Zhu Wen's Experiences

In mid-October, in a guesthouse called "Changjiu" in Cloudwater Market Town.

This inn was originally a shop selling spiritual items, but because there were few people in Cloudwater Market Town, the shop owner gradually stopped earning much Spirit Stone from the shop and became too lazy to put effort into running it. Instead, he transformed the shop into rooms and rented them out cheaply to rootless, wandering Rogue Cultivator in the Cultivation World.

Although the owner of the Eternal Inn is rather unscrupulous, and each available room is only two or three zhang in size, the inn is good in that the price is not high. For just twelve Spirit Stone, you can rent a room for a whole year. Moreover, each room comes with a First Rank Low Grade spirit barrier array that can block others' Divine Sense from probing.

Such a price, along with the accompanying protective array, is extremely attractive to independent Rogue Cultivator with limited resources.

This has meant that Eternal Inn has never had a vacancy since it opened.

After all, Eternal Inn is located in Cloudwater Market Town. Staying in this inn means you don't have to worry about your safety and can sleep soundly.

A year ago, Zhu Wen, who had escaped by intercepting Ling Pengyun in the territory of the Tiger's Roar Liu Clan along with two accomplices, stayed at this Eternal Inn.

At this moment, inside a quiet room.

Zhu Wen was using the Secret Method Spirit Talisman Cave, "Talisman Crafting Technique," to refine a five-foot-long and five-foot-wide Demon Beast hide, which had already been shaved of its fur, into blank Demon Beast Talisman Paper.

The art of craftsmanship is generally adaptable. Although most of the Talisman Paper on the market is made from Talisman Crafting Grass, it can also be made from the hides of Demon Beast to create blank talisman Talisman Paper, which is essential for drawing Spirit Talisman Cave.

Previously, Zhu Wen had used more than twenty pieces of Demon Beast skin to refine blank Talisman Paper, so now he was quite adept at it.

Before long, he used the Secret Method to condense the five-foot-long and wide Demon Beast skin and refine twenty palm-sized blank Talisman Paper.

Although everything went smoothly in making blank Talisman Paper from the Demon Beast hide, Zhu Wen was not happy.

"If I rely on these last twenty blank Talisman Paper, I still won't be able to increase the success rate of drawing Fireball Talisman to 30%, and then I'm doomed."

Zhu Wen's success rate in drawing Fireball Talisman is only 20%. Even with a 20% success rate, drawing Fireball Talisman Fireball Talisman still results in a small loss. Only with a 30% success rate can he break even and even make a small profit.

After failing to intercept Ling Pengyun last year, he resolved to give up the business of interception and invested all his Spirit Stone in drawing Spirit Talisman Cave.

It's a pity that although he has the talent for Spirit Talisman Cave, he doesn't have many.

Hundreds of Spirit Stone were wasted, only increasing his success rate in drawing Fireball Talisman to 10%.

With his Spirit Stone exhausted and his Spirit Talisman Cave -making skills still lacking, Zhu Wen was in dire straits and had to rely on hunting Demon Beast to survive, just like any other rogue Rogue Cultivator. But unexpectedly, the demon-slaying war launched by the Hundred Spirits Sect soon gave him a chance to turn the tide.

Last May, Zhu Wen, Rogue Cultivator, was summoned by the Hundred Spirits Sect Hundred Spirits Sect to participate in the battle to exterminate demons, just like most other Rogue Cultivator in the Serpent Dragon Lake territory. Together, they attacked the Demon Python Demon Python Mountain in the Jiao Python Lake territory, where Foundation Establishment Completion Demon Serpent was stationed.

On that day, he also witnessed the scene of Spirit Array True Person using formations to kill the ice dragon in the Demon Python Mountain.

