Li An didn’t rush to break through. Instead, he took time to visit the sect’s trading market again.
To his surprise, no one wanted spirit rice this time.
He asked around and learned the sect had suddenly paused all missions related to the Spirit Beast Mountain Range.
Li An was puzzled. The small beast tide shouldn’t have ended yet. Was something else happening in the Spirit Beast Mountain Range?
“Senior Sister Xu is here,” someone said.
Xu Qiuhui, graceful as ever, drew many eyes as she appeared.
But this time, she was setting up a stall.
She approached Li An’s small stall and said, “You don’t need to bring me spirit rice next month. I’ll take this batch as agreed, but I’ll need to sell some things first to pay you the balance.”
Li An was surprised. Even Xu Qiuhui was short on funds?
He understood, though. As an official disciple with generous rations, her expenses were high too. The further she advanced, the pricier the tools, pills, and gear she needed.
At the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, she was likely preparing for Foundation Establishment.
That’s why she’d been buying spirit rice, talismans, and tools to catch the mysterious beast in the Spirit Beast Mountain Range, spending heavily.
But after eight months, she hadn’t caught it, wasting time and missing chances to capture common beasts.
“No need, Immortal. Last month, you gave me half a spirit stone as a deposit. With this month’s market price, these 100 pounds of spirit rice are worth just half a stone. You don’t owe me anything,” Li An said generously.
In his view, Xu Qiuhui was decent.
Xu Qiuhui didn’t argue. She was clearly stretched thin. “Alright, mind if I borrow your stall to set up?”
Li An agreed, quickly making space.
Xu Qiuhui set out her items: two damaged First Grade herbs, half a bottle of antidote pills, an old talisman brush, and dozens of talisman papers.
These were things the sect’s exchange hall wouldn’t take, useless for contribution points, so she had to sell them here.
Li An’s eyes lit up. “Immortal Xu, how much for the talisman brush and papers?”
Xu Qiuhui was surprised. “You want to buy them?”
“Yeah, I’ve studied talisman basics for half a year. I want to try it out.”
He’d come to buy a brush and papers!
He’d soon break through to the Second Layer of Qi Refining, which might cause trouble.
Showing some talisman-making talent would boost his value.
That way, many unnecessary problems would fade.
Xu Qiuhui shook her head. “Talisman-making, while the least demanding on talent or aptitude, isn’t something I’d recommend. It’s a waste of time.”
Among the hundred arts of cultivation—alchemy, crafting, talismans, arrays—talismans involved using a brush and paper to inscribe rules of the Great Path. If successful, the talisman gained specific powers.
Compared to others, talismans were the easiest for ordinary people to learn. Even with poor talent, hard practice could produce basic talismans.
The catch? Success rate!
Most people burned through piles of paper and brushes to make one or two talismans. The success rate was so low that the cost far outweighed the gain.
Unless you had exceptional talent or deep resources to practice endlessly, raising your success rate to become a proper talisman maker was tough.
Xu Qiuhui had tried it herself, but her limited talent and low success rate left her brush and papers unused.
To her, a menial like Li An, with a damaged spirit root, dreaming of being a talisman maker was foolish.
Li An said firmly, “Immortal, I want to try!”
“Alright,” Xu Qiuhui didn’t push. “This First Rank talisman brush cost me five spirit stones when I bought it. It’s half-new. With these dozens of papers, three spirit stones.”
Li An paid promptly, taking the brush and papers.
He wandered the market some more.
“Little menial, back again? Look, I got fresh Spring Essence Grass ready for you,” a middle-aged registered disciple at an herb stall said with a smile.
This disciple, Zhou Xin, was at the Third Layer of Qi Refining, a low-tier registered disciple. His herbs were poor quality, and things like Spring Essence Grass, nearly useless, were his specialty.
Since Li An started buying from him, he had a steady customer, bringing dozens of pounds each month.
“By the way, Spring Essence Grass went up. Twenty pounds now costs half a spirit stone,” Zhou Xin said casually, raising the price every so often.
Li An was an easy mark, why not squeeze him?
After some haggling, Li An left for Spirit Plant Mountain with 20 pounds of Spring Essence Grass.
…
Back at Spirit Plant Mountain, Li An locked his door.
He set out the talisman papers and brush, feeling excited.
In his past life, backed by a cultivation clan’s resources, he’d become a talisman maker despite average talent.
After reaching Core Formation, his talisman skills reached a high level.
Ordinary people needed tons of practice to boost their success rate.
Experience? He had plenty!
