Chapter 180 - 175: Terminating the Contract
After returning to his shop, Li Yuan closed the door and emptied his storage pouch to take stock of its contents.
There wasn’t much that he had brought back from the Secret Realm.
The fangs and hard quills of an Iron Spike Wolf, the pelts and bones of two Tier One Low Grade Demon Beasts, seven or eight common medicinal herbs, and one Red Sun Ginseng of decent quality.
In addition, there were the items he had looted from the three dead Cultivators: over forty Spirit Stones, a few bottles of medicinal pills, and that pack of supplementary materials for the Foundation Establishment Pill.
Three stalks of Red Glow Grass, a small bag of Profound Spirit Sand, and a bottle of Soul Condensing Dew.
Li Yuan placed these supplementary materials next to the Spirit Essence Fruit from the depths of his storage pouch and stared at them for a moment.
The Breaking Element Pill required seven ingredients, with the Spirit Essence Fruit as the core component. The Red Glow Grass, Profound Spirit Sand, and Soul Condensing Dew were three of the supplementary materials. Including the various other ingredients he had purchased back in Yunyang Marketplace, he had now gathered more than half of the materials for the Breaking Element Pill.
He was still missing three conventional main ingredients. They were available on the market, but they were not cheap.
After he was done, Li Yuan took out the document written by Captain Wang from his storage pouch and unfolded it for a look. The handwriting was neat, the seal was intact, and the anti-counterfeiting Spirit Patterns were clearly discernible.
’The sooner I get this contract terminated, the better.’
The journey from the outskirts of the Secret Realm to Qinghe Marketplace would not be peaceful, but Li Yuan felt it wasn’t a major issue.
With his Cultivation at the Eighth Level of Qi Refining, plus his aura Concealment and sensory perception abilities, ordinary people wouldn’t be able to detect him.
Even if he did run into someone, with his current combat strength, anything below the Eighth Level of Qi Refining posed virtually no threat, and he had even fought a Ninth Level Qi Refining expert before.
Traveling with others would be more trouble than it was worth. He would have to accommodate their speed and route, expose his own whereabouts, and consider whether to help if they encountered danger.
He could travel faster and more flexibly alone.
Besides, carrying the contract felt unsettling. A contract refined with one’s blood essence could be used to track a person’s general location. Although the Wang family hadn’t used this function to do anything untoward all this time, a restraint was still a restraint. As long as it existed, it would be a thorn in his side.
Li Yuan made his decision.
That evening, he informed Old Sun that he needed to return to Qinghe Marketplace to take care of some business, asking him to watch the shop. Old Sun didn’t ask any questions, just grunted in acknowledgement and went back to tending his Pill Furnace.
Li Yuan set out early the next morning.
He headed south from the outskirts of the Secret Realm, passing through a stretch of hills before reaching the main road on the periphery of the Yuanheng Mountain Range.
This main road was maintained by the Primordial Yang Sect. The surface was flat, and it was flanked by simple road signs and post stations, making it much safer than traveling through the wilderness.
Li Yuan suppressed his presence, using aura Concealment to make his Cultivation appear to be at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining, and traveled quickly along the main road.
After traveling for the better part of a day, Li Yuan noticed several people ahead near a fork in the road.
There were four people, all traveling in the same direction along the main road. The one in the lead wore a grayish-green robe, and the buckle of the dark-patterned belt at his waist bore the insignia of the Li family. The three following him were dressed as Loose Cultivators, with Cultivation levels ranging from the Fifth to the Sixth Level of Qi Refining.
A Li family Cultivator traveling with Loose Cultivators.
His aura memory automatically recorded the four individuals’ aura signatures. His sensory perception detected no malice directed toward him; they were just normal travelers.
Li Yuan slowed his pace, maintaining a distance of about a hundred zhang from them.
They didn’t look back, nor did they show any sign of having noticed someone behind them. The four of them turned onto a smaller path to the east at the fork and soon disappeared from view.
