MI Chapter 12 (Patreon)

Chapter 12: The First Piece of Green Jade Stone

Even though this item had its flaws, Chen Qianliu was still overjoyed. He placed his crude wooden staff, the Peach-Mountain Seal, and all his talisman-drawing supplies—brush, ink, paper, and inkstone—inside it. Instantly, he felt his entire body relax, and he secretly mused, "Now this is what it means to be a cultivator!"

Without even a storage pouch, he had to carry all his various items in a bundle. How could one have the carefree and elegant demeanor of an immortal while weighed down like that?

After refining the beast-skin pouch, Chen Qianliu suppressed his restless emotions and, just as he had on previous days, began to cultivate the Azure Emperor Jia-Yi Art.

The night passed without incident. When he rose the next day, he went to build a house for Daoist Wuchang.

Seven or eight days later, Daoist Wuchang moved into his new residence, praising Chen Qianliu's craftsmanship endlessly.

By this time, the current session of the Suiyang Immortal Market's minor market had already concluded. The various cultivators who had come to trade had all left one by one, leaving only the twenty or thirty rogue cultivators who were permanent residents of the Immortal Market.

These rogue cultivators came and went, but most were familiar faces to one another.

Thanks to Chen Qing and Daoist Wuchang, Chen Qianliu settled into the Suiyang Immortal Market with ease.

Although the next major market was still far off, and the next minor market was six months away, the Suiyang Immortal Market still occasionally saw cultivators coming to trade. Chen Qianliu's low-end talisman business was able to continue; it just wasn't very profitable.

Although Chen Qianliu's main business was selling low-end talismans, everyone who knew him in the Suiyang Immortal Market regarded him as an Artisan Cultivator.

Two or three months passed in a flash. Chen Qianliu had saved up a small sum of Talisman Coins and planned to buy a piece of green jade stone to try his luck.

He had a few calculations in mind. The person who obtained the White Emperor's Legacy in his previous life had originally intended to refine jade talismans, so the piece of green jade stone they chose must have been suitable for talisman refining.

If that piece of green jade stone had flowed into the Suiyang Immortal Market only later, he naturally wouldn't be able to find it now. But if it had flowed into the Suiyang Immortal Market long ago, it must have remained unsold for many years; otherwise, it wouldn't have been bought by someone several years later.

This piece of green jade stone was able to hide a copy of the White Emperor's Dao Discussion Collection and three magical treasures—one sword and a pair of hooks—so its volume must not be small.

With these three conditions, Chen Qianliu sifted through the long-stocked goods of the several long-term rogue cultivators in the Suiyang Immortal Market. He selected a piece of old, aged stone from the collection of a rogue cultivator named Lingxiaozi.

The quality of this green jade stone was exceptionally poor, mottled and impure, almost indistinguishable from an ordinary rock. Its selling price was also extremely cheap.

Chen Qianliu used the excuse that he needed to refine a batch of jade talismans and haggled for six or seven days.

Lingxiaozi hadn't intended to sell it for a high price in the first place; after all, the quality of this green jade stone was truly terrible, only barely containing a bit of green jade ore. He sold it to Chen Qianliu for the price of thirty Talisman Coins.

Having obtained this piece of green jade stone, Chen Qianliu was endlessly joyful. Although he didn't really believe his luck could be that good, striking treasure on his first try, he was still full of anticipation.

He deliberately activated the Illusion Talisman Art within his crude wooden staff to its maximum, enveloping his wooden house, before he set about cutting open this low-quality green jade stone.

Chen Qianliu knew it would be best to leave the Suiyang Immortal Market, find an uninhabited place, set up a formation, and then break open this stone. But if he didn't strike it rich this time, he might have to buy many more in the future. If he acted suspiciously and left every time he bought a green jade stone, it would be too eye-catching and would easily arouse suspicion. Besides, he didn't know any formations, so he could only make do.

Chen Qianliu had long since prepared a chisel and axe. He chose an angle and tapped lightly. After just a few dozen strikes, the low-quality green jade stone split open a crack, and a large chunk of rubble peeled off, revealing the heart of the stone. A patch of vibrant green met his eyes.

