Chapter 51: The Search

Li Zhen, wandering through the bustling marketplace, stumbled upon a shop that sold talismans. The proprietor was a young female cultivator, radiating the aura of someone in the middle stages of Qi Refining.

“Looking for a talisman, young Daoist friend?” she asked, pointing to the cabinet behind her with a sweeping motion. “We have all sorts here!” She didn’t look down on Li Zhen because of his age at all.

The cabinet resembled a medicine shop’s hundred-drawer cabinet, each drawer neatly labeled with its contents.

Li Zhen’s eyes swept over the offerings, noticing they were primarily ordinary five-element talismans without any extraordinary capabilities.

This wasn’t surprising; after all, the vast majority of cultivators had elemental spiritual roots, and creating talismans required mastering the corresponding techniques. Having such a wide variety of talismans in this shop was already quite comprehensive.

“I’m trying to become a talisman maker,” Li Zhen explained to the female cultivator. “I’m here to purchase talisman maker scripture and a talisman brush!”

While talisman maker scriptures and even talisman brushes could be bought with merit points in the Xian Nation, what Li Zhen lacked most were merit points themselves. Moreover, if he wanted to establish himself as a true talisman maker in this world, he needed a convincing origin story.

“Apprenticing as a talisman maker requires innate talent,” the female cultivator cautioned. “We carry a set of introductory texts written by mid-grade talisman maker Wang Yibin, perfect for beginners. Purchase this low-grade talisman pen and get 20 sheets of inferior-grade talisman paper free. If you lack the aptitude for talisman making, we unfortunately cannot offer refunds. Please, think carefully before you decide.”

The female cultivator had seen countless cultivators aspire to become talisman makers, but achieving such status was never easy. Even though talisman making was considered one of the simpler disciplines among the hundred arts of cultivation, producing a low-grade talisman maker from ten cultivators was rare. In turn, producing a mid-grade talisman maker from a hundred low-grade ones was even rarer. As one progressed, the number of high-grade talisman makers dwindled.

Noticing Li Zhen’s young age, the female cultivator wanted to ensure he fully considered his decision.

“How much is the total cost in spirit stones?” Li Zhen asked without any hesitation.

“The introductory texts cost 15 spirit stones, and the talisman pen is 10 spirit stones,” the female cultivator replied with a inward sigh.

This amount was not much for Li Zhen, but he still engaged in lengthy bargaining with the female cultivator. In the end, he managed to secure the items for 24 spirit stones.

He left the shop clutching a jade slip, along with a forest box containing a talisman brush and twenty sheets of talisman paper. Instead of storing them in his Dragon Heart Space, he held them close to his chest.

As he walked home, many passing cultivators noticed the items in his arms and looked on with expressions of compassion.

Among them were many who had harbored the same idea as Li Zhen, only to lose everything without any return.

Twenty-four spirit stones are far from enough to learn talisman-making, they thought. He’ll need to purchase spiritual materials for the ink, and twenty sheets of paper won’t even begin to cover it. Learning to make any type of talisman requires at least a hundred practice attempts, and that’s only for those with innate talent.

Li Zhen ignored these knowing looks. His presence here was well-known; he had been delivered to Great Liupan Town by disciples from all directions. Having some spirit stones was hardly surprising.

As long as he remained within the market, he needn’t fear robbery by other cultivators.

And his actions today would make it clear to the market’s cultivators that he had embarked on the path of talisman-making.

Upon reaching his log cabin, he found three cultivators waiting for him. Among them was Zhao Guansi, the Manager of the Spirit Field Management Office.

“Manager Zhao, may I ask what brings you here?” Li Zhen inquired.

“These two are cultivators from the Lin family. They need your cooperation to enter your house for an inspection!” Steward Zhao pointed to the two cultivators beside him.

Li Zhen paused; he hadn’t anticipated involvement with the Lin family.

He considered fleeing but then reasoned that if they truly believed he killed the old shopkeeper, they wouldn’t merely wait here—they would have already sent cultivators to apprehend him.

“I’m not quite familiar with the rules. Does the market permit such actions?” Li Zhen did not open the door immediately, instead asking Steward Zhao.

“The Lin family is not unaware of regulations,” one of the Lin family cultivators replied firmly. “With the Treasure Pavilion’s shopkeeper missing and you having visited the pavilion the previous day, our investigation led us to you. We hope you will cooperate!”

Steward Zhao signaled Li Zhen to open the door. Realizing their overwhelming power, Li Zhen understood it was best to comply.

Noticing Steward Zhao’s gesture, Li Zhen grasped the reality that the market’s operations were significantly influenced by the weight of influential families.

