https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-82-Spirit-Talismans-Black-Sky-Iron-Spirit-Wood/12549171/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-84-I-Just-Want-to-Quietly-Make-Talismans/12549173/
Chapter 83: Beastly Calamity
Chapter 83: Beastly Calamity
"Chu Ning even brought lower-intermediate spirit talismans?" Gu Xiaqing asked in surprise.
At that moment, Shen Zhengquan, Luo Yipeng, and Lu Miaoying, who were nearby, also opened the doors to their stalls.
Hearing Gu Xiaqing's question, the few of them turned their gazes towards Chu Ning.
Chu Ning, of course, heard Gu Xiaqing's comment about him bringing the talismans, and instead of refuting it, he casually replied, "I prepared a small amount."
Hearing this, Luo Yipeng, who had originally intended to watch Chu Ning's anticipated failure, was left with his mouth slightly agape.
"Could this guy be the favored son of one of the Spirit Talisman Pavilion's executives? Even high-quality lower-intermediate spirit talismans have been prepared for him in such quantities?"
Upon hearing Chu Ning's response, a gentle smile appeared on Gu Xiaqing's face. "I was just about to remind you, Chu Ning, that I heard a Tier 2 Talisman Master is in charge of selling talismans at this Wind Canyon market. It seems you've come well-prepared."
Though this young lady wasn't exceptionally stunning, her smile was captivating, exuding a gentle and amiable charm. This drew the attention of both Luo Yipeng and Shen Zhengquan.
Before Chu Ning could respond, several figures rushed over and headed towards their respective stalls.
"Shopkeeper, I want to buy talismans. Do you have any...?"
The person who approached Chu Ning was a middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and large eyes.
As soon as he reached Chu Ning, he hastily spoke up. Then, after glancing at the signboard outside, he immediately exclaimed in delight, "You have lower-intermediate spirit talismans? What types do you have?"
Chu Ning was puzzled by the man's anxious demeanor, but he casually replied, "We have all kinds. Feel free to take a look."
As he spoke, Chu Ning casually pointed to the counter in front of him, where various talismans and their corresponding prices were displayed.
The middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and large eyes immediately started scanning the selection, muttering to himself as he did so.
"Shadow Thunder Talisman, Invisibility Talisman, Gentle Wind Talisman—five low-grade spirit stones each. Oh, and there's also the Beast Trapping Talisman..."
He paused for a moment before calling out, "Shopkeeper, give me twenty Beast Trapping Talismans, ten each of the Shadow Thunder, Diamond-Body, Earth Escape, and Gentle Wind Talismans. Also, thirty each of the lower-grade offensive and defensive talismans..."
Chu Ning was slightly taken aback. "That's quite a lot."
The middle-aged man quickly grew anxious. "Shopkeeper, do you not have that many in stock?"
"Yes, of course!" Chu Ning immediately assured him.
He began pulling out talismans from his storage bag. As he did so, he started calculating the cost.
"Thirty Flame Talismans—sixty low-grade spirit stones. Thirty Earth Armor Talismans—ninety low-grade spirit stones. Twenty Shadow Thunder and Gentle Wind Talismans together—one hundred low-grade spirit stones. Thirty Beast Trapping and Earth Escape Talismans—one hundred and eighty low-grade spirit stones. Ten Diamond-Body Talismans—seventy low-grade spirit stones. That's a total of five hundred low-grade spirit stones."
For such a large transaction, Chu Ning considered giving a slight discount.
Just as he was about to suggest it, the middle-aged man hastily pulled out a pile of spirit stones from his storage bag and placed them in front of Chu Ning. He then grabbed the talismans and hurriedly left.
From his demeanor, it seemed he was headed to Gu Xiaqing's stall to buy Elixir Pills.
Chu Ning was a little bewildered by the man's haste.
"Is it that urgent?"
Just as he was thinking of observing where the man was headed, another person rushed over from the other side.
"Shopkeeper, what kinds of talismans do you have...?"
This time, it was a bearded elderly man, likely in his fifties, with a goatee that resembled a goat's beard.
As he spoke, he fixed his gaze on Chu Ning's various price signs. Then, pointing at several types of talismans, he said, "I'll take ten each of the Shadow Thunder, Gentle Wind, and Earth Escape Talismans, fifteen Diamond-Body Talismans, twenty Beast Trapping Talismans, forty each of the Flame and Frost Talismans, thirty Rejuvenation Talismans, and twenty Wood Escape Talismans."
As he spoke, the elderly man with the goat-like beard started pulling out spirit stones from his storage bag.
Having witnessed the previous middle-aged man's example, Chu Ning didn't waste any time and quickly gathered the various talismans for the elderly man.
Then, he swiftly calculated the total cost.
