Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Exquisite Talisman (First Chapter Seeking Initial Subscriptions)

“I really need to learn a thunder technique. Otherwise, this isn’t farming at all—it’s just throwing money away.” The mere thought made Zhou Changwang’s scalp tingle. It was only because he was cultivating thunder spirit rice, and the quantity wasn’t large, that he could bear such expenses; if he had to plant on a larger scale, he wouldn’t do it.

“Also, I can’t stop drawing talismans. Thunder techniques are precious, and their prices are sky-high. Right now, I only have twenty-five low-grade spirit stones left, which probably aren’t enough to buy any. Plus, daily cultivation consumes spirit rice, and occasionally I need some spirit beast meat to supplement… As for my own training, the spirit pills I bought last time are nearly depleted, so I’ll have to buy more, or my cultivation speed will drop sharply… Also, raising the spirit dog requires a special diet, using spirit ingredients that aid its growth… All these aspects demand spirit stones…”

Zhou Changwang had once believed that with nearly a thousand low-grade spirit stones, he was wealthy enough not to worry about money for a while. He didn’t expect that renting a courtyard and planting a few acres of spirit fields would leave him nearly penniless again.

It wasn’t really wasteful, though. Both the courtyard and the spirit fields were essential for his cultivation. The courtyard itself wasn’t valuable, but its safety was. And the cultivation chamber was worth every coin—just a few days of training had already made a noticeable difference. The spell wall, especially, was an unparalleled tool for practicing spells; if only he had more spiritual power, he could have spent the whole day there.

The spirit fields were another source of income. He’d planted over three thousand spirit-gathering grass seeds; in three months, they would mature. Even if only thirty percent survived, that would be a thousand or so, and at one low-grade spirit stone each, that meant a thousand spirit stones—a significant sum. He couldn’t afford to give that up.

But all of it required time.

“So, for now, I can only earn money by selling talismans.” Zhou Changwang took out a handful of talismans from his robe. In the past few days, he drew about twenty thunder talismans daily; even though he used five or six each day, he still had plenty left.

“I’ll save up for a few more days, then sell them.”

He wondered about the “talisman crafting” skill—how could he improve it? He only knew that mastering a new talisman increased his crafting skill a bit. But he wasn’t sure whether mastering individual talisman skills to proficiency would also boost the overall “talisman crafting” skill.

He then walked to another corner of the backyard, where he had dug a trough and poured in all the spirit-gathering grass seeds he’d bought days ago. With seven or eight rounds of the growth acceleration spell daily, nearly every seed sprouted, and some even grew half a foot tall.

His growth acceleration spell had reached mastery, so its effects on spirit seeds were excellent. After three or four days, he tilled all five acres of spirit fields, mixing in beast manure, creating an environment rich in spiritual energy.

Finally, he decided to transplant each sprouted seed to the spirit fields. Planting spirit seeds required precision—not just inserting them like rice seedlings. He had to dig a small hole, carefully bury each seed, ensuring any sprouted shoots emerged above the soil and weren’t crushed by the spirit earth.

Spirit seeds were delicate, especially spirit-gathering grass, which required optimal conditions. After planting, he had to use the spirit rain spell to nourish them, ensuring healthy growth and avoiding any problems.

By the end of the day, he managed to plant three acres. It took two days to finish planting all the spirit-gathering grass seeds.

...

In the talisman room, Zhou Changwang held the talisman brush, spiritual power flowing through him as he slowly traced lines on the talisman paper. Drawing talismans required not only steady spiritual power but also a seamless execution—any pause would ruin the talisman.

Although his attribute panel boosted his talisman drawing experience and guaranteed success as long as he followed the proper steps, the actual process was still operated by him as a person. So he could still fail, though his success rate was much higher than ordinary talisman masters thanks to the ever-reliable attribute panel.

Buzz!

Suddenly, the talisman flashed with spiritual light. A surge of spiritual energy poured in, causing the whole talisman to tremble slightly. After a moment, it settled.

Thunder Talisman +3

The talisman was finished—and not just any thunder talisman, but a premium one. Its power surpassed thirty percent of a standard thunder spell. If activated, it would rival a second-level cultivator wielding a low-grade magic weapon at full strength.

At the same time, a wealth of thunder talisman crafting experience filled Zhou Changwang’s mind, as if he had drawn hundreds or thousands in a brief moment. He gained a profound understanding of the crafting process.

“Thunder Talisman, mastered?”

Joy appeared on his face. If he recalled correctly, before drawing this talisman, his thunder talisman experience was only at (Beginner 97/100). Now, he had jumped straight to mastery—suggesting that while crafting this talisman, he had a burst of inspiration and gained over three points of experience?

He quickly checked his attribute panel.

Talismans: Talisman Crafting (Beginner 4/100)
Fireball Talisman (Beginner 75/100), Thunder Talisman (Mastery 1/200)

“As expected, Thunder Talisman is at mastery. And the ‘Talisman Crafting’ experience has also increased, from ‘2’ to ‘4’. Does this prove that the talisman skill is indeed related to the number and level of talismans I’ve mastered?”

