Chapter 15: Purchase of Talismans

Several days later.

Qin Ming went to Su Danshi's place and received the token for leasing the spirit field.

He then headed to the spirit field, ready to plow and sow.

As for cultivating Yin Ning flowers, to be honest, he was a complete blank slate, with not a shred of experience.

These past few days, he frantically studied books on spirit plants.

Fortunately, Yin Ning flowers have low environmental demands; otherwise, with the spiritual energy of a Level One spirit vein, it would've been a real struggle.

But he never expected this.

The hardest part of cultivating Yin Ning flowers is pollination during blooming.

Unlike other spirit plants, Yin Ning flowers require at least seven pollinations within their seven-day flowering period.

This requires a spell to command bee swarms.

If pollination is insufficient, the flowering period ends prematurely, the herb's medicinal potency weakens, and it cannot be used for pill refining.

This stumped Qin Ming.

"Even if I can accelerate growth, am I really supposed to pollinate the flowers myself?"

"Sigh, I'll just take it one step at a time."

Qin Ming carried his spirit hoe and began turning the soil in the spirit field.

Since he reached the third layer of his body refinement technique, the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture, his physical strength had surged.

He now enjoyed farming more than ever—no more back pain or leg aches.

He felt he could plow ten li in one breath.

Fortunately, Yin Ning flowers mature in just one year, so he wouldn't have to wait long.

Qin Ming had heard from Su Danshi that the main ingredients for the "Xisui Pill" all required at least fifty years of growth to be usable.

Their prices started at over a hundred spirit stones.

Moreover, pill refining carried a high failure rate, requiring multiple batches of materials at once.

This gave Qin Ming a profound understanding of the concept of "burning spirit stones."

After plowing, Qin Ming sowed all the spirit seeds Su Danshi had given him—three mu in total.

Qin Ming cast the Intermediate Spirit Rain Spell over the spirit field and nodded in satisfaction.

"Whether they grow on their own is up to fate."

"If all else fails, I'll just use my acceleration technique."

Currently, the remaining entries in Qin Ming's mind over the past six months were:

Weak Magic Power ×6, Weak Blood Qi ×2, Advanced Spirit Rain Spell ×5, Acceleration ×1—all other entries had been consumed in practicing the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture.

Qin Ming had never dared use the Advanced Spirit Rain Spell—first, its casting was too conspicuous and would draw attention; second, he planned to use it at the right moment on higher-grade spirit plants.

After all, it doubled the harvest.

Qin Ming gazed at his one mu of Beast Tooth Rice field, estimating it would take another year to fully mature.

After planting the spirit herbs,

Qin Ming returned to his room to cultivate.

He gently opened a delicate jade vial, inside which lay two green pills, emitting a soothing, fragrant aroma.

Spirit Gathering Pills! He had painstakingly traded a full hundred jin of spirit rice to Su Danshi for them.

Qin Ming sat on his straw-woven mat, took out one pill, and began cultivation.

As Qin Ming swallowed the spirit pill, its potency dissolved and spread through his body, continuously expanding his meridians.

The efficiency of his magic power circulation also improved significantly.

Qin Ming began circulating the Evergreen Technique to process this vast amount of spiritual energy.

Long time passed.

Qin Ming opened his eyes, a hint of joy appearing on his face.

"These Spirit Gathering Pills truly live up to their reputation as miraculous pills for boosting Qi Condensation cultivation."

"Just this one pill increased my magic power by far more than an entire 'Weak Magic Power' entry."

"One pill equals a year of hard cultivation."

"If I could eat pills like this every day, I wonder if I could break through to Qi Condensation Level Four soon."

Qin Ming mused.

……

After cultivation, Qin Ming was in high spirits.

He planned to visit Liao Shopkeeper to sell some of his spirit rice and see if he could purchase a spell to command bee swarms.

He could now afford premium Beast Tooth Rice, so he didn't need to hoard ordinary Golden Spirit Rice—better to sell it while prices were rising.

Exchange it for some talismans and magical artifacts.

Qin Ming navigated the alleyways of the shantytown, winding through twists and turns until he reached the main road: Qingyang Bazaar.

"Oh my, Brother Qin has arrived! Come in, come in, have some tea!"

