Dan Zhu's Dawn

"Miss Han, I can give you a Spirit Water Body Protection Talisman, and I won't take anything from your stall."

"Really?!"

Luo Hong's words filled Han Yunzhi with delight, but she immediately seemed to think of something, and a blush spread across her fair neck.

"Miss Han, do you know how to control spirit beasts?"

Luo Hong had changed the subject not because he had fallen for a beauty trap. He had noticed the Spirit Beast Bag at Han Yunzhi's waist long ago.

Moreover, given that Han Yunzhi had passed the Ascension Competition despite only being at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, the spirit beast she raised had to be quite formidable.

So, despite Han Yunzhi's delicate and frail appearance, no one should think she was easy to bully. At this stage, Old Demon Han would probably be no match for her without using a Talisman Treasure.

At the mention of spirit beasts, Luo Hong recalled a matter he had left unresolved for a long time. It was just the sort of thing he could entrust to Han Yunzhi.

"Ah, my ancestors were disciples of Spirit Beast Mountain. Controlling spirit beasts is my specialty, but Little Black is not for sale!"

Han Yunzhi covered her Spirit Beast Bag and took a small step back, clearly deeply attached to the spirit beast she had raised.

"Since Miss Han understands how to control spirit beasts, I have another matter to entrust to you. I will likewise offer a Spirit Water Body Protection Talisman as advance payment."

As Luo Hong spoke, he took two pitch-black Dan Zhu eggs marked with blood-red patterns from his robes and explained:

"These two Demonic Beast Eggs have been afflicted with an evil curse. Miss Han is skilled in Beast Taming, so you should be able to think of a way to lift it."

"Ah, it's the World-Passing Blood Curse! Senior Brother, you're quite lucky. Others might have no solution at all, but it's not difficult for me. Little Black, come out!"

The moment Han Yunzhi saw the blood markings on the Dan Zhu eggs, the slight guilt she had felt over taking advantage immediately vanished.

With a clear conscience, she accepted the Spirit Water Body Protection Talisman and slapped her Spirit Beast Bag, summoning a fuzzy black ball.

The ball of fur stretched out as soon as it landed. In the blink of an eye, a spirit beast about a foot long appeared before the three of them. It looked somewhere between a wolf and a dog, with black fur, bloody fangs, and a red mark between its brows.

Though the spirit beast was small, the instant it appeared, it swept its cold gaze around the area, looking quite imposing.

However, that imposing air did not last long. Once Little Black confirmed there was no danger nearby, it immediately stuck out its tongue and began circling Han Yunzhi's feet like a fool.

"Little Black, stop playing. Come lick this."

Han Yunzhi held one of the Dan Zhu eggs to Little Black's mouth and had it lick it again and again.

Before long, the blood markings on the Dan Zhu egg faded slightly.

"It really works. Senior Brother Luo, just wait for good news. I'll quickly use Little Black's saliva to prepare an antidote for the blood curse."

Han Yunzhi smiled sweetly and put the still-unsatisfied Little Black back into the Spirit Beast Bag.

"That would be excellent. However, I must remind Miss Han of one thing. Once you prepare the antidote, do not completely remove the blood markings from either Demonic Beast Egg. Otherwise, something unpleasant may happen."

After tens of thousands of years of evolution, the Dan Zhu had long since reached a delicate balance with the Blood Burning Totem. When that balance was broken, it had created the Spirit Flood Dragon Secret Markings in Luo Hong's hands.

If that disrupted balance appeared in the Dan Zhu, Luo Hong did not know what changes it might produce. But one thing was certain: the commotion would not be small.

"Senior Brother Luo, I understand the rules. If these two Demonic Beast Eggs had not been suppressed by the blood curse, they would have hatched long ago. I won't hatch them without permission and make you miss the best opportunity to form a blood contract."

Han Yunzhi did not realize she had misunderstood. Mimicking Luo Hong, she stuck the Spirit Water Body Protection Talisman onto her shoulder.

"It is fine if Miss Han understands it that way. Once this is done, I will reward you generously besides."

