Li Yuan sat at the stone table in the main room, his aura concealed, suppressing any outward fluctuations of spiritual energy to the level of the sixth layer of Qi Chain.
A sheet of golden talisman paper lay on the table, dark gold spiritual ink glowing faintly at the tip of the brush. He held the Azure Cloud Talisman Brush in his hand, its handle steady and warm.
He was halfway through the fourth circle of the Concentration
Rune when footsteps suddenly sounded outside the courtyard gate.
Two people.
The one in front had steady, powerful steps, while the one behind followed faster, as if keeping up.
Li Yuan's talisman brush stopped.
The next instant, a sense of oppression rolled over from outside the courtyard wall.
It wasn't a spiritual energy attack, nor a spell fluctuation, but the sheer weight of existence itself.
Spiritual pressure.
The spiritual pressure of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
It was different from Alchemist He's. Alchemist He's spiritual pressure was like an anvil placed on a table, quiet and still, its weight only felt upon close approach. This spiritual pressure was more outwardly projected, already felt before even entering the gate.
The courtyard gate was pushed open.
Two people walked in.
The one in front was an elderly man in his sixties. He wasn't particularly tall, but his posture was extremely upright, his back as straight as an iron pillar. His
face was thin, with high cheekbones and graying temples. His eyes, though small, were exceptionally bright.
He wore a dark blue robe, devoid of any ornamentation, but the fabric was of excellent quality, gleaming subtly in the sunlight.
Foundation Establishment.
Following him was Wang Lu.
The old man entered the courtyard without stopping, his gaze sweeping from the stove in the corner of the yard, then over the doorframe of the main house, finally settling on Li Yuan standing beside the stone table.
As he approached the table, he lightly traced a line on the edge with his fingertip, glanced down at the trace of spiritual ink powder on his fingertip, and expressionlessly flicked it away.
Then his gaze returned to Li Yuan.
The Aura Concealment and Aura Shielding abilities were activated at full power; the effects of the Breath Concealment Pill hadn't worn off yet. The triple shielding combined suppressed the aura of a seventh-level Qi Chain cultivator to the level of a sixth-level Qi Chain cultivator.
A moment later, the old man's gaze shifted from Li Yuan to the half-finished Spirit Refining Talisman on the table. He looked down at it for a moment, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
The instant his gaze left, a familiar line of words surged from the depths of his consciousness.
[Concealing Aura (Green) Permanentization Conditions Met]
[Permanentize?]
Li Yuan's expression remained unchanged.
Yes.
[Permanentization Successful]
[Concealing Aura (Green) Has Become a Permanent Attribute]
[Equipment Consumed]
An empty slot appeared in his equipment inventory.
Li Yuan didn't move, standing still, his expression unchanged.
The old man's gaze lingered on the Refining Spirit Talisman for two breaths.
"Your technique is alright."
He traced an arc on the table with his index finger.
"When the Concentration Rune reaches the fourth circle, most talisman masters encounter problems with the density increase. Your approach is correct, increasing at a steady pace, without skipping steps."
He lifted his finger from the table and pointed at Li Yuan.
"But when the fifth circle was absorbed into the talisman core, a trace of your spiritual power leaked out. Not much, but there was. That trace of leaked spiritual power will interfere with the sedimentation of the talisman core, reducing the quality of the finished product by about 10%."
He withdrew his hand behind his back, his tone less like instruction and more like stating a fact.
"Not bad."
He turned away after speaking.
He took two steps, then stopped.
He turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Li Yuan from above his shoulder.
"Which talisman hall are you from?"
"Qinghe Market Talisman Hall. Grade C talisman maker."
"Grade C." The old man repeated the two words, his meaning unclear.
The old man took out a thin booklet, casually placed it on the stone table, and pushed it towards Li Yuan.
"Take a look."
The booklet felt slightly heavy in his hand, its cover wrapped in dark gray animal hide. It had no title, only the words "Essentials of Talisman Making" engraved in tiny characters in the lower right corner.
From entering to leaving, less than a quarter of an hour had passed.
Wang Lu didn't follow, remaining in the courtyard.
He waited until the old man's footsteps had completely disappeared before turning to look at Li Yuan.
"The Grand Elder of the family, one of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators in the family."
His tone was calm, as if introducing someone who needed no further explanation.
Wang Lu sat down on the stone bench in the courtyard, his hands tucked into his sleeves.
"The Grand Elder came here to see Senior He."
Li Yuan sat down opposite him, waiting for him to speak.
"To have Senior He refine Foundation Establishment Pills. This isn't some secret. Senior He's rules are clear to everyone; he accepts all comers, and will refine for money."
Wang Lu held up one finger.
"However, he also has his own rules. For example, the Wang family and the Li family are fighting, and both sides need Foundation Establishment Pills. Senior He won't just help one side because of who he's on good terms with. His rule is to refine one for each side. If the Wang family asks him to refine one, and the Li family asks him, he'll refine one too. Even if he charges less spirit stones, he'll do it for both sides."
He withdrew his finger.
"To put it bluntly, it's about balance. If he only refines for the Wang family, the Li family might hold a grudge."
Li Yuan hummed in agreement, then asked a question.
"The Foundation Establishment Pill's main ingredient that was stolen from the herb garden, wasn't it said to be lost? What will the Grand Elder use to refine it?"
