Li Yunxian left the principal’s office and went straight home.
There wasn’t much to pack—she just grabbed a few changes of clothes and some daily necessities, put them in her suitcase, then stored the suitcase in her Wrist Storage Ring. That was it.
After sending Auntie a message to let her know she only needed to tidy up the house a bit each day from now on, Li Yunxian took a taxi to the outskirts of the city.
Getting out of the car, she sensed the spiritual energy in the area was still as thin as ever. Li Yunxian thought:
So, what exactly am I looking forward to?
She walked around the border for a while, casually took down two drifting Creepy, and finally managed to pick an inn with slightly higher spiritual energy.
After checking in for seven days, Li Yunxian logged into the game again.
This time, she had Spirit Stones on hand, and there was spiritual energy nearby. Using Spirit Stones to cultivate directly was too extravagant, but absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy was too slow.
Li Yunxian decided to get an Array Disk for a Gathering Spirit Array to help with cultivation.
But the required materials were a bit much.
Li Yunxian opened the game shop. Besides the things she could buy in real life, she needed to exchange for three materials this time.
Ait…….
12,000 game coins.
Li Yunxian recalled how last time, after selling Symbol Talismans, people just paid on their own.
It would take some time, but it wasn’t a big deal.
But Li Yunxian didn’t want to wait several days before using the Array Disk.
That would be such a waste of time.
After a brief moment of thought, Li Yunxian found the only friend on her list.
“Zhao-ge, do you offer loans over there?” Li Yunxian sent a message.
Right after, she added her specific request: “12,500 coins. I’ll pay you back 13,000 within ten days.”
The Merchant’s eyes instantly lit up when he received Li Yunxian’s message: “Sure, of course I can. I won’t even charge you interest. If it’s convenient, how about we meet up and talk business?”
Hmm?
Li Yunxian thought it over and more or less understood what the Merchant wanted to do business about.
The only thing she really had dealings with him for was Symbol Talismans.
“Alright.” Li Yunxian agreed.
They set up a meeting spot, and Li Yunxian arrived quickly.
Upon seeing her, the Merchant immediately noticed Li Yunxian’s current cultivation and greeted her enthusiastically: “Congratulations, Boss, on reaching the Qi Refining Stage!”
Last time Li Yunxian met the Merchant, she’d just gone from an ordinary person to the entry level of Qi Refining, and the Merchant hadn’t reacted at all.
Businessmen really are straightforward people.
Li Yunxian couldn’t help but smile, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.
She was reminded of companions from long ago.
“May your business flourish, Zhao-ge.” Li Yunxian returned the congratulation.
After some brief pleasantries, they quickly got to the main topic.
“Boss, are you still interested in selling ‘fireworks’? I can buy as many as you want at 30 coins each and provide all the materials for free.”
The Merchant laid out a tempting offer, only adding a negative clause at the end, “Of course, all the ‘fireworks’ you craft must be sold exclusively by my guild.”
Li Yunxian wasn’t tempted by the Merchant’s offer. The value of the Flash Thunder Talisman itself was 30 coins, so it wasn’t much of a lure.
“What happened?” Li Yunxian asked.
Merchants never get up early for nothing—if they’re giving such good terms, there must be even greater profits ahead.
Li Yunxian wasn’t really eighteen, after all. She knew to get the full picture before making a decision.
A hint of disappointment flashed in the Merchant’s eyes.
He’d seen Li Yunxian’s previous message and knew she was short on game coins. He thought this offer would hook her right away.
But he hadn’t expected her to stay so calm.
The information, honestly, Li Yunxian could find out herself at the Trading Market, so the Merchant didn’t try to trick her.
He wasn’t in the business of burning bridges with a one-off deal.
“In the past two days, a wave of Creepy appeared outside the town—mainly Coffin Wailing Lady and Shadow Ghost. Some people got trapped, and they used your ‘fireworks’ as flares, which scared the Creepy off.”
“Later, someone tested it, and your ‘fireworks’ are especially effective against Creepy.” The Merchant explained simply.
Li Yunxian was surprised: “You guys don’t have weapons for dealing with Creepy?”
The Merchant looked at her in confusion but still replied, “We do, but most are targeted at specific types. Your ‘fireworks’ are universal.
“Plus, Creepy don’t appear often, and when they do, if you don’t have the specific weapon, it’s a hassle. They’re also expensive, so people would rather carry a few ‘fireworks’ just in case.”
In Ten Thousand Things, dying didn’t make you lose levels—you could log back in after a three-day cooldown—but all your gear and loot from hunting in the wild would be left where you died!
If you had companions, it was fine.
