Starting as a Talisman Master

Quiet room.

Lu Chi's thoughts raced as he took stock of the contents of his storage bag.

Although Han Jingxing requested a large number of high-grade talismans this time, he had accumulated a considerable stockpile of them by working day and night.

If we do a quick inventory, we can actually gather about 70-80% of these talismans right now and hand them over on the spot.

But one should not flaunt one's wealth, nor reveal one's secrets. Therefore, he pretended that he had no goods on hand and planned to honestly abide by the rules, delaying delivery until the agreed-upon one-month period expired.

Since there was no rush to start the furnace and rush the work on this big business, Lu Chi simply gave up on making talismans.

He sat upright at his desk, holding an ordinary brush, and wrote with great skill on a yellowed blank scroll.

Taking advantage of the current free time, he compiled the "Talisman Making Manual" that he had promised Qin Suniang earlier.

The notebook was covered with tiny characters, seemingly recording in detail the brushstrokes and spiritual energy nodes of several familiar talismans such as the superior ice arrow and the spirit gathering talisman.

However, whenever Lu Chi's brushstrokes reached the most crucial point, he would subtly shift his brush, quietly concealing the subtle changes in the flow of his magical power.

Only one set of seemingly moderate and peaceful, but actually conventional, methods of circulating Qi remains.

His written reflections are seven parts truth and three parts concealment.

By concealing the most crucial key, the ordinary talisman masters nurtured by the Moon Concealment Pavilion can avoid several years of detours and increase their success rate in creating talismans.

However, if anyone tries to replicate his success rate in creating talismans based solely on this handbook, or even to uncover his secrets, then that is nothing but a pipe dream.

As the last stroke was made, the ink gradually dried.

Lu Chi let out a long sigh of relief, carefully closed the letter, and then sent word to Yueyin Pavilion to have someone come and retrieve it.

The howling wind and snow outside the window finally subsided, leaving only a few pieces of ice swirling under the eaves.

Having finished one errand, he pushed open the door of the meditation room and went straight to the spirit field in the backyard to continue to accelerate the ripening of the spirit plants.

Watching the spiritual plants unfurl their branches and leaves under the nourishment of the spiritual liquid, the sense of fulfillment—the gradual strengthening of one's foundation and the steady ascent of one's cultivation—is truly like drinking fine wine, so addictive that one can savor its flavor and find it hard to resist.

Living such a secluded life, half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

The dozen or so first-tier spiritual plants that had been collected in the past have finally matured to nearly half their full potential under the constant nourishment of the spiritual liquid.

Strands of warm and pure innate essence overflowed from the spiritual medicine, flowing back into his body through his meridians, and transforming into pure magical power that flowed into his dantian.

Lu Chi slowly finished his practice, feeling his spiritual energy become even stronger, and his cultivation steadily improved.

However, having experienced the transformative power of the second-tier spiritual plant's feedback, which felt like a complete cleansing of the marrow, the improvement brought by this first-tier spiritual plant ultimately seemed somewhat weak, far less domineering and intense than the second-tier plant.

In fact, during this half-month period, he had made a special trip to the night tea party in the heart of the market to see if he could collect a few more second-tier spirit seeds.

However, he sat at the tea party for half the night without achieving anything.

Even Zhao Hongyue, who had many connections, has recently disappeared without a trace.

The seed material failed to materialize, yet a strange atmosphere permeated the banquet, causing Lu Chi to feel uneasy.

He had planned to buy some animal hides and blood during the meal, but he found that several familiar stall owners who were independent cultivators looked hesitant and stammered, talking about other things rather than doing the business, and were unwilling to sell him the talisman materials.

Lu Chi paid close attention and eavesdropped discreetly during the meal, finally managing to piece together most of the details.

It turns out that after being rebuffed by him, the Shen and Luo families had formed a tacit understanding. Recently, relying on their local power, they have been secretly pressuring independent cultivators and shops to cut off his source of talisman materials.

Not only him, but also the Moon Shadow Pavilion has recently been frequently suppressed by the two organizations, both openly and covertly.

Many disciples of the Qixia Sect who went out for training were "accidentally" robbed by bandits on the way.

"These two old scoundrels are truly petty and cannot tolerate the slightest dissent."

Lu Chi sneered inwardly, knowing full well that if this was how things were being cut off in the market, there would likely be even more dangerous dangers waiting for him outside the market.

Well, since their clan doesn't have a Foundation Establishment stage ancestor to oversee things, they probably wouldn't dare to easily kill me unless they were absolutely certain of success. I'll just let them be arrogant for a while.

When I have completed my cultivation and my abilities have grown, I will turn back and settle accounts with them one by one for all the things that happened today.

For an ordinary talisman master, running out of materials would naturally cause considerable trouble.

Little did they know that Lu Chi, relying on the astonishing success rate of [Burning Thought], had already stockpiled a considerable amount of completed talismans and materials in his storage bag. His stockpile alone was enough for him to squander for a long time, not to mention that spirit stones were not currently in short supply.

Even if there is something he absolutely must buy, he only needs to activate the "Hidden Shadow Transformation Record" to change his appearance and conceal his whereabouts; coming and going is just an ordinary matter.

"In that case, I might as well not go out."

