Six months later, Shaoyang Market Town.
Although it was early spring, the weather was still somewhat chilly.
Su Fan wore a somewhat worn gray cotton robe and sat before a roadside stall, holding an ancient book and reading it with great interest.
"Little Fan, business is doing pretty well today."
Hearing the old man beside him, Su Fan put down his book and chuckled. "It's all thanks to you, Elder. It's going all right..."
"It still has to be you talisman masters. With this skill, the Great Dao is within reach."
Su Fan smiled but did not answer. He picked up the book and continued reading.
The old fellow beside him was a complete chatterbox. If Su Fan responded, the man would never stop.
Compared with a few months ago, his appearance was now completely different. Even the people most familiar with him would not recognize him.
As a body cultivator, changing his build and appearance was simplicity itself.
Shaoyang Market had long since changed beyond recognition.
During the last demonic cultivator invasion, the Lesser Yang Sect had suffered heavy losses, and the Foundation Establishment Ancestor had also been injured in Qin State.
After the demonic cultivators invaded, Qingxuan Sect of Qin State took over management of the market, citing Shaoyang Market's strategic importance.
Shaoyang Market had also become a transportation hub, the only place in Chu Kingdom where flying boats could dock during the war.
Every few days, a flying boat would arrive at the market to transport personnel and cultivation resources to the war zone in Qin State.
Rogue Cultivators could also take flying boats to other mortal nations in Yongzhou, but the price was three Mid-grade Spirit Stones.
With flying boats stopping there, the population of Shaoyang Market gradually increased.
Qingxuan Sect rebuilt Shaoyang Market, nearly doubling its area. It also strengthened the market's formations and sent a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to guard the place permanently.
They had even specially opened up a large plot of land and centralized the management of the scattered stalls throughout the market.
Now that the war had ended, Qingxuan Sect showed no intention of withdrawing from the market.
Before a Golden Core Sect, the Lesser Yang Sect did not even dare fart. It simply sealed its mountain gate and became a turtle hiding its head.
After the previous catastrophe, many Rogue Cultivators around the market had died.
Adding in the Rogue Cultivators who had gone to Qin State to fight, at least half had perished. The number of Rogue Cultivators in Shaoyang Market had fallen by a full thirty percent.
Yet within a few days, Rogue Cultivators from other places began streaming into Shaoyang Market one after another.
The number of Rogue Cultivators around the market had not decreased at all. Instead, it had increased considerably.
Su Fan had also taken the opportunity to assume a new identity, becoming a talisman master newly settled in Shaoyang Market. Every few days, he set up a stall in the market to sell talismans.
He had decided on the name long ago: Fan Su.
In addition, Su Fan had changed his appearance and rented two houses nearby. He often appeared in the market under several identities, taking turns among them.
Over the course of more than two months, he had disposed of his magic tools, Storage Bags, and pills he had no use for in batches at the market.
It was not until last month that the immortal-demon conflict in Qin State finally drew to a close.
It was said that the fighting during the final stage had been extraordinarily brutal.
The flames of war had already spread to several surrounding prefectures. The demonic sects of Ningzhou, as well as the sword sects of Ganzhou and Lanzhou, had all become involved.
Fortunately, several major immortal and demonic sects from the Western Wilderness had intervened, and only then had things finally quieted down.
In the past few days, large numbers of cultivators from immortal sects and Rogue Cultivators from all over had returned from Qin State. Many of them would rest in Shaoyang Market for a few days.
The Rogue Cultivators in particular simply set up stalls here, disposing of all kinds of resources in their possession and exchanging them for Spirit Stones as quickly as possible.
The Rogue Cultivators who had survived the night the demonic cultivators broke into Shaoyang Market had all managed to obtain some benefits, to varying degrees.
Although the market had been looted by the demonic cultivators, they had been in a hurry. How could they possibly have cleaned it out completely?
These Rogue Cultivators all wanted to take this opportunity to sell off the things they had scavenged.
Shaoyang Market had been more prosperous than ever these past few days. Whether in the shops or the scattered-stall market, everywhere was packed with people.
However, as the war ended, the prices of all kinds of resources began to plummet.
The Rogue Cultivators who had survived the Immortal-Demon War had all accumulated quite a few good things.
The first thing they did upon returning was exchange those things for Spirit Stones.
