Starting as a Talisman Master

"After switching cultivation techniques, the [Mysterious Fire] underwent a transformation..."

Lu Chi stared at the Xuan Fire at his fingertips, but a strange light flashed in his eyes.

Looking at the mutated mystic fire glowing with a ghostly blue light, the peerless divine artifact recorded on the fragment of the Ice Scale Python skin map involuntarily surfaced in his mind: the [Azure Soul Cold Fire].

If this mutated Xuan Fire, capable of devouring all other flames, were to truly encounter the Azure Soul Cold Fire in the future…

He put away the chilling blue flame at his fingertips, and his mind immediately became active.

Since the Mystic Fire has mutated, why not take this opportunity to open the furnace and refine a batch of pills to see what wonders this mutated Mystic Fire has?

Lu Chi took out the ancient-looking "Qingchu Furnace" from his storage bag and placed it steadily in the center of the quiet room.

Then, several portions of Qi-tonifying ginseng and Qinghe grass, which were needed to refine the "Qi-Nourishing Pill," were taken out one by one.

"go."

Lu Chi flicked his finger, and the dark blue flame landed steadily at the bottom of the furnace.

The temperature in the quiet room dropped instead of rising, but strangely enough, the spiritual herbs in the furnace dissolved quickly and gently under this seemingly cold heat.

"Buzz—"

In less than half an hour, the Qingchu Furnace emitted a soft chime.

Lu Chi lifted the furnace lid, and three round, plump pills, exuding a rich medicinal fragrance, lay quietly at the bottom of the furnace.

Not only was the pill formed in one go, but judging from the subtle luster and pure spiritual energy flowing on its surface, it was actually a mid-grade first-level pill!

In the past, even when he was refining a low-grade first-level Qi-Nourishing Pill, even if he was fully focused, he would often make mistakes in controlling the heat, and his success rate was only about 50%.

A hint of joy flashed in Lu Chi's eyes.

A first-tier mid-grade alchemist, placed in this Qingque Mountain market, would have a status and earning power no less than a mid-grade or even high-grade talisman master.

Immediately afterwards, he tested the changes in other Taoist techniques after switching cultivation methods.

He casually made a "Minor Cloud and Rain Technique" incantation, and what condensed in the air above the quiet room was no longer ordinary rain, but a cold drizzle mixed with bone-chilling cold.

If used against an enemy, it can not only obstruct vision but also slow down the opponent's spiritual energy circulation.

What surprised him even more was "The Hidden Shadows".

Driven by the continuous spiritual power of the "Taiyuan Xuanshui Jing", this disguise technique operated as smoothly as water and milk, perfectly natural.

The facial muscle contortions and bone scaling are now completely free of any stiffness or awkwardness.

Lu Chi walked to the bronze mirror and looked at himself. He was now transformed into a rugged man, and even his original aura was perfectly concealed.

He was certain that unless a Foundation Establishment cultivator with divine sense personally investigated, no one in the Qi Refining stage could see through this disguise.

"Very good."

"From now on, I can change my persona and travel around as a mid-grade alchemist."

After testing his Taoist magic, Lu Chi pushed open the door of the meditation room and went to the spirit field in the backyard once again.

Standing by the edge of the field, [Dewdrop] was activated again.

A burst of spiritual light gathered at the fingertips, and a drop of milky-white liquid quickly took shape.

This time, however, he did not drip it onto a single spiritual plant as he usually did.

"Disperse!"

The tiny drop of spiritual liquid split into more than a dozen extremely small, crystalline raindrops in mid-air, falling precisely onto every spiritual plant in the spiritual field like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.

Lu Chi squatted down to observe carefully.

Although the spiritual liquid weakened the nourishment received by individual first-tier spiritual plants and reduced the feedback after being diluted, this method of "turning the fragments into a whole" allowed him to take care of the entire spiritual field at once.

In critical situations, he could choose not to differentiate and feed the dew separately to the four precious second-tier spiritual plants, greatly increasing his flexibility.

In conclusion, the Tingchao Society's trip to the black market and the subsequent seclusion were transformative and incredibly rewarding.

Back under the eaves, the autumn rain outside gradually stopped.

Lu Chi looked up as the rain dissipated, his eyes calm and clear, yet with a hint of calculation in them.

The only troublesome thing about this trip was that Shen Yuanheng from the Shen family gave me a warning in person outside the market.

However, Lu Chi knew in his heart that now that he had shown his abilities as a "superior-grade talisman master," he would definitely be included in the core list of the three major immortal cultivation families of Qingque Mountain.

This kind of probing, courting, or warning will come sooner or later.

……

……

Just as he was pondering this, the array barrier outside the courtyard suddenly trembled slightly.

Lu Chi immediately withdrew all the released cold energy, turned around, walked across the courtyard, removed the restriction, and opened the courtyard gate.

Zhou Jinyan's clothes were damp with morning dew, and her expression still carried a hint of worry and tension that she couldn't hide.

When he saw that Lu Chi was unharmed when he opened the door, he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Phew...you're finally back."

"Hmm, it's been a few days, and your aura... it seems even more profound now?"

Zhou Jinyan clicked her tongue, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. "You're not about to break through again, are you?"

"I've gained some insight, and by sheer luck, my cultivation has improved slightly."

Lu Chi smiled noncommittally, stepped aside to let Zhou Fangfang into the courtyard, and casually asked, "Brother Zhou, was your journey back to the market safe and sound? Did you encounter any troublemakers?"

