great-warnovel Chapter 32 Heading to Lingzhou
Chapter 32 Heading to Lingzhou
Chen Chunan knew nothing about the talisman market, so naturally he was unaware of its value.
The upper limit of Tier 1-2 spirit talismans will not exceed the power of Qi Refining stage cultivators. Generally, only Tier 2 spirit talismans are the main purchase target for Qi Refining cultivators.
A mid-grade, second-tier spirit talisman is equivalent to the full power of a spell cast by a Qi Refining cultivator at the Great Perfection stage. As long as one doesn't encounter a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it can be used as a life-saving trump card at the Qi Refining stage.
First-tier spirit talismans are somewhat lacking; they are useful, but not very effective.
It's something that the poor can't afford and the rich look down on.
After listening to the explanations from the clan elders, Chen Chunan finally understood the market price of the talisman.
A mid-grade second-tier spirit talisman only costs 3 spirit stones, no wonder first-tier ones are worthless.
The prices for Tier 2 superior and top-grade items are quite good, at 5 and 8 spirit stones per item respectively.
One piece of spirit ink can be used to draw 100-120 spirit talismans, and is worth 30 spirit stones.
A second-tier talisman costs 2 spirit stones.
Based on this calculation, assuming that one can conservatively draw 100 talismans with a single ink stick, and with a success rate of 90%,...
After deducting the cost of materials, I should be able to earn 40 spirit stones.
However, this only calculates the medium-grade items and does not include the high-grade and top-grade items.
If we assume that more than half of them are of superior quality, I can earn about 130 spirit stones.
It would take about 5-7 days to draw 100 talismans by yourself, averaging only 20 spirit stones per day.
That's way too little!
Chen Chunan suddenly felt that being a talisman master didn't seem like a very lucrative profession!
He casually voiced his doubts: "Clan leader, elders, I just did some calculations, and it seems talisman makers don't earn much. When I draw second-tier talismans, I almost never get low-grade ones; there's a 90% chance I'll get mid-grade ones directly, and about half of those are high-grade talismans. But it takes me 5-7 days to draw 100 talismans. So, that's only 20 spirit stones a day. How did the Liu family get so rich by making talismans?"
"That's not how you calculate it. Whether it's first-grade or second-grade, it's still just the Qi Refining level. What kind of money can you make at this level?"
20 spirit stones a day is quite a lot! As far as I know, most talisman masters have a success rate of only 8% when making talismans, and even 8% doesn't guarantee that all of them will be of medium quality.
They're the ones who don't make money; most of them are just barely making ends meet.
Those who truly make money are talisman masters of the third rank and above.
A single tier-three talisman costs only 10 spirit stones, and a single tier-three spirit ink costs only 200 spirit stones, but a mid-grade tier-three spirit talisman is worth over a hundred spirit stones!
The elder added, "As for fourth-tier spirit talismans, they are extremely expensive, costing five or six hundred spirit stones each. The power of a fourth-tier spirit talisman is equivalent to a full-force attack from a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, making them highly sought after among Foundation Establishment cultivators."
Chen Chunan instantly understood, but he was even more curious about the Liu family, who made their living with spirit talismans: "The Liu family has fourth-level talisman masters?"
The clan chief paused for a moment before saying, "Perhaps they do, perhaps they don't. Currently, the Liu Family Market only sells a very small number of third-tier spirit talismans each year. As for fourth-tier ones, even if they had them, they wouldn't sell them, so we don't know much about it."
Hearing the clan chief's ambiguous words, Chen Chunan's assessment of the Liu family's level of danger rose another notch.
If the Liu family had a fourth-grade talisman master, even if I advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage, I probably wouldn't be able to gain any advantage.
Who knows how many fourth-grade spirit talismans the other side has accumulated?
Chen Chunan took a deep breath and then said to the clan leader, "We still have more than 200 first-grade talisman sheets and 114 second-grade talisman sheets. I plan to draw a batch of first and second-grade high-quality and top-quality spirit talismans to sell. Then I will purchase second-grade talisman sheets and spirit ink, and accumulate spirit stones in a cycle to prepare for purchasing third-grade talisman books and breaking through to the third-grade talisman master level."
Based on the price quoted by the clan leader, Chen Chunan estimated that if he made all the remaining talisman paper into talismans and sold them for spirit stones, he would get about 450 spirit stones, which would be enough to buy about 200 more second-grade talisman paper.
