Li Yunxian logged into the game again and immediately saw the message the merchant had left her.
The remaining half of the Blood Cinnabar had been received.
Heading out.
Li Yunxian inexplicably felt that there were far fewer people on the street than usual. While trading with the merchant, she casually asked a question.
For his own customers, the merchant didn’t mind sharing a few things everyone knew:
“The past couple of days, there’s been a Guild War. Everyone’s busy over at the Guild Territory.”
Li Yunxian frowned.
She still remembered Sheng Yu, the wealthy heiress from that guild.
If all the guild members were fighting right now, then without those wealthy clients, would she even be able to sell her Symbol Talismans?
Li Yunxian sensed something was wrong.
Her gaze quickly landed on the merchant.
Li Yunxian’s eyes lit up: “Zhao-ge, do you take goods?”
The merchant instinctively wanted to refuse, but was also a bit curious about what sort of things Li Yunxian, this ‘artist’, might have come up with, so he hesitated before answering, “Let me see what you’ve got first?”
Li Yunxian directly took out a Flash Thunder Talisman.
The brief flash of the talisman’s patterns evoked a mystical feeling in the merchant, but before he could get a clear look, the Flash Thunder Talisman suddenly ignited with a whoosh of blue-green flame, instantly consuming the talisman.
The merchant looked bewildered.
Was this the new trend in art—burning things?
Luckily, the flash of thunder appeared quickly. As the talisman burned halfway, a bright bolt of lightning shot straight out.
The thunder crackled with light, striking the wall behind the merchant and leaving a pitch-black scorch mark.
Seeing the effect, Li Yunxian’s face showed satisfaction.
The effect of this Flash Thunder Talisman was much better than when she’d first learned to make Symbol Talismans, about equal to a single attack from someone at the Qi Refinement Second Layer.
But as the merchant stared at the scorch mark, his face was full of speechlessness.
The sound and light of that thunder had made him forget all about the talisman’s intricate patterns—what remained in his mind was the grand spectacle of the thunder and… the completely ticklish result of its attack.
In this world, scientific technology—or rather, artifact refinement—was far too advanced. There were things everywhere with more power and better effects than this.
The merchant thought of how much Li Yunxian had spent at his place, and the result she’d produced.
Once again, he sighed inwardly—
She really was an artist, through and through.
The merchant did some mental calculations, then finally offered Li Yunxian a price:
“2 game coins each, I guess. Could be used as fireworks.”
Hearing the offer, Li Yunxian:
Both her parents were businesspeople, so why did she have absolutely no talent for it herself?
A price of 2 coins—Li Yunxian couldn’t accept it.
In the cultivation world, a single Flash Thunder Talisman went for 2 low-grade Spirit Stones.
Converted to the material prices in Ten Thousand Things, it should be worth 30 coins.
And she only had 72 in hand; after getting the Blood Cinnabar, she could probably make another 70 or so.
Her total cost was 210 coins. After two days of work, she hadn’t even made a hundred coins in profit.
With the Xiuzhe Exam coming up, she needed to make at least 2,000 coins over the next two days.
Li Yunxian rejected the merchant’s offer and bid him farewell.
But this time, she didn’t return to her little hut to keep making talismans—instead, she headed straight for the Trading Market.
She decided to try selling her Flash Thunder Talismans there first.
It was only now that Li Yunxian sluggishly realized that this was what she should have been doing all along.
She should have made whatever Four Arts items she could, brought them to the Trading Market, and seen which ones sold best—then mass-produced those.
Such a simple concept—why had it taken her so long to figure it out?
At least it wasn’t too late now.
There were far fewer people in the Trading Market as well, but knowing the reason, Li Yunxian didn’t mind.
She strolled around a bit and was surprised to find that the stall where she’d sold potions before was actually empty.
Hoping to catch a bit of the good luck from her previous potion sales, Li Yunxian decisively chose to sit at her old spot.
As soon as she sat down, she immediately attracted the attention of the others in the Trading Market.
