Chapter 31: "Isn't the profession of talisman master way too profitable?
"Impossible!!"
Fat Long firmly shook his head, "Brother Qiu, rest assured, I absolutely won't need to use this entry. Thanks for your kind intention, Brother Qiu. I appreciate the thought, but this entry should be kept for someone who needs it more."
To tell the truth, he was often frustrated about why he was randomly assigned the Nine Ox Power entry, and because it was an Initial Entry, he hadn't yet found a way to remove it.
But since he had randomly gotten it, he gradually accepted the fact.
Compared to castrating himself, he felt it was better to maintain the status quo.
"Then it's up to you."
Chen Qiu did not say more, just glanced at the auction list. Many items indeed caught his interest, for instance, the green Entry, "self-extinguishing root." Although Fat Long couldn't use it, he certainly could.
This trash entry was perfect for him. As long as he triggered its Self-Destruction, it amounted to a full-force strike at crossing a Great Realm, equivalent to a first-layer Golden Core Stage full-force strike.
This was truly a last-ditch effort.
If someone didn't possess Nine Ox Power or a similar entry, they definitely wouldn't bid for this entry. After all, exchanging one's sole "Bull Strength" for some random white or green entry seemed like a bad deal.
If nothing unexpected happened, the price of this entry should not be too high. Perhaps he could even snag a bargain.
"OK."
He tucked the auction list along with two invitations inside his jacket, then turned to the shopkeeper and whispered, "Let's go, let's check out the talismans."
...
Half an hour later.
The two came out of the Zhao's Commerce shop, with Fat Long's face full of distress after having spent quite a few Spirit Stones there.
The first were talismans.
The "Summoning Thunder Talisman," an offensive talisman that could summon a Heavenly Thunder to attack the enemy, equivalent to a first-layer Foundation Establishment Stage full-force attack, priced at two Spirit Stones each.
They bought 100.
The "Golden Bell Talisman," a defensive talisman activated to form a Spiritual Energy shield around the user, capable of blocking a first-layer Foundation Establishment full-force attack, priced at four Spirit Stones each.
They also bought 100.
The "Light Wind Talisman," an escape talisman, on activation when plastered on the body, could significantly increase movement speed, priced at two Spirit Stones each.
They bought 100 of these too.
Just the talismans alone cost 800 Spirit Stones.
"Damn, that's expensive!"
"This talisman master profession really makes a killing, doesn't it?"
Fat Long covered his food ring on his index finger, pain evident on his face: "If I had so many talismans now, I could dominate that small world we were in a few days ago, taking on a crowd single-handedly wouldn't be a problem."
Chen Qiu shook his head and chuckled without a word.
The total loot from that small world added up to only 50 Spirit Stones, yet the talismans cost a total of 800 Spirit Stones. With such an arsenal, even a pig could run amok in the small world.
He finally understood the battle style of those heirs from the aristocratic families of this world—leading with a lavish spending spree.
The advantage of talismans lies in their instant activation. Although their power is slightly inferior compared to spells of the same name and rank, they are advantageous because they don't require the expenditure of the Spiritual Energy stored in the Dantian, needing only a small amount of Spiritual Energy to activate the talisman.
The higher the level of the talisman, the more Spiritual Energy it requires to activate.
For example, a Foundation Establishment Stage spell like "Thunder Summoning Technique" allows most cultivators at the first layer of Foundation Establishment Stage to cast it only four to five times before their internal Spiritual Energy is nearly depleted, but if using "Summoning Thunder Talismans," one could use over a hundred before depleting the internal Spiritual Energy.
In such a fight,
one could use one's rear end to figure out who would win.
...
He only bought some talismans whose power was equivalent to a first-layer Foundation Establishment Stage full-force attack. Defensive talismans were a bit more expensive than offensive ones and were also rarer, reportedly because defensive talismans require a higher stability, making their manufacturing process more complex.
The more powerful the talisman, the more expensive it would be.
