"Brother Leo, you jest. Our resources are tight. We're urgently trying to raise spirit stones to buy a cultivation technique, where would we have extra spirit stones to spend on consumable spirit talismans? Those are only affordable for consumption by children from wealthy and powerful families with substantial resources." Sasha shook his head with a bitter smile.

  Leo also wanted that alchemy furnace. It could be used all the way up to the level of an advanced alchemist. He wouldn't have to worry about the matter of a furnace for a very long time. Moreover, after dealing with the black-robed old man, he planned to immediately start refining Qi Gathering Pills.

  However, he was worried that if he didn't have enough spirit talismans when the time came and failed to eliminate the black-robed old man in one go, selling almost everything he had would only raise a little over a hundred spirit stones. If he failed, he wouldn't get a second chance.

  He was only at the second layer of Qi Refining and had no way of truly understanding the real power of someone at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining stage. Sasha, however, was a sixth-layer Qi Refining expert and certainly knew more than he did.

  So Leo asked, "To be frank with you, Brother Sasha, I have a mortal enemy at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining stage, probably around the eleventh layer of Qi Refining. Although he doesn't know my whereabouts, I have no choice but to buy more spirit talismans for self-defense, just in case. In your opinion, how many spirit talismans would be needed to deal with an expert at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining?"

  "An expert at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining stage?" The faces of the two siblings immediately changed upon hearing this.

  "That's right. My master was harmed by him. The things I have now were also left behind by my master. I originally didn't want to sell them, but aside from this, I can't find any other method of self-preservation."

  Leo said with a bitter smile. He didn't like lying to people casually, but quite a few people around had seen him sell a technique and even some mid-grade Essence Energy Pills earlier. Some had already started seeing him as a juicy target. Because of this, he had to find a suitable excuse to dispel any ill intentions from others. Firstly, he wanted to indicate to the outside world that the valuables on him were only these. Secondly, after exchanging for spirit talismans, he would have them on him and wouldn't be an easy target.

  Sure enough, after hearing Leo's words, several people in the vicinity showed a hint of wariness in their eyes, though it was unclear whether they were wary of the Great Perfection Qi Refining expert behind Leo or wary of the large number of spirit talismans Leo was about to exchange for.

  Sasha thought for a moment and said, "That's hard to say. I am at the sixth layer of Qi Refining now. I wouldn't pay much attention to three or four ordinary early-stage Qi Refining cultivators. But if there are one or two more, it becomes quite troublesome. It could easily end in mutual destruction. If the opponents have better spirit artifacts, I'd only be able to flee in defeat."

  "By analogy, a late-stage Qi Refining expert at the eighth or ninth layer should be able to handle five or six people like me. Someone at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining could probably handle seven or eight. However, they would likely find it quite taxing. As for spirit talismans, although their power is slightly inferior to spells cast directly by a cultivator, their advantage lies in their fast casting speed. But I estimate it would still take one or two hundred low-grade spirit talismans to threaten the life of someone at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining."

  "If the opponent has powerful defensive spirit artifacts, it might be even more troublesome."

  "What if the opponent has neither offensive nor defensive spirit artifacts?" Leo narrowed his eyes and asked. When he fought Wynn Draper before, the opponent only had a few low-grade spirit talismans and he was already thrown into disarray. So a Great Perfection Qi Refining expert was actually this powerful?

  "No spirit artifacts? How is that possible? If there are no spirit artifacts, then it's easier. Probably around a hundred spirit talismans could take their life. After all, a cultivator's body is still mortal flesh. Even being hit by the lowest-grade Fireball Talisman can cause serious injury." Sasha was taken aback, then replied.

  Hearing Sasha say this, Leo began to calculate in his mind. If facing the black-robed old man in person, he wouldn't have the slightest desire to oppose him. The opponent could likely take his life with a single strike from that golden flying sword. Even with these spirit talismans, they might not really be effective, at most they could injure the black-robed old man. However, the opponent was currently in a soul state, which should be easier to deal with than facing him physically armed. Thinking this way, selling the earth-attribute technique in his hand, plus the spirit stones he already had, should be enough.

  "Thank you, Brother Sasha, for the explanation. Alright then, I'll take your alchemy furnace. But not in exchange for this earth-attribute technique. It will be for this water-attribute technique."

  "Water-attribute technique? We don't need that." Sasha shook his head with a look of regret.

  Leo explained, "Hear me out. What I mean is, you use the spirit stones you have to buy the 'Lofty Earth True Scripture'. For the remaining spirit stones you're short, use other items of equivalent value to make up the difference. Then, I'll exchange this water-attribute technique for your alchemy furnace. Since Morana is setting up a stall anyway, if you can't use the water-attribute technique, you can sell it at the stall. Perhaps it will sell easier than the alchemy furnace."

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "Oh, I see. That works." Morana quickly agreed. As Leo said, techniques were generally easier to sell than the alchemy furnace she had.

  Morana spread the wrapping cloth on the ground. "You can pick from the items here."

  "What I want most are naturally spirit stones. I'll keep the earth-attribute technique for now. Since there's still some time left in the afternoon, let's set up the stall for a while longer. Brother Sasha, you go and try to raise some funds from friends. Regardless of the outcome, I'll sell the technique to you by evening," Leo said.

  "That's perfect. I'll go raise spirit stones right away."