Lu Chi flicked his sleeves and stood up, turning around to open a hidden entrance in the corner of the quiet room.

With a low, scraping sound from the stone door, a dark, downward-sloping stone staircase came into view.

This spacious, dark room, buried deep underground, is where he has been refining weapons in his spare time these past few days.

Lu Chi slowly walked into the chamber. Because it was buried deep underground, the ground was covered with cold, damp soil and hard rocks, and there was no natural fire vein to drive it.

Since one intends to venture into the art of weapon crafting, the source of fire is the most unavoidable hurdle.

In the heart of Qingque Mountain Market, there is a special underground fire chamber that not only connects to the deep earth veins but also ignites scorching underground fire.

However, the rent there is exorbitant, and people are always in the public eye, making it too easy to attract attention.

Lu Chi walked to the refractory brick furnace platform that had already been built in the center of the underground chamber. After a moment's consideration, he completely gave up the idea of ​​using the underground fire.

He patted his storage bag and took out several crimson talismans.

This is the "Earth Flame Talisman".

This was originally a fire-type offensive talisman, capable of transforming fire spiritual power into a continuous stream of solidified high temperature. With its current reserves, it was enough to create a smelting effect within this small space that was no less than that of earth vein fire.

After carefully attaching the talismans, Lu Chi rummaged through his storage bag for a while, took out a few scattered materials, and planned to try his hand at refining them into a magical artifact.

His eyes flickered slightly, and he reached into his robes and pulled out a slightly worn animal-skin book.

On the book cover, five large ancient seal characters are prominently displayed: "The Secret of Green Veins and Jade Bones".

This is a rather rare body-refining technique.

It was quite a coincidence.

After he handed over the "Talisman Making Manual" to the Moon Hidden Pavilion, Cao Zhen suddenly had an epiphany by taking advantage of the key points mentioned in the manual and successfully drew a low-grade "Fire Crow Talisman", officially stepping into the threshold of a low-grade talisman master.

This person was also a grateful and honest man. Overjoyed, in order to repay Lu Chi's kindness in guiding him, he secretly sent over the body-refining method that he himself cultivated.

Lu Chi had witnessed the other party's powerful blood and qi, which far surpassed that of others of the same level, and had long coveted this body-refining technique.

He had been planning to find some excuse to plot against them later, but he never expected that the other party would so readily offer themselves up.

"Cao Cao... was actually a kind-hearted man."

Lu Chi slowly opened the slightly worn animal skin book in his hand.

In the dim light, rows of tiny seal characters, exuding an ancient and unadorned charm, came into view.

The opening statement clearly states that the path of physical cultivation begins from humble beginnings. This initial major realm is called the "Body Tempering Stage," which is no different from the Qi Refining Stage of the Immortal Path, and is also divided into nine levels.

This "Azure Vein Jade Bone Manual" is clearly divided into three parts:

The first level, "Iron Flesh," results in tough skin and flesh that are difficult to injure with ordinary swords and knives; the second level, "Blue Veins," causes a surge in strength and explosive power; and the third level, "Jade Bones," refines bones to resemble jade, enabling them to bear weights as heavy as mountains.

"This technique can only be cultivated up to the ninth level of Body Tempering, and cannot directly enter the Foundation Establishment stage of Body Cultivation. However, within the Qi Refining stage, it can be considered a top-notch foundation-building technique."

Lu Chi read ten lines at a glance, his mind racing, and he had already imprinted the obscure cultivation route and the acupoints for transporting qi and blood into his mind.

But the further he looked, the deeper the contemplation in his eyes became.

This technique does have its merits, but it is extremely demanding to practice.

The book clearly states that this method emphasizes breaking down and rebuilding, and practitioners must endure the excruciating pain of tearing and rebuilding day after day.

Alternatively, one could spend a huge amount of spirit stones to buy the flesh and blood of demonic beasts, and eat large amounts of medicinal food every day, using the violent innate essence in the demonic blood to forcibly temper one's physique.

"No wonder that Cao traitor was so burly, like an iron tower. Ordinary rogue cultivators, without immense perseverance and wealth, probably wouldn't even be able to get past the basics of this technique. Where did this old farmer get so many spirit stones?"

Lu Chi carefully put away the animal hide book, but did not rush to circulate his Qi into his bones on the spot. His gaze fell on the pile of broken magic artifacts and miscellaneous ores, and his heart stirred slightly.

He currently has neither mountains of demonic beast flesh and blood to nourish himself, nor much free time to specifically cultivate his strength.

But when it comes time to open the furnace and refine the weapon, we'll have to swing a heavy hammer and repeatedly pound the rough blank next to the high-temperature fire.

This kind of physically demanding work, in this stuffy underground room, is it not the perfect "hardship to toughen up your muscles and bones"?

"If I were to secretly circulate the Qi and blood pathways of the 'Azure Vein Jade Bone Technique' while I'm forging weapons later... I wonder if this body-refining method could work in conjunction with my [Hundred Refinements] talent?"

Once the idea took hold, it grew wildly like weeds.

If this were truly the case, he would be forging his physical body at the same time as he was forging magical artifacts, achieving two goals at once.

Thinking of this, a glint of light flashed in Lu Chi's eyes. He then stood up, strode to the furnace, made a hand seal with one hand, and pointed sharply downwards.