Talisman crafting was currently Gu Xiu’s greatest source of spirit stones. In fact, the amount of spirit stones he could earn in a single day was a sum many rogue cultivators could never accumulate in their entire lives.

However, everything has its pros and cons.

While crafting talismans indeed allowed Gu Xiu to amass a large number of spirit stones and cultivation materials, there was a downside.

As a rogue cultivator who had to handle everything personally, earning vast amounts of spirit stone resources also consumed a correspondingly large amount of his time. At the very least, since he first began crafting talismans, Gu Xiu’s cultivation time had been compressed again and again.

Although his efficiency in talisman crafting was high, and to outsiders it might seem effortless—as if he could simply sit there and the talismans would form themselves—the truth was only known to Gu Xiu himself.

Crafting talismans required his complete and undivided attention.

He not only had to constantly commune with the Heavenly Dao Rhyme but also use his consciousness to manipulate it, crafting the specific talismans he needed.

To put it plainly, while crafting talismans, Gu Xiu could do nothing else.

For cultivators, while wealth ranks first in importance, one’s own cultivation base is the true foundation. Sacrificing too much cultivation time to earn spirit stones was inherently somewhat counterproductive.

But there was no other way.

Gu Xiu was not a prodigy backed by a great clan or major sect, who only needed to focus on cultivation without a care for anything else. As a rogue cultivator, he couldn’t afford not to earn spirit stones and resources.

The only thing he could do was figure out how to balance earning spirit stones with cultivation.

But now, Gu Xiu had a new idea.

Following Gu Xiu’s shout, the black monkey skeleton, Haigi, emerged, piloting the Soul-Tracking Puppet. It had fashioned a little red cloak for itself, and at first glance, it truly looked like a commander leading troops.

With its appearance, the thirty previously lifeless puppets suddenly began to tremble slightly, as if beholding their sovereign.

This scene made Gu Xiu’s eyes light up.

He had previously worried whether this little black monkey could command these wooden puppets. Now it seemed that puppets forged through puppet techniques were indeed within Haigi’s ability to control!

Soon, the Soul-Tracking Puppet came to stand before the thirty wooden puppets. The little black monkey leaped up onto its head and then began chattering excitedly.

Whatever it said, those originally unintelligent puppets immediately knelt on one knee in unison towards the little black monkey.

However, the little black monkey hastily jumped aside and pointed at Gu Xiu. The puppets immediately changed direction and knelt towards Gu Xiu.

“Alright, let’s give it a try!” Gu Xiu said.

The little black monkey nodded repeatedly and chattered at the puppets again. Immediately after, the group of puppets divided into teams of three and joined the talisman-making process.

One was responsible for fetching the talisman paper, another for preparing the ink, and the third for collecting the completed talismans.

Gu Xiu did not relax but instead attempted to commune with the Heavenly Dao Rhyme once more.

A moment later, he saw that the Heavenly Dao Rhyme, which previously required his direct guidance, now began to coordinate with the puppets’ movements, actively assisting each puppet in their crafting tasks one by one.

Witnessing this scene made Gu Xiu’s eyes shine even brighter.

He began to experiment, gradually withdrawing his conscious control bit by bit. He merely attracted the Heavenly Dao Rhyme without any further manipulation.

The result?

It worked!

The arriving Heavenly Dao Rhyme, even without Gu Xiu’s conscious guidance, was still quite willing to transform into talismans before him!

Although not as proactive as before, with the puppets’ assistance, they could still produce exceptionally standard Perfect Dao Talismans!

Of course, relatively speaking, the speed certainly couldn’t compare to when Gu Xiu crafted with full effort.

But… right now there were only thirty puppets!

What if there were three hundred next time? Three thousand? Or even more?

More importantly…

This meant that from now on, Gu Xiu wouldn’t have to sacrifice his cultivation time for talisman crafting. He could devote more time to cultivating as quickly as possible!

And furthermore…

“These puppets are just the most ordinary Iron Pear Wood puppets. If I can obtain more powerful puppets in the future, perhaps I won’t be limited to first-grade talismans!”

At this moment, Gu Xiu’s eyes were bright with determination. Without further hesitation, he immediately took out all the various cultivation techniques he had accumulated during this period.

Next up was cultivation time!

While Gu Xiu continued his diligent cultivation…

Over at Ink Scroll Peak of the Azure Mystic Sacred Land…

A group of disciples were cheering with delighted surprise.

“Another talisman!”

“So incredible! Junior Uncle is truly too strong!”

