Chapter 383: Jade Pot Workshop Market

After chatting with Yue Zutao for a while longer, Chen Mobai brought up the matter of the yellow gourd.

"If you need it, junior brother, just take it," Yue Zutao offered. He had long since refined the Profound Yin Fiend Energy within into Divine Thunder Beads. If Chen Mobai hadn't mentioned it, he would have forgotten the gourd was even at the bottom of his storage bag.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Yue," Chen Mobai said, putting down the two jars of wine. He picked up the yellow gourd and bade farewell.

"The Wang family of Tiankui is a lineage left by one of my ascended martial uncles," Yue Zutao remarked before Chen Mobai left. "Since Junior Brother Chen is now the Protector of Jianguo, please look after them."

"Of course," Chen Mobai replied. With a moment's thought, he recalled the Wang family's origins. The previous Protector, Liu Ruzhong, had previously informed him that the Wang family were descendants of Patriarch Zhou's disciples. Chu Zuoshu was also a disciple of Patriarch Zhou, which perfectly aligned with Yue Zutao's statement.

After leaving Yue Zutao, Chen Mobai went to the Hall of Merit to collect the sect's travel permit. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Divine Wood Sect wished to leave the sect when not on a mission, they had to report to their respective Three Halls and Twelve Departments, which would then forward the request to the Divine Wood Hall. Once the Divine Wood Hall approved the request, the document would be sent back to the Hall of Merit.

"The Luo family of Illusion Wave Market City is my own clan," Luo Xue'er, the acting head of the Hall of Merit, said with a smile after a brief chat with Chen Mobai. "My younger brother is the current patriarch. For the next ten years, please look after them, Junior Brother Chen."

After leaving the Hall of Merit, Chen Mobai fully grasped the meaning of Liu Ruzhong's earlier words. Most of the seven great families of Jianguo had deeply intertwined connections with the Divine Wood Sect's internal structure. Although he represented the Divine Wood Sect, he still needed to proceed with extreme caution and prudence in his interactions. However, Chen Mobai had no intention of extorting or defrauding the cultivation families of Jianguo. Therefore, he only needed to follow the rules, as the Divine Wood Sect would always be his backing.

Since Chu Zuoshu had gone to Golden Light Cliff with a group of people, Chen Mobai did not linger in Divine Wood City and returned directly to Mount Xiaonan. The Divine Wood Hall directly managed two departments: the Transmission Department and the Divination Department. The Transmission Department was responsible for all administrative work within the sect, including, for instance, managing the library where cultivation techniques, scriptures, and various immortal arts were stored. A copy of Chen Mobai's application to leave the sect and inspect the five major market cities of Jianguo, after being stamped by the Hall of Merit and the Divine Wood Hall, was sent to the Transmission Department. A plain-faced cultivator named Du Feng read it, nodded, and handed it to a Qi Condensation cultivator below him. The latter took it and placed it on a shelf according to the date.

After the day's work, Du Feng left the department and returned to his rented dwelling. He carefully activated a protective formation, then took out a special talisman paper and wrote down all the details regarding Chen Mobai's trip. Once finished, Du Feng lit the talisman paper and burned it.

In a cave dwelling located on a small spirit vein outside Giant Wood Ridge, a cultivator, who had been meditating and cultivating with spirit stones in hand, suddenly opened his eyes. He picked up a talisman paper from the stone table; it was blank in the center with strange patterns around the edges. He infused it with spiritual energy, and as if by magic, the blank center of the talisman paper revealed the content that Du Feng had written on the burned talisman.

"Finally, it's here," the cultivator exclaimed excitedly after reading it, having waited there for almost a year. He then used the same method to burn the talisman paper, transmitting its content to the person in charge of the Yellow Springs organization in the nearby Jade Pot Market City. Soon after, the news of Chen Mobai's departure was known by all Foundation Establishment cultivators who were to participate in the ambush.

Yuan Hongyuan conducted a final check of his five black formation flags, felt the surging spiritual energy within him, and descended Black Cloud Mountain with full confidence.

"Master, the quality of these talismans is almost on par with those of the second-tier!" At Mount Xiaonan, the three disciples brought up stacks of bundled talismans. Zhuo Ming, a talisman maker, watched reluctantly as Chen Mobai picked up the talismans for inspection and spoke.

"All three of you, take ten stacks each for your own use," Chen Mobai said. As soon as he finished speaking, Zhuo Ming immediately accepted without hesitation. Luo Yixuan and Liu Wenbai paused for a moment. Both came from cultivation families and had focused solely on improving their cultivation, never diverting their attention to learn the Way of Talismans. These talismans were useless to them.

"Senior Sister Zhuo, you take them," Luo Yixuan, ever quick-witted, her bright eyes darting, immediately took her ten stacks and handed them to Zhuo Ming.

