Chapter 364 - Fairy Talisman House

The Fairy Talisman House might be a small shop, but it was very well furnished. It was obvious that much thought had been put into the design of the place.

There were four main parts to the shop – the storefront where customers were received, the guesthall where meetings were held, the storage room where all their materials were preserved in ideal conditions, and finally the talisman preparation room.

Behind Fairy Pingxi, Nanlan Qianxue curiously peered into the talisman preparation room.

The room was dark, illuminated only by dim light crystals that lined the walls of the room. Even with the light crystals, visibility was poor, and it was difficult to see what was contained within.

"Don't worry and enter, it is definitely safer than you wandering around the city attracting unwanted attention from perverts!" Fairy Pingxi remarked before stepping in.

Nanlan Qianxue did not argue, entering the room as she was told.

Once she was inside, Nanlan Qianxue was finally able to make out the contents within, or to be more exact, the lack thereof.

It was an empty room.

Apart from the light crystals along the walls of the room, there was absolutely nothing else, not even a table to work on.

Confused, Nanlan Qianxue could only look towards Fairy Pingxi for an explanation.

"Talisman making is a very delicate process, so the conditions of the surroundings have to be very well controlled. Every extra item could result in detrimental effects to the talisman," Fairy Pingxi said. "Before making a talisman, we have to figure out exactly what materials we need, as well as what conditions the talisman process require. Only then can we adjust the room accordingly, just like this!"

Weng-!

With a snap of her fingers, a formation buzzed into life, and an emblem of light appeared underneath their feet.

The temperature immediately went up a few degrees, and the light crystals grew in intensity.

In the blink of an eye, their surroundings had completely changed.

It was as though the environment had suddenly shifted from that of a cool underground cave to that of a burning desert.

"How is it?" Fairy Pingxi smirked. "Impressive, isn't it?"

"Mm," Nanlan Qianxue nodded expressionlessly.

Nanlan Qianxue was indeed impressed, but not to an extent where her heart would be moved.

After all, she had once experienced the spatial shifts in Lord Er's tomb which directly pulled her consciousness into a completely different world. Compared to that, this change in environment could actually be considered rather mild.

Fairy Pingxi frowned when she realised that she had failed to get the reaction she expected from Nanlan Qianxue.

"T-This is just an appetiser! Now, how about I show you the actual process of talisman making?" Fairy Pingxi clapped her hands together in confidence. "Get ready to be blown away!"

With a flick of her wrists, dozens of items appeared in front of her.

Floating in the air were a wide variety of items, including small bottles, pieces of strange wood, and even a small metal coin.

"Talismans can exist in any form. Everything in this world can contain energy, and as long as something can contain energy, it can be turned into a talisman," Fairy Pingxi explained. "Right now, I will show you how an ordinary metal coin transforms into a powerful talisman!"

What happened next caused even the usually indifferent Nanlan Qianxue to widen her eyes in astonishment.

***

Lu Tianzi looked around him.

He was currently in a large room with the walls made of elegant rustic wood, and the floor carpeted with thick beast fur. Each piece of furniture seemed to be emitting a faint aura of pristine energy, as though they all had a glorious history.

This grand and luxurious room that looked like it belonged in a palace was actually a meeting room in the Sacred Lotus Treasury Headquarters.

After Lu Tianzi was done with the inscriptions that Old Juan had asked for, the latter seemed to be overcome with excitement.

Chucking the completed equipment to his three disciples to handle, Old Juan immediately dragged Lu Tianzi along to the Sacred Lotus Treasury Headquarters, saying that he wanted to delay no more in getting Lu Tianzi the best resources possible to improve in the art of inscriptions.

And where better to obtain such resources than the famous Sacred Lotus Treasury?

They might be best known for their equipment trade, but apart from that, they also had in stock all sorts of information relating to the art of artificing, and the art of inscription was but one of the numerous topics contained within.

Only by training their own in-house artificers could they ensure that they would have a constant supply of equipment to be sold to the public.

Of course, there was also the Silvercloud Hall where Lu Tianzi first obtained the methodology on smithing.

But since Old Juan had a personal contact in Sacred Lotus Treasury, they decided to try their luck here instead.

Lu Tianzi and Old Juan sat on chairs made of polished heavy wood, facing the beautiful long table at the end of the room.

Behind the table, a man who looked to be in his thirties leaned forward, resting his elbows on the tabletop with both hands clasped together in front of his face.

His eyes were focused, his gaze drifting among Old Juan, Lu Tianzi, and a short dagger resting on the table before him.

"How about it, Brother Licong?" Old Juan asked. "Will you be able to do it?"

This Licong was none other than Old Juan's contact in Sacred Lotus Treasury, though their relationship so far had in fact been more business than personal.

"The quality of the inscription on this equipment is indeed rather decent," Licong stated. "If it is indeed placed by Young Brother Tianzi here, then I am willing to invest."

