Chapter 36 – The Price of Life

“What’s going on?” a group of Dao Palace disciples, who needed to sell their spoils, had just entered the cultivator market when they heard a series of shouts selling talisman-making techniques. “I didn’t hear that wrong, right? Talisman-making techniques? Weren’t the elders not supposed to let these things out?”

Many things in the Hall of Transmission could be learned by ordinary disciples, including the four arts of cultivation. But they had to take a Dao heart oath not to pass them on.

“I don’t know. Let’s check to see if it’s real.” The disciple at the front casually picked up the jade slip from the nearest stall to check it. The stall owner wanted to stop him, but seeing that they were cultivators from the mountain, he wisely shut his mouth.

The disciple browsed through it and threw the jade slip back to the owner. “It really is a talisman-making technique, but it’s not very comprehensive.”

Even if it wasn’t comprehensive, it was still a talisman-making technique, which made them feel annoyed.

They had to spend ten spirit stones to learn it, but here it’s only selling for two? Are they kidding me?

“Senior Brother Wen, should we find out who did this?” The disciple who checked the jade slip looked at the black-robed man at the back of their group, wanting to drag the culprit out on the spot.

The black-robed man hadn’t spoken yet, but Yun Xian, who was next to him, spoke first. “There’s no need. It’s just some basic talisman-making techniques. It’s not a big deal. So many disciples have died outside. It’s normal for someone to get lucky and sell them. Why make such a fuss?”

“But…”

“Let’s just leave it. It’s a small problem.” The black-robed man interrupted him. “Don’t you all need to deal with your spoils? The sooner you do, the sooner you can go back and rest.”

“Alright.” Thinking about why they were here, the disciples stopped worrying about the talismans.

They had all gained a lot from this trip. They had too many things, and it wasn’t convenient to trade on the mountain. The market at the foot of the mountain provided a good solution for them.

With the arrival of the Dao Palace disciples, the entire cultivator market became extremely lively. Even though most of the mortal cultivators there couldn’t afford their things, it didn’t stop them from watching and learning.

More and more people came, but Yun Xian didn’t go in. She stood at the entrance for a while and, after making sure nothing would go wrong, greeted the black-robed man. “I’m going to find a place to sleep.”

“Are you going to your friend’s place?” the black-robed man asked her.

“Yeah.” Yun Xian didn’t deny it and just walked out with her head down.

“It’s good to rest. Just try to think more positively.”

This time, Yun Xian ignored him.

When Yun Xian arrived at Lynn Naya’s house, Lynn Naya was still in the herb forest. When she returned in the evening, Mingguang rushed to her, complaining that someone had come into her room and was sleeping on her bed.

Lynn Naya had already sensed Yun Xian’s presence when she entered the courtyard. She went into the room and took a look at the sleeping Yun Xian.

After three months, Yun Xian’s aura had become stronger, and her cultivation had reached the second layer of QiCondensation. It seemed that she had gained something from her trip to eliminate evil cultivators. But she seemed a little unhappy. Even when she was sleeping, there was a hint of gloom between her eyebrows.

Something must have happened.

A cultivator’s senses were sharp. If she and Mingguang stayed in the room, Yun Xian would probably not be able to sleep well. Lynn Naya glanced at her and took Mingguang out of the room.

“Did you finish your calligraphy practice today?” Lynn Naya checked his homework every night when she came back.

“I’m done.” This kid had always been easy for her to deal with in this regard. He immediately brought her a stack of paper to check.

Lynn Naya looked through it carefully, picked out a few that weren’t so good, and asked him to practice them again. Then, she washed her hands and took out the map that Old Man Qu had drawn for her to study it carefully.

Yun Xian woke up the next morning. She stayed in the warm blanket, staring into space for a while. Suddenly, she smelled a faint scent of plum blossoms in the room. She turned her head and saw a blooming red plum branch in a bamboo vase on the windowsill, and outside, everything was white.

It snowed last night.

She got up and put a Cleanse Talisman on herself. Yun Xian couldn’t help but walk to the window and lean down to smell the flowers. The clear, cold fragrance soothed her mind and made her feel much better.

At that moment, she also noticed a lot of strange things on the shelf next to her, such as carved walnuts, bamboo clappers, and small wooden birds. She hadn’t expected her friend to be interested in these things.

