Starting as a Talisman Master

Lu Chi and Liu Qing stepped into the front hall of Yueyin Pavilion side by side. The air inside was filled with the faint scent of sandalwood and the flickering candlelight, which made the spiritual light of several talismans on the shelves appear and disappear.

With steady footsteps, a burly figure strode out from the inner hall; it was Cao Zhen.

Dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit, with broad shoulders and a wide back, he glanced around the hall and said loudly, "Two talisman masters, Sect Master Qin is waiting in the inner hall. Please follow me."

They had clearly sensed the arrival of the two.

Why is this scoundrel Cao guarding this place every day? Could it be that he has completely surrendered to the Qixia Sect and has stopped farming to become a door god...? Lu Chi's thoughts shifted slightly, and he walked straight away.

Liu Qing followed closely behind, snorted coldly, and thought to himself: Today I'll see who gets more favor.

Inside the main hall, Qin Suniang sat in the main seat, dressed in a moon-white gauze dress. Her eyebrows and eyes were exquisite, and her aura was gentle yet carried a hint of sect leader's majesty.

Seeing the two enter, she stood up and smiled gently. She first looked at Lu Chi and said in a soft voice, "Master Lu, congratulations on breaking through to the fourth level of Qi Refining. You have a bright future ahead and hope to establish your foundation."

Lu Chi returned the greeting with a cupped hand, his tone calm: "Thank you for your kind words, Sect Master. I have come today only to deliver the talismans I have drawn these past few days, as agreed."

Qin Su Niang's beautiful eyes brightened slightly, and she nodded, saying, "Master Lu is very kind."

She turned her gaze to Liu Qing, her smile undiminished: "Brother Liu Qing is here too."

Liu Qing raised an eyebrow, her tone tinged with urgency and dissatisfaction: "Sister Qin, my brother is also here today to deliver the talisman! Why ask him first and not me?"

Qin Suniang covered her mouth and chuckled softly, her voice gentle: "Not at all. Seeing the two of you arrive together, I knew we would have a fruitful day. Please, have a seat."

She raised her hand, gesturing for the two to sit down.

"Master Lu, Brother Liu Qing, you've come at the right time. Business at the pavilion has been pretty good these past few days, and we're short of talismans."

"We previously agreed to split the profits based on sales volume. Now I have another proposal. The spirit stones you submit will be paid upfront based on the original price. If we sell more in the future, we will make up the difference; if we don't finish selling them all at once, we will order more."

"What do you two think?"

Lu Chi nodded without hesitation. Given his current financial situation, getting spirit stones would be the best thing to do.

"Sister Qin is right, I will listen to you."

Liu Qing didn't say much. Who would turn down a spirit stone?

Qin Suniang smiled faintly without saying a word, and then said, "In that case, please take out the talismans so that I may take a look."

Liu Qing immediately stood up and said arrogantly, "Sister Qin, let your younger brother make a fool of himself first."

With a flick of his sleeve, a flash of inspiration appeared, and he took out two stacks of talismans from his storage bag. He first gently shook out one stack, and sixteen talisman papers unfolded one by one like a fan, hovering half a foot in front of the table.

The talisman paper was slightly yellowish, and although the patterns were simple, they were even. The spiritual energy flowed gently, carrying a touch of the simplicity and composure of an ordinary low-grade talisman.

Immediately afterwards, he unfolded another stack, revealing six mid-grade talismans standing in mid-air, the paper appearing more solid and the ink deeper.

The interwoven runes subtly reveal a restrained radiance, each one possessing a more refined quality than lower-grade runes. The spiritual intent is no longer shallow, but rather flows gently across the surface of the runes like a fine stream, subtly conveying a protective aura.

Qin Su Niang's beautiful eyes flickered slightly. She gently raised her hand and took the most recent mid-grade talisman into her palm. After examining it carefully for a moment, she nodded and said, "The quality is stable, and the brushstrokes are coherent. Brother Liu Qing has indeed been working hard these past few days."

