Chapter 13

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After leaving the principal’s office, Li Yunxian went straight home. There wasn’t much to bring—just a few sets of clothes and daily necessities packed into her suitcase, which she then stored in her storage bracelet. That was all.

She sent a message to the housekeeper, telling her to just tidy up the house every day from now on. Then Li Yunxian took a taxi to the outskirts of the city.

Upon getting off, she felt the surrounding spiritual energy, which was still quite weak. Li Yunxian thought to herself, “So, what exactly was I expecting?”

After walking around the border area, she casually eliminated two strange floating phantoms and finally managed to find a hotel with relatively stronger spiritual energy.

After checking in for seven days, Li Yunxian logged back into the game.

This time, she had spirit stones on hand and there was spiritual power nearby. Using spirit stones for cultivation directly would be too extravagant, but absorbing the ambient spiritual energy was too little.

Li Yunxian planned to set up a spirit-gathering array formation as an aid for cultivation.

However, the materials required were quite numerous.

She opened the game store. Besides the items she could buy in reality, she needed to exchange for three materials this time.

The total was...

12,000 game coins.

Li Yunxian recalled the last time when she sold talismans, and everyone paid voluntarily at the end.

Spending some time on this wouldn’t be a big problem.

But she didn’t want to wait several days before using the array formation. That would be a huge waste of time.

After some thought, Li Yunxian found the only friend on her list.

“Brother Zhao, do you offer loan services?” she sent a message.

She then added her specific request: “12,500 coins, return 13,000 within ten days.”

The merchant’s eyes immediately lit up when he saw the message: “Sure, of course. I can lend without charging interest. If convenient, let’s meet somewhere to discuss business.”

Hmm?

Li Yunxian thought for a moment and roughly understood what business the merchant wanted to discuss.

The only contact she had with him was about talismans.

“Alright,” Li Yunxian replied.

They arranged a meeting place, and she arrived quickly.

Upon meeting, the merchant immediately noticed Li Yunxian’s cultivation level and greeted enthusiastically, “Congratulations, boss, on reaching the first level of Qi refining.”

The last time they met, Li Yunxian had just entered Qi refining from being an ordinary person; the merchant had no reaction then.

Businesspeople are truly pragmatic.

Li Yunxian couldn’t help but smile, a glimmer of nostalgia in her eyes.

She thought of her long-lost companions.

“Wishing you prosperous business, Brother Zhao,” she congratulated the merchant as well.

After some brief small talk, they got down to business.

“Boss, are you still interested in selling ‘fireworks’? I can buy unlimited quantities at 30 coins each and provide the materials for free,” the merchant laid out an enticing offer, then added a caveat: “Of course, all your ‘fireworks’ must be sold exclusively through my guild.”

Li Yunxian was not tempted by the merchant’s terms. The value of the Thunder Flash talisman itself was 30 coins, so it wasn’t much of a temptation.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Merchants don’t do anything without profit. If they offered such good terms, there must be a bigger benefit at stake.

Li Yunxian wasn’t really 18 years old; she knew to gather all information before making a decision.

Regret flickered in the merchant’s eyes.

He had thought that, given Li Yunxian’s current lack of game coins, his offer would easily lure her in.

Unexpectedly, she remained calm.

If Li Yunxian had gone to the trading market, she would have learned all the relevant information anyway, so the merchant had no intention to deceive.

He wasn’t doing a one-time deal and didn’t want to offend anyone.

“The town outskirts have recently spawned a wave of phantoms, mainly Coffin Cryer and Shadow Ghost,” the merchant explained simply. “Someone used your ‘fireworks’ as signal flares inside the trap and scared the phantoms off.”

“Later, someone tested it and found your ‘fireworks’ have a special attack effect against phantoms.”

Li Yunxian was surprised. “Don’t you have weapons against phantoms?”

The merchant looked puzzled but answered, “Yes, but most are specific to certain types. None are as versatile as your ‘fireworks.’”

“Besides, phantoms don’t spawn often. When they do, not everyone has the specific weapons, which are also expensive. People prefer carrying a few ‘fireworks’ for emergencies.”

