Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

The most expensive gift was worth about half a Spirit Stone.

He received twenty to thirty gifts.

In total, they amounted to a profit of five or six Spirit Stones.

For Wei Tu, this was a small windfall.

’A Tier One Talisman Master has some status. I can finally go to the Market District and get a Rental Cave Mansion...’

After a few days of Cultivation in the Shantytown, Wei Tu felt his progress was slow and couldn’t help but recall his days cultivating in the Bai Shihu Marketplace.

It’s hard to go from luxury to austerity.

Comparing the two, he suddenly found cultivating in the Shantytown almost unbearable.

’But I have too few Spirit Stones on me right now. I still need to make money by painting Talismans first.’

Wei Tu glanced at his remaining possessions and shook his head.

The last time he left Danqiu Mountain, he had thirty-four Spirit Stones, two Rock Shield Talismans, and five High-Quality Earth Spike Talismans.

After that, there were combat expenses, trading for an Earth Essence Pill, his Cultivation in Seclusion, and buying Elixirs for his children to break through to the Innate Realm.

And then there were the three Spirit Stones Fu Zhizhou owed him.

All told,

he now had only eight Spirit Stones and a single High-Quality Earth Spike Talisman left.

His last Rock Shield Talisman had been bought on credit by Fu Zhizhou for ten percent above cost.

’I’d better focus on painting Talismans to make money.’

’In one year, I’ll move out.’

Wei Tu calmed himself and took out the two dozen Blank Talisman Papers he had stored, along with a piece of tanned Demon Beast Hide, preparing to practice Talisman Painting.

「Half a month later.」

The Blank Talisman Paper was all used up.

Wei Tu had produced thirty-four Earth Spike Talismans, one of which was High-Quality.

As for the Rock Shield Talisman, he used up the entire piece of tanned Demon Beast Hide without successfully creating one.

’Looks like I was overthinking it. Creating a High-Quality Talisman is tied to one’s skill in the Talisman Dao, but it also requires a bit of luck...’

’Or perhaps this so-called luck is actually a higher level of knowledge in the Talisman Dao that is currently beyond my reach...’

’It might also be the Talisman Pen. The one I have isn’t a Tier One Magical Artifact.’

Wei Tu picked up the High-Quality Earth Spike Talisman from his desk between two fingers, studying it for a moment before shaking his head.

Two years ago, the progress for the Earth Spike Talisman on his Golden Purple Destiny Chart had already reached completion.

But the result wasn’t what he expected; not every Earth Spike Talisman he painted turned out to be High-Quality.

Basically,

he could only manage to produce one High-Quality Earth Spike Talisman per dozen.

’I’m out of Tier One Talisman Paper...’

’Fourth Brother hasn’t returned yet...’

’Forget it. I’ll go find Fellow Daoist Hu and ask her to help me buy some.’

’Besides, now that I’m a Tier One Talisman Master, relying on the Demon Beast Hides that Fourth Brother brings back each time is nowhere near enough for my daily Talisman Painting needs...’

Half a day later, Wei Tu put down his Talisman Pen, tied a stack of Earth Spike Talismans with a hemp rope, then got up and left for Hu Yao’s residence.

For the past ten years, Hu Yao had consistently supplied him with Blank Talisman Paper at a forty percent discount and had never raised the price, so he couldn’t be bothered to find another supplier.

However, this was the first time he had ever sought out Hu Yao to buy Tier One Blank Talisman Paper.

"Tier One Talisman Paper?" Hu Yao’s heart skipped a beat when she heard Wei Tu’s request. She nodded quickly and agreed, "I will go buy Tier One Blank Talisman Paper for Fellow Daoist Wei right away..."

—Tier One Talisman Paper was expensive, and the profit from acting as a purchasing agent was much greater than for ordinary Talisman Paper.

「An hour later.」

Hu Yao returned. She placed a dozen sheets of Tier One Talisman Paper on the table, patted her chest, and smiled. "Fortunately, I didn’t fail you. I was able to buy this Tier One Talisman Paper for Fellow Daoist Wei at a forty percent discount."

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Hu."

Wei Tu thanked her and traded the Earth Spike Talismans to Hu Yao according to the agreed price.

After settling the accounts, he even received three Spirit Stones from Hu Yao.

Leaving Hu Yao’s residence, Wei Tu headed back toward his shack.

But—

as he reached his door, he saw someone unexpected.

"Che Chulong?" Wei Tu frowned, sizing up the Talisman House owner with whom he’d often clashed at the Inner Collection.

"Fellow Daoist Wei, no need to be so hostile upon seeing this old man."

Che Chulong laughed heartily and showed Wei Tu the gift he was carrying.