Liu Qing felt a little smug, but pretended to be indifferent. Then he turned his gaze and said, "Sister Qin, you flatter me. As for Brother Lu's achievements, I'd also like to see them."

Qin Su Niang also turned her gaze to Lu Chi, her eyes filled with anticipation.

Lu Chi remained expressionless, and with a flick of his sleeve, a burst of spiritual light appeared in his storage bag, like a clear spring being stirred. Eleven talismans quietly flew out, hovering in mid-air one after another, their spiritual essence intertwined, yet each guarding its own position.

Not a single piece was of inferior quality.

All ten were of mid-grade first rank. The talisman paper was solid, the ink was deep, and the patterns were as clear and smooth as fine silk. The spiritual power was restrained and not ostentatious. Each one was like a pool of still water, containing a sharp edge that could be unleashed at any time.

But the one in the very center is different.

A faint icy blue halo emanated from the surface of the talisman, as if invisible frost was slowly condensing on the paper, and the talisman patterns were intertwined like countless tiny icicles.

The talisman is joined end to end, with three sharp, converging rays of cold light at the base, and a faint sound of air being torn apart emanates from it, its chill penetrating to the core.

That aura was condensed and profound, far surpassing ordinary mid-grade talismans, and had already stepped into the first-tier high-grade realm, a high-grade ice arrow talisman!

This talisman was the first one Lu Chi created after unlocking the [Talisman Master] title. It also combined with his own spiritual root, and his proficiency improved rapidly, making it the most advanced among all the talismans. He had already reached the minor completion stage.

Having reached the minor completion stage, the panel provides its own guidance. From now on, he can reliably draw low-grade ice arrow talismans without external assistance. If he activates [Burning Thought], he can also try for mid-grade ones.

A few days ago, he obtained the "Complete Writing" skill, which made his spirit even stronger and his ambition even greater. In a moment of enthusiasm, he used the power of burning thoughts to try to reach the upper rank.

There is a real threshold between superior and medium-grade products. The effectiveness is such, but the difficulty is even greater.

He failed several times in a row, and afterwards he was exhausted. Fortunately, he managed to make a few in the end, and this talisman was one of them.

The candlelight in the hall seemed to be slightly suppressed by the chill, and the flames flickered, casting the light and shadow on the faces of Qin Su Niang and Liu Qing.

Qin Su Niang's beautiful eyes suddenly lit up. She gently raised her hand and took the superior-grade ice arrow talisman into her palm. When her fingertips touched the surface of the talisman, a cool sensation involuntarily arose in her palm.

She murmured softly, "Superior quality... truly a superior ice arrow talisman."

Liu Qing stood to the side, her pupils suddenly contracting, her face turning deathly pale.

Impossible! This guy must have bought it from somewhere else and is just pretending it was his own drawing!

After all, the two stacks of talismans he had just handed over contained sixteen low-grade and six mid-grade talismans, which was already his limit.

If he hadn't secretly spent his own money to buy a few mid-grade talismans from Luo's talisman shop at a low price and mixed them in, he probably wouldn't have been able to come up with this number at all.

He had hoped to save face by doing this, but who knew...

But when he suppressed his emotions and carefully compared Lu Chi's batch of talismans, he was struck dumb.

The talismans are made of the same paper, with similar paper texture, ink absorption, and ink color... clearly from the same source!

"This is impossible!" Liu Qing's throat went dry, and he exclaimed inwardly, but ultimately did not utter the words aloud.

Qin Su Niang calmed herself down, then gently lifted her hand and took the two batches of talismans on the table into her palm. First, she put the two stacks of talismans belonging to Liu Qing into her storage bag in her sleeve, and then carefully put away the eleven talismans belonging to Lu Chi. Her movements were quite solemn.

She turned around, took out thirty crystal-clear low-grade spirit stones from another small brocade pouch at her waist, their spiritual light flashing slightly, and pushed them in front of Liu Qing.

"Brother Liu Qing, these thirty spirit stones are an advance payment for this batch of talismans. You've worked so hard these past few days, I can't let you down."