These past two days, who in the Trading Market didn’t know that the Changguang Guild was looking for the owner of this stall?
Everyone silently watched Li Yunxian.
Under the faintly expectant gazes of the crowd, Li Yunxian took out all her Symbol Talismans and worked hard to fill the entire stall.
A stall that looked well-stocked would make people more likely to buy. Li Yunxian tried her best to use her meager business sense.
But when the crowd saw her set out a pile of paper, they all: “…………..”
They all knew that the Changguang Guild was looking for the stall owner who sold drinks.
And according to what the Changguang Guild had said, that owner was an ordinary person—this new owner was clearly already at the Qi Refining stage.
Obviously different.
Most people withdrew their gazes, but a few who had joined the fun and bought drinks from Li Yunxian before hesitated.
They thought the two stall owners looked exactly the same.
So they walked over.
And recognized Li Yunxian.
Shocked.
“Boss, why aren’t you selling drinks anymore?!” the bearded man exclaimed.
He was distinctive enough that Li Yunxian recognized him as her very first customer. Smiling, she replied frankly, “They didn’t sell well, so I switched careers.”
As she spoke, Li Yunxian pointed to the Symbol Talismans. “Want to buy one? These are my…”
She paused a bit while introducing her goods, then hesitantly said, “…fireworks?”
When discussing the 2-coin pricing with the merchant, she’d realized the power of the Flash Thunder Talisman wasn’t much in Ten Thousand Things.
The onlookers revealed wry smiles at her introduction.
This stall owner was something else—first selling drinks, now fireworks. She really only sold things no one else bothered with in Ten Thousand Things.
But when they looked down, following her finger to the ‘fireworks’, they couldn’t help but be drawn in by the intricate patterns.
On the pale yellow paper, the patterns exuded a mysterious aura—as if there was something to sense, yet nothing could quite be grasped.
But no matter how you looked at it, it was still just a stack of paper.
“These are fireworks?” someone asked in confusion.
Seeing a fair number of people at her stall, Li Yunxian wasn’t stingy about demonstrating the Flash Thunder Talisman again.
This time, surrounded by people, she simply cast it into the sky.
In broad daylight, a bolt of lightning shot up two stories high from the ground. Both the sound and the visual effects were worthy of being called fireworks.
The crowd stared dazedly at the ashes drifting from Li Yunxian’s hand. It was hard to imagine that such a bright flash of lightning had come from a single piece of paper.
It felt like science’s coffin lid was about to be blown off.
After a long moment, someone finally snapped out of it, held their breath for a bit, then asked, “Boss, how much for one of these fireworks?”
Li Yunxian quickly did some mental math.
2 coins was just too low, but 30 coins seemed too high and might not sell.
Thinking of how much game currency she needed, Li Yunxian calmly said, “20—each.”
In business, you can’t set the price too high, or people will think you’re not sincere and just leave.
A price that’s a little high but not unreasonable is best—after a little haggling, you can judge the customer’s real bottom line from their expression, making it easier to sell.
Li Yunxian tried her best to dig into her brain, determined to act like a shrewd merchant.
Then, as Li Yunxian maintained her composure, the person opposite her replied without hesitation, “Alright, I’ll take one.”
Li Yunxian:
Oh no, maybe the price was too low.
Zhao-ge led me astray!
Failed at being a shrewd merchant.
But since she’d already named her price, Li Yunxian wouldn’t go back on her word.
Money in one hand, goods in the other.
20 coins in hand, and the customer asked, “How do I use this?”
Li Yunxian didn’t hesitate:
“Channel your spiritual power into it, then guide the direction you want it to release. If you don’t, it’ll default to firing straight ahead.”
The person tried it, and immediately another bolt of lightning shot into the sky.
It worked!
No mechanical structure needed—just a piece of paper!
The person got excited and asked again, “Do I have to hold it in my hand?”
“No, as long as it’s within the range of your spiritual power,” Li Yunxian replied.
“Does it have to be flat to use?”