For example, an attack-type talisman equivalent to a full-strength strike at the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment Stage had a selling price as high as 300 Spirit Stones, which was enough to buy a set of high-quality Sound Transmission Talismans.
For him, the cost-effectiveness was very low.
If he really encountered a situation that required such a method, why would he use any talisman? He would just unleash a full-strength strike from the first level of the Golden Core Stage using his self-destruction term, and that would be far superior to any talisman.
However, he also asked if there were any Golden Core Stage talismans available, and the answer was no. Such talismans belonged to an extremely rare category, and no shop in any city of Wentiang had them.
Besides talismans.
They also purchased some odds and ends.
Like three high-quality Storage Rings, which had much more space than a Storage Bag and were more convenient to access while being easier to wear and having little risk of loss. Even if lost, it would take quite an effort to break into a blood-bound Storage Ring.
Unlike Storage Bags, which anyone who finds can use.
But the price was not cheap.
300 Spirit Stones each.
Apart from that, they also bought a bunch of miscellaneous items, which cost another 300 Spirit Stones. After a lavish spending spree, the total amount spent was 3617 Spirit Stones.
Chen Qiu felt the massive pile of Spirit Stones inside his index finger's Storage Ring and couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.
After a reckless shopping spree.
There were still 26,356 Spirit Stones in the Storage Ring.
The odd change hadn't even been spent, almost giving the feeling that the money was unending; this amount should be enough for him to push forward to the Golden Core Stage.
Next, the two of them left Wentiang, gave a Sound Transmission Ring to each of the scholar brothers, and handed over a Storage Bag containing 3500 Spirit Stones and several sets of clothes, gave some instructions, and then returned to Wentiang.
...
"Sound Transmission Ring."
The scholar, seated cross-legged on the ground, watched as Chen Qiu and his companion gradually disappeared down the path before he looked down at the Sound Transmission Ring in his hand and seemed to think of something, chuckling suddenly after a long while.
This was no cheap item; ordinary people couldn't afford this thing. This set was worth 1000 Spirit Stones.
When he was at the pinnacle of his life, known as the number one Sword Cultivator in Da Xia, he naturally didn't lack Spirit Stones to buy Sound Transmission Rings, but the calamitous final battle which nearly cost him his life made him flee in defeat, abandoning everything.
Which included the Sound Transmission Ring he once possessed.
He shook the Spirit Stones totaling 3100 inside his Storage Bag and, after a long silence, softly said, "This Mr. Chen is quite generous."
Mr. Chen had given him 3500 Spirit Stones, including 500 Spirit Stones as monthly pay, from which he returned 400. The 500 Spirit Stones as a monthly payment felt really difficult to accept; they, the two brothers, almost had no attack methods, not worth the price.
If he accepted the 500 Spirit Stones as monthly payment, he would feel as if he couldn't raise his head when facing Mr. Chen. A hundred Spirit Stones a month was more than sufficient, far exceeding the monthly income of over ninety percent of Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators.
He knew well that this money was his ransom. Although Mr. Chen didn't say it, since he had taken this money, he was definitely going to ensure it paid off its intended value.
At least in case...
Should his reputation be mentioned again in the future, people might praise him for upholding his commitments.
It wasn't that there were no retainers who had run away with their master's Spirit Stones, but their reputations were often very bad.
If Mr. Chen really proved reliable, he could entrust his life to Mr. Chen, only hoping Mr. Chen would take good care of his younger brother after his death. In his life, there were only two matters he cared about.
The first thing was how people in the world spoke of him.
The second was his younger brother.
Heavenly Dao Jade was not sold in Wentiang Market but was available only in one place.
"Heavenly Dao Pavilion."
Thousands of miles away from here.
"I need to make a trip."
The scholar sat on the ground, gazing at the clouds on the horizon, murmuring to himself, his fingers twitched slightly, and a flash of blue light shot out from his sleeve directly toward the clouds to the east, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.