"But..."

"Junior Sister, just take them. Neither of us makes talismans anyway," Liu Wenbai added. Zhuo Ming secretly glanced at Chen Mobai. Seeing that he didn't object, she happily took the talismans and placed them in her storage bag.

"Ming'er, take an additional 100 stacks; they'll be sold in the Mount Xiaonan shop later," Chen Mobai suddenly added after his three disciples had taken their share, uttering words that filled Zhuo Ming with happiness. Although the talismans weren't entirely hers, having them in her storage bag made her, as a talisman maker, feel exceptionally fulfilled.

"Master, how should these talismans be priced?" Zhuo Ming asked, stroking the tough, fine, and pure white talismans that allowed spiritual energy to flow exceptionally smoothly. She couldn't put them down.

"The same as the market price, one spirit stone per stack," Chen Mobai said. Zhuo Ming looked up, a little shocked after hearing his words.

"Master, for such high-quality talismans, the refining process must be very intricate and troublesome. Shouldn't we increase the price?" As a talisman maker, Zhuo Ming had worked with her father in a small faction's talisman workshop during her childhood. They produced the lowest-grade talismans circulated among rogue cultivators, which were withered yellow and sometimes even contained unprocessed bark, indicating their extremely poor quality. Slightly more advanced talisman makers, capable of refining mid- to high-grade first-tier talismans, would typically purchase naturally formed spiritual materials to use in place of paper, such as bamboo slips, spirit leaves, or beast hides. Although these also required soaking and refining in special medicinal liquids, they ensured smooth spiritual energy conduction and stable spell solidification. Zhuo Ming had also processed beast-hide talismans with her father, often toiling for ten to fifteen days without guaranteed success for even a single piece. Yet now, the quality of every single talisman in the large stack she held felt superior to even the best beast-hide talismans she had ever made. She thought they should be sold for at least two spirit stones per stack.

"Within the sect, we shouldn't be too excessive. Let's give other talisman shops a chance to survive and just stick to the market price," Chen Mobai said, uttering words that left Zhuo Ming bewildered, though Liu Wenbai and Luo Yixuan seemed to grasp their implicit meaning. None of the three disciples would ask where the talismans came from.

"Wenbai, prepare yourself. Tomorrow, you'll accompany me to inspect the five major market cities of Jianguo," Chen Mobai instructed.

"Yes, Master," Liu Wenbai replied, having long awaited this day.

"Master, I don't have anything particular to do anyway, so why don't I go with you and Senior Brother?" Luo Yixuan suddenly suggested. Chen Mobai considered it and nodded in agreement. After all, this trip was primarily about establishing sales channels for his talismans and talisman ink. Liu Wenbai might not be able to manage it alone in the future, so taking the quick-witted junior disciple along would be beneficial. Zhuo Ming, standing by, was also a little tempted. Since joining the Divine Wood Sect from Nanxi Market City with Chen Mobai, she hadn't left Giant Wood Ridge. The first four of those eight years had been difficult, but after becoming a disciple of Mount Xiaonan, her life had become extremely happy, a blessing she wouldn't have dared to dream of.

"Ming'er, you'll stay and guard the home," Chen Mobai said.

"Yes, Master," Zhuo Ming nodded earnestly. However, she still felt a little ashamed, believing it was due to her poor combat ability and awkward social interactions. She resolved to overcome these shortcomings in the future and help alleviate her master's worries, just like her senior brother and junior sister.

The next day, when Chen Mobai descended the mountain, Liu Wenbai and Luo Yixuan were already waiting at the foot of the mountain. Zhuo Ming was also there, dressed in a coarse linen tunic with a bamboo basket tied around her waist. The basket contained various small farming tools; she planned to go check on the seedlings sown this spring in the spirit fields after seeing them off.

"I'm leaving the home in your care. If there's anything you can't handle, go to Divine Wood City and find Senior Brother Yue," Chen Mobai instructed Zhuo Ming. He then mounted the Scarlet Cloud Mist Gauze and flew out of Giant Wood Ridge with his two disciples.

Their first stop was Jade Pot Market City, the closest to the Divine Wood Sect.

"Before I reached Foundation Establishment, I left the sect and traveled west," Chen Mobai began, pointing to Jade Pot Market City below from atop the Scarlet Cloud Mist Gauze, repeating the tale he had once told E Yun and Yuan Chiye. "My original intention was to return to Yun Country to see my hometown. Unexpectedly, while observing the world's mountains and rivers, the blooming and wilting of flowers, I felt a deeper opportunity. So, I rented a cave dwelling here in Jade Pot Market City, took a Foundation Establishment Pill, and successfully achieved Foundation Establishment in one go."

"Master is truly a genius!" Liu Wenbai exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, while Luo Yixuan gazed at him with adoring eyes.

