Li An did not immediately break through, but instead took some time to visit the Sect's Trade Market again.
This time, however, to his surprise, nobody wanted spirit rice anymore.
Li An inquired a bit and found out that the sect had suddenly paused all tasks related to the Spirit Beast Mountain Range.
Li An couldn't help but feel puzzled; the young beast tide shouldn't have disappeared yet. Could there have been other changes in the Spirit Beast Mountain Range?
"Senior Sister Xu is here,"
Xu Qiuhui, with her graceful figure, attracted many people's attention as soon as she appeared.
But this time, she surprisingly came to set up a stall.
She walked over to Li An's stall and said:
"Next month, you don't need to deliver spirit rice to me anymore. As for this batch, I'll honor our agreement and take it as usual, but the remaining payment will have to wait until I sell my things first."
Li An was taken aback. It seemed Xu Qiuhui was also starting to feel the pinch?
He could understand. Even though Xu Qiuhui was a formal disciple with a hefty monthly stipend, her expenses were also large. The further along she got, the more expensive the needed magical artifacts and pills became.
Moreover, Xu Qiuhui was already Qi Refining Seventh Layer, probably starting to prepare for Foundation Establishment.
Therefore, she had always wanted to capture the mysterious spirit beast in the Spirit Beast Mountain Range, purchasing spirit rice, spirit talismans, spiritual artifacts, and the like each month, which was a huge expense.
Unfortunately, eight months passed, and instead of catching that spirit beast, she wasted a lot of time, missing many opportunities to catch ordinary spirit beasts.
"Immortal, there's no need. Last month you gave me half a spirit stone as a deposit. According to this month's market price, this hundred pounds of spirit rice is only worth half a piece, so you don't need to pay the remainder."
Li An was quite generous.
In his view, Xu Qiuhui was still a pretty decent person.
Xu Qiuhui said nothing more; evidently, she was indeed somewhat in dire straits. She immediately said:
"Alright then, can I borrow your stall to set mine up?"
Li An, of course, agreed, quickly clearing some space for her.
Immediately, Xu Qiuhui set out a lot of items on Li An's stall.
Two damaged First Grade medicinal herbs, half a bottle of antitoxic pills, an old talisman brush, dozens of talisman papers…
These items weren't accepted at the sect exchange office and couldn't be exchanged for contribution points, so she could only resell them at the trade market.
Li An's eyes lit up, "Immortal Xu, how much are the talisman brush and talisman papers?"
Xu Qiuhui was a bit surprised, "You want to buy?"
"Yes, I've been studying the basics of talisman painting for half a year and want to give it a try…"
He had come out this time precisely to buy talisman brushes and talisman papers!
After all, he was about to break through to Qi Refining Second Layer, and at that time might attract some trouble.
Displaying his talent in talisman painting appropriately would enhance his value.
This way, a lot of unnecessary trouble would naturally vanish.
But Xu Qiuhui shook her head, "The path of talisman painting, though requiring the least comprehension and aptitude, is not something I would recommend you pursue, as it would just lead to waste."
In the myriad arts of cultivation, the most common are alchemy, artifact refining, talisman painting, and arrays.
Talisman painting involves using a talisman brush and talisman papers to carve the corresponding rules of the Great Dao. As long as it's successful, the talisman gains the corresponding effect.
Comparatively, talisman painting is the most accessible to ordinary people because even with inferior aptitude, one can produce basic talismans through diligent practice.
But the threshold lies in: success rate!
Most people spend a large number of talisman papers and brushes to create one or two talisman papers. The success rate is too low, and the gains aren't proportional to the expenses.
Unless one is exceptionally gifted or backed by a substantial background to support extensive practice, only then can the success rate improve enough to become a qualified Talisman Master.
Xu Qiuhui herself had tried but was limited by her talent, and her success rate was low, which is why her talisman brush and papers were left unused.
To her, Li An, just a servant with a damaged spirit root, trying to become a Talisman Master was like a fool's dream.
Li An said firmly, "Immortal, I want to try!"
"Alright,"
She stopped trying to dissuade him, "This First Grade talisman brush originally cost me five Spirit Stones when I bought it. It's still somewhat new. Including these dozens of talisman papers, it's three Spirit Stones for you."
Upon hearing this, Li An readily paid and exchanged for Xu Qiuhui's talisman papers.
Then, he continued to stroll around nearby.
"Hey, little servant, you're here again? Here, I just prepared freshly picked Spring Herbs for you."
At an herb stall, a middle-aged outer disciple saw Li An and smiled as he spoke.
This outer disciple was called Zhou Xin, at the Qi Refining Third Layer. He was considered among the low ranks of outer disciples, and he sold poor quality herbs, like Spring Herbs, which were essentially useless spirit herbs, and he was the only one selling them.
Since Li An started buying Spring Herbs from him, Zhou Xin had a stable clientele and would get dozens of catties each month for him.
"By the way, Spring Herbs' prices have gone up recently. Twenty catties now needs half a Spirit Stone."
Zhou Xin casually mentioned, as he would raise the prices on Li An from time to time.
After all, a cash cow like Li An, if not fleeced, would be a wasted opportunity!
After some haggling, Li An headed to Spirit Plant Mountain with twenty catties of Spring Herbs.
...
Back at Spirit Plant Mountain, he shut the door.
Li An laid out the talisman papers and brush, feeling quite expectant.
In his previous life, backed by a Cultivation Clan's resources, even with his ordinary aptitude, he still managed to grow into a Talisman Master.
Later, after reaching Core Formation, his skill in talisman painting reached a very high level.
For an ordinary person to become a Talisman Master, one must accumulate a wealth of experience to possibly improve success rates.
And experience was something he did not lack!
