Trouble

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

Han Changming sat before the table, focusing all his attention on crafting talismans.

A stack of pale blue talismans lay on the table, while discarded talisman paper was scattered across the floor.

A moment later, Han Changming set down his talisman brush and gazed at the Water Wall Talisman before him, a faint smile appearing on his pale face.

Using the spirit water produced by the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd to create cinnabar had greatly increased his success rate in talisman crafting.

Han Changming was now a first-rank middle-grade talisman master, with a success rate of fifty percent for first-rank low-grade and middle-grade talismans, catching up to Han Changjiong.

With forty stacks of blank talisman paper every month, totaling four hundred and eighty sheets, Han Changming could craft two hundred and forty talismans. He turned in one hundred and fifty first-rank talismans each month and kept ninety for himself; over three months, he had accumulated nearly three hundred first-rank talismans.

Three hundred first-rank talismans would be a large sum of spirit stones if sold entirely.

The speed at which the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd absorbed spirit energy was far greater than that of a Spirit Gathering Stone. In just over a month, the gourd would drain the spirit energy from the Spirit Gathering Stone, and it would take more than half a month for the stone to fully replenish its energy.

Han Changming guessed it had to do with his environment; the location of the Spirit Talisman Pavilion did not have abundant spirit energy. If he were on a spirit vein, the Spirit Gathering Stone would absorb energy faster. This principle was the same as a cultivator practicing in a wasteland versus on a spirit vein.

The higher the rank of the spirit vein, the faster the Spirit Gathering Stone recovered its energy, and the more spirit water the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd could produce.

Because of this drawback, Han Changming adjusted his cultivation schedule.

He spent the first month diligently crafting talismans, producing three months' worth—four hundred and fifty sheets—in one go, and used the remaining two months for cultivation.

During his cultivation period, he would let the Spirit Gathering Stone absorb full spirit energy, use the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd to produce spirit water to store, and either consume it for cultivation or use it to refine cinnabar.

Han Changming put away his talismans and crafting tools and walked out, preparing to have breakfast.

"Thirteenth Uncle, Seventh Brother, good morning!" Han Changming greeted Han Dehai and Han Changjiong.

Han Dehai and Han Changjiong's expressions were somewhat grim, as if they had encountered some difficult problem.

"Changming, we've run into trouble. I'm afraid you'll need to craft an extra batch of first-rank middle-grade talismans," Han Dehai said with a frown, his tone heavy.

Han Changming was already capable of crafting first-rank middle-grade talismans and would turn in a portion of them each month, but the quantity was not high. He was primarily responsible for crafting first-rank low-grade talismans; he had not told Han Dehai and Han Changjiong his true level of skill.

In the eyes of Han Dehai and Han Changjiong, Han Changming's success rate for first-rank middle-grade talismans was only thirty percent, while in reality, it had reached fifty percent.

One had to realize that he had been transferred to Kuixing Market for less than a year; if his crafting level improved too quickly, it would be easy to expose the existence of the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd.

"What happened? Thirteenth Uncle, did something go wrong?" Han Changming asked urgently.

This was the first time he had seen Han Dehai look like this. Even if there were large orders, Han Changjiong and Han Dehai could help!

Han Dehai let out a long sigh and explained the ins and outs of the situation.

The manager of the Spirit Talisman Pavilion was Han Dao'an. He was nineteenth in the "Dao" generation and had always managed business for the clan. When the raw material procurement shop closed and was replaced by the Spirit Talisman Pavilion, the clan still let Han Dao'an serve as manager. Han Dao'an was under great pressure; he wanted to achieve something significant.

The Spirit Talisman Pavilion had been open for over half a year, and business had been lukewarm, though they had accumulated a batch of repeat customers.

A monster-hunting squad frequently purchased first-rank talismans at the Spirit Talisman Pavilion. To retain this repeat customer, Han Dao'an had offered them some discounts.

Last night, the captain of the monster-hunting squad, Chen Feng, invited Han Dao'an to a teahouse to chat. Since it was a regular customer, Han Dao'an naturally agreed.

Chen Feng intended to pre-order a batch of three hundred first-rank high-grade talismans, a deal worth over four thousand spirit stones. This was definitely a big business, but he wanted a discount and delivery within one month.

To be honest, one month was a bit tight, but since it was the first big deal Han Dao'an had received, he naturally wanted to secure it. After hesitating repeatedly, he agreed, with a price fifteen percent lower than the market rate.

The Spirit Talisman Pavilion had a stock of first-rank high-grade talismans, and both Han Dehai and Han Changjiong could craft them. If they crafted them with all their might, even if they couldn't complete the task, the Han Clan could purchase them from other talisman shops.

Both parties signed a contract, and Chen Feng paid a sum of spirit stones as a deposit.

When Han Dao'an returned to the Spirit Talisman Pavilion, he learned shocking news: while he was out, a customer had come to pre-order five hundred first-rank middle-grade talismans, requiring delivery within a month at a price twenty percent lower than the market rate.

When Han Dao'an was away, Han Defu was in charge of managing the Spirit Talisman Pavilion.

Han Defu was seventeenth in the "De" generation and possessed five spirit roots; he had started working early on.

Dazzled by the transaction amount of several thousand spirit stones, he agreed to everything, wrote the contract, and accepted the deposit.

Clearly, this was a trap.

The Han Clan had a stock of first-rank talismans, but the quantity was small. Han Dehai and Han Changjiong had to be busy crafting first-rank high-grade talismans, while Han Changming was responsible for crafting first-rank middle-grade talismans.

Han Dehai and Han Changjiong could not get away; the more first-rank middle-grade talismans Han Changming crafted, the smaller the Han Clan's losses would be.

After listening to Han Dehai, Han Changming's brows locked tightly.

"Thirteenth Uncle, Seventh Brother, I will try my best to craft more first-rank middle-grade talismans. I definitely won't be able to craft five hundred in a month, but I will do my best!"

Han Dehai patted Han Changming on the shoulder, encouraging him: "Just do your best, don't force yourself too much. Nineteenth Uncle and Seventeenth Brother are blaming themselves right now."

"Thirteenth Uncle, we can provide the talismans, but can that Chen Feng come up with the spirit stones? Can rogue cultivators afford that many spirit stones?"

Han Changming asked curiously. The total transaction value of the two orders added up to seven or eight thousand spirit stones, which was definitely a large sum.

"If they dared to do this, they can certainly afford it. This matter is likely the work of the Chen Clan. The Chen Clan also has a talisman shop, located right near the Spirit Talisman Pavilion," Han Dehai said with some annoyance.

The Chen Clan and the Han Clan were old enemies. The Chen Clan had greater strength; they had seven Foundation Establishment cultivators alone and controlled thirty-five islands.

To counter the Chen Clan, the Han Clan had formed a marriage alliance with another cultivation clan, the Liu Clan, to form a coalition against the Chen Clan.

The Chen Clan was also an affiliated force of the Ocean Listening Pavilion, but the difference was that the Chen Clan had a clansman who had reached Foundation Establishment within the Ocean Listening Pavilion. Because of this connection, the Han Clan had suffered many losses whenever conflicts erupted between the Chen and Han clans.

The territories of the Chen, Yang, Han, and Liu clans bordered one another. The Chen Clan was the strongest, the Liu Clan was the weakest, and the Han Clan was second to last.