From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 124 Painting
Qingqiu Mountain.

Xu Fugui, shrouded in a black robe, stepped onto Fangshi Mountain.

He hadn't been to Qingqiu Market for a long time; the last time he came was two years ago.

The main reason is that besides spiritual plants, he has no other resources that can be exchanged for spirit stones. The space inside his body for spiritual plants is limited, and the older they are, the more valuable they become. He is reluctant to sell them unless absolutely necessary.

Without spirit stones, he couldn't afford to buy any resources, so he didn't bother to stroll around the market.

"There are more people than last time."

Ten years ago, the incident between the Lan family and the Tong family caused a great uproar, which led to the relocation of all the Qi Refining cultivator families who ran shops in the market, and even most of the independent cultivators who set up stalls on the street.

The popularity of Qingqiu Market has declined significantly. What used to be bustling with activity has become deserted.

Afterwards, the Lan family used various means: they rented out the spiritual vein land on the other side of Fangshi Mountain to Qi Refining cultivator families and independent cultivators at extremely low prices. The Lan family's spiritual plants were also sold at prices far below the market price.

After ten years of development, Qingqiu Market has regained some of its popularity, but it is still far from its former glory.

Xu Fugui came to Qingqiu Market because he had no other choice.

If he didn't come to Qingqiu Mountain, he would have to go to another spiritual mountain, two hundred miles away, which was also a market run by a Foundation Establishment family: Kunxu Mountain Market.

Kunxu Mountain is located on the west side of Tonggu County, and it is not in the same direction as Qingqiu Mountain.

"Huh, the Spirit Pill Pavilion?"

Xu Fugui saw a newly opened shop in the market called "Miraculous Elixir Pavilion".

You must know how the Lan family treated the alchemy Tong family back then, so much so that in recent years the Lan family has attracted other Qi Refining cultivator families, but no alchemy family has been willing to come anymore.

This newly opened elixir shop aroused Xu Fugui's curiosity.

He stepped inside, and a female cultivator with a slightly aloof expression greeted him: "Fellow Daoist, what do you need?"

The female cultivator's name was Mu Chun. She was a rogue cultivator who had sought refuge with Qingqiu Mountain and married into the Lan family. Given how rare female cultivators were among rogue cultivators, she was only a rogue cultivator with five elemental spiritual roots who had reached the third level of Qi Refining, yet she was able to easily join the Lan family.

"Are the elixirs here homemade?"

Xu Fugui asked casually, inquiring about information.

Ok?
Mu Chun's expression grew even colder, and he said expressionlessly, "I'm sorry, this is confidential and I cannot disclose it."

Xu Fugui was puzzled. Was this question highly confidential? Why did it make him look so unwell?

"Do you have any pills for preserving youth and prolonging life? Pills for ordinary people, that can preserve youth and prolong life."

"No, only the Youth Preservation Pill, 15 spirit stones. The Longevity Pill, which can extend the lifespan of mortals by ten years, 17 spirit stones."

Mu Chun's tone was indifferent.

Youth-preserving pill, 15 spirit stones. Longevity pill, 17 spirit stones.

That adds up to thirty-two spirit stones.

Xu Fugui only needed 28 spirit stones to buy the Youth Preservation and Longevity Pill from the Tong family.

Afterwards, he inquired about other elixirs such as Qi-boosting pills and Qi-tonifying pills, and found that the prices at this elixir shop were at least 2 spirit stones more expensive than the same elixirs from the Tong family, and sometimes as much as 3 or even 4 spirit stones more expensive.

Keep in mind that this is just a relatively inexpensive elixir.

A few spirit stones are quite a lot for a Qi Refining stage cultivator.

Actually, this "Mystical Elixir Pavilion" was opened by the Lan family themselves. What kind of market would it be if there were no places selling elixirs?

In order to attract independent cultivators, the Lan family had to buy large quantities of low-grade pills from other markets and sell them, making a small profit from the price difference.

