Three Years

After reaching the second Qi Refining layer, Xu Qingtong's magic power and divine sense improved considerably, and his talisman-making skills rose with the tide.

He could now craft mid-grade Fireball Talismans, Water Arrow Talismans, Shield Talismans, and the like with ease, achieving success rates of over eighty percent.

Xu Qingtong's daily life followed a strict routine. In the mornings, he greeted and saw off customers in the shop. In the afternoons and evenings, one primordial spirit crafted talismans while the other cultivated the True Origin Scripture. Though his cultivation progressed slowly, his knowledge steadily grew.

Xu Qingtong had specifically consulted the shopkeeper about the Five Elixirs Origin Refinement Art he practiced. Though Shopkeeper Gu's cultivation was not high, his breadth of knowledge was far beyond that of ordinary people.

After listening to Xu Qingtong's account, Shopkeeper Gu said, "This Five Elixirs Origin Refinement Art should be an Ancient Cultivation Technique. The spiritual qi of heaven and earth in ancient times was vastly different from what it is today, and human bodies have also changed greatly. This method is no longer suited to cultivation today. You can still practice it during the Qi Refining Stage, but I doubt you'll be able to achieve Foundation Establishment."

Xu Qingtong's heart sank. He had thought an Ancient Cultivation Technique would be immensely powerful, never expecting this outcome. Yet Shopkeeper Gu's next words rekindled a flicker of hope within him.

Shopkeeper Gu said, "Still, if you succeed in cultivating an Ancient Cultivation Technique, its divine abilities will be beyond anything ordinary methods can match."

Xu Qingtong asked again, "Shopkeeper, have you ever heard of anyone practicing this method?"

Shopkeeper Gu replied, "I've heard that the second disciple of Dongfang Jin, a Golden Core elder of Gloomwind Valley, also practices an Ancient Cultivation Technique and has now reached Foundation Establishment. But whether his method is the same as yours, I really don't know."

Xu Qingtong asked a few more questions about elixirs, then took his leave and returned to his room.

Ever since learning that cultivating with elixirs was much faster than absorbing spirit stones, Xu Qingtong had been contributing the spirit stones he earned from crafting talismans right back to the shop, exchanging them for Qi-Gathering Pills that could raise his cultivation.

Before he knew it, Xu Qingtong had spent three years at the Jade Spring Commerce Association. Over those three years, Shopkeeper Gu and Brother Wu Zheng had taken good care of him, gradually giving him a sense of home and easing the misgivings in his heart.

Over those three years, relying on talisman crafting and the help of Qi-Gathering Pills, Xu Qingtong broke through to the qi refining stage third layer.

During that time, he crafted over a thousand Mid-Grade Fireball Talismans and more than six hundred Mid-Grade Water Arrow Talismans.

It was not that he crafted talismans inefficiently, but that they sold poorly. Fewer than a hundred had been sold in total. The shopkeeper did not have much spare money to pay him either, so he had little motivation to keep making them.

One morning, shortly after the shop opened, a customer came in. He was around thirty, with a wooden expression that revealed nothing of his emotions.

Xu Qingtong used the Qi-Observing Art and found that the man appeared to be at roughly the fourth or fifth Qi Refining layer. The man wandered around the shop before finally stopping in front of the shelf displaying talismans.

He picked up a Mid-Grade Fireball Talisman crafted by Xu Qingtong, examined it, and asked, "How much is this Fireball Talisman?"

Hearing him, Wu Zheng hurried over eagerly and said, "Sir, you have an excellent eye! This Fireball Talisman is no ordinary talisman. It's a Mid-Grade Fireball Talisman, at least twice as powerful as a regular one. So, naturally, it costs a little more-two spirit stones each."

Xu Qingtong was somewhat stunned by Wu Zheng's quoted price.

Regular Fireball Talismans cost one spirit stone for two, yet these cost two spirit stones each. Wasn't the difference in price far too great?

What surprised him even more, however, was that the man did not bargain. He merely said, "Give me twenty Fireball Talismans, twenty Water Arrow Talismans, five Shield Talismans, and five Rejuvenation Talismans."

With that, the man took out a hundred spirit stones and placed them on the counter, put away the talismans, then turned and left.

Once the man was far away, Wu Zheng said excitedly to Xu Qingtong, "Qingtong, we finally met someone who knows quality today! He bought so many mid-grade talismans in one go. Looks like we're going to strike it rich!"

Not long afterward, a young man dressed like a wealthy gentleman came into the shop.

After making a circuit of the shop, this young gentleman also took an interest in its mid-grade talismans.

He said casually, "These talismans look rather unusual, different from the ones I normally use. Give me a few. I'll take them back and try them out."

Wu Zheng hurriedly said, "Young master, these aren't ordinary Fireball Talismans. They're mid-grade talismans, extremely powerful, and they cost much more than regular Fireball Talismans-two spirit stones each."

The young gentleman froze for a moment, then said with some displeasure, "Don't try to fool me. Since when have Fireball Talismans had a mid-grade version? I simply thought these looked unusual and wanted to study them. Besides, do I look like someone who can't afford talismans? Enough chatter. Hurry up and fetch me five Fireball Talismans and five Shield Talismans. You'll get your spirit stones."

Wu Zheng dared not delay. He quickly fetched ten talismans and handed them over. The young gentleman took out twenty spirit stones and tossed them to Wu Zheng, then left, his head bobbing from side to side.

Less than three days later, the wooden-faced man returned. He went straight to the mid-grade talismans on the shelf and, without a word, took thirty Mid-Grade Fireball Talismans and ten Shield Talismans, leaving eighty spirit stones behind before departing. Hard on his heels came a girl of sixteen or seventeen. As soon as she entered, she asked Wu Zheng, "Shop assistant, do you have those mid-grade Fireball Talismans here?"

Wu Zheng led the girl to the talisman shelf. After looking them over, she said, "I want fifty Fireball Talismans, five Shield Talismans, and five Water Arrow Talismans."

Over the next few days, people came to buy mid-grade talismans every day.

At first, no one paid much attention. Only when barely any talismans remained on the shelf did Wu Zheng realize something was amiss.

A count showed that fewer than two hundred remained. He decided to take a precaution, leaving only a dozen or so mid-grade talismans on the shelf and putting all the others away.

Just after Wu Zheng put those talismans away, the young man dressed like a wealthy gentleman returned. The moment he entered, he called out loudly, "Shop assistant, how many of those talismans I bought last time do you have left? Bring me every last one!"

Wu Zheng hurried over and said apologetically, "Young master, I'm terribly sorry. Those talismans have all sold out."

The young gentleman looked annoyed and said gloomily, "Damn it, I never expected those talismans to be so powerful. If I'd known, I would have bought them all. If you get any more, remember to save them for me."

As he spoke, he glanced at the shelf and was about to leave. But that glance revealed over a dozen talismans still sitting there, and his temper flared at once. "Aren't there still more than a dozen here? Why did you lie to me?"

Wu Zheng hastily replied, "Young master, someone has already reserved these talismans. We're holding them for another customer."

The young gentleman's eyes widened, and he said angrily, "What do you mean by that? Afraid I can't pay? I'll take all these talismans, at three spirit stones apiece. Count them up. Hurry!"

After seeing the young gentleman off, Wu Zheng was so delighted that his eyes narrowed to slits. They were on the road to riches!

Seeing Xu Qingtong still standing in the shop, he quickly grabbed a stack of Talisman Paper and handed it to him. "Stop standing around! Can't you see we're running out of talismans? Hurry back and make more!"