Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

"How much for the Qi-Protecting Talisman?"

In a talisman shop, Chen Li, who had changed his appearance, asked.

The Qi-Protecting Talisman was a Second Order Ninth Grade Talisman, guarding the body and driving away evil with its energy. It was among the top talismans of the second order, and each one was priced extremely high, comparable to a low-grade Second Order Magical Instrument, and even he felt the pinch.

Normally, he wouldn’t have bought such a talisman.

For one thing, he did not lack means to attack evil wraiths, whether it was the Evil-Slaying Sword or the mastered Evil-Breaking Skill, both could counter evil wraiths, and for another thing, he had quite a number of Evil-Breaking Talismans left from before, totaling sixty or seventy which could at least defend against an attack by an evil wraith in times of danger.

But now, as evil wraiths ran rampant, such preparations were clearly no longer safe enough, and Chen Li could only grit his teeth and prepare more to feel secure.

"You’ve come late. These talismans have been selling like crazy recently and are already sold out!" the shopkeeper said.

"What, what about the Evil-Transforming Talisman then?"

Evil-Transforming Talisman, a Second Order Third Grade talisman, was barely acceptable.

"Gone too, you’d have to wait a few days. There are still some First Order Ninth Grade Evil-Breaking Talismans though, do you want those?"

"Forget it, I’ll look elsewhere," Chen Li shook his head.

After leaving the shop, he promptly moved on to the next.

But still no luck.

Chen Li ran through seven or eight stores, almost scouring all the talisman shops in the city, but not to mention Qi-Protecting Talismans, even Evil-Transforming Talismans were in severe short supply. It was nearly noon by the time Chen Li finally found some in a large store.

"...Twenty mid-grade Spirit Stones each."

"That expensive!"

Chen Li was startled.

Evil-Transforming Talismans were just Second Order Third Grade talismans, usually costing at most three mid-grade Spirit Stones.

That was almost a tenfold increase.

"What’s new about that? With this price, many who want to buy can’t even find any. You’re actually lucky. To tell you the truth, the price of this talisman is changing daily. After a while, it might not even be this price," said the shopkeeper expressionlessly.

Those words were indeed true.

Chen Li knew that, given the current situation, if things continued to worsen, the price of this talisman was likely to keep rising.

He secretly cursed himself for not knowing how to craft such talismans, as it would have been incredibly profitable.

He clenched his teeth and said, "Give me fifty!"

His liquid assets weren’t much either, but when it came to his safety and fortune, no matter how expensive, he had to buy.

This time, it was the shopkeeper’s turn to be shocked. It was his first time encountering such a major customer, "Err...we only have five left."

"Then just five!"

Chen Li pursed his lips, somewhat disappointed in his heart, as this quantity was clearly not sufficient. Against a slightly more powerful evil wraith, it wouldn’t amount to much, would it?

It seemed he had to think of another solution.

After paying, Chen Li also inquired about the current price of the Water Element Talisman and discovered it had more than doubled as well, having risen from five to twelve mid-grade Spirit Stones, which gave him a bit of comfort.

Upon leaving, Chen Li decided to check the nearby bookshops to see, though he had no high hopes of buying the formulas for the Evil-Transforming or Qi-Protecting Talisman. Just getting the Evil-Breaking Talisman formula would satisfy him. However, after visiting all the major bookshops, he found none for sale.

He could only give up reluctantly.

Chen Li returned to the Chen Residence, called together his wives and distributed the Evil-Transforming Talismans he had.

After thinking it over, he also gave Bai Wei a stack of Evil-Breaking Talismans to be distributed to the maids and servants in the residence.

In the following time, Chen Li did not leave the house and focused entirely on his cultivation.

...

Chen Residence.

It was early morning, and the sky was still dimly lit.

"After you deliver it, hurry back, and be extremely careful on the road," Sun instructed.

"I know! No need to see me off; you can go back,"

Madam Sun Zhang said as she stepped out the door.

On her back, she carried a bundle packed with five or six catties of cured Demon Beast meat and some Spirit Fruits that did not spoil easily, bulging the bundle significantly. These were little bits they had saved from their employer’s luxurious leftovers. Even the smallest drop from between their fingers was worth half a month’s wages to her.

However, the most valuable items were the five Evil-Breaking Talismans tucked inside her chest.

Ordinary maids each received one talisman, but she and Sun each had three. Yet, what use were so many? After discussing it, they decided to keep one each and send the surplus Evil-Breaking Talismans to their son.

Nowadays, living outside the city was simply too dangerous.

Unfortunately, due to the expensive rents inside the city, which used to be 30 Mid-grade Spirit Stones per year and had become unaffordable, and now with the influx of a large number of Cultivators from border towns, the cost had risen to more than one Top-grade Spirit Stone.

Together, she and her husband only earned thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones, and their son’s expenses were not small either. He had little income, and they needed to subsidize him every month. Living in the city was a grand wish.

She only hoped her son would become more promising in the future.

If only he could reach Foundation Establishment!

As she left the city, she gathered her spirits and tightly clutched her Magic Artifact.

Her son lived in a small village outside of the city, a hundred miles away, where Loose Cultivators spontaneously gathered. It took a good two or three hours to walk there, but thanks to the Third Layer Great Spirit Vein of Red Pillar City, even the nearby areas were at the level of a First Order Spirit Vein, attracting many Loose Cultivators.

She dared not take shortcuts, sticking only to the main road.

Fortunately, there were already quite a few travelers on the road by this time, which afforded her some peace of mind. She hurried along, and by noon, she had reached the outskirts of her son’s village, but something strange occurred—the village was eerily quiet and devoid of any human figure.

The sun was blazing fiercely overhead.

Yet, for some reason, the village nearby seemed to be enveloped in a shadow.

A sense of foreboding suddenly surged in her heart.

Suddenly, she saw a figure standing motionless by the big tree at the village entrance, continuously motioning to her. Perhaps because of the distance, the person’s face was blurred under the shade of the tree, vaguely familiar, resembling her son.

"That really startled me!"

A sense of relief washed over Madam Sun Zhang, and a smile appeared on her face.

She quickened her pace.

As she walked, the surroundings gradually grew colder, and the blazing sun above started to dim. Simultaneously, the pocket lining her chest rapidly began to heat up, but Madam Sun Zhang, as if unaware, stared blankly at the eerie shadow, her steps hurried as if her soul had been captured.

At that moment, Madam Sun Zhang felt a sudden scorching heat in her chest, jolting her awake as if from a dream.

"What was I doing?"

Looking at the figure several tens of meters away and feeling the burning of the Evil-Breaking Talisman on her chest, her face quickly turned pale, and her heart pounded like a drum.

That wasn’t her son; it was an Evil Wraith.

Her body trembled as she began to step back.

One step, two steps, three steps...

She had not retreated far,

when suddenly, her vision blurred, and the eerie figure vanished.

The next moment,

her shoulder suddenly grew cold, an icy chill rising from her shoulder, spreading through her body, and a greyish-blue hand silently rested on her shoulder.

"Ah..."

A sharp scream suddenly erupted, lasting less than half a second before abruptly stopping.

All returned to silence once more.