Evil Suppressing Talisman, Merit Wooden Fish

Su Qing ultimately bought only twelve Merit Wooden Fish from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, spending a total of thirty-six Spirit Crystals.

As for everything else, aside from Exorcism Talismans, it was still far too expensive for him at present.

That was not the Hundred Treasures Pavilion's problem. It was his own.

After leaving the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, he headed straight for the Stall Area. Seeing that the familiar Old Daoist was still selling wares in the same spot, he let out a great sigh of relief. The Old Daoist's Talismans were much cheaper than those at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion!

"Recently, many fellow cultivators have gone to work in the Hunting Grounds. With your cultivation, Fellow Daoist, you actually did not go join in the excitement?"

Su Qing came before the stall, cupped his hands, and asked with a smile.

He was genuinely curious. This Old Daoist was at the Late Qi Refining Stage, and though he was a Talisman master, he had also cultivated a superb grasp of Daoist arts. In his younger days, he had definitely been a formidable figure.

With his abilities, if he went to the Hunting Grounds, would he not slaughter everything in his path? He was who knew how much stronger than those half-baked Rogue Cultivators. Yet for some reason, he remained as unshakable as a mountain, continuing to run his stall here.

A stall could be set up anytime. But if he missed this opportunity of demon beasts coming down from the mountains, it would be gone for good!

"The rafter that sticks out first rots first. How much prey those Rogue Cultivators bring out each day, who is more capable and who is less capable—the buyers all report it daily to the Cloud Mountain Disciples.

"This old man's meager skills may not amount to much, but I still fear others setting their sights on me. Besides, at my age, what risks am I supposed to take? Could hunting a few demon beasts really earn me enough Spirit Stones to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill?"

It was afternoon, and most Rogue Cultivators were busy in the Hunting Grounds. The Old Daoist had no business at all, so he was willing to chat with Su Qing for a while longer.

Su Qing noticed that most of the Old Daoist's attention remained on the Lizard Warrior behind him.

"That is why I should learn from a senior like you. Since we have a craft to rely on, we must be able to endure loneliness. We need not worry about our next meal, so there is no need to gamble our lives for a windfall.

"Fellow Daoist, you seem interested in this Puppet of mine. Please take a good look. I will also take a look at the Talismans here, which can count as supporting your business."

And so, the Old Daoist who sold Talismans examined the Puppet, while Su Qing, who sold Puppets, selected Talismans. Neither tried to pitch anything to the other. Both were seasoned hands who dealt with Runes, and naturally had discerning eyes. With a single glance, they could judge the quality of an item seven or eight times out of ten.

"Little Brother, your attainments in the Talisman Rune Path have improved again. If this old man is not mistaken, the Intelligence Rune on this Puppet has actually reached Tier-2?"

A moment later, when the Old Daoist raised his head to look at Su Qing again, a glint of sharp light flashed through his clouded eyes, as though he had discovered some rare treasure.

Su Qing assumed he was merely praising his skill with Intelligence Runes, so he responded modestly a few times and politely praised the Old Daoist's attainments in Exorcism Runes as well.

That was because he had seen more than one Evil Suppressing Talisman on the stall. Such Talismans could only be crafted by a Talisman master with profound attainments in Tier 2 Exorcism Runes. Since the Old Daoist could put out several for sale, his success rate must have been Not Bad.

After exchanging compliments for a while, the two quickly struck a deal.

Su Qing handed over one Heavy Armor Lizard Warrior.

In exchange, he received three Evil Suppressing Talismans worth a total of six hundred Spirit Crystals, along with more than forty Exorcism Talismans.

With the Talismans in hand, and no lack of business recently, Su Qing had no intention of setting up a stall here. Before the sky grew dark, he mounted the Iron-Footed Horse and hurried home.

Until he was certain nothing would happen at the Gao family's shop,

he absolutely did not dare go out at night.

On the way, when he passed the Gao Family Butcher Shop, he casually placed several Wood Spirit Servants nearby.

These Wood Spirit Servants had not established Spiritual Sense Links with him. They would not emit Spiritual Sense fluctuations, nor could they share their vision with him.

However, they could instinctively record everything that happened around them. When he retrieved them next time, he could use his Spiritual Sense to view the scenes they had recorded.

