Starting as a Talisman Master

The wind howled past my ears like the wailing of ghosts and wolves.

The mortal horse, pushed to its limit by the superior-grade Divine Speed ​​Talisman, nearly lifted off the ground, leaving a long afterimage across the uneven wilderness.

The angry shouts and curses behind him had been completely crushed by the wind before half an incense stick had burned, and not a trace of their presence could be sensed.

Lu Chi lay on the horse's back, but the coldness in his eyes did not fade in the slightest.

He dared not be careless in the slightest. Black market robbers were full of tracking techniques, either by scent or by residual spiritual energy fluctuations. As long as he had not yet returned to the protection of the market's array, he could not let his guard down.

They ran for another fifty miles.

The superior-grade Swiftness Talisman, shimmering with azure light, on the horse's rump finally exhausted its last bit of spiritual power, turning into a wisp of ashes with a "poof" and dissipating in the night wind.

The black horse, deprived of its spiritual energy, let out an extremely mournful neigh.

A large amount of white foam gushed from its mouth and nose, its limbs convulsed violently, its forelegs buckled, and its entire massive body suddenly collapsed forward.

The mortal body could not withstand such violent spiritual energy, and its life force was exhausted.

Lu was prepared. The moment the horse fell, he lightly touched the stirrup with his toes, and like a light night bird, he leaped into the air and landed steadily in a dense thicket by the roadside.

After landing, he did not leave immediately.

Using the shade of the tree canopy, I lay still, suppressing my breathing to a minimum.

A stick of incense.

Two incense sticks.

Apart from the rustling of withered leaves in the night wind, there was no other unusual activity around.

Once he was sure no one was following him, Lu Chi slowly straightened up.

He walked up to the dead black horse, made a hand seal, and a tiny fireball shot into the mud beneath the horse.

The intense heat instantly incinerated his remaining footprints and the ashes of the teleportation talisman.

Next, he crushed a piece of the cheapest "animal repellent powder" on the market. The pungent smell was enough to mask any body odor that might be traced from him.

After doing all this, Lu Chi did not go straight back to Qingque Mountain, but turned around and disappeared into another dense forest that was completely different from the rest of the world.

During the journey, the spiritual energy once again flowed along the route described in "The Hidden Shadow Transformation Record".

His bones cracked and popped, and the once burly man's body quickly hunched over. His facial muscles twitched, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed into a withered and unremarkable old man.

He skillfully took off his old robe and put on a patched gray cloth outfit that he had prepared beforehand.

He cast the "Dust Removal Technique" three times in a row to ensure that only the bitter scent of grass and trees remained on his body.

After changing his clothes, Lu Chi completely transformed into an old farmer from the lower class who went into the mountains to collect herbs in late autumn. Over the next two hours, he circled around the wilderness three times.

Until the eastern sky brightened and the rising sun dispelled the chilly autumn fog.

The towering blue stone archway of Qingqueshan Market finally came into view at the edge of the horizon.

No one gave this poor, shabby old man a second glance.

Passing through the bustling and noisy shantytowns of the outer city, and past the talisman shops and elixir stalls on both sides, Lu Chi finally returned to the heart of the market.

He slipped inside the house, and as the energy-concealing array closed again, the outside world's probing and noise were completely shut out.

His hunched back slowly straightened, and the withered disguise on his face faded away, revealing his handsome yet somewhat cold and stern young face once again.

Lu Chi didn't rush back to the house to check the storage bags. Instead, he first drew a bucket of well water to wash away the disguise and dust from his body before walking straight through the main room to the backyard.

He had only been gone for two or three days, and the few first-tier spiritual plants in the field were still growing well, with no apparent signs of anything amiss.

"squeeze……"

"The spiritual energy is so thin, the leaves are dry..."

"There's no more inspiration in the soil, I'm hungry..."

Feeling the faint complaints in his mind, Lu Chi shook his head helplessly.

The soil here is barely acceptable; it's not the kind of top-grade spiritual field used by sects specifically for cultivating spiritual herbs.

