I proved immortality with thunder magic.

Bailongfang Market.

"Please take care, sir. We welcome you to come again in the future."

Outside a shop called Xingyuan Grocery Store, Zhou Tai walked out the door with the shop assistant's enthusiastic farewell, and headed to the next shop without looking back.

He actually only bought a few stacks of talisman paper at Xingyuan General Store, which added up to only a few low-grade spirit stones, but the shop assistant still very warmly saw him out the door.

Putting everything else aside, just this service attitude alone made Zhou Tai realize that in order to survive in the fiercely competitive Bailongfang Market, every shop must have its own way of surviving.

Yes, in Zhou Tai's view, the commercial competition in Bailongfang Market is very fierce.

According to the information he gathered from visiting various shops, many shops sell a wide range of low- to mid-range items for Qi Refining stage cultivators, including pills, magical artifacts, and talismans, and the prices are not high.

Moreover, each store often offers certain discounts based on the actual situation.

For example, if a shop mainly sells magical artifacts, and someone buys one of their magical artifacts, they will give away one or more magical talismans of the same grade as a gift.

Some shops sell talismans, offering one free talisman with every certain number of talismans purchased.

Some shops mainly sell medicinal pills, and they give away some cheap hemostatic and detoxifying products with the purchase of expensive medicinal pills.

Of course, there are also shops that don't give anything away. These shops are often well-established and have a strong financial background, and they take a high-end, boutique approach.

Coincidentally, Zhou Tai's thunder talisman can also be considered a high-quality and premium item!

He inquired about the Thunder Talisman at many stores, but most of them couldn't even produce one.

The shops that can offer are still those boutique shops, and they all sell first-tier high-grade thunder talismans.

Thanks to these stores, he saw a genuine first-grade high-quality thunder talisman for the first time.

However, the price of that thunder talisman is rather frightening.

A first-grade high-level thunder talisman is priced at one hundred and twenty low-grade spirit stones, no bargaining!

If it were replaced with a high-grade first-tier lightning talisman like the "Chain Lightning Strike Talisman," the price would be as high as 150 low-grade spirit stones!

You should know that a mid-grade first-tier magic weapon in the market only costs about 160 or 170 low-grade spirit stones.

Even so, Zhou Tai gritted his teeth and bought a "Chain Lightning Strike Talisman".

He'll definitely be drawing a top-grade first-tier lightning talisman in the future, so buying one in advance to study it wouldn't be a bad idea.

Moreover, having such a powerful lightning talisman in hand is like having an extra trump card for self-defense and survival.

Having witnessed the scarcity and value of thunder talismans in the market, Zhou Tai had some ideas on how to protect his own interests.

Now he is preparing to go to Hongfu Residence to have a good talk with the owner there about this matter.

If they can reach an agreement directly, that would be best, as it would save him the risk of contacting other companies.

If Zeng Qiming's influence doesn't work, then Zhou Tai will have no choice but to take the risk and contact other shops.

Hongfu Residence's location within the market area is not particularly good; in fact, it could be considered remote. If Zhou Tai hadn't explored the entire market area beforehand, it wouldn't have been easy to find.

This shop has only two floors and is located at the end of a street.

When Zhou Tai arrived outside the shop, he found that there were no staff members soliciting customers, and the door was wide open.

After he entered the store, he found that there were other customers inside, a middle-aged couple, who were being served by a waiter.

Upon seeing him enter, the young waiter quickly gave him an apologetic look and said, "Sir, please wait a moment while I introduce you to these two guests before serving you."

"You go ahead with your work, I'll take a look myself first."

Zhou Tai waved his hand and walked towards several display cases in the lobby where exhibits were displayed.

This Hongfu Residence only sells magic talismans. The exhibits on the counter are all first-tier magic talismans. All the exhibits are covered with transparent crystal covers, so you can only look at them and not handle them.

Zhou Tai counted them and found that there were as many as thirty-seven types of magic talismans in the booth, covering all five elements.

This surprised him greatly.

According to what he had roughly learned, the owner of Hongfu Residence seemed to be just a Foundation Establishment stage rogue cultivator, and most of the talismans in the shop were made by himself and his disciples.

If this is indeed the case, then the master of Hongfu Residence is truly worthy of the title "Master" for his mastery of talismanic arts.

Just as Zhou Tai was looking at the exhibits at the counter, the middle-aged couple finished bargaining with the shop assistant, completed the transaction, and left the shop.

After seeing the two off, the young shopkeeper hurriedly ran to Zhou Tai and greeted him, "Sorry to keep you waiting, sir. What kind of talisman would you like to buy?"

"I need to discuss a deal with your shop owner. Please pass this letter to him for me. He will see me after he has read it."

As Zhou Tai spoke, he took out the token that Zeng Qiming had given him and handed it to the young man.

The young man was stunned and didn't react for a moment.

After he came to his senses, he quickly reached out and caught the talisman, then looked at Zhou Tai with curious eyes and said, "Sir, do you know our shopkeeper?"

"I don't know him, but the teacher who gave me the token is an old acquaintance of his."

