Chapter 27: Bullhead Mountain!_1
Several days later.
Ruyi Tower.
"Brother Lu, I've gathered some information. About three hundred miles away from Ruyi Prefecture, at Bullhead Mountain, there is a gathering place for loose cultivators holding a transaction fair. It's likely to continue for another five or six days."
"If you wish to participate, take this communication talisman with you. Once you arrive at Bullhead Mountain, use it, and someone will open the formation to guide you in."
Hong Yi knocked on the door and said to Lu Changsheng.
As he spoke, he took out a brownish-yellow talisman.
"Thank you, Brother Hong. This must have cost you quite a bit. These talismans are my own creation, and they will serve as a token of my appreciation."
Lu Changsheng handed Hong Yi three basic, lower-grade first-grade talismans as he spoke.
This communication talisman belonged to the category of basic talismans and wasn't very valuable.
However, since the other party had helped him gather information and acquire this, it must have taken some effort.
In matters of reciprocal favors, he naturally wouldn't let others come off worse.
Moreover, Hong Yi held a significant position in the secular world, and he was keen to maintain this connection.
Who knows, perhaps in the future when his own children settled in the secular world, he might need to trouble Hong Yi.
Hong Yi's eyes heated up at the sight of Lu Changsheng's three talismans.
But he waved his hands and said, "Brother Lu is too polite. This didn't cost much, please don't bother."
"Brother Hong, if you're so polite, I'll feel embarrassed asking for your help in the future."
Lu Changsheng spoke thus, placing the talismans into Hong Yi's hands.
"If that's the case, then I won't refuse disrespectfully!"
Seeing this, Hong Yi didn't decline and accepted the talismans.
He then clasped his hands and said, "Brother Lu, I, Hong Yi, still have some contacts here in Ruyi Prefecture. Should you need anything in the future, just give the word."
Now that Lu Changsheng had become a talisman master and was so generous, Hong Yi was, of course, very willing to develop a good relationship with Lu Changsheng.
"Sure, if there's anything in the future, I won't be shy."
Lu Changsheng returned the gesture with a clasped-hand salute.
"By the way, Brother Lu, you should be cautious when attending such meetings."
"Places like these where loose cultivators gather are a mix of good and bad characters and lacking a great cultivator to keep order, robber cultivators often target solo practitioners."
"If Brother Lu is going to sell talismans, and if there aren't many, I could represent the Ruyi Marquis Mansion and transact with Brother Lu to take them all."
Seeing that Lu Changsheng had easily provided three talismans, Hong Yi speculated that Lu Changsheng must have a considerable number of talismans on him and was possibly going to sell them. He voiced this out loud.
Upper-class individuals in the secular world mostly know about the routes to cultivation and will cultivate themselves.
The Ruyi Marquis Mansion was such a place, with more than one cultivator within.
But they were all energy refinement cultivators, only slightly better than the average loose cultivator.
For talismans, items that are always in demand, there naturally exists a need.
However, he was still able to purchase low-level talismans when he wanted to.
Buying from Lu Changsheng was not about seeking a bargain.
Instead, it was about deepening their relationship and exchange through such transactions.
Lu Changsheng was currently a lower-grade first-grade talisman master.
Looking to the future, not to mention becoming a second-grade talisman master, becoming a superior-grade first-grade talisman master was still a great possibility.
Once capable of creating superior-grade first-grade talismans, things would be different.
Getting to know a superior-grade first-grade talisman master and having a stable channel for talismans would also aid in his position at the Ruyi Marquis Mansion.
If in the future they became close, and Lu Changsheng was willing to supply him with a large quantity of talismans below market price, he would make a significant profit.
Perhaps he might even contest for the position of the heir of the Ruyi Marquis Mansion.
"Thank you for your concern, Brother Hong. I'll be careful."
"I don't have many talismans, just enough for my own protection. But if Brother Hong needs them, I could also sell you some at a low price."
Lu Changsheng smiled and took out ten basic, lower-grade first-grade talismans.
When he revealed himself as a first-grade talisman master in the Lu Family, he had saved up nearly five hundred talismans.
And in the past six months, with the Lu Family providing him materials every month, he had saved another five hundred or so.
That is to say, he now had roughly a thousand talismans on him.
