A Huge Sum

"Oh, if Shopkeeper Wang says so, then that's for the best!"

Lu Wanyuan nodded and said, "I have six catties of Yellow Barley Malt Golden Leaf here!"

Shopkeeper Wang looked at the Yellow Barley Malt Golden Leaf before him, weighed it in his hand, and finding no issues, stored it into his Storage Bag while simultaneously taking out a pile of Spirit Stones and placing them on the tea table.

"This is 690 Spirit Stones. Take them well—consider the transaction settled!"

Shopkeeper Wang said with a smile.

Hearing this, Lu Wanyuan immediately collected the 690 Spirit Stones.

His mind raced with calculations: if one mu could yield 690 Spirit Stones, then with five mu in his possession, a full harvest would bring him 3,450 Spirit Stones per crop. And since he could harvest three crops a year, that meant an annual income of 10,350 Spirit Stones. To him, that was undoubtedly a fortune.

Unfortunately, after one year, he would have to hand over seventy percent of the proceeds, leaving him with only thirty percent—which was, of course, 3,450 Spirit Stones.

Still, having this foundation wasn't bad. He could build on it to pursue other ventures, and in time, his earnings would surely grow.

"Also, there's one more thing—how do you acquire spirit talismans here?"

After finishing his thoughts, Lu Wanyuan looked back at Shopkeeper Wang and asked with a smile.

"Oh, Brother Baili, you actually have spirit talismans? I wouldn't have guessed. But then again, it makes sense—if you can sell so much Yellow Barley Malt Golden Leaf, a material for making talismans, how could you not have any talismans yourself?"

Shopkeeper Wang glanced at Lu Wanyuan, filling in the blanks on his own.

Seeing this, Lu Wanyuan said nothing. Since the other party was happy to jump to conclusions, why bother clarifying? He let him run with it—after all, this worked in his favor, not against it.

Noticing Lu Wanyuan merely smiling, Shopkeeper Wang continued his introduction: "There are many types of spirit talismans: Attack Spirit Talismans, Defense Spirit Talismans, and Support Spirit Talismans."

"Each grade and rank corresponds to the cultivation system, from first-grade to fifth-grade, and each grade is further divided into four ranks: low-grade, medium-grade, high-grade, and top-grade, from lowest to highest."

"Generally speaking, Defense Spirit Talismans are a bit more expensive than the other two types—Attack and Support."

"Oh, so what's the current price range for first-grade spirit talismans?"

Lu Wanyuan looked into the other's eyes and asked in response.

"First-grade spirit talismans start at 20 Spirit Stones. The difference between ranks is roughly 5 to 30 Spirit Stones, and Defense-type talismans cost about 10 more than the others, mainly because their materials are a bit more complex. It all depends on the specifics—that's just how business works."

"Oh, I see. Then how many Spirit Stones can this talisman of mine sell for?"

Lu Wanyuan immediately pulled a First-grade High-grade Golden Sword Talisman from his bosom and handed it to Shopkeeper Wang.

Sensing the spiritual energy swirling around the talisman, Shopkeeper Wang took it and exclaimed loudly, "This is an Attack Spirit Talisman. I'll give you 40 Spirit Stones for it!"

"Deal!"

Lu Wanyuan had taken it out precisely to sell it. After all, he now had two 'First-grade High-grade Golden Sword Talisman' Entries in his mind. He could use one later and still give one to Baili Qiuyue when the time came.

For now, his priority was to accumulate these Spirit Stones for other purposes.

"Good. Here are 60 Spirit Stones. If you have any other talismans to trade, feel free to bring them to me—I won't let you lose out!"

Shopkeeper Wang took another 60 Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag and placed them on the tea table.

"Oh, Shopkeeper, besides selling spirit talismans, what other goods do you have here?"

Lu Wanyuan's eyes flickered as he discreetly swept the Spirit Stones from the tea table into his Storage Bag.

Now he had 750 Spirit Stones. It hadn't been easy—his Storage Bag had never held even a hundred before. Who knew he'd have so many today!

