Qin Suniang said no more, only smiling as she glanced at Lu Chi.

  Her gaze was bone?meltingly tender, the corner of her mouth slightly upturned, hinting at a smile, a glimmer of ambiguous warmth flickering in the turn of her eyes. Beneath the thin fabric of her robe, her chest rose and fell softly with each breath.

  It was the lazy, provocative allure of a mature woman, yet restrained just enough—making one’s throat tighten, yet leaving nowhere to grasp.

  This woman is definitely after something… Lu Chi understood perfectly, but his expression remained unchanged as his gaze swept past that soft, enticing smile on Qin Suniang’s face before swiftly withdrawing.

  In his past life, he had dated a couple of girlfriends and was no inexperienced kid. A little flirtation like this wouldn’t make him lose his composure on the spot.

  Zhou Jinyan, seeing more guests than expected, frowned slightly. After a moment’s hesitation, he gritted his teeth, went back inside, and brought out three or four more jars of wine, setting them heavily on the stone table.

  As he broke the clay seal on one jar, the aroma of wine immediately spilled forth. Grinning broadly, he declared heartily:

  “Perfect timing, everyone! This wine is the first?press brew from the Green?Ear Rice grown on my own spirit field. Sweet yet potent, it warms the dantian with the first sip and gets the spiritual energy flowing.”

  Hearing this, everyone laughed and raised their bowls. Zhou Jinyan’s eyes sparkled as a thought struck him—wasn’t this also a chance to advertise? Seizing the moment, he added:

  “If any fellow Daoist takes a liking to it and wants a few jars later, just leave your address. I’ll deliver them fresh every few days—a jar costs only eight taels of spirit sand, and for every one you buy, I’ll throw in another!”

  Xu Yanqiu, who had earlier been coldly remarking that cultivators shouldn’t indulge in drink, now fell oddly silent. He raised his cup alone, one after another, his expression rigid and cold, as if locked in a contest with the wine.

  As Lu Chi spoke with the others, the conversation quickly turned to the Spirit?Gathering Talismans.

  The more he heard, the more something felt off.

  Several of the spirit farmers mentioned the effectiveness in use, all saying it was steady and reliable, no different from those sold in the market’s talisman shops, with no sluggishness in spiritual energy flow. Clearly, it wasn’t that the talismans were faulty.

  While the wine was still light, Lu Chi simply said outright, “If any of you need talismans other than the Spirit?Gathering Talisman in the future, you’re welcome to come find me.”

  Yet after he spoke, no one immediately responded. The few exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment, and finally one of them sighed softly, saying in a low voice:

  “Talisman Master Lu, you may not know this, but we all make our living from spirit fields. Our income is truly limited.”

  “Spirit?Gathering Talismans are indispensable for the fields—we have to buy them no matter how tight things are. But other talismans… for now, we just can’t afford them.”

  Can’t afford them… In other words, they have no money.

  Lu Chi was momentarily speechless. What a blunder—he had actually overlooked this point.

  So it wasn’t that return customers weren’t coming; it was simply that these people were in such straits. Beyond absolute necessities, they had no capacity to purchase even one extra talisman.

  Feeling regretful inside, he smiled and said, “No matter. If any of you have need in the future, you’re always welcome to come find me.”

  The feast continued, but the conversation gradually drifted elsewhere.

  Lu Chi’s thoughts, however, had already turned to calculating other paths.

  Which of the Hundred Arts of cultivation isn’t a gold?devouring beast? The reason rogue cultivators face nine deaths for every step forward, struggling for a decade without progress, lies right here—and the path of the talisman master is no exception.

  Drawing a single talisman, the mental exertion aside—the real, tangible costs of spirit ink, talisman paper, and spirit sand are actual silver and gold flowing out with every stroke.

  Over the past half?month, the meager stock in his little room had long since run dry. If no more income came in, not only would he be unable to draw new talismans, but even his usual practice would have to be severely tightened.

  ‘If I want to advance further, I must expand my client base.’

  ‘But relying solely on referrals from acquaintances and word?of?mouth spreads slowly and yields results even more slowly. In the end, it’s not a sustainable long?term plan.’

  Lu Chi suddenly thought that if he could establish his own talisman shop in the market district, it would be more convenient for customers to come and go and easier to gain their trust. Business and income would likely be much steadier.

  But no sooner had the thought arisen than he suppressed it himself.

  Opening a shop in the market district—forget about the cost of the location itself, just the “Spiritual Vein Maintenance Fee” required by the market district started at a ten?year term and involved hundreds or even thousands of spirit stones.

  With his current savings, he couldn’t even touch the threshold.

  For the moment, he couldn’t think of any reliable alternative.

  Just as he was pondering, a soft woman’s voice suddenly reached his ear—not spoken aloud, but conveyed through magical sound transmission:

  “If Talisman Master Lu has any intention of selling talismans, why not cooperate with my Mistvale Sect? This humble woman has been planning to open a new talisman shop lately. If I could have Talisman Master Lu’s assistance, it would be most welcome.”

  “After the feast, come to the Moon?Veil Pavilion on East Street in the market district. This humble woman and Fellow Daoist Cao Zhen will be waiting for you there.”

  It was Qin Suniang’s voice transmission.

  Lu Chi’s heart tightened: So this woman’s personal attendance at the feast today was indeed Cao Zhen’s doing, trying to draw me into their partnership.

