Starting as a Talisman Master

"Only for domestic demand? That means there's nothing left to offer."

Lu Chi shook his head with feigned regret, his gaze sweeping over Luo Wenshan's stiff old face. He pointed to a high-grade Fire Cloud Talisman on the counter, his tone flat:

"Very well. Since there are no top-grade talismans, I won't make a wasted trip. How many spirit stones is this talisman? I'll take it."

Luo Wenshan gritted his teeth inwardly, but could only suppress his anger and reply according to the rules: "High-grade Fire Cloud Talisman, thirty low-grade spirit stones."

"Um."

Lu Chi nodded, waved his sleeve, and took out a storage bag from his sleeve, preparing to take out spirit stones to pay the bill.

The moment the storage bag was revealed, Luo Wenshan's previously calm expression suddenly froze.

It was an old, grayish-brown storage bag with a very fine, dark pattern embroidered around the opening.

The pattern is not particularly eye-catching, like a common intertwined floral pattern, but there is a small piece of wear on the left side where the pattern ends, and even the dark pattern is missing a corner.

Luo Wenshan's eyelids twitched suddenly.

He had seen this bag before.

Some time ago, in order to hire someone to assassinate Lu Chi, he personally handed over a storage bag containing a deposit of five hundred low-grade spirit stones to Ge Jiuzhang.

At that time, Ge Jiuzhang poured the spirit stones into his old personal bag in front of him.

This is the one we're using.

The bag is grayish-brown and old, with dark patterns at the opening and a chipped corner on the left side.

Not a single one is missing.

There are many storage bags in the world that look similar, but if even the subtle patterns on the bag opening and the location of the wear match, it can't possibly be just a coincidence.

Luo Wenshan's heart sank. His gaze lingered on the storage bag for a moment without leaving a trace, then slowly moved away, pretending not to see anything, but in his heart, a storm was brewing.

How did Ge Jiuzhang's personal storage bag end up in the hands of this stranger who calls himself "Master Chen"?

Just a few days ago, they were still speculating in the side hall why Ge Jiuzhang suddenly withdrew, not even caring about his three subordinates, and used a high-grade divination talisman to escape.

Some even suspected that this person had absconded with the deposits from both companies.

But now it seems that things are not like that at all.

Could it be that Ge Jiuzhang has run into trouble outside?

Or is it that this wandering alchemist in front of us has some connection with Ge Jiuzhang?

Luo Wenshan's mind raced, but his face remained impassive.

He didn't immediately assume the worst about the person.

After all, Ge Jiuzhang was a veteran array master at the seventh level of Qi Refining, ruthless and cunning. If this person in front of him really killed Ge Jiuzhang single-handedly, then this "Alchemist Chen's" strength was definitely not as simple as it seemed on the surface.

If the other party is not the murderer, but only accidentally obtained Ge Jiuzhang's belongings, or has accomplices behind him, then turning against him rashly would not be a wise move either.

Regardless of the reason, there must be clues hidden in this person.

Perhaps even the deposit of five hundred spirit stones from the Luo family is still in this storage bag.

A strange glint flashed in Luo Wenshan's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

He was a cunning old fox; the more alarmed he was, the more composed his smile became.

He accepted the thirty spirit stones from Lu Chi with both hands, his face still bearing that impeccably amiable smile: "Thirty low-grade spirit stones, just right. Alchemist Chen, please take your talisman."

Lu Chi put away the Fire Cloud Talisman and storage bag, gave Luo Wenshan a meaningful look, then turned and stepped out of the threshold, slowly merging into the crowd of people in the market.

Only after the gray-robed figure completely disappeared at the end of the long street did Luo Wenshan's smile gradually fade, and his eyes darkened.

He turned his head and whispered to the shop assistant beside him, "Watch the shop, I'm going out for a bit."

After saying that, he turned around and quickly walked through the back hall, heading straight into the secret room in the backyard.

As soon as the door to the secret chamber closed, Luo Wenshan took out a communication jade talisman from his sleeve, released spiritual energy from his fingertips, and quickly condensed it into a voice transmission, which then disappeared into the jade talisman.

The person he sent the message to was Shen Yuanheng, the elder of the Shen family who happened to be in the market.

In recent days, the Shen and Luo families have secretly joined forces to deal with Lu Chi.

Both families had previously contributed spirit stones when they asked Ge Jiuzhang for help. Now that Ge Jiuzhang's fate was unknown, yet a clue had suddenly appeared before them, Luo Wenshan naturally wouldn't take the risk alone.

A moment later, the jade talisman trembled slightly.

