Money tree!

Nestled amidst verdant hills and rippling blue waters, Qi Yun and Ning Feng sat facing each other in an exquisite pavilion in the center of the lake.

The aroma of tea wafted from the stone table.

The atmosphere, however, was tense, like the tension of a business negotiation.

Ning Feng's face was full of sincerity, and his tone carried a hint of complaint. "Junior brother, a 30/70 split is really my bottom line!"

You have no idea how much money and effort I had to spend to establish connections with various markets and districts, to smooth things over with superiors and subordinates, and to maintain relationships.

And they also have to bear the risk of sales channels.

Listening to Ning Feng's incessant chatter, Qi Yun simply picked up his teacup, took a sip of the fragrant spiritual tea, and then gently placed the teacup back on the table.

It made a soft "click" sound.

"Twenty-eight." He uttered the two words calmly, yet with an undeniable air of authority.

"I'm not doing it, I'll find someone else."

Ning Feng's sincerity froze for a moment, then a hint of annoyance appeared on his face. He straightened his back and said with a touch of arrogance, "Heh heh, find someone else?"

Not to boast, but looking at the entire Inner Mansion of true cultivators, in terms of the sales line of talismans alone, from low-level to mid-level, from common to uncommon, in terms of the breadth of channels, the speed of sales, and the best prices, no one can surpass me.

If you look elsewhere, you probably won't even get this price, and you'll have to wait a long time for payment.

"Is that so?" Qi Yun raised his eyelids, glanced at Ning Feng's arrogant appearance, and chuckled, as if pouring a bucket of cold water on him.

"Then how do you know if I have any other 'good stuff' besides the Thousand Cranes Talisman?"

"You have something else?!" Ning Feng's arrogance vanished instantly, replaced by the keenness and eagerness of a businessman who had sniffed out a huge business opportunity.

He leaned forward subconsciously, his eyes fixed on Qi Yun, as if trying to read his mind.

Qi Yun calmly poured himself another cup of tea, and instead of answering directly, he steered the conversation back to. "Well, we can talk about that later."

Let's talk about the immediate situation: 28, is it feasible?

Ning Feng's eyes darted around quickly, a look of struggle on his face as he weighed the pros and cons, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the stone table.

After a silence of about three breaths, he suddenly slapped his thigh, as if he had made a great decision. "Alright! Junior brother is a straightforward person, I, Ning Feng, will consider you a friend."

I'll take a loss this time, 20/80 it is!

Seeing his expression of heartache, as if a piece of his flesh had been torn away, Qi Yun couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head, "You're just a talisman broker, buying and selling on behalf of others, it's a business with no capital investment, what's there to lose?"

Upon hearing this, Ning Feng seemed greatly insulted and curled his lip in disdain. "What you're saying is really amateurish!"

Does opening channels not require personal connections?

Shouldn't you frequently maintain these channels?

Don't waste your energy dealing with picky buyers and shops that try to drive down prices.

I also have to bear the risks of stockpiling talismans and market price fluctuations.

In the end, I'm just earning a small fee for running errands.

"Fine, if you say it's hard work, then it's hard work." Qi Yun was too lazy to argue with him any further. He first took out a bulging Storage Bag and pushed it in front of Ning Feng.

"These are the two thousand five hundred Thousand Cranes Talisman I owed you last time."

"Dian Dian, we're even now."

Ning Feng scanned the talismans with his divine sense, confirming the quantity was correct. A smile immediately appeared on his face as he quickly put them away, "All cleared! I knew I hadn't trusted my junior brother!"

Then, Qi Yun took out another Storage Bag that looked even larger and placed it on the table. "Inside are the first batch of talismans prepared for sale, and the type is somewhat special."

Please help me distribute these as soon as possible, at market price. I urgently need Sacred Yuan.

I also need to collect a portion of the payment upfront.

Ning Feng took the Storage Bag, muttering habitually, "Payment first? This—this isn't the proper procedure. Usually, payment is made after the goods are sold and payment is received—"

As he spoke, he subconsciously probed his Storage Bag with his Divine Sense.

When his Divine Sense perceived the mountain of talismans inside, far exceeding his expectations and emanating a unique, chilling aura, his muttering abruptly ceased.

The sheer quantity, and the unusual Daoist energy fluctuations it subtly exuded—

This is definitely a huge order!

The awkwardness on Ning Feng's face vanished instantly, his expression changing faster than flipping through a book. He immediately patted his chest and said decisively, "Okay! No problem!"

Rules are rules, but people are flexible!

I'll withdraw part of the payment for the goods for you now, consider it an advance payment.

He deftly took out his Sacred Yuan Token, began calculating the amount, and prepared to transfer the money, his smile almost overflowing with enthusiasm.

Clearly, the "special" talismans that Qi Yun brought out, and the stable supply of goods that they likely represent, are significant factors.

This allowed him to see long-term benefits far greater than a one-time share.

After seeing off a satisfied Ning Feng, Qi Yun returned to his quiet room, his polite demeanor quickly fading.

With a slight thought, his Divine Sense sank into the inner space of the Soul Refining Banner standing beside him.

