Chapter 36: The Spirit Fish Retreat Incident

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Ten days later, in the talisman making room

Zhao Sheng, fully immersed, held a talisman pen in hand as he drew lines on the talisman paper with fluid movements, gradually outlining the spirit pattern of the Invisibility Talisman.

As the final stroke was completed, the surface of the talisman paper suddenly shone with spirit light, with wisps of light wandering uncertainly through the rune.

Soon the light disappeared, leaving only a grayish First-Order Talisman on the table.

Seeing this, Zhao Sheng couldn't help but reveal a smile, sighing, "It's finally done."

In ten days, he had ruined nearly two hundred pieces of talisman paper before he managed to barely draw the Invisibility Talisman.

And that was with the help of Bullet Time.

Zhao Sheng thought the Invisibility Talisman was difficult, little did he know if outsiders found out that he succeeded in mere ten days, they would be utterly astonished.

In the Cultivation World, there are countless types of First-rank magic talismans, but the Invisibility Talisman is recognized as one of the most difficult among the nineteen kinds of First-rank magic talismans to create.

However, he soon understood this point.

Two quarters of an hour later, in the Good Deeds Hall, Zhao Keqin, who was in charge of exchanges, looked at Zhao Sheng across from him with an incredulous gaze and exclaimed, "What did you say? You really drew an Invisibility Talisman?"

"Uncle Qin, there's no falsehood. You'll know once you see it."

As he spoke, Zhao Sheng took out an Invisibility Talisman from his Storage Bag and slapped it onto the table.

Zhao Keqin grabbed the talisman at once and examined it closely.

The lines, the symbols, the spirit light - all corresponded; it was indeed an Invisibility Talisman without a doubt.

After looking, Zhao Keqin said with an unusually excited expression, "My heavens, our Zhao family has produced another Talisman Tao genius. The Ancestor is truly showing blessings!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng was taken aback and thought to himself, "Isn't that the truth! The Ancestor is indeed standing right before you."

As for the other Talisman Tao genius he mentioned, Zhao Sheng knew he was referring to Zhao Chongwei.

Zhao Chongwei had an extremely high talent for talismans, capable of drawing dozens of different First-rank magic talismans at the mere Qi Refining Second Level, and each with a success rate of over fifty percent.

In the entire Zhao family of thirty-one cultivators, less than five could earn sufficient Cultivation Resources completely on their own merit, without relying on the family, and Zhao Chongwei was one of them.

The Zhao family placed great importance on Zhao Chongwei, seeing her as a seed for Foundation Establishment. Even if the family faced hardships, they would scrape together resources to support her cultivation.

Whether he was a Talisman Tao genius or not, Zhao Sheng didn't care. What he was concerned about was how many Spirit Stones an Invisibility Talisman was worth.

So, he immediately asked, "Uncle Qin, how many Spirit Stones can I get for this Invisibility Talisman?"

Zhao Keqin extended two fingers with a joyful expression and said, "At least two Spirit Stones."

Hisss!

What a deal! The price was nearly ten times that of the Spring Breeze and Rain Talisman, yet their costs were almost identical.

Zhao Sheng's eyes sparkled with excitement, and all he could think of was to rush back and churn out a hundred or eighty of them in one go. That would be a fortune!

Coincidentally, Zhao Keqin had the same thought.

The family was going through difficult times, with limited ways to earn Spirit Stones. Now that a new source of wealth had suddenly emerged, he couldn't let it slip away.

So, Zhao Keqin urged Zhao Sheng repeatedly to go back quickly and draw more Invisibility Talismans, assuring him a fair price.

Just as Zhao Sheng was about to leave, a flustered figure suddenly burst into the Good Deeds Hall.

The person looked extremely troubled and shouted as soon as he entered, "Second Brother, something has happened!"

Zhao Keqin was the second eldest among his siblings, which is why his peers called him Second Brother.

Zhao Keqin stepped forward to support the newcomer, asking urgently, "Keshang, quick, what's happened?"

Zhao Keshang was from the second branch of the family, born with a Five Spirits Root, and had just barely reached the Qi Refining Second Level in his fifties.