Chen Mobai let out a somewhat sheepish dry laugh and guided the Scarlet Cloud Mist Gauze downwards. There were many rogue cultivators and some Qi Condensation cultivators acting as guides at the market city entrance. However, upon seeing Chen Mobai descend from the sky, all of them showed expressions of awe, and no one dared to approach. It was well-known that anyone who could fly was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Such individuals were simply beyond the reach of Qi Condensation cultivators. Moreover, Chen Mobai and his two disciples possessed extraordinary bearing and exceptional aura, with Luo Yixuan in particular having an ethereal, jade-like beauty. It was clear at a glance that they belonged to a major sect or powerful force. The survival wisdom among rogue cultivators dictated that when encountering such influential figures, it was best to keep a respectful distance to avoid getting entangled in unnecessary trouble.

"Let's go. If I remember correctly, the sect's steward is in the shop at the center of the market city," Chen Mobai said, recalling his last visit to Jade Pot Market City. He led his two disciples towards the market city's tallest, three-story building.

"Greetings, Protector." The Divine Wood Sect's steward in the market city was named Pang Guangmin, a ninth-level Qi Condensation cultivator who was now Chen Mobai's subordinate. Within all five major market cities of Jianguo, all Divine Wood Sect disciples would be under Chen Mobai's command for the next ten years.

"How many sect disciples are there in this market city?"

"Twenty-seven."

"And what about the sect's properties?"

"Of the thirty-six shops in Jade Pot Market City, our sect controls twelve. Four are for our own use, and eight are rented out, each at a rent of 150 spirit stones. Besides the shops, forty-eight first-tier cave dwellings and twenty-four second-tier cave dwellings on the market city's spirit vein also belong to the sect, bringing in approximately 800 spirit stones annually. Furthermore, the market city's protective grand formation is maintained by our sect's personnel, and the shops in the market city pay 360 spirit stones annually as compensation for the hard work of our senior brothers in the Formation Department." Pang Guangmin was a practical man, completely familiar with all of the Divine Wood Sect's properties in Jade Pot Market City.

"So, that means the sect earns over two thousand spirit stones annually from this market city," Chen Mobai mused, mentally calculating to arrive at a rough estimate of the income.

"Reporting to the Protector, the total income on the report I prepared when Protector Liu returned to the sect to report at the end of last year was 4,587 spirit stones," Pang Guangmin said cautiously, unsure whether Liu Ruzhong had truthfully submitted this income to the sect.

"Wenbai," Chen Mobai called his eldest disciple. Previously, he had been busy with the puppet factory and had tasked Liu Wenbai with reviewing the various sect documents that the Jianguo Protector could access in the Transmission Department.

"Reporting, Master, the figures are largely consistent," Liu Wenbai replied. With an outsider present, his words were somewhat indirect, but Chen Mobai understood his meaning, nodded, and said nothing further. But cold sweat beaded on Pang Guangmin's forehead.

"Master, the income from the properties Steward Pang just mentioned is fixed, so there generally won't be any issues with those accounts. However, it's easier to manipulate the books for the shops directly managed by the sect," Luo Yixuan said, casting a half-smile towards the continuously wiping Pang Guangmin. Before she joined the Divine Wood Sect, she had spent several years in market cities in Yun Country and understood a thing or two about these practices.

"Protector, I have records of all sixteen years of accounts since I arrived here. If you wish to see them, I'll bring them to you," Pang Guangmin said without hesitation, immediately beginning to prove his innocence.

"That won't be necessary. These matters occurred during Senior Brother Liu's tenure, after all. If I were to investigate further, wouldn't the previous Protectors also become uneasy?" Chen Mobai replied. Liu Ruzhong was not the only Protector of Jianguo. Moreover, as Jianguo was where the Divine Wood Sect was located, every Protector had a profound background, likely connected to the two Patriarchs. How could Chen Mobai afford to make enemies of such individuals?

"Come with me to see the sect's shops. By the way, if I, as the Protector, hadn't come this year, wouldn't those eight shops still be unrented?" Chen Mobai asked as he walked. Pang Guangmin quickly followed behind him, answering swiftly.

"Reporting to the Protector, the sect has a regulation: if the cultivator who rented a shop in the previous year wishes to continue and their business hasn't negatively impacted the sect's reputation, they are permitted to renew their lease."

"Then, if I wanted to rent one of those shops this year, Steward Pang, would you be able to arrange it?" Chen Mobai's question made even more sweat bead on Pang Guangmin's forehead. Those capable of renting Divine Wood Sect shops were naturally not minor figures; they were either cultivation families or merchant guilds from the Eastern Wilderness.

"If the Protector wishes, I will arrange a shop immediately." Ultimately, the authority of his direct superior was more potent. After only a brief hesitation, Pang Guangmin gritted his teeth and agreed immediately.