Fine Talismans

In the early morning, the air after the spring rain carried a faint, earthy scent.

The Market had already grown lively.

The vendors at their stalls each hawked the goods before them.

"Fresh Monster Beast Meat! Killed just yesterday! One Spirit Crystal for ten pounds, guaranteed tender and fresh!"

"Bigu Pills! An essential item for venturing deep into Land Reclamation!"

Walking over the Market's blue stone paving, Lin Chang'an took a deep breath in this environment he had long since become intimately familiar with.

"It's still better to stay here."

The unwillingness and reluctance he had felt when preparing to leave now seemed like memories from another lifetime.

This feeling was wonderful.

Yet the sight of Lin Chang'an's bloodshot eyes made many familiar faces secretly shake their heads. Would this not be their future as well?

The cultivators he met along the way either brushed past him as strangers or smiled and cupped their hands in greeting, respectfully calling one another Fellow Daoist.

Although he had lived here for twenty years already, his changed state of mind made the smile on Lin Chang'an's face a little brighter.

"Many people here are doing worse than I am."

Yet when he saw those numb expressions, he thought of how their high spirits upon first entering the Cultivation World had turned into numbness after being battered by reality.

The unwillingness in their hearts drove them to grit their teeth and persevere.

Those familiar numb expressions gradually dispelled Lin Chang'an's excitement. He sighed inwardly. Had he not once been the same?

"The Cultivation World changes like wind and clouds. I still have a long road ahead."

Beneath the morning light, Lin Chang'an strode forward with firm steps, forming a sharp contrast with the hurried, numb figures on either side of the street.

Luo, the meat-selling cultivator, watched Lin Chang'an's departing back and scratched his head in puzzlement.

"Why does Fellow Daoist Lin seem different somehow?"

"Ah, what else could it be? I heard Fellow Daoist Lin was planning to go to the Mortal Realm."

Upon hearing that, Fellow Daoist Luo, the meat seller, suddenly understood and sighed.

"So that's how it is."

The familiar Fellow Daoists shook their heads. They had seen this sort of thing often enough; perhaps one day, it would be their turn.

There were even quite a few cultivators who could have gone to the Mortal Realm to enjoy a comfortable life, but for the sake of leaving behind descendants with Spiritual Roots, they could only grit their teeth and endure.

Following the Market's main street, Lin Chang'an soon arrived at True Treasure Pavilion, Li Fire Palace's shop here.

"Oh, Fellow Daoist Lin, you came early today."

The familiar middle-aged Shopkeeper Miao came forward with a beaming smile.

When he saw the Talismans Lin Chang'an took out, a sincere smile appeared on Shopkeeper Miao's face.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, I told you so. Why go to the Mortal Realm when things are going well? Your Talismans are getting better and better, and the Evergreen Art is famous for building up strength before bursting forth."

"Shopkeeper Miao, your eye really is sharp."

Lin Chang'an smiled and nodded, admitting that he intended to remain.

From his early days in the demon-hunting team to becoming a Talisman Master later on, the two had dealt with each other for nearly twenty years. His talisman success rate, along with the Cinnabar and talisman paper he bought here for Talisman Drawing, meant they knew each other inside and out.

The moment Lin Chang'an brought out twenty Golden Light Talismans and eight Godly Travel Talismans, Shopkeeper Miao knew he no longer planned to go to the Mortal Realm.

Otherwise, who would head to the Mortal Realm without setting aside some savings? Once outside, finding materials for Talisman Drawing would become difficult.

"This is!?"

When he noticed the quality of one of them, disbelief flashed through Shopkeeper Miao's eyes.

"A Fine Golden Light Talisman!"

"Shopkeeper Miao, your discerning eyes are truly like lightning."

Lin Chang'an smiled and nodded. Shopkeeper Miao also came to his senses and looked at him teasingly.

"I was wondering why you seemed so spirited today, Fellow Daoist Lin. So this was the reason."

Shopkeeper Miao was genuinely happy for Lin Chang'an.

