Chapter 121 - 117: Return to the Talisman Hall
Chapter 121: Chapter 117: Return to the Talisman Hall
The next morning, several figures appeared on the gravel slope outside the mine.
The Investigation Array chimed first. He Ming stood up from his guard post to confirm the signal.
"Four people. All Cultivators."
Li Yuan came out of the low-slung hut and looked toward the gap in the earthen wall.
Four people were walking up the slope. Leading the group were two Qi Refining Fifth Level Cultivators wearing the standard bluish-gray robes of the Wang family, with Magical Artifacts at their waists. Following them was a middle-aged man in his forties. He had broad shoulders and thick calluses on his hands. He wore a slightly worn, dark gray short shirt and carried a bulging storage pouch on his back.
’An Artifact Refiner.’
At the very back was a young Cultivator at the Qi Refining Fourth Level, dressed in the gray-blue short robe common to the He family’s Cultivators.
Steward Liu emerged from under the wooden shelter to greet them.
The leading Wang family Cultivator handed over a document. Steward Liu took it, glanced at it, and nodded.
"Two of you will be responsible for guarding the excavation. The Artifact Refiner will use the Evil Qi in the mine tunnels to craft Magical Artifacts, and the one from the He family will be in charge of reinforcing and maintaining the Array."
Steward Liu put the document away and gestured to Li Yuan.
"You, come here."
Li Yuan walked over.
Steward Liu took another thin transfer order from his sleeve and handed it to him.
"Your transfer orders have arrived as well. The Talisman Hall wants you back. We have enough people at the mine now."
Li Yuan took the order and glanced at it. It bore the seal of the Talisman Hall.
Steward Liu then pulled a cloth pouch from a wooden box nearby.
"This is your reward for your time at the mine. A portion for the discovery of the Evil Stone is also included. All of you who guarded the mine are getting one."
Li Yuan opened the pouch. Inside were Spirit Stones and a few pieces of decent-quality Cyan Wood Stone ore.
"How much?"
"Fifteen Spirit Stones. The ore is worth about eight. It’s not a lot, but since you were the first to discover the Evil Stone, the higher-ups gave you a little extra."
Li Yuan put the pouch into his storage pouch.
He returned to the low-slung hut and packed up his things. Talisman-crafting materials, medicinal pills, the Evil Stone, and the Cultivation Technique hide scroll—he stuffed them all into his storage pouch.
He ran into Sun Liang on his way out.
"Leaving?" Sun Liang asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"Yeah. Back to the Talisman Hall."
Sun Liang nodded, a corner of his mouth twitching into a slight smile.
"I’ll keep mining here, then."
Li Yuan nodded back at him, left the mine, and headed down the gravel slope in the direction of the Talisman Hall.
After walking for the better part of a day, the number of Cultivators on the road gradually increased.
As he passed the area on the outskirts of the Wang family’s main headquarters, Li Yuan noticed a new construction site next to a fork in the road.
About ten Cultivators and dozens of mortals were on an open plot of land, hauling stone materials and erecting frames. Timber and stone blocks were piled up like small hills, and a few Cultivators who understood Arrays were squatting by the foundation, drawing something with mineral powder.
A temporary wooden sign stood at the entrance to the site. Two words were written on it in ink: Array Hall.
’The Wang family is building an Array Hall.’
He continued forward, turning onto the stone-paved road where the Talisman Hall was located.
The Talisman Hall’s courtyard looked the same as when he had left—gray bricks, black tiles, and the smell of Spiritual Ink and cinnabar mixed in the air.
Li Yuan first reported to the steward, got the key to his own residence back, and put his things away.
When he came back out, he took a stroll along the stone path toward the Pill Hall.
The Pill Hall was right next to the Talisman Hall, separated by a narrow alley. A few temporary shelters were set up at the mouth of the alley. Underneath them were alchemy furnaces and porcelain bottles, and several Loose Cultivators in motley-colored clothes were squatting under the shelters, busy at work.
’The outskirts of the Pill Hall.’
’The news that the Wang family was recruiting Loose Cultivators for the Pill Hall was true. These people must be the ones who passed the screening and were assigned to work on the periphery.’
Li Yuan’s gaze swept over the shelters and suddenly stopped.
Under the innermost shelter, an old man of about sixty was squatting next to an alchemy furnace, stuffing a handful of medicinal herbs into it. His fingertips were stained yellow, but his eyes were bright, and his movements were deft.
’Old Sun.’
Li Yuan walked over.
Old Sun was focused on adding herbs to the furnace. Hearing footsteps, he looked up. He froze for a second when he saw Li Yuan, then broke into a wide grin.
"Whoa, what are you doing here?"
"I’m with the Talisman Hall," Li Yuan said, squatting down beside the shelter. "What about you?"
Old Sun stuffed the remaining herbs in his hand into the furnace and patted the crushed leaves from his palms.
