Lei Er, with a fierce and malevolent demeanor, arrived at the stall. He suddenly recognized the young man in front of him and was filled with great joy.
Isn't this the person who made him grit his teeth in anger and wish for his destruction?
He slammed his hand on the table and shouted:
"Well, well, you little rascal, so you've been hiding here!"
The talismans on the table were jolted up by more than a foot, startling Gu Chuanfei beside him.
Gu Chuanfei glanced at Lei Er, noticing he was wearing the standard uniform issued by Juyuan Casino, and his irritation grew.
Just when he had come to ask Lu An for a favor, this person showed up and created trouble.
He spoke in a low voice to Lei Er:
"How dare you! Withdraw at once!"
Lei Er turned to look at Gu Chuanfei, saw an unfamiliar old man who seemed to have no cultivation, and became even angrier.
Does he think I'm a pushover? Does everyone think they can just bully me?
With a flash, he drew his demon blade and held it to Gu Chuanfei's neck.
"Old man, are you talking to me?"
Lu An, observing from the side, was amazed at Lei Er's boldness. Gu Chuanfei was his superior, after all. However, Gu Chuanfei usually kept a low profile, so it wasn't surprising that Lei Er didn't recognize him.
Lu An was not worried about Gu Chuanfei's safety. With Gu Chuanfei's late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, it would be strange if a mere Qi Refining stage cultivator could harm him.
Gu Chuanfei's expression darkened. In all his years, no one had been so rude to him, especially someone from "his own side."
His aura exploded suddenly, forcing Lei Er to stagger back several steps.
"Foundation Establishment stage!"
Lei Er was horrified, his mind struck with terror.
Gu Chuanfei paid no attention to his fear. He stepped forward, grabbed Lei Er by the neck, and threw him in front of Lu An.
"Young friend Lu, someone from Juyuan Studio has offended you. I apologize. You may deal with him as you see fit, whether you want to kill or mutilate him."
Lei Er came to his senses upon hearing this.
"Juyuan Studio's people? Is this old man one of the reclusive elders from Juyuan Studio? This is a disaster…"
Lu An's mind stirred. He actually had a task that required a lot of time, and if Lei Er could do it, it would save him a lot of trouble.
After a moment of thought, he said:
"I won't make things difficult for you. Just find me a few True Methods for first-grade talismans, and I will let you go. How about it?"
True Methods for talismans are books that record how to make talismans, similar to pill recipes for alchemists and weapon blueprints for artifact craftsmen.
Currently, Lu An only mastered two types of talismans, which was still too few for him. It was a good opportunity to have Lei Er search for some.
Seeing that Lu An did not punish him but only assigned a task, Lei Er was overjoyed and quickly agreed.
Lu An waved his hand casually, signaling that Lei Er could leave.
At that moment, Gu Chuanfei spoke up:
"This way of doing things is too lenient on you."
"Tomorrow, prepare eight hundred spirit stones and deliver them to young friend Lu. Otherwise, you know the consequences."
Lei Er's face fell when he heard the amount of spirit stones required. He couldn't come up with that much, but he dared not argue and could only go back and think of a way to manage it.
Lu An knew that this was Gu Chuanfei's reward for him, so he didn't refuse. He only asked Lei Er to deliver the spirit stones to Uncle Zhao's home before letting him leave.
Lu An considered that with the stall he now had for talismans, his business would likely improve. Moreover, Uncle Zhao was elderly, so this sum of spirit stones could help reduce his burden.
Lei Er felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He walked far away from the stall before stopping. He then turned around and kicked the guide he had brought along to the ground.
"Beat him to a pulp!"
If it weren't for this person saying that the Clear Heart Talismans here were priced at three spirit stones each, he wouldn't have run into Lu An and walked into a trap.
They beat the guide until he was on the brink of death, then finally stopped and left, leaving the man lying on the ground, moaning in agony. He never understood what he had done wrong.
