Journey to the West Creation Technique

Fence Village.

The mud-brick hut of the resident monks.

Lu Chengjun closed the wooden door tightly and counted the bills...

One hundred sheets, earned from selling the golden claw eagle; three sheets, earned from a month's work in the village.

Total: 103 Qingyun tickets.

He carefully tucked the Qingyun ticket into his body and then took out a small coarse cloth bag.

Untie the knot, and seven thumb-sized, multicolored pebbles roll into your palm.

This is what the giant aardvark uses to trade for a cub.

The stones that the aardvark dug out from underground must be spirit stones.

Nanming Guard has no spirit stone mines; spirit stones are a rare commodity.

Lu Chengjun also did not know its specific value.

Before I knew it, I had accumulated quite a bit of wealth.

Time to spend some money...

As a resident cultivator, Lu Chengjun only needed to stay overnight in the village and was not restricted from traveling during the day. After greeting Yunniang, he went straight to the town.

A man and a cat, walking along the road.

Five miles, one incense stick, the city gate closes.

Turn right after passing through the checkpoint, and you'll find a courtyard.

A small sign hung on the gate of the courtyard that read "Xiaoshi".

This is the small market for monks.

Lu Chengjun had only heard of this place before; this was his first time here.

There were a few stalls scattered around the courtyard, and it wasn't very lively.

The stalls were full of talismans; you could hardly see any other goods.

The entire Nanming Guard only has 15,000 people, so it's quite remarkable that they were able to gather such a market.

Lu Chengjun, accompanied by his tabby cat, casually squatted down in front of a stall.

The stall owner was a girl of about sixteen or seventeen years old. When she saw the customers arrive, she gave them a sweet smile.

"Sir, would you like to buy some talismans?" the young girl greeted him.

Lu Chengjun pointed to the talismans on her stall: "How much?"

The girl quickly replied, "Fireball Talismans and Lightness Talismans are all priced the same, one Qingyun Ticket per talisman."

"A Qingyun ticket?" Lu Chengjun was slightly surprised.

One Qingyun Ticket = One Blank Talisman Paper.

These stalls are full of finished talismans.

"Isn't this a complete loss?" Lu Chengjun blurted out.

The girl laughed and said, "We are beginners in talisman making, and we only want to practice and gain experience. We pay for the talisman ink ourselves."

"Oh..." Lu Chengjun suddenly realized. He looked around and saw that almost all the stall owners here were young people, who were probably cultivators learning talisman making, just like this girl.

"Fellow Daoist, please buy some." The girl stared with wide eyes, her face full of longing.

Lu Chengjun nodded slightly; he did indeed want to buy some talismans for self-defense.

"Then let's use ten Fireball Talismans and ten Lightness Talismans."

The girl's eyes lit up as she handed over the talismans and explained their usage: "The Fireball Talisman can be cast with a burst of magic power, and the Lightness Talisman needs to be applied to your body..."

Lu Chengjun readily took out twenty Qingyun tickets.

Do you have any Vajra talismans?

"Yes! Yes!" The girl nodded repeatedly and took out five Vajra Talismans from the cloth bag on her body.

Clearly, this girl did not know how to draw the Vajra Talisman; it must have been something she used for self-defense.

"Did you draw this too?" Lu Chengjun asked tentatively.

"It was drawn by my older brother, and I'm selling it on his behalf."

"Is it also one Qingyun Ticket for one talisman?"

"Too."

Lu Chengjun took out five more Qingyun tickets and accepted five Vajra Talismans.

People around rarely saw such a big client, so they all craned their necks to look.

A middle-aged cultivator with a sallow complexion approached, holding a yellowish-brown talisman, and volunteered, "Fellow Daoist, take a look at this talisman of mine!"

He handed the talisman to Lu Chengjun, its surface faintly swirling with earth-elemental spiritual energy.

"This is a quicksand talisman, which is most effective at trapping and restraining enemies. Once ordinary demonic beasts step into the quicksand area, they will be unable to move for a moment. Fellow Daoist, you travel around all year round, it's never a bad idea to have a few on hand."

"Is it also one Qingyun ticket for one ticket?" Lu Chengjun asked.

