Back at the shantytown hut, Wei Tu took out the talisman brush, spiritual ink, and a dozen talisman papers he had bought from the market shop a few days ago.
Now that he had a stable source through Hu Yao to acquire materials at a lower price after the small marketplace, he needed to use up his previous purchases quickly to recycle his funds.
Moreover, he planned to make Earth Spike Talismans his personal spiritual product for trade in the small marketplace.
This way, first, by displaying his talent appropriately, he could improve his status in the shantytown and deter petty troublemakers.
Talisman masters, alchemists, and formation masters all held high prestige within the immortal cultivation world.
And among low-level cultivators, their status was even more respected.
Second, he could use the small marketplace to establish a good sales channel for the talismans he created.
Wei Tu spread out the talisman paper, dipped the brush into the spiritual ink, and carefully began drawing the Earth Spike Talisman.
More than one hour passed before the runes were fully outlined on the blank talisman paper.
For a moment, the glow of the talisman characters dimmed, but unlike when he used to draw talismans in the mortal world, it did not instantly ignite and burn to ashes.
His progress with Earth Spike Talismans had reached 37%, approximately the Minor Accomplishment stage in talisman crafting.
At this stage, his success rate for drawing Earth Spike Talismans was around 40%.
This meant that as long as he was careful, out of every ten talisman papers, he could successfully produce four Earth Spike Talismans, which was a rather promising rate.
Of course, among these four talismans, one or two would be defective due to his lack of refined technique.
Defective talismans were still usable.
But in terms of power and value, they were significantly weaker compared to a properly drawn Earth Spike Talisman.
"Drawing an Earth Spike Talisman successfully in one go would at least require the skill level of a First-Rank Talisman Master. I should take it slow and avoid wasting materials..."
Wei Tu remained patient, maintaining a steady pace while crafting the talismans.
After one and a half months, he finally used up all the materials he had previously purchased, converting them into salable Earth Spike Talismans.
"Earth Spike Talisman (42/100): Five practices per day, mastery in seven years."
"My progress increased by 5%."
"If I keep going at this pace, I won't even need seven years. At most, in another two to three years, I should be able to fully master Earth Spike Talismans."
Wei Tu's face showed satisfaction.
Being able to proficiently craft a basic talisman meant he had the potential to produce high-quality versions of that talisman.
A high-quality Earth Spike Talisman could be sold at a price comparable to a First-Rank Talisman.
First-rank talismans were mostly used by mid-stage and late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators.
If he could craft high-quality versions of basic talismans, it meant he would have the ability to trade with mid and late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, turning them into his "high-end clients" and earning spirit stones from them.
"Besides that—"
Wei Tu pondered for a moment, then retrieved a Testing Spirit Talisman from his hut and placed it on his forehead.
At the same time, he shifted his gaze to the bronze mirror on the table.
In the mirror, two colors gradually appeared on Wei Tu's forehead—pale green and earthy yellow, roughly the size of half a fist.
"Earth and Wood Dual Spiritual Roots..."
"They're slightly larger than before… Looks like my earlier guess was right. The Late Bloomer destiny is still gradually improving my aptitude..."
Wei Tu silently reflected.
Back in the mortal world, when he practiced Turtle Breath Energy Cultivation, the faint warm currents from his Golden-Purple Destiny slowly altered his martial foundation, eventually turning him into a martial genius in the eyes of Dan Wu Ju.
Now that he had entered the immortal world, he believed that his Golden-Purple Destiny would continue to improve his aptitude.
For that reason, every once in a while, he used a Testing Spirit Talisman to check his aptitude.
And just as he expected.
After more than a year, his spiritual roots had indeed improved.
"At this rate, in another hundred years, my aptitude might reach the level of mid-grade spiritual roots..."
Wei Tu mused to himself.
According to his original plan, he would barely reach the Foundation Establishment stage by the end of his lifespan and would have no hope of advancing further.
But with the gradual improvement in his aptitude, even if he could only gain an extra ten years to prepare for Foundation Establishment, it would still be a significant advantage for him.
…
Half a month later.
The biannual small marketplace in the shantytown finally arrived.
Since the "small marketplace" was not officially recognized by the market authorities, the low-level cultivators did not set up stalls in the streets of the shantytown.
Instead, they gathered inside several adjacent huts.
At the entrances of these huts, small wooden plaques were hung, labeled "Pill Hut," "Tool Hut," "Beast Hut," "Herb Hut," and so on.
Wei Tu called Fu Zhizhou to accompany him, and the two headed toward the marketplace area together.
"The prices here are about 20% lower than in market shops, but they're still a bit expensive."
Wei Tu walked into the "Talisman Hut" and saw a stall selling talisman paper and spiritual ink.
After comparing the prices, he shook his head.
Market shops were more expensive for a reason—their products were of significantly better quality than those found at roadside stalls. A 20% markup was actually quite reasonable.
"But if I can get a 40% discount, then the quality issue wouldn't matter much."
Wei Tu thought to himself.
There was no such thing as an unsuitable item, only an unsuitable price.
"How many spirit stones for a dozen talisman papers?"
Wei Tu approached the vendor and started negotiating.
The vendor was a thin old man. Hearing Wei Tu's question, he lifted his head, glanced at him, and seeing that he was an unfamiliar face, responded coldly, "The price is marked right there. One spirit stone for a dozen talisman papers."
"Lower the price. How about twenty grains of spirit sand?"
Wei Tu bargained, cutting the price by one-third immediately.
The old man lowered his eyelids and ignored Wei Tu, turning his attention to other potential customers instead.
