Chapter 12: Selling Talismans

Chu Jianqiu had just set up his stall when someone immediately approached.

"Master Chu, I've finally waited for you!" a voice exclaimed in surprise.

Chu Jianqiu looked up and saw it was Zhao Cheng, the man who had wanted to buy a talisman from him yesterday.

"How much does one of your Strength Augmentation Talismans cost, Master Chu?" Zhao Cheng asked, barely able to contain his impatience. After Chu Jianqiu received the Body Tempering Pill from Chang Gaochen, he immediately left, leaving Zhao Cheng no time to react.

Yesterday, Zhao Cheng waited at the Spirit Talisman Pavilion all day but did not see Chu Jianqiu again. Today, he decided to try his luck one last time, and he was fortunate enough to find him.

A Strength Augmentation Talisman that could double one's strength could be the key to his survival. How could he not be anxious?

Chu Jianqiu was taken aback. He had rushed over to sell talismans but hadn't thought about how much to charge.

After a moment's thought, Chu Jianqiu, who was no longer as ignorant about the talisman world of Tianshui County as he was before, spoke. The best quality spirit talismans in Tianshui County were those with superior-grade talisman cores. Most talismans made by ordinary talisman masters were of inferior-grade quality, and only a few could reach the middle-grade level.

Currently, a Strength Augmentation Talisman on the market costs ten spirit stones, but those talismans were mostly first-grade talismans with inferior-grade cores, which could only increase strength by 20-30%. They couldn't compare to his talisman, which doubled strength.

"Thirty first-grade spirit stones, or you can pay with the same Body Tempering Pill!" Chu Jianqiu tentatively said, feeling a bit guilty for the high price, which was three times the market rate.

In the martial world, various transactions are made using spirit stones as currency. Mundane gold and silver are worthless to martial artists, akin to scrap metal.

Only spirit stones are the hard currency in the martial world. Spirit stones are minerals rich in spiritual energy, used for cultivation to speed up the process and as a power source for magical artifacts.

Spirit stones have a wide range of applications in the martial world, from alchemy and artifact refinement to talisman making and array formation.

Spirit stones are classified into grades from one to nine based on their spiritual energy content.

The exchange rate between spirit stones and Body Tempering Pills is one-to-one, with one spirit stone equivalent to one Body Tempering Pill.

Although mundane gold and silver are worthless to martial artists, if a comparison must be made, one spirit stone is equivalent to a thousand taels of silver in the mundane world.

Zhao Cheng was delighted and immediately took out sixty spirit stones to buy two Strength Augmentation Talismans.

These talismans could double one's strength, a crucial tool for survival. In a fight, a sudden doubling of strength would give the opponent an unimaginable surprise.

Though Zhao Cheng appeared calm, he was actually very anxious. Currently, in Tianshui City, only Chu Jianqiu could make a Strength Augmentation Talisman that doubled strength. Even if Chu Jianqiu charged exorbitantly, he had no choice but to accept it.

To his surprise, Chu Jianqiu offered such a reasonable price.

Chu Jianqiu, seeing Zhao Cheng's enthusiastic response, felt a bit suspicious. Could he have set the price too low?

But it didn't matter. Selling one Strength Augmentation Talisman for thirty spirit stones was far beyond his expectations. The production cost of one talisman was less than half a spirit stone, so he was making a huge profit.

"Zhao Cheng, didn't you say you would fight me to the death on the arena today? Why are you hiding like a turtle in the Spirit Talisman Pavilion?" a loud voice suddenly called out from outside.

Zhao Cheng's face darkened, and he strode out.

Chu Jianqiu was curious about what had led this man to agree to a life-or-death duel.

The Wumu Trading Company prohibited fighting within its premises, except on the arena.

Conflicts among martial artists were common, and battles on the arena occurred daily. However, life-or-death duels were rare. Once a life-or-death duel was agreed upon, only one person would leave the arena alive.

Though curious, Chu Jianqiu did not follow to watch. Making money was more important now.

However, despite selling a few talismans, the sales were not good. The main issue was that few people believed Chu Jianqiu's talismans could double strength.

Those who bought his talismans were mostly people who had seen the test results of his talismans on the talisman testing device yesterday.

Chu Jianqiu felt a bit depressed. The poor sales were not a good sign. At this rate, he would sell only a few talismans a day, and he didn't have much time left.

Another hour passed, and Chu Jianqiu's business remained bleak. Just as he was about to give up and sell the talismans in bulk to the Spirit Talisman Pavilion, a large crowd suddenly burst in, creating a commotion.

"Where is Master Chu?"

"I want a Strength Augmentation Talisman, one that doubles strength!"

"Look, there's Master Chu, let's go!"

...

The crowd shouted and rushed towards Chu Jianqiu.

"Master Chu, I want three Strength Augmentation Talismans!"

"I want five!"

"Damn it, don't push! I was here first!"

"Damn, if you push me again and affect my purchase, I'll fight you to the death!"

...

Chu Jianqiu was momentarily stunned by the sudden influx of customers. What was going on? Just a moment ago, his business was bleak, and now so many people wanted to buy talismans.

Chu Jianqiu did not let the sudden business rush cloud his judgment. He first needed to understand what was happening. If it was a trap, it would be troublesome.

After some inquiries, Chu Jianqiu learned what had happened.

It turned out that a demon hunter named Zhao Cheng had killed a notorious bully, Fan Heng, on the arena. Zhao Cheng was the leader of a demon hunting team that had been repeatedly bullied by Fan Heng's team in the Demon Beast Mountains.

Fan Heng was infamous among demon hunters for robbing their spoils.

During the last demon hunt, Fan Heng almost wiped out Zhao Cheng's team, leaving only a few survivors. This led to a deep-seated grudge between the two.

To avenge his fallen comrades, Zhao Cheng challenged Fan Heng to a life-or-death duel on the arena.

However, no one believed Zhao Cheng could win. Fan Heng was a well-known expert among demon hunters, having reached the peak of the eighth level of Body Tempering, which was far beyond Zhao Cheng's mid-eighth level.