Chapter 70: Entering the Rank
For cultivators, earning money is undoubtedly much easier compared to ordinary people.
Previously, Li Qi had worked as a boat puller for over two years without saving any money, living as a poor man.
But now, just by hunting in the wilds, he could earn six to seven thousand qian.
The same was true for the blind old woman.
By performing divinations, she could determine which businesses would be profitable, which crops would yield well that year, and when it was best or worst to go out.
With such an advantage, it was no wonder she became wealthy.
After returning home, being a cultivator, she took good care of herself. Although she left home at twelve or thirteen to study at Wu Deity Mountain and returned only in her forties or fifties, she still looked like she was thirty. She got married and gave birth to a son.
With her help, the Wang family rose from a small landlord to one of the wealthiest families in Yixian County within twenty years, owning 2,342 mu of land and earning a hundred gold pieces annually.
Now, the Wang daughter was over seventy years old.
Her husband had passed away, and she had dozens of servants. Her son, though somewhat foolish, was filial and sensible, ensuring a stable harvest.
The blind old woman felt her life had been fulfilled.
Growing up in a comfortable family, she never suffered hardships and didn't develop any spoiled temperament.
As an adult, she experienced the vast world at Wu Deity Mountain, not remaining a frog in a well.
In her old age, she lived in wealth, cared for by her son and served by servants, enjoying prosperity and peace.
What more could one ask for in such a life?
Of course, there was one thing left.
The afterlife.
A burial ground.
The old blind woman wanted to choose a good plot for herself, ensuring protection for her descendants and a peaceful rest, leading to a favorable rebirth.
However, selecting this grave caused problems.
She performed divination and chose a geomantically auspicious site for her own tomb.
Then, her servants bought the land, and her son personally constructed the tomb, laying the foundation and furnishing it for his mother's afterlife.
They brought shovels and began digging but soon discovered another tomb already existed underground.
"Wait, you dug up someone else's grave?" Li Qi felt a chill down his spine upon hearing this.
In this place filled with spirits and monsters, disturbing someone else's grave would surely bring trouble.
No, it would indeed bring "ghosts."
The old woman sighed, "Indeed, that place was indeed geomantically auspicious, but I overlooked that such places are often contested. Someone was already buried there."
"My son, unaware of the implications, disturbed the original occupant's peace. The guardian beast of the tomb released a miasma, tainting our family's qi, and my son's life is now in danger," the blind old woman lamented.
She then pulled back the rich man's clothes, revealing streams of death qi flowing through his body.
Seeing this, Li Qi exclaimed, "Guardian beast's death qi? The tomb owner is still around?!"
"The tomb owner might have been an eighth-rank master, dead but with lingering spirit, perhaps for other reasons, not captured by underworld officials. Now, they are half-mad, hard to communicate with."
"To save my son, I went to the tomb and blinded myself seeking forgiveness, but it was useless. My family's qi remains severed, and the curse cannot be lifted, meaning my son won't live beyond three years." The old woman's voice choked up.
"With severed qi, loss of wealth, and dispersing hearts, all servants were dismissed. Now, only my son and I remain. He hasn't married or had children; he can't die... If he does, our Wang family will be extinct." Tears flowed from her cloudy eyes.
"Senior apprentice, as a Zhu, you can communicate with both humans and spirits. Please save my son. We have twenty gold pieces to offer you, and as promised, I will obscure the Dragon Steed Liu Ying's causal traces for you." The old woman wiped her tears, regaining her composure.
Li Qi understood the situation after listening.
"So that's it. If what you say is true, your family didn't do anything wrong unknowingly disturbing an occupied site. If so, it can also resolve my concerns. Why not?"
"Do you have paper and pen?" he asked the rich man.
"Quick!" The old woman pushed him.
The rich man rushed into the house, rummaging through cabinets, quickly finding a wooden board and some charcoal sticks.
"There's no ink at home; I found these charcoal sticks," he stammered.
"That works." Li Qi nodded, taking the charcoal sticks and writing a list of items needed for rituals on the board.
"Prepare these things first. I'll come back tomorrow with them," Li Qi said.
"Thank you, senior apprentice." The old woman bowed deeply.
"No need for formalities; I'll take my leave." Li Qi sighed.
"Master Li, please take care!" The rich man hurriedly bowed.
Ignoring them, Li Qi left directly, buying supplies before heading out of town into the wilderness.
He whistled.
Soon, Shen Shuibei and Old Horse arrived.
"Here, Old Horse, your beetroot and oats. Don't eat all the oats; mix in some grass and leaves to avoid overheating." Li Qi poured out the oats and sprinkled some beetroot.
Old Horse neighed softly and started eating.
Li Qi then approached Shen Shuibei.
"Miss Shen, I now have thirty strands of pure water qi inside me. How should I use them in Carp Flow Intent?" Li Qi humbly asked Shen Shuibei.
Carp Flow Intent was merely a basic technique to Shen Shuibei, akin to elementary school homework for her.
Shen Shuibei listened, puzzled, "Thirty strands of pure water qi? How did you get them, Li Qi?"
Li Qi explained his ritual using the gold piece.
This amused Shen Shuibei, who praised Li Qi for his cleverness.
After praising him, she thought seriously about how to proceed.
Given Li Qi's limited knowledge of cultivation, he waited patiently for her thoughts.
After some consideration, she suddenly looked up, "Li Qi, I have an idea. Do you want to enter the ninth rank of Martial Dao?"
Li Qi felt a jolt.
Entering the rank?!