I used folk talismans to ward off the evil spirit.

Chapter 55 Prices Soar, Affinity with Spiritual Energy

The next morning, Jiang Jun was woken up by his phone alarm.

My three roommates woke up one after another. Their flights were all in the afternoon, and they were all a bit bored.

"Come on, let me take you to the antique street and buy a few gourds as souvenirs," Jiang Jun suggested.

Wang Wenhao's eyes lit up: "Yes, yes, yes! I was just about to say that. I've been in Qingjiang for four years and I've never been to the antique street."

Kong Lingchen agreed: "I've been there several times. But Qingjiang gourds are famous throughout the country, so buying a few to take back wouldn't be a bad idea."

The four of them hailed a taxi and headed straight for the antique street.

The car was parked at the street corner. As soon as Jiang Jun walked in, he noticed that the antique street was much more lively than usual.

The stalls and shops selling gourds were surrounded by crowds.

"How much is this gourd?" Kong Lingchen squatted in front of a stall and picked up a decent-looking gourd with a narrow waist.

The stall owner, an old man in his fifties, with a pipe in his mouth, held up two fingers: "Four hundred."

"How much?" Kong Lingchen thought he had misheard. "My classmate bought one last year for only thirty yuan!"

The old man exhaled a puff of smoke: "That was last year's price. You know what amulets are, right? Gourds are the raw material for amulets now, they're very valuable. Go ask around, they'll all be charging this much."

Wang Wenhao strolled around for a bit, then returned with a shocked expression: "Brother, don't complain about the price. Over there, a tiny hand-held gourd is priced at eight hundred! The owner said that's only because the Department of Divine Wonders has set a price limit."

Li Cheng clicked his tongue in amazement: "Someone just said that since the information about the 'Swallowing the Strange Gourd' was released, the price of gourds across the country has skyrocketed more than tenfold."

"Didn't we have garlic before? When 'Ghostly Sorrow' was needed, the price of garlic would rise. People online called it 'Garlic You're Ruthless'."

"Garlic You're Ruthless?" Kong Lingchen chuckled. "That's an interesting name."

Wang Wenhao patted the gourd in his hand: "Shouldn't that gourd have a name too? We can't just call it 'You're Expensive Gourd,' can we?"

"It sounds awful, it doesn't have the right feel," Li Cheng shook his head.

Kong Lingchen thought for a moment, then slapped his thigh: "Why not call it 'Gourd Can't Be Bought'! It's so expensive that people can't afford it, how fitting!"

"Can't be helped up? I can't even help up a gourd..." Wang Wenhao complained.

Jiang Jun stood aside, listening to their complaints, a slight smile playing on his lips, but he didn't respond.

These price increases are all thanks to him, but his contributions cannot be publicized or made known; he can only keep his achievements and fame hidden in silence.

The four of them each picked out a few gourds, haggled for a long time, and in the end still spent more than five thousand.

Jiang Jun offered to pay the bill for them, but the three of them refused, as the price was indeed not cheap for recent graduates.

After buying the gourds, Kong Lingchen suddenly said, "Brother Jun, I want to climb Xiaozhu Peak and visit Qingzhu Temple."

"Throughout my four years of university, I always wanted to go, but I always said 'next time, next time,' and I never actually went. If I don't go today, I'm afraid I'll never have the chance again."

Wang Wenhao and Li Cheng also expressed their agreement.

Jiang Jun checked the time; it was 9:30 AM. They had enough time. "Okay, let's go. Consider this our last team-building activity."

The four of them took a taxi and headed straight for Xiaozhufeng.

As the second highest peak in Qingjiang City, Xiaozhu Peak is not an easy climb. The stone steps are covered with moss, and the dew from last night has not yet dried, making them a bit slippery.

The four of them walked and stopped frequently, taking more than an hour to reach the top of the mountain and enter the Qingzhu Temple.

As soon as Jiang Jun stepped into the temple gate, he felt the familiar spiritual energy.

He glanced around discreetly and discovered that the Taoist temple's courtyard, under the eaves, and along the corners of the walls were filled with sacred plants.

