“It’s done!”

Inside the Listening-to-Rain Pavilion, Gu Xiu, who had been sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. A sharp gleam flashed within his pupils.

After a full day of continuous attempts, he had finally found a solution to the problem of the Homage of Ten Thousand Rhymes.

Just like at this moment.

He slightly raised his hand, and several blank talismans immediately floated into the air. With a gentle wave, the Heavenly Dao Rhyme manifested instantly, one after another, autonomously assisting Gu Xiu in completing the talisman crafting process.

However, there was a crucial difference.

This time, the Homage of Ten Thousand Rhymes did not rush toward Gu Xiu with desperate fervor.

This didn’t mean the Heavenly Dao Rhyme was no longer amiable toward him. On the contrary, it was as if the Rhymes had been persuaded by Gu Xiu, transforming from unruly children into a disciplined army. They were still eager to serve, but they approached him in an orderly, unified manner.

The change seemed minor, but it meant Gu Xiu no longer had to worry about the anomaly drawing unwanted attention to himself.

“Now that the biggest problem is solved, it’s time to start crafting talismans at full capacity!”

“There’s still some time before the opportunity in Cloud Firmament City fully reveals itself. I’ll use this period to accumulate sufficient resources.”

“I still lack a great many spirit stones!”

Now that he was certain the Heavenly Dao Rhyme would no longer expose him, Gu Xiu stopped hesitating.

He began crafting talismans in earnest.

This time, he had obtained enough materials for a full fifty thousand talismans. Such a quantity was significant for any sect or force, but for Gu Xiu, it was merely enough for an experiment.

He wanted to test his limits.

Previously, confined to his room, he could craft up to three hundred talismans at once. But that clearly wasn’t his ceiling.

He expanded the crafting area to encompass the entire rear courtyard, setting up a shielding formation to envelop the space.

Then, he began.

Sitting cross-legged with eyes closed, blank talisman after blank talisman was imprinted with perfect runic Dao Rhyme.

Ten sheets… one hundred sheets…

In no time, the number of simultaneously crafted talismans reached three hundred. Then four hundred.

Five hundred sheets!

Six hundred sheets…

Finally, when the count reached one thousand simultaneous talismans, the increase stopped.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t continue.

“Exceeding this number places demands on my divine sense that I currently find difficult to sustain,” Gu Xiu murmured, his eyes shining brightly. “Otherwise, my crafting speed could become even more terrifying!”

Crafting one thousand talismans simultaneously!

This speed was more than satisfactory. And the future looked even more promising.

While Gu Xiu began his mass production, disciples from various major forces gathered in Cloud Firmament City were furrowing their brows.

For the past few days, everyone had been investigating the truth behind the Homage of Ten Thousand Rhymes. Countless people speculated about the immense talisman opportunity it represented.

But they found nothing.

Throughout yesterday, although the phenomenon frequently appeared, it would abruptly cease just as it began to manifest fully.

It was frustrating.

After being tormented for a full day, the Ten Thousand Rhymes appeared again. But this time, the manifested Heavenly Dao Rhyme did not perform homage.

This left many talisman masters feeling played for fools.

Standing before the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, two talisman masters looked up at the sky and frowned.

“Why has it suddenly changed? We tracked it all the way to Cloud Firmament City only for the trail to go cold. How infuriating!”

“What do we do now? How do we report back?”

“We can only tell the truth. If necessary, we’ll stay a couple more days. I heard Junior Martial Uncle Jiang is currently helping out at Ink Scroll Peak. Perhaps the difficulty in writing talismans has already been resolved.”

“With Junior Martial Uncle stepping in, there’s definitely no problem. His aptitude is outstanding, and his talent in the Dao of Talismans is not inferior to the Peak Master’s. We needn’t worry.”

These two were disciples from the Azure Mystic Sacred Land, dispatched to investigate the anomaly.

As they conversed, Manager Jin of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion approached them, his face brightening.

“Fellow Daoist Zhou, Fellow Daoist Liu, since your esteemed sect’s Junior Martial Uncle has begun crafting talismans… does that mean production will soon stabilize?”

“Of course! With our Junior Martial Uncle taking action, could there possibly be any issues?” Fellow Daoist Zhou declared with full confidence.

Manager Jin grew excited. “Then what about our talismans…”

“Don’t even think about it.”

“Huh?”

“We have to prioritize our own people first. Everyone else has to wait. At least in the short term, there’s definitely no possibility of supplying your pavilion.”

“But… Fellow Daoists… our Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion has no talismans left to sell! We just want a batch—not too many—to help us weather this period…”

“What does your lack of stock have to do with us?”

