Chapter 70: Entering the grade

It's definitely easier for Cultivators to earn money than ordinary people.

Previously, Li Qi had pulled boats for over two years, yet he had no savings; he was a pauper.

But now, he can earn six or seven thousand coins just by hunting in the wild.

The same goes for the Blind Old Woman.

With a simple divination, she can determine which businesses will be profitable, which crops will yield a good harvest this year, and when it's advisable or not advisable to go out.

With such a cheat, she would undoubtedly make a fortune.

After she returned, being a Cultivator, she was well-preserved; although she left home at twelve or thirteen to study at Shaman God Mountain and only returned in her forties or fifties, she still looked thirty, so she married and had a son.

With her help, the Wang Family transformed from a small landlord into a wealthy household in Yi County within just twenty years, owning two thousand three hundred forty-two mu of land and earning a hundred gold annually.

And the Wang Family daughter, the Wang Laofu, was already over seventy years old.

Her husband had passed away, and there were dozens of servants in the household; although her son was a bit foolish, he was filial and sensible, making the harvest easy.

The Blind Old Woman felt that her life had been fulfilling enough.

Her Family was well-off when she was young, so she never experienced hardship nor developed a delicate temperament.

When she grew up, she visited Shaman God Mountain and witnessed the true great world; she was not a frog in a well.

In her old age, she was sufficiently wealthy, cared for by her son, with servants to command, enjoying prosperity and peace.

What more could a person ask for in such a life?

Of course, there was still something.

That was the world after death.

The grave site.

The Wang Family's Old Matron, this Blind Old Woman, wanted to choose a good plot of land for herself to be buried.

This would not only allow her descendants to receive protection from the ancestral grave but also allow her to sleep peacefully and reincarnate well.

But precisely when choosing this grave, something went wrong.

Wang Laofu herself divined, observed the Qi, and chose a geomantically auspicious spot as her burial ground.

Then, the Family servants went to buy the land, and Wang Yuanwai personally went to construct the tomb chamber, laying the foundation and furnishing it for his mother's afterlife.

They brought hoes and picks, preparing to dig out a tomb chamber, but with one strike of the hoe—

They discovered there was already a tomb chamber below.

“Wait, you dug up someone else’s grave?” Li Qi felt a chill down his spine upon hearing this.

Wow, in a place where ghosts and monsters roam everywhere, digging up someone else's grave would be truly demonic if nothing went wrong.

No, if something went wrong, that would be the real “there are ghosts.”

Wang Laofu sighed, “Precisely, that place was originally a geomantically auspicious spot, and I was momentarily muddled, only seeing the benefits of the geomantically auspicious spot, but not realizing that geomantically auspicious spots are definitely something people contend for… The original spot already had an owner.”

“My son, unaware of the crucial details, saw a hollow space inside but still entered, disturbing the original owner's peace. The tomb-guarding beast in the tomb exhaled a breath of miasma, polluting my Family's Qi脉, and even my son's life is now short-lived,” the Blind Old Woman lamented.

As she spoke, she pulled open Wang Yuanwai's clothes.

Li Qi clearly saw strands of Death Qi flowing within his body, refusing to dissipate.

Upon seeing this, Li Qi was startled and blurted out, “Death Qi sprayed by a tomb-guarding beast? The tomb owner is still there?!”

“The tomb owner might be an Eighth-Rank expert; although their body is dead… their soul still exists, lingering in the tomb, perhaps due to other reasons, and was not captured by the underworld messengers. Now their consciousness is half-lost, dazed and confused, making communication difficult.”

“For my son's life, I voluntarily went into the tomb and blinded myself to seek forgiveness, but it was useless. I almost died in there, and my Family's Qi脉 is still severed. Unless the curse is removed, my son won't live for more than three years,” Wang Laofu's voice was already choked with sobs.

“With the Qi脉 severed, the source of wealth is gone, and people's hearts are scattered. All the servants have also been dismissed. Now, only the old woman and my son remain in the household to live out our days. My son has not yet married or had children; he cannot die… If he dies, my Wang Family will have no descendants,” tears streamed from the old woman's cloudy eyes.

“Senior Brother is a Invoker, capable of communicating with Human-Ghosts. Please, Senior Brother, save my son's life. The Family still has twenty gold in liquid assets, which I am willing to offer entirely to Senior Brother. And as I said before, I will use my remaining life to taint the Karma threads on the Dragon Steed Shadow, so Senior Brother will have no worries,” Wang Laofu wiped away her tears, her tone returning to its previous steady demeanor.

After this explanation, Li Qi roughly understood the situation.

“I see. If that's the case, I might be able to try,” Li Qi nodded.

If things were truly as Wang Laofu said, then her Family couldn't really be blamed, as they didn't know someone already resided in the geomantically auspicious spot.

So, if that's the case, and it can also resolve his own worries, why not?

“Do you have paper and a pen?” he asked Wang Yuanwai.

“Go quickly!” Wang Laofu pushed Wang Yuanwai.

Wang Yuanwai immediately ran into the house, rummaging through chests and cabinets, and soon found a wooden board and some charcoal pencils.

“The… the Family doesn’t have ink anymore, I found charcoal pencils,” he stammered.

“That'll do,” Li Qi nodded, picked up the charcoal pencil, and quickly wrote a line of characters on the wooden board.

Upon closer inspection, they were all items used for sacrifice.

“You go prepare these things first. I'll go back for now, and I'll come again tomorrow. We'll take them over there then,” Li Qi said.

“Thank you, Senior Brother,” Wang Laofu bowed deeply.

“No need, then I'll be going first,” Li Qi sighed, saying so.

“Great Master Li, please take care!” Wang Yuanwai also hurriedly bowed.

Li Qi ignored them and left directly, first buying things, then leaving the city and heading into the wilderness.

He blew a whistle.

Not long after, Shen Shuibi and the old horse arrived.

“Here, old horse, your beets and oats. Remember not to eat only oats; mix in some grass and leaves, otherwise, you'll get heaty,” Li Qi poured out the oats and scattered a handful of beets.

The old horse neighed twice and buried its head to eat.

Meanwhile, Li Qi found Shen Shuibi.

“Shen Guniang, I now have thirty strands of pure Water Qi in my body. I want to use them in Carp Current Intent. How do you think I should go about it?” Li Qi humbly asked Shen Shuibi for advice.

Carp Current Intent was merely a cultivation method used to prop up tables at Mount Luofu, as simple as elementary school problems for Shen Shuibi, so this shouldn't be an issue for her.

After hearing this, Shen Shuibi was a bit puzzled: “Thirty strands of pure Water Qi? Li Qi, how did you get them?”

Li Qi immediately explained the process of him using that gold to initiate the sacrifice.

This amused Shen Shuibi greatly, and she kept praising Li Qi's intelligence.

However, after praising him, she also seriously began to consider what to do.

Li Qi's understanding of cultivation was far inferior to hers, so he just waited beside her while she thought.

After thinking for a while, she suddenly looked up: “Li Qi, I've thought of a method. Do you want to enter the Ninth Rank of Martial Dao?”

Li Qi was startled.

Entering a Rank!?