I proved immortality with thunder magic.

Aaron Kwok may not be very knowledgeable about investing in the future, but he's quite adept at borrowing and lending money on credit.

His business already included lending.

However, he used to only lend money to outer disciples, because as long as the outer disciples didn't die, he could always get back the loans he had taken out, making a sure profit.

But Zhou Tai was just a menial disciple, which made him hesitate.

He looked at Zhou Tai with a flickering gaze, pondered for a long time, and then slowly said, "Junior Brother Zhou, I admit that the deal you mentioned is very tempting, but it is a matter of great importance, and I need to consider it for a few days before I can give you an answer."

Zhou Tai knew that his so-called consideration of a few days was probably an attempt to investigate his information, which could be regarded as a risk background check.

He readily agreed, "No problem, I trust you will make the right decision, Senior Brother Guo."

After saying that, he gave Aaron Kwok a communication talisman imbued with his own magical aura, so that the other party could contact him.

Shortly after the two finished their conversation, the "Talisman Battle Ceremony" officially began.

One by one, the talisman masters who had signed up to participate in the ritual stood behind their respective tables in the hall. At the referee's command, they all picked up their brushes and began to draw talismans.

The rules of this "Talisman Contest" are not complicated. Whoever draws the most talismans within the specified time, and whose talismans are of the highest quality, will win the championship.

One-tier low-grade magic talisman is counted as one winning point, one-tier mid-grade magic talisman is counted as three winning points, and one-tier high-grade magic talisman is counted as ten winning points.

Zhou Tai watched intently as the talisman masters on the field drew talismans.

He knew it was unrealistic to expect to learn anything substantial in this kind of setting, but observing other talisman masters' drawing techniques, especially those familiar with his own, could still serve as a form of comparative learning.

For him, a self-taught student without a teacher, this was already a great opportunity.

After the allotted hour had passed, all the talisman masters were forced to stop drawing their talismans, and many of the talismans they had drawn were rendered useless.

What surprised Zhou Tai was that someone had actually drawn eight magic talismans in just one hour. Although they were all first-grade low-rank magic talismans, it was still quite amazing.

After all, there are eight successful ones, and even more unsuccessful ones.

Zhou Tai asked himself if it were him, even if he didn't care about the waste of talisman paper and ink, he could only draw talismans twelve or thrice in an hour at most, and it would be very good if he could succeed three or four times.

"According to Senior Brother Qi, the talisman masters participating in this talisman-making competition are not the truly top-tier talisman masters in the sect; they are at most mid-to-upper-level contenders. It seems that my path in talisman-making is indeed long and arduous!"

He sighed inwardly, feeling the pressure of this industry once again.

But this only strengthened his resolve to create the Thunder Talisman.

If he were to compete in the normal talisman-making arena, even if he could outmaneuver other talisman masters, he would still be considered a mid-level businessman, as he described Aaron Kwok.

Only by embarking on the high-end track of Thunder Talismans can one truly become invincible and make big money without having to chase after quantity.

Soon after, the rankings for this "Talisman Competition" were determined. The champion was an old cultivator with gray hair who drew two first-grade high-quality talismans.

The grand prize of this "Talisman Battle Assembly" is a fine talisman brush worth several hundred low-grade spirit stones.

Zhou Tai could only secretly envy this.

He has spent more spirit stones learning talisman making than someone else has spent on a single talisman brush.

But this is the reality that people must accept, just like how the cost of one of his banquets was equivalent to several years' living expenses for an ordinary family.

After the ceremony ended, Qi Yuntao did not rush to leave. Instead, he went to exchange talisman-making experiences with some of the talisman masters who had participated in the ceremony.

Although Zhou Tai had the same thought in his mind, he also knew that he would only humiliate himself if he went there, so he could only wait patiently in place.

As for Aaron Kwok, this fat guy is even more active than Qi Yuntao; he had already gone to talk business with the champion, Master Fu.

After waiting for nearly two hours, Qi Yuntao finally called Zhou Tai with a satisfied expression and they began to descend the mountain.

By the time they returned to Leihe Peak, it was already sunset and almost dark.

After landing, Zhou Tai was about to thank Qi Yuntao and take his leave when Qi Yuntao looked at him first and asked, "Junior Brother Zhou, you and Fatty Guo seemed to get along very well today. What did you two talk about?"

