I proved immortality with thunder magic.

"Actually, I'm also a talisman maker."

Inside the main hall, Zhou Tai spoke to Aaron Kwok with a sincere expression.

This answer stunned even the well-informed Aaron Kwok, and the smile on his face immediately vanished.

"Junior Brother Zhou, are you sure you're not making fun of me?"

He frowned as he looked at Zhou Tai, and only after confirming that Zhou Tai's expression didn't seem to be lying did he say in a deep voice, "I don't mean to look down on you, but as a menial disciple, and at your age and with such low cultivation level, even if you really have some wealth, shouldn't you exchange your spirit stones for pills to improve your cultivation? Why would you waste your precious resources on learning talisman-making techniques?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai first shook his head and said, "Even if I had the greatest courage, I wouldn't dare to tease Senior Brother Guo!"

He then immediately added, "Actually, my situation is a bit special. Although I look quite old, I only started cultivating at the age of thirty-seven, and I have only been cultivating for eight years."

"Moreover, I am indeed a talisman maker, and I am already able to make several kinds of talismans such as hemostatic talismans, communication talismans, and fireball talismans, with a success rate of several percent."

"Wait a minute... let me sort this out first." Aaron Kwok waved his hand, revealing a thoughtful expression.

"You only started cultivating at thirty-seven? Are you perhaps a relative of an outer sect deacon or a Foundation Establishment master who was lost in the mortal realm?"

He muttered to himself, then quickly shook his head, saying, "But that doesn't make sense either. If that were the case, they wouldn't have let you be distracted by learning talisman-making techniques!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai was speechless, never expecting that he would have such a misunderstanding.

Fearing that this person might misunderstand further and cause even bigger trouble, Zhou Tai could only lower his voice and say, "I have a lightning spiritual root."

"What did you say?"

Aaron Kwok looked at him in surprise, wondering if he had misheard.

Zhou Tai took a deep breath and continued, "Junior brother, I said I have a unique lightning-attribute spiritual root, which is why I was specially granted permission to enter the sect!"

Now Aaron Kwok finally understood what he meant, and the way he looked at him changed instantly.

Zhou Tai was very familiar with that look; many cultivators who learned about his situation for the first time had that same look in their eyes.

Aaron Kwok gazed at Zhou Tai with pity for a long while before taking a breath and exclaiming, "A menial disciple with the talent of the Thunder Spirit Root—in the two thousand years that our Spirit Beast Mountain has been established in Heng Kingdom, this is probably the only one like him!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai knew it was time for him to showcase his acting skills.

He immediately chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, "It's not just in Spirit Beast Mountain, Junior Brother estimates that I'm probably the only unlucky one among the five major cultivation sects of Heng Kingdom!"

Hearing this, Aaron Kwok immediately said with a look of sympathy, "I didn't believe in any kind of predestined affinity before, but Junior Brother Zhou, your experience really shows that you're just missing out on that kind of fate!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhou Tai immediately picked up the thread, saying, "Junior brother, I do quite believe in destiny, especially after going to Thunder Crane Peak, I believe even more!"

Aaron Kwok was indeed intrigued by his words and looked at him in surprise, asking, "Oh, what do you mean by that, Junior Brother Zhou?"

Zhou Tai was overjoyed and said, "Junior brother, I used to feed sheep and collect manure at Jin Hua Ranch. I thought I had no hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage in this lifetime, but unexpectedly, there is always a way out. Uncle Yang of Lei He Peak just happened to need a disciple who understands thunder magic to raise frogs, and I was chosen."

"If it weren't for Uncle Yang's kindness and the several times he bestowed upon me miraculous pills and elixirs these past few years, I might only have broken through to the third level of the Qi Refining stage by now, and I wouldn't have my current cultivation and abilities!"

Upon hearing his words, Aaron Kwok seemed to realize something and exclaimed with a look of sudden enlightenment, "So it turns out that Junior Brother Zhou is the one raising Uncle Yang's Thunder-Patterned Frog! No wonder Junior Brother Qi was willing to bring you to the Talisman Competition!"

