Chen Yu sat at his desk, focused as he drew his fourth Ice Arrow talisman for the night. Steadily and with practiced precision, he slowly connected the last connection point.
A subtle glow radiated from the talisman, bringing a faint smile to his face.
He slowly got up and stretched, happy with his past month's progress. This month he was able to go from drawing just 3 Light talismans to now his current stage where he could comfortably draw 7 of them without straining himself.
He also started to draw other talismans, specifically the Fireball and Ice Arrow talismans. Unlike the Light talisman, he was only able to draw 4 of them every day. Considering they required different materials while making them, it was slightly harder to control the brush.
The material needed for the Fireball talisman was powder from the Red Ember herb, a type of fire element herb. He had to mix a little of it with the ink, which made it harder to control as small bits of the powder floated in it. Of course, there were more expensive types of elemental ink that came pre-mixed, but the manual advised Tier 1 talisman makers to instead use the powder themselves. It would help them have greater control later on, which Chen Yu agreed with as he noticed making Light talismans became way easier after dealing with the other two talismans.
The Ice Arrow required the Forest Lotus, which was of ice element, and it was even harder to draw with because of its icy nature that made the ink feel cold and sluggish.
Chen Yu sighed, understanding why even though talisman making was lucrative, it wasn't something that anyone could get into. Just in the past month he had already spent about 10 golden coins on failed talismans alone.
Every week he would go to the Treasure Pavilion to sell his weekly stock of talismans and buy more materials, which also made him closer to another old man there, who was actually the manager. The old man was called Master Li. He was also a Tier 1 talisman maker, but he wasn't particularly good at it, just enough for him to gain some wealth and boost his cultivation to the 9th layer of the Body Refining stage.
Starting to put everything back in place, Chen Yu got ready for bed. After sitting down on the bed, he focused and connected to his clone. Slowly he felt the clone's cultivation being transmitted to him, which made him quite happy.
His clone had tirelessly been cultivating the whole month, pushing Chen Yu to the completion of the 1st layer of the Body Refining stage.
Originally, he wasn't satisfied with his cultivation speed at all. But after talking to Master Li he realized that for an average five-root cultivator, it would take them about 5 months just to sense qi. With good pills, they might reach the completion of the 1st layer in 3 years, which surprised him to no end. He was actually cultivating almost 36 times faster than a normal person! And this was without even time acceleration, which made him quite happy.
Until Master Li dropped an ice cold bucket on him by mentioning that the worst three-root cultivators took only 2 months to reach the second stage of Body Refining.
This made him realize that he was just as good as the average cultivator in better cultivation regions, with most sects almost exclusively accepting three roots and above. His spirit roots dragged him down significantly. He needed to start using the time acceleration part of his golden finger as fast as possible. At his age, an average three-root cultivator would be at least at the 5th layer.
After he got his cultivation progress from his clone, he slowly drifted to sleep.
The next day, Chen Yu gathered his current stock of talismans, which was probably worth about 200 golden coins. He also brought the 500 golden coins he had saved over the month, planning to convert them to spirit stones.
As he reached the Treasure Pavilion, he spotted Master Li behind the counter, examining a jade slip with his usual impassive expression.
"Master Li," Chen Yu greeted with a respectful nod.
The old man glanced up briefly. "Chen Yu. More talismans?"
"Yes, Master." Chen Yu carefully placed his storage pouch on the counter. "Seven Light talismans and four each of Fireball and Ice Arrow."
Master Li's eyebrow raised slightly. He methodically examined each talisman, his spiritual sense probing them for quality. After a long moment, he grunted.
"Quality has improved. Three silver per Light talisman, five silver per Fireball and Ice Arrow." He counted out the coins with practiced efficiency. "Two hundred golden coins total."
"Thank you, Master." Chen Yu paused, then continued, "I'm also looking to purchase some items today. Do you have array materials? Specifically for a basic Spirit Gathering Array?"
"Spirit Gathering Array?" Master Li studied him for a moment. "The array plate and carving tools will cost you one hundred golden coins. Can you even use them?"
"I have some knowledge," Chen Yu replied carefully.
Master Li shrugged, clearly uninterested in the details. He retrieved a smooth jade array plate and a set of specialized carving tools from behind the counter. "Here. The plate is blank. Instructions for basic arrays are in the manual that comes with it."
Chen Yu examined the materials and nodded. "I'll take them. I also need a Tier 1 sword and some protective armor."
Master Li moved to a weapons rack along the wall. He pulled down a simple but well-forged straight sword. "Fifty golden coins. Steel core with a qi-conductive edge. Basic but reliable." He then retrieved a set of leather armor reinforced with metal plates. "Another fifty for the armor. It'll stop mortal weapons and weaken Tier 1 attacks."
Chen Yu tested the sword's weight and checked the armor's fit. Both were adequate for his needs. "I'll take both."
"That's two hundred golden coins for everything." Master Li collected the payment. "Anything else?"
"Actually, yes. I'd like to convert five hundred golden coins to spirit stones."
Master Li's expression didn't change, but he nodded. "The rate is ten to one. Fifty spirit stones."
He disappeared into a back room and returned with a small cloth pouch that clinked softly. Chen Yu felt the pure spiritual energy radiating from within even through the fabric.
"Fifty low-grade spirit stones," Master Li confirmed. "Don't waste them."
"I won't. Thank you, Master Li."
The old man had already turned back to his jade slip, clearly done with the conversation.
Chen Yu gathered his purchases and left the Treasure Pavilion, his heart racing with anticipation. With the array materials, proper weapons and armor, and spirit stones for cultivation, he was finally ready to accelerate his progress.
He made his way back to the inn, already planning how he would use everything.