Settling the Score

Wang Daoyuan hadn't intended to get involved. It wasn't that he didn't care about the family's interests; it was simply that it wasn't his responsibility. Stepping in without being asked would be like slapping his fourth uncle in the face.

Now that Ninth Uncle had asked him to step in, there was no problem. Given Wang Daoyuan's talent, without the family, he would probably still be an ordinary person, never knowing about his Spirit Pearl Space in his lifetime.

In his previous life, he had no family, only a master. In this life, he had parents and such a large family. Wang Daoyuan's feelings for the family ran deeper than most people's.

To protect the family's interests, why should he care about personal gains or losses?

After some thought, he transmitted his voice to Ninth Uncle, saying, "It's only right to solve problems for the family, but this matter is a bit tricky.

Three Tier Two Low-Grade Offensive Talismans, one Tier Two Low-Grade Defensive Talisman, and one Tier Two Mid-Grade Escape Talisman. They can be exchanged with family contributions or Spirit Stones.

As long as you agree, I guarantee I can handle this."

Wang Zhide pondered for a moment and agreed.

As a Tier Two Low-Grade Talisman Master, he could craft Tier Two Low-Grade Talismans himself. Tier Two Mid-Grade Talismans required exchange from the family's treasure vault.

He was an elder; approving a talisman was no big deal. These items were nothing compared to his grandson's future. These talismans weren't given for free, and he wouldn't suffer any losses or bring any harm to the family.

Wang Daoyuan also had his own considerations. Stepping forward would cost him nothing, at most earning the resentment of the Liang family's prodigal son. But as long as he was in the Wang family, the Liang family would resent him anyway, so he didn't mind accumulating a bit more enmity.

With no cost, he could exchange for several Tier Two Talismans. For Qi Refining cultivators, these were powerful trump cards. Observing Tier Two Talismans would also greatly benefit his own Talisman Crafting skills.

Tier Two Talismans weren't common items; even Tier Two talisman paper was difficult to obtain. Furthermore, Wang Zhide's success rate for refining Tier Two Low-Grade Talismans wasn't high, only thirty percent, barely meeting the minimum standard for a Tier Two Low-Grade Talisman Master.

Only a small portion of the Tier Two Low-Grade Talismans he refined were sold; most were kept in the family treasury for family disciples to exchange. And it wasn't something just anyone could exchange for; one had to be undertaking extremely dangerous or important tasks, or have made significant contributions to the family.

Now that he had this opportunity, how could Wang Daoyuan give it up?

He walked up to the prodigal son, cupped his fists, and bowed, "What can I get for you, sir? My shop just opened, and you are the first customer. I'll give you a twenty percent discount."

The prodigal son yelled, "Are your ears stuffed with donkey fur? Didn't you hear me say I wanted some spirit pills for a dog?"

Wang Daoyuan continued, "I'm foolish and didn't understand your words. Are you getting spirit pills for a person or for a dog?"

The prodigal son sneered, "Is this the level of your Pill Talisman Pavilion's greeters? You can't even understand a customer's request. Of course, I want spirit pills for a dog."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a burst of laughter, and even the prodigal son's attendants couldn't help themselves.

The prodigal son wasn't an idiot; he realized he had been insulted, and he had insulted himself. He was about to lash out, but then he remembered he was here to cause trouble for the Wang family, not to get beaten. He managed to suppress his anger.

Seeing that he wasn't backing down, Wang Daoyuan continued, "Please forgive me, sir. Since you're getting spirit pills for a dog, and this canine customer entered the Pill Talisman Pavilion first, it is the first customer. Naturally, I'll do business with this canine customer first. Please wait, sir."

The prodigal son angrily said, "Are you mocking me? What business can a dog do? My needs are the dog's needs. Hurry up and get the spirit pills."

Wang Daoyuan saw that he was starting to lose his temper and said with a smile, "I am foolish. How can your needs be the dog's needs? Do you have some relationship with this dog?"

Another burst of laughter erupted.

The prodigal son completely lost control. He drew a magic artifact longsword and was about to attack Wang Daoyuan.

How could Wang Zhide stand by and watch? He released his Qi Refining Peak aura. The prodigal son was only at Qi Refining Layer Two. Wang Daoyuan could have slapped him away. How could he withstand Wang Zhide's aura?

The prodigal son's attack was interrupted, and he staggered, nearly falling. Fortunately, an attendant caught him.

Wang Zhide berated him, "If you are here to buy something, sir, we will naturally treat you well. But if you intend to fight here, the Netherworld Sect's law enforcement team is not just for show."

