Chapter 82: Fu Zhizhou’s Departure

"It's fine. No need for formalities, Daoist Hu." Wei Tu smiled and shook his head, signaling Hu Yao not to take it to heart. At the same time, he circulated his technique to suppress the discomfort caused by his body's natural urges. —He was in his prime years and had advanced through the external cultivation path, making him a Xiantian Realm martial artist. His blood vigor was far stronger than that of Qi Refinement cultivators or internal energy practitioners of the same level. By now, Hu Yao had already dressed herself properly. She had added a light red outer robe, making her appearance much more modest than before. After tying her belt, she instinctively glanced at Wei Tu, then teased, "What, Daoist Wei? Are you rejecting me? The hut next door has a new female cultivator—untouched, with outstanding beauty." "Nothing of the sort." Wei Tu responded with polite indifference. —Having spent a lot of time around Hu Yao, he understood that courtesans like her considered their profession shameful. They often sought reassurance from acquaintances, craving a sense of acceptance. The two of them walked out of the room one after another. Hu Yao locked the door, then rested her left hand on her waist and pointed toward the hut next door, which bore a small wooden plaque with the character "Gong" written on it. With a slightly sour tone, she said, "Daoist Wei, that’s where the pure one stays. If you're interested, I can act as the matchmaker." Hearing this, Wei Tu responded casually, continuing the pretense. Even from seven or eight steps away, he could sense the jealousy in Hu Yao’s words. He wouldn't be foolish enough to argue with her about it. Perhaps because Hu Yao's words had been too sharp, the door to the "Gong" hut suddenly opened from the inside. A stunning female cultivator stepped out, looking in their direction with a slight frown. "No wonder Daoist Hu is targeting her!" Upon seeing the woman’s appearance, Wei Tu immediately understood. Beneath the moonlight, the female cultivator wore a light veil under her hat, and her long dress draped elegantly to her shoes. Just by her aura alone, she was leagues ahead of Hu Yao, who had spent years surviving in the shantytown. Her face was delicate, her features well-defined, and there was a single teardrop mole at the corner of her eye, adding an extra layer of charm to her beauty. As soon as the woman looked over, both Wei Tu and Hu Yao knew they couldn't linger. They quickly changed the subject and briskly walked away. On the road, Hu Yao glanced at Wei Tu and smirked. "What’s the matter? Daoist Wei, are you interested?" "I wasn’t joking earlier. If you really want her, I can be the middleman." She probed further. "Daoist Hu, you overthink things." This time, instead of brushing it off like before, Wei Tu responded seriously, "A woman like her isn’t someone a low-level cultivator like me should even think about... If she ended up in a place like this, there must be a reason for it. I'd rather stay far away." Desire is a blade that cuts both ways. Without sufficient strength, getting involved with such beauties would be like walking into a death trap. Even if he had ten lives, it wouldn’t be enough to survive. Women of her caliber were only meant for the strong. Wei Tu had understood this truth even during his mortal days. For rogue cultivators in the Danqiu Mountains, there was an unspoken fourth path to Foundation Establishment aside from the usual three—becoming a bandit cultivator. Because of this, although the Danqiu Mountains seemed peaceful on the surface, hidden beneath was a world of treachery and bloodshed. For the sake of securing his future on the immortal path— He had to avoid all uncontrollable risks, including women like her, to prevent unnecessary disasters. "Daoist Wei is cautious." Hearing his words, Hu Yao withdrew her playful tone and nodded seriously. From that point on, she remained silent, leading the way toward a secluded hut some distance away from the small marketplace. "Daoist Wei, be patient. Just wait here for a while." Inside the hut, Hu Yao sat down cross-legged and closed her eyes. Her entire demeanor changed. She no longer resembled a courtesan but instead appeared like a dedicated cultivator in deep meditation. Seeing this, Wei Tu was slightly surprised—he hadn’t expected Hu Yao to have this hidden side. After meditating for half