Chapter 8: The Jade Talisman of the Next Day

Ding Hao shook his head and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Miss Min, but I have no such plans for now." Ding Hao thought to himself, "Why should I study? I can make anyone enter a perfect state of tranquility anytime, anywhere! I am already a special-grade guide!"

He wouldn't say these words out loud, so he continued, "Actually, Miss Min, you might not know, but the immortal root I want to awaken requires a lot of resources, so I need to use this method to help people enter a state of tranquility and earn some silver."

"Ah, I see." Min Qingqiu nodded.

"I believe there will be many people willing to pay to enter a state of tranquility!" The boss, Mr. Shang, who had a keen business sense, quickly added, "From what I know, many families are very anxious about their children who haven't awakened by the age of eight and need help to enter a state of tranquility. Additionally, there are also some innate experts who have already awakened their immortal roots and need this service..."

"I won't help the innate experts." Ding Hao waved his hand. Innate experts have all practiced martial arts, and they are cunning and powerful, so there's no guarantee they won't do something harmful to him.

Ding Hao was quite cautious.

"Helping those who haven't awakened is also fine." Mr. Shang nodded, "For a low-level state of tranquility, I charge twenty taels per person, and for a mid-level state, I charge one hundred taels. It's very profitable!"

"One hundred taels!" Ding Hao's eyes widened. He knew that his family's monthly stipend was only fifty taels. If he helped people enter a state of tranquility, earning one hundred taels per person each time, he would be rich!

Mr. Shang nodded, "One hundred taels is not much. Everyone hopes their children will become dragons or phoenixes. For example, if you help my son Xiaohai enter a state of tranquility, I would be willing to pay more than one hundred taels! If he can open his immortal acupoint and awaken his immortal root, I would be willing to bankrupt myself without any regrets!"

"You're right!" Ding Hao was overjoyed. He thought to himself, "Ancestors, thank you for leaving me this black stone. Otherwise, it would be really hard to survive in this world!"

Seeing Ding Hao and Mr. Shang talking about money, Min Qingqiu stood by silently, unable to interject. Of course, she was somewhat disdainful. In the Nine Provinces Academy, everyone talked about cultivation, not like Ding Hao, who couldn't go three sentences without mentioning silver.

Half an hour later, Xiaohai woke up, and Mr. Shang went into the room to ask his son.

Ding Hao then realized he had neglected Min Qingqiu and said with a bitter smile, "Miss Min, you might think we are a bit vulgar, always talking about silver, but you, the pride of heaven, don't understand the hardships of us common people. Silver might not be a problem for you, but for us, we need silver for food, water, elixirs, and cultivation. And as a cultivator like me, I need even more silver!"

Min Qingqiu, being kind and understanding, nodded and said, "It's fine, I understand you. If I'm not mistaken, you are deliberately not awakening to use this time to improve your body, meridians, and spirit, right?"

Indeed, this woman was very intelligent, guessing Ding Hao's thoughts right away.

Ding Hao nodded, "You're right, Miss Min. I need a lot of elixirs, and these elixirs require silver to buy!"

"It seems I guessed correctly!" Min Qingqiu was also happy and added, "After you awaken your immortal root, can you reach the fourth rank or higher? If you can reach the fourth rank or higher, you must participate in the year-end examination! Passing the examination will give you the opportunity to study at the Nine Provinces Academy, and you will also receive the Ascension Steps as a gift from the will of heaven!"

"Go to the Nine Provinces Academy and receive the Ascension Steps!" Ding Hao's eyes lit up, and he asked, "What are the Ascension Steps?"

Min Qingqiu said, "You'll know when you reach that level."

After saying this, she took out a purse and pulled out a piece of paper, "I can see you need money. Here is a silver ticket. I hope you succeed soon."

To Min Qingqiu's surprise, Ding Hao returned the silver ticket and said, "A gentleman loves wealth, but he must obtain it in a proper way! I appreciate your kindness, Miss Min, but I have a means to make a living and don't need to take silver from others for free." Ding Hao thought to himself, "Taking money from a woman, I'm not a pretty boy! If I take her money, I'll be seen as inferior in her eyes!"

"You... " Min Qingqiu looked at this young man curiously. He clearly needed money but refused her offer, which was unexpected.

Ding Hao thought, "That's the effect I wanted!"

He then said, "If Miss Min wants to help me, I do have a request."

Ding Hao's refusal of the silver ticket made Min Qingqiu feel he had backbone, and she liked him even more. She asked, "What do you need, Brother Ding?"

Ding Hao, who had become "Brother Ding," clearly felt closer. He knew he had made the right decision by refusing the silver ticket.

"Like this, Sister Qingqiu." Ding Hao, skilled at taking advantage of situations, immediately called her sister. He continued, "I can't tell what level I help people reach when they enter a state of tranquility, but your jade talisman is very magical. If it's convenient for Sister Qingqiu, I want that jade talisman."

