Chapter 16

The girl in the plain dress paid no heed to the gazes around her, reaching out to pick up a soil escape talisman. She examined it for a moment, a hint of doubt appearing in her star-like eyes. Clearly, she could not recognize the talisman's pattern structure.

How strange, the texture of this talisman is smooth and natural, the ink marks even and spirited, and the brushwork is precise and lively, reaching a very high level. How could it possibly be a fake?

The girl in the plain dress was intensely curious, and said in a clear voice, "Boss, do you mind if I test the power of this talisman?"

Zhang Dayong was taken aback, and sighed, "Miss, there's no need to test it. I've been running this small shop for thirty years and have handled countless talismans. How could I not recognize the authenticity of a soil escape talisman? As you can see, the pattern structure of these soil shield talismans is completely wrong. Testing them would be useless."

"Yes, yes, Uncle Zhang is absolutely right. Chen Xi's talismans today are definitely a scam. It's better not to use them."

The surrounding talisman apprentices chimed in, their status low and having never been close to such a beautiful girl, they naturally seized every opportunity to flatter her.

"Without testing it, how can you know if it's real or not?"

The girl in the plain dress smiled faintly, like a lotus blooming after the rain, beautiful and elegant. As she spoke, she turned to an open space, waved her hand, and a thick true essence flowed into the talisman.

An astonishing scene unfolded. The talisman suddenly transformed into a dense, earthy yellow glow, swirling and coalescing into a massive shield shaped like a turtle, surrounded by a spiritual light, exuding a sense of thickness and solidity.

Swish!

The disbelief in everyone's eyes instantly turned to incredulity, as if they had seen a ghost.

Zhang Dayong was also stunned. It's really a soil shield talisman? Did I see wrong just now?

Indeed, it is!

As if her suspicions were confirmed, the girl's eyes suddenly lit up. Without hesitation, she wrapped her left hand in a thick true essence and struck the turtle-shaped shield with a powerful palm.

Bang!

A deep, resonant sound echoed as the surface of the turtle-shaped shield rippled violently, quickly returning to its original state.

If it were an ordinary soil shield talisman, it wouldn't withstand even one-tenth of my palm force. This strange soil shield talisman is indeed powerful!

Seeing this, the girl's eyes became even brighter. She again channeled her true essence, and with a flip of her hand, a piercing wind struck the surface of the shield.

Whoosh!

The turtle-shaped shield vibrated violently, the dispersed spiritual energy becoming extremely dim, almost on the verge of shattering.

It can withstand two-tenths of my palm force? This basic talisman is already comparable to a second-grade talisman!

The girl in the plain dress was momentarily stunned, then a look of excitement appeared in her eyes. She casually crushed the turtle-shaped shield, which could no longer withstand another blow, and came to the counter, saying, "Boss, I want all these soil shield talismans!"

Zhang Dayong had been stunned by the series of events, but he suddenly came to his senses. However, he remained silent, deep in thought.

Through the girl's test, he had already seen that the soil shield talismans Chen Xi made were far more powerful than ordinary ones, even comparable to second-grade talismans. The price... shouldn't it be raised a bit?

The girl in the plain dress frowned, displeased, and said, "Boss, don't overprice them. I'll give you one yuan stone for a soil shield talisman at most."

Zhang Dayong, whose thoughts were exposed, did not hide it and smiled awkwardly, "Miss, I can sell you these soil shield talismans, but I can't sell them all to you. You know, the pattern structure of soil shield talismans has been perfected over countless years, and it's almost impossible to improve it further. The appearance of these soil shield talismans is nothing short of a miracle. In this situation, I naturally have to keep some to boost the reputation of my shop!"

"Think about it, the emergence of a new pattern structure is a huge event for the entire talisman industry. Being the first to operate this new type of soil shield talisman is a great fortune for my Zhang's General Store!"

The more Zhang Dayong spoke, the more excited he became, his eyes shining with boundless anticipation, as if he could already see a bright future.

The girl in the plain dress wrinkled her nose, reluctantly conceding, and finally bought fifteen soil shield talismans for fifteen yuan stones.

"Uncle Zhang, are you... really serious?" A talisman apprentice approached, his face full of shock.

"Yes, how can Chen Xi's soil shield talismans be as powerful as you say? They're just basic talismans, how can they be called a miracle?"

The other talisman apprentices also chimed in. A talisman that was originally considered a fake suddenly became a miracle that could shake the entire talisman industry. For a moment, they couldn't wrap their heads around it.

More importantly, these soil shield talismans were made by Chen Xi, the "sweeping star." This meant that he would also rise with the tide, wouldn't it?

Zhang Dayong glanced at everyone, his voice cold, "I know you think Chen Xi is a sweeping star, and that he deserves to be worse off than you and deserves to be mocked by you, right?"

"But I want to tell you, if you want to work for me, don't let me hear any bad words about Chen Xi in the future, or you'll have to leave!" Zhang Dayong's voice suddenly became cold and stern.

Everyone was silent, like cicadas in winter.

Zhang Dayong still felt a surge of anger, not at the talisman apprentices, but at himself for almost misunderstanding Chen Xi.

Yes, when Chen Xi comes again tomorrow, I must give him a raise!

Zhang Dayong made his decision. Then he thought of the girl in the plain dress, feeling as if he had seen her somewhere before.

Snap!

After pondering for a long time, Zhang Dayong suddenly slapped his forehead and muttered, "No wonder she looked familiar. The Jade-Breaking Palm she used is General Qin's famous technique from the General's Mansion. She must be the young mistress of the General's Mansion—Qin Hongmian!"