After saying that, he looked at Zhou Tai excitedly and asked, "Junior Brother Zhou, since you are the breeder of the Thunder-Patterned Frogs, you must know how many Thunder-Patterned Frogs are in Uncle Yang's frog pond, right? I wonder if you could get a few to sell? I'm willing to pay a high price!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai was startled and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Senior Brother Guo is joking. Those Thunder-Patterned Frogs are Uncle Yang's treasures. I treat them like royalty every day. How could I dare to have any improper thoughts about them? I want to live a few more years!"

After saying that, he looked at the fat man speechlessly, never expecting the other party to be so audacious.

Seeing his strong reaction, Aaron Kwok knew it was hopeless, but still unwilling to give up, he pressed on, "How many frogs are there now? Can you at least tell me?"

"I can't go into specifics, but I can say that the frog population is thriving and growing stronger year by year."

After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Tai gave a vague answer.

As for how Aaron Kwok interprets these words, that's none of his business.

Aaron Kwok nodded thoughtfully, then looked at him and said, "Since Junior Brother Zhou is also a talisman maker, he should also sell talismans, right? If you trust me, you can sell them directly to me in the future. Also, if you want to buy talisman paper and ink, you can let me know in advance, and I can give you a discount!"

Become!

Zhou Tai knew that Guo Fucheng's willingness to say these words meant that his previous preparations and performance had been successful, and he had successfully established his own value in the other party's mind.

As a successful businessman, he certainly understands what businessmen value most.

People like Aaron Kwok may seem kind and harmless, but if you can't bring him any benefit, he won't show you any interest at all.

Once he takes the initiative to show you kindness, it means that he has already judged you to be a valuable trading partner and will no longer discriminate against you because of the unequal status between you.

But for Zhou Tai, Aaron Kwok's overtures are far from enough; he needs more!

Meeting this person today is his destiny, and he must seize this opportunity to completely escape his predicament.

Therefore, he quickly replied with a smile, "Of course I need what Senior Brother Guo is talking about, but I also have a good deal to make. I wonder if Senior Brother Guo would be interested?"

Upon hearing this, Aaron Kwok nodded repeatedly with great interest, saying, "Of course I'm interested! I'm not into women or fine wine; my only interests are making money and good food. If you have any good business opportunities, Junior Brother Zhou, I definitely won't miss them!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai couldn't help but feel a greater sense of respect for this Senior Brother Guo.

He also enjoys making money and good food, and of course, he won't refuse fine wine and beautiful women.

So he stopped beating around the bush and said in a low voice, "Senior Brother Guo, since you're in the business of making talismans, you should know the value of thunder talismans, right? If you could frequently have these for sale, how many cultivators would be willing to trade their treasured possessions with you?"

Aaron Kwok frowned immediately, showing no joy whatsoever, but instead looking at him with suspicion and saying, "Of course I know the value of thunder talismans, but Junior Brother Zhou, don't tell me you can draw one."

With Zhou Tai's cultivation at the fourth level of the Qi Refining stage, it would be almost impossible for him to draw a thunder talisman.

Because the starting point for thunder talismans is only a mid-grade first-tier magic talisman, the truly sought-after ones are high-grade first-tier thunder talismans.

In the market, the price of a first-grade superior thunder talisman can sometimes be ten or even more than ten times that of a five-element attribute talisman of the same grade!

Zhou Tai himself didn't even know the actual situation of the Thunder Talisman in the market.

His understanding of thunder talismans came entirely from records in ancient books and hearsay.

But that doesn't stop him from making empty promises to Aaron Kwok.

He said with a serious expression, "Junior brother, of course I can't draw thunder talismans right now, but Senior Brother Guo, think about it, first and second-tier thunder talismans can basically only be drawn by cultivators using thunder-attribute techniques, and I happen to meet the requirements, and I'm working hard in that direction. How do you know I won't be able to draw them in the future?"

Looking at his confident expression, Aaron Kwok suddenly laughed, nodding repeatedly as he laughed, "Yes, Junior Brother Zhou makes a lot of sense. After you draw the Thunder Talisman, don't forget your senior brother. I'll definitely offer you the highest price to buy it!"

