Immortality Starts With Investment

Green Cloud Shop.

When Ye Chen arrived, the attendants immediately recognized him. Not only because he often visited, but also because his reputation had spread throughout the market.The number one simp of Silver Moon Market. They’d heard that Ye Chen bought all sorts of spells, storage bags, and other items from Green Cloud Shop, only to give them away to female cultivators. It was utterly absurd.

Almost immediately, a fairly attractive attendant approached, batting her eyelashes. ”Fellow Daoist, may I ask what you need? I can provide anything here.…”

She was trying so hard to be seductive that Ye Chen would’ve thought he had accidentally wandered into a brothel if he didn’t know any better.

”I’m looking for Manager Sun.”

Noticing the system’s inactivity, Ye Chen couldn’t be bothered to entertain her. The attendant, clearly disappointed, quickly went to the back to call the manager.

Soon after, Sun Ye arrived. The moment he saw Ye Chen, his face lit up. Every time Ye Chen visited, he brought money, and Sun Ye was all too happy to welcome him. He immediately gestured for Ye Chen to follow him upstairs to a private room.

”My young friend, I didn’t know you were interested in a storage bag last time. I have a second-hand one here, good as new, for only ninety low-grade spirit stones. What are you here for today? Spells? Pills? Magic tools? No matter what it is, Green Cloud Shop has everything you could want. If we don’t have it in stock right now, we can always pre-order it from Green Cloud City and have it delivered the next time you come by.”

Sun Ye spoke enthusiastically, his eyes glimmering with greed. Ye Chen couldn’t help but appreciate his avarice. After all, wasn’t that how he would get close to his daughter?

Ye Chen smiled and shook his head, taking out a hundred low-grade spirit stones. ”As we agreed, Senior, I would like to learn talisman-making from you. A month, four classes per month, one medium-grade spirit stone. How about I start with a month?”

Upon hearing this, Sun Ye’s face showed a slight surprise. Ye Chen was actually serious about learning? One class for twenty-five low-grade spirit stones wasn’t cheap. But what mattered most wasn’t just the tuition.

Talisman-making consumed a lot of materials. A beginner would waste a significant amount of resources before successfully crafting even a single talisman. The upfront costs were extremely high. This was why many rogue cultivators, despite knowing that talisman-making and pill refinement were profitable fields, didn’t bother to learn. They simply couldn’t afford the initial costs, let alone sustain their training.

Sun Ye, already aware of Ye Chen’s background, knew he came from a small cultivation family. How much could they possibly afford? It was already surprising that Ye Chen could pay for pill refinement lessons, but talisman-making seemed out of reach.

Sun Ye hadn’t expected him to actually come. Still, despite his thoughts, Sun Ye’s actions were swift. The spirit stones on the table were quickly collected. With a wide smile, he agreed. ”Since you’ve already brought the tuition, of course, you can start! Though… how about paying a bit more upfront? If you pay for half a year’s tuition, I’ll waive half a medium-grade spirit stone.”

Hearing this, Ye Chen’s mouth twitched.

At that moment, Sun Ye resembled a gym instructor. He clearly wasn’t being generous. Instead, he was betting that Ye Chen wouldn’t stick with the lessons for long. He figured Ye Chen might quit after a month, so Sun Ye was trying to get more out of him while he could.

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Ye Chen shook his head. ”Let’s see how the first lesson goes. If it’s effective, I’ll continue. If not, then I’ll pass. After all, the cost of learning talisman-making from you isn’t exactly cheap.”

Upon hearing the refusal, Sun Ye wasn’t disappointed. In fact, he was even more determined to make sure the first month was a success. He would praise Ye Chen, ensuring he felt like he gained something from the lessons.

Once that happened, Ye Chen would likely continue paying, and then Sun Ye could push him to ask the Ye family for more resources, paying a larger sum upfront for tuition.

With that thought in mind, Sun Ye smiled even wider. ”Of course, no rush, no rush! I have time today, so how about we start the first lesson right now?”

Ye Chen had no objections and nodded. Talisman-making was an important skill for cultivators. The essence of a talisman was to create a paper that could trigger a spell through formations. The advantages of talismans were significant. They could help cultivators activate spells they hadn’t learned, and many rogue cultivators, unable to afford expensive spells, bought talismans for self-defense.

However, talismans had their drawbacks. The user couldn’t control the spell in the same way they would an actual technique, and the spell’s power was fixed. Additionally, the talisman had to be activated first, which made it easy for enemies to anticipate and counter. Nonetheless, talismans had a strong market, especially for those in need of basic defense.

Although Ye Chen’s main reason for learning talisman-making was to get closer to Sun Ye’s daughter, Sun Ruxin, he wasn’t planning to slack off. And since Sun Ye was a master at talisman-making, Ye Chen had every intention of learning the craft properly. Having more skills was never a bad thing. Ye Chen had already learned pill refinement, but adding talisman-making to his repertoire wouldn’t hurt.

Just as he was about to start, Sun Ye asked, ”You didn’t bring a talisman pen, ink, or paper, did you? We’ll use what my daughter has left from her practice.”

Ye Chen nodded, thinking Sun Ye wasn’t so bad after all.

But then Sun Ye added, ”I’ll charge you one low-grade spirit stone for these materials.”

Ye Chen’s expression froze.

I’ll let this slide… but just wait until I get your daughter, you old man!

Ye Chen had intended to learn properly. But in less than half an hour of the lesson, Sun Ye’s expression turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. Shouts of anger echoed through the room.

”Are you drawing ghost symbols?!”

”I’ve told you a hundred times already! When you write, your spiritual power needs to flow evenly, what is wrong with you?!”

”Focus! Focus! What are you even looking at?!

”I’ve never seen such a hopeless case!”

Sun Ye’s enraged voice carried all the way downstairs, making the attendants exchange curious glances.

Meanwhile, in the private room, Ye Chen’s mouth twitched, and his face grew darker. It wasn’t that he was upset by Sun Ye’s berating. It was more that he realized his own learning ability seemed truly lacking. Back when his previous self was learning pill refining, he’d also been scolded constantly. But the thing was, the person doing the scolding had been his second uncle, so the criticisms had never been too harsh.

Ye Chen had simply assumed his second uncle hadn’t taught well enough, and that his previous self’s talent wasn’t all that bad. Later, with his perfect understanding of the first-grade Alchemist path, Ye Chen never really thought about talent anymore.

However, as he sat through the talisman lesson today, listening to Sun Ye’s explanation, he was still utterly confused. No matter how hard he tried to grasp the material, he couldn’t catch the core points. Even when he understood the theory, his hands couldn’t keep up, and his spiritual power couldn’t be properly channeled.

This confirmed one thing for Ye Chen: His body’s innate learning ability was truly awful.

By the end of the lesson, Sun Ye’s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. If it weren’t for the spirit stones, he wouldn’t even want to look at Ye Chen. No wonder Ye Cheng had switched from teaching pill-refining to talisman-making.

Ye Chen, feeling awkward, finally spoke up, ”Uh, Senior, are we still continuing the lessons? If you’re not planning to teach….”

Sun Ye’s face darkened further. ”Since I’ve taken your money, of course, I’ll teach. Go back and practice well.”

He wasn’t about to refund the fee. In fact, he was worried that Ye Chen might try to quit, so he rushed off without another word. But inwardly, he sighed in regret. With Ye Chen’s aptitude, he doubted he’d even make it to next month’s fee. Ye Chen was the worst student he’d ever had!

Ye Chen couldn’t help but feel a bit defeated. While he hadn’t originally planned to make talisman-making his main focus, realizing just how bad his talent was still stung a little.