202 Cooperation (1)
As time passed, the chaos of the past was gradually forgotten, and Xiaoqian Mountain regained its former prosperity. Countless cultivators and mortals came here in search of new opportunities.
Half a year after Jiang Ming returned to Xiaoqian Mountain, Old Gu Zi suddenly came to say goodbye.
“Ming, I really can’t continue on the path of immortal cultivation. Thank you for taking care of me all these years.”
Jiang Ming patted his shoulder and did not try to stop him. He gave Old Gu Zi a bottle of spirit wine as a gift.
“Ming, what do you think the purpose of immortal cultivation is?” Old Gu Zi’s white hair was a mess, and he was somewhat at a loss.
Jiang Ming was silent. He could not give the old man an answer.
The two of them chatted for a long time until the sun had started to set. Jiang Ming looked at the lonely old man who had gone down the mountain and sighed. The path of immortal cultivation was difficult.
He shook his head and returned to the courtyard with a calm gaze to continue his cultivation.
This kind of thing happened every day. The path of immortal cultivation was a path with unlimited prospects. However, it was also extremely difficult. Even Jiang Ming had to be cautious and move forward carefully. He did not have the leisure to sympathize with others.
He was thankful for the decades of friendship he had shared with Old Gu Zi. However, he had to move forward.
“However, the aftermath of the chaos is also beneficial to me. At the very least, many individual cultivators have started stocking up on all kinds of medicinal pills and talismans in advance! This has made the sales of my medicinal pills pretty good. I’m currently mainly refining three to four types of medicinal pills, and I can already earn a net profit of more than three hundred spirit stones every month. It’s enough for me to eat that stew two to three times a month. My martial arts blood Qi is steadily transforming and becoming more condensed and powerful.”
It was just that Jiang Ming did not know when the transformation would be complete. After all, there were hardly any people who took this path. Jiang Ming had collected all kinds of ancient books. Alas, he could hardly find any detailed records on this.
If it were not for the Thunderclap Technique and the incomplete breathing technique that could bring him real progress every day, Jiang Ming would have doubted whether this path really existed.
Jiang Ming thought to himself, “It’s fine. Xiaoqian Mountain is a place for individual cultivators. It’s not easy to find information on this path here.”
* * *
A few days after Old Gu Zi’s departure, when Jiang Ming passed by his small courtyard, he saw that someone had moved in.
“May I ask if you are Master Jiang?”
Just as Jiang Ming was about to leave, a figure who had just walked out of the courtyard door quickly walked forward and greeted Jiang Ming with a smile.
The man was a skinny cultivator who looked to be in his fifties or sixties. He was at the sixth level of the Qi Refinement Realm and wore a simple green robe. His hair was neatly combed. His face was clear, and his eyes were bright. If he were in the mortal world, he would have been an expert who lived in seclusion outside the mountains.
Jiang Ming waved his hand and said, “Hello, fellow cultivator. There’s no need to be so polite. You can just call me Old Jiang!”
That’s right. Jiang Ming’s identity in Xiaoqian Mountain was an old man in his seventies.
“I could never! Who doesn’t know of your name in Xiaoqian Mountain? You’re a master in both farming and alchemy!” the skinny cultivator said in admiration and cupped his hands. “I am Yue Changmu, please take good care of me in the future, Master Jiang.”
The two talked for a while. Yue Changmu used to be a cultivator who lived in seclusion in the wilderness. He was a cultivator in the mortal world for decades and only came across the immortal cultivation path in his forties. In just ten years, he had cultivated all the way to the fifth level of the Qi Refinement Realm. He was very talented.
“This is the Light Body Talisman I made. It’s a gift!” Yue Changmu handed over two green talismans and laughed.
“You’re quite talented. May I ask where your master is?”
Jiang Ming looked at Yue Changmu in surprise. Making talismans was much harder than alchemy.
Alchemy only required money. Although there were some technical requirements, it was basically just a lot of practice. As long as one’s family was rich enough, they would be able to produce an alchemist sooner or later.
However, creating talismans was different. Talismans required extremely high talent. One had to thoroughly understand the essence of the talismans that contained the depth of the cultivation techniques and spells. Only then could one draw them on the talisman paper without any error.
For example, the Light Body Talisman contained the Light Body Technique. It was sealed in the talisman paper with runes, and after activation, the power of the Light Body Technique would erupt. The advantage of talismans was that they could be cast instantly in battle, which was much faster than splitting one’s attention to cast spells.
Furthermore, the resources required to make talismans were no less than that required for alchemy. The most important things were the talisman paper that could carry spiritual energy and the spirit ink that contained the true power of the talisman. All of these required a mixture of various rare materials, spirit herbs, and the flesh and blood of demonic beasts. The materials required for each talisman were different.