Chapter 61: Qi Refining Layer 8! (Seeking subscriptions! Seeking monthly tickets!)

Outside Qingshan City.

Inside a simple inn located south of the city.

"Yun, Yunhe? No, Fellow Daoist Yun."

Sitting in a chair, Liu Hongyong, who looked somewhat weak, watched Yunhe enter with his sister-in-law Hua Qianyun, and he froze until Hua Qianyun lightly patted him, then he finally reacted.

Only upon seeing Yunhe wearing the Qingzong Sect disciple robes and his late-stage Qi Refining cultivation did Liu Hongyong become extremely conflicted.

Thinking back to the Heshang Market.

When he first met Yunhe, he was at mid Qi Refining, while Yunhe was only an early Qi Refining spirit bee farmer.

He even asked Yunhe for advice on talisman dao.

Although Liu Hongyong's teaching wasn't great, back then facing Yunhe he felt a faint sense of superiority in his heart.

Yet he never imagined that in just a few short years, things would change and people would be different.

He remains merely a fourth-layer Qi Refining talisman craftsman with an extremely low success rate for mid-grade spirit talismans.

But Yunhe has already become a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, even joining the Qingzong Sect that countless cultivators rack their brains to enter!

This gap left Liu Hongyong feeling dejected.

"Fellow Daoist Liu."

Yunhe, as usual, bowed.

Seeing Liu Hongyong's frail appearance yet still sitting at the table drawing talismans, especially noticing the ferocious wound on his leg, Yunhe sighed inwardly.

On the way here, Hua Qianyun had already given him a rough account of what they experienced after the turmoil at the Heshang Market.

Liu Hongyong and company were relatively fortunate—they escaped the market during the chaos and managed to hitch a ride on a merchant caravan; although they faced many dangers along the way, they ultimately reached Qingshan City.

However, that merchant caravan did not let them follow for free.

After arriving in Qingshan City, they must craft talismans for the caravan for five years, and each year they have a set quota of spirit talismans; only after fulfilling the caravan's requirements can they sell any excess talismans themselves.

If they fail to meet the quota, the term will be extended.

Adding to this, Liu Hongyong suffered an accidental demonic beast attack on the way here, worsening their already difficult life.

"Fellow Daoist Yun," Liu Hongyong opened his mouth, momentarily unsure what to say.

"Just call me Yunhe as before."

He lightly patted Liu Hongyong's shoulder and Yunhe said.

The wandering cultivator who once relied on his talisman skills to roam the Red Silk Pavilion has indeed changed in a way that is truly lamentable.

Upon hearing this, Liu Hongyong's expression grew even more complex.

"Fellow Daoist Yun, have some tea."

Hua Qianyun, who came over with a cup of tea, has also changed considerably, her demeanor now more restrained.

Obviously, due to Yunhe's cultivation and status changes, she hasn't yet been able to adapt.

"Thank you, sister-in-law."

Yunhe took the tea, stared at the swirling dark tea leaves for a long while, then gently blew on it before taking a sip.

Bitter, extremely bitter upon entry.

But when the bitterness peaked, it turned into a wave of sweetness.

"Sorry, we have no spirit tea left at home, so—" Hua Qianyun saw Yunhe staring at the tea for so long, thought he disliked it, and hastily explained.

"No." Yunhe gave a faint smile, drank the tea in one gulp, "It's fine."

For a moment, the room fell into an odd silence.

After a long while.

Yunhe spoke again.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, sister-in-law, I happen to have a batch of spirit talismans I want to sell, but I have no time—could you help me?"

Spirit talismans? Sell?

Seeing them stunned, Yunhe smiled and continued:

"Selling to a spirit talisman shop is a loss; they buy at only seventy percent of the selling price. If you have time, when you sell spirit talismans, help me sell mine too—I'll give you seventy-five percent, which is far better than selling to the shop. What do you think?"

Hua Qianyun and Liu Hongyong exchanged a glance.

Both are not fools; it seems Yunhe wants to earn an extra half, but actually he's trying to find them a livelihood.

Seventy-five percent?

If they set up a stall and sell slowly, they could at least get ninety-five percent of the market price.