"It's that one herb from the herb garden that's lost." Wang Lu pulled his hand out of his sleeve and patted his knee twice. "The family has more than one herb garden. The most essential medicinal herbs are under comprehensive protection; it's impossible to risk leaving them in an
outer herb garden." He glanced at Li Yuan
.
"It's indeed a pity that the one stolen from the herb garden was lost, but it's not the only one. The family's foundation is there; losing one is a blow, but not a complete loss."
Li Yuan nodded, not pursuing the matter further.
After a brief silence,
Li Yuan spoke.
"I have a question for you. Besides external concealment, what other methods are there to conceal one's aura?"
Wang Lu's gaze lingered on Li Yuan for a moment, then he spoke after a moment's thought.
"The circulation of spiritual energy within a cultivator's body will cause leakage. The amount of leakage depends on the fineness of the circulation. The coarser the control, the more leakage. The finer the control, the less leakage." "
To give an analogy, if you're carrying a bucket of water, the more it shakes, the more it spills; the more steadily you hold it, the less it spills. Spiritual energy is the same. If the circulation of your spiritual energy is coarse, you can feel it from the outside. If it's so fine that not a single drop leaks out, it looks like there's no spiritual energy at all."
He paused.
"At the ultimate level, there is almost no leakage when spiritual energy circulates within the body. But this level of control is almost impossible to achieve by cultivating spiritual energy manipulation alone; it requires special techniques or methods to assist."
"What kind of techniques?"
"I don't know the specifics." Wang Lu shook his head.
Li Yuan listened to these words and nodded.
Wang Lu took out two more rolls of animal hide from his sleeve and placed them on the stone table.
"The crafting methods you requested have arrived. Blood-replenishing talismans and detection talismans."
He pushed the hides over, then stood up, pushed open the door, and left, leaving the courtyard quiet again.
Li Yuan opened the thin booklet.
The first page was straightforward, directly showing the spirit runes.
A complete diagram of a fire-gathering rune, from its beginning to its end, with precise values for the spiritual energy density and the wrist rotation angle marked at every turn. It wasn't the kind of vague description like "the force should be even, the hand should be steady," but rather precise enough to show that the spiritual energy density increased by 12% from the baseline at the third turn, with the wrist rotating outward by seven degrees.
Li Yuan's brow twitched slightly.
He had never seen such precise markings before. The training materials in the Talisman Hall also had spirit rune diagrams, but their precision was far inferior. Those materials followed a "general approach," suitable for most people, but lacking in detail. The charts in this booklet were viewed from a tenfold magnified perspective, showing the same spirit rune, every inch of detail dissected.
He turned the page.
The second page was about the Armor-Condensing Rune. The same precision, the same meticulousness.
Li Yuan continued turning the pages.
The third page, the fourth page, the fifth page.
Each page was an in-depth analysis of a spirit rune, covering common runes of the five elements: fire, earth, wood, metal, and water.
But what truly made Li Yuan stop and examine the booklet closely wasn't the precise numerical annotations, but the annotations scattered in the corners of each page.
Short passages of text, some three to five lines, some only a sentence or two, seemed like the author's sudden inspiration while drawing runes late at night, jotting down their thoughts.
"The essence of spirit patterns isn't the lines drawn, but the traces left by spiritual energy on the talisman paper. The lines are merely the carrier; the direction of the spiritual energy is the core. The same fire-gathering pattern, drawn with different directions of spiritual energy, may look identical, but the effect can differ by as much as 30%." "
The talisman's core isn't the end point. The core is the starting point of the entire talisman. The process of drawing a talisman starts from the first stroke and moves towards the core, but the flow of spiritual energy on the talisman paper moves outward from the core. The direction of drawing and the direction of application are opposite. Understanding this will prevent you from getting bogged down in the force when converging."
"After reaching a certain level in talisman making, the biggest bottleneck isn't technique or spiritual energy control, but understanding the spirit patterns themselves. Every spirit pattern has its own 'temperament'—some like to be pushed, some like to be guided. Once you understand their temperament, the rejection rate naturally decreases."
Li Yuan flipped through the booklet from beginning to end, then back again, reading it twice.
It wasn't that he couldn't remember it; some annotations required understanding in conjunction with his own talisman-making experience. There were a few points that seemed reasonable on his first reading, but he only understood which specific steps they referred to on his second reading.
The half-finished Spirit Refining Talisman was still lying on the table. When he reached the middle of the fourth circle of the Concentration Rune, the spiritual ink had dried and couldn't be continued.
Li Yuan picked up the failed talisman and set it aside, laying down a new sheet of golden talisman paper.
After finishing the last stroke, the dark golden light gathered layer by layer from the outside in, condensing into a point of light at the center of the talisman.
The point of light didn't flash—in the past, every time he succeeded, the point of light would flash briefly before sinking into the paper. This time, it didn't flash; it sank directly.
Then he opened the animal hide used to make the Blood Replenishing Talisman.
The spiritual energy flow of the blood runes was somewhat similar to that of the Rejuvenation Talisman, but the core had changed from wood-based nourishment to accelerating the return of qi and blood.
He dipped his brush in ink and began to write.
The first one was a failure. The spiritual energy in the middle of the blood runes sank too heavily.
