An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

In front of the bluestone slab, an old man held a piece of mala beef jerky, his eyes filled with insatiable curiosity.

The tall, handsome, and graceful man in front of him stood with one hand behind his back, the other holding a long strip of beef jerky, speaking confidently. ”Don’t understand? Let me teach you! What brand value means is that it’s the extra value added to a product above its inherent worth.”

Seeing the old man looking confused, Luo Chen sighed and said, ”Still don’t get it?”

With the beef jerky in his hand, he pointed toward the scattered cultivator market and continued, ”In this market, there are at least three shops that have been selling low-tier talismans for a long time!”

Old Man Chen, feeling eager to join the conversation, quickly interjected, ”Mm-hmm, Lu Heng, Mao Wuying, and myself, we are the ones who have been selling talismans for a long term.”

”So, how do you think they’re doing? And what about yourself?”

Old Man Chen sneered disdainfully as he answered, ”Lu Heng is just a kid with insufficient skills. He even bought all his talisman papers from me so it’s nothing worth mentioning!”

”What about Master Mao?”

”He’s a latecomer. His skills are on par with mine, but he’s ninety-three years old, just a withered old bone!”

”And you, Fellow Daoist Chen?”

Old Man Chen stroked his white beard and answered confidently, ”I entered the Divine Talisman Pavilion at the age of twenty, worked as an errand boy, learned talisman paper-making in five years, and spent another fifteen years delving into the art of talismans. I’ve been running this stall for twenty-five years, built on my long-established reputation. I’m still young and strong, and my skills are beyond perfection. Any rogue cultivator coming to the market to buy talismans must first come to me!”

Luo Chen showed a satisfied smile and clapped his hands before saying, ”Fellow Daoist Chen, that’s the spirit! Your talismans already have basic brand value, which comes from your experience working at the Divine Talisman Pavilion, your twenty-five years of hard work in the market, and your consistent talisman quality.”

Hearing this, Old Man Chen felt quite pleased, but after thinking for a moment, he started to feel something wasn’t right.

”But despite all these years, the value of my talismans doesn’t allow me to sell them at high prices?”

”Indeed, they’re not sold at high prices, but compared to others, isn’t your price generally a bit higher?”

”It does seem that way, but it’s still not as good as the Divine Talisman Pavilion. Those customers who need to buy talismans in bulk still prefer to go there.”

Luo Chen rolled his eyes and said, ”The Divine Talisman Pavilion is backed by the Far East Six Domains, one of the six major sects. Their brand value is supported by Nascent Soul Sages and Golden Core Adepts. How can you compare to them?”

”True,” Old Man Chen admitted, suddenly aware of his own situation.

”So, the brand value of your stall can only go so far. In this case, you need to find another way out!”

”Like what?”

”Give your products their own brand value. Give more details!

”Or perhaps give it a story!”

Old Man Chen was stunned. ”Myriad Wonders pill? Crane Among the Clouds? Hehuan Sect’s Master Yunhe?”

”Ah, you can be taught!”

Hearing this, Old Man Chen’s fist tightened, and he screamed inwardly, So itchy! My fist is itching for a hit!

After a moment of realization, Old Man Chen entered a state of enlightenment, as if he had become wise.

”You mean I need to give my talismans a story, just like you did?”

”Yes.”

”Is it really that simple?”

”It’s that simple!”

”Then why all the talk earlier?”

”Well, if I didn’t say enough, it wouldn’t be worth the 50 spirit stones you lent me!”

Take a deep breath! Old Man Chen thought. Huff!

He inhaled deeply, deciding not to get angry. At the age of sixty-five, he needed to take better care of his health. He then asked, ”But how do I tell this story?”

Luo Chen glanced at his stall, familiar with the types of talismans Old Man Chen sold. There were six types in total: the lowest tier being the cleanse and wind-control talismans, mid-tier fireball and earth-spike talismans, and the highest-tier earth-wall and qi-concealing talismans.

