After breakfast, Shen Xuan hurried into a small room in the inner courtyard.
It was his Talisman Crafting Room.
For over forty years, his life and cultivation had been sustained entirely by his income from making talismans.
He meditated and regulated his breathing, calming his mind and adjusting his mental and physical state to their peak.
Then he sat upright with the Talisman Brush in hand, held his breath, focused his mind, and began making a Breath Concealing Talisman.
He poured the pure spiritual energy of the Divine Treasure Canghai Technique into the tip of the brush, dipped it into a little Cinnabar mixed with Mysterious Water Turtle blood, and gently traced the Breath Concealing Talisman's runes onto the Talisman Paper.
His brush glided like a dragon and serpent, flowing like clouds and water, the strokes completed in one smooth motion.
A Breath Concealing Talisman was successfully made!
Shen Xuan fell into thought.
This time, making talismans had gone much more smoothly than before.
He was a Low-grade Talisman Master, specializing in making Breath Concealing Talismans and Invisibility Talismans. His Talisman Completion Rate for both had exceeded thirty percent.
With his cultivation at Qi Refining Level 3, making each talisman took an enormous toll on his mind and spiritual energy.
A completion rate like that was already quite good.
He could only make a dozen—twelve—talismans a day.
Next,
Shen Xuan continued making Breath Concealing Talismans.
Time flowed by slowly.
An hour later, a thin sheen of sweat had appeared on Shen Xuan's forehead.
Most of his mental energy and spiritual power had been depleted. He could go no further.
He glanced at the results on the talisman table, took a deep breath, and beamed with delight.
As expected of Proficient Level Talisman Crafting!
Out of twelve sheets of Talisman Paper, he had made five talismans—one more than before!
What made him proud was that one of them had clear runes and vigorous strokes. Its quality was probably close to high-grade!
High-grade talismans cost twice as much as ordinary ones!
If I can raise my Talisman Completion Rate and make high-grade talismans, I'll earn spirit stones much faster. Then I can keep buying Monster Beasts and plundering their talents, creating a positive cycle!
Shen Xuan mused to himself, his eyes shining brightly with anticipation and hope for the future.
More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
During that time,
Shen Xuan and Ding Yuyao had been deeply affectionate. He had guided her through all sorts of unbelievable poses.
At first, Ding Yuyao had been somewhat reluctant.
Later, she grew so familiar with it that she even took the initiative herself.
It gave Shen Xuan a taste for more, and he finally experienced the benefits of having a beautiful wife at home.
Day or night, whenever he felt in the mood, the two of them could enjoy a healthy bit of exercise together.
It brought some pleasure to his otherwise dull, monotonous life of cultivation.
That day, on the Mysterious Jade Talisman:
[Breath Concealing Talisman: Proficient Level (32/400)]
Making twelve Breath Concealing Talismans a day could raise his Proficiency by only one point.
His Talisman Completion Rate had stabilized at over forty percent.
Over the past ten-odd days, he had made sixty Breath Concealing Talismans.
Ten of them were high-grade.
This made Shen Xuan very happy.
With a thirty-percent Talisman Completion Rate, he had barely been scraping by at the break-even point, with only a tiny profit.
Now, with a forty-percent completion rate and the ability to make high-grade talismans, he could earn far more spirit stones!
Of Wealth, Companions, Dharma, and Place, spirit stones, ranked first, would always be a cultivator's favorite.
"Yaoyao, get ready. We'll go to the Market shops together in a bit."
After staying cooped up for ten days, Shen Xuan had to go out.
His stock of materials for Breath Concealing Talismans had run out.
He needed to sell his Breath Concealing Talismans for spirit stones.
The household's Spirit Rice and Savage Beef had nearly run out too.
They had been exercising together a little too often over the past ten days, and their appetites had grown.
Even though he cultivated diligently every day, he was still a sixty-year-old man. His body was having a hard time keeping up, so he had to eat more to replenish his nutrition.
"Ah! Husband, am I coming too?"
"We'll go to your Ding Family's shop and have a look around."
"All right!"
Ding Yuyao's face lit up with delight.
Her husband was taking her out, and they were going to a Ding Family shop.
It made her feel that her husband valued her.
She was his lawfully wedded Main Wife!
"Wait for me, Husband!"
With that,
Ding Yuyao went into the bedroom to do her eyebrows and try out some makeup.