He pondered, then looked at the Fireball Talisman. Since the chaos of that night, he hadn’t drawn it much, since it wasn’t very useful for him now, nor did it fetch a good price at the rogue cultivator market.

To test the “Talisman Crafting” skill, he decided to bring it up to mastery as well.

Compared to the Thunder Talisman, the Fireball Talisman was much simpler. After picking up his brush, it took only half an incense stick’s time to complete one, and used only half the spiritual power of the thunder talisman.

He continued without pause, drawing more.

Fireball Talisman +3

After finishing another Fireball Talisman, he felt a strong surge of spiritual energy, accompanied by a flood of energy into the talisman until it was saturated and its glow subdued.

Premium Fireball Talisman!

He had crafted another premium talisman—and his Fireball Talisman skill wasn’t yet at mastery. He knew ordinary talisman masters could occasionally produce premium talismans, but he suspected that his ability to craft them at the beginner stage related to the ‘Talisman Crafting’ skill on his panel.

By the fifteenth talisman, another premium Fireball Talisman emerged, confirming his theory.

“Indeed, after mastering the Fireball Talisman, the Talisman Crafting skill increased by two points again.”

When he raised the Fireball Talisman to mastery, he immediately noticed the skill level rise by two, reaching (Beginner 6/100).

...

“So, to quickly improve my Talisman Crafting skill, I need to draw more talismans and learn more types?” Zhou Changwang realized, and indeed began thinking of mastering more varieties.

Biting off more than you can chew? Not in his case. The attribute panel broke all such limitations.

The main reason, though, was that the more types of talismans he could make, the better they would sell.

Thunder Talismans were powerful, but for most low-level rogue cultivators, one or two were enough for offense; any more would be a luxury. Most low-tier cultivators had very tight budgets.

Take, for example, the three cultivators he killed during the chaos—they were probably just low-level rogues before, and together their total wealth was only four or five low-grade spirit stones.

How would they have spare stones to buy more talismans?

But if he sold sets including Cleaning Talismans, Water Spirit Talismans, Protection Talismans, Lightness Talismans, Fireball Talismans, and Thunder Talismans, he’d have more of an advantage. Practicality aside—the selling point was quantity and affordability.

Why do people in his previous life’s livestream sales bundle products instead of selling them individually? Because bundles sell more!

Over the following days, Zhou Changwang spent most of his time in the talisman room, drawing talismans, aside from routine care of the spirit fields.

Half a month later.

Zhou Changwang looked at his attribute panel.

Name: Zhou Changwang
Lifespan: 17/78
Cultivation: Qi Training, Level Three (55/100)
Techniques: Five Elements Art (Minor Achievement 375/400)
Heavenly Origin Eight Forms (Beginner 35/100)
Skills: Spirit Rain (Minor Achievement 377/400), Cleaning Spell (Minor Achievement 125/400), Growth Acceleration (Mastery 350/800), Geng Metal Finger (Mastery 212/800), Calming Spell (Minor Achievement 284/400), Fireball Spell (Mastery 158/800), Withered Wood Revives (Proficiency 18/200), Soundproof Spell (Mastery 235/800), Protection Spell (Mastery 32/800), Lightness Spell (Mastery 139/800), Derivation Spell (Minor Achievement 95/800), Breath Concealment (Minor Achievement 178/400), Sword Control (Minor Achievement 52/400)
Talismans: Talisman Crafting (Beginner 27/100)
Fireball Talisman (Mastery 15/200), Thunder Talisman (Mastery 38/200), Lightness Talisman (Mastery 1/200), Protection Talisman (Mastery 1/200), Cleaning Talisman (Mastery 1/200), Water Spirit Talisman (Mastery 1/200), Residence Talisman (Mastery 1/200), Exorcism Talisman (Mastery 1/200), Soul Summoning Talisman (Mastery 1/200)
...

During this period, he hadn’t neglected his spell training—almost all spells were at minor achievement, many at mastery level, able to be cast instantly.

But most of his time was spent on talisman crafting. In just half a month, he’d mastered the Lightness, Protection, Cleaning, Water Spirit, Residence, Exorcism, and Soul Summoning talismans, bringing them all to proficiency. As a result, his Talisman Crafting skill had climbed to (Beginner 27/100).

It was only now that he realized that the Talisman Crafting skill truly represented a talisman master’s overall level.

So, though he could craft many kinds of spirit talismans, and every three to five talismans yielded a premium one, he was still just a beginner in the art.

Of course, “beginner” didn’t mean incompetent. Talisman crafting was vast and profound. Even at beginner, his “27” points in experience put him above countless amateurs.

This was evident from his ability to consistently produce premium talismans.

Moreover, as his experience increased, he found it easier and more effortless to master new talisman types.

...

(End of chapter)