This way, the Wood Spirit Servants truly resembled Inanimate Objects. Without Spiritual Sense fluctuations, that Evil Entity would surely not be able to discover them. If it was truly still lingering around the Gao Family Butcher Shop, then the moment it showed itself, it would not escape the Wood Spirit Servants' detection.

In truth, the best way to observe the Evil Entity would be to place Wood Spirit Servants inside the Gao family's shop.

But Su Qing still felt his scalp tingle at the thought of going into the Gao family's shop, where evil had already struck, so he decided against it.

When he arrived at his doorstep,

he had wanted to remind Tang Wanqing to prepare more Exorcism Talismans and visit the Gao family's shop less often.

But before he could knock, he saw the note left there.

A hand that held a blade could not hold a brush. Tang Wanqing's handwriting was hurried and utterly ugly, though fortunately still legible.

[Recently staying in the mountains to hunt demon beasts. Leave a message if anything comes up, and I will visit each of you when I return. (Note: Business for the Demoness Puppet is operating as usual. Go to the House of Joy in the Central District.)]

Is this woman really changing careers to become a Monster Hunter? She has been killing demon beasts so much that she does not even return home!

Su Qing silently called Tang Wanqing utterly mad and far too bold. But then he remembered that she had encountered no Evil Entity out in the wilderness, while he had run into one right at home. Where was the justice in that?

With Tang Wanqing absent, he went to Zhang Hai's home to take a look.

Seeing that Zhang Hai was still in seclusion, and recalling that this fellow Daoist had helped promote him before, Su Qing gritted his teeth and had the Lizard Warrior climb over the wall into the courtyard. Then he pasted five Exorcism Talismans on the inner side of the courtyard gate.

Better safe than sorry. This fellow Daoist was a decent man. If he were harmed by an Evil Entity while cultivating in seclusion at home, it would truly be far too unjust.

After returning from Zhang Hai's home, the sky had yet to darken. He immediately had his Puppets carry all the materials laid out in the courtyard into the room.

For the next few days, he did not dare refine Puppets in the courtyard.

When he had first rented this small courtyard, he had not yet been capable of Refining Puppets on a medium or large scale. He had only made Wood Spirit Servants, Spider Doctors, and certain Puppet components entrusted to him by other Puppet masters.

To save on rent, he had not demanded much space for the Puppet Refining Chamber. Now that he was refining Lizard Warriors here, it felt rather cramped.

"Once I earn enough Spirit Crystals, I should get myself a Spirit House too."

Thinking of Tang Wanqing out in the wilderness, perhaps living even more comfortably than he was, Su Qing could not help feeling another wave of envy.

He pasted an Evil Suppressing Talisman beneath the front door. This Talisman was far more powerful than an Exorcism Talisman. One was roughly equivalent to more than a hundred Exorcism Talismans, and calculated that way, it was much cheaper than piling up Exorcism Talismans.

The twelve Merit Wooden Fish were said to be items used by Buddhist cultivators. Though they possessed no spirituality, they had at least been touched by a trace of Buddhist merit aura. Perhaps they could prove somewhat useful against an Evil Entity.

Su Qing tested one. Each time he struck it, the dragon-headed, fish-shaped wooden fish lit up with a Yellow Light and gave off a crisp sound. It looked somewhat miraculous.

Though they were worth only a few Spirit Crystals, he did not want to waste them. He had thirty-six Wood Spirit Servants form groups of three, each group becoming a Wooden Fish Squad, their future duty being to strike the wooden fish.

When night fell, he nervously clutched a stack of Talismans and kept watch for any movement outside.

For roughly four hours, apart from hearing the spirit hounds kept by several nearby Beast Tamers bark a few times, there was no other activity.

"Looks like that Evil Entity is easy to Deal With. After taking two heads, it spared the Gao Family Butcher Shop. Or perhaps the Exorcism Array Gao Erqiang hired has taken effect?"

Su Qing did not know the reason, but no trouble was good news in any case. Once he relaxed, he began that night's work.

Because of the Evil Entity, he had not refined any Puppets last night or during the day. He had even spent quite a few Spirit Crystals on exorcism.

One loss and another, and he had lost a few thousand Spirit Crystals.

Thinking of that, he could not help cursing Gao Erqiang a few more times.

He skillfully mixed Talisman Water, crafted Runes, coated the claws, and activated the Puppets.

After a night of work, two Puppets in a row ended in failure, putting him in an even worse mood.

Early the next morning, when he went outside, his face looked as though someone owed him money.