"Twenty Shadow Thunder and Gentle Wind Talismans together—one hundred low-grade spirit stones. Fifteen Diamond-Body Talismans—one hundred and five low-grade spirit stones. Thirty Earth Escape and Beast Trapping Talismans—one hundred and eighty low-grade spirit stones. Forty Flame and Frost Talismans—one hundred and sixty low-grade spirit stones. Thirty Rejuvenation Talismans—sixty low-grade spirit stones. Twenty Wood Escape Talismans—sixty low-grade spirit stones. That's a total of six hundred and five low-grade spirit stones."
After doing the calculations, Chu Ning promptly suggested, "How about we round it down to six hundred spirit stones?"
Without hesitation, the elderly man with the goat-like beard took out the spirit stones and placed them in front of Chu Ning. He then picked up the talismans and left.
Chu Ning, who had intended to ask a few more questions, could only give up at this point.
Something's not right. This doesn't feel right!
Chu Ning's brows furrowed slightly.
These two individuals seemed to be from cultivator families, but even then, it didn't make sense for them to require such a large quantity of talismans all at once.
"Could something have happened?"
As the third person, a female cultivator in her thirties, approached Chu Ning, she requested two hundred talismans.
Chu Ning finally asked, unable to contain his curiosity any longer, as he handed over the talismans:
"Fellow cultivator, what exactly happened to make all of you so rushed?
And why are you buying so many talismans all of a sudden?"
The beautiful woman seemed slightly more composed, but her face also carried a more solemn expression.
She sighed softly and replied, "It's a beastly calamity!"
"A beastly calamity?" Chu Ning exclaimed, a hint of surprise in his voice.
This wasn't the first time he had heard the term.
Previously, when He Changyou and Liao Yunming had asked him to come to Yanji Fang, they had mentioned that even the greatest disaster in this place was the beastly calamity.
For cultivators at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, dealing with it wasn't too troublesome.
Most of the demonic beasts in this branch were of the lowest rank—low-level first-rank, with the majority being low-level first-rank demonic beasts, equivalent to the strength of a cultivator at the early stage of Qi Refining.
Furthermore, the sect and the major cultivation families had formed enforcement patrol teams, so there wasn't much to fear.
After arriving in the market, Chu Ning had also learned that beastly calamities, where demonic beasts occasionally rioted, would occur from time to time in the vicinity of Yanji Fang.
During such times, all sorts of goods tended to sell very well.
So, when he heard the beautiful woman mention a beastly calamity, Chu Ning's eyes lit up instinctively.
Just as he was about to inquire further, the woman urged him on:
"Shopkeeper, please hurry. I still need to buy some other things before rushing back to my family.
This beastly calamity seems similar to the usual ones, but I heard that some mid-rank and high-rank first-rank demonic beasts have appeared.
Last night, the Yangling Li Family was attacked by demonic beasts and suffered heavy casualties."
Chu Ning, who was in the midst of retrieving more talismans, asked with concern:
"How many high-rank first-rank demonic beasts were there?"
Mid-rank first-rank demonic beasts were roughly equivalent to cultivators at the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Refining, while high-rank first-rank demonic beasts were comparable to cultivators at the seventh or eighth layer of Qi Refining.
Some formidable high-rank first-rank demonic beasts could even reach the strength of a cultivator at the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
The young woman hesitated for a moment, appearing somewhat uncertain as she replied:
"I heard that quite a few mid-rank first-rank demonic beasts and a single high-rank first-rank demonic beast attacked the Yangling Li Family last night.
However, it's unclear if there were any higher-rank beasts present. Logically speaking, this area surrounding Yanji Fang rarely sees demonic beasts of such caliber."
Hearing the young woman's words, Chu Ning felt somewhat relieved and handed over the talismans, deducting ten spirit stones from the cost.
The appearance of a first-rank high-level demonic beast would indeed pose a significant challenge to the nearby cultivation families.
However, the main reason for their losses was likely due to insufficient preparation, or else they wouldn't have suffered so heavily.
After all, among the cultivation families affiliated with Qingxi Sect, while there might not be any Foundation Establishment cultivators, it was common for the larger families to have one or two cultivators at the late stage of Qi Refining.
At this moment, Chu Ning's only concern was whether he had prepared enough talismans.
After all, in these three days, he had only prepared around three hundred low-intermediate spirit talismans.
And now, just these three families had taken away more than a hundred of them.
The young woman took the talismans from Chu Ning, holding them in her hand to sense their power, and her eyes lit up.
"Fellow cultivator, the quality of your low-intermediate and low-grade spirit talismans is even higher than those sold in Wind Canyon."
Chu Ning merely smiled and didn't respond.
Although he didn't know the standard of that second-rank talisman master in Wind Canyon, he was confident that his innate talent as a Talisman Spirit Body would surpass them.
