To comprehend all laws and attain immortality

Shenji Peak is covered with maple trees, making it magnificent in autumn.

From a distance, Shenji Peak resembles a stone mountain burning with earth fire, its fiery red maple leaves swaying in the autumn wind like flames.

When Gu Fan arrived in his white jade boat, it was still early before the sermon was to begin.

In the past, when Gu Fan came here to listen to the Dao, he would go directly to the main hall on the mountaintop. He had not forged spiritual materials for many months, and he had not seen Tang Yuan and Qi Yan for a long time.

With that thought in mind, Gu Fan placed the white jade boat in front of the Heavenly Craft Pavilion and stepped inside.

"Hey, Junior Brother Gu!"

Tang Yuan was exchanging words with a disciple in white robes when he saw Gu Fan's figure and exclaimed in surprise.

"Greetings, Senior Brother. It's been a long time. How have you been?" Gu Fan smiled and bowed.

Tang Yuan returned the greeting with a smile, saying, "I'm still the same as always, my cultivation level is neither high nor low, unlike you, Junior Brother Gu, whose cultivation level has improved so rapidly."

At this point, Tang Yuan leaned forward slightly and asked in a low voice, "Junior Brother, have you perhaps come into contact with other aristocratic families?"

In Tang Yuan's view, Gu Fan had not come to the Heavenly Craft Pavilion to earn merits for a long time, but his cultivation speed was not slow, which was probably because he had received financial assistance.

"Senior brother is joking." Gu Fan shook his head in denial, and after hesitating for a moment, he told him about earning merit by drawing talismans.

Earning merit by drawing talismans is perfectly legitimate. Others have seen Gu Fan selling talismans at the Duty Hall every month, so there's nothing to hide.

Upon hearing this, Tang Yuan's small eyes widened in surprise.

"I see. I was wondering why Junior Brother Gu didn't come to earn merit. It turns out he's already entered the realm of talismanic arts. Junior Brother's comprehension is truly enviable." Tang Yuan exclaimed, shaking his head in admiration.

"Senior brother, you flatter me. If you need any talismans in the future, feel free to contact me. I guarantee they will be cheaper than in the market."

Gu Fan paid no attention to Tang Yuan's praise, but instead took the opportunity to promote the talismans.

Disciples of the Lingxiao Sect can exchange for spirit talismans in the Duty Hall if they need them, but this will consume merit points.

If you want to use spirit stones to buy it, you need to go to the market at the foot of the mountain, which is much more expensive than buying it in the sect.

For example, a first-tier low-grade spirit talisman can be exchanged for ten using two points of merit, but it is priced at three spirit stones per talisman in the market.

This is only a low-grade spirit talisman; the price difference would be even greater for mid-grade or even high-grade spirit talismans.

Using merit points to exchange for items seems much cheaper, but merit points are not enough to exchange for cultivation techniques, spells, and various skill inheritances. Therefore, many people choose to buy spirit talismans in the market.

Gu Fan thought Tang Yuan would agree in a satisfactory manner, since there was a cheaper way to buy spirit talismans, which would save a lot of spirit stones, so why not?

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Tang Yuan's smile slowly disappeared, and his eyes narrowed: "I appreciate your kindness, junior brother. We get along quite well, but there are some things I would like to remind you of."

Gu Fan raised an eyebrow, nodded with slight surprise, and said, "Please speak, Senior Brother."

Tang Yuan said meaningfully, "If Junior Brother just wants to draw talismans for familiar fellow disciples to earn a little spirit stones, that's fine. But if you want to sell them to more people..."

At this point, Tang Yuan shook his head.

Gu Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he tentatively asked in a soft voice, "Senior brother, are you saying... there's something taboo about this?"

Tang Yuan gave Gu Fan an appreciative look and nodded, saying, "Not bad. The market down the mountain is managed by our Lingxiao Sect. Junior Brother, who do you think owns the shops selling spirit talismans in the market?"

