SWNOVELXO Ch. 31
Li An was naturally tempted by the Secret Realm and the opportunities it might offer, but having lived two lifetimes, he deeply understood.
The more fortuitous a place was, the more intense the struggle.
A cultivator at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining truly couldn’t afford even the slightest risk.
Cultivating safely and peacefully in the Market District, while earning Spirit Stones, was best.
“I still don’t have enough self-defense Talismans.”
Li An spread out a sheet of High-Grade Talisman Paper, held a High-Grade Talisman Brush in hand, and with a tip light as a feather, he began to trace a mountain-like symbol on the snow-white paper.
Though slow, the entire process was smooth—completed in one breath, without a break.
“Mountain Talisman is done!”
Li An was filled with gratification. After half a year of practice and exploration, he had finally succeeded.
The Mountain Talisman, a premium among High Grade First Rank Talismans. When used, it could strike the enemy like a mountain crashing down.
Even a cultivator at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining would likely be knocked unconscious.
It would probably still be effective against someone at the Eighth Layer.
As for those at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining or the Peak of the Qi Refining Stage, its effect would likely be minimal.
“Victory by numbers!”
Li An didn’t stop writing. He continued and made three more Mountain Talismans.
At present, he already had twenty Binding Talismans, three Mountain Talismans, and dozens of other Mid Grade First Rank Talismans.
“Binding Talismans to restrain, Mountain Talismans to strike—but it’s still not enough... I need to refine some other Talismans to complement them.”
“Hmm… Mind-Shock Talisman, Armor-Piercing Talisman!”
He already had a plan in mind.
“Also, I need to buy some herbs tomorrow... and brew some poison...”
Li An took out the Star Glow Dagger, gently stroking its surface.
This dagger was extremely sharp. If paired with an Armor-Piercing Talisman in battle, it would likely be unstoppable against Second Grade Defensive Artifacts and below.
…
The next day.
Early in the morning, Tan Qingxue left with Zhang Shouye and the others.
Because of the large output of Talismans, Li An drew Talismans at night and had no choice but to personally sit in the shop during the day.
He increased the supply of Mid Grade First Rank Talismans. By now, they posed no difficulty for him, and he could steadily produce about twenty each day.
Daily income soared to thirty Spirit Stones—truly astronomical profits!
Mainly because demand was high, and with Tan Qingxue away, he monopolized the market.
In the afternoon of the second day, Li An was drawing Talismans in his room when suddenly Wang Yun knocked urgently at the door.
“Talisman Master Li, Talisman Master Li!”
Li An opened the door with a puzzled expression: “What is it?”
Wang Yun said, “A strange and stubborn guest came by, insisting on meeting a Talisman Master. Since Shopkeeper Tan isn’t around, I had no choice but to bother you…”
Li An frowned slightly: “What kind of strange guest?”
Instead of heading to the storefront immediately, he released his Super-Sense Technique, ready to activate the Defensive Array.
Better safe than sorry.
“A one-armed burly man, very wealthy, said he wants to buy two hundred Breaking Seal Talismans. I told him we don’t have that many, but he insisted on meeting the Talisman Master…”
Wang Yun spoke helplessly.
Two hundred Breaking Seal Talismans—that was a massive order…
But still reasonable, considering that the Secret Realm in the Liyang Valley had just opened, and there would certainly be plenty of Restrictions and Arrays. The Breaking Seal Talisman could disrupt such restrictions to a certain extent.
So, they were quite popular.
But to buy two hundred at once—that was rare.
Li An thought for a moment, then walked out at once.
In the storefront, a one-armed burly man in coarse robes was already growing impatient. Seeing Li An come out, he said, “You’re the Talisman Master?”
Li An smiled slightly, “Indeed. I heard you’re looking for two hundred Breaking Seal Talismans? Unfortunately, we don’t currently have that many in stock.”
He was running his Super-Sense Technique at full capacity, ready to trigger the Defensive Array at any moment. At the same time, ten Upper-Grade First Rank Talismans hidden in his sleeve were ready to be launched.
The man asked, “Not even Mid-Grade First Rank ones?”
The Breaking Seal Talisman was a special type, available in both Mid-Grade and Upper-Grade First Rank variants, with significant price differences.
Li An considered and replied, “We do, but they’re a bit troublesome to make. I can only produce three to five per day...”
The man immediately pulled out a large pouch of Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch and slammed it on the counter:
“I’ll give you three days. I’ll buy them at three Spirit Stones per Talisman—here are four hundred Spirit Stones. I’ll come pick them up in three days!”
“Can you do it?”
Li An looked at the hefty pouch of Spirit Stones, his eyes lighting up with eagerness.
He was indeed tempted... Four hundred Spirit Stones—that would take him years to save up under normal circumstances!
The man seemed to sense Li An’s hesitation and grinned, “If not for the use in Liyang Valley, you wouldn’t even get a shot at this deal.”
Li An’s eyes swept past the man’s hand, and he felt a sudden jolt inside. He didn’t show it on his face but replied with difficulty: “Two hundred Talismans in three days... that’s truly difficult. I’ll have to contact fellow Daoists from the Talisman Hall for help. How about ten days?”
He could do it alone, but he mustn’t expose that fact.
“No. Five days. No more than five.”
Li An looked again at that hefty pouch of Spirit Stones, gritted his teeth, and said, “Alright!”
“Good. Then it’s a deal. I’ll be back in five days to pick them up,” the man replied.
Li An personally took out an Order Slip, filled in the details, and respectfully presented it to the man for signature. He added a reminder:
“Honored customer, please be advised. According to shop policy, if you fail to collect the goods on time, the store will only hold them for three days. After that, even if you return, the transaction will be void, and the deposit will not be refunded.”