An astonishingly large number.
Among these talismans, about half were lower grade and the other half middle grade.
If converted into spirit stones, they would be worth two to three thousand spirit stones.
But one should never flaunt their wealth, so naturally, he wouldn't reveal such things.
If Hong Yi wanted them, he was willing to sell some at a low price.
Because Lu Changsheng knew very well that at this kind of loose cultivator trading fair, it was simply impossible to sell nearly a thousand talismans.
He also wouldn't dare to do so.
"How could I impose like that, just charge the market price," Hong Yi said.
He wouldn't try to take advantage of a small benefit at the outset.
"Hong Brother, take a look and see if these talismans are of any use to you."
Lu Changsheng handed over the talismans to Hong Yi.
"I didn't expect Brother Lu to be able to draw Rejuvenation Insignias already! It seems Brother Lu will soon be a Middle Grade Talisman Master!"
Hong Yi exclaimed in surprise upon seeing one of the talismans.
Although he didn't know how to make talismans, he was clear on their prices.
For First Grade low-quality talismans, depending on the difficulty, the price was between one and two spirit stones.
And a Rejuvenation Insignia was a low-quality talisman worth two spirit stones, with even higher difficulty to draw.
"I've barely managed to draw a few," Lu Changsheng said, waving his hand dismissively.
Initially considering the prospect of making money, most of the First Grade low-quality talismans he had were of higher difficulty.
"I will take all these talismans, but I don't have so many spirit stones on me right now. I need to go back and get some from my father before I can make the trade with Brother Lu," Hong Yi said, somewhat embarrassed.
Although he was the son of the Ruyi Marquis, he didn't have many spirit stones either.
Also, with the need for cultivation, it was hard to save up any spirit stones.
"There's no rush. Hong Brother, take these talismans first. I plan to ride to Bullhead Mountain to attend the trading fair and drop by my home on the way," Lu Changsheng said generously.
"I'll just keep my steed temporarily with Hong Brother, as I'll have to come back here anyway."
Lu Changsheng was not afraid that Hong Yi would hold a grudge over these talismans.
If he did, he would regard it as using these talismans to see someone's true nature.
"Then I must thank you, Brother Lu. Rest assured, I will take good care of the steed," Hong Yi said, clasping his hands in appreciation.
Without spending any money and taking these talismans back, it would be easier for his father to believe that he had a close relationship with Lu Changsheng, the talisman master.
"Thank you for the trouble, Hong Brother," Lu Changsheng said with a slight bow, then obtained a horse and rode toward Bullhead Mountain in Nanyu Prefecture.
He didn't have a beast storage bag, and he wasn't sure if he could bring his steed into Bullhead Mountain.
To avoid these troubles, he simply decided to ride a horse there; if he lost it, he wouldn't be heartbroken.
Having ridden his steed for so long and now being a cultivator, riding a horse presented no difficulty to him.
The next day, the air was slightly cool.
Lu Changsheng rode his horse from Ruyi County City to Bullhead Mountain.
First, he found a farmhouse at the foot of the mountain and left the horse there.
Then he went up the mountain alone, arrived at an uninhabited area, and put on a human skin mask he had purchased in advance from his storage bag.
Suddenly, his handsome face transformed into the appearance of a rather dull, yellow-skinned young man.
He then pulled out a large black cloak and draped it over himself.
With the hood drawn up, his entire frame and even his facial features were concealed, making it impossible to discern his appearance.
After completing these preparations, Lu Changsheng continued up the mountain to the north side of Bullhead Mountain, where there was a slope.
According to the villagers, this slope was shrouded in white mist all year round, but Lu Changsheng, using the Spiritual Eye Technique, saw the faint fluctuation of spiritual energy and knew at a glance that it was a formation.
"It must be here," Lu Changsheng said to himself as he looked at the mist ahead, confirming that this was indeed his destination.
He took out a Communication Talisman given to him by Hong Yi and activated it with spiritual power.
Immediately, the talisman flew out of his hand, dashed into the fog on the small slope, and disappeared.
Lu Changsheng patiently waited for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Suddenly, the mist in front of him began to roll and parted, revealing a very narrow forest trail that seemed to have no end in sight.
After scrutinizing the path for a moment, Lu Changsheng stepped forward and walked into it.