Chapter 71: Acting as a Sales Agent

When Li Zhen departed, he had parted with more than half of his spirit stones, along with one pound of mid-grade first-tier spirit tea, five jars of mid-grade spirit wine, and a collection of mid-grade talismans.

In return, besides the first-tier high-grade spirit tea tree meticulously stored in his spirit plant bag, he had been gifted a variety of other spirit seeds.

Li Zhen, however, had no inkling of the actual worth of this first-tier high-grade spirit tea tree. Coupled with his utter cluelessness about business matters, he couldn’t even begin to fathom whether this transaction had been a profitable deal or a costly blunder.

But one thing was crystal clear to him: the value of the spirit plant bag, with the first-tier high-grade spirit tea tree inside, would far exceed what he had given up if he brought it to the Xian Nation.

More crucially, even if he had all these other spirit assets in the Xian Nation, there would be no way to trade for such a first-tier high-grade spirit tea tree.

As for the seemingly modest spirit plant bag, it was likely more precious in the Xian Nation than the first-tier high-grade spirit tea tree itself. At least Li Zhen had never heard of such a thing during his time there.

With this in mind, he returned to his log cabin, refined for a while, and sensed no cultivator eyes on him. It seemed this transaction hadn’t drawn any undue attention—perhaps their troubles had passed, at least for now.

This clandestine trade of illicit goods was rampant in the market.

Li Zhen dared to engage in such transactions primarily because the previous overseer had failed. Even if he profited from them, it wouldn’t raise significant concerns.

Nevertheless, avoiding trouble altogether was ideal. With this thought, he teleported back to his bedroom in the Xian Nation.

The next day, as the evening fell in the Xian Nation, he returned to the market. Upon exiting his log cabin, he immediately headed towards the spirit fields.

The spirit fields were in good condition. He used the Golden Edge Technique to clear a spirit pest and then cast the Small Cloud Rain Spell.

As he carried his hoe back, he encountered Old Immortal Qian also returning from the spirit fields.

“Li, my young friend, it’s best you don’t leave the market for now!” Old Immortal Qian whispered.

“I’ve heard something happened?” Li Zhen asked urgently.

His knowledge of the market’s affairs was minimal, mainly due to lack of access to information.

Old Immortal Qian, however, was the local big shot and had his ears on all sorts of news.

He looked around to ensure no one was listening before he explained, “Not a single cultivator from the Lin Clan left the market unscathed. Everyone’s speculating that it’s the Iron Sword Gang’s revenge against the Lin Clan, backed by the Zhao Clan!”

“How has the market been reacting?” Li Zhen asked.

The market wasn’t managed by the Lin family alone; there was also the Golden Blade Gang, along with several small factions allied together.

“Who knows?” Mr. Qian replied, his face wearing a look of schadenfreude. “But I haven’t seen anything from the Golden Blade Gang’s side. Looks like they want the Lin family to handle this on their own!”

No one held any respect for traitors. Even a powerful family like the Lin clan had brought upon themselves immense disgrace by betraying their fellow market managers, though no one knew what interests had driven them to such a deed.

Perhaps there were details unknown to outsiders, but who would bother to understand such matters? All that people knew was that the Lin family had struck at their allies.

“Many thanks for informing me, Mr. Qian. I won’t leave the market either!” Li Zhen said gratefully. After a moment’s thought, he took out two talismans and handed them over. “Mr. Qian, these are talismans I’ve been practicing drawing. They’re not perfect, but I hope you’ll accept them!”

The old cultivator Qian took the two talismans in surprise and scrutinized them carefully.

One talisman was labeled “Diamond Talisman,” while the other read “Lightening Talisman.” Both were of inferior first-rank quality.

“Little Friend Li, you possess such talent for crafting symbols! It seems you’ve already achieved the rank of a low-grade-tier talisman maker. Congratulations!” Old Cultivator Qian accepted Li Zhen’s gift with a touch of admiration in his voice.

When Li Zhen purchased talisman brushes, paper, and crafting manuals, he hadn’t hidden his intentions. Old Cultivator Qian had heard about this, but he never anticipated that Li Zhen would display such talent in crafting symbols, producing finished works in such a short time.

“I’ve only mastered three low-grade talisman patterns; I still have much to learn!” Li Zhen replied modestly.

“If you have talent in crafting symbols, don’t waste it,” Old Cultivator Qian said, his voice filled with envy. “Perhaps with this gift, you can achieve even more!”

