22 News of the Auction

Among the various arts of cultivation, talisman making is widely recognized as the easiest to pick up, yet mastering it is exceptionally difficult. Luo Ming had once attempted to earn spirit pearls by drawing talismans, but lacking the necessary talent, he wasted thousands of pearls before finally giving up on the dream.

However, he knew Yao Qian was highly skilled at it. The fact that she could break even solely through her talisman work was proof enough of her natural gift. Based on his understanding of her, the talismans she had brought out to sell were likely only a fraction of her collection; she certainly had plenty more tucked away.

"What do you have in mind?" Yao Qian asked, returning the question.

Luo Ming replied, "With the upcoming reclamation mission, many people will surely be looking to buy talismans. I suspect the sect's current supply won't be enough. If you have any surplus, we could take this opportunity to make a profit."

"Would there even be a market for the types of talismans I make?" Yao Qian’s best-sellers were the Three-Yang Talismans. They sold well in the Yanluo Cavern, but would people really want them out here?

Luo Ming hesitated for a moment before answering, "Many disciples in the sect buy Three-Yang Talismans for personal use."

Yao Qian looked at him, puzzled. Why would they need Three-Yang Talismans themselves? To purge parasites?

Luo Ming explained, "We currently only cultivate the Greater Yin techniques. Once we reach the Foundation Establishment stage and enter the inner sect, we can begin learning the Sun Essence Absorption Art. Solar energy is exponentially more scorching than lunar energy; if one is not careful, it can severely burn the Yin spirit and the meridians. Many disciples use Three-Yang Talismans to aid their cultivation, helping their meridians and Yin spirits gradually adapt to the heat, alongside using Three-Yang True Water."

Seeing Yao Qian staring at him with wide eyes, he rubbed his nose and defended himself, "It’s not that I was keeping it from you intentionally; it’s just that you couldn't use this method when you first started cultivating." One must wait until the Yin spirit is sufficiently robust. "Besides, it’s not the ideal method. Finding Yang-attribute spiritual items to nourish the Yin spirit is far superior."

Yao Qian wasn't upset that he hadn't told her the proper use of the talismans. In her three years at the Wuji Sect, she had built a small circle of connections, and no one had mentioned this to her; it was clearly a trade secret. Luo Ming owed her nothing, so why should he have shared it? "So, as long as one hasn't reached Foundation Establishment, there will always be a demand for Three-Yang Talismans?" she asked.

"Even those who have just reached Foundation Establishment need them," Luo Ming said. "Besides, these are the common talismans available when traveling; the rest are just decorative. Anything with greater power requires a Foundation Establishment cultivator to craft as a 'talisman treasure,' which is far beyond the reach of outer-sect disciples."

Yao Qian pondered this. "I have the most Three-Yang Talismans—about three thousand. As for the rest—the Five-Thunder, Dust-Repelling, Wayfinding, and God-Speed talismans—I have about five hundred of each." This was a conservative estimate after she had drastically downsized her collection. She didn't sell her Golden Light Talismans; she wouldn't know how to explain how she learned to draw them.

Luo Ming, who knew she had many talismans, was stunned by the volume. "Don't bring them all out," he cautioned. "You need to keep some for self-defense."

"Of course I’ve kept some for myself," Yao Qian reassured him. As her God-Slaying Needle technique improved, her spiritual sense had expanded significantly. While she used to draw at most twenty talismans a day, she could now easily produce one or two hundred when focused.

Luo Ming felt both excited and troubled—excited by the potential profit, but troubled by his lack of sufficient spirit stones for the upfront cost. "If you trust me, I’ll give you a partial deposit, and pay the rest once they’ve all been sold."

Yao Qian nodded. "Very well." They were both in the Wuji Sect; where could he possibly run?

Luo Ming took the talismans but didn't rush to sell them. The sect auction was in three days, and everyone would be desperate to offload their goods to raise funds for the event. He planned to sell them just before everyone departed. If he weren't afraid of being targeted and robbed, he would have waited until they were actually out on the reclamation mission, where prices would be at their peak.

With the talismans handed over, Yao Qian turned her attention to other matters. She visited the Treasure Pavilion to order one thousand Inedia Pills, five thousand small storage gourds, and twenty-seven God-Slaying Needles. The Inedia Pills she requested were the high-quality kind that sustained a cultivator for a month on a single dose; these were considered medicinal pills and required special crafting by an alchemist.

The Treasure Pavilion had some in stock, but not a thousand, so Yao Qian placed a custom order. Crafting the God-Slaying Needles was tedious—in fact, crafting most artifacts in the cultivation world was a laborious process. Aside from disposable items like talismans, talisman treasures, and mass-produced storage bags, most artifacts required the user to coordinate with the crafter’s heart-method.

Unless one was a master artifact crafter themselves, the cultivator had to be present throughout the process, especially during the final shaping, when the internal talismans and seals had to be imprinted into the artifact.

Yao Qian had never been able to spare the time to have them crafted, so with this rare three-month window, she hurried to place her order. If she missed this chance, she didn't know when she’d have another.

The crafting of the needles themselves wasn't difficult, and any experienced artisan could handle it. The materials were mostly common Yin-attribute substances; only the soul crystals were rare. Fortunately, Yao Qian had plenty. The Pavilion tried to squeeze five more soul crystals out of her as part of the material cost, but she remained unmoved, paying with Yin spirit stones instead. She had plenty of those, but only a few hundred soul crystals, and she wasn't about to part with them. As Luo Ming had said, while Yin spirit stone mines were rare, the Yanluo Cavern was the only place to find stones containing Yin spirit beasts, making soul crystals far more precious.