The fireball and earth-spike talismans sold the most, but their price was low—just one and a half spirit stones each.

The most expensive talismans were the Earth Wall Talisman and the qi-concealing talisman. The former was priced at two spirit stones each, while the latter started at three spirit stones and, during high demand, could sell for five or six spirit stones, or even more.

Talisman sales had a large market among low-tier cultivators. They were slightly less powerful than spells but had a fast casting time and minimal spirit power consumption. They were especially popular for defense and life-saving purposes.

Pointing at the qi-concealing talismans, Luo Chen had a sudden idea. Drawing inspiration from what he’d read in Scenes of the Six Domains, he quickly came up with an outline for a story. However, the details would be up to Old Man Chen to fill in, as he had far more experience than Luo Chen.

Luo Chen also suggested telling the story to new customers, but for old customers, the old methods would still work.

One thing, however, was crucial: the qi-concealing talisman needed to be redesigned. It couldn’t stay so dull and gray. Adding two gold borders could make them more appealing without affecting functionality. That way, even without telling a story, he could still try raising the price for the old customers.

After giving his advice, Luo Chen couldn’t hold back any longer.

Like a gust of wind carrying a fortune, he rushed into the rogue cultivator market and went on a shopping spree!

Buy! Buy! Just frenzied buying!

***

Night had fallen, and the moonlight illuminated the ground brightly.

A young man walked briskly down the road, carrying two large snake-skin bags.

The bags were real snake skins, tough and able to hold a lot!

He had been delayed for a long time today because he had to sell the Myriad Wonders pill and discuss things with Old Man Chen.

By the time he finished his shopping in the evening, it was already this late.

As Luo Chen walked on the dried yellow dirt road, he was breathing heavily. Though his steps were quick, he was constantly scanning the shadows between the wooden houses and keeping a keen watch.

The Dahe Market city strictly prohibited fighting, but only within the inner city. They didn’t care about the rogue cultivators in the outer district.

The spirit stones collected each month were primarily used to pay the influential figures in the inner city, who would step in to deal with demonic beasts when they attacked.

As a result, stronger individuals in the outer districts often resorted to robbing the roads, committing murders, and stealing treasures.

During the day, it wasn’t too bad, but at night, these incidents were rampant.

One could only say, the Dahe Market city had its own ways of dealing with things.

Luo Chen, now without a single spirit stone on him, had all his wealth in the two large snake-skin bags. But truth be told, it was only worth about a hundred spirit stones, and these small, scattered items were a hassle to sell.

Nevertheless, how he saw it didn’t matter. What mattered was whether others saw the value.

Walking carefully along the dirt road, Luo Chen muttered, ”Damn it, when I have enough spirit stones, I’ll definitely move to the inner city!”

Maybe it was because of the bright moon, or because his clothes were torn, even the two ugly snake-skin bags on his back seemed to attract no attention. In any case, Luo Chen made it home safely.

Sometimes, when one was humble enough, even robbers didn’t see you as a target.

Luo Chen didn’t feel bitter. After catching his breath, he began organizing the materials from the bags, neatly placing them on the shelves.

He spent ninety-five spirit stones purchasing materials for nineteen bottles of Myriad Wonders pill, leaving him with five spirit stones.

He also bought three spirit stones worth of fasting pill materials, which would yield at least thirty bottles based on his success rate. Selling them at one and a half spirit stones each would make a profit of six spirit stones, with a net profit of three.

He also bought ten pounds of spirit rice with one of the spirit stones and paid two months’ rent for his outer district house with the other. His rent was half a spirit stone per month, so he paid for two months at once.

He poured the spirit rice into the rice jar, collapsed on the wooden bench in the living room, inhaling the smell of medicinal herbs filling the room, and smiled widely.

Though he was tired, he was in such a great mood.

Tomorrow, he could start expanding production!