Chapter 25: Wealthy Again
Ji Yuan first sailed his boat to the Fish Market and sold the Spiritual Fish, earning another small profit of 18 Spirit Stones.
After that, he needed to deal with the 32 Ice Condensing Talismans.
The most profitable way, naturally, was to set up a small stall in Zengtou Market and open a grass-roots shop.
Self-produced and self-sold.
This way, he could sell them at a price of 2 Spirit Stones per talisman, yielding a total of 64 Spirit Stones.
But the downside of this method was that it would consume time. Who knew how long it would take to sell all 32 talismans?
Moreover, at the same price, others would definitely prefer to buy from Baibao Pavilion.
After all, that was a large supplier with guaranteed quality.
Another option was to sell the whole batch to Baibao Pavilion or other shops.
In that case, he definitely wouldn’t get 64 Spirit Stones since the buyer needed to make a profit as well.
The advantage was that it saved him trouble and didn’t waste his time.
Naturally, Ji Yuan chose to sell the batch directly. He didn’t have that much time to guard a stall.
With the time saved from manning the stall, he could earn even more Spirit Stones by drawing talismans.
Selling to Baibao Pavilion was also the most convenient choice, so when he arrived at the familiar place and took out the 32 Ice Condensing Talismans from his storage pouch, the Water Dragon Sect cultivator on duty gave him an extra glance.
"Did you draw these yourself?"
"Exactly."
Ji Yuan admitted straightforwardly.
The Water Dragon Sect cultivator on duty flipped through them, then commented, "I haven’t seen you before. I guess you’ve just started learning, right? To achieve this success rate and this quality, you have some talent."
"When the Water Dragon Sect holds its selection next year, remember to try the Talisman Dao division. You might just become our junior brother."
As soon as these words were spoken, the nearby cultivators all turned their heads to look.
Ji Yuan hadn’t expected such a thing. Just as he was about to modestly say, "You flatter me," he heard a familiar laugh from behind.
"Who is this rising talent in Zengtou Market that’s worthy of Senior Brother Liu’s praise?"
The newcomer… was Wu Yan. Ji Yuan couldn’t help but think how small Zengtou Market was to encounter him here again.
Just as he was thinking of a way to brush it off, another cheerful call came, "Ji Yuan!"
Lu Wan had arrived as well.
With no choice, Ji Yuan turned around, cupped his hands toward them, and smiled. "Greetings, Sister Lu, Fellow Daoist Wu."
"It’s actually you!"
Wu Yan’s smile froze when he recognized Ji Yuan.
He couldn’t help it. Ji Yuan had left too deep an impression on him last time… not because of the Initiation Ritual, but because of the whole "little brother" incident.
However, after thinking it over later, Wu Yan understood.
Ji Yuan probably had no romantic interest in Lu Wan.
If he did, at his age, he wouldn’t have pulled that stunt. Rather than claiming to be Lu Wan’s younger brother, he’d have been eager to declare himself her Dao Companion.
So Wu Yan realized he had overreacted.
"It’s me. I still have to thank you for your guidance last time, Fellow Daoist Wu. Otherwise, I’d still be stuck there," Ji Yuan said with a smile.
The Water Dragon Sect’s Senior Brother Liu also smiled and asked, "You two know each other? Don’t tell me this guy is another disciple Old Wu has taken in?"
Naturally, "Old Wu" referred to Wu Wenbin.
The reason this Senior Brother Liu was so familiar with Wu Yan was because Wu Yan joining the Water Dragon Sect was already a certainty.
The same went for Lu Wan.
So to these cultivators on duty, the two were practically already junior disciples.
Moreover, Wu Yan had a wealthy father, so befriending them early wasn’t a bad thing.
"Unfortunately, not yet. But does Fellow Daoist Ji have any intention?"
Wu Yan looked at Ji Yuan with a smile.
"I’m afraid Master Wu wouldn’t fancy me," Ji Yuan sighed.
Truthfully, he had no intention of taking a master.
