Starting as a Talisman Master

Qin Suniang placed the warm teacup back on the table, her beautiful eyes lowered.

"Master Lu, please rest assured. During the grand ceremony, the sect will protect and safeguard us. You do not need to be surrounded or charge into battle. You only need to hold the talisman and support us at critical moments to enhance our prestige."

"Furthermore, I wish to purchase a batch of high-grade talismans from Master Lu in my private capacity as a valuable reserve. This transaction will not be recorded in the cabinet's accounts, and Master Lu will certainly not suffer any loss in payment."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chi tapped his knee lightly with his fingertips, not rushing to agree, and a hint of difficulty appeared between his brows.

She understood the implied meaning from the music. Qin Su Niang sat up straight, her expression becoming more serious: "If Master Lu has any needs regarding cultivation, please feel free to speak."

"I am of dull talent, with only a low-grade spiritual root. Without external assistance, I fear I will never be able to establish my foundation in this lifetime. Although I am still far from that critical juncture, I must make plans as soon as possible."

Lu Chi sighed softly: "I remember... the sect leader once mentioned that your sect still possesses the two rare main ingredients needed to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill?"

"Does Master Lu intend to obtain the Concentrating Spirit Fruit and the Earth Vein Mystic Ginseng?"

Qin Su Niang's smile faded slightly, and the light in her bright eyes paused for a moment before disappearing, but a hint of seriousness finally surfaced in her eyes.

The Concentration Fruit was a rare variety that Lin Chengye obtained from an ancient tomb, and it could only be seen to ripen every sixty years.

The Earth Vein Mystic Ginseng has been cultivated with a great deal of spirit stones to survive to this day, making it extremely precious.

If these two spiritual plants were truly given to Lu Chi, and he waited for them to mature, who knows how many more years would have passed. By then, even if the Purple Marrow Ganoderma were found, it would probably be difficult to gather the ancient formula and refine that batch of Foundation Establishment Pills.

Qin Su Niang hesitated slightly in her tone: "Master Lu, it's not that I'm stingy, but these two spiritual plants are extremely difficult to cultivate. Although I hold this position, if I were to take their mature forms, I'm afraid..."

Lu Chi took in the struggle in her eyes and added casually:

"Sect Master, please do not worry. I know this item is precious, and I do not want the ripe spiritual fruit. If you could grant me the root fragments of these two spiritual plants, I would also agree to this agreement."

"Just the roots?"

Qin Suniang straightened up slightly, the hesitation in her eyes fading, replaced by a hint of confusion. "Does Master Lu really only want the remnant root? Is he seeking this withered wood stump because he has some special alchemical secret method, intending to use it in medicine?"

Lu Chi remained calm and composed, speaking in a flat tone: "Sect Master flatters me. I am merely a talisman drawer, how could I know anything about alchemy secrets? I simply wish to use the residual energy of these two high-grade spiritual plants to accumulate more foundation for myself. I hope you will forgive my ignorance, Sect Master."

"Since Master Lu does not mind the humble state of the remnant root, then I will accept it. After the ceremony, I will definitely hand over the remnant root of the spiritual plant to you."

Qin Suniang answered without hesitation.

If only some root remnants are taken, although it will damage the vital energy of the plant and delay its flowering period, it will ultimately preserve the plant's life, so it is not impossible to agree to it.

"As for what I just mentioned about purchasing high-grade talismans in my private capacity, what is Master Lu's opinion?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Chi lowered his eyes and gently stroked the teacup in his hand, already making plans in his mind.

There is still one year until the grand ceremony of the Qixia Sect.

If he can accumulate enough resources, this year will be enough to support him in breaking through to the fifth level of Qi Refining... or even the sixth level.

Logically speaking, by consistently delivering talismans to the pavilion each month, this state could be achieved through a gradual and persistent process.

But today's undercurrents made him realize that the waters of Moon Concealment Pavilion were truly too murky.

He was merely a guest minister, and there was absolutely no reason for him to frequently show his face and get caught up in the power struggles within the Qixia Sect.

Rather than running around every month and causing trouble, it would be better to take advantage of this opportunity for a private transaction to acquire a large sum of money in one go.

The best course of action to avoid such troublesome places is to live a secluded life and cultivate oneself in seclusion.

Moreover, he created three new talismans on the talisman-testing platform today without changing his expression. His previous excuse of "only being able to create one or two talismans per month" has long been exposed as a lie in the eyes of someone as discerning as Qin Su Niang.

Since we've already revealed our true colors, we might as well be generous and do each other a favor.

Having made up his mind, Lu Chi raised his eyelids and said in a calm tone: "Since the sect leader has spoken, I do indeed have some stockpiled goods that I have accumulated recently."

After saying that, he reached back and wiped his hand across the storage bag, taking out a long, black wooden box.

With a slight release of spiritual energy from his fingertips, the lid of the box slid open, revealing neatly stacked talismans inside.