a day, cultivators gradually began arriving at the hut. Among them, Wei Tu recognized a familiar face—the thin old man who had been selling talismans at the Talisman Hut. After an hour, the hut was packed with over a dozen people. "This is Daoist Wei." Hu Yao introduced him to the gathered cultivators. "Daoist Wei has a clean background. I’ve already assessed his character, potential, and temperament. He can be trusted to join our Inner Market." Inner Market? Hearing this term and considering the composition of the people in the hut, Wei Tu had a realization. The Inner Market was likely a private trading circle among the stronger stall owners in the Small Marketplace. It was similar to the cultivator alliance he had formed with Kou Liang and the others. People naturally sought advantages and avoided dangers— Even cultivators were no exception. "What qualifications does Daoist Wei have to join the Inner Market?" The thin old man from the Talisman Hut recognized Wei Tu and let out a cold snort. His tone carried a hint of hostility. To him, a cultivator like Wei Tu, who had bargained and outmaneuvered him earlier, was not uncommon. But someone who first toyed with him at the marketplace and then joined the Inner Market afterward? Wei Tu was the first. "Daoist Wei is already capable of crafting basic talismans—Earth Spike Talismans." "Moreover, his success rate is around forty percent!" Hu Yao smiled as she revealed Wei Tu's progress in talisman crafting. Initially, she had no intention of bringing Wei Tu into the Inner Market. She had simply planned to act as a broker, connecting both sides, earning favors, and making a bit of spirit stone profit in the process. However, she hadn’t expected that Wei Tu’s talisman skills would be far beyond her expectations— He was already successfully crafting Earth Spike Talismans. Even though Earth Spike Talismans were just basic talismans, in the shantytown, Wei Tu could already be considered a Talisman Master, holding the same level of status as Alchemist Wang. "So that’s why Hu Yao brought me into the Inner Market." Hearing this, Wei Tu understood. Before the Small Marketplace started, he had asked Hu Yao whether he could use Earth Spike Talismans as collateral to purchase talisman paper and spiritual ink. His reason for asking was to see if she could find him a buyer for his talismans. Yet unexpectedly, this became the opportunity for Hu Yao to introduce him into the Inner Market of the shantytown. "You’re actually a Talisman Master?" Upon hearing Hu Yao’s explanation, the thin old man gave Wei Tu a surprised look. "I'm Che Chulong. If Wei Talisman Master ever needs to purchase supplies in the future, I’ll offer a thirty percent discount on everything." Che Chulong took the initiative to lower his prices, far more enthusiastic than when Wei Tu had encountered him at the Talisman Hut earlier. "Thirty percent off?" "Thank you, Daoist Che." "If I need anything, I’ll come to you and support your business." With Hu Yao's forty percent discount as his baseline, Wei Tu didn’t immediately take Che Chulong’s offer. He simply smiled and replied casually. —In the Inner Market, relationships varied in closeness. The forty percent discount Hu Yao could get didn’t necessarily apply to him. Therefore, when purchasing talisman paper and spiritual ink, he wasn’t about to abandon Hu Yao as his supplier just yet. "This kid is sharp." Che Chulong smacked his lips and thought to himself, What a pity. Talisman Masters weren’t casual buyers; they were repeat customers who could bring steady business. But he had already offered the same thirty percent discount to the other two Talisman Masters in the Inner Market. He couldn’t afford to make an exception just for Wei Tu. Thinking this, he shifted his gaze toward two cultivators seated in the corner of the hut. One was a gray-robed male cultivator, the other a red-clothed female cultivator. The red-clothed female cultivator, upon hearing that Wei Tu was also a Talisman Master, immediately stood up and raised her voice. "Daoist Wei, what kind of spiritual roots do you have? When we sell talismans in the future, we should differentiate our products so we don’t end up as competitors." Talisman crafting was closely tied to one’s spiritual root attributes and cultivation techniques. Lower-level Talisman Masters generally found it difficult to craft talismans that did not match their