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Chapter 32: Ten Thousand Talisman Papers
Chapter 32: Ten Thousand Talisman Papers
The next day, Zhuang Yunde appeared in the courtyard as Chu Ning had expected.
"Disciple Chu, I'm here to collect the Ink Spirit Bamboo."
"Please come in, Senior Brother Zhuang."
Chu Ning led him into the courtyard to where he stored the Ink Spirit Bamboo.
Senior Brother Zhuang's smile widened as he beheld the bamboo in the courtyard.
"It seems you've already set aside the amount to be handed over to the sect. To be able to grow Ink Spirit Bamboo of this quality in your first year is indeed a testament to your talent in spirit planting."
The smile on Zhuang Yunde's face was sincere. After all, as he gazed upon this pile of bamboo, he could also envision a portion of it ending up in his own pockets.
Chu Ning, of course, understood the underlying meaning behind Zhuang Yunde's smile. Taking advantage of his good mood, he cautiously voiced his thoughts.
"Senior Brother Zhuang, I was wondering if there might be some flexibility regarding the handover of the Ink Spirit Bamboo harvest. For instance, could we perhaps exchange it for talisman papers?"
"Hmm?" Zhuang Yunde, who had been all smiles, was taken aback by Chu Ning's suggestion.
"What do you mean, Disciple Chu? Do you intend to turn all of this Ink Spirit Bamboo into talisman papers before handing it over to the sect?"
Chu Ning nodded slightly. "That is my intention."
Knowing that Zhuang Yunde would ask, Chu Ning explained further, "To be honest, Senior Brother, I really want to try my hand at the art of talisman-making. However, if I only use the bamboo I have left, taking into account the wastage during the initial learning process, I may not end up with many talisman papers. But if I use all of this Ink Spirit Bamboo for talisman-making, it would be a different story. Practice makes perfect, and I believe that with time, I'll become more adept at crafting talismans with a higher success rate."
Zhuang Yunde understood the implication of Chu Ning's words—he wanted to offset the initial wastage by producing more talismans.
After pondering for a moment, Zhuang Yunde replied seriously, "Your idea is indeed commendable, Disciple Chu. However, it all hinges on your ability to master the art of talisman-making and produce enough talismans. The sect will not consider your potential failures. If you fail to hand over the required amount of talismans on time, you will have to make up for it with at least a 20% increase in next year's harvest."
Hearing this, Chu Ning knew that his proposal had a good chance of being accepted. Zhuang Yunde's concerns were not an issue for him.
His heart leaped with joy, but he maintained a conflicted expression on his face. After feigning hesitation, he finally nodded reluctantly.
"Senior Brother Zhuang, I still want to give it a try. If I don't make more talismans, my efforts in cultivating this bamboo would be in vain."
Zhuang Yunde didn't say anything further. His expression calm, he began to calculate.
"If we go by the amount of Ink Spirit Bamboo to be handed over to the sect and convert it into talisman papers, the ideal outcome would be around 5,000 talisman papers. However, even the Hundred Arts Hall experiences some unforeseen issues during talisman-making, so we usually calculate it as 70% to 80%.
Given that you're a newcomer with such ambition, I can request the sect to consider a 70% handover."
Chu Ning expressed his gratitude upon hearing this. He had come to know Zhuang Yunde well enough to understand that he wouldn't make such a suggestion unless he was confident.
As for the market price of ordinary talisman papers, Chu Ning had already inquired about it. Currently, one spirit stone could buy around 50 talisman papers. Of course, if one were to sell to shops in the market, the rate would be lower, requiring 55 to 60 talismans for a single spirit stone.
Nevertheless, if Zhuang Yunde could get the sect's approval, a 10% reduction would undoubtedly mean a profit of nearly 10 more spirit stones for Chu Ning.
This junior brother of his was indeed very cooperative.
"My storage bag is almost full, and it might not be able to fit all of this Ink Spirit Bamboo. It would be even better if I could have talisman papers instead."
Chu Ning immediately assured him, "Rest assured, Senior Brother Zhuang. I'll set aside 550 talisman papers first."
Hearing that Chu Ning was offering more than the 500 they had discussed, and not reducing the amount to be handed over to the sect, Zhuang Yunde was even more pleased.
"Don't worry, junior brother. I'll do my best to get the sect to delay your submission deadline. You can take your time and experiment as much as you need." Zhuang Yunde said his farewells and left.
After seeing him out, Chu Ning turned back into the courtyard with a smile on his face.
Zhuang Yunde thought that as a newcomer, Chu Ning would need a lot of practice and would incur significant losses in the process.
However, he didn't know that Chu Ning had already mastered the art of making talismans and, with the boost from his Spirit Talisman Body, his success rate was far beyond that of an ordinary cultivator.
Therefore, with this pile of Ink Spirit Bamboo, the number of talisman papers Chu Ning could produce would undoubtedly exceed 80%.
The next day, Chu Ning received a sound transmission talisman from Zhuang Yunde, informing him that the sect had agreed to accept talisman papers in lieu of the Ink Spirit Bamboo, calculated at 70% of the original amount.
With this news, Chu Ning felt completely relieved and began to focus solely on crafting talisman papers.
The Ink Spirit Bamboo in his possession could be divided into two categories. The first was the batch intended for submission to the sect, which had been treated with fewer applications of the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art and thus had more impurities. This resulted in a lower yield of pulp.
The second category was the batch that Chu Ning had originally planned to keep for himself for talisman-making. This batch had fewer impurities, resulting in a higher yield of pulp and, consequently, more talisman papers.
After tirelessly crafting talisman papers for about twenty days, Chu Ning looked at the piles of talisman papers in his room, his face filled with satisfaction and joy.
During this nearly twenty-day period of crafting talismans, although Chu Ning had occasionally made mistakes, his success rate was frighteningly high thanks to the boost from his Spirit Talisman Body.
From the pile of Ink Spirit Bamboo meant for the sect, Chu Ning crafted a total of 4,800 talisman papers.
And from the higher-quality Ink Spirit Bamboo, he crafted a whopping 6,000 talisman papers.
Combined, there were now over 10,000 talisman papers in front of Chu Ning!
After deducting the 3,500 talisman papers to be handed over to the sect and the 550 to be given to Zhuang Yunde, Chu Ning would still have 6,750 talisman papers left for himself.
This amounted to over a hundred low-grade spirit stones—a level of wealth Chu Ning had never experienced before.
With this in mind, Chu Ning immediately took out a spirit stone.
Including the spirit stones he had obtained from Old Man Sun and the rogue cultivator, Chu Ning had three unused low-grade spirit stones in his possession. As he usually didn't have many spirit stones, he had never used them for cultivation before.
But now, he was ready to indulge.
[Green Wood Eternal Spring Art (Lower Tier Yellow Grade), Second Layer (198/900)]
[Nine Transforming Body Refining Art, First Volume, Unbreakable Skin 133/300]
After checking his progress, Chu Ning grasped the spirit stone and closed his eyes to begin cultivating.
Although his proficiency in the second layer of the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art was at 198, Chu Ning felt that his cultivation had already reached the peak of the fourth layer of Qi Refinement.
If his guess was correct, once his proficiency reached 200, there was a high chance he would break through to the fifth layer of Qi Refinement.
(End of Chapter)
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