He adjusted the force on the second one, and it was successful. A layer of dark red luster floated on the surface of the talisman, heavy and dull, with a warm and substantial feel.
The detection talisman was changed.
The combination of the sensing and expansion runes caused spiritual energy to radiate outwards. The first one was successful. A very faint silver sheen rose on the talisman's surface, spreading outwards in concentric circles from the center.
He mastered the two new talismans extremely quickly. The low-grade first-tier spirit rune structure was now no longer a challenge for him.
Li Yuan neatly stacked the finished products and placed them on the corner of the table. He then took out a Spirit Refining Talisman, using it to enhance his divine soul.
Li Yuan picked up the Blood-Replenishing Talisman, his fingertip touching its surface.
[Equipable Item Detected: Blood-Replenishing Talisman (Complete)]
[Affix Preview: Blood Qi Surge (White) - Increases health and injury recovery speed by 30%]
[Permanentization Condition Preview: Consume the heart's blood of a Tier 1, mid-grade or higher monster within 15 minutes of its death]
[Current Equipment Slot Full (5/5), Replace Current Equipment?]
White affix. Blood Qi Surge.
Increases both health and injury recovery by 30% simultaneously. The effect overlaps somewhat with Blood Qi Regeneration, but the direction is not entirely the same. Blood Qi Regeneration is continuous automatic recovery, while Blood Qi Surge increases overall speed by 30%. The combined effect is more significant.
The permanentization condition is consuming the heart's blood of a Tier 1, mid-grade or higher monster within 15 minutes of its death.
15 minutes before death. This means you cannot kill the monster and then collect the blood; you must collect the heart's blood while the monster is still alive, and within 15 minutes of its death.
The time window is extremely narrow.
Either bring the monster to the brink of death before taking its blood, or capture it alive before processing it.
Li Yuan put the blood-replenishing talisman back on the table and picked up the detection talisman.
[Detectable equipable item: Detection talisman (complete)]
[Affix preview: Spiritual Awareness Amplification (white) - Perception effect increased by 30%]
[Permanentization condition preview: Cultivate a perception-type spell to the beginner level]
[Current equipment slot is full (5/5), replace current equipment?]
White affix. Spiritual Awareness Amplification.
Perception effect increased by 30%, simple and direct. Unlike the perception range of the Spirit Detection Disc, this affix enhances the accuracy and sensitivity of perception itself, not limited to magical artifacts.
The permanentization condition is to cultivate a perception-type spell to the beginner level.
Perception-type spells are not uncommon on the market; he had seen several when buying spells before. The condition is not too harsh.
Li Yuan put away the two talismans and spread out a new talisman paper to continue practicing.
He had already figured out the blood pattern of the blood-replenishing talisman in the previous one, and after drawing a few more, his feel became more and more stable. The detection talisman was simpler; the combination of the sensing and expansion patterns posed almost no technical difficulty for him, given his minor mastery of talisman-making.
He drew five or six talismans of each type by the end of the morning.
[Blood-Replenishing Talisman: Beginner (0/200)]
[Exploration Talisman: Beginner (0/200)]
Both new talisman skills have been mastered.
Li Yuan put down his talisman brush, folded the finished products, and got up to leave the courtyard.
When he reached the market notice board, his pace slowed down.
Most of them were purchase notices, with certain cultivators seeking to buy certain spiritual herbs or minerals, leaving their contact information and prices.
Li Yuan's gaze swept over the notes.
Most of them were irrelevant to him. There were notices seeking to buy Crimson Light Grass, seeking to buy third-tier minerals, and seeking to buy certain spirit beast cubs.
His gaze lingered on one of them.
The note was brief. Seeking to buy one Spirit Essence Fruit, quality not limited, price negotiable. There was no signature at the end, only a contact address.
Spirit Essence Fruit.
The core ingredient of the Breaking Yuan Pill. Wang Lu had said before that the group of cultivators had acquired the six auxiliary ingredients and the regular main ingredients, only lacking the Spirit Essence Fruit.
If the note was posted by someone from the Tribulation Cultivator's side, it means they're still active in the market and haven't found the Spirit Essence Fruit yet.
But that might not be the case. Although the Spirit Essence Fruit is rare, it's not only used for refining Foundation Establishment Pills; it's occasionally used in other pill formulas. The person who posted this note might not be related to the Tribulation Cultivator.
Li Yuan memorized the contact address on the note, didn't tear it off, and turned to walk back.
He returned to the inn and found Wang Lu.
"There's something going on."
Wang Lu was flipping through a thin booklet in his room when he heard Li Yuan's words and looked up.
Li Yuan explained about the notice on the bulletin board seeking to buy Spirit Essence Fruit.
Wang Lu was silent for a few moments after listening.
He closed the booklet in his hand and placed it on the table.
"Where's the contact address?"
Li Yuan gave the location.
Wang Lu's brows furrowed slightly.
"The location is in the residential area south of the market, not a shop or an inn, but a private residence."
He walked to the window and glanced outside.
"If that group really found the Spirit Essence Fruit in the market, then they'll have all the materials. Once they have all the materials, they can go directly to Senior He to refine the pills. From entering the market to finishing the refining process, they won't need to leave Yunyang Market at all."
He turned to look at Li Yuan.
"We can't make a move in the market."
His tone was slightly heavier than usual.
"I'll go check that address."
