Chapter 56: The Opening of Qian Shen Zhai

Early the next morning, as Cheng Xinzhan was meditating in his thatched hut, he heard someone shouting outside:

"Daoist Cheng!"

"Daoist Cheng!"

The white dog outside the hut also began to bark, sounding rather fierce, as if it were quite displeased that someone was calling for Cheng Xinzhan.

Cheng Xinzhan, unsure of the matter, hurried out.

He took a close look and remembered this person had bought talismans from him yesterday, so he asked what was wrong—was there a problem with the talismans?

The man's face was full of joy.

"The talismans are fine, they're excellent!

"Daoist Cheng, you don't know—late last night, our group went to ambush a Mo Sect outpost, but we didn't expect to walk into a trap. Just as we were about to be surrounded and killed, I threw out the fire talismans I bought from you yesterday. Five of them went off in a row!

Guess what happened? The five fire talismans cleared the way, connecting into a corridor of fire dozens of feet long! We broke through the encirclement, followed behind the fire corridor, and just like that, we escaped!"

Cheng Xinzhan smiled upon hearing this. "That's good, that's good."

The man said loudly,

"Daoist Cheng, please draw another fifty fire talismans for me. I have already reported this to my sect. They know your talismans are good, and we need a large quantity. The elders of our Huang Shi Village in Hongmu Ridge have already gone to Green Dragon Cave to speak with the Daoist priests there. So, little Daoist, just keep drawing your talismans; the payment you receive will only be more, never less!"

Cheng Xinzhan smiled and nodded.

"I say, you lot from Huang Shi Village, what is this? Is your family the only one with money? Is your family the only one that can talk to Green Dragon Cave? You order fifty at once, and we're just supposed to wait here?"

It was still early, and many people in the market were resting, but the sudden arrival of a loud voice complaining woke the entire market up.

Some were still in the dark, but soon others were saying that someone had used talismans drawn by Daoist Cheng to charge out of an encirclement last night; these Yang Fire Demon-Breaking Talismans had miraculous effects for breaking formations!

However, now that some had tasted the sweetness, they all wanted to order fifty from Daoist Cheng at once—how could that work?!

It wouldn't!

The crowd naturally began to make a scene, blocking the man from Huang Shi Village and refusing to let him leave.

Seeing this, Cheng Xinzhan smiled and said, "Everyone, I can only draw at most twenty talismans a day here. You can distribute them yourselves. Just send one person to my stall to collect them when the sun sets each day; there is no need to block my stall."

Upon hearing this, the crowd had no choice but to agree and disperse to discuss it among themselves.

Those with quicker minds had already begun contacting their own superiors to negotiate business with Green Dragon Cave; they feared that nothing would come of just talking here.

And far away, some tens of miles out, as Cheng Yunqi's guarantor at Qinglong Cave, Daoist Tianfang soon learned of the various households coming to Qinglong Cave to discuss business.

He smiled, thinking to himself: *As expected, Mount Sanqing. When Wen Sukong and Chen Suxing first arrived in the Miao South, they stunned everyone. Now, their disciple isn't even fighting on the battlefield, just drawing talismans and refining filth in the market, yet in just two days, he has still caused quite a stir. *

By the time the fourth day of Cheng Xinzhan's stay at Qilihe Market arrived, he had completed his two tasks of drawing talismans and refining filth. Now he could return to Green Dragon Cave to exchange for his reward, or he could save them up and exchange for several at once.

However, at this moment, Cheng Xinzhan had another idea. Seeing that his business was so good, his heart stirred. He went into the forest to fell timber himself and built a small wooden hut. He hung up a wooden sign, on which three characters were written:

Qian Shen Zhai.

Now, there was always a queue in front of Cheng Xinzhan's stall. Some saw it and asked,

"Daoist Cheng, what is the meaning of this?"

Cheng Xinzhan explained,

"Everyone, I am a wandering Daoist staying at Green Dragon Cave. The talismans I draw and the filth I refine for you are done under the orders of Green Dragon Cave.

"Now, I am opening a shop of my own. What is sold inside are my own personal items, which have nothing to do with Green Dragon Cave. If you trust me, you are welcome to buy; if anything goes wrong, feel free to come find me, but do not blame Green Dragon Cave."

Someone then asked,

"Then may I ask what Daoist Cheng intends to sell himself?"

Cheng Xinzhan smiled.

"Qian Shen Zhai opens tomorrow; you will all know tomorrow."

That night, he returned to Green Dragon Cave to return his order token.

He returned to the Affairs Room, which was brightly lit, with people still queuing to report the completion of their tasks.

Fortunately, there weren't many people at night, and it wasn't long before it was Cheng Xinzhan's turn.

The counter for reporting tasks was next to the one for receiving them. The Daoist nun on duty was still the same one, and she recognized Cheng Xinzhan immediately.

"Senior Sister, it's him. He is Daoist friend Cheng Qieqing." The Daoist nun in charge of receiving the reports took the account book Cheng Xinzhan handed over and saw the column for results was filled with "Grade A" marks.

