The price hike on the Spirit Talismans he sold on consignment was a good thing for him!
The High-grade Spring Return Talisman, which had originally sold for two spirit stones apiece, could now fetch three.
For every Spirit Talisman he sold, Shen Xuan paid him a fifteen-percent commission.
It was risk-free profit with no upfront cost!
He could make a dozen or so spirit stones a month just by making the rounds.
Where in the world could you find a deal like that?
"That's all I have."
Shen Xuan turned his Storage Bag inside out, but he had only seven or eight High-grade Spring Return Talismans.
Zhao Chunsheng was sorely disappointed.
"Don't worry, Daoist Zhao. I'll be in seclusion these next few days, focusing on making Spring Return Talismans. I'll earn a pile of spirit stones first!"
Shen Xuan had already planned to devote himself to practicing the Spring Return Talisman for a while and raise his crafting skill to the Mastery Stage.
The Spring Return Talisman had a wider range of applications than the Water Control Talisman, so he didn't have to worry about finding buyers.
Besides, he could use it himself.
Though he had stolen the Self-Healing talent,
it was troublesome to improve, and it was still only at the Proficient Stage.
Using Spring Return Talismans as well would surely make his healing and recovery more effective.
"But Daoist Zhao, are those Monster Hunters reliable?"
Shen Xuan was a little concerned.
Zhao Chunsheng wasn't a Talisman Master.
If he suddenly started selling large numbers of Water Law Spring Return Talismans,
anyone who cared to investigate could trace them back to Shen Xuan.
"Of course!"
Zhao Chunsheng didn't think much of it.
"Besides, what's so strange about you being able to make High-grade Spring Return Talismans? You're far too cautious!"
Among the Hundred Cultivation Arts, Talisman Crafting was somewhat easier than Alchemy, array formation, or Artifact Refining.
Talisman Crafting had the lowest barrier to entry among the six basic cultivation arts.
But that didn't mean it was easy.
Almost every cultivator knew one or two Talisman Crafting techniques.
Yet precious few could become Talisman Masters.
Most Rogue Cultivators who reached Late Qi Refining had at least one skill to their name.
Shen Xuan had spent more than forty years focusing on Talisman Crafting in Qinglong Bay Market.
After advancing to Mid-grade Talisman Master, it was perfectly reasonable for him to produce High-grade Spring Return Talismans in large quantities.
In the Cultivation World, many cultivators accumulated experience for years, then suddenly had an epiphany and made rapid progress in their skills.
In Zhao Chunsheng's eyes, Shen Xuan had simply spent too long stuck in the Early Qi Refining Stage. It had made him overly cautious.
"Still, be careful, Daoist Zhao. Same arrangement as before: I'll give you a fifteen-percent commission."
Shen Xuan thought it over, then reminded Zhao Chunsheng.
Even after paying Zhao Chunsheng his commission, the High-grade Spring Return Talismans would fetch far more than if Shen Xuan sold them to the Ding Family shop.
Sure enough,
when he went to the Ding Family shop to buy materials for making Spring Return Talismans, Shopkeeper Ding gave him some bad news.
"The Cinnabar and Talisman Paper for Spring Return Talismans have gone up in price."
A bottle of Cinnabar and a hundred and twenty sheets of Talisman Paper had originally cost only thirty spirit stones.
Now the price had risen to thirty-six!
Shen Xuan's expression darkened. "Shopkeeper Ding, that's not very fair of you!"
Were they trying to squeeze a regular customer?
Shopkeeper Ding hurriedly explained, "Talisman Master Shen, please calm down! In two months, Qingyun Sect will be requisitioning cultivators for Wilderness Reclamation again."
"Spring Return Talismans are commonly used, and the prices of the materials we purchase to make them are rising too."
"Talisman Master Shen, this is a good thing! When the tide rises, all boats rise. The selling price of Spring Return Talismans is going up too! I can raise my offer for ordinary Spring Return Talismans by thirty percent, and for High-grade Spring Return Talismans by forty percent!"
Shen Xuan knew Shopkeeper Ding was trying to curry favor.
He was now a major customer of the Ding Family shop.
The shop made money both from selling him Talisman Crafting materials and from buying his Spirit Talismans!
"All right," Shen Xuan agreed.
He bought three hundred and sixty sets of Talisman Crafting materials in one go and paid a hundred and eight spirit stones. It nearly emptied his Storage Bag.
He planned to focus on Spring Return Talismans for a while, earn spirit stones, and buy other cultivation resources.
After advancing to Qi Refining Level 5, he would need to buy an offensive Magic Artifact.
He also needed to keep stealing Monster Beasts' talents to improve his Spirit Root Aptitude.
All of that took spirit stones.