"With my penniless appearance, I couldn't even squeeze a few spirit stones out of my entire body. What cultivator would be willing to waste their Swiftness Talisman on me?"

Zhou Jinyan shook her head self-deprecatingly, "I took the most remote route back, and I didn't even run into a ghost."

The two chatted casually for a few more minutes.

Zhou Jinyan explained that the main reason for her trip was to confirm that Lu Chi was alright. Seeing that he was safe and sound, she took the opportunity to chat about some other things.

Suddenly, Zhou Jinyan's expression became more serious, and he lowered his voice, saying, "Lu Chi, you've made quite a name for yourself now, but have you considered... whether you still need to deal with that old scoundrel Luo Wenshan?"

Upon hearing the name "Luo Wenshan," Lu Chi's eyes darkened, a hint of coldness flashing across them: "Brother Zhou, what makes you say that?"

When Zhou Jinyan saw that he was asking questions, she told him in detail about the recent news in the market.

It turns out that during this period, the business of Luo's Talisman Shop had indeed been significantly taken away by the Moon Shadow Pavilion.

The high-grade talismans that Lu Chi consigned to Moonshadow Pavilion became highly sought-after items, and as a result, the low-grade and mid-grade talismans in the pavilion also became easy to sell.

Seeing his customers dwindling day by day, Luo Wenshan was frantic with worry. In recent days, he broke with tradition and put up a sign at the shop entrance, lowering the price of both low-grade and mid-grade talismans.

Zhou Jinyan felt increasingly relieved as she spoke, and slammed her hand heavily on the stone table:

"That old thief used to be incredibly stingy, he'd practically split a spirit stone in half to spend. Now that he's been forced to lower prices and cut his losses, he's probably grinding his teeth in anger right there in his shop!"

Lu Chi couldn't help but recall the scene when Luo Wenshan kicked him out of the talisman shop and then turned around and accused him.

Hearing that the other party had suffered a setback and was forced to lower prices and cut losses, he naturally felt much better.

but……

The Luo family, after all, is one of the three major cultivation families in Dongyue County, a force with a real Foundation Establishment stage cultivator in charge.

Luo Wenshan was merely an outer gatekeeper, making him easy to target.

But if the Moon Concealment Pavilion gains too much momentum, or if I were to openly retaliate, it might displease the higher-ups of the Luo family, or even that Foundation Establishment ancestor…

In the unpredictable world of cultivation, it's not impossible for the other party to find a pretext to sneak in at night and take his life.

Whether or not to take this opportunity to deal with Luo Wenshan... this matter cannot be decided lightly for the time being.

Thinking of this, Lu Chi did not answer directly, but simply said that he only wanted to make a living in peace.

The image of Han Jingxing appeared in his mind.

The other party also came from the Han family, one of the three great families, and was in charge of paving the way for the Han family in the market.

This person has access to far more inside information about the Luo family's internal affairs than he and Zhou Jinyan, who are low-level rogue cultivators.

"I'll have to visit Brother Han next door later and sound him out."

If a high-ranking member of the Luo family really has his eye on him, he might have to pack up his belongings and consider fleeing.

Lu Chi suppressed his surging thoughts and was about to change the subject when he saw Zhou Jinyan sitting opposite him holding a teacup, a hint of hesitation flashing across his face. His lips moved, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Brother Zhou, we've known each other for many years, so please speak frankly."

Zhou Jinyan, having his thoughts exposed, coughed somewhat embarrassedly and rubbed his hands together, saying, "To be honest, the reason I've come to your door today, besides seeing that you've returned safely, is actually... to shamelessly ask you for a talisman."

"Oh? What kind of talisman?"

"A mid-grade Tier 1 'Trapping Array Talisman'."

A hint of surprise flashed in Lu Chi's eyes. He flipped his hand and, without thinking, took out a talisman with a restrained spiritual light from his storage bag.

He happened to have a few of these "Tier 1 Mid-Grade Trapping Array Talismans" on him, which he had been saving to consign to the Moon Concealment Pavilion in a few days.

"Here you go." Lu Chi held the talisman between two fingers and handed it over casually.

Zhou Jinyan hurriedly reached for spirit stones: "A mid-grade first-tier trapping talisman isn't cheap on the market, I have to pay the market price..."

"Alright, keep it."

Lu Chi smiled and pressed his hand down, saying slowly, "If you count the days, it will be your birthday soon. Consider this talisman a birthday gift that I prepared for you in advance."

It's just a mid-grade talisman; he's not short of spirit stones these days.

Zhou Jinyan paused, giving Lu Chi a deep look.

He knew the other party was no longer the same as before, and he also knew that human relationships in the cultivation world were as fickle as paper. A person willing to give away a mid-grade talisman for free was especially rare and a rare act of kindness.

"I won't thank you enough, Lu Chi. I'll remember this kindness. In that case... I won't bother you any longer."

After seeing Zhou Jinyan off, Lu Chi stood in the courtyard for a moment, a sense of doubt creeping into his heart. What was the purpose of the trapping talisman? Was it to deal with some enemy? But if that were the case, the other party shouldn't have kept it from him. After much thought, he figured there was probably more to it than met the eye.

With nothing else to do, he went back to his room to tidy up a bit, changed into a clean blue long robe, and then pushed open the door and went straight to the next room.