“From simultaneously crafting three talismans before to now being able to craft ten at once… such ability is simply unimaginable!”

“Is this what genius is? At a time when Heavenly Dao Rhyme is difficult to capture and inscribe into talismans, he forcefully carves out his own path! Truly formidable!”

“With such an uncle-master in our sect, how can we worry about our sect not prospering?”

Under everyone’s watchful gaze…

Jiang Xun was wielding his brush with swift strokes, rapidly crafting talismans.

Compared to his previous simultaneous crafting of three talismans…

The current Jiang Xun had made significant progress.

He could now simultaneously refine ten talismans!

A speed that could be called godly!

“Don’t just shower him with praise; remember your Junior Uncle’s words as well,” Qin Meran said from the side.

“While it’s true that Heavenly Dao Rhyme’s lack of affinity makes our talisman inscription more difficult… its frequent manifestations in recent times allow us to better capture its patterns.”

“Remember this: Heavenly Dao Rhyme requires affinity… but if you can meticulously depict its patterns without error… even if these low-grade manifestations lack affinity… they can still be captured within a talisman!”

“Know that fortune and misfortune are intertwined; sometimes a loss can turn into a gain. This period of abnormal Dao Rhyme has indeed made talisman crafting difficult for us… but it is also an opportunity to improve ourselves.”

As an elder of Ink Scroll Peak, Qin Meran’s words immediately made all the disciples nod in understanding.

They focused their minds and observed earnestly.

Seeing her disciples so obedient, Qin Meran’s expression softened considerably.

She turned her gaze back towards Jiang Xun…

Her eyes filled with admiration.

This junior brother’s talent was indeed peerless!

Given time, surpassing her in the path of talismans would likely be just a matter of time.

However…

The smile on Qin Meran’s face did not last long.

“Elder… The two disciples we sent to Cloud Firmament City… have returned severely injured.”

“Manager Jin from Cloud Firmament City’s Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion is currently on his way here carrying thorns on his back to apologize… He should arrive at our Azure Mystic Sacred Land before long.”

What?

This news instantly caused Qin Meran’s delicate brows to furrow.

After inquiring for details, and upon hearing that those two disciples had meddled unnecessarily by testing Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion’s defensive formations—nearly getting themselves killed in the process—Qin Meran’s face darkened completely.

“Two fools!”

“Didn’t I instruct them simply to establish connections and sign contracts peacefully with either the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion or the Lingbao Pavilion? How did that go?”

“This…” The disciple hesitated briefly before lowering his voice. “Both failed… Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion currently has no need for our talismans… As for Lingbao Pavilion… they…”

“What about Lingbao Pavilion?” Qin Meran frowned.

“They… they look down on our talismans,” the disciple said awkwardly.

After much thought, he still couldn’t bring himself to say their own sect’s talismans were called garbage by others.

“They look down on our talismans?” Qin Meran almost laughed in anger. “Are you certain? Our esteemed Azure Mystic Sacred Land… Our talismans… would actually be scorned one day?”

“This…”

“Speak! What exactly is going on?”

“Peak Master… Recently Cloud Firmament City has been acting very strangely… Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion has been producing an enormous quantity of talismans… all uniformly Perfect Dao Talismans!”

“What?”

“Not just Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion… Lingbao Pavilion is the same… Now these two establishments aren’t competing anymore… instead maintaining peaceful coexistence without interfering with each other… Each produces over ten thousand Perfect Dao Talismans daily!”

Hearing this, Qin Meran was immediately astonished.

“What nonsense are you talking about? How could Perfect Dao Talismans be produced so easily?”

Ten thousand Perfect Dao Talismans?

In their dreams?

“Every word I say is true without falsehood,” the disciple said helplessly before taking several talismans from his robe. “These are Perfect Dao Talismans sent from Cloud Firmament City… This is what both Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion and Lingbao Pavilion are currently selling.”

Qin Meran frowned slightly.

Still unwilling to believe these words in her heart, she took the talismans and examined them carefully.

With just one glance…

Qin Meran’s pupils instantly dilated sharply.

Meanwhile…

Not far from the Azure Mystic Sacred Land’s mountain gate…

A figure with white hair wearing white robes…

Her body thin and frail…

So weak she seemed she might be blown over by a gust of wind…

Was taking step by step towards the Sacred Land.

As if sensing something, she raised her head and glanced towards the Azure Mystic Sacred Land.

In her eyes…

Shone a sharpness never seen before!