Wealthy

Ji Yuan first sailed to the Fish Pen to sell his Spirit Fish, earning another 18 Spirit Stones.

Next, he needed to deal with these 32 Water-Repelling Talismans. Naturally, the most profitable way would be to set up his own stall in Zengtou City and open a little roadside shop.

Producing and selling them himself.

That way, he could sell them at two Spirit Stones apiece and bring in 64 Spirit Stones.

But the drawback was that it took time. Who knew how long it would take to sell 32 Water-Repelling Talismans? And at the same price, people would definitely prefer buying from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

After all, that was the big name, with quality guaranteed.

The other option was to sell them in bulk to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion or another shop. That way, he certainly would not get 64 Spirit Stones, since they had to make a profit too.

The advantage was that it saved trouble and did not delay his own time.

Ji Yuan naturally chose to sell them in bulk. He did not have that much time to sit around tending a stall.

With the time spent manning a stall, he could draw talismans and earn even more Spirit Stones.

Selling them to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion was the easiest option as well. Thus, when he arrived at this familiar place and took the 32 Water-Repelling Talismans from his Storage Bag, the Water Dragon Sect cultivator on duty gave him an extra look.

"You drew these yourself?"

"That is correct."

Ji Yuan admitted it frankly.

The Water Dragon Sect cultivator on duty flipped through them. "I haven't seen you before. You must have only just started learning, yet you have such a success rate and this level of quality. You have talent."

"When the Water Dragon Sect holds its selection next year, remember to try out through the Talisman Way branch. You might even become our junior brother."

At those words, several cultivators on duty nearby turned to look as well.

Ji Yuan had not expected such a turn of events. Just as he was about to modestly say that he was undeserving of the praise, a familiar laugh sounded behind him.

"I wonder what outstanding talent has emerged from our Zengtou City, to receive such lavish praise from Senior Brother Liu?"

The newcomer was... Wu Yan. Ji Yuan could not help thinking that Zengtou City was truly small; he could run into him even here.

Just as he was considering how to brush him off, he heard a light, cheerful call again. "Ji Yuan!"

Lu Wan had come too.

With things having reached this point, he had no choice but to turn around. He cupped his hands toward the two of them and smiled. "Greetings, Sister Lu. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Wu."

"It's you!"

Once Wu Yan saw Ji Yuan clearly, the smile on his face froze.

It could not be helped. Ji Yuan had left far too deep an impression on him last time... not because of the Spirit Awakening matter, but because of that "little brother" business.

However, after thinking it over carefully afterward, he had understood.

Ji Yuan probably truly had no designs on Lu Wan.

If he did, then at his age, he definitely could not have done something like that. Rather than admitting he was Lu Wan's little brother, he would likely have been impatient to declare himself her Dao companion.

Thus, Wu Yan realized that he had overreacted.

"It's me. I must also thank Fellow Daoist Wu for your guidance last time. Otherwise, I would still be trapped in it now." Ji Yuan smiled.

Senior Brother Liu of the Water Dragon Sect behind them also smiled. "You know each other? Don't tell me this one is another disciple Old Wu has taken in?"

Old Wu naturally referred to Wu Wenbin.

The reason Senior Brother Liu was so familiar with Wu Yan was naturally because Wu Yan joining the Water Dragon Sect was as certain as nails hammered into a board.

Lu Wan was much the same.

So, to these cultivators on duty, the two of them were not much different from junior brother and junior sister already.

Moreover, Wu Yan had a wealthy father. Getting on good terms with him in advance was naturally no bad thing for them.

"What a pity. Not yet, at least. I wonder whether Fellow Daoist Ji has any interest?"

Wu Yan looked at Ji Yuan, and a few traces of a smile appeared on his face again.

"I'm afraid Master Wu would not think much of me." Ji Yuan sighed.

In truth, he had no particular thoughts about taking a master.

With a Level 1 [Talisman Room], he did not need any master.

After all, once he took a master, there would be many more karmic ties. Besides, Ji Yuan had no intention of taking a Qi Refining cultivator as his master.

