Crisis (1)

Time flew by, and half a month had passed in the blink of an eye. During this period, Zhang Tie remained indoors, dedicating himself entirely to talisman crafting. He spent his days accompanied only by his talisman brush, talisman paper, and cinnabar. Though he felt a slight fatigue in both body and mind, the results filled him with joy.

All six hundred sheets of talisman paper had been used up, resulting in a total of one hundred and seventy-two Tier 1 High-Grade Talismans.

If sold at the normal price, that would fetch one thousand seven hundred and twenty low-grade spirit stones; even at the buy-back price, it would still be over thirteen hundred low-grade spirit stones. Zhang Tie had never even dared to dream of such a quantity of spirit stones before.

Thinking of this, Zhang Tie couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. In his eyes, these were not just ordinary talismans, nor simply spirit stones, but the solid foundation for his continuous progress on the long path of cultivation.

With this thought, Zhang Tie slowly calmed his mind, sat down cross-legged, and began to adjust his internal energy, preparing to recover his strength.

He planned to head to the spirit beast garden the next day to exchange for more spirit beast blood, hoping to get a few more bottles of first-tier high-grade spirit beast blood this time, and then, with the help of the Undying Pearl, break through to the Meridian Casting realm in one go.

It was known that once one broke through to the Meridian Casting realm, their strength would not only be comparable to cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage, but their lifespan would also increase to around two hundred years.

The next morning, Zhang Tie first went to the market. He walked briskly, heading straight for the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. Upon entering the shop, he unhesitatingly sold fifty Tier 1 High-Grade Talismans, successfully obtaining four hundred low-grade spirit stones.

Afterward, he went to another shop and purchased a thousand sheets of talisman paper and ten bottles of cinnabar.

Then, Zhang Tie returned to the sect without delay. However, on his way back, he couldn't shake the feeling that a pair of eyes were secretly watching him.

Whenever he turned to look, he found nothing. At first, Zhang Tie thought it was due to his recent continuous talisman crafting, which had led to mental fatigue and illusions, so he didn't dwell on it.

Upon returning to the Outer Sect, Zhang Tie headed directly towards the spirit beast garden. At the management counter, the same good-looking young girl was still on duty.

"Greetings, Senior Sister. I'd like to purchase some spirit beast essence blood today," Zhang Tie said, cupping his fist in greeting and respectfully stating his purpose.

"Of course, you can. Which grade do you want, and how much?" the young girl replied softly with a smile.

"How much do you buy Tier 1 High-Grade Talismans for here?" Zhang Tie suddenly changed the subject.

The young girl was taken aback for a moment before replying, "Seven low-grade spirit stones per Tier 1 High-Grade Talisman."

"Then please give me five bottles of first-tier high-grade spirit beast essence blood."

"Five bottles of first-tier high-grade spirit beast blood?" The young girl hesitated, as if she doubted she had heard correctly, and deliberately confirmed again.

"Yes, Senior Sister," Zhang Tie nodded in confirmation. He then took out fifty Tier 1 High-Grade Talismans and one hundred and fifty low-grade spirit stones from his storage bag and placed them on the counter.

The young girl was slightly surprised by this but quickly regained her composure.

Next, she took out five porcelain bottles from a storage bag and placed them on the counter. Seeing the young girl quickly collect the spirit stones and talismans, Zhang Tie also waved his hand and put the five bottles of spirit beast blood into his own storage bag.

Just as Zhang Tie was about to turn and leave, the young girl spoke, "I truly didn't expect Junior Brother to be a talisman master. My name is Su Wei, may I know how Junior Brother is called?"

"My name is Zhang Tie," Zhang Tie replied, a hint of confusion on his face, wondering why Senior Sister Su was suddenly so enthusiastic.

"Junior Brother, please don't overthink it. I'm just surprised that Junior Brother, at such a young age, is a first-tier high-grade talisman master. If you need help with talisman crafting in the future, I hope Junior Brother can lend a hand," the young girl said, looking at Zhang Tie with a gentle smile.