Within that dark and gloomy ghost realm, the scene had drastically changed.

The hundred or so vengeful spirits that had previously only howled, roared, and devoured each other were now orderly divided into several groups.

At this moment, he held the specially made talisman brush, which could transmit Yin Qi, with unusual stability.

He dipped his brush into a special "spiritual ink" that shimmered with a faint blue luster and was made by mixing yin-attribute spiritual materials with soul power.

Intricate yet uniform patterns were drawn on blank sheets of paper.

These are indeed the runes of the [Mystic Yin Slashing Law Talisman]!

These vengeful spirits still had empty, venomous eyes.

However, guided by the fixed program set by Qi Yun, their movements are like the most precise machine, repeating a single and accurate talisman-drawing step.

The absence of emotions and thoughts has ironically become an advantage.

Although due to individual differences and the characteristics of their souls, they can currently only master the making of this one type of talisman, and their success rate is far lower than that of experienced talisman masters.

But the sheer number and tireless work are overwhelming.

More than two months of continuous debugging, failures, and optimizations.

This unique "talisman production line" has finally gotten on Liaozheng.

Although it's just a single product.

But at least it has broken free from the one-man, hands-on private workshop model.

We have entered the "assembly line" era.

"Efficiency is still not high enough; the quantity and quality of vengeful spirits are the bottlenecks." Qi Yun examined the production scene inside the banner, pondering in his heart.

"Once Ning Feng's first batch of payment arrives, we'll upgrade the Soul Refining Banner version further."

The limits on the number of vengeful spirits, their gestation speed, and even their spiritual control all need to be improved.

This Soul Refining Banner is now my cash cow.

"If it's maintained properly, we'll have a stable source of cultivation resources, and we won't have to worry about Sacred Yuan anymore," Qi Yun thought to himself.

Several days later.

Qi Yun's Great Void Jade Tally at his waist trembled slightly, emitting a soft glow.

Upon Divine Sense inspection, a relieved and joyful smile finally appeared on his face.

The number representing the Sacred Yuan Reserve inside the jade token has increased by several digits.

Ning Feng's first prepayment for the goods has been received.

Although it's only a portion of the total payment.

But the amount was already quite considerable, enough to solve his immediate problem.

Seeing the newly replenished numbers, Qi Yun didn't hesitate at all. He immediately used the jade token to find the internal loan from the Holy Sect that he had incurred for emergency purposes.

"A loan of 20,000 Sacred Yuan, with an interest rate of 4%, and a 90% payout ratio with a 13% return" he muttered to himself, before choosing to repay the entire amount early without hesitation.

As Sacred Yuan was transferred, the record of this loan on the jade token was instantly cleared.

Qi Yun felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.

The interest rates on the loans from the Holy Sect are shockingly high.

Overdue interest compounding can bankrupt even a true cultivator in the Inner Mansion; it's best to pay it off as soon as possible.

Having settled this debt, Qi Yun began to implement the next step of his plan: upgrading the Soul Refining Banner and expanding the scale of talisman production.

He once again immersed his Divine Sense into the Great Void Jade Tally, connecting it to the Holy Sect Inner Mansion Treasure Market.

Search for spiritual treasures from heaven and earth to enhance the Soul Refining Banner, as well as materials needed to nurture vengeful spirits.

Searching for these things outside the home often requires fortuitous opportunity and good fortune, and is time-consuming and laborious.

However, within a demonic sect like the Wuji Sacred Sect, as long as you have enough Sacred Yuan, there are almost no cultivation resources you can't buy; the only problem is the price you can't afford.

He kept buying materials from a long list, including [Hundred-Year Soul-Nourishing Wood], [Netherworld Blood Jade], [Yin -Yin Condensation Grass] essence, and [Thousand Souls Silk].

The amount of Sacred Yuan that had just been replenished plummeted as if a floodgate had been opened.

Soon, most of the advance payment Ning Feng had allocated was used up.

Correspondingly, several sealed jade boxes and pottery jars with sealing talismans were found inside Qi Yun cave abode.

Inside were various rare spiritual materials used to enhance the essence of Soul Refining Banner and accelerate the gestation and birth of vengeful spirits, as well as some "talents" containing rich death energy and resentment, which could be used to "feed" or directly refine into new vengeful spirits.

Looking at these resources acquired at great expense, Qi Yun felt no pity, only anticipation. "Now it's time for you, this [money tree], to grow even more luxuriantly."

One by one, the spiritual objects of heaven and earth that conformed to the [Soul Refining Banner] were grasped and refined by Qi Yun.

The update progress next to [Soul Refining Banner] on the Law Technique Panel also began to skyrocket.

Watching the magical items disappear from his hands one by one, Qi Yun couldn't help but sigh, "The higher the version, the more magical items are consumed, and the higher their quality. If I don't have a sustainable source of income, I'll soon be unable to afford to maintain these Law Technique alone."

Despite saying that, Qi Yun did not hesitate at all in refining spiritual objects.

Soon, the update progress of [Soul Refining Banner] was completed.

[Automatic Law Technique updates complete. This is a minor version update; Law Technique effects have been adjusted as follows.]