"Oh, that, sure." Min Qingqiu agreed without hesitation.

Actually, this jade talisman was a very good thing. In the Nine Provinces Academy, only specialized guides could receive it, and it couldn't be bought in the market for any amount of money!

Ding Hao refused a thousand taels of silver and received a jade talisman of great value, as well as Min Qingqiu's praise. This deal was very profitable.

"Sacrifice and gain, you must give to receive," that's how it works.

Min Qingqiu took out the jade talisman and said, "Brother Ding, let me explain how to use this jade talisman. It is a postnatal testing jade talisman, specifically for testing postnatal cultivation. It can not only measure the depth of tranquility but also test the strength of your body, meridians, and spirit! Generally, red is the lowest, pink is slightly better, yellow is mid-high, and green is the limit of this testing jade talisman. For higher levels, you need a prenatal testing jade talisman."

"I see, this jade talisman is really useful for me! Thank you, Sister Qingqiu!"

Being able to test the strength of his body, meridians, and spirit, Ding Hao was very happy.

At this moment, Mr. Shang and Xiaohai walked out together. After a short mid-level state of tranquility, Xiaohai's irritable personality had calmed down. He clasped his hands and said, "Big Brother Ding, thank you! This is the first time I have entered such a deep state of tranquility, and I feel very comfortable."

Ding Hao felt that Mr. Shang and his son were both decent people and nodded, "Xiaohai, starting tomorrow, come every day. Gradually, your irritability will be suppressed, and your temperament will become calm. After some time, with your improvement and my guidance, we will aim for a high-level state of tranquility!"

"High-level state of tranquility!" Mr. Shang's eyes shone, "If Xiaohai enters a high-level state of tranquility, he will definitely have a chance to awaken his immortal root! Brother Ding, this is all your doing! I will thank you again later!"

Ding Hao smiled, "There's no need for a big thank you, just help spread my name."

"Of course, you can count on it!"

"Brother Ding, we'll take our leave now."

After Mr. Shang and his group left, Ding Hao eagerly returned to his room and began testing the strength of his body, meridians, and spirit.

The body refers to the strength of the body.

Different parts of a person's body have different strengths. For example, if someone uses their legs more, their legs will be stronger than average; if someone uses their arms more, their arm muscles will be stronger than average.

Therefore, Ding Hao took off his outer clothes and placed the jade talisman on his thigh.

"Dark red, the worst!"

On his arm. "Dark red, the worst!"

On his chest muscles. "Dark red, the worst!"

On his abdominal muscles. "Dark red..."

"Damn!" Ding Hao thought this body was really a waste, not just others looking down on him, but he himself looked down on it!

His entire body was of the lowest quality, but Ding Hao didn't give up. He took off his shorts and placed the jade talisman on a certain area...

Surprisingly, it was quite strong. Ding Hao's "brother" could reach yellow without any enhancement, giving him a bit of confidence.

"It's not all bad," Ding Hao said, put on his clothes, and began testing his meridians.

Testing the strength of the meridians was simpler. He blew on the jade talisman.

"Sure enough, it's red. Although it's not dark red, it's not much better."

Finally, he tested his mental strength, which was his strong point. It exceeded yellow and reached yellow-green! It was about to reach the highest level, green!

"I didn't expect my mental strength to be so close to the peak. Clearly, this is the result of entering a perfect state of tranquility every night for the past few days!"

"It's fine. Although my body and meridians are of low quality, if my mental strength can improve, why can't my body and meridians improve? I can definitely do it!"

After testing, Ding Hao took out the small bag Mr. Shang had given him and opened it. Inside was indeed a silver ticket worth a thousand taels.

In this world, silver tickets were extraordinary. Each ticket carried a trace of the will of heaven's spiritual power, making it impossible to forge.

Ding Hao clearly felt that the black stone was eager to absorb that spiritual power.

However, Ding Hao wasn't that foolish. He wouldn't waste a thousand taels of silver just for a bit of spiritual power, which would be too much of a loss.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Shang was a man of his word. In the afternoon, he brought two friends. Both of these friends had younger family members who couldn't awaken and had difficulty entering a state of tranquility, so they brought them along.

One hundred taels per person, two people, two hundred taels in earnings. Ding Hao was in a good mood.

After a day, Ding Hao touched the silver ticket worth twelve hundred taels in his purse, feeling much more at ease. With enough silver, his body and meridians would soon improve, and then he could open his own immortal root!

Deep into the night, a black shadow flashed, and Da Huang slipped in through the door.

This animal was quite clever. After several states of tranquility, it felt the benefits and now came to the door every night on its own.

Ding Hao used the jade talisman to test Da Huang and found that Da Huang's body was much better than his own, making him curse himself as a waste again.