Zhou Tai paused slightly, then quickly confessed, "We didn't talk much. After Senior Brother Guo learned that I was a cultivator with the Thunder Spirit Root, he asked me more questions about my situation. I heard that Senior Brother Guo was willing to lend money on credit, so I asked him for a loan!"

These are not things that need to be kept secret. Since Qi Yuntao took the initiative to ask, he certainly wouldn't deliberately hide them, lest the other party find out later and ruin their friendship.

After hearing his answer, Qi Yuntao first frowned slightly, then looked at him seriously and said, "Fatty Guo is no good person. Junior Brother Zhou, you need to be careful when you borrow money from him on credit. Don't let him blackmail you into doing something against the sect rules when you can't pay it back!"

These words were clearly pointed, and Zhou Tai knew that he was worried that if he made a mistake, he would be implicated.

So he quickly and solemnly replied, "Senior Brother Qi, don't worry. I know what I'm doing and I will never let myself go down a path of no return!"

Hearing his answer, Qi Yuntao knew it was impossible to persuade him to give up, so he could only wave his hand and say, "Alright, alright, since you've made up your mind, I won't try to persuade you anymore. You'd better take care of yourself!"

Zhou Tai watched Qi Yuntao turn and leave, sighed softly, and then walked towards his bamboo house by the stream.

He was well aware of the risks of borrowing money for spiritual practice, but did he have any other choice?

From the moment he stepped into the world of cultivation, he knew one thing: if he wanted to go further in the world of cultivation, he could not follow the same path as others.

Now that he wants to take a shortcut, he must naturally bear the risks and costs of taking that shortcut.

Five days later, Zhou Tai received a message from Aaron Kwok.

As expected, Aaron Kwok agreed to his proposal, promising to lend him the money and arranging a meeting to discuss the details.

So Zhou Tai took another half-day off, went down the mountain, and after a detailed discussion with Aaron Kwok who had rushed over, they finalized the cooperation model.

The specific terms of the cooperation are as follows: Aaron Kwok will lend Zhou Tai talisman paper and ink worth one hundred low-grade spirit stones every year for a period of ten years. During this period, the loan cannot be interrupted, otherwise Zhou Tai has the right not to repay it.

Ten years later, if Zhou Tai draws the Thunder Talisman, he will only need to repay Guo Fucheng's loan of one thousand low-grade spirit stones, and he can use the Thunder Talisman's right of first refusal to offset the debt.

If Zhou Tai is unable to draw the thunder talisman, he will have to repay Guo Fucheng three thousand low-grade spirit stones, with interest calculated annually thereafter.

This deal is a sure win for Aaron Kwok.

However, Zhou Tai also gained thousands of low-grade spirit stones as talisman-making resources out of thin air, which will allow him to continue on the path of talisman-making.

So he didn't feel like he had been taken advantage of.

After the two signed the contract, Aaron Kwok readily provided Zhou Tai with a year's worth of supplies and bought up all the dozens of low-grade first-tier magic talismans he had accumulated, paying them at retail price.

Of course, this kind of good thing will only happen once. In the future, when he buys talismans made by Zhou Tai, the purchase price will only be 70% of the retail price.

Nevertheless, Zhou Tai was very satisfied.

More than a month later, Zhou Tai finally mastered the "Thunder Serpent Dance" spell, which he had been diligently practicing.

Inside the mountain stream pavilion, Zhou Tai formed hand seals, with blue-white arcs of electricity dancing between his hands. With a shout, he crossed his hands and pushed them forward, sending a thick bolt of blue-white lightning flying out and landing on the water surface several dozen feet away.

When the lightning struck the water, it instantly exploded and split into smaller bolts that scattered in all directions, creating a scene resembling a chaotic dance of snakes—dangerous yet beautiful.

quack!

The raging lightning power quickly attracted some lightning frogs, who enjoyed the friction of the electric arcs while making cheerful calls.

Compared to the deadly lightning bombardment of the Blue-feathered Thunder Crane, Zhou Tai's "Thunder Serpent Dance" is much weaker. As long as it is not hit head-on, even a low-grade first-tier Thunder Pattern Frog can pounce on it and take a bite.

Just as Zhou Tai had imagined, after he learned the "Thunder Serpent Dance" spell, and because of the reduction in the number of Thunder Frogs, he was finally able to complete the electrotherapy task for all the Thunder Frogs in one day.

In this way, by maintaining electrotherapy once every three days, feeding the frogs on time, and inspecting the frog pond, his working hours can be greatly reduced, allowing him to devote more time to his own cultivation.