Inside Juxuan Pavilion, Liao Shopkeeper flashed his signature smile and greeted Qin Ming warmly.

Qin Ming smiled.

Without delay, he pulled three large sacks of spirit rice from his storage pouch and laid them before him—Liao Shopkeeper's eyes lit up with delight.

"That's over three hundred jin, isn't it?"

"Hehe, looks like Brother Qin had another bountiful harvest!" Liao Shopkeeper said, then personally retrieved a large measuring device to weigh them.

"Golden Spirit Rice: three hundred and eighty jin!"

"Fellow Daoist Qin, the usual rules apply; I'll value it at one hundred and twenty spirit stones. How does that sound?" Shopkeeper Liao asked with a smile.

Qin Ming pondered for a moment, then asked, "Shopkeeper Liao, is the price of spirit rice still the same as before? Has it not continued to rise?"

"That's correct, Fellow Daoist Qin; for the recent future and some time to come, the price of spirit rice will temporarily cease rising." Shopkeeper Liao glanced left and right, then continued, "However, talismans, protective magical artifacts, and life-saving pills will still see a slight increase."

"If Fellow Daoist Qin has needs in these areas, it would be best to purchase them soon; in a few days, the prices may be entirely different."

A trace of doubt flashed through Qin Ming's heart, and he inquired, "Has something happened again?"

"There hasn't been any major change; it's just that the Spirit Feather Sect and Golden Cloud Valley have currently reached a stalemate."

"However, the battle camps established by the Spirit Feather Sect on the frontier for reclaiming wasteland are finding it somewhat unsustainable, having suffered large-scale casualties several times in succession."

"I hear the Spirit Feather Sect is once again conscripting a batch of cultivators to supplement their ranks."

"Sigh."

Shopkeeper Liao also sighed with deep emotion.

Qin Ming frowned slightly; he knew this meant the Spirit Feather Sect was once again trying to lure scattered cultivators to clear the way at that gathering place of barbarian cultivators.

Only then did he accept the spirit stones from Shopkeeper Liao and ask, "Do you have any spells for controlling bee swarms for sale?"

Upon hearing that more business was coming, Shopkeeper Liao immediately replied, "Naturally; there are very few things this shop does not have."

He then ordered someone to go upstairs and retrieve three jade slips.

"Please take a look, Fellow Daoist Qin; these are respectively the 'Beast Taming Art,' the 'Insect Repelling Technique,' and the 'Spirit Controlling Sutra.'"

"The prices for these three cultivation methods are all the same; I can offer Fellow Daoist Qin a ten percent discount."

"For any single one, the discounted price is three hundred spirit stones."

Having said this,

Shopkeeper Liao looked at Qin Ming with expectant eyes; if this deal went through, it would be another major transaction.

He would be able to earn a substantial commission from it.

Qin Ming curled his lips and stated directly, "Then let's forget it."

'This old rascal; every time I come here, he can't wait for me to go all-in with all my spirit stones; he really knows how to do business.'

Considering that, including the one hundred and twenty spirit stones just received from selling the spirit rice,

Qin Ming had a total of only slightly over three hundred spirit stones in his pocket.

He felt that with his spirit rice production increasing significantly lately, earning this many spirit stones should already count as having some small wealth.

Yet here, any single cultivation method could empty his pockets in an instant.

'Sigh, cultivation truly burns money!'

Isn't this trying to kill him?

"Then how much is a single mid-grade attack talisman?" Qin Ming asked next.

Hearing Qin Ming decisively give up on the purchase, Shopkeeper Liao was just about to show disappointment when he heard this question.

His spirits immediately lifted again.

"A mid-grade Fire Cloud Talisman costs eighty spirit stones per sheet."

"A mid-grade Lightning Arrow Talisman costs one hundred spirit stones per sheet."

"A mid-grade Golden Spear Talisman costs eighty spirit stones per sheet."

"Fellow Daoist Qin, which one would you like?"

Qin Ming gritted his teeth. "Give me one mid-grade Lightning Arrow Talisman."

Shopkeeper Liao revealed a look of joy, immediately took out a blue talisman, and handed it to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming accepted the talisman.

The transaction was complete.

Shopkeeper Liao, with great enthusiasm, escorted him out of the shop.

(End of Chapter)