Cao Zhen's expression eased slightly.

  He raised a hand in a polite gesture and said, "Please proceed, Fellow Daoist Lu."

  With that, he stepped half a pace aside and, without any obvious movement, nudged Zhou Jinyan next to him to also step back, clearing a clean, open space.

  Zhou Jinyan was tugged aside by him.

  He had no choice but to retreat a step, his brow tightly furrowed, his eyes full of worry—as though afraid Lu Chi would fail this time and even ruin the goodwill that had been built earlier.

  Lu Chi did not look back, nor did he meet his gaze.

  He simply reached for the paper, pressed down its corners, straightened the inkstone, and dipped the brush in ink.

  His movements were neither rushed nor slow, as practiced as when mending talismans back in the talisman shop.

  What he was about to draw was precisely the Spirit?Gathering Talisman.

  Now that the panel had leveled up, he was already capable of forming this talisman on his own—he was fully confident in his heart.

  Still, just as he was about to begin, he quietly activated [Blazing Will].

  His mind cleared instantly, all distractions vanished, and his spirit rapidly concentrated.

  The process of drawing the Spirit?Gathering Talisman that he had gone through before reappeared in his mind—no longer scattered, but connected from start to finish.

  Those brush?stroke transitions and spiritual?power buffer points he hadn’t noticed earlier also became clear, one after another.

  Yesterday, Lu Chi had already wanted to test whether he could draw a mid?grade Spirit?Gathering Talisman.

  Now was the perfect opportunity.

  After a night of rest and circulation, the energy he had consumed earlier had long since recovered, enough to support the expenditure of his talent.

  He lifted the talisman brush.

  His wrist trembled slightly as the brush tip descended: first marking the talisman’s head, then guiding the talisman’s feet.

  Spiritual ink spread little by little along the brushstrokes, with clear rises and falls.

  For a moment, the room fell silent.

  Only the faint sound of the brush tip gently brushing the talisman paper could be heard—like fine rain falling on sand, continuous yet unbroken.

  Cao Zhen stood to the side, his gaze closely following the brushwork, not missing a single detail.

  Zhou Jinyan even held his breath, his palms growing slightly damp.

  In just a short while, the final stroke was completed.

  Lu Chi let out a soft exhale, his face slightly pale.

  The drain was significant, but it still fell within the tolerable range of ordinary talisman?drawing and didn’t arouse any undue suspicion from the others.

  He lightly raised a fingertip, and that thread of spiritual intent on the talisman paper slowly gathered.

  Faint light glimmered within the patterns, then withdrew again, as though locked firmly in place by the talisman’s lines.

  The talisman was complete!

  As expected, this Spirit?Gathering Talisman drawn on the spot had clearly stepped into the rank of mid?grade!

  Even among first?rank talismans, there are distinctions: low?grade, mid?grade, high?grade, and supreme?grade.

  Low?grade talismans have thin spiritual power.

  After being activated a few times, they grow weak—most require repairs or even outright replacement.

  Mid?grade talismans are different: their talisman?power is substantial, operation is long?lasting, and their effects are more reliable.

  Naturally, their price is several times higher.

  Zhou Jinyan stood frozen in place.

  At first, his eyes widened in shock, then an unmistakable amazement welled up in his heart.

  He actually succeeded—and it was even mid?grade!

  The stone in his heart dropped, yet at the same time, an indescribable astonishment arose.

  Cao Zhen stared at the newly completed talisman in silence for a moment before slowly nodding and saying, “Fellow Daoist Lu’s skill is exceptional.”

  When he looked at Lu Chi again, his demeanor was different from before.

  The cold pride and wariness from their first meeting were gone, replaced instead by an undisguised seriousness and admiration.

  Lu Chi gently laid the talisman paper flat, looked up, and smiled.

  “Fellow Daoist Cao overpraises me.

  That I could complete this talisman today is largely thanks to the superior materials you prepared.”

  “This talisman?ink has a solid spiritual aura—it must have been ground with spirit stones.

  The spiritual intent is pure, and the talisman paper is also extraordinary; it seems to be made from Blue?Scale Whale hide—the texture is very dense.”

  “If I were using ordinary materials, no matter how steady my hand, the spiritual intent would struggle to coalesce.

  I merely took advantage of a few conveniences—it hardly counts as true skill.”

  When Cao Zhen heard this, however, he shook his head and revealed the standard wry smile of a web?novel male lead:

  “Fellow Daoist Lu flatters me.

  I did indeed prepare these things for study, but after years of groping in the dark, I never found the right path.

  No matter how I drew, it always ended up as scrap paper.”

  “Today, seeing Fellow Daoist Lu wield the brush in person, I finally understand where I fall short—I’ve truly benefited.

  My earlier words were overly cautious, even presumptuous.

  That was my excess of caution—please forgive me.”

  Lu Chi waved a hand to show it was nothing, and the three of them sat down once more.

  He carefully put away the Spirit?Gathering Talisman he had just completed, then took out another stack of talisman paper from his sleeve and said, “Now that my skill has been verified, Fellow Daoist Cao may examine the talismans for this transaction a bit more closely.”

  By now, Cao Zhen wouldn’t harbor any further doubts.

  He nodded and said, “That is only right.”

  Zhou Jinyan understood what was meant and didn’t say another word.

  Finding an excuse, he withdrew to the courtyard outside.

  Once the door closed, the silencing talisman cut off all sound within the room.

  Standing outside, he only knew the two were discussing business in detail—as for the price and how it was settled, he had no idea.