  Sasha's face showed urgency as he quickly strode away, his feet seeming to fly, to raise spirit stones from familiar friends.

  Leo, taking advantage of the time, helped Morana set up the stall and asked about Moonwatch Immortal City along the way.

  By evening, Sasha returned looking pleased. He had managed to raise another seven spirit stones. However, the stall hadn't done well; they only sold one Blue Wolf Hair Brush the entire afternoon. The two siblings counted their total: only thirty spirit stones, still short by three.

  "Should we keep the stall open a bit longer? Moonwatch Immortal City's night market is also quite lively. Maybe some people will still come to buy."

  Morana said somewhat unwillingly. On the stall surface, there were only a few Blue Wolf Hair Brushes used for drawing spirit talismans, and two pieces of Snow Spirit Wood used for making talisman ink. Taking one item wouldn't be worth three spirit stones; taking two, she'd feel it was a bit of a loss. Normally, the two siblings wouldn't mind, but now buying the technique had put them in debt, using up all they had. At this moment, Morana had no choice but to calculate meticulously.

  "No need. How about this: I'll take one more Blue Wolf Hair Brush, and we'll be even." Leo saw the awkward situation of the Sasha siblings and said with a calm smile.

  "Then we truly thank you, Brother Leo! If there's a chance in the future, we will certainly repay you!" Sasha was overjoyed upon hearing this.

  Leo cupped his hands in return, completed the exchange, and contentedly stored the alchemy furnace in his bag. Added to his previous savings, he now had a total of one hundred and eight spirit stones, enough to buy over a hundred low-grade spirit talismans.

  "Little sister, if it weren't for your full support, I don't know when I would have been able to buy a suitable technique. Now we are both penniless. I'm afraid you'll have to endure a period of hardship with me."

  After Leo left, Sasha held the 'Lofty Earth True Scripture' to his chest as if it were a priceless treasure, but he looked at Morana with a guilty expression.

  Morana, however, smiled with relief. "What's there to say between us siblings? The path of cultivation is difficult. If it weren't for the coincidence of this Leo having a late-stage Qi Refining technique, buying one from a shop—who knows when we would have gathered enough spirit stones."

  "Besides, I still have this one in hand, which can be sold for dozens of spirit stones. Once we sell it, we'll have spirit stones to use." After saying this, Morana waved the water-attribute technique in her hand.

  "Oh, Immortal Master, you're here again. How about it? The power of our humble shop's spirit talismans is quite good, right?"

  The manager of the spirit talisman shop was a middle-aged man with a portly build, a mortal martial artist. He had been doing accounts but his eyes lit up when he saw Leo. Doing business required sharp eyes, good memory, and quick reactions. He remembered Leo had come in the morning; this time he was a returning customer.

  Leo began to understand why there were so many ordinary mortals in Moonwatch Immortal City, a city for loose cultivators.

  Some were indeed relatives and family members of the loose cultivators in the city. Another category was people like this middle-aged manager, doing menial, simple jobs. A shop could hire such a manager using only gold and silver used by mortals, whereas hiring a cultivator would require spending spirit stones. The cost difference between the two was like night and day—a truly cost-effective deal.

  "Hmm, is there a discount for buying in bulk?" Leo asked.

  "Well... Immortal Master, you also know, the spirit talismans in our humble shop are all clearly marked, fair to all, young and old. The price is fixed, no discounts."

  The middle-aged manager cautiously replied with a flattering smile. Although cultivators couldn't attack mortals within Moonwatch Immortal City, the manager still held an innate awe for cultivators from the bottom of his heart.

  "Other loose cultivators at the stalls also sell spirit talismans at lower prices, just in smaller quantities. I find that troublesome, which is why I came to your shop. I want to buy nearly a hundred spirit talismans. If your shop doesn't offer a discount, I'll have no choice but to look elsewhere."

  Leo frowned and said. Earlier, while helping Morana set up the stall, she knew he wanted to buy many talismans and specifically reminded him that even in shops, bulk purchases could be negotiated. Leo naturally didn't want to be the generous fool spending spirit stones freely.

  "Nearly a hundred spirit talismans?" The middle-aged manager was shocked and quickly said, "Immortal Master, please wait a moment. I'll go notify the shop owner. Then you can discuss directly with the owner."

  "Alright, I'll wait a moment." Leo nodded.

  "Young friend, I am the owner of this shop. My manager said you want to buy nearly a hundred spirit talismans? Is that true?"

  Soon, an old man with white hair and beard, kind eyebrows and eyes, walked out from the door behind the shop. He asked with a beaming smile.

  "Naturally, it's true. Which type of spirit talisman in your shop is most effective against souls?" Leo asked.

  "For dealing with souls, the most formidable are naturally Lightning Talismans. Thunder techniques dispel evil and have a restraining effect on souls, ghosts, and monsters. However, the difficulty of making Lightning Talismans is higher than that of low-grade Fireball or Earthen Shield Talismans, so the price is also several times more expensive. Ordinary low-grade Fireball or Earthen Shield Talismans only cost one low-grade spirit stone each. But a low-grade Lightning Talisman costs five."

  The white-haired old man felt a chill in his heart. It was quite common for cultivators to fight fiercely over treasures, and cases where people were beaten to the point of their bodies and souls being destroyed were not rare. But for a young man like the one before him to specifically buy Lightning Talismans to deal with someone's escaped soul... that seemed excessively ruthless.