Immortality: Starting with Plundering the Talents of Monsters

Xu Mo sat down at the talisman-making table, lit a stick of incense for concentration, and began to focus his mind.

A moment later, his mental state reached its peak.

"Let's start drawing the symbols."

He picked up the talisman brush and repeated the actions of drawing the golden light talisman.

This time, the talisman-making process felt subtly different from before.

Upon closer inspection, Xu Mo discovered that the patterns, drawing rhythm, and movements on the talisman paper were almost identical.

However, the technique of drawing talismans is much smoother and more natural.

A few breaths later, as Xu Mo finished outlining the last line, the talisman paper faintly emitted a golden light.

But the next moment, the talisman burst into flames and turned to ashes.

"As expected, I still can't create a high-quality golden light talisman..."

It seems... only by advancing the [Golden Light] talent to a level comparable to a high-quality Golden Light Talisman can one be able to draw a high-quality Golden Light Talisman.

Thinking of this, Xu Mo couldn't help but show a troubled expression.

"It takes one demon beast to plunder a talent once, and ten juvenile golden scale lizards are needed to advance to the [Golden Light] level."

My finances simply can't support this..."

Xu Mo's brows furrowed and then relaxed, his gaze gradually hardening.

"The only way to turn things around is by plundering innate talents... I'll borrow spirit stones to improve my talent first!"

…………

Liuyun Market, a gambling den.

Xu Mo arrived at a side hall, above which a wooden plaque was inscribed with the words "Borrowing Spirit Stones by Contract".

Spirit stones cannot be borrowed just anywhere.

In the shantytown where Xu Mo lived, his neighbors were all truly from the bottom of society, and their situation was not much better than his.

Naturally, you can't borrow spirit stones from them.

In Liuyun Market, only a powerful and wealthy organization would dare to lend spirit stones to outsiders.

This casino and its various businesses belong to the Luo family, the Beastmasters.

To borrow spirit stones here, one must not only reveal one's identity but also sign a spirit contract.

All these measures are to avoid the situation where spirit stones are lent out but cannot be retrieved.

  

"I need to borrow fifty low-grade spirit stones, just fifty. I'm sure I can win this time!"

"Please, lend it to me!"

"Once I've made a fortune, I'll definitely pay back all the money I owed last time!"

At this moment, in the side hall where the spirit stones were being borrowed, a middle-aged cultivator with bloodshot eyes and a pale face was pleading incessantly in front of the counter, his tone humble.

The steward in charge of lending the spirit stones, however, looked impatient and sternly reprimanded them:

Get out of here!

"He hasn't even paid back what he borrowed last time, and he's already trying to borrow again... Guards, throw him out and get rid of him!"

At the manager's command, two cultivators guarding the casino stepped forward and dragged the middle-aged cultivator away.

"Gamblers, you reap what you sow."

Seeing this, Xu Mo shook his head inwardly and didn't bother to check on the gambling addict's fate.

He walked to the counter and asked:

"Manager, I am a rogue cultivator. I wonder how many spirit stones I can borrow at most?"

The manager's gaze fell on Xu Mo, and after sizing him up, he replied indifferently:

"The maximum is twenty. If you have any skills in cultivating immortality, I can lend you ten more spirit stones."

To buy ten Golden Scale Lizards, at the market price of three low-grade spirit stones, you would need a total of thirty spirit stones.

If we haggle a bit more, we might be able to get a better price.

However, to be on the safe side, Xu Mo still planned to reveal his identity and borrow thirty spirit stones.

"I have some knowledge of talisman making, and I hope the manager can lend me thirty spirit stones."

Xu Mo took out an identity token and handed it over.

The steward took the jade token in his hand, scanned it with his divine sense, and frowned slightly.

"You are indeed a good talisman master, but... you are a rogue cultivator from the shantytown."

Thirty spirit stones, can you afford that?

Upon hearing this, Xu Mo forced an awkward smile:

"To be honest, my talisman-making skills have improved recently."

Thirty spirit stones... I can still afford it.

The manager asked no more questions, took out thirty spirit stones and a white contract from under the counter, and placed them on the counter.

"Here are thirty spirit stones. If you want to borrow them, just drip your blood onto the contract."

"Thank you, manager, but I don't know about this interest rate..."

Xu Mo did not rush to sign the spirit contract, but first asked about the interest rate.

"The monthly interest rate is 30%. If the borrowed spirit stones are not repaid within the same month, the interest will continue to accrue until the debt is fully repaid."

30% monthly interest!

Xu Mo's smile froze instantly, and he secretly gasped.

In other words, if you borrow these thirty spirit stones today, you must repay at least thirty-nine spirit stones, including interest, to be considered fully paid off.

If the debt isn't paid off this month, there will be even more pressure to repay in the second month.

"So, are you going to lend it to me or not?"

The manager's eyes narrowed to slits, his gaze turned cold, and his tone was extremely impatient.

For a penniless person like Xu Mo, who hesitated even to borrow a spirit stone, it was clearly an unbearable expense.

But they were ungrateful and insisted on borrowing more.

After being scared off by the exorbitant interest rates, they often regret their decision and refuse to lend the money, completely wasting their time.

"Damn, this is really shady... but I'll put up with it in order to buy monsters and plunder their talents."

Xu Mo took a deep breath and nodded heavily:

"borrow!"

"Heh."

The manager looked at Xu Mo with surprise, seemingly not expecting this penniless fellow to still insist on borrowing money.

"After signing the spirit contract, you can take the spirit stone away."

Remember, do not be clever and try to escape your debts by running away.

"If my Beast Taming Luo family wants to collect debts, we have plenty of ways."

Xu Mo squeezed a drop of blood from his fingertip and dripped it onto the contract paper.

"Yes."

After the spiritual contract was completed, Xu Mo put the thirty spirit stones into his storage bag and turned to walk out of the gambling house.

"I finally have enough spirit stones... Next, I'll buy juvenile golden-scaled lizards in this Flowing Cloud Market."

"However, buying ten at once would be too conspicuous... Let's buy them separately from a few different places."

Xu Mo walked to a secluded corner of the market, took out a cloak he had prepared in advance from his storage bag, and put it on.

He strolled around the market and bought two juvenile golden lizards from three different vendors.

All were sold for two spirit stones each.

"Six juvenile golden-scaled lizards acquired, four more needed..."

Let's buy them all at the Treasure Pavilion.

Xu Mo tightened his cloak and slowly walked into a pavilion with a base of bluestone and red walls.

As soon as he entered, he asked:

"Do you sell juvenile golden lizards here?"

A middle-aged man dressed as a shopkeeper came forward and replied:

"Of course they're for sale. How many do you need, fellow Daoist?"

"I want four."

Xu Mo, wearing a cloak, naturally wanted to conceal his identity.

The manager of the Treasure Pavilion was a perceptive person; he didn't ask any more questions, nor did he use his divine sense to investigate without authorization.

As per Xu Mo's request, four juvenile golden lizards were brought over.

"Please take a look. There are twelve low-grade spirit stones in total for the four animals."

Unlike street vendors, Treasure Pavilion has never accepted bargaining.

Therefore, Xu Mo did not try to bargain.

After handing over the spirit stones, he put away the golden-scaled lizard and left the Treasure Pavilion.

"Ten juvenile golden-scaled lizards cost me twenty-two spirit stones, but I've finally collected enough!"