Chapter 157: Wang Shutao

Four months passed quickly.

Inside the room, Wang Changsheng sat cross-legged on a green futon, a fine layer of sweat beading on his forehead. In front of him was a purple artifact refining furnace, its base engulfed in surging purple flames.

Wang Changsheng's fingers moved swiftly, casting incantations onto the purple furnace, causing the flames to intensify.

The entire room was inscribed with numerous fire-resistant spiritual patterns, so there was no need to worry about the refining process setting the house ablaze.

As time passed, the flames grew stronger, and the temperature inside the room steadily rose. Sweat trickled down Wang Changsheng's cheeks, dripping onto his clothes.

About fifteen minutes later, Wang Changsheng's clothes were soaked with sweat.

He changed his incantation, casting another spell onto the refining furnace.

With a muffled thud, the furnace lid flew open, and a large quantity of golden liquid shot out.

Wang Changsheng continued to form hand seals, casting one incantation after another onto the golden liquid.

Under the control of his spiritual sense, the golden liquid twisted and deformed, slowly solidifying into a palm-sized golden brick.

He dared not be careless, continuously altering his incantations.

Ten breaths later, the golden brick's surface was incredibly smooth, but its sides still had some unevenness, with a few faint indentations visible.

Wang Changsheng flipped his hand, retrieving a yellow porcelain bottle. He tossed it forward, cast an incantation on it, and a large amount of golden liquid flew out, enveloping the golden brick.

Ten breaths later, Wang Changsheng opened his mouth and exhaled a stream of blue flames, which engulfed the golden brick.

This blue flame was the innate True Fire possessed by Foundation Establishment cultivators. Since Wang Changsheng cultivated a water-attribute technique, his innate True Fire was naturally blue.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, Wang Changsheng opened his mouth, and the blue flame flew back into his body.

A golden brick floated in mid-air, shimmering with spiritual light.

Wang Changsheng beckoned, and the golden brick flew to him, landing steadily in his hand.

Holding the golden brick, it felt heavy.

Wang Changsheng examined it closely and found that the sides of the brick still had some tiny indentations.

This Vajra Brick was a mid-grade magical artifact. Wang Changsheng had failed twice, only succeeding on his third attempt. The materials alone had cost him over a thousand spirit stones.

Truth be told, he could now refine mid-grade magical artifacts, but his success rate was not high.

The time span from refining low-grade second-tier puppet beasts to mid-grade second-tier puppet beasts was nearly a decade. This was also because his spiritual sense was stronger than cultivators of the same rank, which highlights the difficulty of artifact refining.

He had refined magical artifacts multiple times, but his success rate was not high. Each time he attempted to refine an artifact, he failed several times. On his very first attempt, he didn't succeed even once.

Ultimately, his lack of financial resources prevented him from purchasing large quantities of materials for practice.

He had the materials for refining high-grade magical artifacts, but his refining skill was insufficient. He had no immediate plans to refine high-grade artifacts. It wouldn't be too late to attempt them once his success rate for mid-grade artifacts improved. One cannot become fat with a single bite.

Incidentally, mid-grade magical artifacts were available for sale on the market, and buying ready-made ones was cheaper. However, he didn't intend to do so. Even failed refining attempts provided him with experience. While buying artifacts directly would save some spirit stones, his refining skill wouldn't improve.

In the long run, it was better to refine artifacts himself.

Suddenly, a knock sounded from outside, followed by Wang Mingzhan's voice: "Chang Sheng, are you available? Someone from the Wang family is here."

"Someone from the Wang family?"

Wang Changsheng's eyes were filled with confusion. They had been trying to rent a shop for four months without success, despite waiting patiently. It wasn't that there were no shops for rent; large shops were spacious but expensive, while small shops were affordable but highly sought after.

During this time, Wang Changsheng had never contacted outsiders. How did the Wang family manage to find them?

He put away the refining furnace and the Vajra Brick, stood up, opened the door, and invited Wang Mingzhan in.

