From Celestial Official to Great Celestial Venerable

Chapter 28 Talismans
Qin Chuan asked if the consultation fee was too high.

“Not much, not much!” Zhao Musheng said repeatedly. “Each of the plants you saved is worth over a hundred spirit coins. This consultation fee is just the market price. I still have more to express my gratitude to. If you have time, Daoist Master, let’s meet at the Gathering Pavilion tonight…”

Qin Chuan understood and nodded in agreement.

He could tell that Zhao Musheng intended to befriend him—given his own abilities, since the other party was in charge of medicinal herbs, he would inevitably need to ask for his help in the future.

If that's the case, why neglect a major benefactor?
As for whether it involves corruption...

Taking a deep breath and calming down, he recalled his past life's workplace experiences.

Experience told him that when immortals are banished to the mortal realm, the sulliance they suffer is often the least serious offense, ultimately stemming from their defeat in a battle of magic against their opponents.

In this world, we are all interconnected, and true wisdom lies in being able to navigate it all with ease, adapt to circumstances, and seize opportunities.

If he's too innocent, will the world really accept him?

……

In the evening, Qin Chuan enjoyed a truly delicious meal.

They failed the test of being invited to meals.

The banquet at Huicui Tower was just as delicious as the cooking of his top-tier spiritual chefs; both were spiritual dishes.

After the meal, Qin Chuan felt the spiritual energy in his meridians increase by three points, surpassing the effect of ten days of arduous cultivation.

“It’s so delicious!”

No wonder the immortals of this era also enjoy eating and drinking.

During the meeting, he agreed to serve as their spiritual plant consultant and received some benefits in return.

After bidding farewell to Zhao Musheng.

Back in the He family courtyard.

He opened the pouch and poured out a clattering pile of spirit essences, a full thirty-six pieces, which was his salary for a year and a half.

"I never knew money could come so quickly."

He thought to himself:
"I wonder if the talisman brush on Sifu Street is still there. I can go and check on it tomorrow."

Now that his wallet is thicker, he can even afford a talisman pen worth twenty yuan!
Silent all night.

The next day after work, Qin Chuan didn't head straight to Sifu Street. Instead, he went home first to change his clothes before strolling over there.

He was still feeling uneasy all the way there—after so many days without coming, he was worried that someone had bought the precious talisman brush, but he was also worried that it was still there, but the shopkeeper recognized him and deliberately raised the price.

He deliberately went in the opposite direction and slowly made his way to the stall.

Along the way, I kept looking for old items with Buddhist connotations at other stalls, but unfortunately, I didn't come across a second one until I reached my target stall.

This antique market is nothing like the imperial court; genuine items aren't so easy to find.

Fortunately, the talisman pen is still there.

Qin Chuan breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward.

The stall owner seemed to have forgotten about him and greeted him warmly, "Take your time, just let me know what you like."

Seeing that the other party didn't recognize him, Qin Chuan didn't beat around the bush and directly picked up the talisman pen: "How much for this?"

"Wow, you have a good eye! This is no ordinary item; it's something cultivators use... How about fifteen spirit coins for me?" the stall owner said, tucking his sleeves around his neck.

Qin Chuan was slightly taken aback—he hadn't expected the price to change after a few days.

It seems the stall owner couldn't hold back any longer after not making a purchase for so long.

Since the price can be lowered, it means there is still room for negotiation.

He cut the price in half: "Seven and a half yuan."

"I can't sell it, I can't sell it!" The stall owner waved his hands repeatedly. "It'll cost at least fourteen yuan."

Qin Chuan continued grinding.

As he continued to haggle, the stall owner suddenly stared at him and asked, "Have you been here before? Did you ask about this pen last time?"

He remembered.

Qin Chuan smiled and said, "Yes, last time you asked for twenty yuan, which scared me away."

The stall owner wanted to test the waters a bit more, but suddenly sighed – only poor Taoist priests who had just started their cultivation would be willing to touch this thing; who with real skills would want to look down on this unlucky thing dug out of the ground?

The customer base is far too narrow.

He took a deep breath: "Thirteen yuan."

Qin Chuan remained unmoved. After several rounds of back and forth, they finally agreed on a price of eleven spirit coins.

I managed to cut the price down from 20 yuan to 11 yuan. Luckily, I didn't impulsively buy it last time. This time, I saved four months' wages!
It really proves the saying: buy early and enjoy early, buy late and enjoy discounts.

Clutching the talisman pen worth a hundred points of magical essence, Qin Chuan wandered around the remaining stalls, but unfortunately found nothing more.

Back in the rented room, I closed the doors and windows tightly.