When he got home,
he and Ding Yuyao first had a little two-person warm-up session.
While they'd been away, their lodgings hadn't offered enough privacy, so they hadn't been able to get physical even once.
Now, Shen Xuan gave it his all.
He showed his young wife what it meant when rain fell after a long drought!
They were thoroughly refreshed!
Afterward, Shen Xuan told his young wife he would be going into seclusion to make Talismans.
She was to guard the house and not go out.
Apart from Zhao Chunsheng, she wasn't to let anyone inside.
Over the next month, Shen Xuan did nothing but practice and make Spring Return Talismans.
He made a dozen Spring Return Talismans every day without fail.
He used up all three hundred and sixty sets of Talisman Crafting materials over the course of a month.
[Spring Return Talisman: Mastery Stage (6/400)]
After a month of hard work, he had finally raised his Spring Return Talisman skill to the Mastery Stage.
Just like the Water Control Talisman, his Talisman Completion Rate was around forty percent.
From three hundred and sixty sets of materials, he had made a hundred and thirty Spring Return Talismans, thirty of them High-grade.
"Limited by my Cultivation Realm, my Spring Return Talisman skill has reached its current ceiling."
Shen Xuan mused to himself.
At the prices Shopkeeper Ding had offered, these Spring Return Talismans could sell for two hundred and ten spirit stones.
He could earn a hundred spirit stones in a month!
His biggest expense now was the Spirit Gathering Array in the cultivation room, which cost thirty spirit stones a month to run.
Apart from that, his and his wife's lodging and meals came to only three to five spirit stones a month.
"With a monthly surplus of sixty spirit stones, I can steal another Monster Beast talent."
Shen Xuan divided the Spring Return Talismans he had made into three batches.
He set aside ten High-grade Spring Return Talismans for his own use and stored them in his Storage Bag.
He sold a hundred ordinary Spring Return Talismans to the Ding Family shop in exchange for Talisman Crafting materials and a few spirit stones.
He gave Zhao Chunsheng twenty High-grade Spring Return Talismans to sell on consignment.
At his current pace of cultivation, he would break through to Qi Refining Level 5 in another six months.
By then, his Cultivation Realm would have improved, and his Talisman Crafting skills would advance as well.
After leaving seclusion,
Shen Xuan first bathed and changed, then found his young wife, her eyes brimming with affection. They stayed up all night, putting in the work.
So farming the fields really was exhausting!
Early the next morning, he walked into the Ding Family shop.
Inside, he saw that the prices of the Spirit Pills, Talismans, Magic Artifacts, Spirit Wine, and other cultivation items had all gone up.
As he recalled it, the prices seemed to have risen more sharply than in previous years.
Could there be more to Qingyun Sect's Wilderness Reclamation this time?
Whatever happened, Shen Xuan wouldn't volunteer for the Wilderness Corvée.
Qingyun Sect had never announced how many cultivators had perished.
It was said that every Wilderness Reclamation left at least one in ten Rogue Cultivators behind in the wilderness forever.
When Shen Xuan entered, Shopkeeper Ding greeted him warmly, invited him into the VIP room, and personally brewed him some Spirit Tea.
"Tsk, as expected of Talisman Master Shen! You've already made a hundred Spring Return Talismans!"
He presented Shen Xuan with three hundred and sixty sets of Talisman Crafting materials and twelve spirit stones.
"Talisman Master Shen, why don't you have any High-grade Spring Return Talismans?"
"I was lucky enough to make a few High-grade Spring Return Talismans, so I kept them for myself," Shen Xuan replied calmly.
Shopkeeper Ding nodded in understanding and didn't bring it up again.
"Talisman Master Shen, Qingyun Sect is really sparing no expense on this Wilderness Reclamation!"
"Oh? Tell me more."
"Qingyun Sect has put up ten Foundation Establishment Pills as rewards for the ten cultivators who earn the most Wilderness Reclamation Merits!"
"Ah! Now that's a huge reward!"
A single Foundation Establishment Pill cost upwards of ten thousand spirit stones.
Foundation Establishment Pills produced by a sect were especially reliable in quality. They were priceless and nearly impossible to buy.
Even a safety-first Cowardly Path cultivator like Shen Xuan felt tempted when he heard that.
For cultivators with mediocre Spirit Root Aptitude, a Foundation Establishment Pill was essential to breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
Some cultivators even prepared two.
"Caution first. Safety above all!"
"I have the Mysterious Jade Talisman. I can cultivate steadily without taking risks!"
Shen Xuan repeatedly warned himself.
Only then did he suppress the urge to volunteer for the Wilderness Corvée.
"With such generous rewards from Qingyun Sect, there must be a reason!"
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