CHAPTER 37: CHAPTER 37: SUCCESS

The tentacles, like living creatures, flexibly and icily wrapped around Bai Wu’s body little by little.

Bai Wu felt a piercing chill spreading throughout his body via the tentacles. His consciousness gradually blurred, as if being sucked into a bottomless abyss.

A quarter of an hour later, the old man walked out of Bai Wu’s house, the door closed automatically.

The old man still staggered as he walked, his face was still pale, but there was a strange sense of satisfaction in his eyes. His figure seemed especially eerie under the chilly moonlight.

...

...

Early the next morning, Xu Ping altered his appearance and found Yuan Wei’s residence.

"Besides the three remaining Fireball Talismans, everything else has been sold. These are the Spirit Stones from the sales." Yuan Wei handed over a bulging money bag, feeling tense inside, worried that selling them cheap would make the other suspect he pocketed some profit.

Yet, also worried selling them high would mean less commission.

Xu Ping responded with an "Hmm," took the bag, and expressionlessly poured the Spirit Stones onto the table.

With a "rustling" sound.

A multitude of Spirit Stones rolled everywhere.

"Ninety-eight Spirit Stones... a good sale!" Xu Ping tallied them up; the price slightly exceeded his expectations.

He initially thought selling eighty pieces was decent, but unexpectedly almost reached a hundred.

"The major sales were mainly Magical Artifacts, sold nearly fifty Lower Grade pieces, while the talismans and herbs were sold based on market pricing," Yuan Wei noticeably breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Ping separated ten Spirit Stones, pushed them aside, and stored the rest back in a storage bag.

"This is your share!"

"Thank you, boss!" Yuan Wei expressed his joy.

Ten Spirit Stones was by no means a small sum, enough to purchase a hundred and fifty pounds of Demon Beast Flesh.

Currently, prices are skyrocketing, especially Demon Beast Flesh and Spirit Rice rising the most.

Increasing several-fold.

In today’s market, there are only a few ways to earn money.

Either master a skill, like painting talismans or alchemy, people in these fields can still live comfortably nowadays.

Technical talents are admired everywhere.

Or possess great strength and form a gang.

High-end gangs extend like the market’s four major forces, making money by providing secured venues charging rent; lower-grade ones, like the Xiongba Gang, extort, murder, and commit arson.

If you have neither strength nor skills, you can only venture out for hunting demons and gathering spirit medicines.

This type of person is currently the most numerous and at the bottom tier in the market.

Xu Ping retrieved a Lower Grade Magical Artifact, a stack of talismans, and herbs from storage, saying: "Same amount as last time, sell well. You can secretly pocket the money, just don’t let me find out!"

"Boss, even if you lent me courage, I wouldn’t dare pocket your money!" Yuan Wei hastily expressed his stance.

He had witnessed the other’s ruthlessness before and didn’t want to risk his life over a few Spirit Stones.

"No need for further words. By the way, any clue on the inheritance matter?" Crystal clear and no fish, as long as it’s not excessive. Xu Ping only slightly tapped the message before asking about the inheritance issue.

"No, I asked several people but got nothing." Yuan Wei felt a bit troubled.

"It’s okay, take your time." Having gained Talisman Master inheritance, Xu Ping’s desire for more inheritance dropped significantly. It would be great to have more, but he’d accept if there wasn’t any.

After finishing all instructions, he got up and left.

....

Leaving Yuan Wei’s house, Xu Ping took another road.

He saw a headless corpse lying by the roadside.

The entire body had been stripped, exposing all the wounds.

Xu Ping’s expression didn’t change a bit, accustomed to passing by the corpse.

The market, which had barely restored calm, started to become chaotic again.

When the market was broken, it had just been after the autumn harvest, so everyone’s food reserves were still sufficient.

But as time passed, the food reserves became scarcer, and more people living in difficulty started to take desperate measures.

Xu Ping still had a decent amount of stored Spirit Rice and Demon Beast Flesh, enough to last him months.

...

...

Returning home, Xu Ping began painting talismans again.

This time he didn’t continue with Cleaning Talismans; instead, he started painting another basic talisman—the Silence Talisman.

Cleaning Talisman wasn’t worth much; reaching this success rate was already sufficient.

Once he completed painting four basic talismans, he could officially start painting First Rank Talismans.

With the experience from painting Cleaning Talismans, he successfully painted Silence Talismans after only failing thirty-some times.

Next were the Calm Heart and Guiding Talismans.

Xu Ping took two days to conquer each one.

After finishing all the basic talismans, he didn’t start painting First Rank Talismans immediately.

Instead, he spent another day re-painting the four basic talismans to reinforce them again.

...

The next day.

Xu Ping officially began painting First Rank Talismans.

He chose the First Rank Lower Grade Exorcism Talisman.

Exorcism Talisman, as the name suggests, can purge negative energies, causing harm to malevolent entities, and even alert for warning when encountering powerful evil spirits.

In this world rife with evil spirits, it is a popular talisman.

However, Exorcism Talismans have the highest success rate when drawn at noon.

Sitting quietly waiting.

Time flew by, and soon it was noon.

"It’s time!"

Xu Ping suddenly opened his eyes and got up straight.

The method of making Exorcism Talismans flashed through his mind constantly.

He picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to draw talismans.

The brush tip wandered over the Lower Grade Talisman paper for several minutes. Finally, the pen stroke became less smooth, gradually a bit unyielding...

"Not good!"

Sweat beads appeared on Xu Ping’s forehead.

Fizz~

The talisman paper’s rune shifted slightly, emitting wisps of blue smoke and a small flame.

The first one ruined.

...

The second one also ruined.

...

Consecutively ruined over a dozen.

"Huh!"

Xu Ping had to pause to adjust his breath and Mana, wiping the sweat off his forehead: "Entering rank Talismans are certainly difficult to draw."

Not only did it consume more Mana, but more attention was needed for details.

Failed over a dozen times, couldn’t even grasp the key.

"I still refuse to believe this!" Xu Ping got riled up, picked up the talisman brush, and started drawing again.

But until past noon, he hadn’t completed a single talisman.

"Should I continue?" Xu Ping frowned.

Post-noon, success rates plummet, and the later it got, the lower the rate.

After contemplating for a moment, he still decided to continue.

At worst, he’d use up more talisman paper. Given his current wealth, he could afford it.

Plus, each failure contributed to experience accumulation, aiming to complete the Exorcism Talisman soon.

Time passed in Xu Ping drawing talismans.

...

Three days later.

At noon.

Xu Ping took a talisman paper, lightly dipped the brush into Spirit Ink, and started drawing without hesitation.

The brushstrokes were smooth, like flowing clouds and water, without a single hindrance; Spiritual Power was seamless, everything was extremely smooth, without a single mishap.

He restrained the excitement inside, completing the talisman painting effortlessly, with zest.

"Done!"

Watching the talisman’s rune glow gradually dim and finally vanish, Xu Ping relaxed his tense spirit, feeling utterly fatigued.