After the transaction, Shopkeeper Ding warmly invited Shen Xuan and his wife to sit for a while in the Rest Room, where he personally brewed him some Spirit Tea.
"Yaoyao, see? I was right. Talisman Master Shen is a fine husband! Look, he can even make high-grade Talismans now. The good days are still ahead!"
"Thank you, Grandpa Qingtao."
After finishing his Spirit Tea, Shen Xuan spent one spirit stone on an ungraded Jade Hairpin Artifact.
The Water Phoenix Hairpin could gather faint Water Spiritual Qi, aiding cultivation.
When attacked at close range, it could automatically conjure a layer of Water Shield, offering slight protection.
Shen Xuan also asked Shopkeeper Ding to include a superior Internal Cultivation Technique as a gift.
The Jade Maiden True Scripture was a Female Internal Technique passed down by the Secular Daoist Sect. It emphasized gentle, tranquil movements and cultivation of both the inner and outer self, harmonizing the qi and blood. It had unique benefits for women's Body Cultivation and Health Preservation.
Ding Yuyao was only a mortal woman, yet Shen Xuan was willing to spend spirit stones to buy her a Magic Artifact and an Internal Cultivation Technique.
Shopkeeper Ding saw it all and nodded to himself.
He had made the right match.
A Talisman Master who could make high-grade Talismans had a bright future!
It was just that he was a little on the old side—sixty years old!
Otherwise, even among Foundation Establishment Cultivation Families, he would be a prime candidate for cultivation.
Shen Xuan didn't think that far ahead.
After chatting for a while, he left the Ding Family Shop with his young wife.
There were only five spirit stones left in his Storage Bag.
He went to the rice shop and butcher's, spending two spirit stones on twenty catties of Spirit Rice, sixty catties of Refined Rice, and ten catties of Savage Beef.
On the way home, the vendor had indeed saved a Mysterious Water Turtle for him.
This Mysterious Water Turtle was also a juvenile, but a little larger.
After haggling, Shen Xuan finally bought it for two spirit stones and five Spirit Pearls.
His savings in the Storage Bag were nearly gone, with only five Spirit Pearls remaining.
Yet Shen Xuan was brimming with confidence.
That evening,
Ding Yuyao prepared a lavish dinner.
"Thank you for all your hard work, husband! Eat a little more and build up your strength."
Ding Yuyao said with a coy smile.
Over the past ten days, with Shen Xuan's guidance, she had finally experienced the pleasures of intimacy.
After being nourished by him, she was especially energetic, eager for their daily rounds several times over.
She worried her husband's body wouldn't be able to take it, and that it might affect his cultivation.
After all, her husband was a sixty-year-old man.
"Good. You should eat some Spirit Rice and Savage Beef too. I'll teach you how to cultivate and refine your inner power."
After dinner, Shen Xuan took out the Jade Maiden True Scripture.
"Yaoyao, this is a Female Dao Technique. It can preserve your health and strengthen your body. If you break through to Xiantian, it can even extend your life."
Ding Yuyao accepted the Jade Maiden True Scripture, feeling a little melancholy.
She had no Spiritual Root and couldn't cultivate.
As a mortal living in the Market, she was nourished by spiritual energy and aged more slowly than people in the secular world.
After she turned forty, her appearance would begin to age. By then, perhaps her husband wouldn't dote on her so much.
Fortunately, her husband had such poor aptitude that he had no hope of a breakthrough in this life.
Perhaps the two of them could still walk hand in hand, grow old together, and spend their lives side by side.
After dinner, Shen Xuan went to the training room.
This time, he knew the ropes and successfully plundered the Mysterious Water Turtle's talent.
The ancient golden characters on the Mysterious Jade Talisman glimmered once again.
[Talent: Breath Concealment (8/100)] [Dao Rhyme: 3] [Breath Concealing Talisman: Proficient (42/400)]
His Breath Concealment talent had gained 5 points, his Dao Rhyme had increased by 2 points, and his Proficiency in the Breath Concealing Talisman had increased by 10 points.
Shen Xuan was overjoyed.
This was much faster than cultivating on his own.
What would he gain if the talent reached 100?
Shen Xuan was filled with motivation.
He changed his daily schedule.
Cultivation, Talisman Crafting, sleep, meals, and only then intimate time together.
There was no helping it.
His young wife, Ding Yuyao, clearly couldn't keep up with his high-frequency activities.
