuits were contained beneath this ugly exterior.

"Phew..."

On the morning of the fifth day, Zhou Wannian put down the brush that was bald with only a few hairs left, looked at the results filling the table, and nodded with satisfaction.

One hundred Cleaning Talismans, thirty tranquility talismans.

Every single one was uniquely ugly.

"Time to sell."

Before leaving, Zhou Wannian made a special effort to disguise himself. He changed into an ill-fitting, large old robe, wore a broken bamboo hat pressed very low, and even padded his boots to make his walking posture appear slightly lame.

Although the hexagram predicted safety, as a follower of the Way of Caution, he would never place his sense of security entirely on luck... The free stall area of the market was still as boisterous as a boiling pot of porridge.

Zhou Wannian skillfully squeezed into that inconspicuous corner from before and spread out the oil-stained rag.

This time, he wasn't as shy as before. Instead, with a rustle, he dumped the three thick stacks of Talismans from his arms onto the stall all at once.

As soon as these Talismans were brought out, they instantly became the "brightest stars" among the surrounding stalls.

Not for any other reason, but because they were truly too ugly.

Those red cinnabar lines twisted frantically on the yellow paper, tangled and entwined. At first glance, it looked like a bunch of red earthworms having a meeting on yellow paper, enough to trigger anyone's trypophobia.

"Yo, isn't this that guy?"

The thin, dark man selling junk Magical Artifacts nearby was sharp-eyed and recognized this unique style at a glance. He couldn't help but sneer sarcastically, "Haven't seen you for a few days, brother. Your Talisman drawing has become increasingly... 'wild.' Are these Talismans, or just freshly dug-up earthworms?"

Zhou Wannian lowered his bamboo hat and didn't respond, only silently putting up a wooden sign:

[Clearance Sale. Cleaning Talismans for two spirit fragments, tranquility talismans for five. No bargaining, buy after trying.]

"Tch, playing mysteries." The thin, dark man curled his lip. "With this appearance, no one would take them even if they were free."

However, before he could finish speaking, a Loose Cultivator smelling strongly of fish, looking as if he had just returned from fishing in the spirit lake, rushed in. His gaze swept over the stall and instantly locked onto the pile of "tangled hemp."

"Here! Right here!"

The fishing Loose Cultivator waved excitedly, and two or three companions followed behind him. "It's this stall! I told you these Talismans are drawn like dead earthworms, you can't miss it!"

Zhou Wannian: "..."

His mouth twitched, and his expression under the bamboo hat was a bit strange. Dead earthworms? These were clearly based on the ultimate curves of human aesthetics!

"Boss! Give me ten Cleaning Talismans! And five tranquility talismans!" The fishing Loose Cultivator generously threw out a handful of spirit fragments.

A companion beside him picked up a Talisman with some disgust and frowned. "Old Zhang, you didn't get scammed, did you? Can these ghost drawings really work? Look at these lines, shaking like they have Parkinson's. It's probably some clumsy apprentice's failed work brought out to cheat people."

"What do you know!"

The fishing Loose Cultivator glared at his companion and snatched the Talismans. "This is called 'ugly is ugly, but it works'! One of these earthworm talismans is worth one and a half of others! Last night after I finished killing fish, I couldn't wash off the fishy smell no matter what. Even the high-quality Talismans from the big shops were just so-so. But after using this earthworm talisman, hey! The grime just fell off by itself, even the old dirt in the seams of this ragged magical robe was cleaned out!"

"Is it really that magical?" The companion was half-doubting.

"I'd be a grandson if I lied to you! And it's cheap! Two spirit fragments, you won't lose anything! Look at this tranquility talisman, although it looks messy, when pasted on the body, the spiritual energy is as smooth as a loach, instantly suppressing the heart's fire!"

In the world of bottom-tier Loose Cultivators, "cheap" and "powerful" were the ultimate killers. As for whether it looked good? That was something only a Young Master from a noble family cared about.

With the completion of the first big transaction, the surrounding crowd also became interested.

"Give me two to try!"

"I want five! My spirit field needs dusting!"

"Is this 'earthworm talisman' really that magical? Boss, give me one too!"

For a time, a small queue actually formed in this remote corner. The crisp sound of Spirit Stones clinking together became the most wonderful music in Zhou Wannian's ears.

Hearing the repeated mentions of "earthworm talisman" and "Earthworm Boss" in his ears, Zhou Wannian went from being speechless at first to gradually becoming composed, and even felt like laughing.

Pretty good.

Earthworms are good.

Earthworms burrow in the soil; though inconspicuous and lacking the advantage of claws and teeth, they can swallow soil and survive silently.

"Thank you all for your patronage."

Zhou Wannian deliberately lowered his voice, putting on a raspy and weathered tone, and cupped his hands. "This old man's hands shake, so I can't draw those fancy straight lines. I can only draw this 'earthworm script.' I'm glad you all don't mind."

"Haha, Boss, don't be so humble. I think you should just call yourself 'Earthworm Daoist' from now on! It's easy to remember!" someone joked.

"Earthworm Daoist? Not bad, not bad, very down-to-earth!"

Zhou Wannian's eyes narrowed slightly under the bamboo hat as he quickly collected the money, while silently accepting this protective identity in his heart.

From today on, I am the Earthworm Daoist.

A strange old man who draws very ugly Talismans, sells them very cheaply, and has an eccentric personality.

As for Zhou Wannian?

He was just an honest young Loose Cultivator living in the West District shanty town who had just finished paying his rent.

In less than an hour, the Talismans on the stall were swept clean.

Even the dark-skinned, skinny man who initially mocked him， In the end, I couldn't resist.， Taking advantage of the large number of people， I secretly spent two Soul Shards to buy a Cleansing Talisman to study later..

Zhou Wannian did not restock, nor did he linger over the booming business.

The moment the last Talisman was sold, he immediately packed up the rag, lowered his bamboo hat, and without even saying a word to the customers who still wanted to pre-order, he turned and dove into the crowded mass of people.

After twisting and turning through several alleys to ensure there were no tails behind him, he finally shed his disguise in a deserted dark alley and returned to his original appearance.

Feeling the heavy bag of Spirit Stones in his arms, Zhou Wannian let out a long breath.

After deducting costs, he had made a net profit of nearly three Low-Grade Spirit Stones from this wave.

Although it wasn't much, it was steady and, more importantly, safe.

"The ordinary hexagram truly does not deceive me."