If they survived, they could bring your stuff back.
But if no one picked it up, all the loot dropped on death would be considered ownerless by the system and would disappear after half an hour.
That was worth way more than a few dozen game coins!
Li Yunxian listened and more or less understood.
***
The Four Arts of Cultivation—Alchemy, Artifact Crafting, Talisman Crafting, and Array Formation—had existed for tens of thousands of years, and none had ever replaced the others.
Each had its own strengths.
Alchemy was powerful and supportive, Artifact Crafting produced powerful and versatile tools, Talisman Crafting was simple, portable, and could catch people off guard, while Array Formation covered large areas, had lasting effects, and could run independently.
In Ten Thousand Things, Artifact Crafting was developed to the extreme, even making up for the absence of the other three arts.
But that didn’t mean the other three arts were useless here.
Li Yunxian’s mind worked quickly.
But she wasn’t thinking about the Merchant’s Flash Thunder Talisman proposal.
Instead, she recalled the scene when she last sold Symbol Talismans, when customers were happily drawing talismans.
Soon, Li Yunxian made a decision.
“Then I’ll let you have exclusive sales of my Flash Thunder Talismans, Zhao-ge. You provide the materials, I’ll sell to you at 20 coins each, and you set a fixed price of 30 coins for resale.” Li Yunxian said casually.
The Merchant was a Merchant; she wasn’t.
She didn’t want to make a killing off things from the cultivation world.
The Merchant frowned.
There was still a bit of profit in this, but Li Yunxian couldn’t produce that many ‘fireworks’—oh, now they’re called Flash Thunder Talismans—a day anyway.
All in all, there wasn’t much money to be made from flipping them.
Li Yunxian didn’t care about the Merchant’s expression. To her, it wasn’t important; it wasn’t the main topic, just a passing mention.
She moved straight to the main subject: “By the way, Zhao-ge, you know about how I taught others to draw Symbol Talismans that day, right?”
“Are you interested in this business?”
“I’ll sign a contract and provide you with the Ink Formula, the method for making Talisman Skin, and a manual for drawing Symbol Talismans.
“As long as there are enough materials, these can all be mass-produced.
“Interested in talking about this?” Li Yunxian smiled as she asked the Merchant.
The Merchant was stunned, staring at Li Yunxian’s youthful face, and couldn’t help but ask, “Does your family know about this?”
Li Yunxian caught the meaning and shook her head, “It’s not a family research result. I accidentally obtained a lost legacy from a destroyed planet.”
Back at the Trading Market, when other players were trying to draw Symbol Talismans, Li Yunxian had nothing to do and chatted with others, so she had a general idea of the players’ situation in Ten Thousand Things.
So now, when making up a backstory for the Merchant, she sounded quite convincing.
“It’s not just attack-type ones like the Flash Thunder Talisman—there are all kinds, including Shield Talismans, Teleportation Talismans, Auxiliary Talismans, and more.
“And just like weapons, they’re divided by Grade.
“The Flash Thunder Talisman is the lowest grade, not even ranked.
“The highest I know of is Earth Grade High, and you need to be at least at the Nascent Soul Stage to draw them.”
As for why it was Earth Grade High…
Of course, it wasn’t that talismans in the cultivation world only reached that level—it was just that as a dedicated Sword Cultivator, Li Yunxian only learned talismans up to that point.
The other three arts were about the same for her, though she was a bit better at array formations, reaching Heaven Grade Low.
That was because she’d needed it to renovate her own cave dwelling.
Naturally, there was no need to tell the Merchant all that.
Li Yunxian smiled, “Shall we start by talking about the most basic cooperation?”
The Merchant could tell that Li Yunxian was completely in control of the negotiation, but… what could he do? These days, whoever has the exclusive product is the boss.
“Alright.” The Merchant sighed and agreed.
Three hours later, Li Yunxian logged off.
A pile of materials dropped in front of her. Besides the things needed for the Gathering Spirit Array Disk, she’d also exchanged materials for making Symbol Talismans.
She and the Merchant had discussed the Talisman Crafting Essentials Book, Thunder Flash Talisman Crafting, and the most basic, beginner-friendly Illumination Talisman Crafting, as well as the methods for making Talisman Paper and the matching ink for the two types of talismans.
After signing the revenue-sharing contract, Li Yunxian recorded everything in Ten Thousand Things and handed it all over to the Merchant before logging out.
As for the profits, there was no need to talk about loans anymore—the Merchant had advanced 20,000 game coins to Li Yunxian, which would be deducted from her share later.