With no investment or material consumption, they'd simply earn an extra twenty percent from the spirit talismans?

"No, Yunhe, although we—"

"Then eighty percent."

Yunhe wiped the smile from his face, rubbed the rim of the cup with his fingertips, and spoke softly.

Although his voice was low, the tone carried an undeniable firmness.

Liu Hongyong looked at Yunhe, and Yunhe just silently looked back at him.

After a moment, Liu Hongyong suddenly broke into a grin and said:

"Good!"

"Hongyong."

Hearing this, Hua Qianyun startled, wanted to advise him, but Liu Hongyong stopped her.

He wiped his hand across his waist, took out a jade slip from his storage bag.

"Yunhe, I won't say more about the rest—this is something my elder brother left behind. To be honest, I can't understand much of it, but you should be able to."

Looking at the jade slip Liu Hongyong handed him, Yunhe rubbed his brow.

Everything he said is absolutely true.

Originally he intended to sell the spirit talismans to the spirit talisman shop, but now handing them to Liu Hongyong and company not only avoids loss, they even earn an extra ten percent, and incidentally draw in this fellow Daoist who once introduced him to the talisman Dao.

This is a win-win situation.

He earned more Spirit Stones and saved time, while Liu Hongyong and company gained an extra income, believing that their future days could be more comfortable.

Yet he was firmly regarded by Liu Hongyong and Hua Qianyun as help to them.

Regarded as a favor to Yunhe.

But seeing Liu Hongyong's determined gaze, it seemed that if Yunhe did not accept, he would not agree to Yunhe's proposal.

"Alright."

Finally both sides each took a step back.

"Yunhe, aren't you worried I'll run off with these spirit talismans?" After handing the Jade Slip to Yunhe, Liu Hongyong looked much more relaxed, smiling and teasing.

Yunhe chuckled lightly and asked back:

"Can you?"

First, let's not discuss whether the caravan that brought them to Qingshan City would allow them to leave easily.

Just talk about how they would leave, how to leave, and where they could go.

Moreover

He also wasn't without precautions.

After all, people's hearts can change; after so many years, who knows if the current Liu Hongyong is still the same as before?

Liu Hongyong didn't speak further, just grinning, smiling happily.

"If you encounter anything in the future, you can come to the Qingzong Sect to find me, although it might not necessarily be useful."

He left behind a thick stack of spirit talismans, then got up and left.

They were all low-grade spirit talismans, worth approximately fifty low-grade Spirit Stones.

When leaving.

A streak of red light flew out from his sleeve cuff, silently hiding inside the room.

"Second-stage low-grade, Golden Element Body-Protecting Talisman!"

Yunhe, after putting down the Jade Slip, pressed his lips.

The Jade Slip given by Liu Hongyong contained not only the second-stage spirit talisman Golden Element Body-Protecting Talisman, but also many first-stage high-grade spirit talismans, such as the Earth-Shaking Talisman, the Vertical Earth Golden Light Talisman, the Soul-Guiding Talisman, etc.

This greatly made up for Yunhe's shortcoming in first-stage high-grade spirit talismans.

Besides that, there were also many experiences, techniques, methods, and unique insights left by Liu Hongyong's elder brother Liu Hongyuan when drawing spirit talismans.

After all, Liu Hongyuan is a spirit talisman master just one step away from becoming a second-stage talisman master; his experience is exactly what Yunhe needs now!

"It's just right to try drawing high-grade spirit talismans now."

High-grade spirit talismans not only can earn Spirit Stones, but also serve to increase one's own strength.

Medium-grade spirit talismans, when encountering a Foundation Establishment cultivator or a second-tier beast, have barely any effect.

But if it's a high-grade spirit talisman, then it's different.

Even if staying in the Qingzong Sect is safe for a cultivator form, one must still consider how to face a second-tier beast in demon beast form.

Time flies, autumn passes and winter arrives.

In the blink of an eye, the cold suddenly dropped, and all things were wrapped in plain silver.

In the secluded bamboo grove, a bamboo hut stood silently.

Hum—

Following a flash of golden light that quickly faded, a hearty laugh came from inside the bamboo hut.