"Whether it works out or not, my father will have to take a look first. How about this? The next time Fellow Daoist Ji comes by, I'll have my father examine your aptitude."

"Then I'll thank Brother Wu."

Ji Yuan had made up his mind that he absolutely could not visit the Wu household again.

"Alright, young man. These are your Spirit Stones. Take them. If you have any more gains next time, you can bring them all to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion."

Senior Brother Liu spoke from behind him. Ji Yuan turned around and stared wide-eyed at the little mountain of Spirit Stones piled atop the counter.

He quickly came back to himself. With a casual gesture, he activated the Object Manipulation Technique and placed them into his Storage Bag.

At the same time, he counted them. There were a full 60.

For a colossal entity like the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, only taking four Spirit Stones as a handling fee was already a generous price. Thus, Ji Yuan cupped his hands toward Senior Brother Liu again.

"Thank you for looking after this junior, Senior. This junior will return and practice diligently."

After saying that, Ji Yuan spoke once more to Lu Wan and Wu Yan, then hurriedly took his leave.

Lu Wan turned to watch his departing back, staring blankly into space... The Ji Yuan from before did not seem to avoid her like this, and he did not seem to have been this strong either?

After returning that day, Lu Song had told Lu Wan that Ji Yuan had already reached the Middle Qi Refining Stage.

And today, she saw that he even possessed such talent for drawing talismans.

Wu Yan noticed this as well. He stepped forward and exchanged a few words with Senior Brother Liu. Then Senior Brother Liu took out a Water-Repelling Talisman drawn by Ji Yuan.

Wu Yan accepted it with both hands. Lu Wan also walked over and lowered her head to inspect it.

"The talisman strokes and writing are ordinary enough. It's just this success rate... Senior Brother Liu said he sold 32 Water-Repelling Talismans in one go. How many days has it even been?"

"His success rate is probably already twenty or thirty percent, and he has only just begun."

Just starting out, yet already at twenty or thirty percent. His talent might even be comparable to Lu Wan's.

After all, for ordinary cultivators just beginning to draw talismans, let alone twenty or thirty percent, being able to successfully make two or three talismans out of fifty sheets of Talisman Paper was already considered good.

Once Wu Yan realized this, a hint of pressure rose in his heart.

His gaze inadvertently swept over Lu Wan... When the time came, he feared the man would be unfeeling while the woman was willing.

Not to mention that Ji Yuan was so handsome, and his talent was rather good as well. Wasn't he precisely the sort those female cultivators liked...

Ji Yuan naturally knew nothing of their little thoughts.

Walking through the streets of Zengtou City, his entire mind was immersed in his Storage Bag.

It could not be helped. He had been poor for too long!

He had never seen so many Spirit Stones before, and he counted them over and over with meticulous care.

98!

A full 98! With two more Low-Grade Spirit Stones, he would have enough to exchange for one Middle-Grade Spirit Stone!

Now that he had so many Spirit Stones, how should he spend them?

What Ji Yuan looked forward to most was naturally continuing to upgrade his buildings. Everything he had now had come from building upgrades.

Only by continuing to upgrade the buildings could he gain even greater improvements.

But as for these buildings, it was either the [Fish Pond] or the [Pigsty]. He had enough Spirit Stones for both, but the other two requirements were difficult to obtain.

Since those two were hard to manage, should he imitate the [Talisman Room] and first get an [Alchemy Room] and an [Artifact Refining Room]?

Upgrading to Level 2 was difficult, but Level 1 should not be a problem.

But if he did that, he would have to develop steadily for quite some time again.

In a daze, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck Ji Yuan's mind, as though he had figured something out.

Hadn't he gone to such pains to upgrade buildings in order to increase his strength?

Now that he had these 98 Spirit Stones, if he wanted to break through to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement... forget that he was at least a Four-Spirit Root cultivator; even if he had a Five-Spirit Root with all five poisons complete, it would still be enough.

Since that was the case, what was he waiting for?

A bird in the hand was worth more than ten thousand birds in the forest. He would raise his cultivation first!