Yao Qian visited the Treasure Pavilion every three months to buy Three-Yang True Water and storage gourds. The clerk who always served her had become familiar with her. As she paid with Yin spirit stones, he winked at her, but Yao Qian remained composed and left after completing the transaction.

Instead of heading home, she stopped at a tea house nearby and ordered a pot of tea along with six plates of spiritual snacks. Food made from spiritual ingredients tasted far better than ordinary fare, but it was too expensive for her to indulge in often; she usually relied on Inedia Pills.

After she had been sitting in the restaurant for nearly an hour, the clerk from the Treasure Pavilion hurried over. Seeing the three plates of untouched snacks, he beamed. "You are too generous, Junior Sister."

Yao Qian smiled faintly. "You’ve looked after me well over the years, Senior Brother. This is nothing." They were both just workers trying to make a living in a difficult world; it was a rare treat to share a meal.

The clerk didn't stand on ceremony. He poured himself a cup of spiritual tea, sampled a snack, and said, "Junior Sister, the information I’m giving you today will definitely ensure you don't lose out."

Yao Qian’s interest piqued. "Do you have news about the auction?"

The clerk laughed and gave her a thumbs-up. "I love talking to someone as sharp as you."

"Do you know what will be auctioned tomorrow?" Yao Qian asked, genuinely intrigued.

The clerk chuckled. "This auction is primarily for the disciples heading out for the reclamation mission. The bulk of it will be offensive artifacts. Since you have your Asura Needles, I assume you aren't looking for those?"

The God-Slaying Needles were what Yao Qian called them, but to outsiders, they looked like Asura Needles. Most were long, sharp spikes, so her needle-like design wasn't particularly unusual.

Yao Qian nodded. "Indeed. I don't have the energy for more." Artifacts required long-term cultivation and nourishment; most people focused on only one, as their energy was limited.

"Beyond offensive artifacts, there will be defensive and storage items. The auction will also feature Dew-Gathering Plates and Gourd Vines. Are you interested?" The clerk finally revealed the main event. In the last three years, Yao Qian had spent the most on Three-Yang True Water and storage gourds.

Gourd Vines produced the storage gourds, while Dew-Gathering Plates were used to collect Three-Yang True Water. Of course, a full batch of True Water took a year to nurture on the plate, so most people preferred to pay a premium to buy the water directly.

Yao Qian was tempted by the Gourd Vines. "But I don't have a portable dwelling," she hesitated. "Would a Gourd Vine be of any use?"

The clerk smiled. "The Gourd Vine isn't a particularly delicate spiritual plant. You can buy a spiritual planter to house it, and as long as it isn't kept confined in the planter all the time, you can harvest it once a year. If you’ve cultivated the Wood-attribute arts, you can even use your Wood Essence to stimulate its growth, potentially harvesting a month earlier."

Yao Qian was sold. If that was the case, she could keep a vine and stop having to visit the Treasure Pavilion for gourds constantly.

The clerk secretly handed her a jade slip. Yao Qian discreetly passed him a storage gourd filled with Yin spirit stones—not the high-grade ones from the mines, but the loose ones she had scavenged early on.

Even so, the clerk was delighted; those stones were worth a month’s wages. The jade slip was well worth it. Though he had the auction catalog and order, he didn't share it with just anyone—only his long-term clients.

When Yao Qian returned and checked the auction order, she found that storage artifacts were the first to go. The prices were low, and the supply was plentiful—they were selling twenty Gourd Vines alone, so competition shouldn't be too fierce. She even saw a portable dwelling listed, but with a starting bid of three hundred thousand spirit stones, she decided to just watch.

She wasn't an alchemist, and the Heaven-Derivation Stele couldn't force-grow plants, so a portable dwelling was of little use to her. She decided that once she reached the Golden Core stage, she would buy one as a reward for herself!

"Meow—" A soft, high-pitched mew sounded. Yao Qian quickly set aside the jade slip, retrieved pre-prepared food from her storage bag, and stepped out of her dwelling.

Lying outside was a large, jet-black cat with bright, emerald eyes, not a single stray hair marring its coat. It lay languidly on the steps, calling out to her.

Yao Qian set down the bowl, which was filled with fresh monster meat and organs she had bought from the market. She used a Three-Yang Talisman to purge any parasites from the meat. She didn't cook for herself, and she certainly wasn't going to feed the cat cooked food; it was used to eating raw meat anyway.

As the cat bowed its head to eat, she reached out and tentatively stroked its back. Seeing that it didn't resist, her eyes crinkled into a smile. It was true that one is always softer after eating someone’s food; after two years of feeding it, she had finally tamed it! The cat had appeared outside her dwelling two years ago, slightly injured, and had stayed for half a month before leaving.

Yao Qian had been there at the time. Seeing how beautiful the creature was, she had fed it monster meat from time to time. Before long, the cat realized that this particular two-legged creature provided plenty of delicious food. Whenever it couldn't find prey, it would come here to beg.

Yao Qian was in an excellent mood. Although she wanted to pet it more, she knew the value of moderation. She reluctantly withdrew her hand and watched the cat eat, finding it one of the few joys in her otherwise dull life of cultivation.

As she watched, she noticed something odd about the cat’s shape. She asked hesitantly, "Big Black... have you gotten fat?"