Chapter 21: Talisman Room Lv0
Alchemy, Formations, Talismans, Artifacts, Corpses, Puppets, Ghost Beasts, Feng Shui Divination, Physiognomy, Qi Observation…
All of these were part of the myriad arts of cultivation.
In fact, what Ji Yuan was currently doing—raising pigs and chickens—or Luo Tong’s job as a butcher, could also be considered part of the cultivation arts.
They just weren’t as renowned as alchemy, formations, talismans, or artifact crafting.
Of course, their status was lower as well, and they earned fewer spirit stones compared to those professions.
Over the past few days, Ji Yuan had come to understand that on this Cangluo Continent, the highest status belonged to formation masters.
Formations were different from other arts.
With enough resources and diligent practice, even alchemy and artifact crafting could produce results eventually.
But formations were not like that.
This field… relied purely on talent.
After learning about it, Ji Yuan felt that formations were just like mathematics from his previous life.
Other subjects might be learnable with effort, but mathematics… if you didn’t get it, you simply didn’t get it.
Formations were the same.
Rarity made something valuable.
In a place like Zengtou Market, formation masters were virtually nonexistent.
Next in status were artifact refiners and alchemists.
Both fields were extremely resource-intensive, especially artifact refining, where every failure incurred significant losses.
On the other hand, drawing talismans didn’t consume many resources.
Although it also required talent, even those with lesser talent could improve through accumulated experience.
Take Lu Wan, the original body’s friend, for example.
She was said to have high innate talent.
She started by merely looking at a few Water Ball Talismans and managed to sketch them out on her own.
Only afterward did her father go out of his way to find her a master.
After thinking it over, if Ji Yuan had to choose one path among the myriad cultivation arts…
It would undoubtedly be talisman crafting.
But he still needed to study alchemy and artifact refining.
Later on, when he needed to refine Foundation Establishment Pills or craft his life-bound artifacts, he would have to rely on himself.
Moreover, with the panel providing him with such a good starting condition, there was no reason to waste it.
As for now, he would start by drawing talismans to earn more spirit stones and improve his strength. Additionally, the future upgrades of both the Fish Pond and Pigsty would require the engraving of runes.
Learning this in advance was also paving the way for the future.
With this decision made, Ji Yuan began to plan how to upgrade the Talisman Room.
If it could be upgraded, all would go well.
If not… he’d start over.
But how exactly could he create a Talisman Room? Or more accurately, what did he need to do for the panel to recognize it as such?
After some thought, Ji Yuan took out paper and brush from the room, wrote the words “Talisman Room,” and pasted the paper on the door using rice paste.
He waited for a moment, but the panel did not respond.
‘That shouldn’t be…’
Ji Yuan flipped the paper over and changed the wording to “Talisman House,” then to “Talisman Drawing Room,” trying various names.
Finally, when he pasted the characters “Talisman Room” on the door, the panel changed.
【Talisman Room Lv0】
【Lv1 Effect: +20% success rate for first-grade talismans, +5% success rate for second-grade talismans】
【Upgrade Requirements: 10 Lower-Grade Spirit Stones, 1 copy of Introduction to Talisman Dao, Successfully draw 1 “Calming Talisman” (Not Achieved)】
It finally appeared!
Looking at the effects of the Lv1 Talisman Room, Ji Yuan had only four words in mind… simple and direct!
Unlike the Chicken Coop and Pigsty, which had various supporting effects, the Talisman Room’s effect was extremely straightforward—it increased the success rate of talisman crafting.
Moreover, it directly increased the success rate of first-grade talismans by 20%, and even second-grade talismans commonly used by Foundation Establishment cultivators gained a 5% boost.
Do it!
He had to do it!
Ten spirit stones were easy for Ji Yuan to produce. Introduction to Talisman Dao was cheap too—many places in Zengtou Market sold it for just one spirit stone per copy.
The Calming Talisman was merely a lower-grade first-grade talisman, on par with the Water Ball Talisman. It shouldn’t be too hard for him to draw… at worst, he’d just try more times.
It was still early, and having just returned from Zengtou Market, Ji Yuan headed back there again.
First, he bought a copy of Introduction to Talisman Dao.
It was inexpensive and contained introductions to various first-grade talismans commonly used by Qi Refining cultivators.
Next, he gathered the three essential materials for drawing talismans: talisman paper, talisman brush, and talisman ink.
As for talisman paper, the first-grade varieties sold in Zengtou Market mainly came in three types, ranked from low to high: Green Hemp Talisman Paper, Cloud Pattern Talisman Paper, and the superior Sharkskin Talisman Paper.