He picked up the talisman brush, entered a state of meditation, and then began creating talismans.
Starting with the simplest, the Spirit Gathering Talisman.
The Spirit Gathering Talisman is a First Grade Lower Grade basic talisman that can enhance the gathering of Spiritual Qi. One can use the talisman for a month.
Halfway through drawing, the talisman paper was ruined.
Li An wasn't discouraged. In this life, his aptitude was worse, so it was normal that he wasn't precise enough with the talisman brush.
On the seventh sheet, the Spirit Gathering Talisman was finally successful.
Out of ten talisman papers, only one Spirit Gathering Talisman was successfully made.
This success rate was already considered quite strong for beginners. Ordinary people might waste three to four hundred sheets before succeeding once.
But Li An was still not satisfied. He continued to ponder, then resumed drawing talismans.
In the following twenty sheets of talisman paper, his success rate increased significantly. He failed fifteen times and succeeded five times!
Judging from this ratio, he could already be considered a qualified Talisman Master!
"There are still thirteen sheets of talisman paper left, I should try the 'Flame Talisman'!"
The Flame Talisman is also a First Grade Lower Grade, but it's an offensive talisman that can threaten cultivators below the Qi Refining Third Layer!
It's more challenging than the Spirit Gathering Talisman.
Ultimately, all thirteen sheets were wasted; the Flame Talisman was always a bit off and was not truly made.
"With another three to five sheets, I might just succeed…"
Li An was quite regretful, just short of a little.
In the end, from forty-three sheets, he obtained six Spirit Gathering Talismans.
What surprised Li An the most was that despite drawing so many talismans, the feeling of fatigue was not particularly severe.
"The Life Seed's enhancement on Spiritual Power is also significant!"
Drawing talismans consumes a great amount of Spiritual Power; generally, a cultivator at the Qi Refining First Layer can barely finish ten talismans, exceeding fifteen would directly knock them into sleep.
"From this, it seems that spiritual and spiritual sense type cultivation techniques should be very suitable for my cultivation!"
Li An discovered a new direction.
He pondered for a while, realizing that spiritual cultivation techniques were too rare; in his past life, he only acquired the 'Super Sensing Skill'.
Moreover, it was a remnant scripture, with only the first volume.
For now, he could only start with the Super Sensing Skill.
Stowing away the talisman papers and pen, he immediately began silently cultivating according to the Super Sensing Skill.
The Super Sensing Skill fully mobilizes one's spirit, strengthening perception.
At the Qi Refining stage, one cannot refine "Divine Sense," but perception manifests in hearing, sight, smell, and other aspects, greatly enhancing combat and reconnaissance!
Deep into the night, Li An felt his heart completely calm down, and many subtle sounds flowed into his ears.
The fluctuating moans of Zhang Susu next door became distinctly audible.
Although he was of strong character, he was ultimately in a young, vigorous body. This time what he heard was too detailed, causing a rush of impure fire to rise in his abdomen...
...
In the blink of an eye, another two months passed.
In these two months, Li An did not go out again, staying in Spirit Plant Mountain for cultivation.
Until that night, when Li An took advantage of the seedlings' stage of the rice fields with nothing much to do, and closed his doors early.
In front of him were six Spirit Stones!
His state was at the peak of Qi Refining First Layer, incredibly close to breaking through to Qi Refining Second Layer.
He closed his eyes and began to absorb the pure Spiritual Qi from the Spirit Stones, breaking through!
...
Ten days later.
Li An finally emerged from his dwelling.
He couldn't help but let out a long roar to the sky!
"Ah——"
The roar was full of exhilaration.
Even Zhang Susu and Wang Zilin beside him were startled and rushed out to check.
They saw Li An looking like a clay figurine, with lots of black dirt on him, but his eyes were incredibly bright and his aura had changed dramatically.
"I've broken through to Qi Refining Second Layer!"
Li An seemed like a simpleton, extremely excited.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Susu and Wang Zilin were instantly shocked.
Li An, wasn't his Spirit Root supposed to be useless? He shouldn't have been able to get past Qi Refining First Layer in this life!
Even Fan Jie came down the mountain personally to examine Li An's condition.
"Your Spirit Root, it's basically restored?"
Fan Jie was incredibly surprised and grabbed Li An's shoulder: "Did you acquire a Second Grade Pill?!"
Li An appeared somewhat confused: "No, I just cooked a pot of Spring Herbs a few days ago, finished it all, then had such a stomach ache that I passed out, and when I woke up, I had broken through…"
Upon hearing, Fan Jie and the other two were all dumbfounded.
Does Spring Herbs have this effect?
No way…
Suddenly Fan Jie thought of something and hurriedly ran to Li An's place to check, but the pot bottom had been completely consumed by Li An with no trace left.
"How did you feel when eating the Spring Herbs?"
Fan Jie urgently asked.
"This time, the Spring Herbs were indeed a bit different, the soup turned out very white, and when eaten, it felt a bit numbing. Just after eating, my stomach hurt, and I passed out…"
Li An honestly spoke up: "Immortal Xu, am I food poisoned?"
Fan Jie's face turned complex on the spot, and he said, "Poison my ass, what you ate wasn't Spring Herbs at all, most likely Primordial Spring Herbs!!"
"I don't know which idiot sold you Primordial Spring Herbs as Spring Herbs… What a jerk! Such a waste, such a waste!"
He immediately explained the difference between Primordial Spring Herbs and Spring Herbs.
Listening to this, Zhang Susu and Wang Zilin beside him were stunned.
Especially Wang Zilin, whose mentality was blown on the spot. This guy Li the skinner constantly engages in outrageous deeds, yet he can still have such dog-shit luck? Is there justice? Is there law?!!
...
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