Those were ten top-grade first-tier talismans, shimmering with spiritual light and adorned with intricate runes.

Among them are not only the Golden Light Talisman and the Fire Talisman, which are good for both offense and defense, but also two extremely rare Breath Concealing Talismans.

Qin Suniang stared at the ten talismans that shimmered with purple light, her chest heaving slightly.

"Master Lu, you are very generous. With this batch of spirit talismans, I can finally feel at ease. The spirit stones here are all from my own personal savings. Please don't refuse, Master Lu, consider it a small token of my appreciation."

She took out a dark-colored storage bag and solemnly pushed it in front of Lu Chi.

Lu Chi took it with a calm expression and lightly swept it into his bag.

The bag contained a mountain of spirit stones, crystal clear and radiating spiritual energy. There were exactly five hundred low-grade spirit stones!

"I certainly won't refuse..." He put away his storage bag, stood up, and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Since it is the sect leader's kind intention, then I, Lu, will accept it without hesitation."

With this windfall, and once he obtained the Concentration Fruit and the remnant root of the Earth Vein Ginseng, he would have gathered most of the foundation-building resources he needed.

Lu Chi added, "From now on, I will need to seclude myself to cultivate and seek a breakthrough, and I'm afraid I won't be able to visit Moon Concealment Pavilion as often. The quota for the pavilion will be offset by this batch of high-grade spirit talismans."

The atmosphere inside the room quieted down slightly.

This statement clearly violates the original agreement between the two parties regarding the retainer.

However, in the world of cultivation, a contract only binds the weak at the moment. As one's status and strength rise, the rules will naturally change accordingly.

"Since Master Lu is going into seclusion to break through to a higher realm, I naturally cannot force him to."

Qin Su Niang's expression remained largely unchanged; she naturally understood the underlying meaning. Her tone remained gentle and appropriate, with only a perfectly appropriate hint of worry showing between her brows.

"If Master Lu doesn't come often, I'm afraid I'll have to put in a lot of effort to recruit more talisman masters to fill the huge gap in the daily sales of those ordinary talismans in the pavilion."

Lu Chi took in her expression, his mind racing, and the image of Wei Hong, whom Mu Changfeng had poached earlier that day, suddenly popped into his head.

He had wasted three years working as a talisman repairman at the Luo family's talisman shop, and he knew the Luo family's background best.

Although the Luo family possesses a profound talisman-making heritage, they are extremely xenophobic at heart.

The Luo family has always been both wary and accommodating towards those hired talisman masters who have been recruited at great expense. They keep the core talisman-making techniques and talisman patterns tightly under their control and will never reveal a single detail to outsiders.

This also meant that most of the external talisman masters hired by the Luo family's talisman shop were only superficially friendly and harbored their own ulterior motives.

Since Mu Changfeng was willing to set a precedent by undermining the Luo family, he didn't mind adding fuel to the fire for the long-unseen head manager Luo.

Lu Chi sat down again, his fingertips tapping lightly on the table:

"Although I cannot stay here permanently, I will soon compile a rudimentary manual on talisman making and leave it in the pavilion. When the sect leader recruits new talisman masters, he may spread the word that anyone who enters my Moon Concealment Pavilion can borrow this manual to learn a thing or two."

Qin Su Niang could easily sense the hidden dagger behind this "shallow note," and the curve of her lips tightened slightly.

Lu Chi shone brightly on the talisman-testing platform today. Once word gets out that this notebook bearing his name, it will not only easily solve the Moon Concealment Pavilion's manpower shortage, but also strike at its competitors without bloodshed.

"Excellent! On behalf of everyone at Moonshadow Pavilion, I thank Master Lu for this generous gift."

"The sect leader is a wise man. I will take my leave now."

Lu Chi smiled faintly with satisfaction, then cupped his hands in farewell.

Qin Su Niang personally escorted him out of the inner hall, and only withdrew her gaze when his blue robe had completely merged into the noisy crowd in the front hall.

Through the half-rolled beaded curtain, one could vaguely see the bustling noise of people in the front hall.

The staff were so busy they barely had time to breathe, and the entire Moonlit Pavilion was bustling with activity, like oil being poured on a raging fire.

Cao Zhen stood beside the beaded curtain like half a black iron tower, looking at the lively scene in the hall. A rare, honest and respectful smile appeared on his weathered face.

"Sect Master, thanks to your tireless efforts day and night, our Moon Concealment Pavilion has achieved such a proud and glorious state today. If former Sect Master Lin Chengye could know this in the afterlife, he would surely be very gratified."

The smile on Qin Su Niang's lips visibly faded, and a layer of unyielding frost instantly formed in her originally bright and clear eyes.

She didn't turn around, but listlessly raised her hand to tidy up the stray hairs at her temples, her tone as cold as icy well water: "Is that so? Then I hope he can truly feel gratified down there."