Qin Chuan held the talisman brush in his hand, his mind stirring slightly:
"refining!"

The furnace mark appeared in his palm, and the black furnace in his sea of ​​consciousness roared and started to operate, absorbing the brush-shaped magic essence from the talisman brush.

[This refining process is expected to take five hours...] Qin Chuan was secretly shocked—so long! No wonder it's a treasure worth a hundred points of magic essence.

Looks like I won't be getting any sleep tonight.

He focused his mind and began the long process of refining...

The night passed quickly, and the rooster crowed at dawn—

boom!
Countless runes surged forth from the furnace in his mind.

[Second-tier rune technique successfully refined!]

Second-order rune magic!

Qin Chuan was overjoyed.

As is customary in the cultivation world, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth levels of skills correspond to the Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Deity Transformation realms, respectively.

This second-tier talisman cultivation means that one has mastered the talismanic arts at the Foundation Establishment stage!

This also indicates that the previous owner of this writing was at least a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, a Guan-level cultivator.

As the talismanic experience gushing from the furnace merged into his soul, Qin Chuan suddenly realized—this was a profound talismanic technique capable of sealing any Foundation Establishment Realm spell into talisman paper!
What foundation-building magic does he currently possess?
The highest level is no more than the Yi Wood Azure Sky Technique and the Lesser Cloud Rain Technique.

His gaze fell upon the broom in the corner, and an idea struck him. He picked up his brush and, using his spiritual energy, tried drawing a "Yi Wood Azure Sky Talisman" on the end of the bamboo broom...

Spiritual energy poured forth frantically, and the final stroke was completed in an instant—

The long-dead bamboo broom's tail section suddenly sprouted tender buds!

And even after he withdrew his spiritual power, the sprout continued to grow.

Qin Chuan was both surprised and delighted. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the spiritual energy contained in the talisman was enough to sustain him for a day.

If things continue like this, how can this inanimate broom possibly revive like withered bamboo?

"If every spell could be drawn into a talisman..."

Qin Chuan's eyes suddenly lit up:

"I've heard that besides spiritual rain, there's another technique called 'Spirit Gathering Technique' for nourishing spiritual plants, which I've been working at Nongling Temple for the past two months. If I could combine the Spirit Gathering Technique with the Yi Wood Azure Sky Technique and draw a talisman to stick on the orange tree... wouldn't every tree be able to be nourished by the true energy of Yi Wood and even replenish its own spiritual energy?"

If this is true——

Are you still worried that the Ling oranges won't survive this year?

In an instant, Qin Chuan seemed to see the dawn of his official promotion, which was waving enthusiastically at him.

the next day.

Qin Chuan then went directly to observe the field and sought out Elder Huo to learn the Spirit Gathering Technique.

I shared my thoughts.

"Spirit Gathering Technique? The Azure Heaven Art of Wood, a fusion of the two?"

Upon hearing this, Old Huo jumped up from his chair, almost dropping his pipe.

"You've cultivated the True Qi of the Wood element?!"

Qin Chuan nodded honestly.

Although news of his use of Yi Wood True Qi to heal Lin Xiaoheng's spiritual plant had not yet reached Elder Huo's ears, it would be impossible to keep it a secret sooner or later.

"How long has it been?"

Old Huo looked Qin Chuan up and down, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets, as if he had seen some kind of monster.

Although Qin Chuan learned the magic he had figured out on his own, as long as he practiced step by step, a genius like Qin Chuan would eventually be able to condense the true qi of the Yi wood.

But he estimated that even if Qin Chuan had great talent, he wouldn't be able to master it in less than a year or two.

And the result? Less than a month!
What a genius!

Old Huo circled Qin Chuan twice, the four words repeatedly passing through his mind.

"Then... about this disciple wanting to learn the Spirit Gathering Technique?"

Qin Chuan asked tentatively.

"no problem!"

Old Master Huo felt like he had struck gold!

He had thought that such a rare and exceptional talent for cultivation only existed in legends, but he never expected to actually encounter one himself.

Let alone the Spirit Gathering Technique, he would be happy to teach even spells ten times more difficult. Who wouldn't like a student with exceptional talent!

Before long, Elder Huo took a magic book from the scripture room of Nongling Temple and solemnly handed it to Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan excitedly accepted it, as if he could already see the Spirit Gathering Technique and the Yi Wood Azure Sky Technique merging into a talisman and sticking it on the orange tree.

But after reading only a few lines, his heart sank, and the smile on his lips froze—

The Spirit Gathering Technique requires the fourth level of Qi Refining to be learned.

He, however, is only at the third level of Qi Refining.

(End of this chapter)