"Uncle Tong! Where can I find that kind of Yellow Talisman Paper, the kind used to practice foundational talisman patterns..."
Yue Shuo carefully opened the paper package and found a neat, smooth stack of First-Grade Blank Talisman Paper inside. His heart surged with excitement.
"Yellow Talisman Paper? There isn't any here on Market Island. Have your servant go buy it on Little Hemmu Island!"
Yue Shuo froze, nearly smacking himself on the head.
He should have asked Gu Jiu earlier.
Still, without a reason, it would not have been appropriate for him to suddenly begin learning Talisman Crafting. After all, he had only been on the island for half a month.
Afterward, Yue Shuo followed Uncle Tong around Market Island.
The man explained things to them as they went.
Market Island was still sparsely populated and looked far from lively. When Zou Chongying asked about it, Uncle Tong's expression carried a trace of wistfulness.
"It wasn't like this before..."
"But at the end and beginning of each month, there's a black market and an auction. Of course, before you reach Qi Refining, Fourth Layer, you'd best not go sticking your noses where they don't belong!"
At the mention of the black market and auctions, it was not only Yue Shuo whose eyes lit up.
Zou Chongying and Tian Wan were curious as well.
Uncle Tong did not look like much, but his temperament was indeed gentle. After the two pestered him for a while, he pointed out the locations to all three of them.
He only advised the three to steer clear of those places.
"Once you reach Qi Refining Level One and take up a post, you'll have an income."
"If you need anything, go to the Qin Clan's shops. They have all kinds of First-Tier low- and mid-grade Magical Artifacts, pills, materials, and so on..."
"Our own disciples get discounts when they buy things. The higher your merit rank, the greater the discount..."
"Once you have Spirit Stones, don't rush to buy Spirit-Gathering Pills. Spirit Pills are expensive and carry Pill Poison. You'd best buy a Tier-One Low-Grade Dharma Artifact, a Spirit-Gathering Pearl, first..."
He looked at Zou Chongying again.
"The first few years are crucial. Don't be in a rush to accept patrol or expedition-type assignments..."
Then he looked at Tian Wan.
"If you want to learn Alchemy, you'd best prepare yourself mentally. It burns through money like fire through dry grass. If you can cultivate a First-Tier fire-element technique and successfully master a flame-type secret art or spell at Qi Refining Level One, you can register at the External Affairs Pavilion."
"Once you become an alchemy apprentice, the Lineage will provide a certain amount of resource support..."
Finally, he looked at Yue Shuo.
"Spirit plant masters and talisman masters are both fine choices. But a person's energy is limited. You must learn what to take and what to give up..."
Yue Shuo nodded earnestly.
After that, Uncle Tong gave the three no further chance to wander around. Instead, he offered them some more guidance on cultivation.
Then he escorted them off Market Island.
They boarded the boat.
Only then did he return to the market shop.
The cultivator customer from earlier had already left. Tong Qian looked at Qin Yan, who was sitting quietly behind the shop counter, and smiled gently.
Qin Yan did not even raise her head, nor did she ask about the three children from before.
They were merely three newly inducted guest disciples.
Whether they had any talent would only become apparent after a year or so. She had merely extended a kindness in passing.
"You're going out to sea again?"
"Mhm."
"The year is almost over. Can't you go after the new year instead?"
Qin Yan's tone was calm, yet Tong Qian's brows and eyes softened even further when he heard her. His gaze brimmed with love.
Seeing no one outside the door, he stepped closer and helped Yan-niang arrange the goods on the shelves.
He lowered his voice.
"There was an incident earlier where pirates attacked and abducted Mortals. It may be connected to that Rogue Cultivator who settled on Fire Gourd Island."
"The people on the nearby islands are all somewhat uneasy."
"Among the Qin Clan's available Qi Refining, Late Stage cultivators, I'm the only one left. I accepted the assignment and have to investigate. I'll try to return as soon as possible..."
"But your injuries..."
"It's fine. I've recuperated for half a month, and I'm almost fully recovered. If I don't move around soon, I'll rust solid."
Tong Qian struck a strongman's pose.
Qin Yan was not amused. Instead, she said with resentment filling her voice, "Can't you learn from those children? Stay on the island and learn planting, Talisman Crafting, Alchemy, something like that?"