"Of course. If Senior Sister Su has nothing else, I'll be taking my leave," Zhang Tie said.

"Mm, walk slowly, Junior Brother," Senior Sister Su replied.

Zhang Tie turned and left, heading straight for his residence.

Upon returning to his dwelling, Zhang Tie had a vague feeling that something was amiss today. Whether it was selling talismans in the market or buying spirit beast blood at the spirit beast garden, that strange feeling lingered in his mind.

Could it be that he had revealed too many spirit talismans, making others covet his possessions? But Zhang Tie quickly dismissed this thought. After all, this was within the sect; how could anyone dare to commit such evil deeds under the watchful eyes of the Core Formation Ancestors?

Perhaps he had been too tired lately, making him somewhat sensitive and suspicious.

Maybe they were simply amazed by his superb talisman crafting skills and genuinely wanted to befriend him. He really didn't need to suspect the worst of people. Moreover, this was still the sect, and surely no one would dare to act recklessly.

Zhang Tie shook his head, no longer dwelling on it. He took out the spirit beast blood from his storage bag, preparing to begin his cultivation.

Unknowingly, ten days had quietly passed. At this moment, Zhang Tie was moving his body in his room.

During these ten days, the energy of Zhang Tie's Undying Pearl had been depleted again, and the results were remarkable. He had successfully refined two bottles of first-tier high-grade spirit beast blood and successfully broken through to the sixth layer of Qi Refining, entering the seventh layer of Qi Refining, which was the late stage of Qi Refining.

Zhang Tie felt his entire body filled with strength, and his mental state was exceptionally full.

Furthermore, he had already faintly touched upon the bottleneck of the Body Tempering realm. Zhang Tie firmly believed that the next time he used the Undying Pearl to cultivate, he should be able to break through the Body Tempering realm and enter the Meridian Casting realm.

Zhang Tie collected his thoughts and decided to rest well tonight, and then head to the spirit stone mining area to mine again tomorrow, so as to quickly restore the energy of the Undying Pearl.

The next day, Zhang Tie, familiar with the route, arrived at the spirit stone mining area. He followed the usual method, hiding the distributed storage bags, and then began to mine with all his might.

Afterward, he first stored all the spirit stones he mined in a underground cave he had dug beforehand, and only after accumulating a certain amount would he absorb and refine them all at once.

However, Zhang Tie was completely unaware that shortly after he entered the spirit stone mining area, two figures appeared not far behind him. One of them was the white-haired elder from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, and the other was someone Zhang Tie recognized – Elder Su, who had brought him into the sect.

"This kid has quite a few issues. He can already craft Tier 1 High-Grade Talismans, yet he's still mining here," the white-haired elder frowned, a look of confusion on his face.

"More than that. This kid was only at the fourth layer of Qi Refining before entering the sect, and in just two years, he's reached the seventh layer of Qi Refining. If his spiritual root aptitude were good, it would be fine, but he has a four-element spiritual root, which is only slightly better than a mixed spiritual root – practically trash," Elder Su said with a grim expression.

"With what you've said, this child might be hiding a great secret. But it's difficult to make a move within the sect. Once we act, it's very easy to alert the mountain protection formation's detection," the white-haired elder said, his face filled with worry.

"Originally, there was no solution. But didn't this kid choose a good place for us to make a move today?" Elder Su's lips curved upwards, revealing a cunning smile.

"Yes, this spirit stone mining area has an independent formation. As long as we deal with Elder Zhao, who is on duty here this year, and make him turn a blind eye, it'll be fine. We can give him some benefits afterward," the white-haired elder suddenly realized.

"Good, let's not delay. We'll go back and find Elder Zhao now," Elder Su agreed.

At this very moment, Zhang Tie was completely unaware of the impending crisis, still diligently working, mining with all his might.