Wei Tu took a look and saw that Che Chulong was holding a basket of seasonal Spirit Fruits. His expression softened slightly. He nodded, pushed open the door, and welcomed Che Chulong inside.

The two sat down.

Che Chulong glanced at the dozen sheets of Talisman Paper Wei Tu had placed on the table and smiled. "Fellow Daoist Wei, you must have just come from Fellow Daoist Hu’s place to buy some Tier One Talisman Paper?"

Wei Tu nodded without refuting it.

Hu Yao was a broker in the Inner Collection. She didn’t produce Talisman Paper herself; much of the paper she procured for him was purchased from Che Chulong.

Therefore,

it was perfectly normal for Che Chulong to have such a suspicion.

"Fellow Daoist Hu probably offered you the Talisman Paper at a forty percent discount, right?"

Che Chulong revealed the inside details of the transaction between Wei Tu and Hu Yao.

"What do you mean by that, Fellow Daoist Che?" Wei Tu narrowed his eyes, his tone turning a bit cold.

Although Che Chulong hadn’t said it outright, Wei Tu could guess his intentions—he had seen how profitable the business of supplying him with Tier One Talisman Paper was for Hu Yao and wanted to bypass her as the middleman to sell directly to him.

This was a major taboo in business!

Doing something like this would not only lead to future trouble but also easily offend people.

Besides, Hu Yao had helped him a great deal regarding the Tribulation Cultivators.

He had to remember that favor.

And one last point:

Wei Tu didn’t believe that the profit margin Che Chulong offered could outweigh the value of Hu Yao’s "connections."

For those connections alone, he was willing to spend a few extra Spirit Stones and go through Hu Yao.

Seeing Wei Tu’s displeased expression, Che Chulong remained unconcerned. He said, "The Tier One Talisman Paper that Fellow Daoist Hu just bought for you came from a shop in the Marketplace. We Talisman House owners did not sell any Tier One Talisman Paper to Fellow Daoist Hu..."

"You need to be clear about this, Fellow Daoist Wei."

The implication of Che Chulong’s words was obvious.

If he chose Hu Yao, Wei Tu would have no hope of ever getting cheap Tier One Talisman Paper again.

Because the stall owners like him had already banded together. They would no longer sell cheap Tier One Talisman Paper to Hu Yao, just to let her take a cut and snatch away the profits that should have been theirs.

As his voice fell,

the corner of Che Chulong’s mouth curled up as he waited for Wei Tu to yield.

Normally, they would give a broker like Hu Yao some face, but when real profits were on the line, they would band together and be the first to kick her out of the game.

This was the cruelty of the Cultivation Realm!

He believed that Wei Tu wouldn’t deliberately create obstacles on his own path as a Talisman Master and sabotage his future just because of a bit of friendship with Hu Yao.

—Without cheap Talisman Paper, it wasn’t easy for a Talisman Master to stand out.

"Fellow Daoist Che, don’t you think you’re overestimating yourself a bit with those words?"

A few breaths later, Wei Tu finally replied, but his words were not what Che Chulong wanted to hear.

Che Chulong stared at Wei Tu’s sneering face, a look of astonishment spreading across his own. He seemed to have never expected Wei Tu to wear such an expression or say such things.

He had known Wei Tu for ten years and had a rough idea of his personality.

Rather timid!

Conflict-averse!

This was evident from his clash with Tong Peipei.

When Tong Peipei came to his door to cause trouble, he immediately gave up the huge market for the Calm Heart Talisman and acted like a coward.

So why?

When it came to him,

wasn’t it working?

"Please leave, Fellow Daoist Che."

Wei Tu stood up, making a gesture to show him the door.

—He was cautious and prudent in Danqiu Mountain not because he was timid, but because he was worried about attracting unnecessary trouble.

Not wanting to cause trouble...

...did not mean he was afraid of it.

Besides, the threat from just a few Talisman House owners like Che Chulong was truly limited in his eyes.

His talent in the Talisman Dao was far superior to that of the other Talisman Masters in the Shantytown. Therefore, he didn’t need a large supply of cheap Talisman Paper. Or rather, even if the cost of the paper was higher, he could still afford the expense of Talisman Painting.

Worst case scenario,

even if the Talisman House owners in the Danqiu Mountain Shantytown refused to sell him cheap paper, he could still go to the shops in the Marketplace or even the Bai Shihu Marketplace to buy it.

Che Chulong’s threat was not enough to intimidate him.

"Good! Good! Good!" Seeing Wei Tu showing him out, Che Chulong laughed in fury. He repeated the word "good" three times, snatched up the fruit basket he had brought, and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.