The Daoist nun smiled and said, "I never imagined Daoist Cheng was such a capable person. This has made the reputation of our Green Dragon Cave even more resounding among the various Miao villages. In these few days, it has even surpassed Hongmu Ridge and Immortal Cave."

Cheng Xinzhan smiled and nodded, saying, "As long as I haven't disgraced the prestige of Green Dragon Cave, that is enough."

The Daoist nun asked again, "Does Daoist friend wish to collect the reward for this one time, or are you returning the order token?"

Cheng Xinzhan replied that he would only collect the reward for this time and keep the order token, as he still had to return to Qilihe Market.

The Daoist nun breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Daoist friend handled this task extremely well. You can receive the highest reward. There are several items here; you may choose two for yourself."

As the Daoist nun spoke, she placed several items on the counter.

"Half a qian of Miro Star Sand, one whetstone for swords, 'Yao Guang Piercing Moon Flying Rainbow Sword Scripture—Piercing Moon Chapter—Part 5', 'Tian Quan Machine-Change Folding Body Footwork—Part 1', and 'Turtle-Snake Coiled Two-Phase Harmony Seal Method—Turtle Seal Chapter—Part 3'."

Cheng Xinzhan chose the two jade slips containing the sword scripture and the footwork. He had originally accepted the order token because he saw the reward included these, though he hadn't seen these two volumes at the time. Judging by the Daoist nun's tone, the items brought out now must have been upgraded.

He left the Affairs Room and immediately descended the mountain. As he left the mountain, under the cover of ancient trees and the night, a bundle suddenly appeared on his back.

Taking advantage of the night, Cheng Xinzhan returned to Qilihe Market. When the crowd saw Cheng Xinzhan leave empty-handed with only an account book, but return with a large bundle on his back, they all assumed he had specifically returned to Green Dragon Cave to fetch it.

=9+Shu_ba

Cheng Xinzhan patted the white dog guarding the door, walked into the newly opened Qian Shen Zhai, and lowered the door curtain. He opened the bundle, which contained a large stack of talisman arrow blanks.

He lit a lamp and drew talismans throughout the night.

The next day.

Luo Jishi people were waiting at the door of Qian Shen Zhai, all wanting to see what good things Daoist Cheng had.

Cheng Xinzhan lifted the curtain, and everyone saw the items.

Those items were placed very casually on the table, row by row; those who didn't know better might have thought they were tree branches.

However, the people in the market naturally knew what these were. One by one, their eyes widened—they were actually talisman arrows!

In such deep mountains and dense forests, and with such relentless hatred, talisman arrows were far more useful than talismans!

Having witnessed the power of Daoist Cheng's talismans, the crowd naturally recognized these talisman arrows and began to clamor to take them.

At this moment, Cheng Xinzhan said: "Everyone, the previous filth refining and talisman drawing were done on account, but these talisman arrows are my own property. We must pay on delivery; at the very least, bartering is also acceptable."

Only then did the crowd recall what Daoist Cheng had said when opening Qian Shen Zhai, and their loud shouting quieted down. Someone asked,

"Daoist Cheng, how would you like to trade?"

Before answering this question, Cheng Xinzhan first introduced his talisman arrows:

"Everyone, the talisman inside these arrows is called the Bright Light Blazing Flame Talisman. After the talisman arrow explodes, there is first infinite light; those unprepared will be unable to open their eyes for three to five breaths after being struck by the light. Following that, clusters of blazing fire explode, with power no lower than the Yang Fire Demon-Breaking Talismans. As for the price, fifteen taels of snowflake silver. If you have equivalent gold essence, rare stones, sword techniques, footwork, or visualization diagrams, they can all be traded, but no more than three per person."

The crowd quieted down. This price was several percent higher than ordinary talisman arrows. Of course, Daoist Cheng's talisman arts were also many levels higher than those at the lower end of the First Realm.

"Daoist Cheng, I have a sword manual here, called the 'Water Intent Four Symbols Sword-Unraveling Manual,' which I seized from a demon. I don't understand sword techniques, so please take a look and see if it can be exchanged for three talisman arrows—er, two, no, one, one is enough."

A man was the first to speak, but the more he said, the more embarrassed he became, and the crowd began to laugh at him.

Everyone there primarily cultivated fire arts; since this Daoist Cheng was so proficient in fire talismans and refining filth with fire, he must be an expert in fire arts, yet the man had brought out a water-intent sword manual.

"That is possible, but you must let me take a look first."

Contrary to everyone's expectations, Cheng Yunqi readily agreed. He was currently famous for his fire arts only because he intended to first open his Heart Mansion, but he would not neglect the arts of the Five Elements; it was merely a matter of priority.

This sword manual was still written on paper rather than in a jade slip, so its value could be imagined. Cheng Yunqi scanned the first two pages, felt the concept was quite good, and accepted it, giving the man two talisman arrows.

To avoid any misunderstanding, Cheng Yunqi specifically added that everyone need not worry about the elemental attributes; as far as cultivation was concerned, the Five Elements could all be mutually referenced!