After the young woman left, a few more people came to Chu Ning's stall one after another.
Chu Ning's worries were not unfounded, as the talismans he had prepared were quickly sold out.
Upon learning that there were no more low-intermediate spirit talismans, the crowd snapped up even the low-grade spirit talismans.
This scene caused Luo Yipeng's eyes to nearly pop out of their sockets.
The news of the beastly calamity in the nearby area had already spread throughout Yanji Fang.
During such times, everyone would naturally want to prepare items that could help them fight demonic beasts or protect their lives.
Thus, whether it was Chu Ning's talismans, Gu Xiaqing's pills, or Shen Zhengquan's artifacts, they were all in high demand.
As for Luo Yipeng's spiritual beasts, no one would consider them during such a crisis.
So, he could only watch as customers flocked to Chu Ning and the others' stalls while his own remained empty.
At this moment, Chu Ning didn't have the time to spare a thought for Luo Yipeng's feelings.
Seeing how well the talismans were selling, an idea began to form in his mind.
It wasn't until he had laid out fifty intermediate talismans in front of him and felt a slight discomfort in his Niwan Palace that he finally stopped.
As Chu Ning brought out the intermediate talismans, on another street, within the Wind Canyon Talisman Pavilion...
The yellow-robed cultivator looked arrogantly at the few people in the shop. "These middle-grade offensive talismans are seven spirit stones each. Take it or leave it. Talismans are in high demand in Yanji Fang, so the prices are naturally higher than usual."
Upon hearing this, a young man dressed in black immediately shouted out, "That's too much of a price hike! Qingxi Talisman Pavilion sold a couple hundred lower-middle spirit talismans today, and they didn't raise their prices this high. Plus, their quality is better than yours!"
The yellow-robed cultivator's face twitched as he learned that Qingxi Talisman Pavilion not only had lower-middle spirit talismans for sale but also that their quality was superior to his. This news truly annoyed him.
This morning, his pavilion had barely seen any customers.
However, he still scoffed disdainfully. "Qingxi Talisman Pavilion? Humph, so what if they brought some talismans from their sect? They've run out now, haven't they? I, Lai Weiquan, am the only second-rank talisman master in Yanji Fang, and I can craft talismans myself. Even if you buy from them and use them all up, you can come back to me tomorrow and buy more. Can they do that? How can they compare to me?"
The young man in black was about to say something when he suddenly stepped out to receive a sound transmission talisman. The next moment, his face lit up with delight. "Qingxi Talisman Pavilion has more lower-middle spirit talismans for sale!"
After his exclamation, the man hurried off without another word.
Hearing this, the others in the store also left in a hurry.
Lai Weiquan, the second-rank talisman master from Wind Canyon, wore a suspicious expression. "They have more lower-middle spirit talismans for sale? Didn't they just sell out? How could they have more talismans so soon? Could it be that someone from their sect in Qingxi is also able to craft lower-middle spirit talismans? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Lai Weiquan shook his head, dismissing the thought. "They must have transferred talismans from another market, or perhaps someone from their sect happened to bring some along. Humph, even so, they can't have many, and the customers will still come back to me."
Lai Weiquan was brimming with confidence. However, he waited and waited, and only one person came to buy three talismans from him by the time the market closed.
When he learned that Qingxi Talisman Pavilion had produced another hundred lower-middle spirit talismans in such a short time and announced that they would be open for business tomorrow, even though it wasn't a market day, Lai Weiquan was completely flustered.
Where were they getting all these talismans?
Of course, these talismans were crafted by Chu Ning.
After selling off the fifty talismans in several batches, Chu Ning returned to his room. Soon after, he emerged with several dozen more talismans.
This time, he didn't have to wait long before the talismans were snatched up by those who had gotten the news.
However, Chu Ning chose not to continue crafting talismans at this point. His spiritual sense wouldn't recover that quickly.
He did have a bottle of Spirit Nurturing Pills obtained from Qi Chongmao, but Chu Ning hadn't thoroughly researched their effects, and even with his guesses, he dared not take them lightly.
So, he spread the word that his shop would be open tomorrow, even though it wasn't a market day, and then closed up for the day.
He planned to use this time to cultivate the Divine God Technique and craft talismans.
However, before he could put his plan into action, Du Han arrived with a somber expression and gathered everyone together. Chu Ning had a feeling that some trouble was brewing.
(There is a modification to the demon beast rankings. For clarity, I've adjusted the rankings.
Rank 1 Demon Beasts: Equivalent to the Qi Refining stage. Lower, middle, and higher ranks correspond to the early, middle, and late stages of Qi Refining.
Rank 2 Demon Beasts: Equivalent to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Rank 3 Demon Beasts: Equivalent to the Golden Core stage.
And so on...)
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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