Li Yuan hummed in agreement and left the inn.
He continued south along the main street.
After mastering the Iron Wall Body Refining Technique, he was stuck on the second step. Without the Bone Tempering Liquid to open the deep absorption channels in his muscles, relying solely on spiritual energy for forced progress was extremely slow. Manager Liu had mentioned at the mine that the Bone Tempering Liquid was a unique formula of the Li family, and only the Li family could prepare it.
Yunyang Market was much larger than Qinghe Market, and the Li family also had shops there. If he could buy the Bone Tempering Liquid anywhere, it was most likely at one of the Li family's shops.
Preview: Upcoming update, please stay tuned!
The shops in the southern section of the main street had a different style than those in the middle section, less orderly and uniform, and more chaotic. Some signs were handwritten, and some storefronts had peeling paint that hadn't been repaired.
But the variety was more diverse; some things that couldn't be found in the northern and middle sections could occasionally be found in the southern section.
Li Yuan walked along the street for a while, his gaze sweeping over the signs on both sides.
As he reached a corner, a small shop came into view.
The storefront was only the width of a single room, the door panels worn and the paint faded. A wooden plaque hung above the door, engraved with two characters:
Li Ji (李记).
In the lower right corner of the plaque was an inconspicuous small character, the same as the one on the tokens worn by the cultivators in the Li Family Market. A
Li Family shop.
There was no shopkeeper at the door; the door was ajar, and a mixture of medicinal and metallic smells wafted from within.
Li Yuan pushed open the door and went inside.
The interior of the shop was more spacious than the exterior. Three walls were lined with wooden shelves displaying various porcelain bottles, jade boxes, and sealed jars.
Behind the counter sat a man in his thirties, wearing a dark gray short robe with the same subtle pattern embroidered on the collar as on the Li Family tokens.
A spiritual energy barrier also covered the counter, making the items on the shelves visible but intangible.
The shop assistant glanced up as the man entered.
"What are you looking at?"
"Bone Tempering Liquid."
The shop assistant's gaze swept over Li Yuan, lingering for a moment on the talisman-shaped badge at his waist before looking away.
"Yes."
He pulled a porcelain jar from under the counter and placed it on the counter. The jar was sealed with wax, and a label on it read "Bone Tempering Liquid.
" "Standard Bone Tempering Liquid, twenty spirit stones per jar. One jar is enough for one complete body tempering cycle."
Twenty spirit stones per jar.
Much more expensive than Li Yuan had expected. The three body tempering liquids together only cost twenty-eight spirit stones, but one jar of Bone Tempering Liquid cost twenty.
"Anything else?"
The shop assistant pointed to a shelf behind the counter.
Several porcelain bottles were displayed on the middle shelf, their craftsmanship much more refined than ordinary pill bottles, with dark gold labels on them.
"Special Iron Wall Pills. These pills, taken in conjunction with the Iron Wall Body Refining Technique, can replace Bone Tempering Liquid, and are even more effective. Bone Tempering Liquid only opens the absorption channels deep within the muscles, while the Iron Wall Pills, in addition to opening these channels, directly strengthen bone density."
He removed a crack in the barrier above the counter and took a porcelain bottle from the shelf, placing it on the counter.
"Five pills per bottle, fifty spirit stones."
Li Yuan took the bottle.
The bottle felt slightly heavy, and the opening was tightly sealed. Pulling out the stopper, he found five dark iron-colored pills inside, their surfaces gleaming with a very faint metallic sheen, emitting a dull, mineral odor.
He touched one of the pills at the bottle's opening.
A panel popped up.
[Equipable item detected]
[Item level: White]
[Note: Not an item belonging to the user; cannot be equipped; details cannot be viewed]
Li Yuan put the stopper back in.
"One Iron Wall Pill is enough for seven days. During these seven days, the body refining effect will be greatly enhanced,"
Li Yuan said after a few moments of thought.
"Give me a bottle of Iron Wall Pills."
The shopkeeper pushed the porcelain bottle over, and Li Yuan counted out fifty spirit stones and placed them on the counter.
After counting, the shopkeeper put the spirit stones into the drawer under the counter.
"Take the Iron Wall Pills directly. The best effect is achieved if taken half an hour before cultivating the Iron Wall Body Refining Technique."
Li Yuan put both items into his storage bag, nodded to the shopkeeper, and turned to leave the shop.
He walked back to the courtyard along the same path.
The courtyard gate closed, and he entered the main room.
Li Yuan sat down at the table, took the Iron Wall Pills out of his storage bag, and placed them side by side on the table.
[Detectable equipable item: Iron Wall Pills (complete)]
[Entry preview: Bone Marrow Tempering (White) - Increases the effect of various drugs on body refining techniques by 30%]
[Permanentization condition preview: Cultivate a celestial body refining technique to perfection (0/1)]
[Current equipment slot is full (5/5), replace current equipment?]
It can increase the effect of drugs on body refining techniques, but he doesn't have much of a chance to use it now.
The conditions for permanentization were also quite stringent.
Li Yuan spread out the golden talisman paper, dipped it in dark gold spirit ink, and began to draw.
The five circles of the Concentration Rune on the Refining Spirit Talisman were completed in one go.
One, two, three.
Two were finished.
Then he switched to Fireball Talisman, Heart-Locking Talisman, and Qi-Gathering Talisman.