...

"To become a qualified spirit chef, you must master eight major aspects: ingredients, knife skills, stoves, spirit fire, utensils, seasonings, water, and methods. Among these, ingredients, knife skills, and spirit fire are the most important, while the others are not as significant."

"This 'Myriad Ingredients Spectrum' records tens of thousands of spirit herbs, fruits, grains, magical birds, and beasts that can be used as ingredients. It is comprehensive and covers everything. What you need to do is to familiarize yourself with various grades of ingredients, understand their properties, flavors, colors, and their interactions, so you can cook dishes rich in spirit energy and with different effects."

"This 'Spirit Fire Collection' records various types of spirit fire from first to fifth grade, with different attributes. Depending on the ingredients, different types of spirit fire are needed during cooking to achieve the best results."

...

When Chen Xi returned home, Bai Wanqing called him over and explained in detail the skills a spirit chef needed to master, showing how much she cared about Chen Xi's affairs.

Chen Xi naturally did not refuse Bai Wanqing's kindness, listening attentively with a serious expression.

"As for knife skills, you've already passed Old Ma's test, so just continue learning from him." Bai Wanqing smiled and asked, "Do you have any other questions?"

Chen Xi thought for a moment and asked, "Yesterday at Qingxi Wine House, I heard that Old Ma and the other two are three-leaf spirit chefs. Does this profession have different levels?"

Bai Wanqing replied, "Of course. Ultimately, spirit chefs serve cultivators, and the dishes they cook are divided according to the cultivator's realm. Dishes cooked by a one-leaf spirit chef are very beneficial for cultivators in the Later Heaven realm. Dishes cooked by a two-leaf spirit chef are suitable for cultivators in the Innate realm. This continues up to an eight-leaf spirit chef, whose dishes can greatly benefit Earth Immortals, comparable to Heaven-grade spirit pills!"

Heaven-grade spirit pills?

A hint of shock rose in Chen Xi's heart. According to his knowledge, spirit pills are divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow, each grade further divided into lower, middle, upper, and supreme grades. Heaven-grade spirit pills are the rarest and most precious, and in the entire Song Dynasty, they are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Hearing that an eight-leaf spirit chef could cook dishes comparable to Heaven-grade spirit pills, how could Chen Xi not be shocked?

"However, advancing as a spirit chef is more difficult than as an alchemist. Even in the entire Song Dynasty, there are only a few seven-leaf spirit chefs, let alone eight-leaf ones."

Bai Wanqing looked at Chen Xi and smiled, "Don't be discouraged. As long as you persist, there's hope. But remember, being a spirit chef is an auxiliary profession. Once you earn enough yuan stones, don't waste too much time on it, or it will delay your cultivation."

Chen Xi nodded. He learned talisman making and cooking to ensure his and his brother's survival, with the ultimate goal of becoming stronger through cultivation.

...

In the following days, Chen Xi was busy with his training.

During the day, he made talismans and studied the 'Myriad Ingredients Spectrum' and the 'Spirit Fire Collection.' At night, he drew the metal star's煞qi to temper his body, practiced the 'Purple Dawn Art,' and before going to sleep, he used the remaining time to meditate on the Fuxi deity in his sea of consciousness.

His days were full, even tense.

His nerves were always taut, not daring to relax for a moment. Since the day his grandfather Chen Tianli was killed, he had been filled with a strong sense of crisis, forcing him to not waste a single moment.

What made Chen Xi happy was that in these few days, he had again made seven or eight different types of basic talismans. Although their pattern structures were different from before, their power was comparable to second-grade talismans. When he took them to Zhang's General Store, he sold them for three yuan stones each, a price nine times higher than before, allowing him to earn a substantial amount.

However, his progress in body tempering and qi cultivation was still very slow, mainly due to the lack of a large amount of spirit energy support.

The path of cultivation emphasizes the four elements: wealth, companions, methods, and location. Wealth is the first, but it's not about gold and silver, but about spirit stones, spirit pills, and immortal herbs. To practice martial arts, one must be well-fed; to cultivate, one must absorb spirit energy. Spirit pills and spirit stones are essential aids.

Companions are the second, which can be a cultivation partner, but more often are master-disciple relationships. With a master's guidance, one can avoid many detours, far more efficient than self-exploration.

Methods refer to skills and techniques. High-quality cultivation methods not only shorten the cultivation time but also significantly reduce the risk of hitting a bottleneck and going astray.

Location refers to places of spiritual energy concentration, such as immortal paradises or sects. Cultivating in such places is far more effective than in areas with sparse spiritual energy.

Those from famous families and clans may start cultivating at a young age, eating rare spirit pills, practicing high-quality cultivation methods, occupying places of spiritual energy concentration, and receiving guidance from senior members of their sect. Their cultivation speed is far beyond that of ordinary cultivators.

Chen Xi had no spirit pills, no place of spiritual energy concentration, and no master to guide him. Among the four elements, he only had the 'methods.' He had to make talismans every day to earn yuan stones for a living, so how could his cultivation progress rapidly?

"Today, I must make Old Ma accept me as his disciple. After becoming a spirit chef apprentice at Qingxi Wine House, I will surely earn more yuan stones. With careful planning, I can buy some spirit pills and spirit stones needed for cultivation!"

Chen Xi silently reviewed the 'Myriad Ingredients Spectrum' and the 'Spirit Fire Collection' in his mind, ensuring there were no omissions, before getting up and leaving the house.

"Let's go, future great spirit chef."

Outside the door, Bai Wanqing smiled brightly, having waited for a long time.