He personally purified sunflower seeds, Solomon's seal, and North American ginseng...

Their scattered arrangement gives this ancient Taoist temple a vibrant and lively feel.

The most eye-catching plant was the sunflower spirit plant, which was half a head taller than ordinary sunflowers.

The flower head is as big as a washbasin, and the golden petals shimmer in the sunlight, as if they are coated with a layer of gold dust, so beautiful that they seem otherworldly.

Many tourists gathered around the sunflowers to take pictures.

"Wow, these sunflowers are so beautiful!" Kong Lingchen exclaimed.

Jiang Jun felt a sense of pride and satisfaction as he watched this scene.

These spiritual plants were purified by him, and it is a kind of fate that they are now loved and appreciated by so many people.

Kong Lingchen stood next to the sunflowers for a while, then suddenly took a deep breath, his face full of contentment: "It's strange, I feel particularly comfortable standing here. The air is different, it makes me feel at ease."

Wang Wenhao leaned over and sniffed as well: "Really? I can't feel anything?"

"You don't understand, this is spiritual energy," Kong Lingchen said seriously.

Li Cheng rolled his eyes: "You think you know everything now?"

Jiang Jun glanced at Kong Lingchen, a thought flickering in his mind: 'Kong Lingchen's affinity for spiritual energy is clearly much more sensitive than that of ordinary people.'

Unfortunately, he did not cultivate the art of suppressing objects, so spiritual energy could at most neutralize the negative effects of the evil energy, but could not be transformed into true energy.

The four of them walked around the temple. Jiang Jun only saw a few young Taoist priests sweeping and watering flowers in the courtyard, among them Lin Dingxuan.

He didn't approach them to speak. After all, at this moment he was just an ordinary tourist and had no connection with Qingzhu Temple.

He heard tourists in the distance ask, "Excuse me, is Master Lin here?"

Lin Dingxuan replied, "Master has gone on a long journey and will not be back for some time."

Jiang Jun secretly noted it down and then silently sensed the aura of the Taoists. He found that the strange energy in their bodies had been neutralized to some extent. Although it was not much, it was indeed improving.

"It seems the positive effects of the spiritual plants on the demon tamer are already beginning to appear." This will be very helpful for his subsequent plans.

The four of them sat in the temple for a while longer, drank a cup of tea, and then went down the mountain.

I got back to school at 2 p.m.

Kong Lingchen and his two companions began packing their luggage, sending what needed to be sent and throwing away what needed to be thrown away. Since they had already packed once last semester, they didn't have much stuff, and one suitcase was enough to hold it all.

On the taxi ride to the airport, the four of them barely spoke. The scenery outside the car window rushed past frame by frame, like a movie about youth playing.

Upon arriving at the airport and getting his boarding pass, Kong Lingchen was the first to go through security. He turned around and waved to Jiang Jun, saying, "Brother Jun, take care!"

"Take care." Jiang Jun nodded.

Wang Wenhao and Li Cheng also passed through security one after another, and turned back to shout to him, "Keep in touch!"

Jiang Jun stood outside the security checkpoint, watching them disappear into the crowd.

He stood there for a long time until the announcement of the flight's departure came over the loudspeaker before turning and leaving.

Stepping out of the airport terminal, the sun was shining brightly, its warmth comforting me.

Jiang Jun looked up at the sky and took a deep breath.

My university life has come to an end.

Starting tomorrow, he will be a true "social being".

However, the path he chose was destined to be different from that of most people.

When he got home, he took out his phone and sent a message to his three roommates: "Have a safe trip. Let me know when you arrive."

A few hours later, the three of them replied to each other's messages.

Kong Lingchen: "We've arrived! It's so hot in Beijing!"

Wang Wenhao: "It's raining in Shanghai, I miss the sunshine in Qingjiang."

Li Cheng: "Everything's fine in Shenzhen. Come visit me sometime!"

Jiang Jun smiled, held the Yellow Essence Boy in his arms, and stirred up a wisp of eerie energy.

A mysterious fog descended, guiding him into the eerie world of Qingjiang.