Starting as a Talisman Master

The chill subsided slightly, and in the blink of an eye, several more days had passed.

With less than five days remaining until the agreed-upon deadline for delivering the talisman to Han Jingxing, Lu Chi showed no sign of anxiety whatsoever.

He continued to proceed at his own pace, using the accumulated spiritual liquid to accelerate the ripening of the last batch of first-tier spiritual plants in the spiritual field.

As for the mysterious neighbor who recently moved into the mansion to the north, he hasn't been overly solicitous these past few days, as if the gift-giving attempt that day was just a normal neighborly visit.

On the third day after moving in, the family sent the servant who had previously concealed his cultivation level to deliver a gold-embossed invitation, inviting Lu Chi to a banquet at their residence.

He said that since he was new to the area, he specially prepared a small feast to meet with the neighbors and get to know them.

Lu Chi naturally wouldn't get involved in such a murky banquet. He simply used the excuse of going into seclusion to draw talismans to send the servant away.

The next day, he secretly inquired and learned that the neighborhood gathering had not been canceled because of his absence; on the contrary, it had been quite lively.

Not only did prominent cultivators from the surrounding streets attend, but even Han Jingxing and his wife were invited to the banquet.

Taking advantage of casual conversations, he naturally figured out the background of his new neighbor.

I heard that the owner of that house is named Ge Jiuzhang, and his cultivation level is revealed to be at the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining.

At the banquet, this person claimed to be a member of a cultivation family from Yunlan County in the Northern Territory. He said that his family had been severely damaged in a beast tide decades ago and had since fallen into decline.

By his generation, the family had dwindled even further. To avoid being annexed and entangled by local enemies, he reluctantly sold his property and, with his last few loyal old servants, traveled a long distance to this Qingque Mountain market.

He said he planned to use his remaining savings to buy a shop and make a living by reselling medicinal herbs, so he could live out the rest of his life in peace.

It sounds like a perfectly plausible and airtight story of a down-on-their-luck family seeking refuge.

In this world of cultivation, stories of families, large and small, rising and falling every day are all too common.

It's no wonder that he was able to persuade Han Jingxing and others to go and make some connections with him. After all, a down-on-his-luck cultivator who came here to settle down with all his wealth probably has some Yunlan County specialties that he urgently needs to sell.

But after witnessing the story of the "old servant" who was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining yet willing to act as a errand boy, Lu Chi only believed less than half of what he was told.

A down-on-his-luck Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator seeking refuge, yet he commands Qi Refining Level 5 servants?

On this day, Lu Chi brushed the dirt off his hands, turned around and walked into the quiet room, taking out the Azure Start Furnace.

Next, he took out several prepared "Guling Ginseng" and "Red Stem Flower" and placed them neatly on the table.

This is the main ingredient used to refine the first-tier pill "Gu Yuan Dan".

[Occupation: Alchemist]

【Level: Lv.1 (20/30)】

On the panel, the Alchemist profession has been unlocked for some time now, and it's about to undergo an upgrade and transformation.

Originally, Lu Chi planned to accumulate wealth slowly and steadily, but after seeing Ge Jiuzhang's ambiguous behavior, he couldn't help but feel a bit wary.

"It's rare to have peace and quiet in the morning and evening, so I need to improve my strength as soon as possible and prepare more resources to rely on, so that I can feel at ease."

A resolute glint flashed in Lu Chi's eyes as he finalized his plan for the remaining days. He intended to press on with the furnace every day to forcefully raise his alchemist's professional level.

He flicked his finger, and a wisp of dark blue flame leaped from his fingertip into the bottom of the furnace.

As each medicinal herb transformed into a medicinal liquid and mingled in the furnace, a subtle fragrance gradually filled the air, and the first batch of mid-grade Qi-stabilizing pills was successfully produced.

[Alchemist Profession Experience +3]

Lu Chi didn't find it boring at all. He swallowed a Qi-restoring pill, took a short break to regulate his breathing, and then put the spiritual medicine into the furnace again.

The work continued day and night. When the rich fragrance of pills once again filled the quiet room, Lu Chi slapped open the lid of the Qingchu Furnace and skillfully collected the last few round pills. Suddenly, a clear buzzing sound came from the depths of his mind.

[Job Upgrade: Alchemist Lv.2 (0/50)]

[Gain New Talent: Immaculate]: The body is pure and impervious to all poisons. Poisons and toxic substances can be refined into essence to benefit cultivation; the toxicity can also be extracted and condensed into medicine. Whether it is poison or elixir, it is all in the blink of an eye.

Immaculate... Lu Chi carefully comprehended the information conveyed by this new talent, took a deep breath, and the fatigue from sitting in the furnace for days instantly vanished.