In “All Things,” death doesn’t drop your level, and after a three-day cooldown, you can log back in. However, all your equipment and hunting gains remain at the death site!

Having companions helps.

If they’re alive, they can retrieve your belongings.

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If no one picks them up, the system marks all dropped items as ownerless and they disappear after half an hour.

Those are worth more than dozens of game coins!

Li Yunxian listened briefly and more or less understood.

The four cultivated arts—alchemy, weapon crafting, talismans, and array formations—have endured for tens of thousands of years without one replacing the others.

Each has its own strengths.

Alchemy offers rapid and powerful support; weapon crafting is formidable and multifunctional; talismans are simple, portable, sensitive, and surprising; array formations cover wide areas, have lasting effects, and can operate independently.

In “All Things,” weapon crafting reaches its pinnacle, even compensating for the absence of the other three arts.

But that doesn’t mean the others lack significance here.

Li Yunxian’s mind raced.

However, her thoughts weren’t about the merchant’s Thunder Flash talisman.

She recalled the delighted customers drawing talismans when she last sold them.

Soon, she made a decision.

“My Thunder Flash talismans will be exclusively sold through Brother Zhao. You supply the materials, and I sell them to you at 20 coins; Brother Zhao, you resell at 30 coins,” she said casually.

The merchant is a merchant; she is not.

She didn’t want to make unscrupulous profits with cultivation-world items.

The merchant frowned.

That arrangement still yielded some profit, but Li Yunxian wouldn’t produce many ‘fireworks’—now called Thunder Flash talismans—per day.

So the resale wouldn’t make much money.

Li Yunxian didn’t care about the merchant’s expression; to her, it was unimportant and just a side note.

She then got to the main point. “By the way, Brother Zhao, you know I taught others to draw talismans that day, right?”

“Are you interested in that business?”

“I’ll sign a contract and provide you with the formula for ink, the method to make talisman paper, and a talisman drawing manual.”

“All of these can be mass-produced if there’s enough material.”

“Interested in discussing this?”

Li Yunxian asked with a light smile.

The merchant looked astonished, staring at Li Yunxian’s youthful face, and asked, “Does your family know?”

Li Yunxian understood his meaning and shook her head. “It’s not a family research product. I accidentally obtained this lost legacy from a destroyed planet.”

Previously, at the trading market, when other players were busy drawing talismans, Li Yunxian chatted and learned about the player situation in “All Things.”

So now, fabricating background stories to the merchant came quite naturally.

“There are not only attack talismans like Thunder Flash but also various others, including shields, teleportation, and support.”

“Like weapons, talismans have grades.”

“Thunder Flash is the lowest tier, not even graded.”

“The highest grade I know is upper Earth rank, and you need to reach Nascent Soul stage to draw them.”

As for why upper Earth rank... it’s not that cultivation world talismans only reach that level, but Li Yunxian, as a professional sword cultivator, only learned talismans superficially at this tier.

The other three arts are similar, except arrays are a bit higher, reaching lower Heaven rank.

This was because she needed them for decorating her cave residence.

Of course, she didn’t need to tell the merchant all this.

Li Yunxian smiled, “Let’s start by discussing basic cooperation.”

The merchant sensed that Li Yunxian controlled the pace of the meeting, but... in this day and age, the party with exclusive products is always powerful.

“Alright,” the merchant sighed in agreement.

Three hours later, Li Yunxian logged off.

A pile of materials dropped in front of her. Besides the items needed for the spirit-gathering array, she also exchanged materials for talisman crafting.

She and the merchant discussed the “Talisman Drawing Essentials,” “Thunder Flash Drawing,” and the beginner-friendly “Illumination Talisman Drawing,” along with talisman paper making methods and matching inks for two types of talismans.

After signing the profit-sharing contract, Li Yunxian recorded everything in “All Things” and sent it to the merchant before logging out.

Regarding the income, there was no need to mention loans; the merchant had already advanced 20,000 game coins to her, and future profits would deduct that amount.

However, gathering materials for the array was much harder than making medicinal baths and couldn’t be done in the hotel.

But that wasn’t a big problem.

Li Yunxian took out her phone and called Director Chen.

