MSBITRS Chapter 70 V1

This True Immortal…

“Why is he even poorer than I was after my tribulation?”

In an underground chamber, Li Changshou glanced at the seven or eight storage artifacts before him. He methodically extracted anything useful and tossed the rest—along with the storage treasures themselves—into a specially prepared pouch for sorting and disposing of trash.

No matter how slim the chances were of being identified, he would never use these “spoils of war.”

Well, unless they were spiritual treasures of a certain caliber.

The real issue was that the knockout drugs and poison pills he had used also came at a cost.

These weren’t the kind of things one could just sell, and a portion of the poisonous herbs he used came from Elder Wan Linjun’s supply—making their exact value impossible to calculate.

So, in the end, after being stalked and ambushed…

He suffered a slight loss.

This True Immortal truly had no wealth to his name, which honestly reflected the plight of most rogue cultivators.

With the rise of humanity and the flourishing of the Dao, immortal sects had sprung up like mushrooms after the rain, monopolizing the majority of cultivation resources.

Those without sect affiliations—whether due to poor talent, personal experiences, or other reasons—struggled just to sustain their cultivation, let alone accumulate any real wealth.

Li Changshou had originally given the man a chance to back off, not out of kindness, but simply because he was reluctant to waste his valuable poisons.

That was why he had said—

“Wait a moment.”

Had the opponent stopped, he would have simply knocked him out and been done with it. After all, poisons strong enough to kill a True Immortal were ridiculously expensive.

But the man hadn’t stopped. He was skilled, decisive, and utterly determined to kill and loot him.

That left Li Changshou no choice.

It wasn’t just the high-grade spirit stones that had tempted the attacker—rather, the fact that someone willing to spend such stones might also have other valuable treasures.

That “let’s see what he has” mentality was what sealed his fate.

This incident left Li Changshou with two key lessons:

First, he needed a more refined trade strategy to avoid drawing attention in the future.

Second, if he ever found himself tempted by treasure, he would do well to remember the miserable fate of these attackers.

“No matter how good a treasure is, you need to be alive to use it.”

As for the discarded magical artifacts, they were useless to him for now. But once his artifact-refinement skills improved, who knew?

The deeper he delved into artifact refinement, the more he realized how vast and complex the field was—there were very few shortcuts.

Modifying or creating new restriction arrays would take thousands, if not tens of thousands, of years of study.

And in the grand scheme of things, the most powerful treasures of the Great Desolation weren’t even crafted—they were formed naturally.

At the pinnacle of refined treasures stood postnatal merit-grade spirit treasures. In the end, it was the word “merit” that mattered most.

Instead of fixating on artifact refinement, he might as well focus on array formations and his goal of miniaturizing formations for maximum firepower coverage.

For artifact refinement, he would specialize only in storage artifacts and paper-cutting transformation techniques.

His primary focus?

Naturally, enlightenment, the pursuit of the Dao, and the quest for longevity!

Sitting at his desk, Li Changshou began sorting through the medicinal and poisonous herbs he had acquired.

“I should refine these into pills later and send some to Elder Wan Linjun.”

Even if it felt like showing off in front of an expert, it was at least a token of appreciation.

Once he had finished organizing everything, he set aside a dozen spirit beast suppression orbs, intending to release their contents into his spirit beast enclosure.

Two of these spirit beasts were specifically for Ling’e. She had been complaining for a while now—most of the creatures in the enclosure were venomous, making it nearly impossible for her to find a rabbit or deer to… spice up her diet.

This time, he had selected two spirit beasts that were not only aesthetically pleasing but also delicious. She could raise them as pets or let them roam freely for a few years before they became… ingredients.

Picking up a peculiar sword-shaped artifact—one designed to disperse poisons and toxins—Li Changshou smiled calmly.

Then, with practiced efficiency, he donned special anti-toxin gloves, a protective mask, and a reinforced outfit. He arranged his custom-made tweezers, test tubes, and antidotes nearby before resuming his work.

Preparation was key.

Pleasure and rewards always came after meticulous effort.

—

After two full days of focus in his secluded chamber, Li Changshou finally stepped out of his alchemy room—only to find that Xiao Qiong Peak was unexpectedly lively today.

(He had previously kept his spiritual senses confined within his alchemy room’s formation.)

Liu Yaner and Wang Qi, a pair of Dao companions, had come over for tea and conversation with Ling’e.

That much, he understood.

After Ling’e had gone to apologize last time, Liu Yaner had worried that she might overthink things. So, she had sent a paper crane message filled with kind words.

After exchanging letters back and forth, the two had grown close.

Currently, Ling’e’s “public” cultivation level had advanced to the third stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, an impressive feat for her age. She was undoubtedly a promising talent.

Due to her twenty-year confinement as punishment, Liu Yaner had visited her at Xiao Qiong Peak several times.

But…

Li Changshou’s spiritual senses locked onto another figure—

A celestial beauty, as pure as an ice-blue lotus, was seated among them, playing a “Simulated Immortal Life” game.

Youqin Xuanya…?

What was she doing here?

And her cultivation had already reached the second stage of the Return-to-the-Dao Realm?!

Had her progress accelerated now that Yuanqing was no longer harassing her?

Impressive. She was now firmly the top disciple of their generation.

But… if Youqin Xuanya started frequenting Xiao Qiong Peak, that would be a problem.

She was too eye-catching—every move she made was closely watched by the sect.

Li Changshou pondered for a moment.

She was a guest, after all—he couldn’t just drive her away and risk offending the sect leader’s faction over something trivial.

Emerging from the forest, he headed straight to his thatched hut, making no effort to conceal his movements.

Activating a concealment formation, he changed into a fresh Daoist robe and sat beneath the large character inscribed on his wall, silently contemplating how to handle Youqin Xuanya.

Many cultivators liked to display calligraphy in their homes.

Ancient powerhouses who had lived since the primordial era preferred grand words like “Heaven and Earth.”

In more recent times, cultivators tended to hang words like “Dao” or “The Great Dao.”

Other common choices included “Serenity,” “Strength,” “Mystery,” or “Profound.”

And then there were the eccentric ones, who hung words like “Return” or “Sister.”

But the character hanging behind Li Changshou?

Now, that was unique.

In the vast wilderness of the Great Desolation, among countless cultivators, few—if any—had ever chosen this word.