Li Xiuchang and Wang Long discussed the matter and decided it was feasible, so they immediately began making preparations.
Wang Long first escorted Li Xiuchang to the market. Then they split up: Li Xiuchang went to purchase Spirit Beast Meat and other ingredients, while Wang Long went to recruit people and rent Artifact Fire Furnaces.
Before leaving, Wang Long hesitated and said, "Junior Brother, could I borrow some Spirit Stones for the time being..."
After saying this, his face flushed with embarrassment. An old disciple was actually asking a newcomer to lend him Spirit Stones.
Seeing Wang Long's awkwardness, Li Xiuchang quickly nodded and said, "Renting the furnaces and hiring people both require Spirit Stones. I should be the one paying for them."
With that, he took out a handful of Spirit Stones from his pocket and asked, "Will twenty be enough?"
"That many won't be necessary. Five will do. I still have a few Spirit Stones on me."
Li Xiuchang also needed quite a few Spirit Stones to purchase the raw materials, so he counted out ten and placed them in Wang Long's hand.
Wang Long sighed. "Thank you, Junior Brother. It's not that I'm unwilling to pay Spirit Stones, it's just..."
"Senior Brother, there's no need to explain. I understand." Li Xiuchang cut him off.
Competition among Talisman Masters was fierce. Although Tier 1 talisman paper and other raw materials were cheap, Tier 1 Talismans also sold cheaply. On top of that, supply exceeded demand, making them very difficult to sell.
Only Tier 1 Talisman Masters with a success rate above eighty percent could earn a meager profit. For those with a success rate below eighty percent, every successfully drawn talisman was costing them money.
And Talisman Masters like Wang Long, who were at the peak of Tier 1, had it the hardest. To break through to Tier 2, they had to practice with Tier 2 Talismans. The key was that the raw materials for Tier 2 Talismans were not cheap...
The Spirit Stones he received from the sect each month, together with his reward for guiding new disciples, were spent on Tier 2 talisman materials for practice as soon as they were issued. He was even reluctant to use Spirit Stones for his daily cultivation.
Li Xiuchang watched Wang Long leave, then turned and entered the market.
This time, he directly purchased a full thirty Spirit Stones' worth of various Spirit Beast Meat.
There was beef, pork, venison, and so on.
Since he was buying in bulk, Li Xiuchang naturally haggled as well. In the end, the price was still the same as last time, but the shopkeeper threw in Spirit Salt and various other seasonings, which also saved Li Xiuchang several Spirit Stones.
With only thirteen Spirit Stones left in his pocket, Li Xiuchang went to take a look at a shop specializing in Spirit Plants.
There were countless Spirit Plants in the world. Spirit Grass, Spirit Wood, Spirit Flowers, and Spirit Fruits all had their own effects and uses.
Not all Spirit Plants could be used to make pills. Some Spirit Fruits were only suitable for eating directly; some Spirit Wood was suitable for making flying swords and artifacts; some Spirit Grass was suitable for making talisman paper; and some was suitable for making poison...
But there were always some Spirit Plants that, like certain people, were useless at everything.
These Spirit Plants that were good for nothing did have one advantage, though: they were cheap.
This kind of Spirit Plant was known as "Waste Spirit Plant," and its price was far lower than that of other Spirit Plants of the same tier.
Even Waste Spirit Plants contained Wood Attribute Spiritual Power. They could be used to cultivate some Wood Attribute Cultivation Methods or as auxiliary materials for formations.
These Waste Spirit Plants were Li Xiuchang's target. He planned to buy some and see whether they could assist his cultivation of the Fire Starting Skill.
In the end, Li Xiuchang took a fancy to a piece of Tier 1 Spirit Paulownia Wood. There was no other reason—it was simply large, and the Wood Attribute Spiritual Power contained within it was abundant.
"Boss, how much for this piece of rotten wood?"
"That's Tier 1 Spirit Paulownia Wood. Thirteen Spirit Stones."
Li Xiuchang even suspected that the boss had clairvoyant eyes and knew he had only thirteen Spirit Stones left.
"You're charging that much for Waste Spirit Plant?"