Luo Hong could not exactly explain the real reason, so he simply went along with it. Then he turned to Han Li, who had been listening intently for quite some time, and said:

"Brother Han, what have you decided?"

"I am willing to give it a try as well, but Brother Luo should not expect too much."

Han Li had already made his decision. When Luo Hong asked, he casually agreed, though his mind was still replaying what he had just seen.

Spirit Beast Bags, Demonic Beast Eggs, the World-Passing Blood Curse, and all these customary rules. Good. I've learned much more about the Cultivation World.

Han Li secretly rejoiced at how quickly his knowledge was growing. Though he had wanted to leave the entire time before, he now found himself somewhat reluctant to go.

After waiting a while and seeing that Luo Hong and Han Yunzhi were no longer talking, he finally turned and left with great reluctance. At the same time, he casually stuck the Spirit Water Body Protection Talisman onto the inside of his robe.

Watching secretly, Luo Hong could not help clicking his tongue. As expected of Old Demon Han, who put caution above all else. He had instinctively grasped that things meant to deal with sneak attacks were best hidden away. Unlike the innocent Han Yunzhi, who had simply copied Luo Hong and stuck hers onto her shoulder.

After all, Luo Hong had two talismans, one in plain sight and one concealed. The visible one could scare off covetous people lacking in strength, while the hidden one could help him turn the tables on powerful enemies.

Having closed two big deals in a row, Han Yunzhi no longer had any interest in selling her junk. After packing up her stall and saying farewell to Luo Hong, she went back to cultivate.

Luo Hong, however, was in no rush to leave. His cultivation was temporarily stuck because of the Pure Lotus Pill, which gave him the perfect chance to focus on studying the "new resident" in his Dantian.

And so, over the next ten-odd days of the Southern Small Gathering, Luo Hong appeared to lounge leisurely in a Grand Tutor's Chair, drinking wine. Whenever someone came to ask about prices, he would casually give them an answer.

Yet because his prices were fair and the quality of his talismans was astonishingly high, his unconventional style and Yellow Maple Valley disciple robes gradually earned him a reputation in the stall plaza.

Quite a few experts at the eleventh and twelfth layers of the Qi Refining Stage came to buy talismans from him. They were all preparing to participate in the Ascension Competition, and they only cared whether the goods were good. As long as the price was not deliberately extortionate, they could accept it.

On the last day of the gathering, Luo Hong counted on his fingers and found that he had earned more than two hundred Spirit Stones, enough to buy a decent high-grade Magic Artifact.

Just as Luo Hong was packing up his stall, an exceedingly arrogant voice called out:

"Fellow Daoist from Yellow Maple Valley, wait. Sell me some of the spirit wine in your gourd."

Luo Hong took one look and immediately recognized from the man's clothing that he was a Cultivator from the Yan Family of Guyu Mountain.

The Yan Family of Guyu Mountain was the most powerful Cultivation Family in the Yue Kingdom's Cultivation World. A Core Formation stage Ancestor presided over the clan, and it had always remained between the Seven Great Sects.

It appeared to enjoy all the benefits of being courted by the Seven Great Sects and lived in boundless splendor, but in truth, it was under the joint suppression of the Seven Great Sects. The family's power had essentially been cut off from any further growth.

Yet most of its low-level Cultivators could not see this point. Thus, they often lacked the confidence of Seven Great Sects disciples while still putting on their airs. They had a terrible reputation among Rogue Cultivators and frequently clashed with low-level disciples of the Seven Great Sects.

"There are plenty of talismans, but I do not even have enough spirit wine for myself. I do not sell it."

What a joke! Could Jade Dragon Wine be openly put up for sale?! Even Core Formation stage cultivators might come knocking!

Luo Hong only dared to drink it in public because the Jade Dragon Gourd and Spirit Flood Dragon Secret Markings could seal off the spiritual qi of the Jade Dragon Wine.

Are all Yan Family members this arrogant and lacking in manners?

At this moment, Luo Hong appeared amicable on the surface, but he was already preparing to raise the prices of his talismans.