A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Chapter 51: Chapter 50: Monopoly Once Again

After a great deal of effort, the two finally managed to shake off the Bone Demon.

Back on the surface, the sun had not yet set. An occasional ray of sunlight pierced through the overlapping dark clouds, casting patches of golden light on the grayish-black earth. If one were in the mood, it would have been quite a beautiful sight.

However, Lü Zhong was in no mood to admire the scenery. He ran for over ten li before finally leaning against a giant rock to rest.

”Fellow Daoist Li, since I’ve already helped you gather the Coffin Mushroom, I was wondering when you might teach me how to make the Evil Exorcism Talisman?” Lü Zhong turned his head, looked at the disheveled Li Dong beside him, and asked about their prior agreement.

Hearing this, Li Dong, who was resting nearby, stood up and straightened his clothes.

”Once we’re back in Qingliu Square, I’ll teach you immediately.”

”Good, it’s a deal!”

Lü Zhong nodded.

After they had rested enough, the two set off again.

...

「In Li Dong’s Talisman Making Room.」

After giving the Coffin Mushroom to the boy, a smile finally appeared on Li Dong’s face. He cupped his hands and said, ”Thank you for your help, Fellow Daoist Lü. An’Er is doing much better now.”

He then walked over to the Talisman-Making Table and began teaching the method for creating the Evil Exorcism Talisman.

”When it comes to drawing the Evil Exorcism Talisman, the main difficulty lies in the Talisman Core. Since you haven’t mastered the fundamentals of Talisman Making yet, Fellow Daoist Lü, it might be a bit tricky to understand. However, seeing as we went to the General’s Tomb together, feel free to ask any questions you have later. I’ll answer them all for free. For now, just watch me draw it once...”

As he spoke, Li Dong picked up the Talisman Brush on the table and began to draw on a piece of Talisman Paper.

Lü Zhong noticed then that Li Dong had clearly switched to a different Talisman Brush; it didn’t look as good as his previous one. He couldn’t help but think, ’It seems what Li Dong said before was true after all.’

But as long as a Talisman Maker still had their skills, they could always manage to draw a Talisman.

After failing three times in a row, Li Dong finally succeeded in drawing an Evil Exorcism Talisman.

Unexpectedly, he immediately activated the Talisman, which had a market price of one Spirit Stone.

”Fellow Daoist Lü, you probably think I’m wasting a Spirit Talisman, don’t you?”

Li Dong flicked the Evil Exorcism Talisman in his hand and began to explain with a smile, ”Besides the difficulty in making it, there’s another point that needs special attention with the Evil Exorcism Talisman: it must contain sufficient Yang Qi. This is a crucial factor that determines the Talisman’s power. I just used ordinary Talisman Ink. See how faint the Spiritual Light is when this Evil Exorcism Talisman is activated?”

Lü Zhong took a look and saw that it was indeed the case, and he nodded repeatedly.

”To imbue an Evil Exorcism Talisman with Yang Qi, a Talisman Maker either has to make the Talisman at noon when the Yang Spiritual Qi is most abundant, or they have to add Yang Qi additives like Fiery Sun Stone to the Talisman Ink. This ensures the Evil Exorcism Talisman has its normal power. Both methods have their pros and cons. The former has the advantage of low production cost, but the downside is that the quality of the resulting Talismans is unstable and significantly affected by the concentration of Yang Qi. The latter’s strength is that it produces Evil Exorcism Talismans of stable quality, but the cost is much higher.”

After finishing his explanation, Li Dong couldn’t help but glance toward the bedroom before turning back to ask, ”If there was anything you didn’t understand during the drawing process just now, you can ask me anything you want.”

”Alright!” Lü Zhong nodded and began to voice the questions on his mind one by one.

...

Lü Zhong didn’t leave Li Dong’s house until just before dawn.

He now understood all the difficulties involved in drawing the Evil Exorcism Talisman. All he had to do was go back and practice, and he figured it wouldn’t even take him half a month to master drawing this type of Spirit Talisman.

