Wondrous Talisman Studio
Mo Wen was overjoyed! Although he didn't know how many years his Qi and Blood deadline had been pushed back, it would certainly no longer be as pressing as before!
Before his Qi and Blood declined, he could continue along his Dao Path in two ways. The first was to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm. This was the orthodox path of cultivation, and success would extend his lifespan by 120 years. The second was to continue cultivating the Sun Essence and Moon Radiance Life-Praying Technique, bringing it to the proficient level as soon as possible to gain another thirty years of life.
With his attribute panel, Mo Wen faced no bottlenecks, whether he cultivated the Azure Wood Instruction or the Sun Essence and Moon Radiance Life-Praying Technique. As long as he was willing to put in the effort, he would definitely achieve his goals!
The only uncertainty was whether he would still need the help of a Foundation Establishment Pill to establish his foundation after raising his cultivation to Qi Refining Great Perfection. Fortunately, he had the Sun Essence and Moon Radiance Life-Praying Technique as a fallback. Even if he needed a Foundation Establishment Pill when the time came, he would have plenty of time to obtain one.
From today on, I don't have to keep myself wound so tight. I can relax when the time is right!
To be honest, the past few months had been pure torment, far harder than working overtime day after day in the past! If he kept grinding like this, he was going to lose his mind!
Right, I've also made a breakthrough in the Talisman Dao. Perhaps I can try drawing some mid-grade talismans.
In Red Leaf Market, low-grade talismans were in abundant supply, and their market price wasn't high. Most fluctuated around two Spirit Stones apiece. But even the cheapest mid-grade talisman sold for more than twenty Spirit Stones. Not only that, every talisman shop had a limited supply of mid-grade talismans. If someone wanted to buy more than ten at once, sorry, they had to pay extra!
If Mo Wen could draw some mid-grade talismans, he would have no trouble selling them! Besides, it would also cut down the time he spent making talismans, leaving him better able to cultivate. At that thought, he grew even more eager to begin!
Thus, in the days that followed, apart from cultivating the Azure Wood Instruction and the Sun Essence and Moon Radiance Life-Praying Technique, Mo Wen devoted all his remaining time to drawing mid-grade talismans.
The first kind of mid-grade talisman he drew was called the Wood Armor Talisman. Once activated, it covered the user in armor formed from wood-attribute True Qi. Its defenses were extremely powerful, capable of withstanding three attacks from First-Tier Superior-Grade Law Techniques.
In fact, Mo Wen had made a breakthrough in the Talisman Dao more than a month ago. But because he didn't want to interfere with his cultivation of the Sun Essence and Moon Radiance Life-Praying Technique, he hadn't tried drawing mid-grade talismans.
On his attribute panel, he had already accumulated over a hundred proficiency points in the Talisman Dao field. By rights, he should have had a certain chance of successfully drawing a Wood Armor Talisman.
But when Mo Wen actually tried to draw one, he discovered that it was nothing of the sort. Although his understanding of the Wood Armor Talisman had long met the required standard, his practical technique still fell quite short.
Only after seven days and nearly a hundred consecutive failures did Mo Wen succeed in drawing his first Wood Armor Talisman. After that, his success rate rose rapidly until it reached ten percent, when its improvement slowed.
In the end, he used up all three hundred-odd sheets of talisman paper he had on hand and obtained only seventeen Wood Armor Talismans. A month had also passed.
Should I sell all these Wood Armor Talismans to the Wondrous Talisman Studio? Mo Wen looked at the talismans in his hands and hesitated for a moment.
He had worked with the Wondrous Talisman Studio for more than ten years, and they knew each other inside and out. Over the years, the studio had treated him well enough, selling him talisman-making materials at a ten percent discount.
But my progress in the Talisman Dao is bound to soar from now on. If the Wondrous Talisman Studio is my only sales channel, that'll be far too inconvenient!
It seems I must quickly cultivate a Cultivation Method that can alter my appearance and change my presence!
Having made up his mind, Mo Wen went straight to the Wondrous Talisman Studio.
The Wondrous Talisman Studio was an elegant two-story wooden building, made entirely from a kind of fragrant sandalwood that gave off a delicate, subtle scent.
The first floor was where customers were received. More than a hundred kinds of low-grade talismans were displayed inside, covering essentially most ordinary talismans. The second floor contained several private rooms reserved for receiving honored guests.
As soon as Mo Wen entered, a clerk welcomed him into a private room on the second floor. He had worked with the Wondrous Talisman Studio for many years and had long since become very familiar with the clerks.
Before long, the shopkeeper, Song Xuan, strolled in with his hands clasped behind his back. A young attendant carrying tea followed him.
The two were close friends, so they dispensed with formalities. They sat down, sipped tea, and chatted about market gossip.
After a while, Song Xuan turned the subject to Mo Wen.
"Old Mo, you're not getting any younger. It's time you found a dao companion who shares your feelings and carries on your bloodline with you," Song Xuan urged earnestly. He had always wanted to bring Mo Wen into the Song Household. After all, Mo Wen's abilities and character were both quite good.
"Old Song, I still want to hold on for another two years! I've cultivated bitterly my whole life. If I gave up my Dao Path just like this, I truly couldn't accept it!" Mo Wen said.
"Old Mo, you're almost at your Qi and Blood deadline, and you're still dreaming of Foundation Establishment? How many people with aptitude like ours can establish their foundation?" Song Xuan scoffed, speaking without restraint.
"So what if I have a False Spirit Root? Heaven never seals off every road. Maybe a fortuitous opportunity will come my way someday! When I become a Foundation Establishment High Person, I'll make sure you call me senior a few extra times!" Mo Wen joked.
"You old bastard, you've got some nerve. You even want to be my senior? I say you're dreaming in broad daylight!" Song Xuan said with a laugh.
"Don't be so sure! Old Song, take a look at this." Mo Wen took a stack of talismans from his Storage Bag and placed them on the table.
"These are First-Tier Mid-Grade Wood Armor Talismans!"
Song Xuan shot to his feet and looked at Mo Wen in delighted surprise. He truly hadn't expected that, after struggling for half his life, Mo Wen had actually advanced to become a mid-grade talisman master!
After all, mid-grade talisman masters were a rare sight in Red Leaf Market!
Among the craftsmen of the cultivation world, talisman masters were probably the most numerous. After all, their craft had the lowest entry threshold and required the smallest investment! Even so, most talisman masters spent their whole lives drawing talismans only to remain low-grade talisman masters in the end. This held true even within immortal sects.
Generally speaking, only cultivators of the Talisman Dao who had both talent and the careful guidance of a teacher had a chance of advancing to become mid-grade talisman masters. Red Leaf Market had more than a hundred talisman masters who made their living producing talismans, but fewer than ten of them were mid-grade.
The Wondrous Talisman Studio was a business belonging to the Song Clan of Moon-Washing Lake and had been established for more than sixty years. With the strong backing of the Song Clan and the many good relationships it had formed in the course of business, it enjoyed an excellent reputation among talisman masters.
Even so, the Wondrous Talisman Studio had connections with only three mid-grade talisman masters. Between them, those three could spare roughly a hundred mid-grade talismans for the studio each year, nowhere near enough to meet demand!
But things were different now! If Mo Wen became the Wondrous Talisman Studio's exclusive talisman master, his output alone would equal that of the other three mid-grade talisman masters combined.
That left only one question: how could he make Mo Wen the Wondrous Talisman Pavilion's exclusive talisman master?
What did Mo Wen want? Song Xuan knew better than anyone!