"I knew you will understand!" Old Juan cheered. "I assure you that this inscription is indeed placed by him. Should I be found lying, I will gift you my shop without uttering a single word!"

"I don't need your shop, but it is assuring to hear that," Licong nodded. "Jade slips containing high level information pertaining to the art of inscription are rather rare, but I should be able to get you some after I have a talk with the higher-ups. Don't worry, I will make sure that the jade slips cover all the various aspects of inscription. Remember, this is a loan, not a gift. Make sure you do good on your promise earlier."

"That's more than good enough!" Old Juan laughed. "If Tianzi is able to digest all of that, he will be able to rank amongst the top inscription masters in Sacred Cliff City!"

The Sacred Lotus Treasury was a giant of an influence within Sacred Cliff City.

If even the Sacred Lotus Treasury treated it as high level information, Old Juan was sure that the information would truly be invaluable.

With such information at their disposal, even someone without talent would be able to improve by leaps and bounds.

Even if the price stated by Licong was rather steep, it was well worth it!

As for the promise they made to Licong, it was that the Sacred Lotus Treasury would have the priority when it came to buying any items inscribed by Lu Tianzi in the future.

Of course, they agreed to come up with a fair price for each item as well, or Old Juan and Lu Tianzi would never have agreed to it.

"I will not count my chickens before they hatch if I were you, Brother Juan," Licong shook his head before turning his attention to Lu Tianzi. "I don't know how you obtained your current level in the art of inscription, but I hope you won't become too full of yourself just because we are praising you here. If this is not clear to you yet, you still have a long way to go. Remember that right now, I am not investing in the current you, but the potential within you. If you fail to realise this potential, I will be the one taking the blame, so don't let me down."

"I understand," Lu Tianzi nodded. "Thank you for your trust."

While Licong sounded cold and business-like, Lu Tianzi noticed that Licong's eyes had wavered more than just once during the short conversation they had.

It felt as though Licong had been in a dilemma, but eventually steeled his resolve to support him. Even if it might have only been a business decision on Licong's part, Lu Tianzi still appreciated it.

"It's good that you understand," Licong let out a deep breath. "You can go back for now. I will deliver the items once they are ready."

"I knew I could count on you, Brother Licong!" Old Juan stood up from his seat. "Then we will leave the rest to you and take our leave."

"Farewell, Brother Juan," Licong gestured to the door.

With that, Old Juan and Lu Tianzi left the Sacred Lotus Treasury Headquarters.

Since it was already late, Lu Tianzi returned to the Fortune Queen Inn instead of following Old Juan back to his equipment shop.

By then, Nanlan Qianxue was already waiting outside his room for him.

"Come on in," Lu Tianzi said while leading her into the room.

"What's the matter?" Nanlan Qianxue asked.

She had just returned from the Fairy Talisman House and was about to start cultivating in her room when she suddenly received a message from Lu Tianzi, telling her that he had something to discuss.

That was the reason why she waited for Lu Tianzi outside his room.

"I am thinking of purchasing a residence in Sacred Cliff City," Lu Tianzi got straight to the point.

"Hmm?" Nanlan Qianxue blinked blankly for a moment, trying to digest what she just heard. "Didn't you mention that you want to head over to the White Tiger Immortal Sect?"

"That's right, and I still intend to do so," Lu Tianzi nodded. "But today, I came across an opportunity that could greatly improve my inscription skills. This made me reconsider things from another perspective – if I am really able to become an established inscription master here in Sacred Cliff City, it might make things slightly easier for us when we do head over to the White Tiger Immortal Sect in the future. After all, we have no idea what the people from the White Tiger Immortal Sect are like. What we do know is that with an elevated status comes connections, and having some sort of connection would probably help deter unwarranted actions against us, even if only by a little."

"So you are intending to do inscription work here in Sacred Cliff City for the time being?" Nanlan Qianxue looked visibly confused. "But what does that have to do with getting your own residence?"

"Our residence," Lu Tianzi corrected her. "If I am aiming to become an established inscription master, having a private residence would look much more presentable. On top of that, I would need a private area to place the inscriptions as well. I can't possibly keep doing it at Old Juan's place when I am even charging him for the service."

"So that's the case," Nanlan Qianxue pondered for a moment. "Okay then. Let's purchase a residence!"

Lu Tianzi let out a helpless smile. "I knew you would immediately agree, but you should think it through a little this time. This might take some time. If you wish to leave Sacred Cliff City in the meantime to gain some experience outside, it is all right with me as well."

"But I have already thought it through," Nanlan Qianxue shrugged nonchalantly. "It just so happens that I now have something that I wish to learn as well. Having my own residence would definitely help."

"Oh? There's something you wish to learn?" this time it was Lu Tianzi's turn to be surprised. "What is it?"

Nanlan Qianxue grinned mischievously. "Just be patient and wait. I will show you when the time is ripe!"