Li Yuan continued south along the main road, with no intention of starting a conflict.
’Members of the Li family moving around with Loose Cultivators... just like the situation next to that Array in the Secret Realm.’
By the evening of the second day, the gray stone walls of Qinghe Marketplace came into view.
The marketplace had been expanded since he last left. A new row of stone houses had been built outside the southern wall, looking like temporary warehouses or residences.
Many people were coming and going through the city gate, most of them Loose Cultivators and other non-affiliated personnel.
Li Yuan entered the marketplace through the south gate and went straight to the Market Steward’s office.
’I was part of the marketplace patrol team before. I wonder if my contract is still with them or if it’s been transferred to the Talisman Hall.’
’Even if it isn’t, I can still make contact through the steward’s office.’
The steward’s office was a two-story stone building at the end of East Street, with the Wang family’s banner hanging at the entrance.
The steward on duty was a middle-aged man in his forties whom Li Yuan had seen a few times but didn’t know well. Li Yuan handed over the document and explained his purpose.
The steward took the document, read it over, and then used his Spiritual Power to inspect the anti-counterfeiting Spirit Patterns. After confirming it was authentic, he looked up at Li Yuan.
"Terminating your contract?"
"Yes."
The steward asked no more questions. He retrieved a contract document and a Jade Disc from a drawer under the counter.
"We’ll follow the procedure. First, we verify the blood essence mark. Then, both parties confirm the termination. Finally, we’ll remove the blood essence tracker."
The process was not complicated. The steward pressed the Jade Disc against Li Yuan’s wrist. A warm stream of Spiritual Power seeped into his veins, resonating with the residual blood essence mark within his body.
The surface of the Jade Disc lit up with a faint red glow, pinpointing the location of the blood essence mark.
The steward wrote the termination clause on the contract document and had Li Yuan sign and press his handprint on it.
Then, the steward activated the Spirit Patterns on the Jade Disc. A subtle thread of Spiritual Power seeped in through his wrist, precisely located the blood essence mark, and dissolved it.
A slight stinging sensation pricked him from deep within his bloodline, lasting for a few breaths before disappearing.
"It’s done." The steward handed a copy of the contract document to Li Yuan. "As of now, you no longer have a contractual relationship with the family."
The faint, almost imperceptible feeling of restraint that had been there for years vanished. It was as if an invisible thread tied to him had finally been cut.
Li Yuan put the copy away carefully.
"About the Talisman Hall."
The steward flipped through a booklet he had on hand.
"Captain Wang’s document specified that your cooperative relationship with the Talisman Hall is to be preserved. You can still submit Talismans to the hall in exchange for Contribution Points and rewards, but the terms have changed."
He pulled a sheet from the booklet and read out a few terms:
"First, you can no longer receive Contribution Points in advance; settlement will only occur after delivery. Second, you cannot actively take on tasks from the Talisman Hall; you can only accept public bounty orders it issues. Third, the reward standard will be calculated based on the rate for a Loose Cultivator Talisman Maker, which is twenty percent lower than that for a contracted one."
"Anything else?"
"That’s all. You can still purchase talisman-making materials from the Talisman Hall at market price, but you will no longer receive the internal discount. Your borrowing privileges for Magic archives are revoked. If you need new talisman-making Magic, you’ll have to find it on your own."
Li Yuan nodded.
’It’s about what I expected. The channel for materials still exists, it’s just more expensive. The rate of earning Contribution Points is slower, but I have more freedom.’
Losing access to the Magic archives was a loss, but the talisman-making Magic he currently possessed was sufficient. He was in no rush to learn new ones in the short term.
"Is there anything else?" the steward asked.
"No."
Li Yuan turned and left the steward’s office.
Standing on East Street, the evening sun shone over the western wall of the marketplace, dyeing the stone-paved road a warm yellow.
He was no longer bound by a contract.
He could go wherever he wanted, do whatever he wanted.