Chapter 9
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Chapter 9: Dazzling Windfall
“I’m back!”
“Finally back.” Li Hui’s legs trembled as he sat on the wooden bed and took a moment to recover; his pale little face finally showed a hint of color.
Even facing thousands of troops on the battlefield would not compare to the risks he took today in just two hours.
It was far too dangerous!
He had successfully deceived Brother Zheng and hastily befriended Brother Cheng to get the six-link chain, while the silver snake bracelet devoured all artifacts below three marks from the Jade Symbol Sect. In the accounts room, he also accessed the ancient bronze bell where the stingy Jin Buduan stored his embezzled funds. Of course, the most important treasures lay in the four bundles.
“Oh my! Is all this just a dream? Have I not woken up yet?” Li Hui shook his head vigorously to give himself confidence and courage as he clenched his fist against the hand chain. After four soft sounds, the blue bundle fell into his arms.
“Let’s see what’s inside.”
“God bless, I hope it’s not just empty joy.”
“Jin Buduan is so stingy; if only he were a bit more generous, my cultivation wouldn’t be stagnant, and I wouldn’t have to figure out how to find money myself.”
His mood was complex. Li Hui felt that breaking the ancient bronze bell and taking the hidden contents could be considered theft. Yet, considering Jin Buduan’s character and the origins of these items, he felt he had done nothing wrong.
Previously, this position had four accountants, three of whom took the blame for Jin Buduan, while the fourth accountant met a tragic and mysterious end.
Thus, the more he knew of the inside story, the closer he felt to his doom.
Li Hui carefully opened the bundle, and the first thing he saw was a stack of blank talisman paper.
These blank talismans were extraordinarily beautiful, woven from golden and silver silk threads, resembling embroidery more than talisman paper. They emitted a delicate fragrance as they rested between his fingers, refreshing and soothing.
“Could this be Empty Embroidered Talismans?”
“Empty Embroidered Talismans are not something an ordinary Spirit Motion stage disciple could access, and even many Inner Sect Disciples who have reached the Concentrating Spirit stage lack the qualifications to use them. Only those who reach the Condense Essence stage and become true disciples can get a quota, but even then, they cannot use them freely.”
For Li Hui, these Empty Embroidered Talismans were legendary!
“Hehe, two hundred thirty-seven of them! How amazing! Where did the old ghost get so many Empty Embroidered Talismans?” The gleam in the handsome young man’s eyes was all about gold, making him feel a wave of happiness wash over him.
“And here are two pieces of red stones?”
“Wait, could this be Blood Ink? It can replace high-quality cinnabar.” Li Hui’s eyes widened as he picked up two long strips of blood stones intricately carved with unique patterns, examining them closely.
“Good items! It’s Blood Ink, definitely Blood Ink.”
The first bundle contained over two hundred sheets of blank talisman paper and two pieces of Blood Ink, along with a wooden box made of yellow pear wood.
When he opened the box, Li Hui frowned slightly.
Inside the box lay a palm-sized bronze mirror, its surface affixed with three talismans painted with Empty Embroidered Talismans. Judging by the purple runes on it, it seemed to be a type of forbidden talisman, also known as a sealing talisman.
Li Hui didn’t frown because of the three sealing talismans—it was the fact that the six-link chain could not store artifacts. This sealed bronze mirror was covered in cracks, clearly having suffered damage before being placed in the bundle due to the poisonous effects of the silver snake bracelet.
“This bronze mirror must be extraordinary. No wonder the silver snake bracelet absorbed so much light so quickly from the bronze bell—turns out there was an artifact inside the bell.”
The three sealing talismans remained intact, and the back of the talismans showed seven vein-like cracks. With just a little hand seal testing, he realized it could suppress a variety of powers.
Spirit talismans have nine patterns, corresponding to the Spirit Motion stage. After the nine patterns, there can be three transformations corresponding to the Concentrating Spirit stage. However, this was only a single spirit talisman; most of the time, the power relied on numerous lower-tier spirit talismans for enhancement. Above spirit talismans exist treasure talismans, which Li Hui had never seen, and even Inner Sect Disciples hadn’t brought out a single one during morning classes.
As he opened the second bundle, he felt a surge of frustration as he discovered another yellow pear wood box, and it was another one.
Just like the first box, each contained a sealed artifact—a long whip and a jade bi, both of which were covered in cracks and had lost their spirituality.
From these two boxes, he collected seven sealing talismans, making a total of ten.
At first glance, it seemed like a good harvest, but considering the bronze mirror, long whip, and jade bi might belong to high-level artifacts made Li Hui feel heartache, an immense heartache.
Fortunately, the second bundle contained not just two boxes, but also a stack of pretty silver paper.
“Is it silver money symbols?” Li Hui’s mood instantly brightened.
Silver money symbols, as the name suggests, are silver notes used by cultivators. Underneath silver money symbols were copper money symbols, with each copper money symbol convertible for one tael of wind-milled copper, and each silver money symbol convertible for one tael of frost silver.
Upon opening the third bundle, Li Hui’s breathing quickened.
“Money symbols? So many money symbols?”
A total of over five hundred thin talismans, as delicate as gold leaf, were bundled together. Each was about the size of an adult’s palm. These served as hard currency frequently traded by Spirit Motion and Concentrating Spirit stage cultivators—money symbols.
Each money symbol could be exchanged for one tael of dragon scale gold. Though Li Hui managed the outer sect accounts, he had only seen the actual items twice, proving how precious these symbols were, equating them to gold notes.
Of course, both silver and money symbols were currencies used among Spirit Motion and Concentrating Spirit stage cultivators; those at higher stages used Miao Jade with spiritual energy.
Li Hui’s spirits lifted because, in the third bundle, there were two small pockets alongside the money symbols.
“The spiritual energy is so strong.”
Pouring out the pockets revealed over a dozen jade stones the size of cow eyes, in blue, green, and red colors. Without needing to sense them purposely, he felt a wave of spiritual energy coming towards him, refreshing and invigorating.
“Is this Miao Jade?” For Li Hui, this was unimaginable; Miao Jade belonged to realms beyond his comprehension and couldn’t be measured by concrete currency, as his cultivation level still kept him from touching that tier.
The total harvest from the three bundles included two hundred thirty-seven Empty Embroidered Talismans, two pieces of Blood Ink, ten sealing talismans, fifty-eight silver money symbols, five hundred sixty-six money symbols, and two small bags containing thirty-six pieces of Miao Jade.
“Good! Now, let’s see what’s in the fourth bundle.” When Li Hui opened the fourth bundle, the first thing that caught his eye was a crystal pen case.
To create talismans, besides talisman paper and cinnabar, one also needs a good talisman brush. The talisman brush collected by Jin Buduan appeared ordinary, but it was placed in a crystal case, showing how much he valued it.
The brush handle was mottled, at least two hundred years old, yet it was not damaged in the slightest. Due to long exposure to cinnabar or Blood Ink, the brush tip had turned red, even showing hints of turning purple.
“A great talisman brush!”
Li Hui had some discerning eye. Over the years, he had put in considerable effort into drawing talismans. Though he hadn’t managed to create even half a spirit talisman, he knew that the low-level of his cultivation was part of the reason.
Having immersed himself in this craft daily, he understood what it meant for the brush tip to change from red to purple—it was an extraordinary opportunity to become a Purple Mist talisman brush in the future.
“I’ve hit the jackpot; this single brush is a huge win.” He cheered inwardly, but when he realized there were two items beneath the crystal case, his heart raced. Those were two artifacts.
“I’m set now! These are artifacts! They require very low cultivation to use, yet their power is astonishingly exceptional.”