spiritual root attributes. For example, a Talisman Master with water spiritual roots, practicing a water-based cultivation technique, would find it ten or even a hundred times harder to draw fire-attribute talismans than someone with fire spiritual roots. "We can discuss this after the Inner Market gathering. Please be patient, Daoist." Wei Tu thought for a moment before responding. Spiritual root attributes were private information for a cultivator. He naturally didn’t want to reveal them openly in front of so many people. Hearing this, the red-clothed female cultivator realized she had misspoken. She quickly apologized and sat back down. After this brief interruption, the gathered cultivators began trading, seeking out familiar contacts to exchange for the spiritual items and materials they needed. Before long, the Inner Market gathering came to an end. Wei Tu met with the other two Talisman Masters. After a brief discussion, they agreed on their respective business focuses moving forward. "This is my batch of Earth Spike Talismans. Daoist Hu, I’d appreciate your help in exchanging them for talisman paper and spiritual ink." Outside the hut, Wei Tu handed over all the Earth Spike Talismans he had accumulated to Hu Yao. If he later felt that Hu Yao’s channel wasn’t working out, he could switch suppliers. But for this first transaction, he couldn’t bypass Hu Yao. That was a matter of principle. "I didn’t misjudge you, Daoist Wei." Hu Yao accepted the talismans with a smile, praising Wei Tu. … A few days later, the Small Marketplace ended. Inside Wei Tu’s hut, he now had ten fewer Earth Spike Talismans, but in exchange, he had gained twenty-four talisman papers and four taels of spiritual ink. "Earth Spike Talismans sell at a market rate of five per one spirit stone…" "A dozen talisman papers contain twenty sheets. At a forty percent success rate, I can produce eight talismans per dozen." "Not accounting for the cost of the talisman brush and spiritual ink…" "Each time I use up one dozen talisman papers, I make a net gain of three talismans." "If I ignore the impact of crafting talismans on my cultivation progress, I can go through two dozen sheets per month… which means a monthly income of one spirit stone." "This is far more profitable than farming spiritual fields." After calculating his earnings, Wei Tu felt a slight rush of excitement. To accelerate the condensation of his Earth Yuan Body, cultivation alone wasn’t enough— There were other methods. The simplest of these methods was purchasing alchemical pills. In the market, there was a pill known as the Earth Essence Pill, which could assist in condensing the Earth Yuan Body. But Earth Essence Pills were expensive— Each pill cost thirty-two spirit stones. "In a few more years, once my reputation as a Talisman Master spreads, I’ll consider buying that pill." Wei Tu made his decision. With that thought in mind, he wasted no time and resumed crafting talismans, aiming to perfect his Earth Spike Talisman technique as soon as possible. Unlike other talismans, Earth Spike Talismans had no risk of oversaturation in the market. They were essential for spiritual field farming in the Danqiu Mountain marketplace. Because of this, Wei Tu didn’t need to consider switching to other immortal talismans just to make money. Most Talisman Masters, in order to maintain high success rates, typically specialized in crafting only a few types of talismans, or at most a dozen. For the next six months, Wei Tu’s talisman-crafting steadily improved. His Earth Spike Talisman progress increased from 42% to 51%. During his practice, there were a few moments of enlightenment, allowing him to craft high-quality talismans. However, to avoid drawing attention, Wei Tu kept this secret. He planned to reveal his improved Talisman Mastery only after reaching mid-stage Qi Refinement, so it would appear as a natural progression. "Third Brother." One day, Fu Zhizhou knocked on his door again. But unlike before, Fu Zhizhou wasn’t alone this time— Another male cultivator stood beside him. This man was named Helian Xiong. Wei Tu recognized him—he was the Beast Hut vendor whom Fu Zhizhou had conversed with at the last Small Marketplace. "Fourth Brother, you’ve made up your mind?" "You’re really going to become a blade-for-hire?" Hearing Fu Zhizhou’s farewell, Wei Tu wasn’t surprised. He sighed softly and looked at Fu Zhizhou seriously.