Chapter 45: Triple Symbol Seal (Part 1)

  Zhang Heng watched Zhao Rui leave, then returned to the bustling street from earlier. This was where Qi Refining and Foundation Building cultivators traded. Although there were still some stalls set up on the streets, it wasn't as many as the few streets when he first entered the castle.

  Moreover, these vendors were all cultivators who had reached the Refining Qi stage, and some individuals had even reached the Building Foundation stage. The items being exchanged here were also much higher-grade than those in previous places.

  Soon, Zhang Heng found the talisman he needed for his journey.

  The stall owner was an ordinary-looking middle-aged monk, whose cultivation was probably at the mid-stage of Qi Refining. On the ground was a large piece of unknown beast skin, on which were placed several items for exchange, including hundreds of talismans.

  As Zhang Heng, a cultivator in the early stages of Qi Refining, walked over, the middle-aged cultivator didn't show any disdain and instead warmly said: "Young brother, do you need anything? I have artifacts, talisman materials, refining stones, and various seals for sale."

  Zhang Heng's gaze fell on the hundreds of talismans, and he quietly observed them with his divine sense. Afterwards, a look of disappointment appeared again.

  Most of these seals are first-class, and there are also dozens of second-class seals.

  But these things were of little use to Zhang Heng.

  Each level of the seal contains a corresponding level of magic, with first-level seals containing first-order magic, second-level seals containing second-order magic, and so on. The higher the level of the seal, the more terrifying the contained magic is.

  In the Xianxia world, first- to third-tier spells are low-level spells, corresponding to the three levels of Qi Gathering, Qi Refining, and Foundation Building.

  Previously, Zhao Rui was able to cast third-tier magic, which is an exception. In general, cultivators in the Refining Qi stage can only cast second-tier magic, and third-tier magic is simply out of their reach.

  First-order magic was nothing in Zhang Heng's eyes. With his current powerful physique, he could completely immunize himself against this level of magic.

  Second-tier spells might pose some threat to him, but that's only if he doesn't put up any resistance. However, once he casts a defensive spell, second-tier spells won't be able to threaten him either.

  So Zhang Heng looked at these first and second order talismans with a hint of disappointment.

  The middle-aged master saw the disappointment in Zhang Heng's eyes and hastily asked, "This little brother, what do you specifically need? Maybe I have it in my storage bag."

  Zhang Heng's eyes lit up slightly as he pointed at the symbols on the beast skin, "Do you only sell these first and second tier symbols here?"

  A middle-aged cultivator looked at him in surprise and asked, "Isn't the first or second grade talisman suitable for us low-grade cultivators? Brother, you are also a Qi Refining stage cultivator. This one second-grade talisman might save your life at a critical moment."

  Zhang Heng couldn't help but smile wryly in his heart, the middle-aged cultivator was indeed right, the advantage of talismans lay in their instantaneous release, and they didn't require much startup spiritual power.

  A second-order talisman is indeed a life-saving charm for an ordinary Qi-refining cultivator.

  But for a cultivator like Zhang Heng who wants to turn the tables on a Jiedan stage cultivator, a second-order spell is simply not enough. To pose a threat to a Jiedan stage cultivator, one must have at least a third-order talisman.

  "Isn't there a third-order talisman for sale here?" Zhang Heng asked again without giving up.

  A middle-aged cultivator shook his head and said, "I'm a Qi Refining stage cultivator who can't even cast third-grade spells, let alone create third-grade talismans. You'd better go find those Foundation Building stage cultivators."

  Zhang Heng didn't feel surprised and asked the middle-aged cultivator again: "Is there a place nearby that sells third-grade talismans?"

  The middle-aged master pointed to the tall building diagonally opposite with his hand and said, "See, it's that Tianyu Pavilion. There are many rare treasures for sale inside. The three-stage symbol you want should be there, but the price might be a bit expensive, at least ten times the price of a second-level spell."

  Zhang Heng thanked him and used his divine sense to sweep across the entire animal hide stall once more before preparing to leave.

  "Huh." Zhang Heng's eyes revealed a hint of surprise, and he stopped in his tracks. His divine sense had discovered a dark red fragment, about the size of a palm, in an inconspicuous corner of the beast skin spread out before him.

