Confucian and Taoist Cultivation Starting from the Equipment Slot

Chen Zhuo calmly put the bamboo slip into his pocket.

Of course he noticed it.

From the moment he made his offer, Ding Xiuyuan's eyes kept falling on him.

He happened to have something to discuss with Manager Ding.

After acquiring the items, Chen Zhuo did not study the newly obtained "Travel Notes on Mountains and Rivers" in detail.

Instead, he turned his attention to the next prop.

"What I'm presenting now is my personal experience in crafting talismans. I'm a scholar, so this isn't particularly rare, but it still has considerable value."

"I just want money, the more the better."

Chen Zhuo isn't particularly interested in talisman-making techniques right now, because it requires a huge amount of effort to learn.

Besides, it's just a personal work, so it's unlikely to be of any quality...

He looked over instinctively and froze instantly.

[Qian Xiu's Guide to Talisman Making (Fragment, Green): A record of talisman making personally compiled by Qian Xiu, a master of talisman making.]

"Fragmented version? Green quality?"

Upon seeing this information, Chen Zhuo immediately perked up.

Even the fragments are of high quality; imagine what it would be like if it were the whole text!

I wonder who Qian Xiu is? Could he be the person on stage?

Chen Zhuo sized up the person standing on the stage.

He looked old and frail, with a hunched back and his eyes constantly darting left and right; he didn't seem like a scholar at all.

"Senior sister, do you know this person?" Chen Zhuo asked in a low voice.

Gu Qing'e also looked up at the people on the stage and whispered:

"This man's name is Xu Tianying. He's from a collateral branch of the Xu family. A few years ago, he had a falling out with the family and eventually cut ties with them."

Then Gu Qing'e muttered to herself, "Strange, I've never heard of him being able to create talismans?"

Upon hearing his junior sister say that this person's name was Xu Tianying, Chen Zhuo seemed to understand something.

He then pressed for more information.

"Does Senior Sister know who Qian Xiu is?"

Upon hearing the name Qian Xiu, Gu Qing'e looked completely bewildered.

Who is Qian Xiu?

Alright, now he was even more certain of his thoughts.

It must be that this person named Xu Tianying accidentally obtained a scripture inheritance from Qian Xiu and wrote out such a scripture to exchange for money.

"50 taels of silver," Chen Zhuo offered first.

It seemed that everyone in the audience knew what kind of people Xu Tianying was, and no one offered a high price, except for a burly man with stubble on his side.

"55 taels!" he shouted in a thunderous voice, finally raising the price by only five taels, drawing the attention of everyone.

"70 taels!" Chen Zhuo remained calm and unhurried. He currently had about 300 taels of silver at his disposal, and he could get more if needed, but there was no need for that.

"Boy, who are you? State your name!"

Once the price reached this point, it became clear that Da Han couldn't afford to play anymore and was preparing to resort to some off-field tactics.

He had barely spoken when a friend reminded him.

"This is a disciple of Scholar Song." Upon hearing this, the burly man immediately realized something, instantly lost his imposing manner, and slunk down.

In the end, Chen Zhuo acquired the item for 70 taels of silver.

Gu Qing'e looked at Chen Zhuo's actions, hesitant to speak, but in the end she didn't say anything.

My junior brother must have his reasons for doing this. I've already advised him before, and saying more would only make things worse.

The trade fair quickly came to an end, and nothing else of interest Chen Zhuo appeared.

However, the junior sister bought some materials related to demons and monsters, as well as items for drawing runes.

However, some scriptures containing literary techniques did not appear, but rather the types of scriptures did not quite conform to his wishes.

Either it's a type they already have, or the price is outrageous.

Although he needs literary skills, he is not a sucker; he won't buy anything that is significantly overpriced.

As the crowd gradually dispersed, Chen Zhuo was about to leave when he heard a voice say, "Fellow Daoist, please wait."

Chen Zhuo glanced at Ding Xiuyuan and saw him nodding slightly with his eyes narrowed.

"Junior brother, aren't we leaving? It's getting late..."

Gu Qing'e looked around; she still felt some resistance.

"Why don't you go back first, senior sister? I still have things to discuss with the manager here."

Upon hearing Chen Zhuo's words, Gu Qing'e hesitated for a moment, then her expression hardened.

"It's alright, I'll stay with you, junior brother! Consider it your senior sister protecting you."

Chen Zhuo glanced at her but did not expose her junior sister's implied meaning.

The crowd completely dispersed, and Ding Xiuyuan walked over.

"Brother Chen, it's been a long time. May I ask who this is?" He looked at Gu Qing'e.

"My senior sister, ignore her, let's talk about our own things."

"Oh, so this is Master Gu. I've heard so much about you before, but I've only heard of you by name. I apologize for any offense I may have caused."

Ding Xiuyuan's few words completely captivated Gu Qing'e.

I'm that famous? He even asked me to take care of everyone!

"Stop talking nonsense, what do you want?"

Chen Zhuo interrupted his idle chatter.

Ding Xiuyuan wasn't annoyed at all. Instead, he smiled and said, "The matter of Brother Chen's visit here last time has been settled."

I don't know if he did it on purpose, but he deliberately made his words unclear.

This drew a scrutinizing look from his junior sister, who silently observed him.

Junior brother actually sneaks into a place like this?

No! No! This place is not safe at all!

Chen Zhuo didn't notice this; instead, he felt excited when he heard Ding Xiuyuan's news about Originium.

But he quickly calmed down.

There is no free lunch in the world.

This guy must have had ulterior motives for telling me this.

Unexpectedly, when Chen Zhuo asked about the value of this information, the answer he received was that it was free.

"free?"

"Yes, this message is completely free. Consider it making a friend." It was that same harmless smile as always.

Chen Zhuo silently became wary.

These kinds of people are usually the most ruthless and the most scheming.

As Chen Zhuo left Chunfeng Tower, the information that Boss Ding had given him kept replaying in his mind.

"We are willing to help each other."

Could the Originium incident actually be related to the Gongyuan Gang? Chen Zhuo carefully processed the events that had just occurred in his mind.

He didn't know much about the Gongyuan Gang, and he always thought they had little interaction.

The only connection they had was that when his family's goods went missing, his father brought back a batch of cats.

"My lords, would you like to learn about Da Yuan?"

Suddenly, a man dressed in tattered clothes but full of energy stopped the two.

"Great Vow? What's that?" The junior sister next to him asked before he could.

"The Great Vow is a place without pain, disease, or demons, a place where the old are cared for until their end, the strong are employed, and the young are nurtured."

"Goods are not to be hoarded, but should not be kept for oneself; labor is not to be wasted, but should not be used for one's own benefit."

"It was a world where everyone was filled with hope."

As he spoke, he looked up at the two of them, a hint of madness in his eyes.

"My lords, would you... like to join the Great Vow?"