Shen Yuanheng's deep, cold voice quickly returned:

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"If what Brother Luo says is true, then this person must be carrying clues about Ge Jiuzhang. Don't alarm him yet, just keep an eye on him secretly. I'll come and meet you now. Once he leaves the market, we'll find an opportunity to capture him. Since this person is carrying Ge Jiuzhang's storage bag, we should be able to pry some information out of him."

After hearing this telepathic message, Luo Wenshan felt much more at ease.

As a high-grade talisman master, he carries many high-grade talismans. If it really comes down to a fight, his combat power is no less than that of an ordinary late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

Luo Wenshan quickly changed into a dusty old robe and completely concealed his aura, making him inconspicuous.

After doing all this, he quietly left through the back door of the Luo family's talisman shop and followed the direction in which Lu Chi had disappeared, keeping a respectful distance.

At this moment, Lu Chi was strolling leisurely through the streets of the market with his hands behind his back.

He appeared to be merely strolling along the street, casually stopping at various stalls, but in reality, the nascent form of his divine sense had already quietly unfolded, taking into full perception the elusive aura behind him.

The man thought he was hiding himself very well, but little did he know that his every move had already been seen by Lu Chi.

In addition, on the other side of the street, another aura was rapidly approaching, subtly merging with the tail behind it.

"It seems that Luo Wenshan is not the only one."

Lu Chi's lips curled up almost imperceptibly.

He had deliberately taken out Ge Jiuzhang's storage bag with its embroidered patterns and waved it in front of Luo Wenshan to test the waters.

In retrospect, the bait was indeed worthwhile.

Since one person taking the bait isn't enough, and they need to call in more helpers, that's perfect, it saves him the trouble of searching for them one by one after he leaves the city.

On that day, when he sneaked into Ge Jiuzhang's residence to clean up the mess, he found several records of correspondence among the things left behind by the other party.

After reading it, he was truly certain that Luo Wenshan and Shen Yuanheng were no longer simply competing in business, but were genuinely plotting to kill each other and wanted to use Ge Jiuzhang to take his life.

In that case, there's no need to drag this out any longer.

He could have simply left the market this time. But before departing, he made a final return trip, even changing his identity, all to completely sever this ties and prevent any future troubles for himself.

Lu Chi glanced at the sky, then looked away, his expression remaining unchanged. He pretended to have spent half a day wandering around the market without gaining anything, then turned around and walked straight towards the south exit of the Qingque Mountain market.

……

……

On the south side of Qingque Mountain, the mountains rise and fall, and the forests are deep.

Lu Chi walked slowly along a secluded animal trail, and the further he went, the quieter it became.

When all the insects and birds were silent, and even the mountain wind seemed to be suppressed by the cliffs on both sides, he finally stopped when he saw a narrow valley surrounded on three sides.

He turned slightly to the side, his hoarse voice slowly echoing through the empty valley: "After following for so long, it's time for you two to show yourselves."

As soon as he finished speaking, the wind rustled through his clothes at the valley entrance.

Two gray figures darted out one after the other, landing steadily on the mountain path, effectively blocking their retreat.

Lu Chi glanced at the scene, a slight thought stirring in his heart.

Besides Luo Wenshan, Shen Yuanheng was also among the visitors.

Moreover, this person's aura is stronger than it was a while ago, clearly indicating that he has entered the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Shen Yuanheng stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on the storage bag at Lu Chi's waist, his eyes deep and unfathomable, and slowly spoke:

"You have quite the nerve. That storage bag at your waist is related to an old matter of mine. Hand over the storage bag and explain Ge Jiuzhang's whereabouts, and I might be able to make a decision and give you some leeway."

Although he spoke calmly, his senses had already quietly spread out, scanning the entire valley of grass, trees, and rocks.

After confirming that there was no one lying in ambush nearby, his eyes flickered slightly, and he secretly sent a telepathic message to Luo Wenshan.

Luo Wenshan understood, and subtly took half a step away, blocking the other side of the path. He then gently gathered two fingers in his sleeve, holding two high-grade talismans with restrained spiritual light.

The air in the valley suddenly became tense.

Upon seeing this, Lu Chi merely chuckled softly.

"How much leeway should we leave?"

"Elder Shen, your seemingly warm-hearted yet cunning demeanor is exactly the same as when you recruited me at the wedding banquet that day."

Starting your cultivation journey as a Talisman Master is available on the "Renren Bookstore" free reading app. Search "Renren Bookstore" on Baidu to download and install the Android app, and read the latest chapters of Starting Your Cultivation Journey as a Talisman Master anytime!