A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Having seen the bustling prosperity elsewhere in the city, Lü Zhong had expected his new residence to be a place plagued by neon light pollution. He never imagined it would be a quaint little courtyard like this.

’This is fine, too. A cultivation environment should be quiet, after all.’

Lü Zhong had already decided how he would use the rooms.

The largest building would house his bedroom and a Quiet Chamber. The two smaller buildings would have other purposes: one would be a Talisman Making Room, and the other a kitchen.

Before cleaning the house, Lü Zhong had one more thing to do: set up the White Cloud Array.

On his way here, he had noticed that many houses were protected by the flowing Spiritual Light of arrays. There were far more of them than in Yanling Mountain Market, a clear sign that Yongling City was full of wealthy cultivators.

After some time spent calculating and setting up the array, followed by a thorough cleaning, it was already dark.

Standing in the spotless courtyard, Lü Zhong gazed at the flowing Spiritual Light of the White Cloud Array’s protective shield, a relieved smile spreading across his face.

’Tonight, I can finally get a good night’s sleep!’

...

「Early the next morning」 Lü Zhong went to a small market within the district.

The market had everything from bedding to furniture. Not only was the craftsmanship far superior, but the prices were also considerably lower than in Yanling Mountain Market. He bought everything he needed in no time at all.

Remembering that Origin-Nurturing Pills were no longer sufficient for his cultivation, he walked into a shop that sold pills. He hoped to try his luck and find a suitable alternative; otherwise, he would have to make a trip to the central district.

"Shopkeeper, do you have any pills suitable for the Mid-stage of Qi Refining?" Lü Zhong asked.

Seeing a customer, the Shopkeeper behind the counter immediately put down the heavy ledger in his hands and replied enthusiastically, "Yes, we do. The Origin-Nurturing Pill, Jade Solidification Pill, and Clear Spirit Pill are all very suitable for a fellow Daoist of your current cultivation level."

"Could you please tell me about the Jade Solidification Pill and the Clear Spirit Pill?"

"Come, let’s talk over here." The Shopkeeper came out from behind the counter, gesturing to a tea table on the side.

After Lü Zhong sat down, the Shopkeeper lit the charcoal stove on the table, added a ladle of mountain spring water to the copper kettle, and then began to speak slowly. "The specifics of these two types of pills are as follows..."

The Clear Spirit Pill was a bestseller in the city, its sales second only to the Origin-Nurturing Pill.

In terms of increasing one’s cultivation, the Clear Spirit Pill was significantly more effective than the Origin-Nurturing Pill. However, this came with a severe side effect: it caused a large amount of Pill Poison to accumulate in the body, which required long periods of arduous cultivation to refine one’s Magical Power and eliminate the latent danger.

The Jade Solidification Pill, on the other hand, was an obscure pill, one of the rare few created using the Water Refining Method.

Compared to the Fire Refining Technique, pills made with the Water Refining Method contained fewer impurities and had extremely high medicinal potency.

When it came to increasing cultivation, the Jade Solidification Pill was even more effective than both the Clear Spirit Pill and the Origin-Nurturing Pill.

Its only drawback was its extraordinarily high price.

A single Jade Solidification Pill sold for a steep twenty Spirit Stones, a full two times the price of an Origin-Nurturing Pill!

The reason for this was that the Water Refining Method was extremely time-consuming, which made its production cost much higher than that of the Fire Refining Technique.

"So that’s the situation. Do you have any other questions, fellow Daoist?" the Shopkeeper asked as he poured the boiling water into a teapot, simply brewing a pot of tea.

GURGLE... As the hot tea was poured into the teacups, a delicate fragrance began to drift through the shop.

Meanwhile, after some consideration, Lü Zhong decided to buy the Jade Solidification Pills for his cultivation.

The pills were certainly expensive, but he could afford them if he bit the bullet.

If he chose the Clear Spirit Pills, he would have to worry about the accumulation of Pill Poison.

For a Four Spirit Root Cultivator, whose cultivation speed was already slow, it would be an absolute disaster if the accumulation of Pill Poison caused his progress to slow down even more.