Zhou Tai could easily tell from his perfunctory tone and his lack of confidence in him.

He immediately said seriously, "Brother Guo, please don't laugh. I'm not joking at all."

But Aaron Kwok nodded nonchalantly and said, "Yes, Junior Brother Zhou, you go ahead, I'm listening."

Zhou Tai knew that the more he acted this way, the more his patience was about to run out.

So I had to resort to drastic measures: "Brother Guo, since you are a merchant, you should know that low-level merchants only know how to buy low and sell high, taking advantage of information asymmetry or inconvenient travel to make a meager living."

"Mid-sized merchants set up shops and built their own brands, which allowed them to lower prices from suppliers and use their brand reputation to sell the same goods at higher prices."

"But neither of these is of the highest quality!"

Aaron Kwok's expression changed slightly, his nonchalant demeanor vanished, and he looked at Zhou Tai with surprise, saying, "Junior Brother Zhou also knows about business?"

"To be honest, Senior Brother Guo, I was a beggar in the mortal world since I was a child, but before I came up the mountain, I was already a wealthy tycoon in the city!"

Zhou Tai cupped his hands in greeting and took the initiative to reveal his mortal identity.

After hearing this, Aaron Kwok narrowed his eyes, then asked calmly, "Then what is this superior business philosophy you mentioned, Junior Brother Zhou?"

"Invest in the future!"

Zhou Tai answered without hesitation.

"Investing in the future?"

Aaron Kwok muttered something to himself, seemingly lost in thought, then looked at Zhou Tai with some confusion and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Zhou Tai smiled broadly and immediately began to speak eloquently: "There are countless businessmen in the world, but the vast majority can only see the immediate profits, and are only willing and dare to do ready-made deals. But in this way, how easy is it to stand out among so many competitors!"

Even if you manage to stand out temporarily and amass a considerable fortune, a slight market fluctuation could wipe you out completely!

"But investing in the future is different. Investing in the future requires extraordinary vision and courage, a keen eye to find gold in the sand, and the unwavering determination to give everything without wavering!"

"Using the analogy of a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate, investing in the future means discovering among thousands of carp that possess the ambition and bloodline of a true dragon, providing support and assistance while it is still an ordinary carp. When it leaps over the Dragon Gate and soars to the heavens, this investment will surely yield a thousandfold or even ten thousandfold return, benefiting you for life!"

Looking at Zhou Tai, who was speaking eloquently in front of him, Aaron Kwok's eyes gleamed with admiration, and he nodded slightly from time to time, agreeing with Zhou Tai's words.

After Zhou Tai finished speaking, he pondered for a moment before clapping his hands and laughing, "Excellent! Junior Brother Zhou's argument is indeed refreshing and I have benefited greatly from it."

As soon as he finished speaking, his gaze sharpened, and he looked at Zhou Tai with a deep and serious expression, questioning, "But Junior Brother Zhou, why do you think you are that dragon carp?"

"Besides, no matter how appealing your words are, the probability of failure for this kind of investment is much higher than for any other business I do. Why should I risk doing something I know absolutely nothing about?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai knew that the man was already interested. Now, all he needed to do was add another layer of security to get him to agree to the deal.

So he smiled confidently and said, "Let me answer Senior Brother Guo's first question. With my Thunder Spirit Root aptitude, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call me a dragon among men. Even if I can't successfully establish my foundation in the future, reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining will be no challenge for me at all!"

"As for the possibility of investment failure in the future, it certainly exists. But doing business is inherently high-risk, high-reward. Those businessmen who dare not take risks can never become successful businessmen!"

"Of course, it's normal for you to have concerns since this is your first time doing this kind of business, so let's put it another way that you can accept: I'll borrow money from you on credit to improve my talisman-making skills, and I'll pay you back a considerable amount of interest every year."

"We can agree on a ten-year timeframe. If I still can't create a Thunder Talisman after ten years, I will repay you three times the principal plus interest for those ten years until the debt is fully repaid. Can you rest assured about that?"