Tong Qian smiled.
He stepped forward and gently rested his hand on Yan-niang's back.
Patting her lightly, he whispered, "I know Yan-niang worries about me, but I'm also grateful to the household head for marrying you to me..."
"The Qin Clan is now battered by wind and rain. Even if it is only for your safety, Yan-niang, I must..."
Tears suddenly welled up in Qin Yan's eyes.
Tong Qian was so startled that he hurried to comfort her. The atmosphere between them gradually warmed, until a regular customer arrived and interrupted the ambiguous mood.
The atmosphere at the shop had been interrupted.
Yet the mood among the three children on the little boat remained just as fervent.
The three discussed what they had seen on Market Island, the possible relationship between Sister Qin Yan and Uncle Tong, and the paths their future cultivation might take.
"Uncle Tong said that if you want to follow a combat path, once you reach Qi Refining Level One, you can choose the Sword-Control Formula..."
If one's talent was good enough, there might even be a chance to obtain a First-Tier flying sword Magical Artifact.
That was a flying sword!
"If I want to learn Alchemy, I have to master the Blazing Sun Art's secret art, Flame Palm, at the first layer. But how am I supposed to master that secret art?"
Tian Wan frowned deeply, utterly without a clue.
Yue Shuo, meanwhile, glanced at the technique section of the Cultivator Character Panel and looked twice at the unpracticed Blazing Sun Art.
[First-Tier Blazing Sun Art] Cultivation requirement: Fire Spirit Root Cultivation speed per layer +0.2, Alchemy efficiency +20%... At mastery, additional Alchemy efficiency +40%. Attached secret art: Flame Palm.
Unfortunately, he had not cultivated it successfully. Otherwise, he could have tried activating the secret art and then passed the experience on to Tian Wan.
Still,
His gaze lingered on the spells and secret arts that could be activated through the several techniques he had cultivated.
Spells: Evergreen Technique, Qi-Replenishing Technique, Golden Light Slash. Secret art: Thousand Waves Slash!
The Water Spirit Formula had no spells or secret arts.
Yue Shuo wondered whether he could remove that technique and replace it with the Blazing Sun Art, which came with a secret art.
He casually responded to the two children's discussion.
He planned to try it after returning.
Aside from Yue Shuo, Zou Chongying and Tian Wan had also realized that a cultivator who had only just undergone Spirit-Drawing Entry was nothing at all.
Both of them became even more enthusiastic about cultivation.
After returning to Hemu Island,
the three bade one another farewell and hurried back to their own courtyards.
Before leaving, Zou Chongying and Tian Wan each gave Yue Shuo a Grain-Repelling Pill. They ran off before he could refuse.
Yue Shuo looked at the pea-sized Grain-Repelling Pills in his hand, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Without being sealed in a jade bottle, these things would gradually lose their effectiveness. At the very least, they needed to be stored in a wooden box.
A wooden box could at least preserve them for two or three months.
This trip to Market Island had added quite a bit to his common knowledge of cultivation.
He returned to his little courtyard and summoned Gu Jiu.
He had Gu Jiu find some small wooden boxes first. Just as he was about to ask him to buy Yellow Talisman Paper and Foundational Talisman Ink from Little Hemmu Island when he had time, Yue Shuo paused.
If he wanted someone to buy things, he had to give them money.
For daily necessities, Gu Jiu could collect them directly. This was one of the Qin Clan cultivation disciples' benefits, but Yellow Talisman Paper and the like did not count as daily necessities.
Yue Shuo thought it over.
He merely had Gu Jiu ask about the prices of those items and find somewhere they could be purchased regularly.
Once he calmed down, he continued with a cultivation session.
Before cultivating, he tried deleting the Water Spirit Formula. He discovered that, with a sufficiently strong thought, even a technique he had already begun could be erased.
Next, he tried cultivating the Blazing Sun Art.
This time, he succeeded.
[Cultivation: 135/500 (+2/attempt)] [Blazing Sun Art (First-Tier): 1/100 (Beginner)]
He continued restoring the Spirit Field.
And contemplated the Lesser Cloud-Rain Technique.
During the day, he completed four cultivation sessions of the Wood Essence Art and one session of the Blazing Sun Art.
[Wood Essence Art (First-Tier): 66/100 (Beginner)]
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