He picked up the brush, entered a focused state, and started making talismans.
He began with the simplest: Spirit Gathering Talisman.
A First Rank, Low Grade Talisman, it boosted spiritual qi gathering and lasted a month.
Halfway through the first, the paper was ruined.
Li An wasn’t discouraged. His talent was worse this life, and his precision with the brush was off—normal.
By the seventh sheet, he made a Spirit Gathering Talisman.
Ten sheets, one success.
For a beginner, this was impressive. Most needed 300–400 sheets for one success.
Li An wasn’t satisfied. He focused again and kept going.
The next 20 sheets saw his success rate soar: 15 failures, five successes!
This rate made him a qualified talisman master!
“Thirteen sheets left. Let’s try the Flame Talisman!”
Flame Talisman, also First Rank, Low Grade, was an attack talisman, threatening cultivators below the Third Layer of Qi Refining.
It was harder than the Spirit Gathering Talisman.
All 13 sheets were wasted, and the Flame Talisman still fell short.
“Three or five more sheets, and I’d have it…”
Li An sighed, so close.
In the end, 43 sheets yielded six Spirit Gathering Talismans.
What thrilled him most was that after making so many, he wasn’t too tired.
“The Life Seed boosts mental strength too!”
Talisman-making drained mental energy. A First Layer Qi Refining cultivator could usually manage 10 sheets before struggling. Past 15, they’d pass out.
“This suggests mental and perception-based techniques would suit me well!”
Li An saw a new path.
Mental cultivation methods were rare. In his past life, he’d only obtained one, Super Sense Technique, and just the first volume, incomplete.
For now, he’d start with that.
Putting away the papers and brush, he began practicing Super Sense Technique silently.
Super Sense Technique sharpened mental focus, heightening perception.
At the Qi Refining stage, you couldn’t develop “divine sense,” but perception showed in hearing, sight, and smell, greatly aiding combat and scouting.
Deep in the night, Li An’s mind calmed, and tiny sounds flooded his ears.
Zhang Susu’s moans from next door became crystal clear.
Though his mindset was strong, his young body wasn’t immune. The vivid details sparked a heat in his gut…
…
Two months passed in a flash.
Li An stayed on Spirit Plant Mountain, training without leaving.
One night, with the rice fields in their seedling phase and no urgent tasks, he locked his door early.
Before him sat six spirit stones.
He was at the peak of the First Layer of Qi Refining, inches from the Second.
He closed his eyes, absorbing the pure spiritual qi from the stones, pushing for the breakthrough!
…
Ten days later, Li An stepped out of his hut.
He couldn’t help but let out a long, triumphant shout.
“Ahh—”
The shout was pure exhilaration.
Zhang Susu and Wang Zilin, startled, rushed out to see.
Li An looked like a mudman, covered in black grime, but his eyes shone bright, his aura transformed.
“I broke through to the Second Layer of Qi Refining!”
Li An acted like an excited fool, overjoyed.
Zhang Susu and Wang Zilin were stunned.
Wasn’t his spirit root ruined? He was supposed to be stuck at the First Layer forever.
Even Fan Jie came down from the mountain to check Li An himself.
“Your spirit root… it’s mostly fixed?” Fan Jie was shocked, grabbing Li An’s shoulder. “Did you get a Second Grade Pill?!”
Li An looked confused. “No, a few days ago, I boiled a pot of Spring Essence Grass and ate it all. The stomach pain knocked me out, and when I woke up, I’d broken through…”
Fan Jie, Zhang Susu, and Wang Zilin were dumbfounded.
Spring Essence Grass could do that?
No…
Fan Jie’s eyes lit up with a thought. He rushed to Li An’s hut to check, but Li An had drunk every drop, leaving no trace.
“What did you feel when you ate the Spring Essence Grass?” Fan Jie asked urgently.
“This batch was different. The soup was white, tasted tingly, and right after eating, my stomach hurt so bad I passed out…” Li An said honestly. “Immortal, was I poisoned?”
Fan Jie’s face twisted. “Poisoned, my ass! You didn’t eat Spring Essence Grass—it was probably Prime Spring Grass!!”
“Some idiot must’ve sold you Prime Spring Grass as Spring Essence Grass… What a fool! What a waste!”
He explained the difference between Prime Spring Grass and Spring Essence Grass.
Zhang Susu and Wang Zilin were stunned.
Wang Zilin’s mind nearly exploded. This greedy Li An, always doing shady things, got this kind of dumb luck?
Was there any justice?
Any law?!
…
(Chapter End)