Not only that, she tried on several dresses and asked Shen Xuan to judge which one looked best.
"My wife is so beautiful. You'd look good in anything!"
Shen Xuan replied absentmindedly.
In his heart, the most beautiful woman was one wearing no clothes.
After taking her time for a quarter of an hour, Ding Yuyao finally came out, as cheerful as a little bird, and linked arms with Shen Xuan.
As he walked along the Market's main street again, Shen Xuan's bearing was completely different. He stood straight and looked full of spirit, no longer like a walking corpse.
"Well, look at that! Fellow Daoist Shen's out with his young wife!"
"What a match—handsome and beautiful, a union made in heaven!"
"Fellow Daoist Shen, come have a look! This Mysterious Water Turtle is just the thing to keep you vigorous in your old age and singing love songs every night!"
The neighbors running their street stalls all burst into laughter.
"Save one for me!"
Shen Xuan called out, his voice full of confidence.
Beside him, Ding Yuyao bowed her head, too embarrassed to look up.
As Shen Xuan walked along, he saw a male and female cultivator approaching.
"Fellow Daoist Zhao."
"Fellow Daoist Jiang."
Shen Xuan hurriedly stepped aside, bowed, and greeted them.
The two cultivators were a married couple. The male cultivator, Zhao Chunsheng, was at Late Qi Refining Stage, while the female cultivator, Jiang Xueqi, was at Mid Qi Refining Stage. They were both skilled fighters and often went Monster Hunting together.
Zhao Chunsheng nodded and left with his partner.
In their eyes, Shen Xuan was merely a Low-grade Talisman Master, and they had never interacted with him. They had nodded only out of neighborly courtesy.
Shen Xuan didn't mind.
Monster hunters at Late Qi Refining Stage held quite a bit of status in Qinglong Bay Market.
Shen Xuan brought Ding Yuyao to the Ding Family shop.
"Fellow Daoist Shen, you're here!" Shopkeeper Ding showed him great courtesy and personally welcomed him.
"Well? I told you the truth, didn't I, Fellow Daoist Shen?"
"Let's take care of business first!" Shen Xuan took out the Breath Concealing Talismans he had made.
Shopkeeper Ding glanced over them and smiled. "Fifty Breath Concealing Talismans. Would you like spirit stones, or Talisman Paper and Cinnabar?"
They had dealt with each other for forty years and knew one another inside out.
Shen Xuan always brought the talismans he made to Shopkeeper Ding to sell.
The shop's purchase price was a little lower than the market price.
Shen Xuan usually exchanged a small amount for spirit stones and used most of it to buy materials for making talismans. Shopkeeper Ding would also offer him a discount as appropriate.
That way, he paid only a little less, but saved a lot of time compared to setting up a stall, and avoided unnecessary trouble.
"Exchange everything for Talisman Paper and Cinnabar for Breath Concealing Talismans."
"Sure thing!"
"Make it the high-quality kind."
"No problem!"
Normally, he could have exchanged them for enough materials to make one hundred and sixty talismans. Now, he could only get enough for one hundred and twenty.
The high-quality Talisman Paper and Cinnabar cost thirty percent more than the standard grade.
"Ten bundles of Talisman Paper and one bottle of high-quality Cinnabar. Here you go, Fellow Daoist Shen!"
Shen Xuan put the materials into his Storage Bag, then took out ten high-grade Breath Concealing Talismans.
"What are these?"
A trace of disbelief flashed through Shopkeeper Ding's eyes.
"Give them a test!"
Shen Xuan was a regular customer, and Shopkeeper Ding had a keen eye. They had never tested the talismans when trading before.
This time, however, was an exception.
The shop had a special instrument for testing talisman quality: a Mirror Artifact.
As long as they placed a talisman beneath the mirror, it would flash a score.
"Ordinary talismans score sixty points. High-grade talismans need to reach ninety."
Testing the ten high-grade talismans took only a dozen breaths.
Every one of them scored above ninety.
When Shopkeeper Ding looked back at Shen Xuan, he could barely hide his delight.
"Master Shen, you're truly skilled! Don't worry, I won't shortchange you. High-grade talismans sell for twice the price."
High-grade Breath Concealing Talismans were always in high demand. They were standard gear for Monster Hunters.
"Exchange them for spirit stones."
"Sure thing!"
Four crystal-clear spirit stones went into the Storage Bag.
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