Cultivating immortality in the seas, I created an immortal island of eternal life.

Time is like sand slipping through your fingers; the harder you try to hold on, the faster it slips away.

With less than a month left until the autumn examinations, the sun at sea was still scorching, making one's skin feel tight.

Gao Yao felt like a bowstring stretched to its limit, about to snap if he exerted any more force. He practically stretched one day into three, opening his eyes before dawn and closing them late at night.

Aside from cultivation, he devoted all his remaining time to the book "A Preliminary Appraisal of Talisman Materials".

The pace of selling spirit fish has noticeably quickened. Gao Yao no longer takes as long a time as before, and goes to the fish market every few days with a fish basket.

Red-skinned blue and black iron carp, occasionally riding one or two snow silver shuttles, are exchanged for jingling spirit stones, which are then quickly turned into auxiliary medicinal materials that can be found in the market.

The spirit stones entered the tent and then flowed out like water.

If you invest resources, the results will be immediate.

He used the Qi-Nourishing Pill that Wang Yao gave him sparingly, only swallowing one at the crucial moment of breaking through the barrier. With the continuous nourishment from the Jade Spirit Liquid and the Spirit Egg, the Qi vortex in his dantian became more and more solid and stronger every day.

One night, he completed the fifth level of Qi Refining.

This cultivation speed is remarkable among ordinary fishermen.

However, the joy of a breakthrough is like a wave—it comes on strong but goes on quickly.

He was still far from breaking through to the sixth level, and cultivation alone was not enough. Gao Yao kept Wang Yao's words in mind.

"Cultivation level is only one of the thresholds. The Autumn Examination assesses more than just cultivation level; it also includes combat strength, mental fortitude, adaptability, and even luck."

He still needs to find ways to improve his combat strength.

Although Gao Yao had accumulated a lot of talismans, in the long run, being dependent on others in business was not a true reflection of his own strength.

That's why I wanted to learn how to make talismans.

Strangely enough, ever since Gao Yao built that shabby leather workshop in the corner of the shack, he has become very adept at processing fish skin.

Later, I wondered, if fish skin could be processed, what about other talisman materials?

He tidied up that corner again, arranged the tools more neatly, and even bought some other tools from the market.

Gao Yao gave this place a new name: Caijiefang.

[Materials Processing Workshop (Tier 1): Avoids misfortune, calms the mind and concentrates energy, slightly increases concentration by 10%, slightly increases material processing aptitude by 10%]

[Tier 2: Avoiding danger, calming the mind and concentrating energy, slightly increases concentration by 20%, slightly increases material processing comprehension by 20%, and allows brief spirit perception]

[Advanced Requirements: 100 years of lifespan, 60 low-grade spirit stones, 30 Radiant Grass stalks, and the ability to inscribe a Tranquil Mind Array]

The Mountain and Sea Token refresh arrived as scheduled, not only inheriting the original Tier 1 upgrade and various bonuses, but also adding a "slightly increase material processing comprehension".

Gao Yao understood. It seemed that the facilities of the Taoist temple on Turtle Reef Island could not be upgraded in a step-by-step manner. The name and function of the place for processing materials had changed, and the Mountain and Sea Token would also change accordingly.

If we modify the fishpond and chicken coop, could we raise other things there?

This is a clever trick; who knows, it might lead to other creative uses in the future.

With the mysterious boost from the Material Extraction Workshop, coupled with his increasingly sharp spiritual sense after reaching the fifth level of Qi Refining, learning "Initial Appraisal of Talisman Materials" became surprisingly smooth.

The seven or eight basic talisman materials recorded in the book, along with their complicated steps and subtle points, became crystal clear to him after he went through them a few times, like a key finding a lock.

In just over ten days, he was able to process several materials to the acceptable level described in the book.

The time is almost right.

......

That noon, Gao Yao, carrying several samples of talisman materials that he had worked on over the past few days, once again entered the fish market.

Manager Chen was leaning against the window, picking his teeth with a thin skewer, the afternoon sun lazily shining on half of his face.

Seeing Gao Yao enter, he didn't even fully lift his eyelids, and mumbled, "Hand over the leather? Put it aside."

"Manager Chen," Gao Yao stepped forward and gently placed a small coarse cloth package on the corner of the table. "I have been studying 'Preliminary Appraisal of Talisman Materials' for more than ten days as you instructed. These are some materials for my trial work. Please take a look."

"Oh?" Manager Chen then turned his face, his slender eyes scanning Gao Yao, put down the toothpick, and opened the cloth bag with two fingers.

Inside were several small, processed pieces of fish skin, a packet of dark red powder, and a small bottle of clear liquid.

He picked them up one by one, looked at them against the light, and then brought them to his nose to sniff.

As I watched, the lazy way he picked his teeth gradually disappeared.

As the manager, Chen Fu naturally knew a little about everything.

He picked up the tanned silver leather, rubbed the edge of the leather with his fingers, and then held it up to the sunlight to examine the texture underneath.

Next was the packet of red phosphorus powder. He dipped a little on his fingertip, and as his spiritual energy circulated, the powder emitted a halo of light before stabilizing without any discoloration caused by spiritual energy conflict.

Manager Chen didn't say anything. He looked at each item one by one, rewrapped them, and then lifted his eyelids to give Gao Yao a serious look.

This look no longer held the usual indifference; instead, it was an examination as if assessing the quality of goods, mixed with something indescribable.

It was like surprise, or perhaps a kind of knowing, wistful satisfaction.

"Good job, young Gao." Manager Chen leaned back. "You're good at peeling fish skin, and you'll learn these odds and ends quickly too."

"Miss Wang's taste..." He paused, a half-smile playing on his lips, "is truly remarkable."

Gao Yao's heart skipped a beat.

Manager Chen's words sounded like a compliment, but his expression and tone sent a chill down his spine, as if he were a fish being weighed on a chopping board.

He remained expressionless, only lowering his head even further: "It's all thanks to Miss Wang for giving me this opportunity, and the steward for bestowing upon me the classics. I am foolish, but I am willing to put in some hard work."

"Hard work?" Manager Chen scoffed, tapping his fingers on the table. "To have mastered 'Preliminary Appraisal of Talisman Materials' in less than half a month, that's not hard work. It seems you're determined to pursue a career in talismans?"

"Yes, I think that if I can learn a skill to support myself, I can repay the sect and the manager for their cultivation in the future." Gao Yao said earnestly.

Manager Chen stared at him for a few seconds, his gaze seeming to scrutinize him inside and out.

After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and casually instructed, "Alright, now that you've passed the material processing hurdle, it's time to get down to business. Without guidance, blindly figuring things out can easily backfire. I need to find you a master."

Gao Yao was overjoyed and quickly said, "Thank you, steward! May I ask which senior brother or sister you are? I will certainly study diligently."

"It's not your senior brothers or sisters, but someone happens to be here, someone you know." Manager Chen tilted his head towards the back hall and called out, "Ye Zi, come here for a moment."

The curtain at the back hall rustled, and a slender figure moved in.

Gao Yao looked up and was stunned.

The girl who came in was wearing a faded coarse cloth dress with the sleeves rolled up to her forearms, revealing her two fair wrists.

She lowered her head, her hands clasped awkwardly in front of her, and her footsteps were so light they were almost inaudible.

It was Ye Zi, the one he had shown the area to and who lived on the western reef island.

......