Chapter 42 Fu Lu

  Lin Feng and the other person walked while talking, after a few steps they passed by the Dan medicine counter, and in front of them appeared a huge counter, on which were placed all sorts of paper, animal skins, and pieces of materials that couldn't be identified, but no matter what it was, under the soft light emitted by the gemstone used for lighting above their heads, they continuously scattered colorful glows, flashing and shining, very dreamy.

  "This is...?" Lin Feng had seen some low-level talismans made of paper, but were these animal hides and unknown sheet-like objects also talismans?

  "You've never even seen Fu Lu?" Liu Kai had just been holding onto a shred of hope that Lin Feng might be a disciple from a wealthy family, but now it was instantly dispelled. Was there really a rich family's disciple who hadn't even seen Fu Lu?

  Lin Feng didn't make any excuses, he only knew some low-level talismans, and it was about the same as not having seen them before. He walked forward, picked up a talisman, and examined it carefully. This was a thick yellow paper with many red and yellow lines of varying thicknesses embossed or indented on its surface. Lin Feng secretly used the Jade to probe the surface, and indeed, there was a faint aura of fire spirit attached to it. It could be confirmed that this was a fire-attribute talisman.

  Since obtaining the treasure, under Lin Feng's constant exploration, he has gained a general understanding of its functions. Detecting spiritual objects and expanding his divine sense are its basic functions. Almost all things with spiritual energy within its detection range will be displayed on the jade disc, and the temperature will also change accordingly, with stronger spiritual energy corresponding to higher temperatures. More conveniently, if there are many spiritual objects within the treasure's detection range at the same time, Lin Feng only needs to concentrate his mind on the target object, which will shine brightly, while other objects in the range become dim light points, truly a treasure-seeking tool.

  However, not all spiritual objects within the detection range can be detected. For example, magical artifacts stored in storage bags and monks' bodies cannot be detected. Lin Feng didn't understand why, nor could he ask anyone about it, so he assumed that this was because storage bags and human bodies were considered to be in different spaces, with distances being treated as infinitely far, making it impossible for the jade pendant to detect them either. What's more, even monks who possessed spiritual energy couldn't be detected, leading Lin Feng to speculate that perhaps living creatures like demonic beasts also couldn't be detected. As for the function of amplifying his divine sense, Lin Feng currently only used it when refining pills. He had no way of testing how much it amplified or what other domains he could use it in. Nevertheless, he was extremely satisfied with the jade pendant.

  "A first-class lower-grade Fireball Talisman, equivalent to a full-force strike from a Seventh- Layer Qi Refining cultivator. It's worth 55 spirit stones. How many would you like, fellow Daoist?" The service cultivator nearby, seeing the business opportunity, hastily came over to introduce it.

  "So expensive?" Lin Feng knew a bit about the role of talismans, either for defense or attack, but most were one-time consumables, that is to say, they would be gone after use. Such consumables weren't something many people could afford to use casually, it was truly burning money.

  "Where is the Daoist friend from? In this Radiant City, it's said that things are cheap and of good quality. Can you find something better than my Baibao Hall? Not to mention the cost of materials for making talismans is less than half, but with a failure rate of 40% to 50%, it's not something an ordinary cultivator can afford. If I didn't have excellent skills in crafting talismans, I wouldn't even be able to make a profit from selling them at 55 spirit stones."

  Lin Feng was intently looking at the talisman, seemingly unable to make up his mind. The servant cultivator looked at Lin Feng and the other cultivator's cultivation and continued to peddle: "Let me put it this way, this is a lifesaving item. To be honest with you, if you were to encounter three or more quasi-demonic beasts attacking you in the wild, with your current cultivation, it would be quite dangerous. But if you had this talisman, one of them could instantly kill one quasi-demonic beast and turn danger into safety. This is a lifesaving treasure."

  Lin Feng knew that he had left himself a way out with his words, and from today's battle with the quasi-demonic beasts, it was clear that two of them could put him in a dangerous situation. So, if this fireball symbol was really that powerful, 55 spirit stones were worth it.

  Lin Feng looked at Liu Kai with inquiring eyes, and Liu Kai understood what he meant. He nodded and said, "I've seen someone use it before. Ordinary quasi-demonic beasts can't withstand the attack of this talisman, but that's only ordinary. You know that some quasi-demonic beasts have extremely strong bloodlines and different species, with strengths comparable to those above the 9th layer of Qi Refining. Ordinary talismans are not very effective against them."

  Liu Kai's words struck the weak point of the monk's statement, which Lin Feng also knew. Although "quasi-demonic beasts" was a general term for unawakened demonic beasts, their strength varied greatly due to differences in breed and bloodline concentration. At least for Lin Feng's current strength, this gap was several times larger. Liu Kai's meaning was very clear: such a low-grade fireball symbol would only work on ordinary quasi-demonic beasts, but not necessarily on those with strong strength.

  "This price......?" Lin Feng looked at Liu Kai again.

  Liu Kai nodded and said, "These things aren't that rare, the prices are about the same throughout the city."

  "Yes, yes, the price is absolutely unbeatable, my friend, why don't you buy a few more?" The sales monk, seeing that Liu Kai was somewhat knowledgeable, stopped trying to deceive him and instead made a strong sales pitch.