“No…” Manager Jin felt a surge of anger, but considering their status, he suppressed it. “Fellow Daoists… we have always cooperated pleasantly with the Azure Mystic Sacred Land. Whether regarding buyback prices or resource allocation, everything has been excellent! Even Elder Qin personally stated that you would guarantee a minimum monthly supply.”

“Look now… could your sect supply us with a small batch? We don’t need many—just ten thousand sheets would relieve our urgent need!”

Unfortunately, Manager Jin’s plea merely elicited smirks from the two talisman masters.

Their attitude remained consistent: If you want talismans, wait. As for how long? Who knows?

Want the Azure Mystic Sacred Land to set aside internal replenishment for a mere merchant association? Dream on.

Recognize your place. You are merchants; we are a Sacred Land.

These unspoken words made Manager Jin gnash his teeth. Yet, helpless, he could only serve them with fine food and drink. Before they departed, he even gifted each of them one thousand spirit stones as travel expenses.

There was no choice. They represented the Azure Mystic Sacred Land.

Returning inside the pavilion, Manager Jin found Su Rumei facing significant problems of her own.

“Manager Su, we’ve completely sold out. We cannot produce another single sheet.”

“Several of our resident Talisman Masters have recently left to join the Lingbao Pavilion. Our production capacity has been severely impacted.”

“The Lingbao Pavilion laid the groundwork early. Using the incident surrounding the Homage of Ten Thousand Rhymes, they struck suddenly, catching us completely unprepared!”

“They are suppressing our business and poaching our masters. Many sects cooperating with us have announced intentions to switch to the Lingbao Pavilion! We’ve been plotted against!”

“If we don’t receive replenishment soon, we’ll lose massive numbers of customers, forming a vicious cycle!”

One piece of bad news after another made Manager Jin frown. Su Rumei, sitting at the head of the table, knitted her brows tightly.

The situation was dire.

The Lingbao Pavilion was an old rival. Their sudden attack indicated extensive preparation. If the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion couldn’t break this deadlock, their branch in Cloud Firmament City would suffer catastrophic losses.

Su Rumei asked, “Manager Jin, what did the disciples from the Azure Mystic Sacred Land say? Are they willing to support us?”

“No…” Manager Jin sighed, recounting the disciples’ arrogant refusal.

The room erupted in discontent.

“How can the Azure Mystic Sacred Land be so ungrateful? Every year we send them so many resources, yet when we encounter trouble, they offer no support?”

“It’s excessive! Even if they are powerless, they shouldn’t speak such heartless words to an ally!”

“Azure Mystic is overly arrogant! Even other Sacred Lands wouldn’t act like this!”

“A sect rising from third-rate status in a mere five hundred years naturally lacks perspective and vision…”

Seeing the conversation turning toxic, Su Rumei frowned and reprimanded them. She resented the Azure Mystic Sacred Land’s attitude as well, but voicing such thoughts aloud would spell disaster. Moreover, verbal condemnation wouldn’t solve their supply problem.

“Cheng Fushou, any news regarding the mysterious force?” Su Rumei inquired.

Cheng Fushou smiled wryly. “I met him yesterday, but I only obtained eight hundred sheets.”

Everyone sighed. Eight hundred sheets were too few. Even if they were all Perfect Dao Talismans, it was a drop in the bucket.

Su Rumei had taken a risk by publicly claiming they had mastered a method to increase Perfect Dao Talisman production. It was a signal of goodwill to the mysterious force. While the other party had responded by contacting Cheng Fushou, if they could only provide eight hundred sheets per batch, the effort was wasted.

The crisis remained unresolved.

“Everyone, return to your posts. Raise acquisition prices further and contact the poached Talisman Masters. See if negotiations are possible.”

“I’ve contacted headquarters. The Deputy Tower Master has sent a message and is heading to the Azure Mystic Sacred Land to discuss matters. Patience is required.”

Su Rumei dismissed her subordinates. However, after everyone left, she retrieved two cultivation manuals and headed straight for the Listening-to-Rain Pavilion.

“At a moment like this, you still have the mind to seek out Feng Bugui?” Shadow asked curiously.

“Matters regarding talismans are beyond my control. Continuing to worry means I cannot grasp the present,” Su Rumei said, shaking her head. “So I can only strive to grasp the future.”

“Moreover, I’ve always felt Feng Bugui is a person of profound hidden depths. I intend to ask him regarding our current predicament. Perhaps he might have a solution.”

What solution could a Qi Condensation rogue cultivator possibly possess?

Shadow frowned, wanting to refute her. But recalling the various miraculous aspects of Feng Bugui, she ultimately said nothing.

Soon, both arrived outside the gates of the Listening-to-Rain Pavilion.

However…