"Is there a discount if I buy a whole bottle?"

Lü Zhong habitually began to haggle.

’Spirit Stones are hard to come by; every one I can save counts.’

After some haggling, he finally purchased a bottle of Jade Solidification Pills for ninety-five Spirit Stones.

On his way back, he passed a bookstore and bought over a dozen books. They included local chronicles detailing culture and customs, illustrated guides on Demon Beasts and Spirit Medicines, and even three biographies.

He didn’t buy these books for leisure, but to expand his knowledge.

The Demon Beast atlas, for example, not only contained information on various Demon Beasts, such as their innate talents and weaknesses, but also listed their most valuable body parts to ensure he wouldn’t overlook any precious materials.

The Spirit Medicine Atlas was much the same.

While he was at it, Lü Zhong also inquired about the price of Talismans at the stalls.

The outlook was not optimistic.

In a large city like Yongling City, there was no shortage of Talisman Makers. With more people came fierce competition. While the profits from Talisman Making were still decent, for most, living in the expensive Yongling City meant their income was just enough to maintain a respectable lifestyle.

As for their cultivation, they likely had to scrimp and save just to afford a single Clear Spirit Pill every now and then.

After making some inquiries, Lü Zhong also received a piece of good news.

No one in Yongling City was selling the Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman yet.

Whatever the reason, this was good news for him.

’Scarcity often means high profits.’

With no one else in the city selling the Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman, the version Lü Zhong could create was unique. He could rely on its key selling point—stronger defense than a typical Protective Jade Talisman—to make an absolute fortune.

If he slowly accumulated his earnings, he might even be able to save up enough capital to open his own shop.

’No, no, no... maybe I can use this opportunity to sell the Talisman Making Book?’ A bold idea suddenly surfaced in Lü Zhong’s mind. Compared to the profit earned through the laborious process of Talisman Making, selling the Talisman Making Book itself would clearly be far more lucrative.

’In a city as large as Yongling, I could probably sell thirty to fifty copies, even at two hundred Spirit Stones each.’

’If this really works, I could make a huge amount of Spirit Stones.’

At this thought, Lü Zhong’s breathing quickened.

He decided to act immediately.

To sell the Talisman Making Books in large quantities, handwriting them one by one was not an option.

So, after asking around, he quickly found a printing workshop on the verge of bankruptcy. He spent twenty Spirit Stones to buy a simple set of printing tools, along with a batch of their inventoried blank paper and ink.

With that, he had everything he needed to start printing the Talisman Making Book.

...

Returning to his riverside courtyard with the tools and materials, Lü Zhong didn’t immediately start setting up the printing press. Instead, he took out the *Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman Making Book* he had purchased from the Qingyang Remnant People. He planned to modify its contents, adding his own insights to refine it and compile his own version of the Talisman Making Book.

This was a crucial step. In the Cultivation Realm, selling pirated books was a despicable act.

Although the practice was quite common, with many people being hypocritical about it, that didn’t stop others from taking the moral high ground and using it as a pretext to exploit and extort booksellers.

In his version, unlike the original, he directly included the formula for the Fiery Sun Stone Talisman Ink.

It wasn’t that Lü Zhong didn’t want to make extra profit from the formula. Rather, it was because the most fundamental requirement of a Talisman Making Book was that if a user followed its methods and met all the prerequisites, they had to have a chance of successfully creating the corresponding Talisman.

If there were any flaws, he would be liable for compensation.

At that point, the more books he sold, the greater the potential compensation he would have to pay.

After working through the night, Lü Zhong quickly finished compiling his version of the Talisman Making Book.

Since he hadn’t made any optimizations or changes to the Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman itself, the name of the book remained *The Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman Making Book*. He only changed the author’s name.

Lü Zhong had no desire to become famous, so he didn’t want to use his own name.

’After all, I’m just a lowly Qi Refining cultivator. The more famous I become, the more trouble will find its way to me. If I’m unlucky, I could even be wiped out by some Foundation Establishment Cultivator who doesn’t like the look of me.’

’Hmm, I’ll just go with "Qinghe Scholar."’

And with that, the compilation of the Talisman Making Book was complete.