For these spiritual plants, being crammed into this tiny space is no different from living in a slum, so the feedback is naturally not good.

"Just bear with it a little longer. In the future, I will definitely find a place full of spiritual energy and rent an entire mountain for you."

Perhaps sensing Lu Chi's reassurance, the leaves of several spiritual plants swayed slightly, conveying a sense of innocent joy in the breeze.

After calming down these "old guests," Lu Chi solemnly took out the Cold Jade Box containing the seeds of the Mystic Ice Lotus from his storage bag.

He deliberately chose a shady spot in the corner of the spiritual field, carefully dug up the soil, buried the chilling blue lotus seed inside, and covered it with a thin layer of soil.

"Tick-tock".

The spiritual liquid fell precisely onto the soil and seeped into the ground in an instant.

Almost simultaneously, in [Listening to Plants]'s perception, a very faint yet intensely vibrant and ecstatic tremor came from underground.

The Xuanbing Lotus Seed, which had lost some vitality after being separated from its mother plant, was instantly stabilized by the nourishment of the spiritual liquid. It even began to greedily extend its fine, thread-like roots, firmly grasping the surrounding soil.

Sensing the vitality emanating from the Xuanbing Lotus beneath the soil, Lu Chi summoned his interface to check his class stats:

[Job Panel]

Name: Lu Chi

[Realm Level: Qi Refining Level 4]

【职业：符师Lv.2（25/50）、灵农Lv.1（5/30）、炼丹师Lv.1（5/30）】

According to Lu Chi's estimation, the next career upgrade will most likely fall on the Spirit Farmer.

The first-tier spiritual plants in the spiritual field are about to mature, and with the addition of a few second-tier spiritual plants, a single harvest will add a significant amount of experience.

The path of a talisman master is not slow either; as long as you continue drawing talismans, leveling up is just around the corner.

As for the alchemists, progress has been slower.

He always purchased medicinal herbs himself or used his own spiritual plants to refine pills. Although the pills were successfully refined, the accumulation was limited.

If he wants to go further, perhaps he should find a powerful force to rely on, so that they can supply him with medicinal materials, and he can focus on alchemy and cultivation.

……

……

By the time we finished our farm work, it was already broad daylight.

Lu Chi turned and walked towards the main room, locked the doors and windows behind him, and sat cross-legged in front of the wooden table.

Although this trip to the Tingchaohui black market was fraught with difficulties, it was not without its rewards.

With a thought, he first took out the tattered animal hide that he had bought for seventy-five spirit stones from his storage bag.

The tentacles on the belly of the Icescale Python are extremely cold.

Lu Chi laid it flat on the table and examined it closely.

However, apart from the lingering chill that had persisted for hundreds of years, this palm-sized fragment of the map only had a few blurry, dried black lines, and couldn't even piece together a decent outline of the terrain.

A wisp of spiritual energy probed into it, but it was like a mud ox entering the sea, receiving no feedback whatsoever.

Lu Chi rubbed his temples, a sense of squandering money rising in his heart.

Seventy-five low-grade spirit stones bought a piece of worthless paper that was completely incomprehensible. If this were a low-level rogue cultivator who was eager for quick success and instant benefits, he would probably be so angry that he would vomit blood on the spot.

Are these senior masters all mentally ill? They clearly wanted to leave behind clues about unparalleled inheritances or extraordinary flames of heaven and earth, but instead of speaking properly, they tore the map into a dozen pieces and scattered them all over the world, creating this kind of mysterious guessing game.

Aren't they afraid that future generations won't be able to collect them all, leaving these priceless treasures to rot in the mud forever?

Despite his inner grumbling, Lu Chi knew that opportunities couldn't be rushed. He shook his head and carefully put away the fragment of the "Azure Soul Cold Fire" animal hide map.

Then, he took a deep breath and flipped his wrist.

The [Mysterious Scripture Talisman], whose surface was cluttered with spiritual energy and which everyone considered worthless, lay quietly on the table.