After returning to Cloud Abode, Su Yun once again entered seclusion to draw talismans.
The talisman paper, spirit ink, and brush were all laid out on the table.
He settled his mind, used the Breath Concealment Art and the Spirit Concentration Talisman, dipped his brush in ink, and got back to work.
At first, his mind was fresh and his spiritual power abundant.
His strokes were steady, precise, and forceful, flowing in one smooth motion.
One, ten, fifty...
The more he drew, the faster and more practiced he became.
But drawing talismans was an exhausting business.
It required spiritual power and intense concentration, with not the slightest margin for error in controlling the brush.
After drawing seventy or eighty in a row,
Su Yun could clearly feel the spiritual energy in his mind growing faint and heavy.
A dull ache swelled between his brows, and his temples throbbed.
His spiritual power was also more than half depleted, leaving his meridians hollow and strained.
The tip of his brush began to waver, and his strokes grew sluggish.
If he kept going, he would only waste talisman paper and gain nothing.
Su Yun decisively put down his brush.
"Sure enough, drawing talismans is more mentally taxing than alchemy."
He massaged the space between his brows and muttered under his breath.
Alchemy could be done in batches, relying on the furnace fire and the reactions between medicinal ingredients; his mental energy only needed to be focused at certain stages.
But every talisman required his full attention, draining both spiritual power and mental energy.
He stopped forcing himself and rose, walking to an open space in the cultivation room.
He rummaged through his storage pouch.
Clatter.
Hundreds upon hundreds of low-grade spirit stones poured out in a clattering stream.
They covered half the room in neat rows.
White light shimmered, and spiritual energy filled the air.
In the past, his pockets had been empty, and he'd had to ration his spirit stones even while cultivating.
Now that he was sitting on a fortune, there was no need to pinch every penny.
Su Yun sat cross-legged in the middle of the pile of spirit stones and closed his eyes.
He circulated the Golden Spirit Art.
Buzz—
Golden light rose around him as a tremendous suction force burst forth.
The pure spiritual energy inside the surrounding spirit stones seemed to be caught by a powerful pull.
It became a visible torrent of white spiritual energy and surged madly into Su Yun's body.
The rate at which he converted spiritual energy was terrifying.
His spiritual power raced through his meridians like a surging river, filling them to the brim.
The sea of qi in his dantian rapidly swelled and filled.
The hollow feeling in his body quickly faded.
After just two hours,
Su Yun abruptly opened his eyes, a flash of golden light vanishing from them.
His spiritual power was full once more, his vitality restored, and his mind and body at their peak.
He stood and stretched his limbs, feeling refreshed and invigorated.
Nourished by the spiritual energy, his mental power had also been tempered and strengthened.
"Back to drawing."
Su Yun returned to the table and picked up his brush again.
And so it went.
Draw talismans, exhaust his spiritual power, meditate among the spirit stones to recover, then draw more.
The cycle repeated again and again.
Su Yun was completely immersed in the rhythm of seclusion.
Before he knew it, half a month had passed in a flash.
In all that time, he hadn't stepped outside Cloud Abode once.
His days and nights blurred together, and he never tired.
The tremendous gains came right on schedule.
Cultivation: Broke through to the eighth level of Qi Refining, just one step away from the ninth.
Cultivation art: Practiced the Golden Spirit Art to the fifth layer. He could only proceed to the sixth after breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
Techniques: The Breath Concealment Art, Golden Blade Technique, and Dark Iron Bone Tempering Art had all reached perfection.
His foundation was now rock-solid.
But the most astounding result was his talisman production.
A full two thousand first-tier talismans lay quietly in his storage pouch.
Blazing Fire, Wind Walk, Diamond Body Protection, Explosive, Water Arrow, Spirit Concentration, and Poison Repelling—seven types, with a complete assortment of each.
More than half of them were top-grade first-tier talismans.
With the Thousandfold Amplification, each talisman's power came close to that of a mid-grade second-tier talisman.
Su Yun opened his storage pouch and looked at the colorful talismans piled inside like a mountain.
His eyes flashed with excitement, and his grin refused to fade.