"Brother Baili, feel free to look around. Most of it is on these shelves. Though we specialize in spirit talismans, we do sell a few other items on the side—just as a convenience for customers who sell talismans here, so they can also purchase other goods from me."

Shopkeeper Wang pointed to a large display hall next door.

Following Shopkeeper Wang's finger, Lu Wanyuan noticed that there were already a few people browsing in that hall. It was a long space filled with shelves, and on those shelves sat many boxes, each labeled with the item's name and price.

He immediately stepped out of the reception room and into the hall to examine things closely. The selling prices listed here were much higher than what he had just received. His First-grade High-grade Golden Sword Talisman was marked at 80 Spirit Stones here—a full 20 Spirit Stones difference!

Seeing this, his face darkened. But then he thought about it—the man was a businessman. Of course he needed to make Spirit Stones. Otherwise, what was he working for? To be a do-gooder, a great philanthropist? That was impossible.

Most of the items were spirit talismans, but he noticed a very peculiar thing: there were many first-grade talismans here, mostly low-grade and medium-grade, with very few high-grade or top-grade ones. Second-grade talismans were even rarer, and the talismans came in all sorts of bizarre shapes and forms.

The variety was indeed considerable—it truly looked like a specialized talisman shop. Support Spirit Talismans: Cleaning Spirit Talismans, Sound Transmission Spirit Talismans, and so on. Attack Spirit Talismans: Golden Sword Spirit Talismans, Long Arrow Spirit Talismans, Fireball Spirit Talismans, and the like. Defense Spirit Talismans: Earth Shield Spirit Talismans, Vajra Barrier Spirit Talismans, and so forth.

Oh!

Lu Wanyuan's eyes lit up as he spotted a box labeled "Introduction to Spirit Talisman Crafting," priced at 200 Spirit Stones. It appeared to be a book, and one specifically for crafting spirit talismans.

Nearby were other similar books on talisman crafting: "Preliminary Understanding of Spirit Talismans," "True Understanding of Spirit Talisman Crafting," "Miscellaneous Matters of Spirit Talisman Crafting," "Spirit Talisman Crafting: From Beginner to Master," and so on.

He hadn't expected to find such books here.

Perhaps noticing Lu Wanyuan's surprised expression, Shopkeeper Wang quickly asked, "Little brother, have you found something puzzling?"

"Shopkeeper Wang, isn't it said that 'the method is not lightly passed, and the art is not cheaply sold'? How is it that you have so many texts on spirit talisman crafting here? It's truly baffling."

Lu Wanyuan voiced his confusion.

"Haha, I thought you were going to say something else. It's actually quite simple!"

"In the past, that was certainly the case, but now there's no need for such secrecy. The main reason is that the world's spiritual energy has grown scarce, causing many spiritual plants to stop growing—especially the higher-grade Spiritual Medicines and Spiritual Materials. Many raw materials for making spirit talismans are no longer common."

"In other words, even if you have the methods for crafting talismans, without the materials, it's all for nothing."

"Besides, for an ordinary person to become a talisman master is nearly impossible. Such endeavors can only be supported by major sects and great clans. It requires both talent and massive investment to truly become a talisman crafter."

"Smaller sects and minor clans dare not attempt it. They fear that after pouring in too many resources without success, it would cripple or even destroy their sect or family. So they'd rather spend more Spirit Stones to buy talismans outright."

"Actually, the same holds true in other fields—Alchemists and Spirit Planters are no exception."

"It's mainly because the spiritual energy in this sky has grown thinner and thinner. Unlike before, when abundant qi made Spiritual Materials and Spiritual Medicines commonplace, naturally people would keep their refining methods tightly held to maintain their advantage."

Shopkeeper Wang explained patiently.

Hearing this, Lu Wanyuan nodded, suddenly enlightened.

He had originally wanted to buy a copy to look over, but given the current situation, he certainly didn't want to waste his money like that. The main issue was that he didn't have enough Spirit Stones on hand—if he had some to spare, he would definitely purchase one to study.