Silently, he opened the door. As the two cultivators entered, the dragon heart space subtly concealed the Small Inverted Five Elements Array.

The two cultivators from the Lin family stepped inside and produced a Feng Shui compass.

The Lin Family cultivator circled the room with the compass in hand. The dwelling wasn’t large, and the inspection was soon complete.

The cultivator moved closer to Li Zhen, pausing for a moment in front of him.

“Many thanks for your cooperation, young man!” the cultivator said with a nod.

The two Lin Family cultivators turned to leave, but Manager Zhao did not immediately follow.

“Li Xiao” Brother, while in the market, be sure not to offend any cultivators from the clans,” Manager Zhao cautioned. “Just like the Lin Family we encountered earlier, they’re one of the market’s partners. Of course, such incidents are rare. The disappearance of the Treasure Pavilion’s shopkeeper caused significant losses for the Lin Family, so they’re in a bit of a panic. It’s not just you; any cultivator who’s been in contact with the pavilion recently is being investigated!”

Considering Li Zhen’s affiliation with the Ten Directions Valley, Zhao Bangzhu felt it necessary to explain the situation thoroughly.

“Thank you for your explanation, Manager Zhao!” Li Zhen said, bowing in gratitude.

After seeing off Manager Zhao, Li Zhen closed the door and activated the small Inverted Five Elements Array once more.

Despite being forcibly inspected today, it had shown that reason prevailed in the market. At least no one had broken down his door.

Moreover, even if those two cultivators from the Lin Family had forced their way in, they wouldn’t have found any spirit artifacts related to the old shopkeeper. Those items were safely stored within Li Zhen’s Dragon Heart space.

“What kind of spirit object could have left a tracking mark?” Li Zhen muttered helplessly to himself.

His cultivation was too weak; he couldn’t possibly identify which among the countless spirit objects left the tracking mark. From now on, he’d have to be extremely careful when using any spirit objects from the old shopkeeper. Even if he used one, he’d have to immediately return it to the Dragon Heart space upon completion.

Li Zhen sat down cross-legged and pulled out the mid-grade talisman maker Wang Yibin’s introductory text on talisman making.

Though Li Zhen didn’t recognize Wang Yibin’s name, he could tell from the expression of the female cultivator at the talisman shop that this mid-grade talisman maker held a respectable position in the market.

He placed the jade slip against his forehead, and the information within instantly flowed into his mind.

Wang Yibin’s introductory text covered only three types of talismans: Fireball Talisman, Diamond Talisman, and Lightening Talisman.

Li Zhen already had these three types of talismans and had mastered their corresponding spells—Fireball Spell, Diamond Spell, and Lightness Spell. His grasp of these magical techniques was no trivial matter.

However, he had learned them in the Xian Nation. He wondered how these talismans from this world would differ from what he was familiar with.

It soon became apparent that he had overthought things; the designs of these three talismans were identical to those in the Xian Nation.

Talismans worked by solidifying magical spells onto talisman paper. These spells were created by cultivators who studied the patterns of various types of spiritual energy and used corresponding runes to manifest their effects.

As both worlds shared a common cultivation civilization, there were no significant differences in the patterns of spiritual energy. Consequently, this translated to minimal variations in spells and talismans between the two realms.

The real value of this tome lay in the methods for producing ink specific to each type of talisman: Fireball Talisman, Diamond Talisman, and Lightening Talisman.

Li Zhen had no intention of purchasing ink or even low-grade talisman paper within this world. In the Xian Nation, such inferior-quality items were mass-produced on fully automated assembly lines, making them extremely cheap.

Activating his spatial divine ability, Li Zhen vanished from the room and reappeared on his bed at home in Yunxi County.

He first checked his identity bracelet but found no new messages from school nor any notes from his parents.

Calculating the time since his departure, he concluded it had been roughly twelve hours.

He then proactively sent a message to his parents, informing them that he had completed his seclusion practice.

His parents were currently at the spirit plant area. Mrs. Li had left some food for him, instructing him to eat on his own.

After quickly finishing his meal, Li Zhen joined them at the spirit plant area, where he observed his parents performing the Small Cloud Rain Spell.

He swiftly became part of the effort. Though unable to perfectly coordinate with his parents, he significantly lightened their workload.

“Has your spiritual energy reached the second layer of Qi Refining?” Mr. Li asked hesitantly.

Considering the amount of spiritual energy Li Zhen was using for the Small Cloud Rain Spell, it certainly exceeded the total amount expected in the first layer of Qi Refining.