Chapter 13: Talisman Making

Just as Song Qingming felt he had found a path to wealth, it didn't take long for him to realize he had been thinking too simply. Aside from the first two times his formations sold smoothly, subsequent gatherings saw only one set of formations sold before interest completely dried up.

It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the formations he produced; it was simply that a single gathering at Straw Hut Mountain only drew fifty or sixty people, most of whom were regulars.

For an average cultivator, one set of formations was usually enough. Like magical tools, they could be used for a long time without breaking, and besides, not everyone needed them.

Left with several remaining sets of formations, he had no choice but to entrust his family to help sell them at Qinghe Market. The cunning Fourth Elder, upon seeing a pile of formations, even suspected they weren't crafted by him, forcing Song Qingming to make several excuses to gloss over the matter.

The profit margins on low-level formations were already thin, and producing too many at once made it easy to arouse suspicion regarding their origin. Furthermore, the market at Straw Hut Mountain was too small, and Qinghe Market was too far away.

He couldn't go on like this; if he wanted to earn spirit stones, he had to change his method.

To ensure he wouldn't have to worry about sales in the short term, he needed to produce items that were common and heavily consumed in markets.

After much thought, only two things met his needs: medicinal pills and talismans. Compared to alchemy, the path of talisman crafting was clearly more suitable for his current state.

Talismans were common consumables used in combat, monster hunting, and cultivation. Low-level talismans were essentially single-use items, meaning market demand was inherently massive. In any market, adding a few low-level talisman makers would hardly affect the balance.

Alchemy was more dependent on talent and required massive investment to see results; families would only choose to cultivate those with natural aptitude.

In contrast, the requirements for talisman makers were not as high. In the early stages of the craft, talent was not the primary factor; as long as one was willing to put in the time, entry was not difficult.

Talisman crafting was also the most widely chosen skill among the hundred arts of cultivation; most cultivators would learn this skill by the late stages of Qi Refinement. The Song family's inheritance of the talisman path was quite good, with two high-grade talisman makers in the clan alone.

Acting on impulse, Song Qingming took out his prepared materials: a family inheritance manual for talisman crafting, a silver low-grade talisman pen, a jar of cinnabar made from demon beast essence blood, and dozens of blank talisman papers.

He had exchanged these at the Golden Treasury Building a few days prior. The family's management of the talisman inheritance was not overly strict; regardless of one's talent, one could easily obtain materials by spending five merit points in the Golden Treasury Pavilion.

When Song Qingming exchanged for the talisman inheritance, the Fourth Elder had only cautioned him a few times not to become so obsessed with cultivation skills that he neglected his actual cultivation.

After arranging the talisman paper and cinnabar on the table, Song Qingming picked up the silver pen and began working on his first "Heart-Clearing Talisman."

Most Grade-1 low-grade spiritual talismans were auxiliary in nature, and the "Heart-Clearing Talisman" was one of the most common. Once used, it could temporarily calm the mind and spirit, allowing a person to quickly focus their divine sense while practicing cultivation techniques.

It was effective during breakthroughs, alchemy, or tool forging, so most cultivators kept a few on hand. This talisman was among the most common low-grade spiritual talismans on the market.

Following the method in the manual, after the pen tip was dipped in the red cinnabar, Song Qingming circulated his spiritual power, slowly injecting it into the pen handle as he began to draw the incantation on a blank paper.

Recalling when he first studied the path of formations in the family, it had taken a year of meticulous personal instruction from clan elders just to reach the entry level. If he had been a rogue cultivator with no one to teach him, he might not have reached that level even after three years.

Although talisman crafting was one of the simpler immortal arts, it was not something a beginner could master perfectly overnight.

By the end of the day, Song Qingming had drawn eight talismans in succession, none of which met the standard. Excluding those that failed halfway through, he had only successfully completed two. Unfortunately, although these two talismans shimmered with silver light on the surface, the spiritual power contained within them was extremely thin.

Song Qingming held the talisman in his hand, observing it closely for a while, then performed a hand seal and recited an incantation. The talisman instantly erupted with silver light, and a wave of cool spiritual energy quickly flowed from his palm. However, before long, the spiritual power within the talisman suddenly became chaotic and surged; a flash of fire appeared, turning the talisman into a fireball that instantly burned everything to ash.

