After confronting Elder Gu, Chen An no longer bothered going to the Elder Hall to fulfill his duties. With the two of them now standing on opposing sides, pretending otherwise would be pointless. Instead, he decided to focus on cultivation and drawing talismans.
Elder Gu seemed to share the same tacit understanding. Before the sect's disciple competition began, neither of them planned to stir up trouble for the other. However, if Chen An failed to leap through the dragon gate and be promoted into the inner sect, their conflict would inevitably come to a head after the competition. This was an unspoken agreement between the two.
Because of this, the pressure surrounding Chen An grew heavier.
For ten consecutive days, besides his daily cultivation, the most important task for Chen An was drawing talismans. He gradually discovered that every time he completed a talisman, the spiritual power in his dantian would increase slightly. Though the increase was minuscule, almost imperceptible, Chen An noticed it, seeing it as an excellent opportunity. It meant that he was improving every moment, wasting no time.
Although this progress would seem laughable to other cultivators, to Chen An, it was a matter of time before even the smallest effort would wear down the hardest stone.
After ten days, Chen An finally left his residence and went to the market.
Today was the day he had agreed to meet with Li Muchen, and their collaboration would officially begin.
Upon arriving at the market, Chen An soon spotted Li Muchen waiting for him. Without wasting time, he handed over all the talismans he had drawn during this period.
Li Muchen was stunned as he stared at the thick stack of talismans.
It took him quite a while before he could stammer out a question, "Did you make all these talismans during this time?"
"That's right," Chen An nodded. "I spent about half of my time each day cultivating, so I was a bit slow. But this should be enough to exchange for a few dozen spirit stones, right?"
Hearing Chen An's casual response, Li Muchen suddenly felt the urge to bang his head against a wall.
"In ten days, you've drawn almost two hundred talismans, and they're all top-tier first-grade talismans like Speed Talismans and Lightning Talismans! And nearly all of them are high quality. And yet, you think that's slow? Brother Chen, sometimes I wonder if you're just toying with me."
Seeing Chen An's clear, innocent eyes, Li Muchen was utterly speechless.
He had initially thought that even with Chen An's incredible talent, drawing a few dozen high-quality talismans in ten days would already be extraordinary. But once again, he had underestimated him.
This speed was monstrous!
While feeling awed, Li Muchen also became curious. Chen An was still technically an errand boy in the Outer Elder Hall, yet he spent all his time either cultivating or drawing talismans. Did he not need to fulfill his duties?
Chen An didn't hide anything and told Li Muchen that he had signed up for the sect's disciple competition. He also lied, saying that Elder Gu had been supportive of his decision and excused him from his duties temporarily.
"You signed up?" Li Muchen was taken aback again, frowning slightly. "But when I mentioned the competition to you before, you declined outright. Why the sudden change of heart?"
Chen An couldn't exactly tell Li Muchen the real reason—that he had stumbled upon Elder Gu draining the blood of errand boys to prolong his life and had no choice but to join the competition to save himself. Instead, he simply said that circumstances had changed.
"Anyway, it was your advice that made me reconsider. I'm grateful for your warning, Brother Li. Now, if you could quickly exchange these talismans for spirit stones to aid my cultivation, I'd appreciate it."
Sensing Chen An's urgency, Li Muchen nodded and, after a moment's thought, pulled out a jade slip from his storage bag.
"This jade slip contains a first-grade technique called 'Mountain Shaking Force,' which I came across by chance at the base of the mountain. It's a body cultivation technique, so it can be quite powerful even in the early stages of cultivation. It might help you in the competition."
After a brief pause, Chen An accepted the jade slip without hesitation. "I owe you for this."
"Nonsense! We're partners, after all. Naturally, I hope our partnership continues. Besides, your current status as an errand boy means you haven't had the chance to systematically learn the sect's techniques. You'll be at a disadvantage when fighting others. I'm just doing what I can to give you a hand."
Li Muchen's assistance warmed Chen An's heart, but he still had a lingering question: Why could he, as a talisman cultivator, practice a body cultivation technique?
According to Li Muchen, the four paths of cultivation—Dan (alchemy), Fu (talismans), Fa (magic), and Ti (body)—all lead to the same goal. Body cultivators could draw talismans, and magic cultivators could practice body cultivation techniques. Of course, there was a difference between techniques and cultivation methods. A technique was just a means of attack, while a cultivation method was the foundation of a cultivator.
As long as the core cultivation method wasn't incorrect, a person could freely practice various techniques. The only difference might be in their power, but it wouldn't affect the overall path of cultivation. With this in mind, Chen An felt reassured about practicing the Mountain Shaking Force.
Since he had been in seclusion for ten days, Chen An felt a bit stifled, so after handing the talismans to Li Muchen, he decided to stay with him and help sell them.
Chen An hadn't realized just how much his high-grade talismans would be in demand among the inner disciples. He had thought Li Muchen's praise for him was a bit over the top.
But today, after watching the frenzy over his talismans in the market, Chen An finally understood that Li Muchen had been holding back in his compliments.
His high-grade talismans were being snapped up.
Countless inner disciples were practically fighting each other to spend their hard-earned spirit stones on Chen An's talismans.
The reason was simple: Chen An's talismans were the strongest of all first-grade talismans!
For a Qi Condensation stage cultivator, these talismans were precious beyond measure, which explained the madness.
A total of over two hundred talismans sold three for one spirit stone, were completely sold out in less than two hours. The entire situation left Chen An stunned.
By the time the afternoon arrived, Chen An absentmindedly glanced at the nearly forty spirit stones in his storage bag from the sale and felt as though he were in a dream.
Not long ago, he had risked his life to poison Wei Ming and barely managed to obtain two spirit stones, one of which he still hadn't used.
Now, in just ten days, he had turned one spirit stone into forty through talisman-making. What kind of concept was this?
An outer disciple's monthly stipend was just five spirit stones, and now, Chen An's wealth was equivalent to eight months of an inner disciple's hard-earned savings.
At this rate, it seemed like he was on his way to becoming wealthy!