"Twenty-three grains of spirit sand, then?"
"How about it?" Wei Tu slightly raised his offer.
"Not selling for anything less than twenty-seven grains of spirit sand." The old man frowned and replied casually, already feeling certain this deal would go through.
If someone was willing to increase their offer, it meant they were genuinely interested in buying.
However—
The next moment, the old man was stunned.
Wei Tu, upon hearing the new price, didn't continue negotiating. Instead, he turned and walked away from the stall without hesitation, heading straight toward another vendor to start a fresh round of bargaining.
After fifteen minutes, Wei Tu had a general understanding of the pricing for talisman materials in the small marketplace.
Compared to the price Hu Yao had offered him, the cost here was significantly higher.
At best, he could haggle down to seventy-five percent of the original price.
Anything below seventy percent, and the vendors' reluctance became obvious.
"Some money can only be earned by certain people." Wei Tu sighed internally, then left the talisman stall and made his way toward the Yan House, where Hu Yao and the others were staying, intending to ask her for an introduction to better connections.
The Yan House was a semi-private establishment where Hu Yao and other underground courtesans conducted their business.
As Wei Tu stepped out of the talisman stall, he spotted Fu Zhizhou, who had split up with him earlier, now walking into the Beast Hut and striking up a conversation with a vendor at the entrance.
The two of them seemed to be chatting enthusiastically.
The Beast Hut was where spirit beast cubs and spirit beast meat were sold.
Wei Tu drew closer and listened for a moment. It turned out that Fu Zhizhou was inquiring about methods of entering and exiting the Demon Wolf Mountain Range, as well as precautions for hunting demon beasts.
"So Fourth Brother can't sit still in the shantytown either. He doesn't want to spend his whole life in mediocrity."
Wei Tu immediately understood Fu Zhizhou's thoughts.
For rogue cultivators in the Danqiu Mountains, there were generally three main paths to Foundation Establishment.
First, possessing a specialized skill and excelling in one of the hundred arts of cultivation, steadily accumulating spirit stones, improving one's realm, and purchasing Foundation Establishment resources—this was the path Wei Tu had chosen as a Talisman Master, the safest option.
Second, having an immortal fate, obtaining rare spiritual medicines, magical treasures, or secret manuals, and exchanging them at Tai Xuan Sect for a chance to advance to Foundation Establishment.
Third, becoming a blade-for-hire, forsaking the safety of the shantytown to take on dangerous assignments from the market, braving life-and-death battles outside—becoming a war cultivator.
"Everyone makes their own choices. I have the Late Bloomer destiny, so choosing the path of a Talisman Master is the safest bet."
"But Fourth Brother is different. If he wants to reach Foundation Establishment, he has no choice but to become a blade-for-hire."
Wei Tu stopped in his tracks and quietly left without interrupting Fu Zhizhou's conversation with the beast vendor.
Everyone had their own aspirations.
He still needed to help his mortal family step onto the path of cultivation—he had no spare energy to assist Fu Zhizhou, his sworn brother.
To Wei Tu, family always came first.
Even though his wife, Xinghua, and their two children had low aptitude and would struggle to achieve much in cultivation, that was no reason for him to abandon them.
Simply put—
He would do his best and leave the rest to fate.
Just like his approach to Kou Liang, he couldn't be so harsh as to deny his wife and children even a single opportunity to cultivate.
…
Before long, Wei Tu arrived at the Yan House, which was situated slightly farther from the small marketplace.
Just as he approached, he happened to see a scholar in long robes staggering out of the hut marked with the wooden sign "Hu."
The man was rubbing his waist as he walked.
When he looked up and saw Wei Tu, he was momentarily distracted. His legs gave way slightly, and he almost collapsed to the ground.
"Wei Daoist?" The scholar, recognizing Wei Tu, forced an awkward laugh and greeted him.
"Please, don't tell my wife about this."
"You know how fierce that tigress is."
As he spoke, he pulled a few grains of spirit sand from his pocket and shoved them into Wei Tu's hand before hurriedly leaving.
Wei Tu watched the scene unfold and couldn't help but smile.
—He hadn't expected to gain something extra from this trip to the Yan House.
The scholar's surname was Wang, and he was a well-known alchemist in this part of the shantytown.
Although he only knew how to refine three or four basic cultivation pills, he was still a highly sought-after figure in the area.
Last time, when Wei Tu was looking to buy a Condensing Moon Pill, he had approached this Alchemist Wang, but out of caution, he ultimately decided not to buy from him and instead went to a proper market shop.
But that encounter had left him with some knowledge about Alchemist Wang and his fearsome wife.
"Could it be that Hu Yao has been leveraging these male cultivators' secrets? Is that how she's able to confidently offer me talisman paper and spiritual ink at a forty percent discount?"
Wei Tu considered the possibility.
He shook his head, pushing aside unnecessary thoughts, and continued walking toward the hut with the "Hu" sign.
Just as he arrived, Hu Yao happened to step out.
It seemed she had just finished her business, as she was only wearing a thin, semi-transparent robe that barely covered her figure.
Her curves were faintly visible through the fabric, and with each step, the slight sway of her body made her appearance even more enticing.
Carrying a wooden basin, she emptied out the dirty water before turning back to greet Wei Tu with a smile, inviting him into her room.
Then, she shut the door behind them, slid the bolt into place, and turned around.
With a rustling sound, she began slipping off her robe.
Halfway through undressing, she suddenly realized that her guest was Wei Tu.
Only then did she hastily pull the robe back over her shoulders, offering a small apology with a teasing smile.
"I'm already used to it, Wei Daoist. I hope you don't mind."