Taichu Yandao: Starting from the Villain

Time goes back to two hours ago.

After Shen Chenqing parted with Zhao Qian, she went straight into the market town to stroll around. She had entered the Holy Palace when she was a teenager, but she had never seen such a lively scene.

The vendors mainly sold gold pearls, and naturally had a lot of jewelry. When they saw the female customers, they all tried to sell their products:

"Little sister, look at this hairpin. It is made of the finest golden pearls, and a formation is engraved on it by the master. It can emit the fragrance of flowers wherever you go."

"Sister, look at this chain. Thirty beads are all the same size. It's not easy to put together. It's also blessed by a master. It can protect your mind at critical moments."

"Miss, look at this ointment. It contains pearl powder. I guarantee that after using it, your skin will be white and bright."

"Aunt……"

"Who is your aunt?" Shen Chenqing pouted, snorted, and strode away.

Every time she went to a store, she would pick and choose, but would eventually put everything down, upholding the principle of just browsing but not buying.

After she walked away, several vendors behind her immediately started talking:

"Oh, you are so ugly and old, and you are not allowed to call me auntie?" A young female vendor said to herself in the mirror while fixing her hair.

"I visited more than twenty stalls, but didn't buy anything. What a stingy person." said a vendor with a rough appearance but with a finger twirling.

An elegant male cultivator sighed and said, "When you sell things, don't you consider the other person's cultivation level? She is only at the fifth level of Qi training, how many spirit stones can she have?"

In this way, Shen Chenqing visited all the big and small stalls, Taoist stalls, nun stalls, Confucian stalls, and shops of various categories along the way until he saw a tall building shining with white light:

"Hey! What is that place? It's quite special." She followed the crowd and walked towards the white building.

From a distance, she noticed a person standing in front of the hallway. When she got closer, she couldn't help but be surprised: "Master Zhao?"

Just as she was about to catch up, the man covered his face with his sleeves and fled.

Shen Chenqing was full of doubts. He grabbed a vendor and asked, "Fellow Daoist, may I ask where the White Tower is?"

The vendor was wearing a Bagua costume and a Tai Chi scarf. In front of his stall were copper coins, tortoise shells, and long sticks. When he saw someone asking, he immediately said:

"Xiao Bailou! Is there anyone staying out all night at your home? How about I tell you how long this marriage can last?"

Shen Chenqing was a girl, so how could she understand the code words? So she asked, "I know this building is very white, but what kind of shop is it?"

The Bagua clothing vendor laughed and said, "Their specialty is mainly some hey...hey sports."

Shen Chenqing's pretty face flushed, and she said angrily: "You, a brothel is a brothel, why are you beating around the bush?"

"It's obviously your family that lost a man..." The gossip clothing vendor looked innocent, but still explained:

"Don't be angry, young lady. We cultivators pursue the path to immortality. If he achieves Nascent Soul in the future, he will be able to make clouds and rain with a flip of his hand. Even if he marries hundreds of male concubines and makes thousands of furnaces and cauldrons, who would dare to say a word against him? Why bother about the gains and losses of a city or a pond in front of you?" The vendor of the Bagua clothing spoke eloquently, with saliva flying everywhere.

"Nascent Soul, what realm is that? Am I like that kind of person?" Shen Chenqing was shocked, but she suppressed her anger and asked, "Nascent Soul, is it the realm after the foundation building?"

The Bagua clothing vendor's eyes sparkled, knowing that business was coming, and hurriedly said, "The girl must have just started practicing, and she is not clear about the realm of practitioners. According to the classification of the Taoist ancestors, the realm of practice is divided into Qi training, foundation building, golden elixir, and Nascent Soul. Practitioners need to climb step by step to achieve the path of immortality."

"Among all these, besides the Dharma, the most important thing is talent and aptitude. If you are a piece of stubborn stone and your roots are not good enough, even if you are a Daluo Jinxian descended to the mortal world, you can only shake your head and sigh."

Shen Chenqing's eyes were opened, especially to the talent and aptitude. He had many questions for a long time, and immediately asked: "How do you know whether a person's talent is good or bad?"

The Bagua Clothing vendor was waiting for this sentence, and immediately said, "That requires a special magic weapon from the sect to measure it, and it is difficult for ordinary casual cultivators to do so."

"But... young lady, you are blessed with great fortune, and you deserve this opportunity. I have an ancestral treasure here that can help people measure their spiritual roots."

Shen Chenqing was extremely disappointed when he heard "difficult to use means", but when he heard the following words, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said, "You are not straightforward at all. Then give me a test."

"Ahem...Miss, this treasure needs a spirit stone to activate. I have a connection with you, so I won't charge you any more. You pay the spirit stone first, and we'll start. What do you think?"

Shen Chenqing didn't have any spirit stones or even spirit coins on her. She looked embarrassed and said, "Daoyou, can I buy on credit? I will pay you back within one... two months."

