Shopkeeper Tao was the manager of a Treasure Pavilion in a Mortal city on Little Hemmu Island.
To cultivators, Foundational Talismans were not particularly useful, but they sold extremely well among Mortal martial artists.
It could be said that they were almost impossible to keep in stock!
Talisman crafting consumed Divine Sense.
Spell Power!
Yue Shuo could see this very clearly through his panel.
Cultivation also required Divine Sense.
Thus, few cultivators were willing to expend their own Divine Sense and Spell Power drawing large quantities of Foundational Talismans just for a few taels of gold.
Though they could sell for one or two taels of gold each.
That was the shop's retail price.
He could probably sell them for a similar price by setting up a stall in the black market frequented by Mortal martial artists, but that would take far too much time.
Selling normally to a shop meant supplying the shop.
That would probably bring in only sixty to seventy percent of the selling price.
Of course, there was likely still some room for negotiation in that regard.
But!
Drawing nearly twenty Foundational Talismans... and that meant successfully drawing them, only earned one Spirit Stone. The Divine Sense limit at the Spirit-Drawing Stage was ten points.
Others did not possess his ability to see Divine Sense recovery.
Besides, talisman crafting seemed to depend on talent as well.
Yellow Talisman Paper and Talisman Ink also cost money.
Once one reached Qi Refining Level One, the upper limits of Divine Sense and Spell Power would increase, and there would be more ways to earn Spirit Stones.
Therefore.
There definitely were not many cultivators focused solely on Foundational Talismans.
Yue Shuo thought it over.
He felt that earning Spirit Stones through talisman crafting would also give him a convenient excuse to spend them. After all, Gathering Spirit Grass could not be sold in large quantities.
Talisman crafting was said to require talent.
In fact, Zou Chongying and Tian Wan had already laid the groundwork for him.
It would not seem too excessive if he naturally revealed that he had a high success rate in making Foundational Talismans.
Of course, among the three types of Foundational Talismans, he would be better off specializing in one.
Yue Shuo thought of his perfected Water Condensation Talisman, as well as the Thousand Waves Formula he was currently majoring in. The Lesser Cloud-Rain Technique also leaned toward the water attribute.
At the same time, his own Water Spirit Root was indeed a little stronger.
In the future, he would present himself as having relatively high water and wood talent.
Along with better Divine Sense and comprehension.
Planting and talisman crafting.
He had talent in both.
Naturally, he still had to be mindful of how much of that talent he revealed.
After all, he was not a member of the Qin Clan and did not yet know much about them. It was best to be cautious in the beginning.
"Five days from now, deliver another batch of Foundational Talismans for me!"
Once Yue Shuo had calculated everything in his mind.
He planned to use a success rate of twenty Foundational Talismans per day. In five days, he would have one hundred, and Gu Jiu could exchange them for Spirit Stones on his behalf.
"Yes!" Gu Jiu had just answered.
Yue Shuo was about to send Gu Jiu away to get busy.
Then he thought of something and asked.
"When you went out today, was anyone still watching you?"
Gu Jiu shook his head. "No! Earlier, some stewards above were displeased by this and severely punished several people..."
"Right now, if martial servants fight among themselves, no matter the reason, both sides will be severely punished!"
Gu Jiu's answer made Yue Shuo nod thoughtfully.
The Qin Clan's way of handling things was the proper conduct of a lineage capable of lasting and developing over the long term.
If they encouraged infighting.
He would not dare remain in this place for long. Running away sooner rather than later would be best.
Yue Shuo asked again, "Have Chong Ying and Ah Wan been affected?"
Gu Jiu respectfully reported:
"Young Master Zou and Young Master Tian are the most highly regarded among the newly arrived guest disciples. They have not been affected so far!"
Yue Shuo was curious.
"You even know about that?"
Gu Jiu looked faintly ashamed.
"This servant paid too little attention to intelligence within the lineage before and failed to report to you in time, Young Master."
Back in Creek Valley, aside from completing a small amount of work.
He had devoted himself entirely to martial training.
Without his young master's instructions, he rarely went out.