He didn't know whether to call this good luck or bad luck. The green jade stone he bought actually had a green heart, quite beautiful on the inside. Beneath its mottled and impure exterior, it had concealed a piece of superior-quality green jade stone.

Chen Qianliu refused to give up. He tapped at it meticulously for two days, cutting out seven or eight pieces of high-grade material suitable for making jade talismans and three pieces of miscellaneous material. However, he saw not the slightest trace of the White Emperor's Legacy.

He sighed, forced to accept this result. This stone gamble hadn't won him the grand prize, but it was still acceptable.

Jade talismans were vastly different from ordinary paper talismans. Ordinary paper talismans had a limited capacity for magical power, but jade talismans could carry much more, allowing them to be refined with many more layers of power.

In fact, a jade talisman could already be considered a type of magical tool. Refining one consumed dozens or even hundreds of times more energy, and the refining method was different. One could not draw on it with brush and ink; it required the Mind Talisman technique, which had a much higher threshold than drawing paper talismans.

In his previous life, although Chen Qianliu had a cultivation base at the second layer of Qi Refining, he had not comprehended the Mind Talisman method and lacked the ability to refine jade talismans. He would have had to find a way to get rid of the green jade stone materials. Doing it once or twice wouldn't matter, but over time, someone would have certainly seen through his ruse.

But in this life, he had long had a plan for refining jade talismans.

Among the Twelve Mystic Talismans, Chen Qianliu was most proficient in the Illusion word-art. He prepared to refine an illusion-type jade talisman to serve as the signature treasure of his little talisman shop.

He temporarily stored all the high-grade materials. Although cutting out good material for jade talismans couldn't compare to obtaining the White Emperor's Legacy, it was still not something to be flaunted, lest he attract trouble. He picked the worst of the three miscellaneous pieces and entered a small seclusion. He spent five days refining the jade talisman until it was somewhat presentable, then, with a weary face, he put away his crude wooden staff, dispersing the illusion art covering his wooden house.

Ever since Daoist Wuchang had received his new house, he had been quite friendly to Chen Qianliu. When there was no market, these rogue cultivators had little to do. He was old and had long known he had no hope of breaking through again, so his daily cultivation was quite casual. Seeing Chen Qianliu disperse the illusion art, he brazenly came to his door, chuckling as he asked, "Did Daoist Friend Chen have a fruitful seclusion this time?"

Chen Qianliu quickly said, "The raw stone I bought a few days ago barely produced a few pieces of material. Time was short, so I only refined one jade talisman, and its functions are not yet complete."

He showed the three pieces of miscellaneous material to Daoist Wuchang. Daoist Wuchang had never imagined that this youthful-looking Daoist Friend actually had other plans. He glanced at the three pieces of material and chuckled, "Not bad, not bad. Daoist Friend Chen is surprisingly skilled in the Mind Talisman art. At the next minor market, your business will surely prosper."

The old Daoist pulled Chen Qianliu along, insisting he come to his house for drinks. Chen Qianliu felt helpless but could only go with him. In any case, when there was no market, there were hardly any outsiders in the Suiyang Immortal Market, and he had nothing valuable in his house. He wasn't afraid of thieves at all.

Chen Qianliu accompanied Daoist Wuchang, drinking and chatting for half a day, before returning slightly tipsy.

He had just arrived back at the door of his wooden house when he saw Chen Qing sitting inside.

To make it convenient for customers, the lower floor of his small wooden house had only three walls, with no doors or windows. He had also specifically built a few wide chairs and furnished them with thick cushions and comfortable backrests, all designed to make people feel at home and free to come and go.

Chen Qing was an acquaintance, so she didn't stand on ceremony.

Seeing the female cultivator, Chen Qianliu smiled. "Sister Chen, why didn't you come to Daoist Wuchang's house to call me, instead of sitting here all alone? I have been a poor host."

Become a Pledge member on my Patreon to unlock early chapters for all my translated novels. Read ahead now!

[Index]

[Next Chapter]