Chapter 19: Preparing for the Gauntlet

  Waking up to a bright sky, Yuan Tian got out of bed and stretched his waist. He had fallen asleep in a daze the night before and had even forgotten to change his clothes. Turning his head, he saw the horse jacket laid out on the table.

  What? When did the tattoo get filled up? Rubbing the still slightly swollen temples, thinking carefully, it seems that I didn't do anything after coming back last night.

  What's the deal with the weirdly-shaped symbols placed next to it, Yuan Tian picked up the symbol paper beside his horse jacket and examined it carefully. This should be the leftover corner material from cutting out the intermediate symbol paper when making the horse jacket.

  After seeing clearly, Yuan Tian was not afraid of a trace. On one of the talismans, three flame talismans were printed in bold relief. The three talismans were tightly packed together, almost to the point where they couldn't be squeezed in anymore.

  It seems that after getting drunk last night, I was still thinking about printing talismans, so when I came back, I had a crazy printing session. After finishing the golden talisman text on the horse jacket, I saw the remaining scraps and printed a few flame talismans.

  Drunk wine, fire flame talisman, this is really exciting. Moreover, on an irregular symbol paper, squeezed down three flame talismans. If there was a mistake at that time, the consequences are unthinkable...

  What if it explodes, will this table still be here, will this small house still be here, will my own life still be here... The more he thought about it, the more frightened Yuan Tian became, and his back began to feel a chill.

  He took off his somewhat damp clothes and changed into a loose and comfortable set. Yuan Tian strolled out the door, first going to take a look at the pigpen.

  The flower-patterned pigs didn't knock over the feeding trough, it seems that last night's drunkenness added a lot of feed for them. After taking out the feed from the warehouse and mixing it well, add more to them. After filling up the water tank, Yuan Tian suddenly felt that he had nothing to do today.

  Chrysanthemum, chrysanthemum, why haven't you bloomed yet? Spring is not suitable for too much watering. Looking at the chrysanthemum, it just won't bloom, and I can only be anxious in vain.

  Not loving chrysanthemum alone among flowers

  No more flowers after this one blooms.

  Yuán Tiān just loves chrysanthemums, especially yellow ones, they're really pleasing to the eye. Peonies are plump and beautiful, while chrysanthemums are slender and elegant, this might also have something to do with his own body type.

  Last night, taking advantage of the intoxication, I've already made the defensive horse cloak and the attacking flame talisman. As for improving my cultivation, this one day's time isn't worth much.

  Cultivating such a thing relies on the accumulation of constant grinding in daily life. Those who break through at critical moments are also because they have accumulated enough in their daily lives, and can only break through in times of crisis. Yuan Tian asked himself, busy with his livelihood every day, busy making spirit stones, and didn't have much time to practice his skills.

  An unremarkable miscellaneous disciple, closed-door intense practice is purely nonsense. Not to mention that it's definitely impossible to complete the breeding task, even eating becomes a problem. Moreover, without good skills and support from elixirs, it's fundamentally impossible to quickly improve. As for some fanciful occasional events, Yuan Tian never expected them either.

  With nothing to do, I might as well go to the trading market and take a stroll, maybe something interesting will happen. Going to the market for a walk is going to cost money. Thinking of this, Yuan Tian returned to his house, clang clang clang clang, and made a bunch of Flame Talismans and Vajra Amulets.

  The wine I drank last night still has an aftereffect. This busy work, didn't rest much, the lingering effect of the wine is always providing spiritual power.

  When breaking through, should I also drink some wine? This thought flashed through Yuantian's mind. Forget it, breaking through is not just about having enough spiritual power. At that time, you have to be quick-witted and deal with many complex problems.

  Before leaving, I counted the golden studs on my horse's saddle blanket, eighty-one in total. Seven is a yang number and nine is a complete number. Nine nines return to truth, eighty-one golden studs are very auspicious.

  Since it's already done, I might as well wear it. Putting on the eighty-first layer of defensive cloak made me feel much safer.

  Riding on a small paper boat all the way downstream, I thought of something along the way. Spirit symbols are good things, but the talisman paper has a weakness, which is that it's afraid of water before activation. Although spirit symbols have incredible power after activation, when not in use, they're still afraid of getting wet by water.

  Normally, the spiritual symbols are placed in a package and don't need to worry, but this horse jacket is worn on the body. If it gets wet before use and the symbol becomes blurred, it will lose its effect. It seems that I have to go buy a waterproof coat to wear, thinking of this, Yuantian urged the small paper boat to speed up.

  Mr. Dongguo indeed made sense, not only did he agree to set up a stall at his store entrance, but also offered to help Yuantian sell on consignment, taking one-tenth of the profit, so there was no need to guard it every day.

  Yuan Tian thought for a moment, such a good flame talisman would first refer to the price of Qi Cuo Ge, selling two Ling stones per piece. In this way, even if the commission is deducted, it will be higher than the direct sale price of one and a half Ling stones to Qi Cuo Ge.

  As for the Golden Amulet, Mr. Dongguo gave a reference price of one and a half Ling stones per piece.

  Dongguo Cang generously prepaid fifty low-grade spirit stones to Yuantian, so many spirit symbols were pledged here, naturally there was no need to worry about him running away.

  Yuan Tian was holding fifty spirit stones, which happened to be a bit tight for him. Although the bookstore wasn't very large in scale, it was worth more than these few spirit symbols. Those mid-grade spell scrolls weren't over a hundred spirit stones each, so he wasn't afraid of Dong Guo being dishonest.

