Seeking Immortality In The Cultivation World

On a scorching summer day, the Plains of Nostalgia, located deep in the mountains, remained refreshingly cool as spring.

Hundreds of golden-winged birds circled above the market, their clear chirping creating a serene atmosphere, as if all worries had suddenly drifted away.

In the Qian family's old shop,

The shopkeeper Qian warmly received Lin Xiu.

Seeing this person who hadn't been seen for almost five months, he thought he had been robbed or knocked down by disciples of the Da Zhou Sect.

Sometimes when he thought about it, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

What a waste of a talented talisman cultivator. Even the Eastern family has started paying attention to him.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, I've missed you so much!"

Seeing a piece of tea foam stuck to the shopkeeper Qian's teeth, Lin Xiu raised an eyebrow.

"Hello, Shopkeeper Qian. It's been a long time. I've been busy trying to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining, so I haven't had the chance to visit."

"It's good that you're here. What brings you here this time?"

"I'm here to sell talismans. Three hundred middle-grade talismans, with a bit more emphasis on attack types. Take a look!"

In the past, he would usually make talismans with half of them being for attack and defense each, and the price would be the average.

The shopkeeper Qian immediately lowered his head to check,

Then he smiled and said, "Not bad. Brother Lin's talisman-making skills are the best among all the middle-grade talisman masters. How about we count one hundred and twenty pieces of various protective talismans as ten pieces each, and one hundred and eighty pieces of various attack talismans as nine pieces each?"

At this time, the price of talismans on the market had dropped, basically maintaining at twelve low-grade spirit stones per piece. Lin Xiu had already estimated the price the other party might offer, so he nodded.

Nearly twenty-eight middle-grade spirit stones were neatly placed on the counter, but Lin Xiu didn't reach out to take them.

The shopkeeper Qian smiled, "Do you need to purchase materials? How much?"

"Well, recently I've had some insights and seem to have a bit of confidence in refining high-grade talismans. I plan to buy some high-grade materials to try it out!"

"Oh!"

The shopkeeper Qian immediately came out from behind the counter, pulled Lin Xiu to sit beside him,

"Zhang Zhen, bring tea, bring spirit tea!"

The waiter who had first dealt with Lin Xiu had already rushed into the back room and soon brought the spirit tea.

"Is what Brother Lin said true? Don't tease me, first taste this tea."

While pouring tea for Lin Xiu, the shopkeeper Qian grinned.

"Shopkeeper, we are all cultivators. I believe you have also experienced this kind of insight. It's mysterious and hard to explain. How can we verify its authenticity without trying?"

Lin Xiu took a sip and found that the tea was really good. It was probably worth one high-grade spirit stone per liang.

Hearing this, the shopkeeper Qian felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

If I had this kind of insight, could I still be squatting here?

But the smile on his face became even brighter.

"Since Brother Lin has such confidence, I won't be stingy. I'll offer you the cost price for the materials of the high-grade talismans. How about that?"

Lin Xiu looked at the unmoving spirit stones on the counter and hesitated.

"Thank you, Brother Qian, but it's just that..."

Oh,

The shopkeeper Qian immediately understood.

He's short on money!

He also took a sip of tea and pondered for a moment.

"How about this, we've been friends for over twenty years. You don't need to pay for the first batch of materials. You can deduct it when you bring the finished products, how about that?"

Lin Xiu immediately stood up.

"Thank you, Brother Qian!"

Watching Lin Xiu walk out of the shop, the waiter Zhang asked, "Shopkeeper Qian, we have two hundred copies in stock, worth forty middle-grade spirit stones. Are you just letting him take them for free? What if he doesn't come back, or if he's killed..."

The shopkeeper Qian squinted at him and smiled.

"Nowadays, high-grade talisman masters in the market choose to trade at the Treasure Pavilion, not because the prices we offer are not high enough, but because they receive special treatment there.

Our shop is small, so we can only use this to win them over. Even if he chooses to go to the Treasure Pavilion in the future, he will owe us this favor!"

