As his figure drew closer to The Slums, that nauseating, sickening smell assaulted his senses once more.

“Pah! Pah!”

Qin Lu forcefully spat twice, trying his best to hold his breath as he trudged along, the rosewood table hoisted on his shoulder.

After the long night’s ordeal, the time had reached the hour of the Rabbit, around five in the morning. There were some pedestrians on the road, but not many. Most of them passed Qin Lu by, their figures heading in the direction of Wuji Market.

Observing them, Qin Lu noticed they were all pushing small carts laden with food ingredients, kitchen utensils, and the like, much like the small-time vendors from the food streets of his previous life.

“These people are going to sell breakfast…”

Qin Lu caught the details with just a casual glance and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. “It seems no world is without its diligent workers…”

In the world of cultivation, soaring through the skies on flying swords, commanding the heavens and earth—those were the majestic styles reserved for high-level cultivators.

In reality, the low-level Loose Cultivators lived rather meager lives. Many cultivators, just to get by, had to rely on various crafts and skills, struggling through their days much like the mundane world.

After all, if they didn’t work hard enough, they’d have to return to the secular world and live a life of luxury and power, served by thousands.

That was definitely not what they wanted.

“Creak—”

Pushing open the slightly ajar gate, Qin Lu finally returned home.

He first placed the rosewood table from his shoulder into a corner of the main hall, neatly arranging the talisman-making tools he had purchased.

Then he twisted his arms, easing the soreness in his shoulders.

Although his physical constitution had improved significantly, carrying a table weighing nearly three hundred jin for two or three kilometers still left him feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

Hands on his hips, he looked at the brand-new workbench and couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.

“This will be the foundation of my fortune… Right, time to fix the gate!”

He took out the [Repair Talisman] from his robe and turned to walk towards the gate.

The [Repair Talisman], a first-grade talisman, was specifically used for repairing formations. It was a great tool for maintaining a formation’s operation. The broken Concealing Breath Formation was perfectly suited for repair with a [Repair Talisman].

Qin Lu walked to the gate, recalling the specific usage method for the talisman in his mind. After a moment, he picked up the talisman and slapped it directly onto the center of the wooden door.

This spot was precisely the eye of the simple Breath-Concealing Formation.

“Whoosh—”

A surge of spiritual light flashed, and multiple runic patterns lit up at the doorway. In an instant, the damaged part of the formation rippled like water, giving a slight tremble before returning to its original state.

The hole in the wooden door also repaired itself.

“Tsk tsk, truly marvelous…”

This opened Qin Lu’s eyes wide.

Casually discarding the now-useless talisman paper, he immediately felt a wave of relief and said with satisfaction, “Now I won’t have to worry about others seeing when I practice my craft alone at home…”

The craft, of course, was talisman-making. Such a secretive matter couldn’t be casually shown to others.

With the door repaired, Qin Lu turned and walked to the corner of the main hall, bending down to pick up a book.

“Novice’s Guide to Talisman Refining”

“Talisman-making… shouldn’t be too difficult, right…”

Qin Lu muttered to himself as he walked over and sat down before the brand-new rosewood table.

Rubbing the space between his eyebrows, he let out a soft sigh and began reading the manual.

The manual wasn’t thick, only a few dozen pages.

The front section covered some history and precautions regarding talisman-making, along with preparatory work.

The latter dozen or so pages focused on the drawing techniques and patterns for various types of talismans.

Qin Lu skimmed through it.

He discovered the book recorded fifteen types of talismans that could be crafted, namely:

[Cleansing Talisman], [Soundproofing Talisman], [Water Qi Shield], [Lightness Talisman], [Blazing Fire Talisman], [Evil-Warding Talisman], [Body Protection Shield], [Swift Step Talisman], [Flash Talisman], [Stone Strike Talisman], [Mist Talisman], [Heaviness Talisman], [Wind-Water Talisman], [Ice Block Talisman], [Repair Talisman].

The introductions to the numerous talismans made Qin Lu more and more delighted as he read.

But the next moment, a reminder in the book poured a bucket of cold water over his head.

Although these fifteen talismans all belonged to the first grade, they weren’t something one could simply craft at will.

Cultivators whose cultivation strength hadn’t reached the required level found it extremely difficult to successfully craft talismans beyond their realm.

And Qin Lu, currently at the second layer of Qi Refining, belonged to the early Qi Refining stage. At this cultivation level, he could only craft three types of talismans.

Namely: [Cleansing Talisman], [Soundproofing Talisman], and [Water Qi Shield].

“Low cultivation really restricts you everywhere…”

Looking at the three pages of introduction, Qin Lu stroked his chin, deep in thought.

“The [Cleansing Talisman] can cleanse filth from the body, house, etc. This talisman is a staple for many cultivators too lazy to bathe. High demand, easy to sell…”

“The [Soundproofing Talisman], once used, can reduce sound volume. Most suitable for sneaky business. Can even be pasted at home to reduce noise…”

“The [Water Qi Shield] can materialize into a defensive shield of water qi, used to resist attacks, but its defensive power doesn’t seem very high…”

Each talisman had its unique function.