Looking at the mere pile of ash left in his hand, a helpless, bitter smile appeared on Song Qingming's face. He was indeed still far from proficient.

For the next period, aside from his daily patrols of Spirit Source Mountain, Song Qingming spent all his time studying talisman crafting. He frequently sought guidance from Song Changxin. During this time, he even made a special trip to Wood Dragon Town to consult Aunt Song Changling, the clan's most talented high-grade talisman maker.

With the help of the fragmented map to accelerate his spiritual power recovery, the talisman materials that should have lasted a month were exhausted in less than ten days.

After a period of hard work, Song Qingming finally saw results. The four Heart-Clearing Talismans in his hand were the most perfect among the hundreds he had attempted to make over the past ten days. After carefully testing one more, he felt the spiritual power contained within and the effect after use, and a satisfied smile spread across his face.

Song Qingming straightened up with joy, stretching his aching back. Looking at the three remaining shimmering silver talismans, he felt a slight pang of heartache; spending materials worth over a dozen spirit stones to get only three Heart-Clearing Talismans was a loss, even if he had expected it.

After more than ten days of learning, he had only successfully produced four talismans from over a hundred sets of materials. According to market prices, one would need to produce at least twenty talismans from a hundred sets of materials to break even. An average talisman maker would only reach this level after two years, with an initial investment of at least a hundred spirit stones.

In other words, an ordinary talisman maker would need at least three to four years to rely on this skill to earn spirit stones. This was for the easiest type of talisman; for something with a higher investment like alchemy, it went without saying—without ten or twenty years of heavy investment, one would see no return.

Having obtained the three Heart-Clearing Talismans, Song Qingming did not rush to make more of the same. Instead, he opened the family manual to begin crafting another type: the "Fireball Talisman." According to the clan elders, practicing different types of talismans made it easier to master the control of spiritual power through the pen.

It wasn't until two months later that Song Qingming finally touched the threshold of a low-grade talisman maker, raising his success rate to nearly twenty percent.

***

On Straw Hut Mountain, Song Qingming, dressed in green, arrived early at the gathering point. He chose a spot near the center, skillfully set up a wooden sign, and laid out a pile of spiritual items on his stall. He then picked up a talisman handbook he had bought nearby recently and began to study it intently.

It had to be said that Straw Hut Mountain had some reputation in the northeastern part of Qinghe County. Over the past few months, Song Qingming had seen many cultivators from nearby major families. Even the Song family, located over a hundred miles away, had sent several elders here to purchase spiritual items.

He was now very familiar with the procedures here. Arriving early allowed one to secure a better stall, though he did not dare to occupy the very best spots in the center, even though they were currently vacant.

Having come here seven or eight times, even without being told, it wasn't hard to notice that those central positions were always reserved for several late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators who frequented the area. Song Qingming naturally did not dare to be greedy and occupy those spots, lest he inadvertently offend those with higher cultivation.

Half an hour later, dozens of cultivators arrived at the mountain peak one after another. There seemed to be more people attending the gathering this time than usual. Song Qingming felt quite pleased that he had arrived early to secure a good spot; in less than half an hour, he had already sold over a dozen various spiritual talismans.

After more than two months of study, he had now learned how to make five or six types of talismans and could be considered a true talisman maker.

Entering the path of talisman crafting was relatively simple, but to become a qualified low-grade talisman maker, one had to be able to produce at least eight types of talismans while maintaining a twenty percent success rate.

"Fellow Daoist, are you looking to acquire some medicinal pills?"

"As long as they are pills that can enhance cultivation, I can exchange them for the spiritual items on my stall at an equal value."

After speaking, Song Qingming put down his handbook and looked up at the newcomer. To his surprise, the person was an old customer, and he quickly offered a slight smile.

This man was named Qin Zhen, a rogue cultivator who had been hunting monsters in Cloud Mist Mountain for many years. He also had a few followers under him and frequently organized groups to venture deep into the mountains.

During the months Song Qingming had been setting up his stall at Straw Hut Mountain, whenever Qin Zhen came, he would purchase many talismans, especially favoring the "Heart-Clearing Talismans" from this stall.