After Hua Ruoan gradually calmed down, Zhou Shu slowly said, "Shopkeeper Hua, I'm very satisfied. Your talisman materials and jade slips didn't come in vain this time, did they?"
After Hua Ruoan put away all the talismans, he looked at Zhou Shu with a satisfied look and chuckled, "Not bad, I was right about that talisman master after all."
"That senior is indeed very skilled, and I have some respect for him."
Zhou Shu nodded. Since he was talking about himself, he couldn't praise him too much.
"Bullshit, what do you mean by superb skills? That's clearly divine!"
Hua Ruoan couldn't help but scold. "You kid really don't understand talismans. You can use the talisman materials for two hundred talismans to make seventy second-level talismans. In the Qingyuan Mountains, only ten talisman masters can do that. And twenty of those seventy talismans are of mid-grade quality. As far as I know, I'm afraid only a few talisman masters from Dingshan Sect can do that."
Zhou Shu felt secretly pleased at this.
At this point, Hua Ruoan glanced at Zhou Shu with a puzzled look. "Come to think of it, isn't that talisman master from Dingshan Sect?"
"Dingshan Sect?"
Zhou Shu asked suspiciously. He knew about Dingshan Sect, but nothing else.
"It's one of the five major sects in the Qingyuan Mountains. They have the most and best talisman masters among the five,"
Hua Ruoan explained, then sighed. "Alas, my original talisman master was poached by Dingshan Sect."
Zhou Shu nodded. "I see. But I don't know who that talisman master is."
It turned out there were sects renowned for their talisman masters. But his most pressing concern right now was whether the Heyin Sect would be better for elixirs to restore his Qi sea and meridians.
"You're a Qi Refining Realm disciple, how could anyone tell you? Haha, I guess so."
Hua Ruoan shook his head with a hint of disdain. "Overall, I'm somewhat satisfied with this talisman sale. Now, let's talk about the profits."
After such ecstasy and even claiming to be somewhat satisfied, Zhou Shu couldn't help but secretly admire the businessman's extraordinary shamelessness.
"Please speak."
A sly glint flashed in Hua Ruoan's eyes as he spoke slowly. "Let's talk about the costs first. The talisman jade slips are mine, and I also provided the materials. These will be deducted from the profits. We agreed on this beforehand."
"No objection," Zhou Shu smiled and nodded.
"I plan to sell the mid-grade swamp talismans for twenty-five mid-grade stones each, and the lower-grade ones for five mid-grade stones. That's about seven hundred and fifty mid-grade stones. After deducting the cost of four hundred and fifty, the profit is three hundred mid-grade stones. You and I will each get fifty percent, right?"
He glanced at Zhou Shu and sighed with a hint of regret. "But the last time I helped you gather information, there were quite a few casualties and it caused quite a
stir. I paid about one hundred and forty mid-grade spirit stones in compensation to temporarily put the matter to rest." He turned to Zhou Shu and said seriously, "So, you've made a full ten mid-grade spirit stones. Not bad, isn't it?"
Hearing this, Zhou Shu was slightly stunned and laughed. "Shopkeeper Hua, you really are a profiteer."
"No, no,"
Hua Ruoan quickly shook his head, sternly saying, "I calculated everything according to the rules, without a single mistake. If you don't believe me, I can have someone verify it."
Zhou Shu waved his hand and said calmly, "No need. Just do as the shopkeeper says."
This time it was Hua Ruoan's turn to be stunned. He expected Zhou Shu to argue, and then he would unleash his rhetoric to knock him down. But his punch hit cotton, missing nothing.
"Hey, Brother Zhou, why aren't you arguing this time?"
Zhou Shu smiled faintly. "These benefits are what Shopkeeper Hua deserves. There's no need for me to fight for them."
This was indeed his opinion. On the one hand, he had already received more than enough. On the other hand, he would soon be leaving Qingxia Market, so he had to give up some of his benefits to maintain his relationship with Hua Ruoan. There was no need to haggle over every penny.
It was just a little over a hundred spirit stones, so he didn't mind it at the moment. Moreover, he suddenly felt that he had Hua Ruoan under his thumb, which was a bit satisfying.
"This makes me a little embarrassed, haha."
Hua Ruoan laughed dryly. He apologized, but he quickly produced ten mid-grade spirit stones and stuffed them into Zhou Shu's hands. "Brother Zhou, just take them."
Zhou Shu put away the spirit stones and smiled at Hua Ruoan. "Shopkeeper Hua, you need to hurry up and collect talisman ink in the next two months."
Hua Ruoan's face showed a hint of difficulty. "Last month, I bought up almost all the swamp talisman ink around here. It'll be difficult to find more in the next few months. It's too special, huh."
"Let's make as many as we can find, and try to do it within two months." Zhou Shu nodded in understanding.
"What do you mean by 'within two months'? Does that mean the talisman master won't be doing it after two months?"
Hua Ruoan sensed something was wrong and asked nervously.
Zhou Shu shook his head. "Not really. I'll be joining a sect in the next two months, and I might only come to the market every few months."
Hua Ruoan breathed a sigh of relief. "That's fine. This interval is perfect for collecting talisman materials. As long as the talisman masters continue to make talismans
, it'll be fine." He was worried about the sustainability of his business. He couldn't let the thriving business of swamp talismans end.
After thinking about the business, he immediately felt something strange. "Huh? You're joining a sect? Could it be the Tianliu Sect?"
Zhou Shu didn't answer, but instead asked, "By the way, Manager Hua, tell me about the Tianliu Sect. What's their relationship with the market?"
He was currently practicing the Flowing Water Sutra and was quite curious about the Tianliu Sect. Speaking of which, the market manager Yuan Li was from the Tianliu Sect, and Qingxia Market was probably also from the Tianliu Sect. However, few people in the market mentioned this, and it was kept secret. This was a bit strange.
Hearing Zhou Shu's words, Hua Ruoan seemed to be a little embarrassed. After a long pause, he slowly spoke.
The Qingyuan Mountains were effectively ruled by the five major sects, and the surrounding markets were also controlled by them, including the original Qingxia Market.
However, for unknown reasons, the Tianliu Sect suddenly intervened, claiming to take over the Qingxia Market as their own territory. However, they only wanted a portion of the market's profits, with the rest going to the five major sects.
Naturally, the five major sects objected and argued vigorously.
"While your Tianliu Sect may be powerful, the Qingyuan Mountains have always belonged to our five major sects. What's the point of doing this?"
The Tianliu Sect offered some reasonableness. They didn't use their Nascent Soul cultivators to seize the area—none of the five major sects possessed such cultivators. Instead, they adopted a different approach, deciding the market's ownership through a competition.
The Tianliu Sect sent five Jindan cultivators, while the five major sects each sent two, giving the Tianliu Sect five against ten.
The offer seemed promising, and the five major sects agreed.
However, they suffered a crushing defeat, and were forced to hand over the Qingxia Market to the Tianliu Sect as agreed.
After the Tianliu Sect took control of the market, they sent only one cultivator, Yuan Li, as its manager.
Naturally, with the market's recent change of ownership, many cultivators from the five major sects were dissatisfied. The sects even tacitly allowed them to harass and cause trouble. While they didn't send Jindan elders, a significant number of Condensing Veins cultivators arrived.
However, Yuan Li was able to subdue them no matter how much trouble they caused.
This forced them to submit, and they stopped causing trouble, accepting reality peacefully.
From then on, this incident was considered a disgrace by the five major sects, and was never mentioned again. Even the name of the Tianliu Sect became a taboo among the cultivators of the five major sects, and they were unwilling to mention it.