My dreams can simulate the future.

Jiang Chen glanced at the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone on the table beside him, feeling a little itchy to try his hand at writing.

"Now that I've broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refining, my spiritual sense and magical power have both significantly improved. My success rate in drawing mid-grade first-rank talismans should be considerably higher."

Over the past twenty days, Jiang Chen's success rate in drawing Fire Rain Talismans has also increased, reaching 25%.

Furthermore, he also took advantage of the opportunity to enter the dream simulation to practice drawing other mid-level first-grade talismans.

Now he can draw several commonly used talismans such as the Golden Needle Talisman and the Thunder Talisman, but his success rate is still not as high as that of the Fire Rain Talisman.

He earned a considerable amount of spirit stones by selling talismans. After buying Spirit Gathering Pills, he still had over a hundred spirit stones left.

After adjusting his state slightly, he began to draw on the talisman paper.

Four hours later, he had used up all forty talisman papers. After counting the number of talismans made, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Twelve talismans were successfully made, achieving a success rate of 30%, including one high-quality talisman."

It seems my understanding of runes and my basic skills in drawing runes are already up to par. The difficulty I had in drawing runes before was entirely due to my insufficient spiritual cultivation.

Now that he has broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refining, his spiritual sense has improved considerably, and his success rate in creating talismans has increased to 30%.

These twelve talismans can be sold for nearly forty spirit stones at market price. Selling them to Hou Ming for thirty spirit stones would yield a profit of over twenty spirit stones.

The price of mid-grade first-rank talismans has now reached its limit. Common talismans cost a little over three spirit stones, while fine talismans cost around four spirit stones.

Jiang Chen glanced at the sky outside: "It's getting dark, Hou Ming should be back soon. I can sell these talismans to him then."

As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I heard Gu Laohu's voice again.

"Hou Ming! My niece is deeply in love with you, you have to give me a straight answer!"

Jiang Chen sighed, "That monkey really has had a lot of bad luck! Now, it's time for me to stand up for him."

After saying that, he immediately climbed over the wall, sat on the top, and looked at Hou Ming and Gu Laohu in the courtyard.

"Hey Aunt Gu, is your niece so unmarriageable that you keep pressuring Hou Ming to marry her?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Laohu was instantly enraged: "How dare you talk like that, you brat? That old man Jiang Yun failed to raise you properly, so as his elder, it's my turn to discipline you."

Jiang Chen sneered, releasing all the mana fluctuations of his fourth-level Qi Refining stage cultivation. He also held a stack of mid-grade first-rank talismans in his hand, ready to unleash them at any moment.

"I'd like to see how you discipline me."

Having run a stall in the Black Stone Mountain market for decades, Gu Laohu was naturally adept at navigating social situations. Seeing Jiang Chen's breakthrough in cultivation and the large number of talismans in his hands, he guessed that Jiang Chen was already a mid-level first-grade talisman master.

The anger on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a fawning smile.

"When you were little, I felt you were exceptionally talented and would eventually surpass your grandfather. Now, it seems I was right."

"At just over twenty years old, he's already broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refining and become a mid-grade first-rank talisman master. Truly impressive!"

As she spoke, her hands trembled slightly, and a layer of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.

Although her cultivation level was higher than Jiang Chen's, the status and connections of a talisman master were far superior to those of a mere Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator.

Jiang Yun had only been gone a short time, but his connections remained. Previously, Jiang Chen lacked the ability to maintain these connections.

Now, in his early twenties, he has already broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refining and can even draw mid-grade first-rank talismans, showing much greater potential than Jiang Yun.

He can inherit all the connections left by Jiang Yun.

With these connections, killing a Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator with no background who only knows how to set up a stall and process animal hides would be incredibly easy.

Seeing her like this, Jiang Chen sneered: "Aunt Gu, why are you so arrogant at first and so obsequious now?"

Gu Laohu was thick-skinned enough to ignore Jiang Chen's mockery completely, and even lightly slapped himself in the face.

"My eyesight is failing, please don't mind."

Jiang Chen was too lazy to argue with her: "Hou Ming has helped me a lot. He's been selling talismans for me lately, so don't try anything with him."

Gu Laohu's face was still plastered with an awkward smile: "Don't worry, I will definitely not bother Hou Ming again in the future."

After saying that, he immediately backed out of Hou Ming's courtyard and closed the gate behind him.

Although the old woman backed down, Jiang Chen could not forget how Gu Laohu and his son Gu Long had taken advantage of his grandfather's absence to extort money from him.

If I hadn't forced them back with my formation, I probably would have lost my life.

It's just that I still have enemies watching me in the shadows, and my grandfather's connections haven't been recovered yet, otherwise I would definitely kill the mother and daughter.

Hou Ming also breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother Chen, thank you for getting me out of that predicament."

Jiang Chen waved his hand: "Why are we brothers talking about this? If you hadn't lent me spirit stones before, I'd probably be dead on Changyuan Mountain by now."

Hou Ming didn't offer any more words of thanks: "Brother Chen, Gu Laohu is a notorious gossip. If she finds out that you've broken through in cultivation and become a mid-level first-grade talisman master, the whole market will probably know by tomorrow."

Jiang Chen didn't seem to care at all: "I didn't intend to keep this a secret forever. As you said before, more than ten days ago, someone asked you about the source of the talisman. I'm afraid some people with ulterior motives have already suspected me."

"Continuing to hide won't make a difference in more than a few days. I've already broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refining and have some ability to protect myself. As for you, with Gu Laohu pressing you relentlessly, you won't be able to hold out for long."

He jumped down from the wall and handed the talismans to Hou Ming: "Twelve Fire Rain Talismans."

When the topic of business came up, Hou Ming quickly composed himself and carefully examined the Fire Rain Talisman.

He quickly finished his inspection and gave Jiang Chen a thumbs up.

"Brother Chen, your talent in talismans is truly amazing. It's been less than a month since you first drew the Fire Rain Talisman, yet you're already able to draw high-quality talismans."

I'll offer thirty-five spirit stones to buy these talismans. Don't try to lower the price; with my current abilities, earning too many spirit stones isn't a good thing.

Jiang Chen knew what was going on. With his basic skills and understanding, he should have been able to draw the Fire Rain Talisman long ago.

Previously, I was completely held back by my old ailments. Now that my old ailments are cured, coupled with my breakthrough in cultivation and a significant improvement in my spiritual sense, I have been able to fully utilize my basic skills and thus make such great progress.

Jiang Chen simply nodded at Hou Ming's offer: "Alright, that's the price. Give me one hundred mid-grade first-rank talisman papers, two ounces of talisman ink, and the rest in spirit stones."

Hou Ming quickly prepared the talisman paper and ink, and then took out eleven spirit stones.

After the money and goods were exchanged, Jiang Chen reminded him, "Hey monkey, you have a lot of spirit stones now, you'd better spend some of them."

"Either do what I did and buy more Spirit Gathering Pills to quickly improve your cultivation; or get married and have children."

Hou Ming sighed, "My talent isn't as good as yours, and I don't have much time to cultivate. It will take at least ten years to break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining. Taking pills won't be very effective, so I'd better get married and have children."

"My parents wanted to have a child with good talent so that he could join the Golden Cauldron Sect. Unfortunately, my talent was also very poor."

I hope my future children will be more talented than me. Even if they can't join the Golden Cauldron Sect, at least they'll have a skill.