"There's no such thing as Waste Spirit Plant, only Spirit Plants whose uses have yet to be discovered. Buy it and perhaps it'll appreciate in value someday."
Yeah, right!
Li Xiuchang curled his lips. "Five Spirit Stones."
The boss curled his lips as well and said arrogantly, "Five it is, then!"
Two straightforward people completed the deal just as straightforwardly.
With only eight Spirit Stones left in his pocket, Li Xiuchang held his head high as he strolled around the various high-end shops, gaining a free wave of knowledge. Only then did he return to the stall area, where he finally picked up a bargain—a small piece of Demonic Beast Meat from a Rogue Cultivator's stall.
"This is meat from a Tier 1 Rabbit Demon. This is all that's left. If you want it, I'll charge you two Spirit Stones." The stall owner spoke while picking his teeth.
Although only a small piece remained, it was genuine Tier 1 Demonic Beast Meat. Two Spirit Stones truly was not expensive—if anything, it was a little cheap.
However, Li Xiuchang could smell the meaty stink from six feet away. He understood at once: this probably was not Rabbit Demon Meat.
It might be meat from a Rat Demon or some other unpopular Demonic Beast. The meat of these Demonic Beasts was mainly undesirable because of its poor texture or unpleasant smell, and thus could not command a high price.
Li Xiuchang did not mind, however. He was taking it back to practice with anyway, to see whether his Charcoal Attribute Mana could smoke-cure Tier 1 Demonic Beast Meat.
After haggling for a while, he finally bought the piece of Demonic Beast Meat for one Spirit Stone.
At this point, Li Xiuchang had completed his entire purchasing plan. He ran outside the market and waited for Wang Long to come pick him up.
"Junior Brother, I've arranged all the manpower and Artifact Fire Furnaces!" Wang Long said excitedly, his entire body brimming with energy. "I've already resigned from my work at the Reception Area."
Li Xiuchang was very satisfied with Senior Brother Wang Long's efficiency. Feeling that he had chosen the right person, he immediately followed Wang Long back to the inner sect.
"I rented thirty low-grade Artifact Fire Furnaces in total and hired three Tier 1 Talisman Masters. Every one of them is at the Late Qi Condensation stage, and a single person can easily keep ten furnaces running at the same time!"
"I only rented the thirty Artifact Fire Furnaces for one month. Altogether, they cost three Spirit Stones. If we want to continue using them afterward, we can extend the rental."
"As for the three Talisman Masters, one Spirit Stone per person per day will be enough."
"The only question is, where should we choose the worksite?"
Li Xiuchang thought for a few breaths before saying, "How about my residence in the Eastern Geng District? It's quiet and sparsely populated there."
"Alright. I'll take you back first, then bring those three fellows over later."
"No need to rush. Tomorrow will do. The Spirit Beast Meat still needs a day to marinate."
"Good."
Wang Long escorted Li Xiuchang back to the Eastern Geng District and handed over all thirty rented Artifact Fire Furnaces to him before leaving.
Li Xiuchang returned to his residence, divided the thirty furnaces into three groups, and arranged ten in each circle.
Then he took out the Spirit Beast Meat he had just bought and began marinating it.
He had bought a large quantity of Spirit Beast Meat this time, and it took Li Xiuchang half a day to finish marinating it.
During this process, Li Xiuchang's Length Value also slowly increased. Marinating Spirit Beast Meat was likewise part of practicing Spirit Chef Arts.
Li Xiuchang also marinated the piece of Tier 1 Demonic Beast Meat at the same time.
Once everything was finished, Li Xiuchang rested while taking out the book Introduction to Alchemy and beginning to read it carefully.
Because the book contained annotations wherever there were difficult points, it was not hard to understand. He merely had to stop from time to time to think things through.
His mind gradually sank into it, and he lost track of the passage of time.
It was only when a knock sounded at the door that he was interrupted.
Li Xiuchang looked up and realized that it was already noon the next day.
Hearing Senior Brother Wang Long's voice outside the courtyard gate, he opened the door and saw the highly excited Senior Brother Wang Long, along with the three Talisman Masters behind him.
One of them was even a familiar face.
Before you continue