Immortality begins with inheriting the myriad arts of cultivation.

Chapter 22 Purple-veined Wood

To Li Ping's delight, his acquisition of second-tier mid-grade spirit wood soon made progress.

However, this news did not come from Gu Musheng, on whom Li Ping had placed high hopes, but from Bai Qing, the youngest of the Tongzhou Society.

Led by Bai Qing, Li Ping once again arrived at the Bai family's residence in Xiancheng.

……

Upon entering the courtyard, Li Ping was greeted not only by the white-haired, youthful-looking patriarch of the Bai family, but also by a middle-aged cultivator with a square face who followed behind the patriarch, carefully attending to him.

Upon seeing Li Ping, the Bai family patriarch immediately showed a look of joy: "Fellow Daoist Li, come, come, please have a seat!"

Li Ping's gaze swept over the square-faced middle-aged cultivator, a smile appearing on his face. He calmly walked over and sat down opposite the Bai family patriarch.

After Bai Qing and the other attendants respectfully withdrew at the signal of the Bai family patriarch, the square-faced middle-aged cultivator remained standing behind the Bai family patriarch, showing no intention of leaving.

"Speaking of which, the troubles Fellow Daoist Li has stirred up these past few days have truly surprised this old man." As soon as he sat down, the Bai family patriarch said with a smile, "This old man had no idea that Fellow Daoist was also a master of talisman making."

He originally thought Li Ping was just an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even after learning from Bai Qing that Li Ping was a first-tier high-grade talisman maker, he didn't care much.

While first-tier skills are rare, they are not uncommon.

However, over the past few months, Li Ping has demonstrated an astonishing speed in talisman making, single-handedly crippling the first-tier talisman market in the Immortal City. Judging from Li Ping's talisman-making success rate, it's easy for anyone with discerning eyes to tell that he's not far from becoming a second-tier talisman maker.

Foundation Establishment cultivator, second-tier talisman maker!

This made the Bai family patriarch value Li Ping even more and was more eager to recruit him into the Bai family as a guest elder.

Hearing what the Bai family patriarch said, Li Ping shook his head: "Fellow Daoist Bai, you are too kind. It is just a first-level skill, not worth mentioning."

The Bai family patriarch laughed heartily, "Haha... Fellow Daoist Li is too modest. A first-level talisman maker cannot achieve such a high success rate as you."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Li Ping finally revealed his purpose: "Fellow Daoist Bai, I heard from Bai Qing that you happen to have a three-foot-long, mid-grade, second-tier 'Purple-Veined Wood' piece that you'd like to sell. Is this true?"

Upon hearing this, a hint of smugness flashed in the eyes of the Bai family patriarch. He smiled and said, "That's right. I discovered this purple-veined wood by chance when I was adventuring outside after I had just established my foundation. When I found it, it was already over a hundred years old and its quality had reached the second-grade low-level."

After pausing to observe the change in Li Ping's expression, the Bai family patriarch continued, "Later, I transplanted it into our family's second-tier spiritual land and carefully nurtured it until now. It has been nearly three hundred years and its quality has reached the middle grade of the second tier."

"Originally, I intended to find a craftsman to refine this 'Purple-Veined Wood' into several mid-grade second-tier magic weapons to leave for the younger generation of my clan. However, since Fellow Daoist Li needs it..." The Bai family patriarch said, looking at the square-faced middle-aged cultivator behind him: "Mingde, take out that 'Purple-Veined Wood' and let Fellow Daoist Li take a look."

The square-faced middle-aged man serving nearby quickly replied, "Yes, Ancestor."

Immediately, he patted the storage bag at his waist and took out an exquisite jade box that was four feet long. There was a spirit-sealing talisman on the jade box, the main function of which was to prevent the spiritual energy of the contents of the box from being lost.

As he took out the jade box, the Bai family patriarch introduced Li Ping to his identity.

It turned out that the square-faced middle-aged man was none other than Bai Mingde, the current head of the Bai family and a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Bai Mingde unveiled the talisman, opened the wooden box with a 'click', and then took out a piece of spirit wood about three and a half feet long, carefully placing it on the table.

Li Ping's gaze was instantly drawn to the spirit wood.

The roots of this spirit tree were enveloped by a clump of spirit soil, which sustained its life. The main trunk was straight and bare without any branches, about the thickness of an adult's forearm. On the pale blue bark, there were a large number of faint purple patterns.

Just as the Bai family patriarch said, this is a purple-veined wood that has reached the second-tier mid-grade level, and even after removing the root, its length is slightly more than three feet, which perfectly meets Li Ping's needs.

"How is it? Can this purple-veined wood meet your needs, fellow Daoist?" the Bai family patriarch asked with a smile.

Meeting his gaze, Li Ping suddenly felt a headache coming on.

This piece of purple-veined wood is indeed what he needs, but the question is, what price should he offer?

The Bai family patriarch has already made it very clear that he has carefully cultivated this purple-veined wood for at least 140 to 150 years to achieve its current grade.

Moreover, the person originally intended to have a weapon refiner craft it into several second-tier mid-grade magic weapons to be passed down to the family, and had no intention of selling it.

After thinking for a moment, Li Ping decided to be honest: "To be frank, Fellow Daoist Bai, this piece of purple-veined wood is exactly what I need. I just don't know what price you intend to offer it for?"

As he spoke, Li Ping had already made his decision. As long as the Bai family didn't ask for an exorbitant price, and the price wasn't as outrageous as the Chamber of Commerce's, he would make his move and secure the deal.

To Li Ping's surprise, after receiving his confirmation, the Bai family patriarch chuckled and said, "Why talk about prices? It would only ruin the harmony. Since Fellow Daoist Li needs it, then I will take the liberty of gifting this purple-veined wood to you."

"Give it to me?" Li Ping was taken aback.

However, he quickly shook his head: "Fellow Daoist Bai is joking. I cannot accept a reward without merit. How could I dare to accept this purple-veined wood? Please name your price."

Upon hearing this, the Bai family patriarch's expression suddenly became solemn, and he revealed his true purpose: "Then I will dare to speak, as long as you are willing to become a guest elder of my Bai family, what is a mere spirit wood?"

"Guest Elder?" Li Ping sighed inwardly; he knew things weren't that simple.

Previously, the Bai family patriarch had mentioned this matter and even offered him a generous gift to congratulate him on his successful foundation building, but he refused it.

He even planned to return the generous gifts to the Bai family at some point in the future.

After all, becoming a guest elder of the Immortal City and becoming a guest elder of the Bai family are two completely different things.

Serving as a guest minister in the Immortal City is like enjoying the shade under a big tree.

And the Bai family?

The patriarch of the Bai family is nearing the end of his life. Once he passes away, the Bai family will be without a Foundation Establishment cultivator to oversee them, and who knows how many troubles await them.

If he actually agrees to this and makes a vow, he might end up fighting with other cultivators of the same level because of it in the future.

The cultivation world is full of extraordinary people and those who have had miraculous encounters. All sorts of bizarre and harmful methods are being created by cultivators every moment.

In a battle of wits, a single careless move can result in severe injury.

Therefore, let alone cultivators of the same level, even cultivators of lower levels, Li Ping would not want to fight them unless absolutely necessary.

The Bai family wanted him to serve as a guest elder, but he could not possibly agree to that.