  Lin Feng looked at it, shook his head, put down the talisman in his hand, and picked up another one with similar patterns but much stronger spiritual fluctuations beside him, asking: "How much does this talisman sell for?"

  "This is a first-class medium-grade talisman, 120 spirit stones per piece." The male servant cultivator obviously didn't have the patience of the female servant cultivator from earlier. Seeing that Lin Feng and his companion had low cultivation levels and weren't dressed luxuriously, it was clear they wouldn't be able to afford such a high-end consumable item, so he spoke without much energy.

  "I see that the materials and texture of this talisman are almost the same, how can it be so expensive?" Lin Feng used his spiritual sense to feel the aura of this talisman, although it was better than the previous one, but the other materials were almost the same, yet the price was more than double, he asked in surprise and doubt.

  "The materials are the same, but can a mid-grade symbol compare to a low-grade one? This mid-grade symbol is equivalent to an 8th-layer Qi Refining cultivator's full-strength strike, and basically no ordinary demon beast can withstand it. It's normal for it to be worth more than double, just like mid-grade Qi Gathering Pills and low-grade ones, are they comparable?" The servant cultivator saw Lin Feng's shocked expression and knew from his years of experience that he had encountered another rookie who had just entered the Cultivation Realm.

  Lin Feng was unmoved by the other's change in demeanor. He looked at the counter again and, seeing no other fireball talismans, asked, "Don't you have any first-rate high-quality fireball talismans?"

  "Hmph... Hmph... Fellow Daoist, you're really joking. I've sold talismans for so many years, and high-quality ones are just hearsay. Genuine items have never been seen before. If you have any, our Baibao Hall will definitely buy them at a high price." The servant cultivator had already confirmed that Lin Feng was a new cultivator, seeing his questions were off the mark, not knowing whether to laugh or get angry.

  "After saying that, he said: 'You two take your time to look at it. The price of this level of symbol is probably around this price range. If you're satisfied, just call me.' The implicit meaning was that the two of them shouldn't waste his business time."

  Lin Feng knew his own affairs, so he was very calm and not angry at all with the servant's disrespectful words. On the contrary, he nodded slightly and began to read with relish.

  Not to mention, there are many varieties of talismans, not only the five attributes of gold, wood, water, fire and earth, but also a few rare wind and thunder attribute talismans. However, they are basically low-grade goods, first-class lower and middle grades, no upper grade. It seems that like dan medicine, high-grade ones are not easy to make.

  "Lin Feng, let's go. This symbol can be either way, as long as we are careful when we leave, it won't be easy to die." Unconsciously, Lin Feng had been looking for more than half an hour, and Liu Kai on the side had explained for half a day. Looking at it roughly, all the symbols had been introduced, and Liu Kai advised Lin Feng.

  "Why aren't there any more advanced talismans? They're all just first-order, so what do foundation-building cultivators use?" Lin Feng thought that these talismans were equivalent to the attack and defense spells of Qi-refining cultivators, so there must be talismans equivalent to the spells of foundation-building cultivators, and maybe even more advanced talismans used by Golden Core cultivators.

  "Fu Lu is just like Dan medicine, the second grade and above are all on the second floor. The things up there are for foundation-building cultivators, we can't use them even if we want to. And those things aren't cheap, they're not something we can afford right now." Liu Kai glanced at the staircase leading to the second floor in the distance, thinking to himself when he would be able to use the things upstairs.

  "Can't we use second-order symbols?" Lin Feng didn't think of using or not using them as a problem.

  "With insufficient spiritual energy, it's probably very difficult to activate the spirit symbol. I estimate that at least seven layers of refined spiritual energy are needed to activate it, so let's not think about it." Liu Kai shook his head.

  Lin Feng had originally wanted to go and take a look, but after hearing this, he gave up. Since it couldn't be used and he couldn't study it himself, looking at it would be pointless. On the other hand, having a mid-grade talisman like this was very practical for his current self, something that could save his life, and was well worth owning. However, as for what kind of talisman to buy, he still needed to learn more about it, and there was no rush at the moment.

  The two of them continued to wander around Baibao Hall, where all sorts of monk supplies were available, almost everything they could think of. Many things Lin Feng had never seen before, such as beast bags specifically designed for spiritual beasts, defensive Daoist robes, armor guards, and various strange-shaped weapons with different functions, mainly swords, storage bags, space rings, and spirit stones of different attributes. Lin Feng's eyes were dazzled by the array of goods, and after a few hours of browsing, they had only gotten a general idea of what was available. By this time, the sky had already darkened, and the two people's stomachs were growling with hunger.

  Lin Feng glanced at the several counters in the distance where people were bustling about, and he really wanted to take a look at the special counter that sold Gongfa and magic techniques. However, Liu Kai couldn't resist advising him: "Gongfa books require careful selection, besides, you don't need them now. Why don't we eat first, and then find a place to stay?" With Liu Kai's financial situation, he could only rent a small single room with a single bed in a small inn, and it was impossible for Lin Feng to stay together with him.

  Lin Feng thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. Today, he had taken a cursory glance around, which was his initial understanding of the city of Yao Guang. There were still many days ahead, so there was no need to rush at this moment. He smiled and said, "Alright, let's go eat first and find a place to stay. I'll come back tomorrow to take another look."