The Bagua clothing vendor immediately changed his expression and said, "Sorry, we are a small business and we don't sell on credit."

Shen Chenqing was about to beg him softly, but the Bagua clothing vendor had already turned to the side, looking as if he was not willing to negotiate.

At this moment, a charming voice suddenly said, "I'll pay for the spirit stones, you help this girl measure it."

The person who was speaking was plump, wearing a light gauze skirt and a pair of peony embroidered tops. Her makeup was very delicate, but it was hard to hide the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She walked lightly to the stall and threw a spirit stone directly.

Seeing this, the Bagua clothing vendor immediately raised his right hand and said, "Okay, I will measure this girl accurately."

Although Shen Chenqing was happy that someone helped her pay the spirit stones for no reason, she was full of doubts and asked, "Sister, we don't even know each other, why are you helping me pay the spirit stones?"

The lady in the silk skirt said, "To be honest, sister, I think you look kind, like a good sister who has passed away. When we first entered the cultivation world, we were just like you now. Just think of it as a wish I have fulfilled!"

"Hmm..." Shen Chenqing hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said, "Little sister Shen Chenqing, may I know your name? We are acquainted now. If there is a chance in the future, I will definitely repay you generously."

"Everyone in the world calls me Nie Hongniang, so you can call me that too." said the woman in silk skirt.

Shen Chenqing clasped her fists again and said, "Sister Nie, it is hard to refuse your kindness, so I will respectfully obey your order."

The Bagua clothing vendor was already waiting. He handed over two emerald jade rings and said, "Just put these two on your wrists, and I'll cast the rest."

Shen Chenqing stretched out her bare hand and put the jade ring on her wrist, her face full of anticipation.

However, the Bagua clothing vendor did not cast a spell, but praised: "Tsk tsk, young lady's hands, the ten fingers are slender and jade-like, slender and long, the webs intertwined, the patterns are like beautiful paintings, I have been reading palms for so many years, but I have never seen such a wonderful pair of hands."

"That's not right. With such good palm lines, even if her appearance is not stunning, then she is still..."

"You can test it or not. If you don't, you will have to return our spirit stones." Shen Chenqing interrupted.

"Test it, test it right away. Look at my mouth, I never say nice things." The vendor in Bagua clothing hurriedly took out a dark golden magic plate and pinched his fingers on it.

In an instant, the magic disk lit up with a bright blue light, and the pointer pointed upwards all the way to the end.

The Bagua clothing vendor's eyes widened, his mouth almost opened, and he kept saying: "This... this..."

He thought for a long time before he said, "This... This is a top-grade water spirit root."

Nie Hongniang, who was standing by, was indifferent at first, then she was surprised, and finally her heavily made-up eyes were filled with endless jealousy.

Shen Chenqing was filled with joy and asked, "Top grade, is that a very high qualification?"

The vendor in the Bagua uniform said, "According to the Taoist classification, there are five types of spiritual roots: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. Each type is further divided into ordinary, low-grade, medium-grade, high-grade, and ultimate."

"Most of the living beings are ordinary people. Even if they have the best skills, they can only practice to the perfection of Qi training and then it will be difficult to make any progress."

"As for the lower grade, most of the casual cultivators are at this level. Those with great blessings can achieve the foundation-building stage."

"When you reach the middle grade, you will be selected to enter the sect, because starting from the middle grade, there is a possibility of glimpsing the golden elixir path."

"As for the top-grade ones, those are the ones that all the major sects are vying for, as they have the hope of gaining a glimpse of the path to immortality."

The vendor of the Bagua clothing continued his story, and at the end, he sighed and said, "But it's a pity for you, fellow Taoist."

"What a pity?" Shen Chenqing was full of doubt and asked: "Don't I have a top-grade spiritual root? What do you mean by this?"

The Bagua clothing vendor did not answer, but asked: "May I ask how old the girl is?"

"Twenty-six." Shen Chenqing said.

The vendor of the gossip clothing said, "I say it's a pity for the girl. The first reason is age. Spiritual roots are important, but if you miss the best years, it's like trying to catch the moon in the water. Your achievements will be limited."

"Which of the geniuses in the sect didn't complete their Qi training in their teens and achieve foundation building in their twenties?"

"The second one is the technique that the girl is practicing. She obviously has water spiritual roots, but she is practicing fire attribute techniques. This is not only against the will of heaven, but also a waste of great talent."

When the gossip clothing vendor said this, Shen Chenqing frowned and thought to himself, "It turns out that I have top talent, but I was delayed."

On the side, Nie Hongniang comforted her, "Ah, I didn't expect that my sister is also a miserable person. Back then, I was too old. Although I had a mid-grade spiritual root, I couldn't enter the sect. I wasted all these years and still couldn't build a foundation."

Shen Chenqing looked at Nie Hongniang, whose lips were moving and covered with cracked foundation. Although she was clearly talking about her own experience, she felt like she was talking about her future self.

Will I be like her, old and ugly, and no amount of makeup can cover it up?