Not long after, Gu Chuanfei took his leave as well. Seeing that there were few customers, Lu An prepared to return home to cultivate.
He wasn't worried about future business; it was bound to get better with time. Little did he know, however, that the couple, Ying Chang and Fang Ling, had called him over.
"Brother Lu, I heard you are looking for talisman True Methods?"
Lu An stopped in his tracks and turned to say:
"That's right. I have this stall now, but I can only sell these Clear Heart Talismans, which is naturally insufficient."
Fang Ling hesitated for a moment before speaking:
"I do have a talisman True Method. If Brother Lu can offer five hundred spirit stones, I'll trade it to you. How about it?"
She was also in urgent need of spirit stones and had heard Lu An's conversation with Lei Er, realizing Lu An was of considerable means. That's why she made the offer.
Lu An immediately became interested and asked eagerly:
"Five hundred spirit stones? What kind of talisman True Method is it?"
He noted that Fang Ling mentioned it was a single True Method, not a book. What talisman True Method could be so expensive? Ordinary second-grade True Methods probably wouldn't be priced that high.
Fang Ling was about to speak when Ying Chang pulled her aside and whispered:
"Ling'er, have you thought this through? This is a secret talisman True Method from the Fang family. If the Fang family finds out, you and I..."
Fang Ling pressed his hand gently and said:
"Brother Ying, the Fang family's collection has a total of one hundred and eight talisman True Methods. I am only taking one of them, which, while one of the rarer ones, should be manageable."
"Moreover, you are about to reach the age of forty. If you don't breakthrough soon, you might have no hope left in the future."
"Therefore, I must win the Foundation Establishment Pills at the upcoming auction in the south of the city."
"If we can secure two pills, we can both advance to Foundation Establishment. That would be even better."
Lu An understood that they were communicating through sound transmission and wasn't surprised. He waited patiently.
After a while, Fang Ling ended the transmission and continued:
"This talisman True Method is called the Gathering Qi Talisman. When activated and affixed to the body, it speeds up the absorption of the world's essence."
"It lasts for one month and has no side effects on cultivators. What do you think, Brother Lu? Is it worth five hundred spirit stones?"
Lu An was stunned. He hadn't expected it to be a second-grade talisman—the Gathering Qi Talisman.
He had long heard of this talisman and had even fantasized about the increased cultivation speed if he could make such a talisman. For the True Method of this talisman, five hundred spirit stones was indeed not expensive.
After all, it was akin to a pill recipe. With this True Method, he could continuously produce the talisman.
He calmed his emotions and said:
"The Gathering Qi Talisman is certainly worth it. I'll take it."
"However, Sister Fang, five hundred spirit stones is quite a sum. Could you wait while I gather the funds? I'll bring them to you in a couple of days."
He didn't have spirit stones on him at the moment, but he couldn't miss out on the Gathering Qi Talisman. Since Lei Er would be delivering eight hundred spirit stones to Uncle Zhao tomorrow, he might need to borrow some.
Fang Ling and Ying Chang exchanged glances and nodded in agreement. They could certainly wait a day or two. The auction in the south of the city was still over a week away, so it was sufficient to gather the spirit stones by then.
Seeing their agreement, Lu An smiled and asked curiously:
"Brother Ying, Sister Fang, what do you need so many spirit stones for?"
"I'm just asking out of curiosity. If it's inconvenient to share, that's fine too."
Ying Chang waved his hand casually and said:
"There's nothing inconvenient about it. In a week, there will be an auction in the south of the city."
"Three Foundation Establishment Pills will be up for auction. Your sister wants to secure one for me."
Upon hearing this, Lu An's heart stirred. Foundation Establishment Pills were still a bit distant for him, but he was curious about the auction. It would be good to experience it and see what else might be available.
With his mind made up, he slowly spoke:
"Brother Ying, I've never attended such a grand event. Would you be able to take me along?"