With a success rate of at least 100% in talisman making, one can make at least double the profit.
I estimate I can save up enough spirit stones to buy a Tier 3 rune book in a few months.
Upon hearing Chen Chunan's request, Clan Chief Chen Daoping immediately expressed his support: "Chunan, don't worry. You gave the clan a lot of resources last time. I'll arrange for the second and seventh brothers to go to Lingzhou to buy you talisman paper and spirit ink first! And while we're at it, we'll find out the price of third-tier talisman books."
The second and seventh clan elders nodded in agreement, indicating that they would take care of it.
What right do they have to not support a family scion who is about to become a third-tier rune master?
...
After the meeting, Chen Chunan returned home.
Little Red Thread has been waiting for a long time.
Now that Chen Chunan is in charge of all the food on the Red Line side, the little thing naturally chooses to eat the food that Chen Chunan personally cooks.
Seeing that Chen Chunan had gone out and had not returned, they could only wait anxiously.
Seeing her brother return, Hongxian's eyes lit up instantly: "Brother, what are we having for lunch? The spirit pork last time was so delicious, but there wasn't enough. Could you buy some more?"
Upon hearing Hongxian's words, Chen Chunan's lips twitched. Ten pounds of the 82 pounds of spirit pork had been used to cook for Lin Jing, leaving 72 pounds remaining.
All 72 jin (36 catties) went into Chen Hongxian's stomach in less than a month.
Even so, the girl still talks about it every few days, and it's been a month now and she still can't forget it.
"We're really out of spirit pork, but we have plenty of spirit fish. I'll make you braised fish today."
"Okay~"
Chen Hongxian was slightly disappointed to hear that there was still no spirit pork.
Seeing that the little girl had become a bit picky, Chen Chunan reached out and pinched Hongxian's little cheek hard, then laughed and went into the kitchen amidst the little girl's angry grumble.
Before long, a simple but delicious and visually appealing meal was served on the small table.
Upon hearing her brother's command, Chen Hongxian immediately buried her head in her food, getting soup all over her cheeks.
Chen Chunan shook his head and then began to eat.
The meal ended quickly, and Chen Chunan urged Chen Hongxian to start cultivating quickly so as not to waste the spiritual energy of the spirit rice and spirit fish.
He also began to meditate and cultivate himself.
...
Ten days later, Chen Chunan brought all the spirit talismans he had drawn, totaling 232 top-grade first-level spirit talismans.
32 second-tier mid-grade spirit talismans, 47 second-tier high-grade spirit talismans, and 29 second-tier top-grade spirit talismans are ready to depart for Lingzhou.
The elders of the eldest, third, and seventh clans had been waiting for a long time to escort them.
The day before yesterday, the Second Elder and the Seventh Elder returned safely, bringing Chen Chunan 500 second-tier talismans and 5 pieces of second-grade spirit ink.
They also brought back the price of the Tier 3 rune book—12000 spirit stones!
This amount stunned the second and third clan elders, who only had 3000 spirit stones with them. They had no choice but to slink back home.
Upon learning this, Chen Chunan decisively decided to go to Lingzhou Market again.
I'll stay there for a while until I've saved enough to buy a Tier 3 runebook.
His request just happened to be the backup plan that the clan chief had prepared for him and his sister.
The clan leader waved his hand and said that he had secretly bought a house in Lingzhou Market, which was a backup plan prepared specifically for Chen Chunan and his sister.
Who made Chen Chunan the only one with the skills to survive in the market?
Thus, this trip to Lingzhou came about.
Chen Hongxian was incredibly excited about her first trip away from home, finding everything fascinating.
They were shouting and yelling all the way, not afraid of attracting the attention of thieves.
After a five-day journey, Chen Chunan and his sister stood once again in front of Lingzhou Market.
Although it's called a market town, Chen Chunan felt it was more like the real Lingzhou City.
The order, safety, and even convenience of life here are incomparable to those of Lingzhou City outside the market.
Chen Hongxian, who was visiting Lingzhou for the first time, was even more stunned, staring blankly at the tall market archway.
Just as Chen Chunan was feeling sentimental, a clear voice rang out.
"Huh? It's Chen Chunan? Where have you been all this time?"
Hearing someone call his name, Chen Chunan turned around abruptly and saw a figure in a moon-white robe come into view.
Chen Chunan couldn't help but call out the other person's name: "Lin Jing? It's you?"