Usually, things like writing order slips were handled by Wang Yun, but given how large the order was, Li An paid extra attention.
“Alright.”
The man immediately took the Spirit Brush, wrote down his name, and signed two copies.
Li An watched him write the entire time before carefully putting away one copy and handing the other to the man: “All done.”
The man nodded and turned to leave.
Watching him go, Li An relaxed slightly, but he didn’t let his guard down. Instead, he turned and said:
“Close the shop!”
He picked up the big pouch of Spirit Stones and returned straight to his room.
Opening the Spirit Stone Pouch, Li An meticulously checked each stone one by one.
“No issues.”
He whispered to himself.
Then he closed his eyes and recalled something from three months ago.
At the time, during a black market deal, he had seen a thin, young man use an Upper-Grade First Rank Bramble Armor to trade for Restriction Materials...
He had glanced at the youth out of curiosity.
He remembered... that youth had worn a white ring on his hand!
And now, this burly man also wore a white ring!
—Which, to be fair, wasn’t uncommon. Aside from Storage Pouches, higher-grade Storage Rings were fairly popular and worn by many.
But what raised Li An’s suspicion was—the thin youth was looking for Restriction Materials, while this burly man was after Breaking Seal Talismans...
Both related to Restrictions?
“Maybe I’m just overthinking—but it doesn’t hurt to be cautious.”
He closed his eyes and etched the pattern of the man’s Storage Ring deeply into his memory!
Then, he pulled out a stack of premium Talisman Paper and began making Breaking Seal Talismans.
With his current skill, even the Upper-Grade First Rank ones were within his ability.
But he must never show that openly.
For Mid-Grade First Rank Talismans, he used a different premium Talisman Brush. He worked quickly, with a high success rate—about seven out of ten!
That night alone, Li An made over sixty Talismans!
The efficiency was astonishing—even with his strong mental strength, he was thoroughly exhausted.
…
In the days that followed, Li An shut himself in and continued drawing Talismans.
On the evening of the third day, Li An finally looked up, rubbed his sore eyes, and stretched his stiff neck.
The two hundred Breaking Seal Talismans were complete.
“The poison’s almost done too...”
He walked to a corner, gently took out the Star Glow Dagger from a small basin filled with blue medicinal liquid.
The blade’s sharp edge now shimmered with a faint blue glow.
Li An then took out a Flame Talisman, used it to bake the Star Glow Dagger, then soaked it again in the liquid—repeating the process three times. Only then was the Poison Tempering complete.
“I have to hurry and refine some Mind-Shock Talismans and Armor-Piercing Talismans... Both are special types among Upper-Grade First Rank Talismans, hard to craft.”
“But at least I need a few for self-defense!”
…
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, five days passed.
That day, Li An waited in the shop from early morning. He appeared relaxed, but in truth he was highly alert, maintaining constant connection with the Defensive Array.
But to his surprise, from morning till closing time, that man never showed up!
“Talisman Master Li, shall we close shop?” asked Wang Yun.
“Let’s wait a little longer.”
Li An replied calmly.
An hour passed. The man still didn’t come.
But a piece of news spread across the Market District:
In the Liyang Valley Secret Realm, an accident occurred at one of the Cave Mansions. Dozens were dead or injured. But indeed, a Foundation Establishment Pill had appeared—only to be sucked deeper into a Restriction Array.
The news caused a complete uproar in the Market District.
The Foundation Establishment Pill was real!
More people rushed to purchase supplies. Li An’s Talisman Shop was flooded with customers, many specifically requesting Breaking Seal Talismans.
According to the rumor, the Cave Mansion was broken open by a mysterious one-armed man using Breaking Seal Talismans. He was the first to charge in and nearly got the Foundation Establishment Pill, but was killed by a hidden array.
With all the chaos, Li An was stunned. A mysterious one-armed man...
Could it be—the one who ordered two hundred Breaking Seal Talismans five days ago—was now dead in Liyang Valley?
If that were true...
Wasn’t this a windfall??
He had already collected the four hundred Spirit Stones deposit—and the two hundred Talismans were still in hand to be resold…
But that thought quickly passed.
Instead, Li An became truly alert.
He smelled danger—it was too coincidental.
He was extremely cautious and didn’t sell any of the Breaking Seal Talismans from the order.
On the second day, and the third.
Li An still didn’t see the man again.
He really never returned…
Could he have truly died in Liyang Valley?
Even Li An began to doubt it.
Meanwhile, he also inquired about news from Liyang Valley. It seemed the team from Clear Sun Sect had taken some losses, but nothing serious. That eased his concern somewhat.
On the fourth day, according to the agreement, the Breaking Seal Talismans no longer belonged to that man.
Li An had Wang Yun put them on the shelves in batches.
He remained stationed in the store.
The moment the Breaking Seal Talismans were out, they triggered a buying frenzy—
They sold fast. By noon, over twenty had already been bought.
“This old man wants sixty!”
That afternoon, a dry old man hurried in: “Sixty Breaking Seal Talismans!”
Wang Yun cheerfully welcomed him, counted the Talismans, and took the Spirit Stones.
Li An sat to the side, seemingly reading a book on Talisman Techniques, but his eyes gently lifted, glancing at the old man’s hands.
Hm?!
Li An’s heart stirred—
Because that old man… also wore a white Storage Ring!
And under the scrutiny of Li An’s Super-Sense Technique, he saw a tiny pattern engraved on that white Storage Ring—
A skull emblem!
Exactly the same as the one worn by the man who placed the large order days ago!
A chill surged in his heart.
(End of Chapter)