Crafting talismans appeared simple, with low costs involved, yet surprisingly few cultivators could successfully create them.

Firstly, one needed access to relevant manuals. Then, they required talisman brushes, paper, and ink. Additionally, the cultivator had to master the corresponding magical techniques and reach a certain proficiency level.

Even after meeting these prerequisites, innate talent played a crucial role. A cultivator without talent who attempted to create finished talismans would need an enormous amount of resources—an amount often beyond their means.

Low-level cultivators have little spare resources to begin with. The materials set aside for learning talisman crafting are usually what cultivators save up from their own cultivation practice, all in hope of long-term benefits.

Generally, low-level cultivators would only attempt to learn talisman crafting after much deliberation. Of these, the vast majority would give up after too many failures, and only a few truly managed to persevere.

Old Mr. Qian had tried it once, but unfortunately, he was not one gifted with talent for crafting. After wasting a considerable amount of resources, he spent the next several years as a spirit farmer, trying to repay his debt.

“Mr. Qian, you have wide connections. Could you help sell the talismans I make? For every ten talismans sold, I’ll give you one for free!” Li Zhen proposed after some thought.

This was not an idea he came up with on a whim, but rather something he had carefully considered.

He simply didn’t have the time to sell talismans himself. While there were shops that bought talismans, the prices they offered were too low—practically giving nothing to the talisman makers, as he’d discovered when he visited one.

Additionally, once a shop’s inventory reached a certain level, they would no longer accept talismans. This was another reason why Li Zhen didn’t want to sell his talismans to the shops.

Most importantly, he didn’t want to reveal his innate talent for crafting talismans, lest he draw the attention of the market managers.

After his experience in the previous market brawl, he had seen the true nature of the market. Although the managers upheld rules, given enough incentive, they could tear up those rules in an instant.

“You trust me that much?” Old Cultivator Qian asked, looking at Li Zhen in surprise.

“These are forty-four talismans, my first batch!” Li Zhen said, demonstrating his trust through action.

To be honest, even if Old Cultivator Qian deceived him, his loss wouldn’t be significant.

His success rate in crafting talismans was very high, and both talisman ink and paper were produced within the Xian Nation. The cost compared to the market was extremely low.

“Your talismans are of excellent quality, and with the recent unrest, these will sell quickly!” Old Cultivator Qian said, examining the forty-four talismans as he spoke.

By helping Li Zhen, he could also earn some income for himself.

Selling ten talismans for one might not impress Li Zhen, but it was a significant income for him.

Old cultivator Qian’s earnings mostly came from spirit plants. The incident at the market had severely damaged his spirit fields, making additional income crucial for recovery.

Li Zhen bid farewell to Old cultivator Qian and headed to the Spirit Field Management Office.

The office was still managed by a single steward, but Li Zhen noticed it wasn’t the original Steward Zhao.

Ah, Steward Zhao was from the Zhao Clan. With the Zhao Clan’s expulsion from the market, it makes sense they’d change stewards, Li Zhen thought.

“Can I help you?” the steward asked, looking up.

“I’d like to inquire about the spirit fields,” Li Zhen replied, placing two spirit stones on the table.

With a wave of the steward’s hand, the spirit stones vanished. His previously expressionless face broke into a smile, and he stood up from his seat.

“I’m surnamed Xu, the new spirit field steward of the market. We happen to have some extra spirit fields available. What are your needs? I’ll do my best to accommodate you!” Steward Xu said enthusiastically.

“Are there any mid-grade spirit fields available?” Li Zhen asked.

To upgrade an ordinary spirit field to mid-grade status, a spirit farmer would need to meticulously cultivate it for ten years, investing significant resources before achieving the desired upgrade.

Even if such a farmer no longer wished to lease the land, they wouldn’t return it to the market but instead sell it privately.

Had it not been for the numerous deaths among rogue cultivators in the market, Li Zhen never would have dared to inquire about such matters.

“Mid-grade spirit fields don’t come cheap,” Steward Xu cautioned, eyeing the two spirit stones in his hand. “The annual rent is three hundred pounds of mid-grade spirit rice, or equivalent value in other spiritual goods!”

Upon hearing this, Li Zhen’s heart swelled with joy.

He was in no short supply of first-grade mid-grade spirit rice. In fact, the amount stolen this time could cover many years of rental fees if he wished.