"Sixth Uncle, how did the Wang family know we were here?"

Wang Mingzhan gave a wry smile. "Do you remember Wang Shutao? For the past few years, he's been the one coming to Qinglian Mountain to collect the second-tier puppet beasts. I've met him a few times. I bumped into him several times here in Canglan City, and he noticed I was following him. I couldn't explain myself, so I had to say I knew him. He pressed me repeatedly, and I couldn't keep it hidden, so I ended up revealing your whereabouts."

Wang Changsheng frowned. "Sixth Uncle, how could you make such a mistake? Our whereabouts are supposed to be kept secret! How could you casually reveal my location to an outsider?"

Wang Mingzhan sighed wryly. "I followed Wang Shutao several times. The Wang family opened a shop in Canglan City, and it's a newly opened one. We've been waiting for four months and haven't managed to rent a small shop, yet the Wang family got one immediately upon arriving. Clearly, their influence is considerable. I wanted to leverage their power to help us rent a small shop. The large ones are too expensive, Chang Sheng. You have to understand, we've been here for four months now, spending spirit stones every day without earning a single one. It pains me! Right now, there are five of us, so the expenses aren't huge, but more clan members will come to settle in Canglan City later. If we only spend and don't earn, the expenses will be significant."

Wang Mingzhan also didn't want to seek help from the Wang family, but small shops were highly sought after. Being new to the area and unfamiliar with the local connections, the fact that they couldn't rent even a small shop after four months already highlighted the problem: connections truly mattered.

"Sixth Uncle, let's let this slide this time, but next time, you absolutely cannot act on your own. At the very least, you must discuss it with me."

"I understand. There won't be a next time. He's still waiting downstairs, don't keep him waiting too long."

Wang Changsheng nodded, tidied his clothes, and walked out.

Upon reaching the main hall, Wang Changsheng saw Wang Mingxiao talking to a square-faced man in a green robe. The man's sleeve bore a blue moon pattern.

Wang Changsheng cupped his fist towards Wang Shutao and politely said, "Fellow Daoist Wang, my apologies for keeping you waiting."

Wang Shutao smiled slightly and said, "No worries, Fellow Daoist Wang. I met your Sixth Uncle on the street just now and learned you were also in the market. So I came to visit. I hope I haven't disturbed your cultivation!"

"Not at all. It's an honor for me that Fellow Daoist Wang would visit. Fellow Daoist Wang, I wish to rent a small shop for a small business, but I have no connections here. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Wang could assist me? I would be extremely grateful."

Wang Changsheng got straight to the point, directly asking Wang Shutao for help.

"Rent a small shop? Fellow Daoist Wang, I'm afraid I can't help with that. The market isn't run by our Wang family." Wang Shutao subtly refused, then glanced meaningfully at Wang Mingzhan before continuing, "Our Wang family did rent a small shop, but that was a place we secured much earlier. There were some delays, and we only recently opened for business."

Wang Changsheng was somewhat disappointed, but upon reflection, Chu State wasn't the Wang family's territory, and their relationship with the Wang family wasn't deep, merely a cooperative one. It was entirely reasonable for Wang Shutao to refuse help.

Wang Shutao's eyes flickered, and he said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Wang, we've opened an artifact refining shop, selling magical artifacts and spirit artifacts. If you also plan to go into this business, we could partner up and open a shop together."

"Partner? How would such a partnership work?"

"That matter isn't under my purview. Ru Yan is currently managing that shop. I'm just passing by and came to check on her."

Wang Changsheng's eyes lit up, and he asked with delight, "What? Fairy Wang is in the market?"

His reaction was deliberate. A gentle maiden is a worthy pursuit for a gentleman. Since Wang Ruyan was in the market, he naturally wouldn't let this good opportunity pass.

Indeed, it seemed fate had decreed it. Even by coming all the way to Canglan City, he could still encounter Wang Ruyan.