Chapter 59: Divine Wood Sect

"One thousand taels of gold."

Chen Mobai had done some research in the market. Entry-level, low-grade talismans averaged 100 taels of gold, while mid-grade ones averaged 1,000 taels of gold. High-grade talismans, on the other hand, typically cost one spirit stone each.

So, he subconsciously quoted an average price.

Only after speaking did he realize why he hadn't had any business before: he hadn't marked the prices, forcing people to ask. Business naturally wouldn't be good that way.

"How many do you have? I'll buy them all," the woman in yellow said, her eyes lighting up as she pointed to the "Green Arrow Talismans" Chen Mobai had displayed on his stall.

Chen Mobai still had six left, but her words made him suspicious, so he didn't dare sell them all.

"There are only two left," he replied.

"Here, these are gold notes." The woman in yellow pulled two high-denomination notes from her sachet. Chen Mobai hesitated for a moment, but since he had already spoken and his stall was set up, he couldn't go back on his word. He discreetly took out another one from his bag and gave both to her, including the one already on the blanket.

"My name is Zhuo Ming, and I'm a talisman crafter. We can exchange more notes in the future." With that, the woman in yellow took the two Green Arrow Talismans, packed up her own stall, slung her belongings over her shoulder, and left.

Chen Mobai was completely baffled.

Just then, another slender young man with a long beard approached. He squatted by Chen Mobai's stall, carefully picking through the remaining low-grade talismans.

"Those Green Arrow Talismans of yours, she'll probably be able to resell each for two or three thousand," the long-bearded youth suddenly remarked. Chen Mobai stroked his chin, utterly bewildered about what was happening.

"A few days ago, that fellow Qi Er joined a group of rogue cultivators to hunt Snow Rhinos in the Cloud Dream Lake area. He used a mid-grade talisman to sever the legs of a beast, earning him significant merit."

After he finished speaking, Chen Mobai finally understood what was going on.

It turned out it was all because of the Green Arrow Talisman he had given to Qi Er. Zhuo Ming, seeing him finally set up a stall, couldn't resist striking first and grabbing a bargain.

"How many more do you have? Pack them all up for me," the long-bearded youth said with a smile, after explaining the situation to Chen Mobai, pointing to the five low-grade talismans on the blanket.

Chen Mobai hesitated. According to his original pricing, each should have been 100 taels, but now that his talismans had gained a reputation thanks to Qi Er, he wondered if he should raise the price.

"May I ask your name, fellow daoist?"

"Lu Shu," the long-bearded youth replied, waving his hand.

"To be honest, I have no idea how to price my talismans in this market. Would you mind giving me some guidance? Consider these five as your consultation fee."

Lu Shu was clearly surprised by Chen Mobai's proposal. He paused, then clicked his tongue in wonder.

"Where exactly are you from, rogue cultivator? Your cultivation seems quite good. A Qi Refinement stage six cultivator should be well-versed in these matters."

"When I was a child, I stumbled upon a cultivation method carved on a cave wall and accidentally cultivated to my current level. I only recently found my way to Nanxi Market. It's embarrassing to admit, but I didn't even know what spirit stones were until now."

Chen Mobai's words made Lu Shu nod slightly. Without further ado, he picked up the five low-grade talismans from the blanket, inquired about their effects and power one by one, and began to price them.

"This one is a Binding Talisman…"

The two exchanged questions and answers for nearly half an hour.

"I've certainly profited from this. If these five talismans were sold on an island in the Cloud Dream Lake, they would fetch at least a thousand taels of gold. Take this book as my return gift." Lu Shu took a book from his own blanket and tossed it to Chen Mobai, who caught it and saw the title: *Divine Wood Sect Talisman Crafting Insights*.

"Judging by your talismans, you likely have a wood spiritual root. The Divine Wood Sect is a top-tier talisman crafting sect in the Eastern Wilderness. They recruit disciples every ten years. With your cultivation at Qi Refinement stage six at such a young age, if you master these talisman crafting insights beforehand, you might just be able to join the Divine Wood Sect and obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill."

Chen Mobai had initially thought the book would be useless to him, as he planned to specialize in the talisman crafting techniques of Earth Star. But after hearing Lu Shu's words, his eyes widened in disbelief.

"A Foundation Establishment Pill? Does the Divine Wood Sect really give out Foundation Establishment Pills to its disciples?"

"Of course! Why else would they be a major sect in the Eastern Wilderness? It's because they have a Golden Core ancestor presiding over them, who can arrange for the third-tier alchemist master from Reversion Valley to share the Foundation Establishment Pills they refine with them!"

Lu Shu misunderstood Chen Mobai's meaning. What Chen Mobai meant was: wouldn't it be better to use the main ingredient for Foundation Establishment Pills to refine Golden Core elixirs, thereby making better use of the material? How could refining Foundation Establishment Pills be so wasteful?

But Chen Mobai quickly came to his senses. Wouldn't this be even better!

This Heavenly River Realm isn't Earth Star; perhaps resources and spiritual herbs are abundant here, and they simply choose to be wasteful!

He immediately picked up the *Divine Wood Sect Talisman Crafting Insights* and also asked Lu Shu when their next disciple recruitment would be.

"If it's every ten years, then it should be next year." Lu Shu wasn't entirely sure, as he planned to join Six Armor Mountain to study puppetry, and selling talismans was just a way to make a living.

"Thank you very much." Chen Mobai stood up and thanked Lu Shu. The latter found his solemnity a bit strange but nodded, accepting his gratitude.

After essentially getting five talismans for a used book, Lu Shu also packed up his stall, saying he was going to try his luck in the Cloud Dream Lake area to hunt some demonic beasts.

Compared to setting up a stall in the market, hunting demonic beasts was the proper way for cultivators in the Heavenly River Realm to acquire resources.

A low-grade spiritual beast, if its meat was well-preserved when sold to the Heavenly Dining Tower, would fetch at least one spirit stone.

It was precisely for this reason that Qi Er, using a Green Arrow Talisman, hunted a Snow Rhino with his team and received two spirit stones in return—a windfall that brought him a huge profit.

After Zhuo Ming and Lu Shu left, Chen Mobai continued to operate his stall for a while longer.

Soon, cultivators from the market who had heard the news rushed over and quickly bought up the nearly one hundred remaining low-grade talismans. After receiving Lu Shu's guidance, Chen Mobai had raised the price of each talisman to 200 taels of gold.

After selling everything, including the gold notes given by Zhuo Ming, he went to the Five Elements Sect's silver exchange and converted it all into two spirit stones.

Leaving the market with a great haul, Chen Mobai returned to his water mansion. He pulled out the introduction to the major sects of the Eastern Wilderness that he had previously bought, found the section on the Divine Wood Sect, and began to read it carefully.

The Divine Wood Sect, a branch of the Five Elements Sect's Wood Meridian, split off from the Five Elements Sect fifty years ago when Patriarch Hunyuan passed away. Its sect residence is located in Giant Wood Ridge, boasting a fourth-tier high-grade spiritual vein. Its unique profound art is the *Everlasting Life Sutra*, which grants an additional sixty years of life for every major cultivation realm breakthrough.

This cultivation method is good; it prolongs life.