Starting as a Talisman Master

"A top-grade magical flying sword, 'Severing Water'. Though damaged, its malevolent aura has not dissipated. Starting bid: fifty low-grade spirit stones."

The burly cultivator's voice was rough and boomed, like muffled thunder in the shadows.

The gray-robed monk stepped forward expressionlessly, his withered fingertips flicking coldly at the broken sword.

"Buzz—"

The sword trembled, and a few wisps of broken array patterns flickered uncertainly.

"The product is as described, but the price is accurate. Order now."

"This tide platform certainly has some real gold and silver." Lu Chi's eyes flickered slightly.

In the world of cultivation, magical artifacts are the foundation for Qi Refining cultivators to fight and protect themselves, and are divided into four grades: lower, middle, upper, and highest.

Among them, the "top-grade magic weapon" is the rarest and has great power. If it is properly nurtured with spiritual energy, it can still be considered a handy weapon even when one reaches the Foundation Establishment stage.

If an ordinary rogue cultivator could obtain one, it would greatly enhance their combat power.

Unfortunately, this is a broken sword, and its true value is barely equivalent to that of a complete mid-grade magic weapon.

Lu Chi stood still. He mainly cultivated the Dao of Talismans, and all his skills were in talismans. He did not lack such close combat self-defense methods, so it was naturally not worth wasting spirit stones for a broken sword.

There was a three-breath silence in the audience.

Soon, the two mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, who were desperately in need of a suitable weapon, began bidding against each other.

After several rounds of cold, hard negotiations, the broken sword was finally sold for eighty low-grade spirit stones.

The burly cultivator took the spirit stones and stepped down from the stage without hesitation.

Immediately afterwards, another gaunt figure swooped onto the low platform like an owl.

The man didn't take out any magical weapons; instead, he carefully pulled out a tattered, yellowed piece of old animal skin from his pocket.

"This item is neither a magic weapon nor a magic pill, but a clue concerning a rare and wondrous object of heaven and earth."

"Information regarding the fragment of the 'Heaven and Earth Spirit Flame Manual,' ranked seventieth—'Azure Soul Cold Flame.' Starting bid: sixty low-grade spirit stones!"

The gray-robed monk stepped forward again, his withered fingertips picking up the tattered animal hide, his eyes slightly closed.

A moment later, he opened his eyes again and casually tossed the animal hide back onto the table.

"The material is the belly skin of a second-tier demonic beast, the 'Ice Scale Python,' which has existed for at least several hundred years. The scroll does indeed contain remnants of extreme cold energy and a wisp of ancient divine consciousness imprint; it cannot be faked."

"It is indeed a fragment of an ancient artifact. The bid is approved."

Azure Soul Cold Flame? The "Heaven and Earth Spirit Flame Manual"? What kind of object is that?

Lu Chi frowned, for he had never seen this name in any ancient texts.

Not only him, but also several very faint whispers could be heard from the surrounding prayer cushions.

Clearly, most of the dozen or so rogue cultivators present, like Lu Chi, were completely baffled by this so-called "Spirit Flame Manual".

As lowly, unaffiliated cultivators, with their lineage severed, are ultimately limited to this small town and can never reach the clouds above.

Seeing the doubts arising in the audience, the gray-robed cultivator watching coldly snorted: "The 'Heaven and Earth Spirit Flame Manual' is an ancient secret record jointly compiled by the great sects and top families in the cultivation world that have been passed down for thousands of years."

"In this world, besides the spiritual fire that you and I use daily, and the beast fire within the bodies of demonic beasts, there are also some ownerless, wondrous flames that are born from the creation of heaven and earth and absorb the essence of the sun and moon."

"These wondrous flames of heaven and earth are incomparably violent. Some are extremely cold, some are extremely hot, some can devour the soul, and some can burn away spiritual power. The great predecessors ranked the known wondrous flames of heaven and earth according to their power and creation, and they are the 'Chronicle of the Spiritual Flames of Heaven and Earth'."

"Such wondrous flames. Alchemists who obtain them can create top-grade elixirs; weapon refiners who possess them can forge legendary divine weapons. Even talisman masters, if they can use this fire to refine special talisman sand, can double the power of the talismans they draw!"

After he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.

The Heavenly Flame was indeed intimidating, but the dozen or so rogue cultivators present remained clear-headed.

Sixty low-grade spirit stones—that's almost half the fortune of a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

Buying a fragment of a map or a vague clue is not worth it at all.

"Sixty." From the corner, someone finally spoke tentatively.

"Sixty-five." Another black-robed cultivator gritted his teeth and followed suit.

"The wondrous flames born of heaven and earth, if devoured by the [Mysterious Fire], what miraculous effects would they have?" Lu Chi's eyes were slightly closed, and an interest arose in his heart. He slowly raised his head: "Seventy-five."

He added ten spirit stones in one go.