Alchemists earn money through their skills. Selling elixirs like this involves bearing the risks of transportation and various costs, allowing them to only earn a small profit margin. Overall, they don't actually make money; they're merely attracting customers to the market.

Do you accept spirit plants here?

Xu Fugui had no spirit stones on him; he hadn't been to Qingqiu Market for too long, and all the spirit stone resources he had accumulated had been used up. Before coming, he dug up a fifty-year-old withered leaf crow from his inner space.

Based on the normal lifespan, the withered leaf crow in his body space would only be around thirty years old at most.

The reason why there is a fifty-year-old withered leaf crow is because he used the cultivation method of "Ling Nong Lian Qi Jue" for many years to nourish and help it grow with spiritual energy, so that the spiritual plant has exceeded its original growth years.

"Spiritual plants? What kind of spiritual plants?"

Mu Chun was getting impatient. This person had asked about spirit pills once, and hadn't bought a single one. Now he was asking about spirit plants?
"What price would you pay for a 50-year-old dead leaf cactus?"

"Four spirit stones."

Mu Chun hesitated for a few seconds before stating the acquisition price he considered very profitable.

"Four spirit stones?"

Xu Fugui was surprised, then turned and left.

A withered leaf crow that is a little over twenty years old is worth two spirit stones, while a withered leaf crow that is fifty years old is only worth four spirit stones.
Isn't this just fooling idiots?

According to Xu Fugui's estimate, it would cost at least 6 spirit stones.

Even though the Lan family is currently offering low prices for spiritual plants to attract independent cultivators, there are still market prices, so the prices can't be too outrageous.

"Fellow Taoist, please wait."

Mu Chun quickly stopped Xu Fugui: "Five spirit stones."

In fact, the Lan family has an excess of spiritual plants; they can't even use them all.

But spiritual plants have a market price, so you can easily sell them in other markets. Why not make a profit from the price difference?
"Sixty-five spirit crystals."

Fifty-eight.

"Six spirit stones, that's the lowest I can offer."

"Row."

Mu Chun calculated in his mind that a fifty-year-old withered leaf crow would be worth at least seven spirit stones in other markets, so this deal was worthwhile.

Xu Fugui took off the two-foot-long sandalwood box wrapped around his back, opened it, and handed it to Mu Chun.

Mu Chun saw that it was indeed a well-preserved, fifty-year-old withered leaf crow, and took out six spirit stones to give to Xu Fugui.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

As Xu Fugui walked out of the Mystic Elixir Pavilion, he thought to himself: If I want to sell spiritual plants again, I'll have to go to the Kunxu Mountain Market.

He knew that if he sold his spiritual plants in Qingqiu Market, the price would be driven down very low.

"These six spirit stones should be enough for this trip." He came to Qingqiu Market to buy materials for drawing talismans: talisman brushes, talisman paper, and talisman ink.

The Lan family is famous for its talisman tradition, and the talismans are of high quality and inexpensive, as are the materials used to make them.

He entered the Lan family's Spirit Talisman Pavilion.

While other parts of the market were sparsely populated, the Lingfu Pavilion was still bustling with customers.

A friendly waiter greeted them: "Welcome, sir! What would you like to see?"

As a pillar industry of the Lan family, the service at the Spirit Talisman Pavilion is excellent.

"Buy some talisman-drawing materials."

"Alright, this way please. Let me introduce this one to you first. The pen handle is made of century-old spirit peach wood, and the pen tip is made of the tail hair of the spirit beast Azure Wind Wolf. Using it to draw talismans will greatly increase the success rate..."

Upon hearing that the other party was introducing talisman brushes that cost only a dozen or so spirit stones, Xu Fugui quickly said, "I'm just starting out, so the cheapest talisman brush will do. I can use better quality talisman ink though."

"Okay, this way please..."

The waiter did not change his attitude just because Xu Fugui wanted to buy something cheaper; he remained enthusiastic.

Xu Fugui didn't have many spirit stones, so he didn't have much room for choice.

He finally bought a talisman pen worth 3 spirit stones, and two large sheets of pure white talisman paper: three feet long and one foot wide, costing 1 spirit stone.