With a level 1 Talisman Room, he didn’t need a master.
After all, taking a master meant entangling himself with various karmic ties, and Ji Yuan didn’t plan to become the disciple of a mere Qi Refining cultivator.
"Whether you qualify or not still depends on my father’s judgment. How about this, Fellow Daoist Ji? Next time you come by, I’ll have my father assess your talent."
"In that case, thank you, Brother Wu."
Ji Yuan made up his mind never to visit the Wu family again.
"Alright, young man. Here are your Spirit Stones, take them. If you have more in the future, feel free to bring them to Baibao Pavilion," Senior Brother Liu said from behind.
Ji Yuan turned to see a small mountain of Spirit Stones piled on the counter, leaving him momentarily stunned.
He quickly regained his senses, waved his hand, activated the Object Manipulation Technique, and stored them in his pouch.
After counting, he found a total of 60 Spirit Stones.
For a giant like Baibao Pavilion to take only a 4-stone markup, it was already considered a high price. Ji Yuan cupped his hands toward Senior Brother Liu again.
"Thank you, Senior, for your kindness. I shall return to practice diligently."
With that said, Ji Yuan bid farewell to Lu Wan and Wu Yan and quickly took his leave.
Lu Wan turned to look at his retreating figure, dazed… The Ji Yuan she once knew didn’t seem like someone who would avoid her like this. Moreover, wasn’t his strength rather lacking before?
After returning that day, Lu Song had already told her that Ji Yuan was now at mid-stage Qi Refining.
And today, seeing his talent in talisman drawing firsthand, she was even more surprised.
Wu Yan also noticed this. He approached Senior Brother Liu for a chat, and Senior Brother Liu took out one of Ji Yuan’s Ice Condensing Talismans.
Wu Yan received it with both hands, and Lu Wan leaned in to take a look as well.
"The brushwork is ordinary, but this success rate… Senior Brother Liu said he sold 32 talismans in one go. It’s only been a few days, right?"
"With that success rate, he must be hitting at least 20 or 30 percent. And he’s just a beginner."
A beginner with a 20 to 30 percent success rate… that talent might even rival Lu Wan’s.
After all, for ordinary cultivators just starting out in talisman drawing, achieving even 2 or 3 successes out of 50 attempts was already considered good.
Realizing this, Wu Yan felt a bit of pressure.
He subconsciously glanced at Lu Wan… afraid that when the time came, the lover would be heartless while the admirer stayed true.
Not to mention, Ji Yuan was rather handsome and talented—exactly the type many female cultivators admired…
Ji Yuan, of course, had no idea what they were scheming.
As he walked along the streets of Zengtou Market, his mind was entirely occupied with the contents of his storage pouch.
He couldn’t help it—he had been poor for too long!
He had never seen so many Spirit Stones before and counted them carefully several times.
Ninety-eight!
A full 98 Spirit Stones.
Just two more low-grade ones, and he could exchange them for a single mid-grade Spirit Stone!
Now that he had so many Spirit Stones, how should he spend them?
Ji Yuan naturally looked forward to upgrading his buildings again.
Everything he had now came from upgrading buildings.
Only by continuing to upgrade could he achieve greater improvements.
However, the buildings available for upgrade were either the Fish Pond or the Pigsty. While the Spirit Stones were sufficient, the other two conditions were hard to fulfill.
Since those were difficult to manage, perhaps he could follow the example of the Talisman Room and build the Pill Refining Room and the Weapon Refining Room first?
Reaching level 2 might be hard, but level 1 should be doable.
The only downside was that this would require another period of steady development.
In a flash of inspiration, Ji Yuan suddenly understood something.
Wasn’t he going through all this trouble upgrading buildings just to improve his strength?
With these 98 Spirit Stones in hand, breaking through to Qi Refining Stage 5… even for someone with Four Spiritual Roots, or even Five Mixed Roots, it would be enough!
In that case, what was he waiting for?
Better to have a bird in hand than a hundred in the forest.
Raising his cultivation level came first!