I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

Tail Star Island is similar in size to Kui Star Island. Its lord, Zhan Taijing, is a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, just like the lord of Wood Dragon Island.

Decades ago, when he transformed into Zhou Tian and formed his core, there was indirect contact (he was frightened away by Zhou Yuan's divine sense).

Choosing this location allows one to avoid being completely unfamiliar with the place while also avoiding the distractions of an overly familiar environment.

Zhou Yuan arrived at Tailstar City, the largest city on Tailstar Island.

He rented a street-front shop in the largest market area of ​​the city, which was in a decent location and of a suitable size.

He didn't use any names related to alchemy, but instead chose a simple, even somewhat vulgar, shop name:

"Zhou's Talisman Practices".

Since we are engaged in worldly affairs, we cannot simply waste our time.

Zhou Yuan planned to take this opportunity to temporarily set aside alchemy and instead delve into the arts of array formation, talisman making, and weapon crafting.

These three, along with alchemy, are known as the four arts of cultivating immortality. Although they have different emphases, they are all interconnected. By drawing inferences from one another, they will also benefit his future path in the Dao.

Array Dao: Back in the battlefield of Jingu Plain, he obtained an ancient array dao jade slip from the storage bag of a demonic cultivator. It contained some ancient array formations. He had studied it superficially, but was far from mastering it.

This is a good opportunity for systematic learning and practice.

The Way of Talismans: The principle is to seal successfully cultivated spells into talisman paper using special techniques and materials, creating talismans that can be activated and used at any time.

The key factors affecting the success rate of talisman making, besides the quality of materials such as talisman paper, cinnabar, and talisman brush, as well as talisman making experience, are the mastery and proficiency of the spell being sealed.

During his early Qi Refining stage, Zhou Yuan had already mastered several basic spells to perfection, demonstrating an excellent foundation.

The Way of Refining Weapons: This refers to the art of refining magical artifacts and treasures, which is closely related to the Way of Arrays and the Way of Talismans, and can be studied together.

He first went to the market to purchase various basic materials needed for making talismans: stacks of blank talisman paper (divided into primary and intermediate grades), cinnabar of acceptable quality, and a standard talisman brush.

They also purchased some basic array formation books, jade slips for beginners in weapon crafting, as well as corresponding tools and common materials.

Back in the quiet room in the backyard of the shop, Zhou Yuan began his first attempt at making talismans.

He chose the most basic, low-level talisman—the Fireball Talisman.

He had already mastered the corresponding spell "Fireball," and could use it with ease.

Laying out the talisman paper, mixing the cinnabar, and holding the talisman brush, Zhou Yuan concentrated his mind and clearly visualized the trajectory and burst point of the Fireball spell's power in his mind.

He channeled a wisp of his magic power, following the tip of the talisman brush, and slowly infused a wisp of pure fire-attribute magic power into the talisman paper along a specific rune trajectory.

With swift, flowing strokes, the runes gradually take shape. The entire process requires a high degree of concentration and meticulous control over magical power.

Fortunately, Zhou Yuan had a strong spiritual sense and precise control over his magical power. Although it was his first attempt, he did not experience any stagnation.

As the last stroke was made, the vermilion runes on the talisman paper suddenly lit up, then the radiance subsided, and a fireball talisman emitting a faint fire elemental aura lay quietly on the table.

Success on the first try!

"It seems that the art of talisman making isn't so difficult to learn after all."

Zhou Yuan picked up the talisman, which was still warm, and felt a surge of joy.

Although this is only the lowest-grade, beginner-level talisman, many beginners often need to experience dozens or even hundreds of failures before they can succeed once. His starting point is already extremely high.

For the next ten years, Zhou Yuan lived a semi-secluded, semi-worldly life in the "Zhou Family Talisman Practice".

During the day, he opened a shop and put some of the basic talismans he had successfully made (fireball talismans, ice cone talismans, lightness talismans, vajra talismans, etc.) on the counter for sale. The prices were fair and the quality was stable, which gradually attracted some low-level cultivators and independent cultivators.

He plays a taciturn, middle-aged shop owner who focuses on his craft and doesn't interact much with customers, but whose talisman-making skills are highly regarded.

In the evenings and during his free time, he would study the Jade Slips of Array Dao and the basics of weapon crafting in the backyard, and try to make more complex talismans.

As his understanding of talismanic arts deepened and his skills improved, he began to try making intermediate-level talismans.

Intermediate-level talismans seal Foundation Establishment stage spells, greatly increasing the difficulty of their creation and requiring higher standards in materials, techniques, and control over mana.

