Forging Immortality through the Dao Seed

Three days later.

At dusk.

After laughing and sending off a Junior Brother who came to buy talismans, Zhang Jing started to tidy up and count his few remaining talismans.

Perhaps those greedy merchants deserve to be bitter for selling low-grade talismans at high prices.

In the last three days, he felt as if he had become the most conscientious talisman merchant in Linshi Market, with a constant flow of people coming to his small store to buy talismans.

As a result, Zhang Jing's talismans were almost sold out.

In fact...his talismans were also quite expensive.

Moreover—

He channeled his Spiritual Sense into his storage bag and 'looked' at the six Demon Cores within, the corner of his mouth unconsciously curling up into a smile.

Besides the Demon Core from the Demon Tiger, the other five were Zhang Jing's gains in the past three days. Two came from third-layer Qi Refinement demons, and three came from second-layer Qi Refinement demons.

By this calculation.

He could earn about fifty Demon Cores a month.

A single third-layer Qi Refinement demon's Core could make about thirty-five Tao Merits, and the price of a second-layer Qi Refinement demon's Core is slightly lower and could just earn about twenty Tao Merits.

Additionally, there were profits from selling talismans.

Zhang Jing was delighted to find that if he kept up this pace for a month, he would end up with almost one thousand and five hundred Tao Merits.

Of course, the real figure will certainly be lower than this.

After all, low-grade Demon Cores make up the majority.

Yet even so, it definitely also exceeds a thousand Tao Merits.

His decision to sell talismans in the market was indeed a correct one.

With this thought, Zhang Jing's smile was almost impossible to hide.

Just then.

A man in a green robe slowly walked into the store.

"Senior Brother, do you wish to purchase talismans?" Seeing the newcomer, Zhang Jing quickly adjusted his face and asked with a smile.

"Turns out it's a Junior Brother."

The man also smiled and said:

"I just came back and noticed a new talisman shop here, so decided to visit. I hope I'm not bothering the Junior Brother."

"Senior Brother, please feel free."

Zhang Jing generously gestured.

"Junior Brother, when I came in I saw a sign that said talismans would be 20% cheaper when exchanged with Demon Cores?" The man asked curiously.

At these words, Zhang Jing's eyes lit up:

"Senior Brother, you wish to exchange Demon Cores for talismans?"

No wonder Zhang Jing had this expression.

Although he could not be sure of the cultivation level of the Senior Brother in front of him, he was certainly at least in the middle stage of Qi Refinement.

This meant the Senior Brother might possess Middle-Stage Qi Refinement level Demon Cores, which surely couldn't be compared to the Early-Stage Qi Refinement Demon Cores he normally collected.

The higher the cultivation level of a demon, the more precious its Demon Core is.

It is said that a Demon Core from a Late-Stage Qi Refinement demon can go for hundreds or even thousands of Tao Merits.

Just one Core was equivalent to Zhang Jing's gains from a month of hard work.

As Zhang Jing looked at the man eagerly.

The man first glanced at the talismans on the counter, and then asked with some disappointment, "Junior Brother, do you only have these low-grade talismans?"

Zhang Jing nodded.

"Then it can't be helped." The man shook his head: "These low-grade talismans can't be of much use to me. I recently got a Demon Core from a sixth-layer Qi Refinement demon, and passing by just now, I saw the wooden sign outside and thought I might take advantage of a good deal and exchange it for some middle-grade talismans at a lower price."

"Damn it, those talisman masters in the market are too unscrupulous. They would seize any chance they get to exploit us."

The next moment.

Seemingly realizing something, the man looked straight at Zhang Jing and said apologetically: "Junior Brother, I wasn't talking about you. I was referring to those other talisman masters."

"Compared to the Dao Institute, your talismans are more expensive, but at least you have a conscience."

"Unlike those guys, who dare to sell ordinary talismans at higher prices than superior ones!"

"Senior Brother, it's fine."

Seeing the deal couldn't be made, a disappointed Zhang Jing still replied with a smile.

This was a Demon Core from a sixth-layer Qi Refinement demon!

If he could get it, he could directly purify it with Red Spirit Light and sell it to Thousand Law Pavilion for a hundred and eighty Tao Merits.

However, it's a pity that the Senior Brother didn't fancy his low-grade talismans.

If you can't earn, then it's a loss!

