Chapter 1: House Rent

"Dong, dong, dong…"

The sound of knocking on the door broke the snoring inside the wooden house.

"Wait a moment—"

Lu An rubbed his eyes and reluctantly put on his clothes.

With no relatives or enemies, who could be looking for him so early in the morning?

He was puzzled. He had been in this world for a month now. From being a worker in his previous life, he had transformed into a scattered cultivator in this ancient county.

The change in identity hadn't brought discomfort; it was just about surviving through hardships.

With his cultivation level at the third layer of Qi Refining, he was at the very bottom even among scattered cultivators.

Fortunately, his aptitude with three spiritual roots was decent, but due to a lack of resources, it was not yet fully realized.

"Squeak—"

Lu An slowly opened the door, and a dark-skinned middle-aged man appeared before him.

Seeing this man, Lu An was slightly taken aback, then quickly understood his purpose.

Before the man could speak, Lu An said first:

"Uncle Zhao, regarding the house rent for the second half of the year, could you possibly extend the deadline by a few days? I'll give it to you as soon as I've gathered the amount."

The man, Zhao Zhijiu, was his landlord with a cultivation level of the fifth layer of Qi Refining, who had been quite considerate of him in daily life.

Lately, he had been busy with talisman-making and had momentarily forgotten that the rent was overdue.

"Ah… Even after crossing over, I can't escape the fate of paying rent," Lu An thought to himself.

Zhao Zhijiu was in a dilemma; he was preparing to send his son to the ShenTalisman Pavilion to learn talisman drawing, but he was short of some funds.

Lu An's rent was five spiritual stones per month. Although it wasn't a lot, it added up to thirty stones for half a year, which was just enough.

Tomorrow was the last day to register, and if he missed it…

"Uncle Zhao, don't worry, tomorrow I will have the full amount ready," Lu An reassured.

Zhao Zhijiu shook his head. Thirty spiritual stones weren't so easy to come by. It seemed he would have to borrow some from elsewhere.

However, he didn't press Lu An and instead comforted him:

"Don't worry, take your time. I'll go to Lei Er's place to get some emergency funds."

"If you have time, come over for a meal. Your aunt often mentions you; she might be missing you."

Lu An felt a tinge of gratitude but frowned upon hearing Lei Er's name.

Lei Er was a thug from the Juyuan Casino, using his background to extort people, leading many to ruin.

"Uncle Zhao, Lei Er…"

"Don't worry, I'm just borrowing thirty spiritual stones. It's no big deal."

Seeing Zhao Zhijiu had already made plans, Lu An didn't insist further.

"Alright, I'll get the stones together and deliver them to you immediately."

He was sincere about getting the stones by tomorrow; it wasn't just empty talk.

It was just that the things in his mind were not easy to explain to Zhao Zhijiu.

Zhao Zhijiu waved his hand, clearly not expecting much, and left.

"It looks like I need to speed up my plan to earn spiritual stones."

Lu An returned to his room, sat cross-legged, and a set of writing tools appeared in his mind.

He picked up the talisman brush, moved his hand, and soon outlined a pattern.

[You have drawn a Clear Heart Talisman. Completion: 58%. Failure. Mental energy returned.]

A voice echoed in his mind, and Lu An shook his head.

"It's still not right."

The art of talisman-making involves using one's spiritual soul to communicate with the essence of heaven and earth, infusing formless power into tangible paper.

It requires the unity of soul and spirit, spirit and intent, and full understanding to create a talisman.

It sounds simple but is quite difficult in practice.

Every attempt, whether successful or not, consumes part of the mental energy.

Ordinary cultivators can only draw a limited number of talismans per day. If the mental energy is overly depleted, they must stop, or risk mental exhaustion.

Lu An, however, was different. When he crossed over, he found a set of writing tools in his sea of consciousness, which allowed him to return the consumed mental energy.