It was precisely because the Spirit Array True Person killed the Ice Dragon in the Serpent Dragon Lake, and together with the Spirit Talisman True Person, they managed to repel the Water Flood Dragon and the Black Wind Wolf Demon, two Golden Core Demon Beast, that Zhu Wen, a mere rogue Rogue Cultivator in the Qi Training Middle Stage Refining, was not only spared from being trampled to death by the Demon Beast beasts in the battle to exterminate them.

Instead, they used the Demon Extermination War to kill about twenty Early-Stage Qi Training Demon Beast.

Zhu Wen did not hand over the slain Demon Beast to the Hundred Spirits Sect to exchange for Contribution Points. Instead, he used the numerous Storage Bag he had obtained while killing them for a living to store them. He used the flesh and blood for food, and the Demon Beast hides for refining blank Talisman Paper to draw Spirit Talisman Cave, in order to increase the success rate of drawing Fireball Talisman.

It's more cost-effective to craft blank Talisman Paper yourself using Demon Beast hides than to buy blank Talisman Paper directly.

Of course, the secret art of refining blank Talisman Paper is also quite difficult to comprehend. Zhu Wen spent a lot of time and effort during his more than ten years as a Evil Cultivator before he was able to comprehend it.

With his thoughts returning to normal, Zhu Wen sighed helplessly. After calming himself down, he closed his eyes and began to circulate his cultivation Cultivation Method to absorb the sparse Spiritual Qi within the market and replenish it into his Dantian.

The next day, early morning.

Zhu Wen opened his eyes and summoned the three essential spiritual items for refining Spirit Talisman Cave from his Storage Bag: a talisman brush, a small butterfly of Talisman Ink, and ten blank talisman Talisman Paper.

The talisman brush and Talisman Ink are placed together in the right corner of the table, while the blank Talisman Paper is placed in the left corner. One talisman paper is then taken out and placed in the center on the small table.

He reached out and gripped the talisman brush tightly in his right hand, channeling his spiritual power into it.

A flash of spiritual patterns appeared on the talisman brush.

Seeing this, Zhu Wen did not delay. He lightly dipped his talisman brush in the Talisman Ink and began to draw lines on the blank Talisman Paper.

In less than half an incense stick's time, the blank Talisman Paper was already covered with spiritual patterns and a small fireball design.

After the last stroke is completed, lift it up.

The spiritual patterns on the blank Spirit Talisman Cave merged into one, simultaneously flashing a fiery red spiritual light.

"It's done."

Upon seeing this, Zhu Wen was delighted and made the drawing even neater. He placed the completed Spirit Talisman Cave on the left corner of the table and then took out a blank Talisman Paper to begin drawing again.

Zhu Wen drew ten such drawings in a row until his spiritual energy in his Dantian was completely exhausted, at which point he finally stopped.

His gaze fell upon the three Fireball Talisman he had just successfully drawn, which were placed on the left corner of the small table. A hint of joy appeared on his pale face, which was pale from excessive consumption of spiritual energy.

"I've finally increased the success rate of drawing Fireball Talisman to 40%. I can now rely on these talismans to earn Spirit Stone in the future."

With a sigh of delight, Zhu Wen put the four Fireball Talisman into his Storage Bag.

He closed his eyes again, circulated his Cultivation Method to absorb the wandering Spiritual Qi from the market, and replenished his parched Dantian.

He only opened his eyes after his spiritual energy in his Dantian was restored.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he took out the last ten blank Talisman Paper on his body and drew Spirit Talisman Cave.

These ten blank Talisman Paper were still used to successfully draw three Fireball Talisman.

Zhu Wen summoned the three Fireball Talisman he had drawn earlier, placing a total of six Fireball Talisman in front of him. His face was full of joy as he carefully considered where to put these six Spirit Talisman Cave.

Staying is impossible. If nothing unexpected happens, he will not leave Cloudwater Market Town for the rest of his life. Instead, he will spend his old age in Cloudwater Market Town. The Spirit Talisman Cave will be useless to him.