The two people in the corner exchanged a glance, weighed the pros and cons, and then fell silent.

Seeing that no one else was arguing, the gaunt cultivator's eyes flashed with barely concealed elation.

It's incredibly lucky that this kind of junk, whose authenticity is unknown, could fetch such a price.

"Seventy-five, sold!"

The gray-robed monk nodded expressionlessly: "Payment and goods settled. No further explanation given after departure."

Lu Chi slowly emerged from the shadows, without uttering a single word, and directly pointed out seventy-five low-grade spirit stones, tossing them into the wooden tray beside the gray-robed cultivator.

With a flick of his finger, the tattered animal hide scroll landed steadily in his sleeve.

It was extremely cold to the touch; the lingering chill on the icy python skin traveled straight through my fingertips and into my veins.

Lu Chi remained calm, not even glancing at the incomplete map spread out on the stage, before turning and disappearing back into the shadows at the edge.

Several obscure gazes lingered on him like a persistent, stabbing wound.

Despite his meager cultivation at the fourth level of Qi Refining, he didn't even blink before spending seventy-five spirit stones to buy a fragmented map that was completely useless for cultivation.

Such unusual behavior inevitably arouses suspicion.

The bidding continues behind closed doors.

The items that followed were a wide variety of things: pills, magical artifacts, and even a few pieces of the skeleton of an unknown monster.

Lu Chi observed coldly, never speaking again, not because he was short of money, but because he truly had no desires.

He was calculating which route to take to retreat later.

Just then, a hunched-over monk awkwardly leaped onto the low platform.

The man didn't use a wooden box or a jade box; he simply carefully took out a tattered talisman with blackened edges from his pocket.

"This is an ancient talisman."

The hunchbacked cultivator swallowed hard, his voice lacking confidence. "A few days ago, I accidentally unearthed it from the ruins of a collapsed ancient cultivator's cave. Its specific effects... unknown. Starting bid: twenty low-grade spirit stones."

A burst of undisguised sneer came from the audience.

Everyone in this black market is shrewd. Trying to swindle twenty spirit stones out of a worthless piece of paper with a fabricated story of an "ancient cultivator's cave"? They're really desperate for spirit stones.

Even the gray-robed cultivator who had been in charge of assessing the situation frowned deeply.

He stepped forward, picked up the tattered talisman, infused it with a wisp of spiritual power, examined it for a moment, and then disdainfully tossed it back onto the table.

"The material of the talisman is indeed rare, neither gold nor wood. However, seven or eight tenths of the spiritual patterns on it have been destroyed, and the spiritual energy is extremely mixed and cannot be activated at all. Its age is difficult to determine, and its efficacy is unknown. You can judge its authenticity yourself."

Even the most skilled fighters in charge of the operation gave such an ambiguous death sentence.

No one in the audience responded immediately, not even whispering; they all watched with amusement.

The hunchbacked cultivator's face flushed red, and he rubbed his hands awkwardly, saying, "Fellow Daoists, this really was dug out of an ancient cultivator's cave! I'm not lying at all. If I weren't desperately short of spirit stones to save my life, I would never have taken it out..."

Still, no one paid any attention.

Lu Chi shook his head inwardly as he watched this scene.

He had recently witnessed this kind of act of passing off junk as antiques and stubbornly refusing to admit it, at a tea party in Qingque Mountain Market.

I thought the Tide Platform had a very high entry barrier, but I never expected there would be such incompetent people here.

However, the moment his gaze swept over the tattered talisman, a clear light flashed in his eyes, and his [Spiritual Eye] quietly activated.

[Second-Tier Low-Grade Mysterious Scripture Talisman]

[Use of the talisman: A type of talisman used in traditional methods called "scripture-hiding talisman" to seal away scripture pages and key incantations, preventing ordinary investigation.]

[Availability: Excessively damaged, no longer usable, considered a useless talisman]

[Damage Condition: The talisman is mostly broken, the main runes are broken in three places, the spiritual energy has dissipated, and the spiritual energy cannot be redirected]

[Observable anomalies: The core of the talisman still retains a trace of its original meaning, as if the root of the character "藏" (cáng, meaning to hide) has not been extinguished; there are traces of forced reconnection at the broken lines, indicating that the spiritual power was suppressed but not completely dissipated.]

Lu Chi's heart skipped a beat.

The hunchbacked cultivator wasn't lying; the broken talisman truly was an ancient artifact.

A secret that Han Jingxing had once mentioned flashed through his mind: In the ancient cultivation world, cultivators often used specially made talismans as boxes to seal the core scriptures and incantations inside, which were called "scripture-hiding talismans".

If the seal within this fragmented talisman is not completely destroyed, even if only a single incomplete scroll remains, its value is far greater than a mere twenty spirit stones.

Unfortunately, the talisman was severely damaged, and the seal inside was already incomplete.