"Beauty is a skeleton wrapped in skin and flesh; form is emptiness, emptiness is form!"
"I mustn't lose myself in women. Cultivating my body and nourishing my nature is the true path to longevity!"
Shen Xuan silently warned himself.
Over the next ten days, he used up all one hundred and twenty sets of Breath Concealing Talisman materials.
As his Proficiency increased, he began using Premium Materials as well. The Talisman Completion Rate rose steadily, and the proportion of high-grade Talismans grew higher and higher.
A fifty-percent Talisman Completion Rate, and a twenty-five-percent high-grade rate.
Ten spirit stones' worth of materials produced sixty Talismans, fifteen of them high-grade.
Shen Xuan did some rough calculations.
Ignoring the cost of replacing his brush, he could earn five spirit stones in ten days!
Fifteen a month, one hundred and eighty a year!
Shen Xuan was startled!
He had never dared imagine earning this much before!
But he quickly came to his senses.
He absolutely couldn't get careless!
This was only gross income.
If he wanted to keep cultivating, he'd need to pour resources into it constantly.
That juvenile Mysterious Water Turtle alone was a considerable expense.
Shen Xuan repeatedly reminded himself: keeping a low profile was the way to survive.
It had been over forty years since he achieved Qi Induction.
Now over sixty, he didn't own a single Magic Artifact!
He stayed cooped up in Qinglong Bay Market, never went out, and had never fought another cultivator.
He even paid spirit stones in lieu of performing corvée labor, so there was no need to mention Secret Realm expeditions or hunting monsters in the wild.
"When it comes to combat, no one's worse than me," Shen Xuan thought to himself.
He sold the Talismans he made to the Ding Family Shop in exchange for Talisman materials and spirit stones.
Then he bought a juvenile Mysterious Water Turtle from a vendor and plundered its Breath Concealment talent.
After food and other daily expenses, he could still save seven or eight spirit stones a month.
Time flew like a white colt flashing past a crack.
Before long, half a year had passed.
Every ten days, Shen Xuan sold Talismans, bought a juvenile Mysterious Water Turtle, and plundered its Breath Concealment talent.
One day, the Mysterious Jade Talisman showed:
[Talent: Breath Concealment (98/100)] [Dao Rhyme: 36] [Breath Concealing Talisman: Proficient (396/400)]
His Proficiency in making Breath Concealing Talismans kept increasing, and both the Talisman Completion Rate and high-grade rate steadily improved.
Now, one hundred and twenty sets of Premium Materials could produce seventy Breath Concealing Talismans, twenty of them high-grade.
Shen Xuan was extremely cautious.
Every time he sold Breath Concealing Talismans, he limited the number to sixty, including ten high-grade ones.
He stored the rest.
He earned eighteen spirit stones a month.
He could have bought more juvenile Mysterious Water Turtles.
But to avoid making others suspicious, he stuck to buying one every ten days.
Even so, the neighbors on the street had given him a rather nice nickname.
Turtle Talisman Master!
Shen Xuan only smiled faintly, unbothered.
This was a special day.
Shen Xuan was unusually excited.
So he specifically dragged his young wife into an intense friendly match in broad daylight.
After a good night's sleep, he got up, bathed, changed his clothes, and washed his hands after burning incense.
He had a vague feeling that this talent plunder would be tremendously significant.
His Spiritual Root Aptitude had limited the ceiling of his cultivation.
Not only his Cultivation Realm, but his Talisman Crafting skill as well.
Now, half a year later, he was very close to becoming a Mid-grade Talisman Master.
All of it was thanks to the Mysterious Jade Talisman!
He had also saved up sixty spirit stones.
And sixty high-grade Breath Concealing Talismans.
In the past, he wouldn't have dared dream of earning money this quickly!
The Hundred Cultivation Arts—Alchemy, Arrays, Artifacts, Talismans—could all bring in spirit stones at a rapid pace once mastered.
"Unfortunately, my Cultivation Realm still hasn't improved!"
For the past six months, Shen Xuan had stuck to cultivating the Divine Treasure Canghai Technique for two hours every day, yet he still hadn't sensed an opportunity to break through.
The Mysterious Jade Talisman showed it clearly.
[Technique: Divine Treasure Canghai Technique, Proficient (200/200)] [Realm: Qi Refining Level 3: 100/100]
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