Liu Qing reached out and took it. His fingertips touched the cold spirit stone, but he felt even colder in his heart. He looked down at the spirit stone in his palm and forced a smile: "Thank you, sister."

Qin Suniang's gaze was gentle, yet carried an undeniable resolve: "Put it away first. I have something to say to you privately later, but for now... would you mind going out for a moment?"

Liu Qing could easily understand the underlying meaning: Qin Su Niang was trying to avoid suspicion and didn't want Lu Chi to overhear their deal.

I was here first… His throat tightened, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it back and walked out without looking back.

The candlelight flickered gently, making Qin Su Niang's features appear even softer. She turned around, her gaze falling on Lu Chi, her voice low and gentle, yet carrying a hint of genuine joy and anticipation:

"Master Lu, your superior-grade Ice Arrow Talisman has truly delighted me. From now on, the Moon Concealment Pavilion can rely entirely on you for all its talisman-related matters. However..."

She paused, a hint of something deeper flashing in her beautiful eyes, and gently stroked the high-grade ice arrow talisman on the table, her voice slightly probing:

"Master Lu, could you tell me how many of these superior-grade talismans you have drawn recently? And how many you can draw each month from now on? If there is a fixed number, I can make arrangements in advance."

Lu Chi pondered for a moment: "I can only create high-grade talismans by chance when I am in good condition, and even then, it's hard to guarantee one in ten. From now on, I can probably only create one or two per month. If I force myself to draw more, I'm afraid it will deplete my mental energy and damage my foundation."

That's obviously a lie.

With his soul now growing stronger and his incantation skills becoming more proficient, it's not difficult for him to produce ten high-grade ice arrow talismans a month.

However, this number is too astonishing. An ordinary first-level talisman master would find it difficult to draw a single high-grade talisman in his entire life; even a second-level talisman master who personally produces ten high-grade talismans per month can be considered exceptionally talented.

While his current performance far surpasses that of ordinary Qi Refining Talisman Masters, it can still be attributed to factors such as "obtaining some ancient scroll fragment," "a fortuitous encounter," or "a natural affinity for the Dao of Talismans," and thus won't immediately attract too much attention. A cautious approach is best.

A hint of understanding flashed in Qin Su Niang's beautiful eyes, but she did not show any disappointment. Instead, she nodded slightly, as if she had breathed a sigh of relief.

After a moment's thought, she raised her hand and took out a brocade pouch from her storage bag. A faint light flashed, and more than a hundred low-grade spirit stones were neatly stacked out, totaling more than 120 stones. The spiritual energy wafted around them, making the candlelight in the hall even brighter.

Lu Chi's gaze shifted, and his heart skipped a beat.

He had anticipated that the value of a high-grade talisman would be several times, or even ten times, greater than that of a mid-grade talisman.

But when the 120 spirit stones were actually placed in front of him, their heavy weight still stirred his heart slightly.

In the end, he was nothing more than a poor, wandering cultivator.

He accepted the brocade pouch with clasped hands, saying, "Thank you, Sect Master."

"Master Lu, you're too kind. Since you're willing to contribute to the Moon Concealment Pavilion, this amount of spirit stones is just what you deserve."

Qin Su Niang smiled faintly, her gaze suddenly becoming more serious, and her voice lowered slightly:

"However... Master Lu, it would be best if you did not leave the market easily in the future. Now that your reputation is rising, if you travel alone outside, something unexpected may happen."

Lu Chi's expression remained unchanged, but he couldn't help but press, "Sect Master, what makes you say this? Have the three people who caused trouble that day... revealed the mastermind behind it all?"

A hint of coldness flashed across Qin Su Niang's beautiful eyes, but she quickly concealed it, and said in a soft voice:

"Master Lu is indeed astute. Those three were indeed sent by someone to tarnish the reputation of my Moon Concealment Pavilion. I have some clues about the person behind it all; it is our sect's enemy... the Profound Yin Valley."

Xuan Yin Valley? Lu Chi seemed to be deep in thought.

It can be called Xuan Yin Island.