The middle-aged cultivator shook his head slightly and smiled faintly: "As the saying goes, things are valued for their rarity. To draw a quicksand talisman, one must first learn the quicksand technique. This quicksand technique requires earth-elemental magic to activate, and there are very few people who cultivate earth-elemental techniques. Naturally, I, Xu, cannot sell my quicksand talismans cheaply. Three Qingyun tickets for one quicksand talisman. If you buy more, I can give you a discount."

Lu Chengjun examined the talisman closely, then his eyes lit up: "I want to learn the quicksand technique."

The stall owner, surnamed Xu, was slightly taken aback: "What did you say?"

"I want to learn quicksand techniques. Name your price."

"You...you also practice earth-based techniques?" The stall owner, surnamed Xu, asked incredulously.

Lu Chengjun nodded in agreement.

"You...you want to steal my business?" Stall owner Xu asked suspiciously.

"I have no interest in that." Lu Chengjun said with a look of disdain.

"That won't do!" Stall owner Xu shook his head vigorously. "The Quicksand Technique is my livelihood, how can I easily pass it on? Even if you offer me a lot of Qingyun Tickets, I won't teach you."

Lu Chengjun had anticipated that the other party would not give in easily, and he did not intend to beat around the bush. He immediately took out a small, shiny stone about the size of a thumb from his pocket.

As soon as the spirit stone appeared, a faint earth-elemental spiritual energy instantly spread out, startling the cultivators who were setting up stalls nearby, who all turned to look.

The stall owner, surnamed Xu, was stunned for a moment, then gasped: "Spirit stones! Where did you get them?"

Lu Chengjun flipped his hand and took back the spirit stone, casually replying, "I dug it up while farming."

The stall owner, surnamed Xu, was slightly taken aback: "Good luck."

"How about it? Can you teach me?" Lu Chengjun asked with a smile.

In the Central Plains, a spirit stone wouldn't be considered particularly precious, but in the Southern Desolate Continent, it's still valued for its rarity.

"Alright!" Stall owner Xu gritted his teeth and agreed. He then changed the subject, continuing, "However, I'll only teach you once. Whether you learn it or not depends entirely on your own fate!"

"Sure," Lu Chengjun readily agreed.

The surrounding cultivators also gathered around.

The stall owner surnamed Xu didn't take it seriously, because he knew that these people didn't practice earth-based techniques, and even if he taught them ten times, they wouldn't be able to learn them.

He immediately lowered his voice and quickly recited the incantation for the Quicksand Technique, while raising his hand to form a hand seal, causing earth-elemental magic power to surge slightly around his body.

"Quicksand!" The stall owner, surnamed Xu, pointed his finger, and the grass turned into fine quicksand.

After a few breaths, the stall owner surnamed Xu finished his work, and the yellowish-brown quicksand disappeared, turning the earth back into a flat grassland.

Lu Chengjun patted the ground curiously and asked in surprise, "It will restore itself?"

After successfully performing the quicksand spell, Xu, the stall owner, was panting heavily.

He answered, panting, "Of course it will revert. If the monster is halfway trapped, the quicksand will turn back into solidified earth, burying the monster alive."

"Wonderful!" Lu Chengjun's eyes lit up, clearly showing an even greater interest in this spell.

"The incantation and technique have been demonstrated. I will not teach it a second time. Give me the spirit stones."

Lu Chengjun said no more and simply tossed the earth-elemental spirit stone to the stall owner, Xu.

The other person quickly reached out and caught it, rubbing it repeatedly in their palm, their face beaming with joy.

To put it bluntly, Qingyun Tickets are just blank talismans; having more of them is useless.

These spirit stones, however, can be directly absorbed and used to improve one's cultivation level.

Although a low-grade spirit stone has negligible effect, the cultivator surnamed Xu had never used one before and was extremely eager to try it.

just in case……

Has it broken through?

Then my wish will be fulfilled...

Lu Chengjun turned and left, the tabby cat obediently following behind.

As he walked, he silently recited the incantation for the quicksand technique, memorizing it several times until he easily memorized it.

Upon seeing this, the monks gathered around immediately began to discuss it.

"You think you can learn quicksand magic just by hearing the incantation once and watching the technique once? That's far too simplistic."

"Such a cursory glance."

"I don't think this person has reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining yet. Humph! What a waste of a spirit stone."