  Cao Zhen bent down to examine the talisman paper closely.

  The more he looked, the more settled his expression became, and his eyes gradually took on a touch of satisfaction.

  He asked no more, only gave a light nod and said:

  “Then how about that mid?grade Spirit?Gathering Talisman from just now—why not count it into this deal as well?”

  Lu Chi assented with a nod.

  Cao Zhen:

  “Then I have but one question: what price do you set?”

  Lu Chi paused briefly to consider, then replied:

  “If Fellow Daoist Cao is willing to make regular purchases, I dare not ask an exorbitant price.

  How about ten low?grade spirit stones in total?”

  This price was more than thirty percent lower than the common rate in talisman shops, yet considerably higher than the spirit sand he had sold to Zhou Jinyan before.

  It was a discount offered to an acquaintance—now facing an outsider, there was no need to be overly generous.

  Cao Zhen’s brow furrowed slightly, as if weighing the offer, but he didn’t ponder for too long.

  In the end, he nodded: “That’s a fair price.”

  With that, he swept a hand into his sleeve, his storage pouch trembled lightly, and spirit stones clinked onto the table, one after another.

  He then waved a sleeve again, gathering all ten Spirit?Gathering Talismans from the table into his pouch.

  “A storage pouch costs only five low?grade spirit stones on the market… and now even I can afford one.”

  Lu Chi’s eye twitched almost imperceptibly.

  To have such thoughts after earning a small sum was rather presumptuous.

  Still, a storage pouch truly was convenient.

  If he really bought one, it wouldn’t be a useless thing to own.

  Cao Zhen put away the talismans, then took a small jade token from his sleeve and handed it over, saying:

  “If Talisman Master Lu has free time in the future, you may seek me out here.”

  His tone was flat, but the intention to form a connection was unmistakable.

  Lu Chi accepted the token and raised his hands slightly in acknowledgment.

  “Thank you for your consideration, Fellow Daoist Cao.”

  Naturally, he bore no resentment over what had happened earlier.

  In the world of cultivation, it was far better to make friends than enemies—especially since Cao Zhen had reached the fifth layer of Qi Refinement and had deep connections.

  Who knew, this might even open up another path.

  Thus he said calmly:

  “If you know anyone in need of talismans, please bring them by.

  The price will be open to discussion, and once the matter is settled, I will not forget your share.”

  “Excellent!” Cao Zhen nodded, offered no further pleasantries, stood up, and took his leave.

  Lu Chi smiled faintly, sensing a flicker of calculation in the other man’s gaze.

  If this could really draw in more people and lead to steady business, it would naturally be a good thing.

  Zhou Jinyan had been waiting outside the door.

  After a short while, he saw Cao Zhen emerge.

  Their eyes met, and both nodded.

  The latter then departed, his steps brisk, soon disappearing into the alley.

  Zhou Jinyan watched that figure vanish before turning back into the room and asking in a low voice: “How did it go?”

  “It’s settled.”

  Lu Chi responded, gestured him inside, casually took out a low?grade spirit stone, and also set down an Ice?Arrow Talisman, saying:

  “If not for Brother Zhou’s referral, this matter might not have gone so smoothly.”

  Zhou Jinyan caught sight of that spirit stone, his heart gave a little leap, and then he laughed:

  “It seems the amount this time was no small sum.

  Talisman Master Lu is truly a person of standing now—a humble spirit farmer like me will have to look up to you.”

  Lu Chi shook his head, his tone mild:

  “It’s just a stroke of luck—please don’t tease me, Brother.”

  Zhou Jinyan did not stand on ceremony.

  He accepted the spirit stone and the talisman, and said softly:

  “You, young man… really leave me at a loss for words.”

  A talisman master capable of drawing mid?grade talismans was a rare sight in the market district!

  With this skill, Lu Chi’s standing in the market would naturally differ from before.

  Lu Chi did not reply.

  In his heart, he knew clearly: that mid?grade Spirit?Gathering Talisman from earlier was not something he could produce at will.

  First, he had relied on the aid of [Fiery Will], and second, it happened that his Spirit?Gathering Talisman had just improved.

  If it were another talisman, reaching mid?grade might not have been possible.

  To truly produce them freely—he wasn’t there yet.

  What’s more, after that one stroke, his mental energy had been considerably drained, and he still felt some lingering fatigue.

  Still, the path was now under his feet.

  Given a little more time, truly establishing himself among mid?grade talismans was not an impossible dream.

  With that thought, Lu Chi lifted his eyes to Zhou Jinyan, his tone turning serious:

  “From now on, I will no longer take on talisman?repair work.

  If you need talismans drawn, Brother Zhou, just come find me.”

  Zhou Jinyan nodded, then asked: “What are your plans next? Do you have anywhere to go these next few days?”

  Lu Chi shook his head: “Nothing else for now.”

  But as he spoke, he detected a note of inquiry in Zhou Jinyan’s voice, as if implying something more.

  He paused briefly and asked in return: “Why does Brother Zhou ask?”

  Zhou Jinyan only smiled, his expression ambiguous.

  “You’ll understand in a few days.

  You’ve been expending a lot of mental energy lately—no doubt you need to rest and recuperate.

  I won’t disturb you further.”

  Lu Chi chuckled and shook his head, but did not press further.

  After seeing his guest out, the courtyard soon grew quiet again.

  He closed the door, his thoughts stirring, and the familiar interface quietly appeared.

  Lu Chi’s gaze fell upon it, and he began to examine in detail the progress he had accumulated over the past few days from drawing talismans, his expression gradually settling into calm.