Chapter 66: Why a Forced Conscription Again?

Jiang Xu’s heart skipped a beat. ’How are Spirit Stones tacky?’ he thought. ’I love tacky things like this. You could give me mountains of them, and I wouldn’t feel the least bit insulted.’

Before he could voice his complaint, he saw Zong Ziqi pull a book from his Storage Bag.

"I see your Mortal Martial Dao cultivation has also reached the True Qi Realm, which is equivalent to the Body Refining Early Stage.

Although you’ve achieved some success, you’ve also hit a bottleneck.

If you want to advance further, you’ll need to switch to a different Body Cultivation Technique."

Jiang Xu took the book Zong Ziqi handed him and saw that it was the *Ancient Strengthening Method*.

"This method may be the most common Body Cultivation Technique from Ancient Times, but ’common’ just means it’s suitable for most people and relatively easy. And while it’s true that it’s one of the most ordinary cultivation techniques from back then, it’s still superior to most of the Body Cultivation Techniques available today.

As for its drawback, it requires a lot of Spirit Stones to concoct the necessary Spiritual Liquid. But you’re a Talisman Maker now, with plenty of ways to earn Spirit Stones, so this limitation isn’t an issue for you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have recommended it."

Jiang Xu accepted the Cultivation Technique.

He had already memorized its entire contents, but he had done so in secret and couldn’t be sure he hadn’t made a mistake or two. Having the original text was definitely better.

"I’ve already copied the entire *Ancient Strengthening Method* for myself. The one I’m giving you is my original copy that I used for my cultivation. It’s filled with my notes and cultivation experiences, which should help you get started quickly."

Zong Ziqi then took out three small porcelain vials:

"This is the Spiritual Liquid I concocted. These three vials should be enough to last you for a while. Each one is worth about a hundred Spirit Stones."

Jiang Xu hastily waved his hands in refusal.

"No, no, no, I can’t take these! The Talismans I gave you aren’t even worth fifty Spirit Stones combined!"

"Just take them."

Zong Ziqi placed the porcelain vials in Jiang Xu’s hand.

"My cultivation is stuck at a bottleneck right now; a few vials of Spiritual Liquid won’t be enough to help me break through. They’re useless to me, so they’re better off with you. Don’t worry, three hundred Spirit Stones is just pocket change to me. I don’t mind at all. To me, our friendship is what’s most important."

Since he put it that way, it would be rude to refuse again.

Jiang Xu put the porcelain vials into his Storage Bag and said with heartfelt emotion:

"Brother Zong, you can go without any worries. If I weren’t so weak, just a Talisman Maker who’s no good in a fight, I would have gone with you. But even though we can’t travel together, I’ll be thinking of you often and praying for your safe return!"

"Good brother!"

...

’Sigh, Fellow Daoist Zong is really something, volunteering to go to such a dangerous place. It was definitely the right call not to agree to become a Sword Cultivator with him. Otherwise, I might have had to go along this time.

Speaking of which, do Sword Cultivators develop that death-defying mindset because they became Sword Cultivators, or do you have to have that mindset to become one in the first place?’

Jiang Xu thought this as he walked toward the Talisman Pavilion.

Recalling his recent conversation with Zong Ziqi, he felt a pang of regret.

Given the current situation, Jiang Xu had no desire to leave the Sect.

At least the Sect had its Sect Protection Array. If danger came, it could hold it off for a while, giving Jiang Xu time to react.

With a little time to react, he figured his chances of survival would increase by at least fifty percent.

As for the other ninety-five percent...

...that would depend on whether his Magic worked at the critical moment.

’Besides, my Talisman Dao is progressing so quickly I can even try making Tier One Middle Grade Talismans this month. If I could just attend another one or two of Senior Sister Leng’s classes, wouldn’t my progress just skyrocket?’

With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Xu’s steps grew much lighter on his way to the Talisman Pavilion.

He was going to the Talisman Pavilion mainly because he had just been promoted to a Tier One Lower Grade Talisman Maker. This meant he now had access to some of the books on Talisman Dao within the pavilion, and he wanted to read all of them.

Also, he hadn’t done his monthly Sect mission yet and planned to turn in a few Talismans to complete it.

...

Within the Talisman Pavilion’s grounds was a place called the Mission Office, specifically for handling the missions of Talisman Pavilion disciples.

Arriving at the Mission Office, Jiang Xu gave his name and took out the Talismans from his Storage Bag, ready to submit his mission.

But unexpectedly, after hearing Jiang Xu’s name, the senior brother handling the procedures at the Mission Office let out a surprised "Huh?" and looked at Jiang Xu with astonishment.

Jiang Xu didn’t understand what was happening, so he asked:

"Senior Brother, is there a problem?"

"No problem. Take a look, this is your mission information."

He then handed Jiang Xu a Sound Transmission Talisman.

Jiang Xu activated it. The Sound Transmission Talisman flashed with a red light, and a voice emerged:

"Jiang Xu, Tier One Lower Grade Talisman Maker of the Talisman Pavilion, you are hereby ordered to assemble at the General Affairs Hall in five days at 5:00 AM to travel to the Purple Profound Celestial Marketplace. Refusal is not permitted except in life-threatening circumstances."

Jiang Xu was dumbfounded.

’The Purple Profound Celestial Marketplace?’

’Isn’t that the same Marketplace I went to the last time I left the Sect?’

’Wait.’

’Why do I have to go there?’

’And the Purple Profound Celestial Marketplace... is right next to the Endless Forest!!!’

’Holy shit!’

’What is happening???’

’Damn it all, why does this bullshit Sect keep forcibly conscripting me for missions without a word of warning?!’

’This is outrageous!!!’

Jiang Xu hurriedly asked the senior brother in front of him:

"Excuse me, Senior Brother, what’s this about going to the Purple Profound Celestial Marketplace? I never signed up for this mission, so why was I chosen?"

The senior brother looked at Jiang Xu with considerable envy:

"What? You don’t know about this mission? You’re really lucky, then. This is a mission not just anyone can sign up for.

You know about the Secret Realm that appeared in the Endless Forest, right? Because of it, most of the Loose Cultivators in the area have flocked to the Endless Forest. Countless other Cultivators from dozens of sects and families, big and small, are gathering there too.

As a result, the Purple Profound Celestial Marketplace, being the only marketplace near the Endless Forest, is completely packed."

Jiang Xu was confused.

"So it’s packed. What does that have to do with me? Is it going to be less packed just because I show up?"

The senior brother was rendered speechless by Jiang Xu’s line of thinking:

"Think about it. With so many Cultivators showing up, all sorts of cultivation resources—Elixirs, Magical Artifacts, Talismans, you name it—are in short supply at the marketplace, and prices are skyrocketing.

Our Sect’s shops that sell Talismans in the Purple Profound Celestial Marketplace have completely sold out. The Sect can’t ship new stock over fast enough to keep up with the demand.

So, the Sect decided to send a batch of Alchemists, Artifact Refiners, and Talisman Makers over to produce items on-site and ease the supply pressure."

Jiang Xu was on the verge of a breakdown.

"But I just got promoted to a Tier One Lower Grade Talisman Maker! Why was I chosen?"