This is an extremely rare talent for neutralizing poisons.

Not only does it make him immune to all poisons when facing poisons and miasma of the same level, but it also allows him to use his own body as a furnace to forcibly refine and purify the deadly poisons that have invaded his body, as well as the pill poisons that ordinary cultivators would avoid, turning them into pure, attribute-free spiritual energy to nourish himself.

The ability to extract the toxicity and use it for one's own benefit can also be a deadly move when facing an enemy.

Moreover, the power of this talent can continue to improve as his cultivation level increases.

"What a flawless body..." Lu Chi looked at the Qi-stabilizing pill in his palm, his eyes shining brightly.

With such a divine skill at his disposal, he would no longer need to worry about the deadly accumulation of pill poison when refining pills, testing medicines, or taking pills to break through realms.

With this in mind, he simply took out all the Qi-Nourishing Pills and other pills he had been refining over the past few days, as well as all the other pills he had accumulated to improve his cultivation, and swallowed them one after another like a cow chewing on a peony.

The elixir transformed into a raging torrent, rampaging through the meridians. However, the accompanying mixed elixir toxins, as soon as they arose, were instantly dissolved by the pure spiritual energy emanating from the Immaculate Talent, transforming into the purest attribute-free spiritual energy, which flowed into the dantian without any stagnation.

As time passed, his Qi Sea magic power grew remarkably well, and he was not far from the barrier to the next realm.

Lu Chi slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, thinking to himself, "The Xuanbing Lotus is almost mature. Once Brother Han finds one or two more second-tier spiritual plants to plant, the opportunity to break through will be just around the corner."

As dawn broke, it was time to deliver the talisman to Han Jingxing as agreed.

There was a knock on the courtyard gate. Han Jingxing, covered in snow and wind, pushed the gate open and entered alone.

"Brother Lu, I've kept you waiting."

Han Jingxing strode into the pavilion, brushing the snowflakes off his shoulders. "My wife has recently been experiencing some spiritual awakenings and is currently in seclusion, busy refining a batch of important pills. She is truly unable to spare the time, so today I, Han, have shamelessly come to bother her."

"It's alright. A sudden enlightenment in alchemy is a rare opportunity." Lu Chi nodded slightly and, without wasting any words, gently flicked his sleeve across the stone table.

With a flash of light, several stacks of high-grade talismans, radiating spiritual light and gleaming with cinnabar, were neatly arranged on the stone table.

Han Jingxing's eyes lit up suddenly. He immediately put down his teacup and carefully picked up the top talisman to examine it closely.

The spiritual energy on the talisman flowed smoothly, with faint glimmers of light moving among the cinnabar. The spiritual pressure was restrained yet extremely pure.

Han Jingxing couldn't help but marvel, "To be able to meet such a talented person as Fellow Daoist Lu is truly my good fortune!"

Without further ado, he patted the storage bag and said, "According to our previous agreement, this is the reward Brother Lu deserves. Please take a look."

He first pushed over a mutton-fat jade bottle: "This bottle contains a first-grade, high-quality 'Mysterious Essence Pill'."

Immediately afterwards, the tabletop flashed with light, and a palm-sized black iron shield engraved with thick tortoise shell patterns, as well as a small green wooden boat, only a foot long and shimmering with spiritual light, appeared between the two.

"These two magical artifacts are the 'Mysterious Tortoise Shield' and the 'Cloud Piercing Boat.' Although they are only mid-grade magical artifacts, they are still considered high-quality among those of the same grade, and are extremely practical for self-defense and transportation."

Finally, Han Jingxing's expression became solemn, and he solemnly took out a jade box with a sealing talisman attached, and gently pushed it in front of Lu Chi.

With a click, the box opened, revealing three second-tier spirit seeds radiating a rich life force.

"As for this last item, it took me some effort to find it," Han Jingxing said, pointing to the contents of the jade box. "It contains Ice Abyss Snow Lotus seeds, Crimson Blood Vine seeds, and a Purple Thunder Bamboo Rice. Brother Lu, what do you think of their quality?"

Is it pleasing to the eye? It's absolutely pleasing to the eye!

Lu Chi remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was quite satisfied.

This entire bottle of top-grade pills, along with two mid-grade magic artifacts (one for defense and one for escape), and the three priceless second-tier spirit seeds, all added together, are definitely worth three hundred low-grade spirit stones.

Especially those three second-tier spirit seeds, which were of extraordinary value to him!

He sensed the Xuan Turtle Shield and the Cloud Piercing Boat with a little effort and knew that these two mid-grade magic artifacts were of quite solid quality.

But... one for defense and one for escape, why are they all items for saving your life and running away?