Another method is to sell Spirit Stone to earn money, then use the money to buy Talisman Paper Spirit Talisman Cave. Over time, this will allow you to earn back all the Spirit Stone you previously invested in Spirit Talisman Cave and then use them to invest in drawing other Spirit Talisman Cave.

But who to sell these Spirit Talisman Cave to was a real headache for Zhu Wen.

"My Daoist Zhang, who lives in this Eternal Inn and makes a living by hunting Demon Beast, is only at the Qi Training Middle Stage. I'm afraid he can't even handle these six Fireball Talisman I have."

"Not to mention the other Fireball Talisman I drew later."

"If we set up a stall in the market, selling one or two Rogue Cultivator to other independent cultivators would be fine, but if we have a large quantity, it would probably take more than a day or two to sell them. Without lowering the price, we might not be able to sell them. Rather than that, it would be better to cooperate with the shops in the market. That way, we can get Spirit Stone faster and be more secure."

After thinking it over, Zhu Wen took out a small book from his Storage Bag and carefully flipped through it.

This book records the situation of each shop in Cloudwater Market Town and the forces behind them.

After reviewing the various shops in Yunshui Market, Zhu Wen finally set his sights on several shops that were doing reasonably well in Cloudwater Market Town, neither particularly good nor bad, and all of which were backed by well-funded Foundation Establishment Family.

The reason for choosing these shops is simple: the Fireball Talisman he refined was only First Rank Low Grade Spirit Talisman Cave.

Most successful shops wouldn't be interested in the Fireball Talisman he drew, and even if they were, they probably wouldn't offer a high price.

Zhu Wen noted down the locations of the shops he had his eye on, then put away the six Fireball Talisman he had just drawn, closed his eyes, and began to circulate his Cultivation Method to absorb the wandering Spiritual Qi of the market to replenish his parched Dantian.

Once his Dantian was filled with spiritual energy, he left the Eternal Inn and visited the shops he had his eye on, discussing potential collaborations with their managers.

Rogue Cultivator like Zhu Wen, who can draw Spirit Talisman Cave, are naturally highly welcomed by the managers of various shops.

Like Spirit Talisman Cave, talismans are consumable spiritual items. Even First Rank Low Grade Fireball Talisman is quite Rogue Cultivator among independent cultivators in the relatively quiet Cloudwater Market Town.

However, while they were welcome, these shops were only willing to buy the Fireball Talisman drawn by Zhu Wen at the low price of 15 Spirit Stone for 10 Fireball Talisman. This price could be considered the uniform price for the shops to buy Fireball Talisman.

On the market, a single Fireball Talisman typically costs two Spirit Stone, so ten Fireball Talisman should cost twenty Spirit Stone.

However, it takes time and effort for the shop to acquire these Spirit Talisman Cave and resell them, so the shop naturally needs to make a profit.

However, Zhu Wen was not particularly satisfied with the price, so he used this as an excuse to temporarily postpone his cooperation with these shops.

In order to find a shop that would offer a higher price for the Fireball Talisman, Zhu Wen stopped worrying and shamelessly went straight along the main road, entering various shops in the market to promote the Fireball Talisman he had drawn.

Although many shop managers were interested in the cooperation proposed by Zhu Wen, the prices offered by those shops were still only 15 Spirit Stone for 10 Fireball Talisman.

Finally, Zhu Wen arrived at the door of Lingxiao Grocery Store.

After explaining his purpose to Ling Xiaohua, the manager of Lingxiao Grocery Store, Ling Xiaohua seemed quite interested.

"Although this person only knows how to refine Fireball Talisman, the power of the Fireball Talisman is not bad, and many Rogue Cultivator will buy them."

"In the future, if my little shop holds a promotional event such as buying Jade Series spirit rice, or Law Artifact and getting Fireball Talisman for free, or buying a large number of Fireball Talisman and getting spirit rice for free, it might improve the business of the general store and elevate it to the top tier of shops in Cloudwater Market Town."

"Even if we can't sell these Spirit Talisman Cave, transporting them back to the clan is a good option."