Rounding off, it's equivalent to a direct loss of one thousand Tao Merits.

With this thought, Zhang Jing felt even worse.

Wait a minute!

He anticipated that he'd break through to the fourth level of Qi refinement tonight, meeting the conditions for making middle-grade talismans. And with the ChiGod Spiritual Light and the Mind's Eye Dharma Seed, Zhang Jing was certain that his success rate of making talismans wouldn't be too low.

Could he possibly—

His face instantly broke out into an enthusiastic smile, and he asked attentively:

"Senior Brother, are you in urgent need of middle-grade talismans? I can guarantee to get you middle-grade talismans, and the condition of exchanging talismans for Demon Cores will remain the same."

"As long as you can wait a few days."

"Are you sure, Junior Brother?" The man asked incredulously.

Zhang Jing nodded, stating firmly: "Of course, I am sure!"

...

The moon was at its zenith.

On the second floor.

Suddenly, Zhang Jing, who had been meditating on the bed, opened his eyes. Bright white light emitted from them, lighting up the pitch-black room as if it was daytime.

A strong wave of spiritual power surged from his body.

In his Dantian, strands of spiritual power began to gather under the illumination of the Gathered Spirit Light.

It eventually condensed into extremely small droplets of liquid spiritual power, filling up the entire Dantian in the form of fog, emitting an aura several times stronger than before.

At the same time.

With the rapid operation of Five Zang Refining Water Element, the fully transformed spiritual power soaked his entire body, causing a terrifying metamorphosis far exceeding what he had experienced before.

The fourth layer of Qi refinement!

The mid-phase of Qi refinement!

The first threshold of Qi refining cultivation has been breached just like that.

All the light on his body dissipated.

Zhang Jing stirred inside, and the Jade Talisman gradually appeared.

[Five Zang Refining Water Element, Level 3 (693/800)]

Skill characteristics: Five Law Spirit River (Mid-Level)

"I didn't realize that Five Zang Refining Water Element is about to level up. The ChiGod Spiritual Light coupled with Mind's Eye Dharma Seed is indeed powerful, enabling a day of cultivation to increase nearly 50 experiences, doubling from before."

"And it seems that as my cultivation level rises, the experience value obtained from each practice also increases!"

He analyzed quietly.

Exhale deeply—

Zhang Jing suppressed his excitement, got up, and walked into the Talisman Making Room.

With a calm demeanor, he carefully sketched the Dao Patterns.

Before long.

He gently put down the Spirit Pen, and a trace of excitement appeared on his face.

Two faintly visible Origin Talismans were carefully lifted by Zhang Jing's hand. The missing parts on them had been completely filled!

...

At this moment.

In a certain room, the light was brightly lit.

A group of talisman masters were still debating endlessly.

"I suggest we secretly find a mid-level Qi refining Loose Cultivator to kill him, then kill the loose cultivator afterward to silence him. Just in these three days, my talisman business has dropped by 20 percent. How long can it last like this?"

One of the talisman masters said sinisterly.

"Not acceptable," another talisman master interjected: "We are all disciples of the Dao Institute. What you're suggesting is too much."

"Also, don't forget where his shop is located. And from my observation, he seems to be quite familiar with Senior Brother He from the Elixir Hut nearby."

"What does that imply?"

"Foolish! This suggests that he might also be a member of one of those three teams, or at least someone from a top-ten team. If you want to die, you can give it a try, but if anything goes wrong, beware of them investigating."

"Then, what should we do?"

"Alright, in my opinion, there is a best current option." The old talisman master in the innermost part suddenly spoke up.

At once, everyone turned their attention to him, their eyes full of expectation.

Seeing this, the old talisman master laughed contentedly, then said slowly:

"You're all being foolish. He's selling high-quality talismans, which are definitely more expensive than everyone else's. Plus, he is the only person working!"

"Are you suggesting we lower our prices?" Someone asked.

"Correct!"

The old talisman master, with a 'the child is teachable' expression, confidently said:

"Just lower the prices! Although our talismans are not as high quality as his, we only need to lower our prices. After all, when dealing with demons, as long as the price is right, those cultivators will know how to choose even without using their brains."

"And he has higher costs, and would not dare to lower his prices."

"When nobody buys from him, he won't be able to do business and will naturally have to leave the market in embarrassment."