"The final 'Vertical Earth Golden Light Talisman' is also complete!"

Yunhe's face was filled with a satisfied smile.

It took nearly six months.

Relying on the strong assistance of his divine sense, he finally succeeded in drawing all the high-grade spirit talismans left in Liu Hongyuan's Jade Slip.

By this point, he could be considered a relatively excellent high-grade spirit talisman master.

After all, not every high-grade spirit talisman master can master the production of so many high-grade spirit talismans.

At the same time, these high-grade spirit talismans also granted him more means in combat.

"After borrowing these high-grade spirit talismans to improve my talisman-making proficiency, perhaps I can try to overcome second-stage spirit talismans!"

Suddenly.

Yunhe's smile vanished, and his expression suddenly turned solemn.

He hurriedly sat cross-legged and entered a meditative state.

Time quietly passed with each breath.

He didn't know how long had passed.

Yunhe opened his eyes, and joy appeared on his face again.

"Finally reached the eighth layer of Qi Refining!"

He roughly calculated that it had taken about eleven months plus a little.

"Although I still feel it's a bit slow, compared to the normal cultivation speed of cultivators, it already belongs to the faster category."

After all, he only has a low-grade spiritual root; for other low-grade spiritual root cultivators, even breaking through to the later stage of Qi Refining might be difficult.

His rapid progress is due both to the abundant spiritual energy above Qingshan Mountain and the never-stopped Spirit-Replenishing Pill.

Of course, there is also the training in demon beast form and the tremendous help provided by the Gathering Spirit Pearl.

"If I can continue to progress at this speed, breaking through to the ninth layer of Qi Refining might take at most a little over a year."

Afterward, it was just a matter of steadily accumulating spiritual power until refining it to the limit of the Qi Refining stage, attaining a state of fullness and plentifulness—that is Qi Refining Perfection—and then one could attempt Foundation Establishment.

That's just painstaking work—using time to pile it up.

For Yunhe, what he lacks the most might be time.

"The biggest problem now might still be the 'Foundation Establishment Pill'."

Although one can attempt Foundation Establishment without the pill, the success rate cannot be guaranteed, and Yunhe also doesn't believe his spiritual root aptitude would allow such smooth progress; should he fail, lacking the pill's protection, his Dao would be utterly ruined.

Just thinking about the Foundation Establishment Pill gives him a headache.

"Logically, given Qingzong Sect's size, there shouldn't be a shortage of Foundation Establishment Pill production, right?"

"Could it be that, as a mere menial disciple, I'm not qualified to know?"

Upon careful thought, it's not impossible.

Yunhe, rubbing his temples with a headache, suddenly stopped his motion.

He waved his hand grandly.

Buzz—

A buzzing sounded outside the house.

Then came a familiar voice.

"Yunhe, your red bees are really—" Qian Dajiang, who had been blocked on the road, entered while muttering; upon seeing Yunhe, his expression froze: "You, you, you broke through again?!"

Wasn't it just a few months ago that you broke through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining?

"Er." Yunhe pursed his lips: "I say it's luck; do you believe me?"

Whoosh—

Qian Dajiang flicked his dust whisk and gave him an angry glare.

He sat cross-legged on the ground.

"Damn luck! It's outrageous. I still haven't broken through to late Qi Refining!"

"Maybe it's because you spend too much time on alchemy?" Yunhe pondered.

Qian Dajiang stared in surprise.

He slapped his thigh.

"That makes sense. No! It's very likely due to the time lost to alchemy!"

Apparently having found a satisfactory excuse for himself, Qian Dajiang stopped his clamor.

"You're in such a hurry—what's up?"

Upon hearing that, Qian Dajiang finally recalled his purpose and slapped his forehead, saying:

"Major news! A rat plague has erupted in Tianling Mountain, sweeping across many areas. The sect has just issued a mission: all disciples may sign up, exterminate the rat plague, and the top three will receive a Foundation Establishment Pill!"

Foundation Establishment Pill?!

Given the situation, I should be able to write another chapter tonight; fellow cultivators, please wait a moment~~

(End of chapter)