"Ordinary independent cultivators who set up stalls in the market need to pay spirit stones. If word gets out that what you're doing, Junior Brother, is going to be quite inappropriate."

"Of course, if Junior Brother wants to find a shop to consign spirit talismans, I can recommend a few."

Gu Fan suddenly realized that he had also worked in the corporate world in his previous life, so he naturally understood Tang Yuan's implied meaning.

In the market managed by the Lingxiao Sect, only families of cultivators are allowed to open shops.

As for the Lingxiao Sect itself, it does not need to get involved personally; it can simply enjoy the benefits by having the aristocratic families pay tribute every year.

In the Lingxiao Sect, any spoils obtained after completing a sect mission belong to the individual disciple; items not covered by sect missions are not accepted.

Besides using these spoils themselves, most of them were also sold in the market. The powerful families controlled the shops in the market, thereby making profits, and then used these resources for cultivation to train their own disciples.

In this way, disciples from aristocratic families can maintain their status within the sect by virtue of their cultivation, while outside the sect they can harvest spirit stones from poor disciples.

If Gu Fan were to sell talismans within the sect, it would be tantamount to infringing upon the interests of the aristocratic families. Although the spirit stones he earns might not be of interest to them, this action would be nothing short of a provocation against them.

After realizing what was happening, Gu Fan clasped his hands in a fist salute to Tang Yuan and said, "Thank you for telling me frankly, Senior Brother."

"It was nothing, I'm glad you understand, Junior Brother," Tang Yuan replied, waving his hand.

Tang Yuan paused for a moment, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Actually, I've already told my junior brother about the easiest way. Junior brother also has talent in talismanic arts. As long as you say the word, it's not impossible for you to marry a Daoist partner with spiritual roots."

"I appreciate your kindness, senior brother, but I have no intention of engaging in dual cultivation at the moment." Gu Fan once again refused Tang Yuan's proposal.

Having learned from his previous experience, Tang Yuan didn't care about this and simply nodded slowly.

After receiving Tang Yuan's warning, Gu Fan lost interest in chatting. Seeing Qi Yan organizing and recording something in a corner of the Tiangong Pavilion, he went up to greet Qi Yan, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then headed to the main hall at the top of the mountain.

Qi Yan started his training later than Gu Fan, but his cultivation level had already reached the second level of Qi Refining.

Because Qi Yan cultivates a low-grade technique, his magical power is weak, but his progress is relatively fast. However, without the aid of pills, the mid-stage of Qi Refining is his limit for this lifetime.

But Qi Yan took it all in stride.

They should have been driven down the mountain, but now they can still cultivate, so what is there to complain about?

At the main hall atop Shenji Peak, Gu Fan, as usual, found a corner to sit down and waited for the sermon to begin.

He had thought he could make a fortune through the art of talismans and use it to buy resources for his cultivation, but he never expected there would be such restrictions.

If you consign the talisman to a shop, you'll be exploited to an unknown extent, which is equivalent to working for a powerful family.

Having spent many years in the corporate world in his previous life, Gu Fan had no expectations of the conscience of aristocratic families.

If this is how the talismans are today, how can Gu Fan avoid it if he learns to refine magical artifacts and wants to sell them to earn spirit stones in the future?

No wonder aristocratic families are so keen on forming marriage alliances; ultimately, it's about providing two options: either become one of their own or become their employees.

As for confronting the powerful families... a glint of light suddenly flashed in Gu Fan's eyes, and he recalled the scene on Lanyun Peak when a group of Lingxi Peak disciples were feasting to celebrate Chen Suzhen's foundation building.

With such behavior from powerful families, how could no one have resisted over the years?

After returning, Gu Fan planned to first find out from Meng Wei, as he couldn't just listen to Tang Yuan's side of the story.

Just then, a beam of fire flew in from outside the main hall and landed on the stone platform.

A middle-aged Taoist priest with a square face and an imposing presence appeared.

It was Li Kunyuan!