Since Ji Yuan was still a beginner, he naturally bought the cheapest Green Hemp Talisman Paper.
One spirit stone for a hundred sheets, made from ten-year-old green hemp and Black Spirit Fish blood. Each sheet could bear spiritual power twice but had the drawback of being easily flammable.
He also bought the lowest-grade Vermilion-Black Ink, suitable for basic five-element talismans.
Higher-grade talismans required corresponding attribute inks.
The ink was cheap, costing Ji Yuan only two spirit stones.
The only expensive item was the talisman brush.
No matter how you looked at it, talisman brushes were at the artifact level.
Even though Ji Yuan bought an entry-level one, it still cost him a full twenty-two spirit stones.
He had only one thought about this:
Recoup the cost! He had to recoup the cost!
No matter what, he needed to earn back these thirty spirit stones through talismans.
The talisman brush was called the “Green Bamboo Spirit-Conducting Brush,” made from fifty-year-old Mist Spirit Bamboo and engraved with spirit-gathering runes.
After purchasing all these items, Ji Yuan was left with just twenty-four spirit stones.
Still having some left, he followed Qiu Qianhai’s previous instructions and prepared a set of Itch Poison Liquid and Water Ball Talismans, costing him another five spirit stones.
Before leaving, he remembered the useful Corpse-Dissolving Water.
Since he was already here, he decided to buy that as well.
After some searching, Ji Yuan finally found House No. 9 in the northwest corner of Zengtou Market, exactly as Qiu Qianhai had described.
Aside from being at the end of the alley, there was nothing special about the house.
Ji Yuan stepped forward and knocked on the door, then took a step back and waited silently.
Before long, the door creaked open, and a middle-aged man with graying hair and mismatched eyes poked his head out.
“Who are you looking for?” The man looked Ji Yuan up and down but didn’t seem to recognize him.
“May I ask if you are Daoist Li?”
Ji Yuan cupped his hands slightly.
“No, you’ve got the wrong person.”
The man with mismatched eyes slammed the door shut.
“…Wait.”
Ji Yuan double-checked the door plaque and, after confirming he hadn’t made a mistake, knocked again.
“I already said I’m not—”
Before he could finish, Ji Yuan lowered his voice and mentioned a name.
“Qiu Qianhai.”
Cripple Li paused. “Come in.”
Although Ji Yuan wasn’t entirely sure about this man, he trusted Qiu Qianhai.
However, as soon as he entered, he caught a strange, indescribable smell—partly the fragrance of herbs, but with an underlying stench of blood.
Ji Yuan’s gaze inadvertently drifted toward the tightly shut room on the right. This Cripple Li… turned out to be an alchemist.
Cripple Li truly had a limp, hobbling as he walked.
Once inside, he even poured Ji Yuan a cup of tea.
“Where has that brat Qiu Qianhai gone?”
Ji Yuan accepted the tea with both hands but remained silent.
Cripple Li sneered, “You don’t have to tell me, I already know. He’s probably fled to another market… risking his life like that, daring to kill Liu the Leper.”
“If someone really wanted to kill him, do you think in a place like Zengtou Market, there aren’t plenty of people capable of doing it? Why would it fall to him?”
“Isn’t it all because of fear of the Qin family behind him?”
Ji Yuan placed the tea on the table and sighed. “Who isn’t afraid?”
“Alright then, if he sent you here, you must be after this, right?”
Cripple Li casually wiped his waist, and a bottle of Corpse-Dissolving Water appeared in his hand. “This little thing isn’t worth much—one spirit stone per bottle.”
Ji Yuan immediately stood up. “I’ll take four bottles.”
He handed over four spirit stones.
“Here you go.”
With four bottles of Corpse-Dissolving Water in hand, Ji Yuan finally felt a bit relieved. Yet, looking at Cripple Li, he hesitated for a moment before asking, “May I ask, Daoist, what is your relationship with Qiu Qianhai?”
“I’m his uncle.”
Cripple Li didn’t hide it and spoke casually.
Ji Yuan was a little surprised. He remembered that when Qiu Qianhai introduced him before, he had called him Cripple Li… would anyone normally call their own uncle that?
Ji Yuan didn’t know what had happened between them, nor was he curious. He simply cupped his hands and took his leave.
Just as he was about to reach the door, he heard Cripple Li speak again from behind.
“Since Qiu Qianhai trusted you enough to send you here, tell him when you see him next… tell him that Cripple Li agrees.”