As he walked out onto the main street, the flow of people reminded him that today was market day.

’Forget it. I don’t have many finished products on me anyway. I won’t set up a stall this time.’ Having made his decision, Lü Zhong walked quickly along the street, occasionally pausing to greet acquaintances as he headed toward his small courtyard.

For the next several days, Lü Zhong studied the fundamentals of Talisman Making during the day and applied what he learned at night, practicing drawing the Evil Exorcism Talisman.

Through practice, his understanding of the subject deepened.

With theory and practice reinforcing each other, his progress soared. In just nine days, he successfully drew his first Evil Exorcism Talisman.

However, because he drew it at the wrong time, it was a defective product.

Based on the principle that every little bit counts, Lü Zhong still put it in his Storage Bag. He planned to sell it for a tenth of the price to recoup at least some of his costs.

He simply picked up his Talisman Brush and continued to practice.

’...The Talisman Head is done; next is the Talisman Core. After learning the fundamentals of Talisman Making, drawing Talismans really feels like I have divine help. I know exactly how to draw every stroke and am no longer just relying on guesswork and luck like before.’

Even as he thought this, the hand holding the brush never paused for a moment.

A faint light slowly converged, and another Evil Exorcism Talisman was complete.

This one, too, was a defective product.

It was the middle of the night, so where would it find Yang Qi to absorb? Its power was even weaker than the last one’s.

’My Spiritual Power is almost gone. I’ll stop practicing here for today.’

Lü Zhong stretched his stiff body, mentally debating whether he should go out tomorrow to buy some Fiery Sun Stone. He didn’t want all the Evil Exorcism Talismans he drew to turn out as underpowered, defective products.

’I’ll just buy a little,’ he decided. ’It can’t be that expensive, and it’ll be a good chance to practice mixing Talisman Ink.’

He collapsed into bed and slept dreamlessly through the night.

...

The next morning, Lü Zhong crawled out from under his covers.

Seeing his dust-covered clothes, he frowned, took a Cleaning Talisman from his Storage Bag, activated it, and slapped it onto his body. He immediately felt refreshed all over.

He then went to a shop specializing in materials and stated his purpose.

Unexpectedly, when the shop’s Receptionist heard he was there to buy Fiery Sun Stone, a surprised expression appeared on his face.

”Fellow Daoist, don’t you know that the supply of Fiery Sun Stone has been cut off recently? The only place near Qingliu Square that produces Fiery Sun Stone is Qingxi Spirit Iron Ore, and the turmoil there has only just subsided. If you’re in urgent need of this item, Fellow Daoist, I’d advise you to go to Yanling Mountain to buy it.”

”Why go to Yanling Mountain? Aren’t there two other material shops here in the square?” Lü Zhong asked, looking confused.

”Hehe, it seems you don’t know much about the situation, Fellow Daoist...” The Receptionist chuckled, looking as if he wanted to say more but was holding back.

Seeing this, Lü Zhong immediately took the hint and silently handed over two Cleaning Talismans.

Once he had accepted the payment, the Receptionist continued speaking.

”To be honest, those two shops do have other sources for Fiery Sun Stone, but they will absolutely not sell it to the public. That’s because the powers backing each of those two shops also control a Talisman Shop.”

The Receptionist paused here, giving Lü Zhong a look that said, ’You get it.’

”I see...”

Lü Zhong felt a sense of helplessness after hearing the explanation.

Clearly, this was another case of large businesses colluding to create a monopoly.

By refusing to sell their stock of Fiery Sun Stone, they could create the illusion that Evil Exorcism Talismans were scarce. This would allow them to justifiably drive up the price and rake in astounding profits.

The key to this whole affair was Qingxi Spirit Iron Ore. As long as its production did not return to normal, this situation of soaring Talisman prices would continue.

There was nothing Lü Zhong could do about it; he would just have to find another way.