  The Moon?Veil Pavilion is still in operation, and now they want to open a new talisman shop… The Mistvale Sect actually has funds to spare.

  Without changing his expression, he glanced up. Qin Suniang happened to turn her gaze back at that moment, the corner of her mouth upturned, her eyes tender as water,

  exchanging a fleeting, knowing look with him.

  Lu Chi quickly withdrew his gaze, betraying no emotion on his face, only pondering inwardly: There’s no rush. I’ll just visit the Moon?Veil Pavilion after the feast.

  Most talisman masters in the market district are unwilling to open their own shops alone: the Spiritual Vein Maintenance Fee, promotion, customer sources—each and every one is a heavy burden.

  Registering under someone else’s talisman shop, or simply joining a sect or family, is the common path.

  If I could truly establish myself by leveraging the Mistvale Sect’s influence, saving myself many troubles, it would indeed be worth a try.

  ......

  ......

  The wine gradually wore off, and the sky darkened a little.

  An old man at the third layer of Qi Refinement was the first to rise, cupping his hands in farewell and saying he would return another day to seek advice on the talisman path.

  Qin Suniang and Cao Zhen also stood up soon after, smiling as they bid Lu Chi farewell. The former’s gaze lingered on him for a moment before she slowly departed.

  Seeing them leave, the others no longer lingered. Each offered their courtesies and departed one after another.

  They had come in a lively crowd but left without ceremony. Once the courtyard gate closed, within moments only the three of them remained seated opposite one another.

  Lu Chi raised his hands in a salute and said, “I’ve troubled Brother Zhou to make arrangements today. Your kindness is noted, and I will remember it.”

  Before Zhou Jinyan could respond, Xu Yanqiu, his eyes bleary with drink, let out a light snort. The smell of wine wafted from his breath, his voice tinged with a slurred sharpness:

  “Nowadays… he’s just a farmer. With a talisman master at his side, of course he’d seize the chance… seize the chance to make a show of it, cozying up to get a leg up… all to add some shine to his own reputation… Hah.”

  Zhou Jinyan ground his teeth at the words, yet his smile grew a few degrees colder:

  “You’re the lofty one. The Shen family has plenty of servants—you’re just one of them. After all this time mixing there, have you ever refined a single decent batch of pills?”

  Xu Yanqiu’s face shifted. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Recently, a Shen family alchemist has appointed me to assist in refining. I’ll have my chance.”

  Zhou Jinyan showed no mercy: “Appointed you, yes—to add fire and hand over materials. Within the Shen family, there are Shen?clan disciples above. Your surname is Xu. Wanting to sit in the alchemist’s seat? That’s probably as difficult as climbing to heaven.”

  “You—” Xu Yanqiu jerked his head up, his face flushing red.

  He clenched his teeth and said coldly, “Just you wait! When the day comes that I truly light my own furnace and establish my cauldron, I’ll make sure you all know.”

  With a flick of his sleeve, he turned and strode out of the courtyard gate without taking another sip of wine.

  Watching that retreating back, Lu Chi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Brother Zhou, why provoke him?”

  Zhou Jinyan snorted, not in a good mood. “That kid is just a stubborn mule. With a middle?grade spiritual root, if he’d cultivate steadily, his future might not be beneath yours or mine. Yet he insists on being a servant in the Shen family.”

  “The art of pill?refining is the Shen family’s core inheritance. Do you think they’d casually pass on the true alchemical methods to someone with an outside surname?”

  Lu Chi shook his head with a faint smile. Judging by Xu Yanqiu’s expression earlier, he probably hadn’t taken in a single word of this.

  Zhou Jinyan suddenly remembered something and spoke up: “You took the initiative to visit today—it didn’t seem like it was just for your birthday. Do you have something else on your mind?”

  Lu Chi hesitated briefly, then told him about his earlier worries over the lack of customers.

  After listening, Zhou Jinyan pondered for a moment and said, “For a small matter like this, I can put in a few good words for you in the market district. The more familiar faces, the more business you’ll get.”

  But Lu Chi shook his head. “No need to trouble yourself. I already have some leads.”

  Zhou Jinyan was taken aback, then narrowed his eyes. “Leads? It wouldn’t be that person from the feast, would it?”

  Lu Chi didn’t answer, only gave a slight nod.

  Zhou Jinyan chuckled softly, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes:

  “Did you know the Mistvale Sect Leader recently passed away? That was Qin Suniang’s late husband… Now that woman is left all alone…”

  "Many eyes covet both her beauty and the sect's hidden resources. You'd best stay sharp—don't let someone else reap the benefits."

  He paused, lowering his voice with a hint of masculine understanding:

  "But... if you could truly kindle a spark with her, it wouldn't be a bad path at all. Although the Mistvale Sect's resources are modest, they'd be more than enough to support your cultivation for a time.

  "A widow's heart is bound to feel empty. If you're willing to invest the effort—to nurture carefully and tend with patience—perhaps that long?closed door might quietly open for you.

  "In the future, spirit stones, elixirs, opportunities... you wouldn't have to scramble for them anymore."

  Truly a seasoned patron of Xiangyun Tower...

  Listening, Lu Chi’s expression grew increasingly odd, yet from this he glimpsed the recent situation of the Mistvale Sect, and his mind stirred.

  A late?stage Qi?Refinement cultivator had fallen—the Mistvale Sect had lost its pillar.

  Considering it carefully, this might not be a wise destination after all.