Spending 2 spirit stones to buy a jar of talisman ink yields a relatively high-quality product.

After spending all the six spirit stones he had earned from selling the spirit plants, Xu Fugui left Qingqiu Market.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Baihe Village.

The old Xu family house still retains the appearance of what it looked like thirty or forty years ago in the north-facing main house.

Xu Fugui looked at the old house and recalled what it used to be like.

He didn't have the skill to draw talismans, and he bought talisman-drawing materials purely to pick up his professional skill from before he transmigrated: drawing.

Actually, there are painters among ordinary people who can paint portraits.

However, paintings created with ordinary brush and ink are easily damaged and easily fade.

The materials used for drawing talismans are made from various raw materials imbued with spiritual energy, such as spiritual plants, and the resulting talismans can be preserved for hundreds of years without losing their effectiveness.

If the only concern is preventing fading, paintings made with talisman materials can be carefully preserved and stored for thousands of years without any problems.

This is Xu Fugui's "ambition": he hopes that the Xu family can last for ten thousand years.

He had practiced with ordinary brush and ink for a long time before, and his painting skills were comparable to those of ordinary painters.

He drew carefully and meticulously. The talisman paper and ink were very expensive; the talisman ink he bought with his spirit stones was only enough to draw two pictures.

With the building in front of him and his own memories, Xu Fugui painted half a picture.

He then called Jiazhen over and had her sit upright at the entrance of the north hall: "Don't move, I'll draw it for you slowly."

Half an hour later, Xu Fugui finished his painting: "Wife, come and see!"

"Old Xu, how do you have such skills?"

Jiazhen looked at herself in the painting with surprise; she was much prettier than she was now.

"This is what you looked like when you married me, how beautiful you were."

Why is there so much blank space on the sides?

Jiazhen pointed to the spot next to herself in the painting.

The drawing paper was laid out horizontally, three feet wide and one foot high, with Jiazhen's portrait occupying only a small portion of it.

Xu Fugui pointed to the side: "Draw me here, Da Niu here, Er Xia here, San Gou here... Do you think I should draw them as they were when they were young, or as they grew up, based on my memory?"

He plans to paint a family portrait featuring the character "孝" (filial piety).

Unfortunately, the family portrait was never drawn, as some of the members have already passed away.

When the "Three Gou" were mentioned, Jiazhen secretly wiped away a tear.

“Just draw what they looked like ten years ago, when Xiaohou was fourteen and had grown up.”

"it is good."

Xu Fugui nodded.

Over the next few days, he meticulously completed the creation of this "family portrait".

He and his wife Jiazhen sat at the door of the north room of the old house, with Xiaoniu and Xiaogou standing behind them, and Xiaoxia, Xiaoyun, Xiaoan and Xiaohou beside them.

Not satisfied with just finishing the painting, he painted an even more detailed vertical full-body portrait of Jiazhen.

"Unfortunately, we don't have enough talisman paper and ink."

He planned to buy more talisman paper and ink next time he had spirit stones.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Another ten days passed.

Xu Xiaoniu's appointment as a celestial official has been issued!

His soul jade tablet was placed in the Yuanli County government office, and his name was registered in the Zhennan Prefecture city.

As the head of the Demon Subduing Division and a celestial official, he receives a monthly salary of 1 spirit stone.

It may not seem like much, but it's far better than those rogue cultivators who risk their lives to earn a few spirit stones.

Besides the spirit stone stipend, he can also reap considerable benefits from killing demonic cultivators or tribulation cultivators; these are hidden perks.

In addition, resources could be purchased through official channels of the imperial court.

Resources from official channels may not be cheap, but their quality is unquestionable, and you can buy things that are not available in ordinary independent cultivator markets.

After obtaining the celestial official identity token, Xu Xiaoniu considered finding a time to visit Bailiwei, the supervisor of the mountain forest.

His father had told him long ago that he wanted to rent Baihe Mountain.

(End of this chapter)