Zhou Tai shook his head slightly and spoke the truth.

"I understand. Please wait a moment, sir, and I will inform the manager on your behalf."

After the young man finished speaking, he took the token and went upstairs, seemingly unconcerned that Zhou Tai would steal things from the store and run away while he was away.

Seeing this, Zhou Tai couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Even if your master is a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he shouldn't be so confident!"

He wasn't sure if the guy had any other connections, but if he were running the shop, he certainly wouldn't be so careless.

After waiting for a while, the waiter finally came downstairs again.

As soon as he came down, he gestured to him and said, "The shopkeeper has agreed to see you, sir. Please follow me."

Thank you for your trouble.

Zhou Tai politely declined and followed the waiter upstairs.

In a tea room upstairs where guests were entertained, Zhou Tai saw the owner of Hongfu Residence.

The person in question was also an elderly man with a full head of silver hair, and a pretty young female cultivator stood beside him, though it was unclear whether she was a disciple or a concubine.

He dared not look any longer and immediately bowed to the old man, saying, "Junior Zhou Tai greets senior."

"Oh, so that old man Zeng didn't even tell you my name? Then why did he give you the token?"

The old man raised an eyebrow, his tone clearly displeased.

Zhou Tai was also somewhat puzzled by this matter, but at this moment he could only honestly answer: "Master Zeng did not tell you your name. He gave me the token so that I could pay my respects to you and discuss a business deal with you."

Upon hearing this, the old man frowned, his tone becoming impatient: "Since you call Old Man Zeng 'Teacher,' you must be a disciple of the Spirit Beast Mountain Talisman Hall. But with your level of cultivation, what business can you possibly discuss with me?"

Zhou Tai wasn't in a hurry to explain further. He simply took out a lightning talisman and handed it over, saying, "This is a talisman I drew. Please appreciate it, senior!"

"Huh, is this a thunder talisman?"

The old man looked at the lightning strike talisman in Zhou Tai's hand and couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation. He immediately reached out and took the talisman into his own hand to examine it.

After examining it carefully, he looked at Zhou Tai with a suspicious expression and questioned, "Did you really draw this lightning strike talisman yourself?"

"Of course I wouldn't dare lie to my senior."

Zhou Tai responded calmly.

He's here to discuss cooperation, not to beg for favors, so there's no need for him to be obsequious.

Seeing his expression, the old man already believed him, but still said, "Words are no proof. Dare to draw a talisman for me to see in person?"

Zhou Tai didn't know what the old man was thinking, but he had no reason to refuse the old man's suggestion, otherwise he would seem guilty.

He immediately nodded slightly and said, "Of course."

"Alright, then follow me."

After the old man finished speaking, he got up and walked outside, and Zhou Tai followed him.

Led by the old man, the group soon entered a quiet room where talismans were drawn.

The old man pulled up a chair and sat down, saying to Zhou Tai, "I can only provide you with the space here; you should have your own writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone with you, right?"

"These tools for making a living will naturally be carried with me by this junior."

Zhou Tai responded and immediately strode towards the long table where talismans were drawn, taking out a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to begin grinding ink.

To this day, Zhou Tai has drawn no fewer than several hundred thunder talismans, and his talisman-drawing skills have greatly improved.

At this point, after only one failed attempt at drawing a talisman, he successfully drew a thunder talisman.

As soon as the talisman was completed, he immediately looked at the old man in the chair.

The old man rolled his eyes and said irritably, "Why are you looking at me? Just keep drawing."

Zhou Tai's mind raced, but he finally nodded and said, "Then this junior will continue to make a fool of himself."

He then laid out paper again, picked up his brush, and began drawing the third talisman.

One after another, Zhou Tai drew the Thunder Talisman ten times, succeeding three times.

After drawing it for the tenth time, he put down the talisman brush and looked intently at the old man, saying, "Senior, you should have seen enough now, right?"

"Old Zeng is so lucky! He's really struck gold this time!"

The old man looked at him with a complex expression, let out a long sigh, and then nodded slightly, saying, "My name is Li Hongzhi. The business you mentioned earlier, is it that you want me to help you sell this lightning strike talisman?"

Upon hearing the old man bring up the matter, Zhou Tai immediately bowed and said, "Senior Li, you are wise. This is precisely why I have come."

"Lightning strike talismans are indeed a good thing for those juniors in the Qi Refining stage. If you can provide a stable supply of these talismans, my Hongfuju business will definitely take off."

Li Hongzhi didn't shy away from discussing the benefits he could gain from the cooperation. After speaking, he looked at Zhou Tai and asked, "How do you plan to cooperate?"

Upon hearing his question, Zhou Tai immediately offered his thoughts: "I can provide Hongfu Residence with a stable monthly supply at a fixed price, but Hongfu Residence will need to arrange for someone to pick up the goods from Spirit Beast Mountain!"

"Arranging for someone to pick up the goods isn't a big problem, but what about the supply price?"

"Each lightning strike talisman costs twenty low-grade spirit stones!"

Zhou Tai stated his offer in a deep voice.