  Buying clothes is still most convenient at a clothing store, although some supermarkets also have clothes, they are ultimately not as complete as those in a clothing store.

  Turn right out of the bookstore and walk forward for about 50 steps, then you will see Qi Qiao Ge across the street. Continue walking forward for about 100 steps, and you will arrive at Fu Chang Ge Armor Shop.

  The three-story building was much smaller than the seven-story Qiao Pavilion, but compared to Mr. Dongguo's one-story bookstore, it wasn't a small storefront either.

  "Hello, sir. What can we help you with?" The two shop assistants at the door immediately came forward to greet a tall and thin man who was walking over.

  These two fellows were of medium build and quite handsome, with the same level of cultivation as Yuan Tian. If it were in the past, Yuan Tian might have envied their jobs, standing and chatting to earn a living, without much physical labor and with higher pay than miscellaneous disciples.

  But since learning how to make talismans, a wave of the brush and the spiritual stone is in hand. Yuan Tian deeply understood that technique is the source of spiritual stones.

  "Buy a piece of clothing, defense doesn't need to be too high, just needs to be waterproof." Yuan Tian directly stated his requirements.

  The fellow at the door immediately relayed this request to the fellow inside, and then a fellow came forward to receive Yuantian, leading him to a row of protective gear. This row of protective gear was mainly clothing, including vests, short shirts, long shirts, etc.

  One of the black long shirts caught Yuan Tian's eye. The slender body, with a slit at the bottom similar to a swallowtail, was particularly well-fitted around the waist.

  This garment is made of waterproof material, and a hood can be pulled out from the upright collar. In terms of defense, it can withstand three full-strength strikes from a cultivator at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, and its price is not high, being thirty low-grade spirit stones.

  The price isn't high compared to other defensive gear, but the defensive capabilities of this garment are not low either. It can withstand two full-force attacks from a cultivator at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, which is equivalent to the level of three standard Golden Barrier Talismans. Three Golden Barrier Talismans only cost a few Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

  To talk about waterproof function, actually a water-repellent bead can solve this problem. Therefore, it leads to this piece of clothing, although the workmanship is not bad but the price is not high.

  Yuán Tiān however did not think so, whether it was the Vajra Cover Symbol or the Water-Avoiding Pearl, they all needed to be activated before they could take effect. What he wanted was for them to have a water-repelling effect at all times, and if they also came with some defensive capabilities, that would be even better. Directly wearing beast skin clothes seemed too low-class. This long garment suited his taste just fine.

  The shop assistant saw Yuan Tian take a liking to the clothes and took the opportunity to introduce him to boots and gloves. The boots and gloves seemed to be from the same person as the clothes, all in pure black, with a slender style.

  The shoes have even less defensive capability, but embedding a small whirlwind array can increase movement speed after activation.

  The gloves are quite special, although they don't have high defensive capabilities, but they have a built-in Waterway Array, which can increase swimming speed when swimming. This ability makes most people not understand, usually when entering the water, they bring an Avoidance Pearl. The formed light shield directly repels all the water, and there is no need to swim at all.

  The clothes cost thirty low-grade spirit stones, the gloves fifteen spirit stones, and the shoes also require fifteen spirit stones, adding up to sixty low-grade spirit stones. Yuan Tian would not actually give sixty spirit stones, although he really liked this set of clothes, but being stingy was not his style.

  "This clothing's defense is too poor, it's not even as good as two Golden Gauntlets combined." Yuan Tianyi pointed out the fatal flaw of this clothing right away.

  "These shoes have such a high shoe waist, it's also too inconvenient to wear, even with the Wind Style: Gale Force technique, this flaw can't be hidden."

  "These gloves are too ridiculous, do you want to wear them swimming? They can't replace breathing, no way to dive underwater, what's the use of this?"

  He rambled on and on, a whole string of complaints, spitting out stars, not giving the shop assistant a chance to explain. He was really bold, picking on a big pile of faults, not afraid of making the store owner angry.

  "Alright, three pieces for a total of fifty low-grade spirit stones. I think you've already taken apart the set and it won't sell well even if you do." He directly gave a price that wasn't too harsh, but Yuan Tian had actually seen that the cost of this set of clothes was not low, it's just that the production was somewhat special so it was sold at such a low price.

  "Wait a minute, let me discuss with the boss." The shop assistant wiped his sweat with his sleeve and thought to himself that this skinny guy was really good at talking, if he continued like this, they would have to give it to him for free.

  "What else is there to discuss? Just take a bit less commission and that's it." As he spoke, Yuan Tian handed over fifty low-grade spirit stones to the shop assistant, then reached out to take down some clothes to try on.

  "The Ling Stone is ready to be picked up at the counter." The shop assistant was fed up with this familiar customer. He couldn't care less about the commission, as long as he didn't lose money, and just wanted to get rid of him quickly.

  "Come on, you and I will go to the counter together. Don't worry, the shopkeeper won't blame you for selling it cheaply. This strange thing can be sold well, and you should be praised." Yuan Tian took down the shoes and gloves with a flourish, giving the store clerk a reassuring look.

  The shop assistant followed behind with his head down, having already lost confidence in getting a commission, but was once again inspired by Yuan Tian's words.

  As expected, the shopkeeper agreed to the price of fifty low-grade spirit stones. This set of goods has been a slow seller and has been taking up space for a long time, so it's better to just sell it cheaply.

  Carrying his neatly packed clothes, Yuan Tian stepped out of the door and jumped onto a small paper boat, heading towards Menpai. Tomorrow was the day he would be breaking through the barrier, so he had to dress up properly.