Before Qin Lu could clearly decide which talisman to make, another burst of intense sound reached his ears.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The familiar sound of someone pounding on the door.

“Open up! Open up! Pay back the money!”

Hearing this, Qin Lu shook his head with a face full of resignation, stood up, walked to the door, and reached out to open it.

“Uh…”

Seeing the door open so quickly, the person knocking was clearly taken aback. But he quickly recovered, his expression turning fierce as he barked, “Devouring Sky Python! The ten Spirit Stones you owe me from a month ago, are you going to pay or…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Qin Lu shoved ten Spirit Stones directly into his hand.

Then…

“Bang!” The gate slammed shut.

Not a single word of nonsense.

The person outside stared dumbly at the Spirit Stones in his hand, his mouth closing slightly as he swallowed the unspoken words.

“This… wasn’t it said this Devouring Sky Python was extremely difficult to collect debts from? Why so straightforward today…”

The person outside stared at the wooden door, utterly puzzled.

…….

Having simply dealt with the debt, Qin Lu sat back down at the rosewood table.

And now he had made up his mind.

“What use are Soundproofing Talismans and Cleansing Talismans? Only a life-saving Water Qi Shield is reliable! After all, life is the most important thing!”

Having thought it through clearly, he decided to craft the [Water Qi Shield].

No sooner said than done. Qin Lu memorized all the key points and difficulties of making talisman paper, then began processing the various materials.

The first indispensable material for talisman-making was the talisman paper itself. This required using a sharp talisman knife to cut suitable sizes from talisman paper or beast hide.

Next was mixing the talisman ink. Different talismans used different inks.

Common ones included black ink, red cinnabar, gold powder, and beast blood.

The talisman-making process involved dipping a talisman brush into the ink and, on specially prepared talisman paper, using spiritual energy to inscribe the required pattern.

“Hoo—”

In no time, Qin Lu had prepared all the materials, placing them within easy reach. Then he let out a breath and closed his eyes.

He focused intensely on adjusting his own state. In his mind, the structure and drawing method of the talisman constantly surfaced, replaying like slides.

A moment later.

Qin Lu opened his eyes. With his left hand pressing down on the talisman paper, his right hand picked up the talisman brush, dipped it in ink, and began to draw.

This was his survival plan moving forward. He couldn’t afford the slightest carelessness.

Spiritual energy from within his body continuously and gently flowed into the talisman brush, then began to glide lightly across the paper from the brush tip.

He had no other thoughts, strictly following the manual’s instructions, drawing stroke by stroke.

As time passed, his brush-holding hand trembled slightly, and cold sweat quickly beaded on his forehead. This was the pressure formed from controlling his spiritual energy with excessive precision.

“Hold on, hold on!”

Qin Lu gritted his teeth.

Enduring the discomfort of his spiritual power being nearly drained, Qin Lu swept his right hand, completing the final stroke of the [Water Qi Shield], and smoothly lifted the brush.

“It’s done!”

Watching the glow on the surface of the talisman paper gradually dim and finally vanish, the patterns on the paper smooth and natural, with a faint remnant of spiritual energy still flowing, Qin Lu couldn’t help but reveal a satisfied smile. This talisman could be considered successfully inscribed.

“It seems I do have some talent, succeeding on my first attempt at drawing a talisman…”

Qin Lu secretly congratulated himself.

As far as he knew, crafting talismans was not something just anyone could accomplish. It required two key traits: extreme meticulousness and a masterful command of spiritual energy.

Yet, he hadn’t expected to succeed on his very first attempt.

Looking at the talisman paper before him, Qin Lu couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth curl upward. In this damned place, he finally had a skill he could call his own.

Suddenly, a thought stirred within him, and he opened his status panel.

[Name: Qin Lu]

[Lifespan: 35/102 years]

[Cultivation: Qi Refining Layer 2: 62/100]

[Techniques:]

「Mystic Sun Mantra」(Novice): 91/100

[Skills:]

Spells:

「Ignition Technique」(Proficient): 1/200

Talisman Crafting:

「Water Qi Shield」(Novice): 2/100

[Talent: None]

Seeing this, Qin Lu gave a faint smile. “Just as I thought. Talisman Crafting has been added.”

“Aah—”

Qin Lu tilted his head back and let out a yawn. With the task completed, a powerful wave of drowsiness began to assail his mind.

The long hours without sleep and the continuous expenditure of spiritual energy had left him utterly exhausted, body and soul.

He slowly rose to his feet, stretched his arms in a languid motion, gently patted his stomach with his right hand, and ambled towards the bed.

“Time for sleep, time for sleep. Sleeping now means I can even save on breakfast. Heh heh, a small profit for today…”

Lying on the bed, a bleary-eyed Qin Lu quickly drifted off into slumber……

==========