  When Zhang Heng's divine sense swept over, he was actually blocked by a subtle force, but fortunately, this force had already become very weak and did not cause any harm to Zhang Heng.

  Zhang Heng quietly returned to the middle-aged cultivator's stall and asked him, "You said that the three-stage talismans inside the Tianyu Pavilion are very expensive. What is the approximate price? I'm afraid the crystal stones in my hand won't be enough."

  The middle-aged master smiled and said, "The second-order talismans here are priced at around ten crystal stones, as for the third-order talismans, I estimate that the price will not be less than one hundred crystal stones."

  Zhang Heng took a deep breath and exclaimed in surprise: "Is it really that expensive?"

  "Yes, so I suggest you just buy a few second-order talismans from me to make do, third-order spells are not something that low-level cultivators like us can afford." The middle-aged cultivator smiled and recommended the second-order talismans in his hand, subtly raising the price of the third-order talismans by several points.

  Zhang Heng suddenly put on a dejected look, and finally said with a very helpless expression: "Okay, I'll just buy two second-level talismans from you."

  "Alright, I have more than 20 second-order talismans here, which seal the spells of Fire Snake Technique, Palm Thunder, and Spiritual Energy Shield."

  Zhang Heng hesitated for a moment before saying: "Alright then, I'll take two Fire Snake Technique talismans. How many crystal stones will they cost?"

  A middle-aged man with a smile on his face said: "As long as you have eighteen crystal stones, the power of this Fire Snake Talisman is not small."

  Zhang Heng secretly despised this Fire Snake Technique. Under his own defensive light screen, it couldn't even stir up a few bubbles. How could its power be considered not small?

  However, this middle-aged cultivator did not deceive Zhang Heng. The Fire Snake Technique was ranked relatively high in terms of power and practicality among second-tier spells.

  But for Zhang Heng, who is especially good at defense, it's nothing.

  Zhang Heng took out the crystal stone from his storage bag and was about to make a transaction when he suddenly remembered something. He turned to the middle-aged cultivator and said, "Right, I still need some materials to refine a magic weapon. Do you have any other materials here?"

  "Of course, I still have a lot of Xuan Tie ore, Hei Tie ore, Rui Jin ore and other refining materials here." The middle-aged cultivator's smile grew even brighter as he saw Zhang Heng wanting to buy more materials.

  "Alright, just give me a few pieces of each." Zhang Heng picked up over a dozen ore samples. His gaze shifted to the unassuming dark red fragment again, and he asked with curiosity: "What's this?"

  The middle-aged master smiled and said: "This is a fragment that I picked up unintentionally before, and I don't know what it's used for. It has been placed here all the time, and no one bought it."

  "Oh, I'm a bit interested in this thing too, sell it to me together. How many crystals in total?" Zhang Heng said casually.

  The middle-aged cultivator didn't raise any suspicions: "Alright, two second-grade spirit stones are eighteen crystal stones, these ten or so ore only need less than two crystal stones, and adding the last fragment...hmm, in total you'll need twenty crystal stones."

  "Can't it be cheaper?" Zhang Heng's brow furrowed slightly.

  The middle-aged master smiled wryly and said, "Young brother, I can't make it any cheaper. These talismans are even sold at a loss to you. You know that the success rate of making talismans is not high..."

  "Alright, twenty-two crystal stones it is. This is my savings of over a decade."

  After the transaction with the middle-aged master was completed, Zhang Heng held this palm-sized fragment in his hand, and a weak Lingqi flowed into it, encountering an extremely strong resistance. He was overjoyed: "I really picked up a treasure! Although this thing is only a fragment, its quality far surpasses that of ordinary spiritual instruments."

  Perhaps this thing wouldn't have much effect in the hands of other cultivators, but if it were Zhang Heng, that would be a different story.

  The higher the grade of treasure, the more beneficial it is for his cultivation of perverted skills.

  With such a joyful heart, Zhang Heng stepped into the Tianbao Pavilion diagonally across from him.

  That middle-aged cultivator looked at Zhang Heng again and walked into the Tianbao Pavilion, a look of surprise on his face. Didn't he say that his crystal wasn't enough?

  He then remembered the mysterious fragment he had just sold to Zhang Heng, and his face suddenly revealed a look of extreme regret.