Although the Liang family ancestor was a Netherworld Sect elder, he was only barely among the upper echelons of the Netherworld Sect. There were plenty of people within the Netherworld Sect who didn't respect him.

Qingli Market was an important source of income for the Netherworld Sect. If this prodigal son dared to openly violate the rule of no fighting in the market, even the Liang family ancestor would have a hard time protecting him. Moreover, he was just a prodigal son; the Liang family would not pay any price for him.

The prodigal son realized that if he had attacked, he might have lost his life. He turned pale and broke out in a cold sweat.

Wang Daoyuan continued, "My shop is a small business. The only suitable item for a canine customer is the Spirit Nurturing Pill. How many do you need?"

The prodigal son was so scared he couldn't speak. The attendant beside him replied, "Twenty pieces will suffice."

Wang Daoyuan took twenty Spirit Nurturing Pills and said, "Spirit Nurturing Pills are two for one Spirit Stone, totaling ten Spirit Stones. With the twenty percent discount, it's eight Spirit Stones."

The attendant paid the Spirit Stones, helped the prodigal son, and led the dog away in a hurry.

Wang Daoyuan added, "Please come again next time, sir."

The group quickened their pace as they left.

Wang Daoyuan cupped his hands towards Wang Zhide and Wang Zhihe, "Ninth Uncle, Tenth Uncle, your grandson will take his leave."

With that, he turned and walked towards the cave dwelling in the backyard.

Wang Zhihe sighed, "It's a pity that Daoyuan's aptitude isn't good. Otherwise, he would definitely be an excellent candidate for the patriarch."

Wang Zhide sighed as well, "It truly is a pity. This child's talent for Talisman Crafting is far superior to mine, and he has deep feelings for the family. With today's cleverness, combined with his social skills, which far surpass Daocheng's, he could be a shopkeeper after some experience. If he could reach Foundation Establishment, he would indeed be the best candidate for patriarch.

Alas, life is full of regrets, and not everything goes as one wishes."

At this time, Wang Daoyuan had already returned to his cave dwelling to complete his monthly Talisman Crafting task.

The family's mission required a forty percent success rate. His success rate for crafting Tier One Mid-Grade Talismans had reached sixty percent, which was top-tier among Tier One Mid-Grade Talisman Masters. This was even with an inferior talisman brush.

Now, with the Tier One High-Grade Talisman Brush provided by the shop, it was conservatively estimated that his success rate for crafting Tier One Low-Grade Talismans could reach seventy percent.

After a brief preparation, Wang Daoyuan began to enter seclusion to draw talismans. The Tier One High-Grade Talisman Brush was indeed incomparable to the inferior talisman brush.

When using the inferior talisman brush to draw runes, a large portion of spiritual energy was lost through the brush. There were even instances of spiritual energy supply interruption, directly leading to the talisman being scrapped. Moreover, injecting spiritual energy into the talisman required the control of spiritual sense. If the talisman brush had problems, it would also lead to excessive consumption of spiritual sense.

Due to the loss of spiritual energy and spiritual sense, Wang Daoyuan could only draw talismans for a maximum of one hour continuously before needing to rest. He could draw talismans for a maximum of three hours a day.

However, when using the Tier One High-Grade Talisman Brush, injecting spiritual energy into the brush felt smooth, with almost no loss of spiritual energy during its passage. There were no interruptions. He could draw talismans for five hours a day and still feel energetic.

After ten days, Wang Daoyuan had used up all three hundred sheets of talisman paper, successfully crafting two hundred and sixty talismans, achieving a success rate of over eighty percent.

If any other Talisman Master saw Wang Daoyuan's crafting speed and success rate, they would likely be terrified.

Even a Tier One Mid-Grade Talisman Master, when refining Tier One Low-Grade Talismans, could only craft about twenty a day. Any more would lead to excessive Spiritual Sense consumption, affecting the success rate.

Yet, Wang Daoyuan crafted thirty a day with a success rate above eighty percent. This was something ordinary Talisman Masters couldn't even imagine.

This also benefited from Wang Daoyuan's powerful Spiritual Sense. Perhaps it was due to his reincarnation, bypassing the legendary procedures of the underworld, or perhaps it was the Spirit Pearl. Wang Daoyuan's Spiritual Sense was incredibly strong, far surpassing cultivators of the same level, and his control over spiritual energy was also superior.

With his current Qi Refining Layer Four cultivation, his Spiritual Sense was already comparable to that of an ordinary Qi Refining Layer Seven cultivator.