"Please come in."
Li An put down the talisman pen in his hand.
Tan Qingxue in a white robe, pushed the door open and entered. Seeing the talisman papers on Li An's desk, she said in surprise, "Daoist Li, you've started crafting middle-grade Tier One talismans?"
Li An replied, "Recently, my success rate has increased a bit. I should be able to sell them soon."
Tan Qingxue nodded, "Junior Brother Li, I came over today because I wanted to discuss security concerns with you."
She spoke about the news from the Liuyang River market. After all, she was very close to Xu Qiuhui, so she was sure to know this kind of insider information.
"I'm worried that there might be danger on our side as well..."
Tan Qingxue frowned and looked at Li An.
Because her perception of Li An had changed, after coming to the Talisman Hall, she often sought Li An's opinions when doing things.
And Li An, who in his previous life came from a cultivation clan, found running a Spirit Talisman Shop to be a piece of cake, so the advice he gave was always practical and reasonable.
It can be said that the success of the Spirit Talisman Shop, with their talismans selling well, had a lot to do with Li An.
As a result, her attitude towards Li An became increasingly respectful, and even somewhat... dependent.
She was the actual owner of the Spirit Talisman Shop, but Li An had subtly become its backbone.
"The demon cultivators are so rampant..."
Li An frowned and said, "We must be on guard."
"Yes, Sister Xu also told me to be careful... so I think we should strengthen the defenses of the Spirit Talisman Shop."
Tan Qingxue said, "Junior Brother, do you have any ideas?"
— In fact, after the incident at the Liuyang River market, Profound Yang Sect had strengthened the security in all major markets. However, this protection was for the entire market; it was impossible to enhance the defense for an individual shop.
So, for safety's sake, they had to rely on themselves.
Li An pondered and said, "How about buying an array?"
Tan Qingxue also said, "That would be best, but arrays are extremely expensive. Even if we exhaust our savings, we might not be able to afford a Tier Two array..."
Li An said, "Indeed, they are expensive, but if we want to be absolutely safe, that's the only way... How about I go to the array shop tomorrow to take a look? If there's something suitable, I'll buy one."
Tan Qingxue nodded, "Alright, then I'll leave this matter to you, Junior Brother."
"I have five hundred spirit stones here. You can take them with you, and if it's not enough, I'll figure out something else."
She directly took out a large pile of spirit stones and handed them to Li An.
Li An was somewhat surprised and said, "Senior Sister Tan, why don't you come with me?"
Tan Qingxue just smiled sweetly and said, "Junior Brother, I trust you to handle things."
With that, she turned and left.
Li An accepted the five hundred spirit stones, feeling quite emotional inside.
In just a few years, Tan Qingxue had become much more mature than before.
In fact, in the blink of an eye, Li An was about to turn thirty, and Tan Qingxue was a few years older than him.
However, the Life Nourishing Immortal Skill he cultivated greatly extended his lifespan, so he still appeared quite young.
Five hundred spirit stones, adding a little of my own... should be enough.
In the following days, Li An frequently visited Zhang Shouye, chatted casually, repeatedly inquired about the situation of the demon cultivators, and anxiously consulted about high-tier upper-grade Tier One arrays.
Zhang Shouye was evidently eager to sell the defective arrays that had been stored for years. He repeatedly urged Li An and gritted his teeth to offer a large discount. In the end, Li An only spent six hundred and fifty spirit stones to buy that array.
After bringing back the array, Li An immediately found a place in the Spirit Talisman Shop to set it up.
"This array can be said to be between high-grade Tier One and low-grade Tier Two. It can essentially eliminate anyone below the Foundation Establishment Stage..."
Li An was quite pleased!
Generally, Qi Refining Stage cultivators buying this array would indeed be scammed, as their spiritual power could not manipulate the array plate, making it useless even if they bought it.
But Li An happened to possess powerful spiritual power.
"If demon cultivators come, I should position myself behind the counter or in the back hall..."
Li An meticulously rehearsed possible scenarios.
In the end, he set the defensive part of the array outside at the shop's counter and positioned the killing move part in his room in the back hall.
After all, this way, whether encountering enemies in the back hall or in the shop, he would have part of the array to call upon, preventing him from being caught off guard.
Furthermore, his placement was extremely discreet. Even a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator wouldn't detect any trace of the array if they didn't actively use their divine sense!
"Fortunately, this array doesn't have active defense or attack functions, so it doesn't consume too many spirit stones, only requiring fifteen pieces a month..."
Li An felt a bit of a pinch but could accept it. After all, he was about to sell middle-grade Tier One talismans.
His income would increase again.
He could sustain it.
With the protection of the array, Li An felt much more at ease.
In the coming days, he began to systematically sell middle-grade Tier One talismans at the Spirit Talisman Shop.
Mainly focusing on ordinary middle-grade Tier One talismans, mixed with a small number of Swift Movement Talismans, Cold Rain Talismans, and Earth Sinking Talismans as exquisite items; ordinary talismans were sold at one spirit stone each, and the exquisite ones at two spirit stones each.
