Spells Grinding: From Basic Sparks to Divine Arts

The pawnshop was decorated in an antique style. Upon entering, one was met with a tall counter, blocked by a railing above. There was a small hole in the railing, and currently, a young attendant was slumped there, dozing off.

Qin Lu looked around curiously for a moment before walking up to the counter and speaking.

“Hey, wake up. I want to pawn something.”

His words instantly roused the dozing attendant. The young man opened his eyes, glanced down at Qin Lu with a displeased expression, then yawned lazily.

“What are you pawning?”

“A rare and exquisite set of dragon-and-phoenix auspiciousness redwood tabletop toys. Men who’ve tried them all say they’re great~” Qin Lu said in a low voice.

“What kind of nonsense is this…”

The attendant gave Qin Lu a suspicious look. “In the middle of the night, and you’re acting all sneaky… I bet it’s not something proper…”

“Absolutely proper! They’re my personal collection!”

Qin Lu hurriedly explained, raising his hand to pass the set of gambling tools through the small hole.

The attendant took them without another word and began taking out the various gambling pieces to examine them. After a while, he looked down lazily and asked.

“So, what’ll it be? A live pawn or a dead pawn?”

Qin Lu’s eyes shifted. “How much for a live pawn? And for a dead pawn?”

“This stuff isn’t worth much, and it’s pretty useless, but the craftsmanship is decent. A live pawn gets you thirty Spirit Stones. A dead pawn is fifty.”

Hearing the price, Qin Lu’s mouth twitched. He hadn’t expected the pawnshop to be this ruthless.

He remembered the original owner had bought it for a hundred and eighty Spirit Stones. To think it was only worth fifty here now.

And that was the non-redeemable dead pawn price.

“So? Live pawn or dead pawn?” The attendant tapped the counter lightly.

Qin Lu stared at the exquisite collection, his heart full of the feeling of being ripped off. But the thing was utterly useless to him. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said in a low voice.

“Dead pawn!”

……

Clutching the fifty Spirit Stones tighter against his chest, Qin Lu strode out of the pawnshop. He glanced left and right, then turned to head back the way he came.

“With these few Spirit Stones, at least I don’t have to worry about debt collectors showing up tomorrow…”

With money in hand, Qin Lu felt much more settled. Fifty Spirit Stones should last for a while.

After all, situations like yesterday where he owed dozens of Spirit Stones at once were extremely rare.

Suddenly, Qin Lu stopped in his tracks, standing still. He slapped his own forehead with his right hand.

“Ah! I almost forgot! The array!”

The privacy-concealing array at home was still broken. If he didn’t repair it, he’d have no privacy whatsoever in his own house.

As a young man who even set his social feed to three-day visibility, he couldn’t stand the thought of someone watching him all the time.

Thinking this, Qin Lu immediately turned around and strode off.

Within the market district, besides the various shops selling goods, there was another, newer business model: setting up street stalls.

The stall area was generally located in the middle of the market district. It allowed many loose cultivators to conduct low-price transactions, so it was also called the Scatter Cultivator Market.

In no time, Qin Lu arrived.

It was a large, circular open space. Many people sat on the ground, each having laid a piece of black cloth in front of themselves with various items displayed on it.

The various stalls were numerous but not chaotic, with several pedestrian pathways left in the middle. Clearly, the place was managed.

Even though it was night, the bustle hadn’t diminished. Cultivators came and went, and many stall owners were constantly hawking their wares.

“Young brother, these are meticulously crafted Swift Step Talismans! They can make you fleet-footed in an instant, a great tool for escaping danger! Five Spirit Stones each!”

“Come take a look! Freshly prepared demon beast meat! First-tier spirit beast, one Spirit Stone for six pounds!”

“Low-price clearance of my life-bound weapon! The Evil-Slaying Sword! Exceptionally effective against evil spirits and demons. Highest bidder wins!”

The shouts in the area were incessant, much more interesting than the cold, aloof shops. This piqued Qin Lu’s curiosity, and he began to slowly walk forward to look around.

After a simple stroll, he saw quite a few things.

These included talismans, magical artifacts, collectibles, materials, books, food, and so on.