He was happy not only because he had gained another major customer, but also because an old customer he had known for twenty years had finally made a breakthrough at the threshold.

"Tut, tut. As the saying goes, among the hundred arts of cultivation, talismans, pills, artifacts, and arrays stand foremost. Talismans may seem simple, but they are easy to learn and hard to master. Fellow Daoist Lin, you have climbed another hundred-foot pole. Congratulations."

Facing Shopkeeper Miao's congratulations, Lin Chang'an nodded with a melancholy sigh.

"With a single leaf blocking my sight, I never expected to break through when my heart had turned to ashes."

His sigh came from the bottom of his heart. Thinking back on twenty years of bitter cultivation, only he knew the hardship within.

Shopkeeper Miao also nodded with emotion. Who knew how many cultivators in the world had been stopped by nothing more than a sheet of window paper, grinding away for a lifetime without ever poking through it?

"Would Fellow Daoist Lin like to exchange these for Spirit Stones or materials?"

Spirit Stones!

Hearing those words, Lin Chang'an could not help but feel moved. After twenty years of cultivation, he was finally no longer dealing in Spirit Crystals.

"Shopkeeper Miao, the usual."

"Alright. Two stacks of talisman paper and one bottle of metal-element Cinnabar."

At Shopkeeper Murong's call, two thick stacks of yellow talisman paper and a Jade Bottle were placed before him.

"These materials come to twenty Spirit Crystals in total. I'll give you thirty-four Spirit Crystals in change, plus one Spirit Stone for this Fine Golden Light Talisman."

Looking at the Spirit Stone, no larger than a baby's palm, Lin Chang'an could not help but reveal a delighted smile.

The value of a Fine Golden Light Talisman had increased fivefold, and its price had even risen from Spirit Crystals to Spirit Stones.

Shopkeeper Miao was all smiles as well.

A Talisman Master capable of producing Fine Talismans had a promising future.

With the Spirit Stone tucked against his chest, Lin Chang'an looked somewhat reluctantly at the Spirit Gathering Array within the shop. He thought that once he earned enough for the labor levy, he would have one sooner or later.

On his way back, he bought fifty pounds of Spirit Rice, ten pounds of Monster Beast Meat, and some spirit vegetables. Though he cultivated bitterly, he had never mistreated himself when it came to food and drink.

This was not merely to satisfy his appetite, but for the sake of his cultivation.

Back home, Lin Chang'an looked at the filled rice jar, the steamed Spirit Rice on the table, and the pot brimming with Spirit Meat. Its fragrance filled the air, and he could not help but smile.

"If I could eat Spirit Meat every day, would I still need to wait twenty years?"

It was true that his aptitude was poor, but remaining at the Qi Refining Third Layer after twenty years was no longer merely a matter of poor aptitude. It was because he was poor!

This was also the reality for countless cultivators. They might appear to have cultivated for twenty years, but most of that time was wasted struggling to make a living, delaying their cultivation.

With his little days finally showing promise, Lin Chang'an contentedly picked up his chopsticks and swept through the food before him like a whirlwind scattering clouds.

Eating Monster Beast Meat by the potful was a luxury he had rarely indulged in, even in the past.

Not only did the meal leave his mouth gleaming with oil, but Lin Chang'an could clearly feel the food within him nourishing his body.

When he thought of the great Foundation Establishment clans, where even those with ordinary Low-grade Spiritual Roots could easily cultivate to the Qi Refining Mid-Stage, Lin Chang'an could not help but sigh.

"Sure enough, no matter which world it is, what some people pursue their entire lives is something others are born with."

Spirit Rice every day and Spirit Meat at every meal—so long as he cultivated diligently, reaching the Qi Refining Fourth Layer would not be a problem.

"Once I earn Spirit Stones, not only will I eat meat every day, I'll buy a Storage Bag too."

Thinking of the days to come, with meat at every meal and a Storage Bag storing items at the flick of a finger, filled him with drive.