“You can fold or roll it, as long as the patterns and the paper aren’t damaged…”
Question after question, the crowd quickly absorbed the information.
Most of the people here were primarily fighters, so their intuition for how to use this sort of thing was much sharper than the merchant’s. They immediately realized how useful it was.
Lightweight and portable, could be operated remotely.
And since it was just paper, almost no detectors would pick it up.
Whether as a signal flare or to fake a powerful attack, there were all sorts of possible uses.
The only downside was that 20 coins wasn’t cheap for a single-use item—a bit extravagant.
But… thinking about how the Changguang Guild had been searching for Li Yunxian’s stall for days without giving up, maybe there was something more to it they hadn’t discovered?
With that in mind, 20 coins didn’t seem so bad.
Seventy Flash Thunder Talismans—neither a lot nor a little—were sold out in just over half an hour.
Many who didn’t buy were just hesitating over the price. The moment the talismans were gone, they suddenly really wanted one.
“Boss, do you have any more? Sell me one, I’ve been waiting here forever,” they said.
Those who had already bought rolled their eyes. “Yeah, you just stood there watching.”
The others immediately got annoyed. “What’s that supposed to mean!”
Seeing a conflict brewing, Li Yunxian quickly stepped in, “Don’t argue, don’t argue. There’s more, there’s more, just wait a bit.”
As she spoke, Li Yunxian took out the Blood Cinnabar, mixed it with the materials she’d prepared yesterday, and quickly made more ink.
With paper and pen ready, and the crowd watching, Li Yunxian focused her gaze.
She began.
***
Spiritual power gathered at the tip of her brush, flowing smoothly like silk, one stroke after another overlapping on the paper.
It felt like ages passed, yet also just a blink, and a new Flash Thunder Talisman appeared before the dazed crowd.
“Here you go, 20 coins.” Li Yunxian handed the talisman to the person who’d spoken up.
“Oh…” The person took it in a daze, and only after a moment remembered to breathe.
Although everyone had guessed, seeing it was just a piece of paper, they still held onto a sliver of hope—
Maybe it had some kind of micro-robot inside or something.
But…
There really wasn’t a bit of science in this thing!
But since everyone here was a cultivator, they thought of the effects of their own techniques and realized it wasn’t completely unbelievable.
It tickled.
After all, they could feel that Li Yunxian’s spiritual power never stopped during the creation process.
“I want one too,” someone said, moved by the scene. “Is it drawn on the spot?”
Li Yunxian blinked, decisively revising her sales plan. “Yes, but I need a bit of time to recover my spiritual power.”
She sensed the curiosity and scrutiny of the others, but didn’t mind if anyone learned anything.
After all, as a rogue cultivator, she’d learned a lot from the kindness of others.
With those words, the crowd, which had calmed down, got lively again.
One talisman after another was drawn. As the onlookers watched, they felt like they’d memorized the patterns and couldn’t help itching to try it themselves.
During a pause while Li Yunxian was recovering her spiritual power, someone made a new request: “Boss, can I try drawing one myself? I’ll still pay you 20 coins.”
Li Yunxian was happy to oblige. “Sure.”
She handed over the paper and pen, and added a tip that everyone in the cultivation world knew:
“Keep your hand steady. Input your spiritual power according to the thickness of the strokes. It must be done in one go—don’t lose focus…”
The person replied in a confused tone, indicating they’d heard but didn’t really understand. Two seconds after picking up the pen, the talisman was a failure.
That person: “…”
“20 coins, let me try again!” they gritted their teeth.
Li Yunxian said nothing and handed over more paper and ink.
The second attempt lasted four seconds.
“Again…” The person wanted to keep going, but the others wouldn’t have it.
“If you can’t do it, let someone else try!”
“Yeah, let me have a go!”
Hearing the crowd about to argue again, Li Yunxian… silently took out her backup pens, all three of them.
“Ahem… if anyone wants to try drawing themselves, I’ve got more here,” Li Yunxian said, looking completely innocent.
Au: “……