He also drew a few Blood-Replenishing Talismans and Detection Talismans.
The finished products were stacked up on the corner of the table.
After nightfall, Li Yuan put down the talisman brush, took out two Fiend Essence Pills from his storage bag, and sat cross-legged to circulate his energy.
Spiritual power and fiend energy flowed alternately within his body.
The Yunyang Market outside the window gradually quieted down, and the courtyard walls shut out the last few footsteps in the alley.
The second batch of Refining Divine Talismans was completed two days before the deadline.
Forty talismans.
Li Yuan divided the finished products into two stacks according to quality, put them into his storage bag, left the courtyard, and walked along the side alley to the front of Alchemist He's residence.
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token flashed, and the spiritual energy fluctuations guarding the inner side of the courtyard wall paused for a moment, but did not stop him.
He pushed open the door and went in.
Alchemist He was sitting behind the stone table, in the same posture as last time, with his hands on the table. Several animal hides with writing on them were spread out in front of him, as if he was organizing some kind of list.
Seeing Li Yuan come in, he put the animal hides aside.
Li Yuan placed two stacks of Spirit Refining Talismans on the table.
"Forty talismans."
Alchemist He reached for the first stack and flipped through it from beginning to end. He pressed his finger on each talisman, paused for a moment, and then flipped to the next one.
After finishing the first stack, he picked up the second.
This stack was flipped through faster than the first, without any pauses.
After finishing all the stacks, Alchemist He gathered the two stacks together and nodded.
"Better than the last batch."
He put the talismans into a wooden box under the table, straightened up, and looked at Li Yuan.
"No need to make offerings for now. I'll be away for a while, we'll talk when I get back."
He took out a porcelain bottle from under the table, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Li Yuan.
"This batch's reward."
Li Yuan took the porcelain bottle, uncorked it, and glanced at it. A pale golden pill, slightly inferior in quality to the Spirit Gathering Pill given last time, but its spiritual energy fluctuations were still quite strong.
Unfortunately, this time there was no description.
"Gathering Essence Pill. Used to replenish spiritual energy, its effect is twice as strong as ordinary Qi Gathering Pill."
After saying this, Alchemist He lowered his head to continue sorting through his animal hide inventory, as if to see the guest out.
Li Yuan put away the pill, cupped his hands in greeting, and left the courtyard.
Not long after returning to his residence, Wang Lu arrived.
He stood at the courtyard gate, not entering, his hands tucked into his sleeves.
"Is Senior He's mission paused?"
"Yes."
"Then your next task will be different." Wang Lu pulled one hand out of his sleeve and pointed south towards the market. "Go to the outer perimeter."
He withdrew his hand.
"The group of bandits we investigated earlier have recently been active on the outskirts of the market. The higher-ups believe they are unlikely to live in the city, but are more likely hiding in the outskirts of the scattered cultivator settlements."
He looked at Li Yuan.
"You'll stay on the outskirts for a while, making talismans and keeping an eye out for any activity. If you can find any clues, great; if not, just consider it a change of scenery."
"Is the outer perimeter safe?"
"Worse than the city, but not by much." Wang Lu's tone was calm. "Yunyang Market is Yuanyang Sect territory. Although the outer perimeter isn't inside the city walls, the Yuanyang Sect's patrol range covers thirty miles around. The bandits won't dare to be too reckless within this area."
He put his hand back into his sleeve.
"Besides, the thieves outside are different. Outside, they kill and rob for treasure, but here, most only care about wealth, not their lives. They grab what they want and run, afraid of attracting the attention of the Yuan Yang Sect. If they really want to fight, they'll lure people to a more distant place first."
Li Yuan nodded.
"Find your own accommodation. There are many sheds and simple houses built by independent cultivators on the outskirts, and the rent is much cheaper than in the city."
Wang Lu finished speaking and left.
That afternoon, Li Yuan packed up his things in the courtyard, canceled the rent, and left the south gate of Yunyang Market with his storage bag.
The scene outside the city walls was completely different from that inside the city.
There were no bluestone paved roads, only solid yellow earth underfoot. There were no neat shop fronts, but on both sides were wooden sheds, thatched huts, and simple walls built of rubble. Some sheds didn't even have doors, just a tattered cloth curtain.
But there were quite a few people.
Various independent cultivators walked in twos and threes on the yellow earth road, most of them at the early and middle stages of Qi Refining. Their clothing was more varied than in the city; some wore coarse cloth short shirts, some wore worn-out robes, and a few wore clothes patched upon patched.
The air was filled with the smells of cooking smoke, the bitterness of herbs, and the aroma of meat broth wafting from some unknown direction.
Li Yuan walked along the dirt road for a while, then stopped in a slightly tidy area by the roadside.
There were seven or eight wooden huts in the area, much sturdier than the surrounding sheds, arranged in two rows separated by a narrow path. One of them had a "For Rent" sign hanging outside.
Li Yuan went over to take a look. The huts weren't large, a main room plus a small courtyard, the courtyard wall made of rubble, about half a person's height. Inside the main room was a table and a bed, the tabletop big enough to spread out three or four talisman sheets.
"How much?"
A head popped out from the next hut.
A man in his early thirties, with a dark complexion, smiled, revealing a set of slightly uneven teeth. He was at the third level of Qi Refining.