So he could draw talismans in his sea of consciousness without restriction, giving him more practice time than others.

After half a month of practice, he improved the completion of the Clear Heart Talisman from 12% to 58%. Once it reached 60%, he could make a low-grade talisman.

After summarizing the failed attempt, he calmed his mind and picked up the brush again.

[You have drawn a Clear Heart Talisman. Completion: 59%. Failure. Mental energy returned.]

…

[You have drawn a Clear Heart Talisman. Completion: 60%. Talisman is a first-grade low-grade. Mental energy returned.]

"Phew—"

Lu An breathed a sigh of relief. He finally succeeded, and half a month of effort was not in vain.

This was his second first-grade talisman, having previously drawn a Breath-Holding Talisman.

However, this talisman was quite difficult among first-grade talismans and very practical, so he didn't plan to sell it.

Half an hour later, with the completion rate stabilized at over 60%, he slowly opened his eyes.

Since it was a virtual drawing, he only gained relevant experience. He still needed to practice in reality to truly make them.

He went to his desk, laid out the prepared talisman paper, and took out a small vial.

The vial contained the blood essence of a first-grade demon beast, the Pure Water Turtle. Although it was only a small vial, it was worth fifteen spiritual stones.

The talisman paper was much cheaper, with ten sheets costing just one spiritual stone.

He spent all his savings on this, but Lu An wasn't worried.

With the current rise in demand for talismans due to the dangers of demon beasts, a Clear Heart Talisman, which can purify and concentrate energy, was quite valuable.

If he could produce them, each could sell for five spiritual stones, allowing him to quickly earn back the investment.

Lu An focused his mind, and after clearing away all distractions, he poured the blood essence into the inkstone.

Picking up the brush, he mixed it well and, while recalling the steps in his mind, began drawing on the talisman paper.

"Command…"

Soon, a pattern with ancient charm appeared on the talisman paper.

As the final stroke was made, a grey light flashed on the paper and then vanished.

"It worked!"

A hint of joy appeared on Lu An's face as he carefully examined the talisman.

He felt a spiritual energy hidden within it, which could be activated with a slight pull.

"Should I give it a try?"

After thinking for a moment, Lu An shook his head.

He needed money now, so it was better to keep it for sale.

He put away the talisman, picked up the brush again, and started making the second one.

…

After a full hour, he used up ten sheets of talisman paper and depleted his mental energy.

Drawing talismans in reality doesn't return mental energy, so he had to stop.

"It seems that with my current mental energy strength, I can make up to ten talismans at most per session."

Recovery of mental energy also takes time; at least for the next two days, he couldn't draw anymore.

But he still couldn't hide his excitement. Of the ten talismans he just made, only one failed.

He obtained nine Clear Heart Talismans, which would be enough to cover Uncle Zhao's rent.

Lu An gathered all the talismans, stepped outside, and thought, "I'll sell these Clear Heart Talismans and use the extra money to buy more materials for making talismans."

Following the route from memory, he arrived in front of a two-story loft. Looking up, the large characters "Juyuan Zhai" came into view.

This was a well-known shop in Ancient County, with a substantial reputation. It included Juyuan Casino and Juyuan Apothecary under its banner. Unlike ShenTalisman Pavilion, which only sold talismans, this place dealt with a wider range of items, including elixirs and spirit tools.

Lu An didn't hesitate and stepped inside to look around.

A young woman at the door noticed the visitor and hurriedly approached.

"Sir, what can I help you with?"

"Do you accept talismans here?"

The woman was somewhat surprised. The person in front of her appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, younger than herself by about two years. Could he be a talisman master?

This was quite extraordinary, as becoming a talisman master was known to be very difficult. She just wasn't sure if he had the certification from the Talisman Hall.

"Of course we do, but I can't make that decision. Please wait a moment while I call the shopkeeper."

She didn't dare delay and quickly went to the back hall.

"Regardless, let's have Grandpa take a look."