He had said to contact him if there were any problems.

But... the call didn’t connect.

Li Yunxian stared at her phone, speechless.

Well, indeed, it’s better to rely on oneself than to ask others.

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After storing the materials in her storage bracelet, Li Yunxian went downstairs directly to the front desk.

“Hello, is there anywhere nearby that can forge weapons?”

The receptionist was very enthusiastic. Li Yunxian’s participation in the cultivator academy exam was already well-known in the cultivator circle.

She was the genius of Jincheng!

“Yes, just turn left and walk 300 meters to the magic tool shop. They support custom orders. If you go, they can probably expedite your request…”

Before finishing, a huge surge of spiritual power swept through, stirring the air.

Seeing this, the receptionist’s face turned pale. She quickly grabbed a walkie-talkie and asked, “What’s happening?”

The response was chaotic and confused.

Li Yunxian looked up slightly, focusing on where the spiritual energy gathered, and said, “It’s nothing. The director just advanced to Golden Core.”

Her voice transmitted through the walkie-talkie, leaving those on the other end stunned.

“Who’s speaking?” they asked.

The receptionist snapped out of her daze and excitedly replied, “It’s Li Yunxian! The director has ascended! Jincheng now has a Golden Core cultivator!”

There was no reason not to believe her; just her presence gave the feeling she spoke the truth.

After a brief silence, several voices quickly responded, sounding excited for the upcoming New Year: “I’m going to confirm the news right away!”

After Liu Wu’s death, Jincheng had lost much of its strength.

Moreover, this happened during the Moon Dew phase.

Many cultivators in Jincheng felt uneasy.

But not anymore.

One Golden Core cultivator was worth more than several Foundation Establishment cultivators!

Li Yunxian glanced at the excited receptionist chattering on the walkie-talkie and smiled as she headed outside.

At the magic tool shop 300 meters away, just as Li Yunxian arrived, the broadcast announced the cause of the spiritual surge and Director Chen’s successful advancement to Golden Core.

Her mental state had been stagnant for years, but this breakthrough was exceptionally efficient.

Upon entering, Li Yunxian saw many joyfully beaming faces.

“Welcome!” the clerk greeted with a smile, with little trace of workplace resentment. “How can I assist you?”

“I’d like to borrow your weapon forging workshop. How much would that cost?” Li Yunxian asked.

The clerk was momentarily stunned.

This was the first time since he became a clerk that he’d heard such a request.

“Uh... there’s no precedent for that...” he said instinctively.

A customer overheard the conversation, turned, recognized Li Yunxian, and brightened.

He came over and patted the clerk’s shoulder, saying, “Let her use it. She’s Li Yunxian, the one who took the exam today. Very auspicious!”

“She finished the exam today, is sure to enter the top four, and that bully Liu Foundation Establishment is finished. Plus, the director advanced to Golden Core tonight.”

“This is extremely lucky!”

“Maybe after she uses it, the quality of your magic tools will rise several degrees.”

Li Yunxian, overwhelmed by the exaggerated praise, was speechless.

This person seemed to eat a few salesmen at once.

Her sense of shame felt about to be exposed by him.

She instinctively looked outside.

She was already thinking about switching shops.

However, the clerk reacted quickly.

He hadn’t attended the cultivator academy exam and didn’t know what Li Yunxian looked like.

But he had heard her deeds.

Even though he knew the customer’s praise was nonsense, the clerk couldn’t help but feel a bit excited looking at Li Yunxian.

“It’s the weekend today, and some people have the day off. The forging workshop definitely has space. I’ll go find the shop owner!” The clerk said and quickly disappeared.

In the blink of an eye, Li Yunxian was inexplicably led into the workshop.

Looking at the fully equipped facility, Li Yunxian was speechless.

“How much?” she asked as she saw three people at the entrance beaming with joy.

The summoned shop owner waved his hand, “Just using it briefly, no charge. You didn’t charge us when you gave us that recipe, did you?”

“My child will have the chance to cultivate in the future,” the owner said with hope and happiness.

Seeing the owner’s expression, Li Yunxian no longer refused and smiled at the three.

“Thanks then.”