Talismans and magic tools in particular had fallen to absurdly low prices.
Compared with before the war, some items had dropped by more than half, yet they still found no buyers.
Su Fan's business had also been greatly affected.
The prices of talismans had fallen to an outrageous level.
In any case, Su Fan was not counting on selling talismans to earn Spirit Stones, so he simply slashed his prices by more than half as well.
Although his profits were lower, his sales had risen. He was at least making a lively business.
As evening approached, Su Fan rose, packed up his things, and left the market.
He carried a tattered bundle on his back and hobbled along with his frail, stooped body.
His face was sallow, and he looked sickly and feeble.
The cotton robe on him had been washed until it was pale and was clearly several sizes too large, hanging loose and baggy.
No one would have guessed that the loose cotton robe concealed three Storage Bags hanging from his waist.
Even more bizarrely, the fellow had actually worn a High-grade magic robe as an undershirt.
Su Fan's current residence was not far from the market, only a little over two li away.
It had once been the residence of a Late Qi Refining Rogue Cultivator, but unfortunately, that senior had died in Qin State.
Only then had Su Fan gotten the chance to rent it, making it his new home.
Su Fan entered a narrow alley and exchanged a few polite words with several neighbors.
Then he arrived before a courtyard, unlocked the door, and entered.
The new home not only had an excellent location, but was also quite spacious. The courtyard alone in front of the house covered nearly a hundred square meters.
Large slabs of blue stone paved the courtyard. There was a stone table and stone chairs, along with a flower bed covering more than twenty square meters.
Su Fan had already decided that he would plant all kinds of vegetables here in the future.
Why plant flowers in such a perfectly good plot of land? Could they be eaten?
Upon entering the house, there was a main hall. The Talisman Making Room and Cultivation Room stood on either side, while farther inside was a bedroom. The kitchen and storage room were located behind the main hall.
Su Fan rearranged everything according to his own needs.
The furnishings inside were simple. Blue bricks covered the main hall floor, with only a few pieces of wooden furniture: an Eight Immortals Table, matching tea tables, and a long table.
By the window stood a rosewood table, with two Pear Blossom Wood chairs leaning against either side.
Two rows of bookshelves were placed in the Talisman Making Room, along with a rosewood talisman-making table.
A beast-hide tablecloth was spread across the tabletop, upon which sat a set of excellent Talisman Making Tools.
Beside the table stood a tall table bearing a brass incense burner. Its drifting fragrance was elegant and distinctive, calming the mind and focusing the spirit.
The Cultivation Room, meanwhile, was completely empty. Aside from a meditation mat in the middle of the room, there was only a small incense burner beside it.
Beneath the house was also a basement of more than a hundred square meters. Several Luminous Stones embedded in the walls illuminated it as brightly as daylight.
This was where the previous senior had practiced spells and magic tools.
The surrounding walls and floor had been repeatedly reinforced with "Fossilization Talismans," and several Black Ironwood targets stood at the very back.
That senior had lived here for decades and had maintained every part of the house extremely well.
Of course, the rent for such a house was not cheap.
Ten Spirit Stones a month, and each rental payment had to cover an entire year.
When he encountered such a good house, Su Fan rented it without a second thought.
Fortunately, he had rented it early. Moreover, it had been the market's bleakest period, when many houses stood vacant.
If he had waited a while longer, this house might no longer have been available to him.
Su Fan had lived an extremely fulfilling life over the past six months.
Aside from going to the market to set up a stall for a few days each month, he spent the rest of his time cultivating techniques and practicing spells.
Su Fan entered the Cultivation Room and sat cross-legged on the meditation mat.
He opened the panel. After several months of cultivation, his data had changed dramatically in every respect.