"One spirit stone every fifteen days. Payment every thirty days."
"Take it."
Li Yuan counted out two spirit stones.
The neighbor took the spirit stones, his smile widening.
"My surname is Fang, everyone calls me Fang Laosan. And you are?"
"Li Yuan."
"What do you do?"
"I make talismans."
Fang Laosan's eyes lit up.
"A talisman master?"
Li Yuan carried his things into the hut and arranged them. The table was laid out, the talisman brush rested on the brush holder, and the spirit ink and cinnabar placed within easy reach.
Although the courtyard was small, there was enough space to set up a simple stove.
In the afternoon, Fang Laosan poked his head over again.
"Brother Li, are you selling the talismans you draw?"
"Yes."
Fang Laosan grinned.
"There's a severe shortage of talismans around here. The talisman shops in the city are expensive, most people can't afford them, and they only manage to get a few by occasionally bumping into a traveling merchant. If you start selling them here, business will definitely be good."
He gestured towards the shantytown area on the outskirts.
"The people here have low cultivation levels, and they often encounter demonic beasts when they go out to gather herbs and hunt. Having a few fireball talismans for self-defense can save many lives."
Li Yuan thought for a moment.
"Just put in a good word for me."
Fang Laosan patted his chest.
"Leave it to me."
Early the next morning, Fang Laosan started running around everywhere.
No one knows how the word spread, but three rogue cultivators arrived that afternoon, squatting timidly at the entrance of Li Yuan's courtyard, asking how much the talismans cost.
"Fireball talismans are two spirit stones each, cleansing talismans are ten and a half spirit stones each. Exorcism talismans are three for one."
The three cultivators exchanged glances, pooled their spirit stones, and each bought a few.
They thanked him profusely as they left, as if they'd gotten a great deal.
The price of talismans in the outskirts was much lower than in the city, but for Li Yuan, the profit was still considerable. The materials were mostly talisman paper he made himself from herbs, making the cost extremely low.
After the news spread, more and more people came.
Seven or eight came on the third day, and about ten on the fourth. By the fifth day, Li Yuan's door was almost constantly crowded from morning till night.
The most popular items were fireball and cleansing talismans.
But the most sought-after item was the concealment talisman. The
rogue cultivators in the outskirts had low cultivation levels and were most afraid of being targeted by demonic beasts when they went out. The concealment talisman, when attached to their bodies, could suppress their aura and reduce the probability of being noticed by demonic beasts.
A Concealing Breath Talisman costs three spirit stones, much cheaper than in the city, and the rogue cultivators are scrambling to buy them.
Fang Laosan happily squats at Li Yuan's door every day, helping to greet customers, practically becoming a side employee.
"Come, come, come! Li Fushi's talismans are top-notch. Unique in the outer area, you won't find them here again!"
It was Fang Laosan who started calling him "Li Fushi," and soon all the rogue cultivators in the area followed suit.
"Li Fushi, do you still have any Fireball Talismans?"
"Li Fushi, could you draw me an Evil-Repelling Talisman?"
"Li Fushi, next time you have Concealing Breath Talismans, please save me a couple."
Li Yuan draws and sells talismans during the day and cultivates to create them at night. Spirit stones are flowing in quickly, much faster than his monthly salary from the guard team.
Fang Laosan also benefits greatly; Li Yuan gives him many talismans.
Life is even more comfortable than in the city.
That afternoon, Li Yuan was sitting at the table in the courtyard drawing a Golden Blade Talisman.
Fang Laosan squatted by the door next door, gnawing on dried meat and humming an off-key tune.
A few scattered cultivators walked along the outer dirt road, as usual.
A man walked from the end of the road.
His pace was neither fast nor slow, heading straight for Li Yuan's courtyard.
He was in his thirties, of medium build, wearing a faded gray-brown short robe, with an ordinary face and no particularly striking features. He was
at the fifth level of Qi Refining.
Li Yuan's gaze swept over him, about to leave, when it suddenly stopped.
The man wore a jade pendant at his waist. It
was dark jade, its surface engraved with fine spiritual patterns. Its size, shape, and the arrangement of the spiritual patterns were almost identical to the concealing-breath jade pendant Li Yuan had previously seized.
Not similar, but exactly the same.
Li Yuan's gaze lingered on the jade pendant for a couple more breaths.
Then he noticed a second detail.
On the outside of the man's left arm, between the cuff and the elbow, there was an inconspicuous dark mark on his robe. It didn't look like a stain; it resembled a pattern deliberately covered mostly by fabric, with only a section of the edge visible.
The grayish-black lines and curved arcs looked like part of some kind of claw-shaped pattern.
The person had already reached the courtyard gate, glanced inside, and spoke.
"I heard there are talisman masters here selling concealment talismans?"
Li Yuan put the golden blade talisman aside and glanced at the courtyard gate.
The man had already reached the door frame, his gaze sweeping over the table and talismans in the courtyard before settling back on Li Yuan.
"How much for one?"
"Three spirit stones."
The man didn't haggle, taking out six spirit stones from his storage bag and placing them on the stone platform at the courtyard gate.
"Two."
Li Yuan pulled out two concealment talismans from the corner of the table and handed them over.
The man took the talismans, flipped through them, looked at the spirit patterns on the surface, nodded, and turned to leave.