However, handling the Array Disk materials was harder than preparing a Medicinal Bath Recipe—she couldn’t do it in the inn.
But that wasn’t a big problem.
Li Yunxian took out her phone and called Chen Shuzhang.
He’d said before that she could come to him if she had any problems.
The result……………… The call didn’t go through.
Li Yunxian stared at her phone, speechless.
Alright then, as expected, you can only rely on yourself in this world.
She put the materials into her Wrist Storage Ring, went downstairs, and walked straight to the front desk. “Hello, is there anywhere nearby where I can refine weapons?”
The receptionist was very enthusiastic. Li Yunxian’s performance in the cultivator exam was already well-known among cultivators.
She was the genius of Jincheng!
“There is! Just go out and turn left for three hundred meters—there’s an artifact shop there that does custom work. If you go, they should be able to rush your order—”
Before she could finish, a huge surge of spiritual energy swept through, stirring up a gust of wind.
Seeing this, the receptionist’s face turned pale, and she quickly grabbed the walkie-talkie to ask, “What’s happening?”
It was chaos on the other end, and they seemed just as confused.
Li Yunxian raised her head slightly, gazing toward the source of the spiritual energy and said, “Don’t worry, it’s just the Director breaking through to the Golden Core.”
Her voice carried through the walkie-talkie, and everyone on the other end was stunned before asking, “Who’s speaking?”
The receptionist snapped out of her daze and replied excitedly, “It’s Li Yunxian! The Director’s breaking through! Jincheng is about to have a Golden Core!”
She didn’t need any other reason; just by the feeling Li Yunxian gave her, she believed it was true.
There was a moment of silence on the other end, then a burst of voices as if it were New Year’s: “I’m going to confirm the news right away!”
After Liu Wu’s death, Jincheng had lost a lot of strength.
And it happened right at the time of the Lunar Dew period.
More or less, every cultivator in Jincheng felt a bit uneasy.
But not anymore.
A Golden Core was worth more than several Foundation Establishments!
Li Yunxian glanced at the excited receptionist, who was still chattering away on the walkie-talkie, and couldn’t help but smile as she walked out of the inn.
Three hundred meters away, at the artifact shop, Li Yunxian arrived just as the announcement was being broadcast.
It officially declared the reason for the surge of spiritual energy and Chen Shuzhang’s successful breakthrough to Golden Core.
His state of mind had been stuck for so many years, and this breakthrough was exceptionally efficient.
As she entered, Li Yunxian saw the beaming faces of everyone in the shop.
“Welcome!” The clerk greeted Li Yunxian with a big smile, his voice carrying none of the usual fatigue. “How can I help you?”
“I’d like to borrow your refining workshop for a bit. How much would that cost?” Li Yunxian asked.
The clerk was stunned.
This was the first time he’d heard such a request since becoming a clerk.
“That… there’s no precedent for that…” he blurted out.
A customer in the shop overheard and looked over, then recognized Li Yunxian, his eyes lighting up.
He hurried over, clapped the clerk on the shoulder, and urged, “Let her use it! She’s Li Yunxian—the one who took the exam today! She’s super lucky!”
“She finished the exam and is guaranteed to get into the top four schools. That tyrant Liu Foundation Establishment is finished, and the Director advanced to Golden Core tonight.”
“That’s super lucky!”
“Who knows, maybe after she uses your workshop, the quality of your artifacts will go up a notch!”
Li Yunxian, after being praised so blindly:
How many salesmen does this guy eat for breakfast?
She felt like her embarrassment was about to be spoken aloud by this guy.
Li Yunxian instinctively glanced outside the shop.
She was already thinking about going to another store.
But the clerk reacted quickly.
He hadn’t gone to Jincheng No.1 High School to watch the cultivator exam today, so he didn’t know what Li Yunxian looked like.
But he’d heard all about her exploits.
Even knowing that the luck talk was nonsense, the clerk couldn’t help but look at Li Yunxian with a bit of excitement.
“It’s the weekend, and some people are off duty, so there must be an empty spot in the refining workshop. I’ll get the manager!” The clerk said this and dashed off.
In the blink of an eye, Li Yunxian was ushered into the workshop.
Looking at the fully equipped machinery before her, Li Yunxian thought:
“How much is it?” Li Yunxian asked the three people at the door, whose faces practically screamed happiness.
The manager waved his hand, “It’s just for a bit, no charge. You didn’t ask for money when you gave us that formula, right?”
“My kid will have a chance to cultivate in the future, too.” The manager’s face was full of hope and happiness.
Seeing his expression, Li Yunxian didn’t refuse anymore and smiled at the three of them.
“Then, thank you.”
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