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The Zhao family made use of everything, assigning him to miscellaneous tasks, such as sending and receiving talisman letters, part-time errand running, and gathering information, among others.

Zhao Keshang said in a panic, "I don't know what went wrong, Jade Pill Pavilion, Hundred Refinement Workshop, Huangfeng Lan Family, Li Mountain Wei Family, they've all returned the spirit fish and even said they won't procure their stock from us anymore."

Hearing this, not only did Zhao Keqin's face change dramatically, but Zhao Sheng also felt a tightness in his heart.

What a vicious move!

It was well-known that the largest source of the Zhao family's wealth was the variety of spirit fish and spirit shrimp harvested from Dragon Carp Lake.

Especially famous were the Red Carp and Green Carp, whose meat was both delicious and abundant in spiritual energy, not only nurturing the flesh of cultivators but also capable of dispelling the "Fire Qi" within a cultivator's body.

In the Cultivation World, Artifact Refiners and Alchemists, due to the nature of their professions, were in frequent contact with various types of Spiritual Fire over the years.

Over time, the flesh was inevitably eroded by the "Fire Qi" leaking from the Spiritual Fire.

At such times, spirit fish rich in Water Element Spirit Qi became a kind of excellent medicine to resolve the Fire Qi.

Therefore, the spirit fish meat produced by the Zhao family was very popular and had established a renowned reputation within a thousand miles over three hundred years, securing a stable group of major clients.

However, today, all the major clients had, without prior arrangement, uniformly rejected the spirit fish.

For the Zhao family, which was already in turmoil, this was nothing short of a disaster.

There must be a hidden hand behind this!

No, it might be a tacit understanding.

Some forces wanted to "force the Zhao family to death" bit by bit, such as the "good in-laws" from Li Mountain Wei family, the "good neighbors" from Huangfeng Lan Family, and so on.

Without a doubt, the Zhao family had encountered another crisis.

If it wasn't handled properly, it might trigger a series of domino-like disasters.

Zhao Keqin quickly regained his composure and immediately asked, "Kezhang, have you informed the others?"

"I haven't had the chance yet. After the incident, you were the first one I thought of, Second Brother," replied Zhao Keshang, shaking his head.

Zhao Keqin, also born in the second branch, had become the main decision-maker of that branch after Zhao Jingang entered seclusion. Therefore, Zhao Keshang sought him first.

"Inform all Zhao clan members of the Jin and Ke generations who are at home to meet at Unity Hall for a discussion in one hour," he instructed.

After giving orders to Zhao Keshang, Zhao Keqin turned to Zhao Sheng and said, "Chong and you should come too."

Zhao Sheng nodded, as even as the nominal head of Zhao Family, he had the right to be involved in family affairs.

An hour later, in the Lake Heart Hall of Yanyue Island.

In the council hall of the back hall, in front of a super-large black round table exceeding twenty square meters, sat Zhao Sheng and nine Zhao clan members of the Jin and Ke generations.

Zhao Sheng had specially made this round table in his previous life to symbolize equality and unity.

By the time they arrived, everyone was already aware of the issue with the returned spirit fish.

As a result, the atmosphere inside Unity Hall was exceptionally tense.

No one was a fool; the situation was very strange, and it was clear that someone was manipulating things from the shadows.

However, the hidden hand behind this had played a truly powerful move that hit the Zhao family right where it hurt.

Seeing that no one was speaking, Zhao Jingge, the oldest among those present, broke the silence and asked, "Let's hear it! How should we resolve this matter?"

The moment he finished speaking, Zhao Jinpeng suddenly said with a furious face, "It must be someone causing trouble in secret, I think it's that old coot from Wei Family behind this."

As soon as he finished speaking, a Ke generation member of the second branch retorted, "Uncle Six, don't speak carelessly without evidence. The Wei Family and our Zhao family have been in-laws for nearly two hundred years, and the families have always been as close as branches on the same tree. How dare you suspect Ancestor Wei, what are your intentions?"

Hehe, as close as branches on the same tree? It's only you second branch people who believe his nonsense," Zhao Jinpeng said sarcastically.