His footsteps followed the dirt road southwards without looking back.
Li Yuan stood at the courtyard gate, watching his figure disappear at the end of the shantytown, before turning his gaze back.
Concealment jade pendant. Grayish-black claw-shaped patterns on the left arm.
Li Yuan closed the courtyard gate, took out a piece of paper from his storage bag, and wrote down the details he had just seen:
facial features, cultivation level, jade pendant style, and the location and shape of the patterns on the left arm.
Then he left the outskirts and went into the city to find Wang Lu.
Wang Lu was in his room at the inn, flipping through a booklet.
Li Yuan explained the situation.
After listening, Wang Lu closed the booklet and remained silent for a few moments.
"Did you see the pattern on your left arm clearly?"
"Not completely, only a section of the edge is visible. It's grayish-black, and the curved arc looks like part of a claw."
Wang Lu tapped his fingers twice on the table.
"I understand. I'll keep an eye on this."
He put the booklet into his sleeve.
"But we don't have enough manpower right now. Go back and do your work as usual, don't alert them."
Li Yuan nodded, left the inn, and returned to the outskirts along the same route.
When he arrived at his lodging, Fang Laosan was squatting in front of the neighbor's door, eating a kebab. Seeing Li Yuan return, he grinned at him.
"Master Li, you're back? Two people came to buy talismans from you earlier, I told them to come back later."
"Okay."
Li Yuan pushed open the courtyard gate, spread out the table again, and prepared to draw talismans.
After finishing his meat skewers, Fang Laosan patted the oil off his hands and sauntered over to Li Yuan's courtyard, leaning against the doorframe.
"You saw that guy who came this afternoon, right?"
"Yeah, he bought two Concealment Talismans."
Fang Laosan chuckled.
"That guy's from the Mist Crow Gang."
Li Yuan glanced up at him.
Fang Laosan gestured towards the shantytown area to the south.
"The Mist Crow Gang, a group on the outskirts. The boss is at the ninth level of Qi Chain, and he has about ten men under him, ranging from the third to the sixth level of cultivation. They've been around in the outskirts for quite a few years."
He leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest.
"These guys aren't bad, at least they don't cause much trouble in the outskirts. They just run around making money."
"Run around what?"
"Everything." Fang Laosan counted on his fingers.
"Lingxi Valley, there are many demonic beasts and spiritual herbs there, you can go in to gather herbs and hunt, but it's dangerous. Chitie Gully, it produces iron-type ore, the grade isn't high but it's sold in large quantities. Black Swamp, it produces several kinds of water-attribute spiritual herbs that can't grow anywhere else. There's a wind spirit stone vein on Broken Wind Cliff, but that place is too steep, most people can't go up there."
He held up another finger.
"And there's the Dry River Beach, it produces something called Feather Material, the raw material for making high-grade talismans. Ghost Mist Forest, needless to say, it's foggy all year round, there's everything in it, and there are also ghosts, but once you go in, you might not come out."
Fang Laosan withdrew his hand and rubbed his chin.
"The Mist Crow Gang spends most of their time running around in these places, gathering things and bringing them back. They only go into the city when they need to sell something, otherwise they live on the outskirts."
"Why don't you live in the city?"
"It's expensive in the city." Fang Laosan chuckled. "The entrance fee alone costs two spirit stones per person, and lodging and food all cost money. It's cheaper on the outskirts, and it's more convenient to go out and do business here. We don't have to go in and out of the city gate every time. Generally, we only need to enter the city once every two weeks."
Li Yuan hummed in agreement and didn't ask any further questions.
Fang Laosan chatted for a few more minutes about other gangs on the outskirts, and then was called away by another neighbor next door.
Li Yuan sat back down at the table and continued drawing talismans.
Two days later.
That morning, Li Yuan was drawing a Qi-gathering talisman in the courtyard.
Footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate, followed by a knock.
"Is Master Li here?"
Li Yuan looked up.
The cultivator from the Mist Crow Gang had returned.
He was still wearing the same faded gray-brown short robe, with the Concealing Breath jade pendant hanging at his waist. The cuff of his left sleeve still concealed the gray-black pattern.
This time, he didn't stand at the door but walked directly into the courtyard, his steps much more casual than before.
"The Concealing Breath talisman from last time was good, it worked."
He squatted down on a rock in the courtyard and glanced at the talisman papers on the table.
"Master Li, we'd like to buy some scouting talismans this time."
"Yes. How many?"
"Quite a few." The man rubbed his hands together. "We're going to explore a secret realm soon. The terrain is complex, and we need scouting talismans to help us sense the surroundings. About twenty, and ten Concealing Breath talismans too." Twenty
scouting talismans.
At the outside price of two and a half spirit stones per talisman, that's fifty spirit stones in total. Adding the Concealing Breath talismans, it's eighty spirit stones in total.
The man rummaged through his storage bag, his expression somewhat troubled.
"How about this in exchange?"
A dark jade pendant rested on the stone surface. The spirit patterns on it gleamed faintly in the afternoon sunlight.
"What's this for?"
The man sat down on the stone, gesturing. "It's for
concealing one's aura. It's a bit troublesome to use; you need to mix it with a medicinal liquid first, then infuse it with spiritual energy."
