Chapter 88: The Art of Talisman Crafting

In the past, He Song wasn't even sure if his total income over fifteen years had reached one thousand spirit stones.

But now, after establishing his own spirit fields, his annual income had skyrocketed to over one thousand spirit stones! Such a staggering profit left He Song momentarily dazed, as if it were too good to be true.

Was this the reward of having a skill and being self-sufficient? He thought back to his early Qi Refining days, when he worked tirelessly year after year, earning only thirty spirit stones.

Now, he lived comfortably in the immortal market, his spirit fields requiring little maintenance, yet yielding over one thousand spirit stones annually. The stark contrast made He Song sigh inwardly.

"Indeed, in any world, being a laborer offers no real future," He Song mused, shaking his head. He quickly pushed aside these complex thoughts and turned his attention to the ten acres of spirit fields before him.

Taking out the small cargo storage bag from his sleeve, He Song activated his object manipulation technique.

As his spiritual energy extended outward, he began to pluck the grains of spirit rice from the stalks and store them in the cargo storage bag.

Since the manipulation technique could only extend ten zhang (about 33 meters) from his body, He Song had to walk back and forth across the fields to collect the rice. However, as a cultivator, his speed and efficiency were high, so the task didn't take too long.

Soon, an hour had passed. He Song had finished husking all the spirit grains and stored the resulting spirit rice in the cargo storage bag.

The total yield was over eleven thousand pounds of spirit rice! Thanks to the abundant spiritual energy in the area, the rice had grown exceptionally well, resulting in a larger harvest.

After setting aside some rice as seeds to replant in the fields, He Song made his way to a small stream in the valley.

Standing by the stream, He Song held the cargo storage bag containing over eleven thousand pounds of spirit rice, his joy barely contained.

In his eyes, the plump grains of rice had already transformed into a small mountain of spirit stones.

Spirit rice was spirit stones! These eleven thousand pounds of rice were equivalent to over one thousand one hundred spirit stones!

Combined with his annual income of over one hundred spirit stones from his position in the immortal market, selling the rice would bring his total annual income to over one thousand two hundred spirit stones!

One thousand two hundred spirit stones! If calculated based on his current annual income from the immortal market, it would take him twelve years to save that much.

And if calculated based on his early Qi Refining days, when he earned only thirty spirit stones a year, saving that amount would have taken an eternity.

Squatting down, He Song cupped some water from the stream and splashed it on his face, forcing himself to calm down.

The cool touch of the water helped him regain his composure. Earning over one thousand spirit stones in a year for the first time had stirred up a storm of emotions in him, making him feel as if the world was within his grasp.

However, his naturally cautious nature quickly reasserted itself, tempering his excitement.

After all, one thousand spirit stones was merely a sum that made him slightly wealthier than an average late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

Any Foundation Establishment True Person would likely earn far more.

There was no reason to feel overly proud, at least not in He Song's eyes as someone who sought immortality.

"Better head back now. Once I've mastered talisman crafting and established myself as a talisman master, I can use my position to sell the spirit rice for spirit stones," He Song thought to himself, now fully calm.

With the formations replenished with spirit stones, the spirit rice harvested, and the seeds replanted, there was no need to stay in the valley any longer.

He would only need to return once a year to harvest the rice and replenish the formations. After one last glance at the valley, He Song's figure vanished.

Several hours later, He Song reappeared in his rented house within the immortal market. In the quiet room, he poured out some of the spirit rice from the cargo storage bag to use as his daily food, then hid the rest in a secure location.

With that done, he finally relaxed, sitting down to brew himself a pot of tea.

Suddenly coming into possession of over eleven thousand pounds of spirit rice, with the prospect of harvesting the same amount every year, He Song naturally couldn't sell all of it.

He needed to keep some for his own consumption. While ordinary rice was cheap, it only served to fill a cultivator's stomach.

Spirit rice, on the other hand, could slightly enhance a cultivator's cultivation speed when consumed daily.

Though the boost wasn't huge, it was still significant, especially for someone like He Song, who cultivated within a Spirit Gathering Formation.

As someone who grew spirit rice, He Song had previously lacked the means to consume it regularly.

But now that he had the means, he naturally switched to eating spirit rice daily. Recalling his early and mid-stage Qi Refining days, when he had scrimped and saved every spirit stone, He Song couldn't help but feel a sense of helplessness.

Back then, he had been truly desperate for spirit stones, wishing he could split a single stone into two. As a result, he had never developed the habit of eating spirit rice or using spirit stones and pills for cultivation.

All of it was to save spirit stones and spend them only where absolutely necessary.

In a way, He Song had lived like an ascetic, forgoing even the simple pleasures that ordinary mortals enjoyed.

But now, things were different. The eleven thousand pounds of spirit rice in the cargo storage bag had given He Song a newfound confidence.

For the first time, he felt that he had truly left behind his mortal past and become a genuine cultivator.

"It seems the days of hardship are finally behind me," He Song thought, raising his teacup to the sky in a silent toast before taking a sip.

Setting the cup down, He Song waved his hand, and three items appeared before him: a low-grade Shadow Wolf Hair Talisman Brush, low-grade talisman ink, and low-grade talisman paper.

Opening the ink and spreading out the paper, He Song picked up the brush and silently reviewed the method for drawing a low-grade Earth Talisman.

After a long while, feeling that he had adjusted his state of mind, He Song dipped the brush into the ink and began to draw. As the brush touched the paper, intricate talisman patterns began to take shape.

Talisman patterns weren't characters, but they were the key to a talisman's effectiveness.

Only by channeling spiritual energy into the brush and drawing the patterns in one continuous stroke, without pause, hesitation, or error, could a talisman be successfully created.

When spiritual energy flowed from the brush onto the paper, completing the talisman's pattern, the talisman would truly come to life.

(End of Chapter)