It was all money.
It was all gleaming white spirit stones.
Once he sold all two thousand pseudo-second-tier talismans, he'd grow rich overnight.
"Seclusion's over. It's time to sell."
A day later.
Azure Cloud Market.
The streets were still bustling, with vendors' cries rising one after another.
Su Yun disguised himself again.
This time, he transformed into an old man with graying hair and beard, a lean, clear-cut face, and a plain-colored Daoist robe.
He had the air of an immortal sage.
He headed straight for the very center of the market.
There stood the largest and most established talisman shop in all of Azure Cloud Market—the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
The Hundred Treasures Pavilion was a magnificent three-story building.
People streamed in and out of its doors. It specialized in selling and buying all kinds of talismans, magical artifacts, and high-grade materials.
Su Yun walked through the entrance.
A young attendant in blue immediately came forward to greet him, his manner respectful.
"Welcome to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, Senior. What would you like to buy?"
Su Yun lowered his voice to a hoarse, aged rasp and spoke without inflection.
"I'm not here to buy anything."
"I'm here to sell talismans."
"This old man has a batch of talismans he'd like to sell to you."
At the words "sell talismans," the attendant's eyes lit up. He immediately nodded and bowed.
"We buy them! We buy them! Please, Senior, come inside. Wait a moment, and I'll notify the proprietor right away!"
With that, the attendant hurried upstairs.
A moment later,
a middle-aged man in brocade robes came quickly downstairs. His shrewd face and sharp, businesslike eyes marked him as a merchant.
He was Zhang Jian, the proprietor of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
He sized Su Yun up and, seeing his remarkable bearing, didn't dare slight him. He cupped his hands politely.
"Greetings, Daoist. I've heard much about you."
"The attendant said you have talismans to sell. From your bearing, I take it you're a talisman master?"
Su Yun gave a slight nod, his expression unreadable.
"Something like that."
"These are the talismans I made myself. Take a look."
With a casual flip of his hand, he took out a Blazing Fire Talisman and passed it over.
Zhang Jian hurriedly received it with both hands.
The paper felt smooth to the touch, thick, and evenly inked.
He first examined it with the naked eye.
The crimson runes were neat and full, and the talisman was in excellent condition.
It was a standard top-grade first-tier Blazing Fire Talisman.
But when he gently infused it with spiritual power through his fingertip and carefully sensed the energy within,
his brows immediately furrowed, his face full of confusion.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
This was clearly a top-grade first-tier talisman, and its runes were those of a first-tier Blazing Fire Talisman.
Yet the concentration and ferocity of the spiritual power within far surpassed that of an ordinary first-tier talisman.
It even carried... the weight of a second-tier talisman.
Zhang Jian looked baffled and couldn't help asking,
"Forgive my poor discernment, Daoist."
"This talisman is certainly in top-grade condition."
"But its spiritual foundation is truly strange."
"Is there some trick to it? Why does it feel so different from an ordinary top-grade Blazing Fire Talisman?"
Su Yun replied calmly, his tone even.
"This old man's method of drawing talismans is different from others'."
"This is a first-tier Blazing Fire Talisman I improved myself."
"Its power can rival a second-tier talisman."
Zhang Jian's mind went blank.
He abruptly looked up, eyes wide as he stared at Su Yun.
A first-tier talisman with the power of a second-tier one?
What a joke!
He'd been in the talisman business for decades and had met countless talisman masters.
No matter how talented or skilled they were, at most they could make a top-grade first-tier talisman approach the threshold of the second tier.
There was absolutely no way they could make it unleash the power of a second-tier talisman!
Was this old man a fraud? Or was there something wrong with his head?
Zhang Jian suppressed his disdain and forced a smile.
"Daoist, you must be joking. First-tier is first-tier, and second-tier is second-tier. The difference is like heaven and earth. How could it be so easily improved?"
Su Yun couldn't be bothered with more talk and shut him down with a single sentence.
"If you don't believe me, test it for yourself."
Zhang Jian hesitated for a moment, then finally gritted his teeth and nodded.
"Fine! Then please come with me, Daoist!"