Thinking about it this way, Ling Xiaohua was even more tempted.

The better the business of the general store, the more spiritual items it sells, and the more dividends it receives.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu, what price are you planning to ask for?" Ling Xiaohua inquired.

Zhu Wen introduced himself as soon as he entered the store.

Upon hearing the inquiry, Zhu Wen tried to speak. "I wonder if Ling Daoyou would accept a purchase price of eighteen Spirit Stone for ten Fireball Talisman?"

"This price is too high. Let alone selling them, even if you went to any shop that sells Spirit Talisman Cave and bought ten Fireball Talisman at the same time, you could probably buy ten Fireball Talisman for nineteen Spirit Stone. This would take a lot of time. I would only earn one Spirit Stone by selling ten Fireball Talisman, which is too little." Ling Xiaohua hesitated for a moment before nodding in response.

"If Fellow Daoist Zhu is truly willing to cooperate with my shop, let's compromise. In the future, I will purchase ten Fireball Talisman from you for seventeen Spirit Stone. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wen's heart pounded, and he couldn't help but smile.

He had already guessed that Ling Xiao Xiaohua would try to lower the price when he asked for a high price, but he did not expect that Ling Xiaohua would not hold out for the highest price and instead give him a discount.

Zhu Wen's bottom line was sixteen Spirit Stone and ten Fireball Talisman; he would agree to the price as long as it was that amount.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu, my generous conditions are not without conditions. After all, the Fireball Talisman is only First Rank Low Grade Spirit Talisman Cave, and as you just said, you can only draw this one kind of Spirit Talisman Cave. There are only so many cultivators in Cloudwater Market Town. Even if the Fireball Talisman is a consumable, other shops in the market will also sell this talisman, and the market for this talisman is basically saturated."

"From now on, I will only purchase five hundred Fireball Talisman from you. Once this number is reached, if you are unable to refine higher-level Spirit Talisman Cave, our cooperation will end. I wonder if you can agree to these conditions?"

"No problem." Zhu Wen naturally had no reason to refuse and quickly nodded in agreement.

After chatting with Ling Xiaohua for a while, he took out the six Fireball Talisman he had previously refined and sold them to Ling Xiaohua at a discounted price of nine Spirit Stone.

Having obtained the Spirit Stone, Zhu Wen naturally planned to invest in the art of talisman making.

"Ling Daoyou, does your shop sell the pelts of Fire Element Demon Beast in the Early-Stage Qi Training?"

Upon hearing this, Ling Xiaohua raised an eyebrow and secretly speculated, "This person is Talisman Crafter, and he only knows one type of Fireball Talisman. He's probably buying Fire Element Demon Beast hides to make blank fire -Fire Element Talisman Paper with a richer fire Spiritual Qi."

Thinking about it this way, Ling Xiaohua's expression showed a hint of reminiscence. After a moment, his expression changed, and he asked.

"My little shop is called a general store, so naturally we sell Fire Element Demon Beast hides. Fellow Daoist Zhu has mastered the Talisman Crafting Technique of making Spirit Talisman Cave from Demon Beast hides."

Lingxiao Grocery Store has a wide variety of spiritual items. Although it mainly sells Jade Series spiritual rice, the large number of Azure Spirit Sword and Round Iron Shield refined by Ling Pengyun, it also sells some low-level spiritual fruits, spiritual herbs, Demon Beast materials, Spirit Plant seeds and other miscellaneous spiritual items.

Ling Xiaohua would even acquire spiritual items needed by the Lineage from outside sources.

"That's right." Zhu Wen didn't hide anything and nodded.

"That's wonderful, Fellow Daoist Zhu. How about we discuss the business of drawing blank Talisman Paper?" Ling Xiaohua asked with delight.