"Selling so many middle-grade Tier One talismans, the monthly profit can reach about thirty-five pieces..."
Li An whispered.
In the following days, he bought a large quantity of high-grade talisman paper and Silver Sand, spending two hundred and forty Spirit Stones.
In the blink of an eye, his savings of three years and the income from selling stolen goods were down to only twenty or thirty pieces again.
This was even after Tan Qingxue had spent a huge sum of money.
...
In a flash, another three months passed.
The Qingyang market was peaceful and quiet; announcements about the Demon Cultivators, after a short spread, gradually faded from people's minds.
That day, Tan Qingxue knocked on Li An's door and walked in.
"Junior Brother, I've received news that a secret realm has appeared in Liyang Valley, possibly the cave estate of a Core Formation Stage cultivator…"
She was quite excited.
Liyang Valley, not far from Qingyang market, lay only about a hundred miles away.
That wild mountain range, did it really have a secret realm? And of Core Formation Level?
Li An frowned slightly and said, "This... might not be reliable."
Tan Qingxue was somewhat enticed: "I also think it's unlikely to have the cave estate of a Core Formation Stage cultivator, but opportunities for Foundation Establishment Stage... there should be many."
"Junior Brother, do you think we should go explore?"
Li An laughed: "Sister, I think staying in the market to paint talismans is just fine, the opening of a secret realm is bound to boost talisman sales for a while."
Seeing Li An uninterested, Tan Qingxue had to say, "Alright, so be it."
In the ensuing days, indeed, the news spread quickly, and everyone in the market knew it.
At the same time, sales of pills, magical artifacts, talismans, and other items in the market surged.
Just a few days into the month, the talismans supplied by the Profound Yang Sect were already sold out. Li An and Tan Qingxue stayed behind closed doors, painting talismans day and night, making a substantial profit.
In just half a month, Li An's income reached sixty Spirit Stones!
A multiplied increase!
"The first-layer restriction of the Liyang Valley secret realm has been broken open, a Qi Refining Stage fourth-level cultivator got lucky and obtained a Second Grade Spirit Medicine!"
"The second layer also opened, with a magical treasure flying out on its own, it might be a Foundation Establishment Stage exotic treasure!"
"I heard there might be Foundation Establishment Pills in the third layer…"
News about Liyang Valley continued to pour in daily, frantically.
Everyone in the market was buzzing with excitement, many cultivators couldn't resist the urge to venture out for opportunities, even Zhang Shouye from the array shop couldn't resist going there himself and returned with a fulfilling loot, finding Upper Grade Tier One artifact refining materials.
"It's true, the third-layer restriction hasn't yet opened, but it likely holds Foundation Establishment Pills… it's a significant opportunity!"
Zhang Shouye came to the Spirit Talisman Shop, passionately speaking, he wanted to go again and was looking to gather a few powerful allies, so he approached Tan Qingxue and Li An.
Mainly Tan Qingxue!
After hearing Zhang Shouye's description, that night, after pondering for a day, Tan Qingxue sought out Li An again, her face filled with hesitation.
"Junior Brother, are you sure we shouldn't go to Liyang Valley?"
She asked, and Li An raised his gaze, seeing an unparalleled longing in her eyes.
Being forced out of the Talisman Hall, although life in the market wasn't bad, it would be like this forever without significant opportunities, she couldn't turn things around.
Foundation Establishment Pills… possess irresistible magic power for any Qi Refining Stage cultivator.
Moreover, Zhang Shouye allied with many disciples from the Profound Yang Sect in the market; the lineup truly was strong.
"It's too dangerous."
Li An hesitated and said, "If you must go, I suggest purchasing two items."
"The Upper Grade Tier One Golden Silkworm Robe and Cloud Shoes from the magical artifact shop."
Both were rare treasures and quite valuable!
Li An, always browsing around, kept an eye on every shop's stock. He had long wanted to buy them himself: one for protection, one for escape, particularly suitable for those who preferred careful planning.
Only, Spirit Stones were lacking.
Currently, with a great array guarding the Spirit Talisman Shop, he temporarily had no use for them.
"Alright!"
Upon receiving Li An's advice, Tan Qingxue looked quite delighted: "Junior Brother, will you go with me?"
Li An shook his head and said, "No… the business at the Spirit Talisman Shop still needs someone to watch over."
In her beautiful eyes, Tan Qingxue showed a hint of disappointment, but she also nodded, understanding that the Spirit Talisman Shop couldn't be left unattended.
She turned and left.
"Don't save money, you must buy those two items."
Li An watched her back and suddenly urged once more.
Tan Qingxue had shown great performance over the past three years, lately being especially generous… for practical reasons, Li An didn't want her to get into trouble.
Tan Qingxue looked back, a faint smile curling on her lips: "I will remember."
...