[Name] Su Fan [Longevity] 36/92 years [Realm] Qi Refining Third Layer: 99/100 [Techniques] 1. Primordial Chaos Technique (First Rank): 33/100. 2. Body Tempering Art (Second Rank): 115/200 3. Demonic Saint Body Art (First Rank): 100/100 4. Nether Demon Spirit Forging Technique (Second Rank): 12/200 [Spells] 1. Qi Gazing Art (Subtle): 613/800 2. Light Body Art (Subtle): 721/800 3. Spirit Concealment Art (Subtle): 596/800 4. Xingyi Quan (Subtle): 450/800 5. Void Spirit Art (Minor Mastery): 55/200 6. Corpse Control Technique (Minor Mastery): 45/200 7. Object Manipulation Technique (Minor Mastery): 98/200 8. Nine Extremes Consecutive Slashes (Subtle): 521/800 9. Spirit Possession Corpse Control Technique (Minor Mastery): 35/200 [Skills] 1. Green Lamp Talisman (Initiate): 65/100 2. Evil Warding Talisman (Major Mastery): 35/400 3. Water Repelling Talisman (Minor Mastery): 105/200 4. Horse Talisman (Minor Mastery): 95/200 5. Arrow Repelling Talisman (Minor Mastery): 158/200 6. Muting Talisman (Minor Mastery): 110/200 [Divine Abilities] 1. Lightning Eye Dharma Eye (Major Mastery): 35/400 2. Lightning Ghost Step (Major Mastery): 315/400
First was his cultivation realm. Several days ago, his Qi Refining Third Layer cultivation had already reached perfection.
Because he had taken Yellow Spirit Pills, the progress of his Qi Refining Third Layer on the panel had advanced nearly twice as quickly, increasing by about fifteen points each month.
These past few days, the bottleneck had already loosened slightly. His breakthrough was only a matter of days away.
In addition, he now set aside some time every day to cultivate the Nether Demon Spirit Forging Technique.
With the aid of Soul Refining Pills, he had quickly broken through to the second rank. Once the pills were exhausted, however, his speed slowed down.
His Spiritual Sense had not grown by much, but his soul had become purer and increasingly solid.
He had also finished all those bottles of Qi and Blood Pills. Not only had his strength increased considerably, but the toughness of his physical body had grown as well.
As for exactly how much it had grown, he did not know, but the proficiency of his Body Tempering Art had increased by a full several dozen points.
The two kinds of pills were indeed extraordinary. Unfortunately, they were gone.
Most infuriating of all, even if one had Spirit Stones, they could not be bought on the market.
Xingyi Quan and Nine Extremes Consecutive Slashes had both reached the Subtle stage, finally undergoing a qualitative transformation.
Their power had increased greatly. Every move now carried extraordinary might, and they had gained several more variations.
As for what those variations were, Su Fan could not quite explain it himself.
The newly added spells were Void Spirit Art and Object Manipulation Technique, both of which had now reached Minor Mastery.
As for the souls required to cultivate Void Spirit Art, that was easy enough.
Su Fan had deliberately created several opportunities for bandit cultivators, and extracted the souls of several desperate criminals.
He cultivated Object Manipulation Technique simply to add a few different methods of attack for future battles.
Su Fan carefully studied the Heavenly Corpse Secret Records and specifically learned Corpse Control Technique and Spirit Possession Corpse Control Technique.
Corpse Control Technique needed no explanation.
Spirit Possession Corpse Control Technique, however, was an exceptionally wondrous spell.
It could lodge a strand of one's Spiritual Sense inside a zombie's body. When controlling the zombie, it was practically as effortless as moving one's own arm.
After half a year of accumulation, Su Fan's experience in making talismans had greatly increased, and he could now make six kinds of talismans.
Although they were all low-grade auxiliary talismans, they were essential talismans for Rogue Cultivators venturing into the wilderness and among the best-selling varieties.
Moreover, his success rate was above fifty percent for all of them. His Evil Warding Talisman in particular had reached eighty percent.
Because he had received the talisman-making inheritance of Water Cloud Sect, the talismans he made were somewhat more effective than those produced by most self-taught Rogue Cultivator talisman masters.
Furthermore, he set up a stall to sell talismans in the market not to earn Spirit Stones, so he kept his prices low.
As a result, the talismans Su Fan made were extremely popular among the Rogue Cultivators in the market.
Although he did not earn much, his monthly profit was around a dozen Spirit Stones.
For a Rogue Cultivator talisman master, that was already extremely impressive.
Lightning Eye Dharma Eye and Lightning Ghost Step had both entered the Major Mastery stage.
He valued Lightning Ghost Step especially highly and had spent a great deal of time practicing it.
For a body cultivator, this divine ability was absolutely a divine skill.
In battle, combined with Subtle Light Body Art, his combat power would increase by geometric leaps.
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