He paused for a moment and looked at Xiao Er with a serious tone, "Doing business is all about relationships. Reflect on why you're still just an assistant."

In the bones of cultivators, there is a spirit of adventure.

Daring to take risks represents the potential for greater rewards.

Qian the shopkeeper is taking a gamble.

As long as Lin Xiu doesn't die and remembers this friendship, he won't be able to refuse if Lin Xiu encounters difficulties in the future.

He wandered around the shop for a while and took out a sound transmission talisman.

"Zhao Senior Brother, today..."

At this moment, a talisman master with bloodshot eyes walked in.

...

Lin Xiu had his reasons for not selling all the talismans to Qian's old shop.

Two hundred pieces of high-quality materials would only be enough for him to refine for half a month, and he would have to go out again to purchase more after that.

With the arrival of the Da Zhou Sect, the situation seemed to have returned to the days by the Pan Chang River, but it was relatively safer now.

Going out meant facing certain dangers, so it was better to stay at home where it was safe.

He went straight to the shop he had visited a month ago and traded the remaining three hundred talismans, completely emptying their stock of high-quality talisman materials!

However, this shop had less inventory than Qian's old shop, with only a hundred pieces available. After the transaction was completed, he still had more than ten medium-grade spirit stones left in his pocket.

A high-grade talisman master!

The shopkeeper who learned of this personally ran out to see him off.

Low-grade talisman masters were common, and many people could learn a thing or two.

But it took time, effort, and materials to practice, and the success rate was not high. Most people basically gave up on it and preferred to make money by doing tasks and killing demonic beasts. They could just buy talismans if needed.

There were relatively few medium-grade talisman masters, and the shopkeepers of various shops were generally polite and didn't want to cut off their supply.

The status of a high-grade talisman master was basically equivalent to that of a cultivator in the Foundation Building stage, because many high-grade talismans were needed during the Foundation Building stage.

Now, among the hundreds of thousands of cultivators in the Qian Jue Peak's four major markets, there were no more than fifty people who were high-grade talisman masters.

As for second-grade talisman masters...

They were not supposed to exist in the markets. They were all key protected individuals of various sects. Who would dare to release them and risk being robbed?

Just as Lin Xiu left, another talisman master entered the shop.

The appearance of this person startled the shopkeeper.

Not to mention his scruffy beard, his hair was a mess like a chicken's nest, and his eyes had a wild look, as if his wife had run away with someone.

"Chang Talisman Master, what's with your appearance..."

Chang Talisman Master ignored him and threw his storage bag on the table with a loud "thud".

"A hundred pieces of high-quality talisman materials. Don't tell me you've sold them all too!"

The shopkeeper was stunned.

What's happening today? Two high-grade talisman masters in a row, and they both just advanced?

The previous one was unfamiliar and unknown, but this Liu Talisman Master was his regular customer. He was a medium-grade talisman master just three months ago. How did he advance?

"Chang Talisman Master, have you advanced to a high-grade talisman master?"

Chang Talisman Master directly extended two fingers.

"Of course, a success rate of twenty-five percent. Haha, I'm going to make a fortune!"

The shopkeeper's face fell.

"Congratulations on your advancement, Chang Talisman Master. It's truly a joyous occasion! However, the small shop is out of stock too. Everything was bought up just now..."

Chang Talisman Master blinked hard and almost went up to straighten the shopkeeper's clothes. He asked fiercely, "Who? Who dares to go against me!"

But unexpectedly, the shopkeeper casually flicked his sleeve and threw the person far away. It turned out that he had the cultivation of the late Qi Refining stage.

"Fellow Daoist, please behave!"

Only then did Chang Talisman Master react and said awkwardly, "Fellow Daoist, please forgive me. Do you know when there will be more stock?"

"High-quality talisman materials are rare and not easy to make. It will be available in half a month."

Chang Talisman Master left the shop in anger, already putting the person who had swept two shops into his blacklist.

"No matter who it is, if they encounter me, I'll show them what I'm made of!"