"I wonder if forcibly refining this ancient talisman with the [Burning Thought] technique could restore some of its true form?" Lu Chi's heart warmed slightly.

On the low platform, after several breaths, no one responded. The gray-robed cultivator, with a cold face, was about to wave his hand to announce that the bid had failed and to send the person off the platform.

"Twenty pieces."

A hoarse, flat voice suddenly rang out from the shadows in the corner.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, and it was not hard to recognize the speaker; it was the sucker who had just spent seventy-five spirit stones to buy the worthless map.

The hunchbacked cultivator suddenly looked up, his eyes gleaming with the wild joy of escaping a desperate situation.

The gray-robed monk also looked in the direction of the sound, his withered brows furrowing almost imperceptibly, a scrutinizing glint in his eyes.

If he buys scrap metal twice in a row, it's hard to say that this kid has a sharp eye and has noticed something.

Lu Chi's tone was indifferent: "The material of this talisman paper is indeed rare. It's neither metal nor wood, but it still retains its toughness. Take it back, disassemble it, and analyze it a bit; consider it a scrap of material for studying ancient talisman-making techniques."

This reason was given perfectly.

A rogue cultivator who is obsessed with talismans and has some spare money in his pocket spends twenty spirit stones to buy an ancient talisman paper to study its material. Although he is still a sucker, it is reasonable and there is nothing wrong with it.

The doubt in the gray-robed monk's eyes vanished instantly, and he coldly withdrew his gaze.

"Twenty pieces. Anyone else bidding?"

The audience fell silent. The broken talisman was eventually sold to Lu Chi.

After the last few transactions were completed, the gray-robed cultivator waved his hand coldly, and the water curtain formation around the Tide Platform melted away like ice and snow.

As night fell and dawn broke, the morning mist was slightly cool.

Without a single word of politeness, the dozen or so dark figures below the stage scattered like startled birds, disappearing into the lingering mist in the blink of an eye.

Lu Chi moved swiftly, choosing the most secluded deserted path, and silently disappeared into the cold autumn forest. He concealed his presence, his feet barely touching the ground, and headed straight for the withered tree where he had tethered his horse.

He had only been out of the old lake area for a few miles when several obscure yet murderous spiritual pressures locked onto him from afar, like a leech.

"Why are you leaving in such a hurry, fellow Daoist?"

A slightly chilling voice, carried by spiritual energy, pierced through the morning mist, faintly echoing: "I am also quite interested in that wondrous flame of heaven and earth and the ancient fragment of the talisman. Fellow Daoist, why don't you stop and let us examine them together?"

A joint appreciation? Why didn't you take out half a spirit stone when we were bidding secretly earlier?

Lu Chi sneered inwardly. To put it bluntly, they were just taking advantage of his wealth and the fact that his cultivation was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining, wanting to do this risk-free business of murder and robbery.

The black market is not like the marketplace. Without the array of the Tide Platform, there are no rules to speak of. He had long anticipated this kind of stalking and ambush.

He didn't even turn his head; instead of stopping, he suddenly accelerated.

Before long, the familiar withered tree came into view. The robust black horse was snorting and pawing the ground restlessly.

The sound of air being torn apart was already close behind, and the calamity cultivator's sinister laughter seemed to be right next to his ear.

Lu Chi leaped and landed steadily on the saddle. He drew his short dagger and with a "whoosh," severed the reins.

Immediately afterwards, he calmly pulled out a [Superior Swiftness Talisman] that was glowing with a blue light and slapped it hard on the horse's rump with a "smack"!

"Buzz—"

An extremely dense wind-attribute spiritual energy instantly and violently poured into the limbs and bones of this ordinary horse.

The black horse's eyes suddenly bulged out, and it let out a high-pitched, mournful neigh.

Its four hooves pounded the soil, leaving a trail of afterimages as it sped away as if riding the clouds.

Its speed was so great that it stirred up a fierce gust of wind, tearing a wave of earth through the forest.

The pursuing figures came to an abrupt halt.

The cultivators were dumbfounded as they watched the afterimage that sped away in an exaggerated manner.

However, there were two or three Qi Refining mid-stage cultivators who considered themselves to be exceptionally skilled in escape techniques. They snorted coldly in disbelief and stubbornly followed behind, eating their dust.

The wind howled, cutting like a knife across the face.

Lu Chi lay prone on the swaying horse's back, letting the withered trees on both sides recede into blurry afterimages.

"Youngster! Do you dare dismount and fight?"

Hearing the shouts behind him, he turned his head slightly and glanced at the few black dots that were being left further and further behind, looking furious, a hundred feet away. He couldn't help but smile faintly.

"No matter how powerful your cultivation is, or how unfathomable your magic, as long as this horse runs faster than a flash of light, even if you are a Golden Core cultivator or a Nascent Soul cultivator descended to earth, what can you do to me today?"