"Loose Cultivator on the outskirts of the Pill Hall. The Wang family was recruiting a while back, and I figured it was better to work here than to be selling pills haphazardly out there. At least here I have a proper place to practice Alchemy, and the materials are easier to find."
He jutted his chin toward the row of furnaces behind him.
"The position is a bit low, and there’s a lot of grunt work. But getting to use their furnaces and materials makes it worth it."
Li Yuan glanced at the items in the shelter. There were two alchemy furnaces, about ten porcelain bottles, a half-table piled with herbs, and a few sealed small jars in the corner.
"Still making Evil Essence Pills?"
Old Sun’s eyes lit up.
"Of course, I’m always making them. This stuff doesn’t sell well outside—only had a traveling merchant buy a small batch before. But since I joined the Pill Hall, I’ve actually had people asking for them."
He pulled a porcelain bottle from under the table and shook it.
"You want some?"
"How many do you have?"
Old Sun rummaged through his stock in the shelter, pulling out five porcelain bottles from various corners and lining them up.
"Forty-three pills in total. This is what I’ve saved up over the last month. Haven’t had a chance to sell them yet."
"I’ll take them all."
Old Sun cheerfully quoted a price. Li Yuan didn’t haggle, simply counting out the Spirit Stones from his storage pouch and placing them on the table.
After putting the bottles into his storage pouch, Li Yuan didn’t leave immediately.
"I have a question for you."
Old Sun swept the Spirit Stones into his sleeve and looked up at him.
"Where does the Evil Qi in the Evil Essence Pills come from?"
Old Sun tilted his head, seeming surprised by the question.
"It comes from the combination of herbs."
He casually picked up two different handfuls of herbs from the table and held them up for comparison.
"Most herbs don’t contain Evil Qi on their own, but the medicinal properties of some herbs clash with each other. When refined together, they create this byproduct. Ordinary Pill Refiners treat it as waste and try their best to get rid of it. I do the opposite—I specifically preserve this part and refine it into the pill."
He placed the herbs back on the table.
"Evil Essence Pills are made from two types of Tier One Low Grade herbs, so the Evil Qi they produce is also at the Tier One Low Grade level."
Li Yuan went straight to his next question.
"Can you produce Tier One Top Grade Evil Qi?"
Old Sun’s movements paused.
He gave Li Yuan a long look, tapping his fingers on the tabletop.
"Theoretically, yes. But I’ve never refined it."
He held up two fingers.
"Two types of Tier One Top Grade herbs—the kind whose medicinal properties clash—if you refine them together, the Evil Qi produced will be at the Tier One Top Grade level."
He lowered his two fingers.
"But Tier One Top Grade herbs aren’t cheap. And there aren’t many combinations with clashing properties that can produce Evil Qi. I only know of three or four pairings."
"Which ones?"
Old Sun thought for a moment and listed a few names.
Li Yuan memorized the names.
"Can you refine a batch for me? I’ll provide the materials."
Old Sun rubbed his chin.
"I can refine it, sure. But I don’t have any Tier One Top Grade herbs on hand; you’ll have to get them yourself. Once you have the materials, I’ll refine them for you. Just charge you a small fee for the labor."
"How much?"
"Five Spirit Stones."
"Deal."
Li Yuan stood up.
"I’ll come find you when I have the materials."
Old Sun grunted in acknowledgment and turned back, squatting by the alchemy furnace to continue his work.
Li Yuan left the sheltered area on the outskirts of the Pill Hall and walked back to the Talisman Hall through the narrow alley.
He returned to his residence and closed the door.
He cleared the table and spread out a sheet of talisman paper.
First, he drew a few Fireball Talismans to warm up. His Master Level technique was already very stable; he could draw the six Spirit Patterns in one go, maintaining a success rate of over seventy percent.
Afterwards, he switched to drawing Rejuvenation Talismans, Vajra Talismans, and Detoxification Talismans in rotation.
After drawing a batch, Li Yuan took out the materials for the Divine Talisman from his storage pouch.
He ruined two more sheets.
’Better than last time, but still far from success.’
He didn’t waste any more materials. He put away the things for the Divine Talisman and took out the Evil Essence Pills from his storage pouch.
He tipped out two pills and put them in his mouth.
The permanent trait for refined medicinal effects kicked in. The active ingredients of the Evil Essence Pills were absorbed with high efficiency, and the medicinal dregs were quickly expelled to the surface of his skin. As the Evil Qi entered his body, the Evil Qi Body Tempering trait guided it into his fascia and bones. The Iron Bull Skill activated in sync, and both Spiritual Power and Evil Qi washed over his internal organs.
At the same time, the progress toward making the Detoxification Talisman’s effects permanent also increased—the Evil Qi itself was a form of contamination.
Li Yuan closed his eyes and circulated his technique. Inside his body, Spiritual Power and Evil Qi flowed in alternating cycles.
Outside the window, the sky slowly darkened, leaving only the sound of even breathing in the stone house.