Life had been too peaceful.
"This servant learned from some old friends that Young Master Zou is said to be close to advancing. A steward has already taken a liking to Young Master Zou and wishes to accept him as a disciple!"
Yue Shuo frowned slightly.
Word had gotten out?
Still, Zou Chongying and Tian Wan were not fools, and the cultivating disciples of the Qin Clan did not seem to engage in overly complicated scheming and intrigue.
The rules were quite strict.
He relaxed a little.
"It is said that Young Master Tian has been serving as a fire-tending boy under one of the lineage's guest alchemists. There are rumors that Young Master Tian may become an alchemy apprentice..."
Yue Shuo was happy for the two of them, but he also felt somewhat concerned.
"Has this information spread widely?"
Gu Jiu seemed to understand what his young master was worried about. He smiled at those words.
"Young Master, there is no need to worry. The two young masters, Zou and Tian, simply happen to have talents suited to the range favored by those two seniors."
After speaking, he thought for a moment before lowering his voice.
"Actually, if you reveal a little of your talent in planting and talisman crafting, Young Master, you may also have a chance of being noticed by the lineage's spirit plant masters and talisman masters..."
Yue Shuo paused and looked at him.
"If I reveal my talent, the lineage's spirit plant masters and talisman masters will take me as a disciple?"
Gu Jiu nodded earnestly.
"There definitely will be! Young Master, your talent is extremely good!"
Yue Shuo's expression turned strange.
He could tell that Gu Jiu thought he was worried and uneasy about no one taking a liking to him.
Actually... that did not seem so bad.
Yue Shuo considered it briefly.
With someone to guide him, perhaps it would also count as another channel for increasing his knowledge.
"Keep an eye on when someone will be at the External Affairs Pavilion and notify me promptly. Go consolidate your cultivation now!"
After sending Gu Jiu away, Yue Shuo thought for a while, then continued cultivating.
He had already completed ten cultivation sessions today.
However.
His cultivation speed had now increased.
Thus, he had noticeably more free time today than usual.
He glanced at the proficiency of the Thousand Waves Formula.
It somehow felt a little awkward.
[Thousand Waves Formula (First-Tier): 27/100 (Beginner)]
If he cultivated three more times, he could at least make it a round number.
Two hours of cultivation passed.
[Cultivation: 101.8/1000 (+3)] [Thousand Waves Formula (First-Tier): 30/100 (Beginner)]
That felt much better.
He had had no choice before, since he had too little Divine Sense. Now that his Divine Sense was somewhat more abundant, he naturally had to treat himself better.
Yue Shuo rested to recover his Divine Sense.
Then he planned to take advantage of the deep silence of the night to attempt crafting First-Grade Spirit Talismans again.
He only had two Qi-Concealing Talismans and one Invisibility Talisman.
He did not feel secure.
After all, if he wanted to go to the External Affairs Pavilion to register his planting techniques, he would need to demonstrate them with a spell. Using spells was when Qi-Concealing Talismans were depleted most quickly.
He said he had two Qi-Concealing Talismans right now.
But in truth, he only counted as having one and a half.
He needed to make one more.
That would put his mind more at ease.
And as for the effects of the Invisibility Talisman, without a spare, he did not dare waste it casually. He could only save it as a trump card.
He also needed to prepare another one.
Yet he only had six Blank Talisman Papers left.
Yue Shuo thought of how three Spirit Stones could only buy ten sheets of First-Grade Blank Talisman Paper and Talisman Ink, and fell into thought.
Should he continue grinding talisman-crafting proficiency?
He needed nearly five hundred more proficiency points to reach the next talisman-crafting rank.
That was, becoming a First-Grade High-Rank Talisman Master.
Of course, if he gained one hundred proficiency points a day, he could still raise his talisman-crafting rank before the first day of next month.
"Today is only the twenty-fourth..."
In the end, Yue Shuo decided to use Foundational Talisman Paper to grind proficiency first. He would raise his talisman-crafting rank before drawing First-Order Talismans.
"It seems that if I do it now, I only have a chance of succeeding once or twice out of ten..."
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