"Quite complex craftsmanship." Li Yuan flipped the pendant over, examining the carving of the spirit patterns. "Where did it come from?" "
I don't know exactly how it was made." The man waved his hand.
"Our boss took it from a secret realm. He got several pieces and distributed them to his men."
Li Yuan placed the pendant back on the stone.
"This is useless to me. Let's exchange it for something else."
The man hesitated, then put the pendant away and rummaged through his storage bag again.
After a while, he pulled something out and placed it on the stone.
It was a bottle.
The bottle, about the height of a palm, was a dark blue-green color. It had a rounded body, a small mouth, and a large belly, with a ring of extremely fine spiritual runes engraved on its walls. The craftsmanship was far more refined than ordinary porcelain bottles. A silver sealing spiritual rune connected the opening to the runes on the body of the bottle.
"This is it," the man clapped his hands. "
A spiritual essence bottle. It can preserve medicinal liquids for a long time, without spoiling or evaporating. Don't you talisman makers often mix spiritual ink and medicinal liquids? Using this bottle to store them will keep them as fresh as if they were just mixed."
He gestured towards Li Yuan.
"Moreover, when mixing medicinal liquids, you can mix them directly in the bottle; the spiritual runes help to stir them evenly, which is much more convenient than using a bowl or basin."
He pushed the bottle towards Li Yuan.
"Let's be friends, I'll trade this one."
Li Yuan reached out and picked up the bottle.
The bottle felt slightly cool to the touch and was heavier than it looked. The ring of spiritual runes on the bottle walls gleamed faintly under his fingertips.
The moment his fingertips touched the bottle walls, a panel popped out.
[Equipable item detected]
[Item level: Green]
[Note: This is not an item belonging to the user; it cannot be equipped, and detailed information cannot be viewed.]
Li Yuan twirled the bottle in his hand.
Green.
He turned the bottle over to look at the bottom; a tiny symbol, like the maker's mark, was engraved there, worn away and barely visible.
"Alright."
Li Yuan placed the bottle on the table and nodded to the man.
The man's face lit up with obvious joy, and he abruptly stood up from the rock.
"Deal."
"When can I come to collect it?"
"The day after tomorrow," Li Yuan said. "Twenty detection talismans will take time to draw, but ten concealment talismans can be given to you now."
"No problem, I'll come the day after tomorrow."
The man smiled, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Li Yuan, turned, and left the courtyard, his steps lighter than when he arrived.
The courtyard quieted down again.
Li Yuan closed the courtyard gate and walked back to the table.
The Spirit Essence Bottle rested on the table, its dark blue body gleaming with a cool, moist luster in the afternoon sunlight.
He ran his fingertips over the bottle.
Now it was his.
[Equipable item detected: Spirit Essence Bottle (Complete)]
[Entry Preview: Spirit Liquid Transformation (Green) - Increases the amplification effect of medicine on spiritual power by 30%]
[Permanentization Condition Preview: Successfully complete 100 talisman-making or pill-refining operations using self-contained medicinal liquid or spiritual ink (0/100)]
[Current equipment slot is full (5/5), replace current equipment?]
Green entry. Spirit Liquid Transformation.
Can enhance the effect of pills.
The permanentization condition is to successfully complete 100 talisman-making operations using self-contained medicinal liquid or spiritual ink.
He has been using the spiritual ink that comes with his self-made herbal talisman paper to make talismans. If these count as self-contained spiritual ink, then each finished product counts as one. 100 times is not a lot; at the current production rate, he can fill it up within a few days.
However, he needs to equip it first.
Li Yuan placed the Spirit Essence Bottle on the table without equipping it immediately.
All five equipment slots are full; to equip one, he has to unequip another.
The effect of the Soul Nourishing Pill is currently the least significant.
With a thought, Li Yuan unequipped the Soul Nourishing Pill and equipped the Spirit Essence Bottle.
[Equipment Successful]
[Acquired Attribute: Spirit Liquid Essence (Green)]
[Permanentization Condition: Successfully complete 100 talisman-making or pill-refining operations using self-prepared medicinal liquid or spirit ink (0/100)]
The spirit essence bottle transformed into a dark cyan light and entered his body.
The change wasn't immediately perceptible. The effect of spirit liquid essence would only manifest during actual spirit ink preparation and talisman-making.
Li Yuan spread out a sheet of herbal talisman paper, dipped it in his self-prepared spirit ink, and began to draw.
Fireball Talisman.
Six spirit patterns were completed in one go, the talisman core closing in.
Done.
[Spirit Liquid Essence (Green) Permanentization Progress: 1/100]
Li Yuan set the finished product aside and continued drawing.
The second, the third, the fourth.
With each drawing completed, the progress increased slightly.
By evening, he had finished, reaching seventeen.
At this rate, he estimated he would soon reach one hundred.
Li Yuan folded the finished pieces, took out some demon beast meat from his storage bag, roasted and ate it, then sat cross-legged to cultivate his
inner energy. The surrounding shantytown outside the window gradually quieted down. Occasionally, a few barks of dogs and scattered conversations
could be heard in the distance, a bit noisier than the city, but with a rough, rustic feel. A dim light shone in Fang Laosan's house outside the courtyard wall, and he could vaguely hear himself humming that off-key tune.
Li Yuan closed his eyes, his breathing even, his spiritual energy circulating smoothly through his meridians.