However, Zhou Yuan himself possessed profound cultivation and his understanding of the corresponding spells far surpassed that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators (the "Heavenly Fire Technique" and "Golden Dragon Scissors Killing Technique" that he mastered were mid-to-high-level spells), and his success rate steadily increased.

In the following years, mid-level and low-level talismans began to appear steadily on the shop counters, such as "Fire Serpent Talisman," "Ice Spear Talisman," and "Earth Prison Talisman," whose power far exceeded that of primary talismans, immediately attracting many Foundation Establishment cultivators to come and buy them.

The reputation of "Zhou's Talisman Shop" gradually grew among the low-level cultivators of Tailstar City.

Two years later, Zhou Yuan began to try combining array formation with weapon crafting, making some simple array tools, such as array flags, rough prototypes of array plates, or simple magical artifacts with a single function, which he also put in the shop for sale, enriching the variety of goods in the shop.

Six years later, after nearly twenty years of dedicated research and practice, Zhou Yuan's mastery of arrays, talismans, and artifacts had become completely different from what it used to be.

Six years later, after nearly twenty years of dedicated research and practice, Zhou Yuan's mastery of arrays, talismans, and artifacts had become completely different from what it used to be.

Occasionally, he would take out some of his carefully crafted intermediate trapping arrays and defensive array plates, which were sufficient to deal with Foundation Establishment cultivators. Although the quantity was small and the price was high, they were quickly bought by those who knew their stuff whenever they were put on the shelves.

Eighteen years have passed quietly.

Zhou Yuan's appearance, after a long period of disguise, has changed from a young man to a composed middle-aged man (in reality, he is at the mid-stage of Core Formation, has a long lifespan, and still looks young).

Every day he watched the bustling crowds of monks and mortals outside the shop, watching them struggle for a living, fight for opportunities, rejoice in love, and grieve over parting...

The myriad aspects of secular life are completely different from the cold cruelty of the cultivation world, filled with more direct joys and sorrows, birth, aging, sickness and death.

Immersed in this environment, Zhou Yuan's emotions, which had gradually faded due to his long-term asceticism and pursuit of immortality, seemed to be reawakened.

He experienced joy, warmth, pity, and melancholy, and also witnessed greed, deceit, suffering, and death.

Whether positive or negative, these real emotions and experiences, like a gentle stream, constantly wash over and permeate his state of mind.

He no longer observes indifferently from the perspective of a high and mighty cultivator, but tries to understand and experience it, and then reflects, settles, and sublimates it with the detached mindset of a cultivator.

The changes in mindset brought about by this worldly experience were mysterious and indescribable, yet he felt that the invisible barrier at the peak of the third level of the Great Evolution Technique was quietly loosening.

Regarding cultivation techniques:

The Way of Talismans: Zhou Yuan has already become a qualified talisman master.

He can achieve a near 100% success rate with intermediate and low-level talismans, which is his shop's most stable and best-selling source of goods.

As for intermediate and high-level talismans, he was also able to successfully produce them, but in order to avoid attracting attention, he did not choose to sell them here.

Zhou Yuan has already mastered the art of array formations and weapon crafting.

Especially in the art of array formations, inspired by the ancient array formation jade slip and his own powerful divine sense deduction ability, his mastery of array formations has far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators of the same level.

In the last three years of these eighteen years, Zhou Yuan devoted a great deal of precious materials and effort to personally crafting a masterpiece representing the pinnacle of his current level of array formation mastery.

Ninefold Pill Sealing Formation!

This formation consists of nine core array plates and thirty-six auxiliary array flags, with intricate and interlocking array patterns.

As its name suggests, this formation, when fully activated, is powerful enough to trap even a Core Formation stage cultivator!

If Zhou Yuan were to personally oversee the operation, with his powerful divine sense and pure magical power, he might even be able to trap the fake infant cultivator in the formation for a period of time!

"Eighteen years have passed. My mindset has been tempered enough, and my skills have also improved. It's time to leave."

On this day, Zhou Yuan stood at the entrance of "Zhou's Talisman Shop" and took one last look at the small shop that had been in business for nearly twenty years.

And the familiar street in front of the door.

After a moment, he did not linger.

He turned around and went back into the store.

He put the rare materials he had accumulated over the years, the unsold exquisite talisman arrays, and the "Ninefold Sealing Pill Array" into his storage bag.

After tidying up, Zhou Yuan locked the shop door and, like an ordinary middle-aged shopkeeper who had finished his business, quietly blended into the flow of people in Tailstar City and then disappeared without a trace.

——ps——

These chapters may have a mundane plot, but it would feel incomplete to skip writing about the transition period.