Whether it is made from the hide of Demon Beast or Talisman Crafting Grass into Talisman Paper, one must master the "Talisman Crafting Technique". However, not every Talisman Crafter can comprehend this Talisman Crafting Technique. Among the three Talisman Crafter of different ranks in the Ling Clan, only the First Rank High Grade Spirit Talisman Master, the Third Elder Ling Yunfeng, Tier 1 Middle Grade Spirit Talisman master Ling Yunming have mastered this Talisman Crafting Technique.

As for the only First Rank Low Grade Talisman Crafter, he was a junior of the Peng Generation who had not yet mastered the art of talisman making. In addition, the huge Ling Clan had to invest a sum of blank Talisman Paper in its young members every year to explore whether they had the talent to draw Spirit Talisman Cave.

This meant that Ling Yunfeng and Ling Yunming had to set aside a significant amount of time each year to draw Spirit Talisman Cave, specifically to create a batch of low-level blank Talisman Paper, which greatly affected their Spirit Talisman Cave -drawing speed.

Furthermore, Ling Xiaohua had some talent for talisman making when he was young, though not much. His Lineage had also trained him in talisman making, but unfortunately he did not seize the opportunity.

In his early years, because he was born into an ordinary family and had poor aptitude for cultivation, he started working at a young age. Not long after, he met Yang Qiuyun and they had a son Ling Pengyun.

With the birth of Ling Pengyun, he began to save Spirit Stone for his only son Ling Pengyun to cultivate, but he never touched the art of talisman making.

Nowadays, Ling Pengyun is skilled in many arts and crafts, and earning Spirit Stone is very easy for him.

In addition, having the chance encounter with Zhu Wen, a rare Rogue Cultivator Talisman Crafter, Ling Xiaohua also wanted to buy some blank Talisman Paper from Zhu Wen at a low price and try his hand at talisman making.

If he could become Talisman Crafter, he could stand tall in front of his father-in-law, Yang Minghua.

"How does Ling Daoyou intend to discuss the business of drawing blank Talisman Paper?" Zhu Wen was quite interested upon hearing this, as he greatly enjoyed the prospect of earning Spirit Stone.

Ling Xiaohua smiled slyly and said, "I'll provide the Demon Beast hide; you can refine it into blank Talisman Paper. We just traded Fireball Talisman, and I already gave you a significant discount. This time, you should give me a break too. For every hundred blank Talisman Paper you refine for me, you'll earn five Spirit Stone as a labor fee. How does that sound?"

Under normal circumstances, Talisman Crafter uses Talisman Crafter to refine one hundred blank Talisman Paper from the hide of Demon Beast, and the price difference between these and those on the market is about ten Spirit Stone.

Zhu Wen hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement, considering that Ling Xiaohua had indeed given up a lot of money in the Fireball Talisman transaction.

"Can."

Subsequently, Zhu Wen purchased three Fire Element Demon Beast skins, each about a foot long and wide, for nine Spirit Stone.

Demon Beast hide of this size will yield fewer blank Talisman Paper, and consequently, larger Demon Beast hides are more expensive.

As for Ling Xiaohua, he gave Zhu Wen five earth-type Demon Beast hides to commission Zhu Wen to draw blank Talisman Paper.

After accepting the Demon Beast hides, Zhu Wen left his place of residence and used a valuable First Rank Middle Grade flying sword as collateral to reassure Ling Xiaohua that he would not abscond with the money by taking the five-zhang-long Demon Beast hides.

After exchanging a few Demon Beast words, Zhu Wen left the shop.

However, on his way back to the Eternal Inn after leaving the shop, Zhu Wen felt uneasy as he thought about the Lineage behind Lingxiao Grocery Store.

According to the market shop information, Lingxiao Grocery Store General Store was opened by the Lingxiao Ling Clan in Huai River County.

"Back then, my eldest brother, second brother, and I intercepted and killed that young Qi Training Late Stage cultivator. Most of the time, they came from the five major Foundation Establishment Family in Huai River County."

"The probability of one in five is unlikely to be that coincidental."