He also noticed that the prices of goods at each stall fluctuated wildly. Some were expensive, some were cheap. It really tested one’s discernment.

“Tsk tsk, they really sell everything here. It’s a bit like a rural market back home…”

Qin Lu muttered softly to himself.

After browsing casually for a bit, he began consciously looking for cultivators selling talismans.

Soon, he stopped in front of a talisman stall.

“Fellow Daoist, how much for your talismans?”

Seeing a customer, the stall owner’s attitude became quite enthusiastic. With a wave of his hand, he said cheerfully.

“What kind of talisman would the Fellow Daoist like? I have Swift Step Talismans, Water Qi Shields, Evil-Warding Talismans, Golden Light Talismans…”

Qin Lu pretended to scan the items for a moment, then fixed his gaze on one particular talisman, pointing at it.

“What’s the price for this Mending Talisman?”

“Fellow Daoist has a good eye! This talisman was refined by me just today. I feel a connection with you, Fellow Daoist. I’ll charge you five Spirit Stones. How about it?”

“Uh…”

Qin Lu’s face fell. He found this price a bit hard to accept.

Five Spirit Stones! That was equivalent to ten days’ worth of food money for him.

Times were tough financially. Qin Lu wished he could split every Spirit Stone in two to use.

“That bastard. Next time, I must make him pay for the door repair!”

The thought of the big man kicking his door in made Qin Lu’s heart ache.

Seeing Qin Lu hesitating, the stall owner spoke up.

“So? Fellow Daoist, my price is already quite reasonable. You won’t find it cheaper anywhere else after my stall.”

“Hmm. Even though you’re most likely lying, I’ll still buy it.”

“Uh, Fellow Daoist, you’re… quite blunt, huh! Here, Fellow Daoist, please take the talisman.” The stall owner was somewhat embarrassed.

Qin Lu took the offered talisman paper and carefully tucked it into his robe. Then he took out five Spirit Stones from his robe and handed them to the stall owner.

With the transaction complete, Qin Lu turned and left the stall.

“Sigh, these Spirit Stones haven’t even warmed up in my pocket, and a tenth of them are already gone. This is no way to go on…”

Qin Lu sighed inwardly. Spending five Spirit Stones all at once suddenly made the fifty Spirit Stones seem not so substantial after all.

“If I don’t find a way to make money, won’t I have to sell off my belongings again in a few days? Next time, I’d have to sell the Shangqing Sword…”

The Spirit Stone crisis loomed over him, creating immense pressure.

In his previous life, if you owed money and didn’t pay, at worst you’d become a deadbeat or go to jail. With legal protection, your life was at least safe.

But here, killing and arson were commonplace. If he didn’t repay his debts, he definitely wouldn’t live long.

“No, I have to find some way to earn money…”

Listening to the constant hawking cries around him, Qin Lu’s thoughts raced. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

“That’s it! Since talismans are so profitable, I can sell talismans too!”

“I remember there’s some kind of talisman-crafting manual at home!”

“Five Spirit Stones for one Mending Talisman. If I could sell a few each day, wouldn’t paying off the debt be a breeze?”

The more Qin Lu thought about it, the more excited he became. It was as if the path to riches lay at his feet, with numerous Spirit Stones beckoning to him.

“Action now!”

Once decided, Qin Lu quickly left the market and headed towards a shop that sold talismans.

To make talismans, he needed at least a full set of talisman-making tools. These items generally weren’t sold as complete sets at the market stalls; only shops offered one-stop purchasing.

Soon, Qin Lu found a fairly large talisman shop.

After a series of haggling, he finally spent twenty Spirit Stones plus three catties of gold to purchase a complete set of talisman-making tools.

This included talisman paper, talisman ink, beast hide, brushes, gold sand, talisman knives, and more.

Then, persuaded by the shop assistant’s sales pitch, he spent another Spirit Stone to buy a redwood table that emitted a faint spiritual aura, to use as his talisman-crafting desk.

With all his purchases ready, Qin Lu, laden with bundles large and small, walked out of the entrance of Wuji Market. Carrying that huge table, he walked with heavy steps towards home.

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