After playing with the little things for a while, Yun Xian lifted the curtain and went out. When she walked into the kitchen where her friend was, she saw her cooking noodles. The water in the pot was already boiling, and steam was rising, making the whole kitchen feel warm.

“The plum blossoms in your room smell so good. You didn’t pick them for me, did you?” Yun Xian walked to the stove and smelled the fragrance coming from the pot. She was suddenly a little hungry.

“No,” Lynn Naya said, taking some pickled green onions from a jar in the corner. “My neighbor’s daughter picked a lot of flowers to sell. When I saw them, I bought a branch. It didn’t cost much, but it made that little girl happy for the whole day.”

“I see. Then these noodles must have been made just for me.”

Lynn Naya smiled. “Old Man Qu said that frozen grapes make for better wine. I just put them into the cellar a while ago, so they’re not ready yet. Let’s just have noodles today. We’ll have wine on New Year’s Eve.”

At this time, the noodles were cooked. She scooped them up, sprinkled some pickled green onions on top, and placed the bowl on the table. “Eat while it’s hot,” she said. Even though she hadn’t made it in years, “It should taste alright. It’s a shame there are no fried eggs. Can you get me two live chickens next time you’re out?”

“Okay.” Yun Xian agreed halfway and then suddenly felt a little guilty, remembering that she hadn’t fulfilled the promise she made to her friend before.

Sigh… it’s probably okay if I just pretend I couldn’t find them, right?

Yun Xian slowly ate the steaming bowl of noodles. She, who was always talkative, became more and more silent as she ate.

She didn’t speak, and Lynn Naya didn’t ask. One person ate, and one person watched. A quarter of an hour passed before the bowl was empty, with only a little soup left.

After drinking all the soup, Yun Xian wiped her mouth and said, “So many people died this time. I thought Senior Brother would protect us, but he just stood by and watched our fellow disciples get killed. I was so angry, but… I’m too weak. Even if I’m angry, it won’t change what happened.”

“I know that only death can make a person rise. Senior Brother’s goal was to train us and make us independent. But it’s so cruel. It’s not a good feeling to see a fellow disciple you shared life and death with die in front of you.”

“I’ve always been afraid of death, but now I’m even more afraid of the people around me dying one by one.”

“Naya,” Yun Xian looked at her friend. “Maybe you should just live a good life without refining a beast core. Stay in the Dao Palace and live to a ripe old age.”

Lynn Naya sighed slightly. “Are you cursing me? I’ll definitely live for more than a hundred years. And the problem now isn’t about who will live or die, but about how to have fewer people die. Since your Senior Brother wants to train you, he won’t just do it once. You’ll probably have to go out again after you rest for a while.”

Yun Xian leaned back weakly, looking a little tired. “Yeah. We have to go again in a month.” In the past, she only thought about killing evil cultivators. But now, she knew that people by her side could also be killed by evil cultivators.

“Then you need to grow up quickly.” Lynn Naya hinted. All these signs pointed to one thing—Yanxi wouldn’t stay in the Dao Palace for long. If he was going to stay, he wouldn’t be so reckless. The fact that he was so reckless probably meant he wanted to find someone who could guard the Dao Palace before he left.

Was the purpose of going after the evil cultivators just to kill them? Now, I think it’s more about plundering their cultivation resources to help the Dao Palace disciples grow quickly.

There was no faster way to grow than through killing, but the process would be very painful.

But a thousand steps back, ten useless people were no match for one skilled expert. The Dao Palace had to have the power to protect itself before it could talk about helping everyone else live.

“If you keep going after the evil cultivators, they might tolerate it once or twice. But if you do it too many times, they might retaliate.” Thinking of this, Lynn Naya thought of something else. “Can’t all beasts and demons enter our DaoPalace?”

Normal birds could enter, but beasts couldn’t. Normal people could enter, but soul fog could only linger outside. Was it because the good ones could enter and the bad ones couldn’t? What were the criteria for this?

“That’s basically it,” Yun Xian said. “Any cultivator who hasn’t been approved by the sects outside can’t enter. Your identity jade tokens are the keys to get in and out.”

“Oh…” Lynn Naya was relieved at first, but then she felt something was off. “You said that’s ‘basically’ it. So if it’s not ‘basically’ it…”

“There’s another type of person who can enter.” When Yun Xian mentioned those people, her face was devoid of expression.

She didn’t say it outright, but Lynn Naya knew who she was talking about.

Anyone with a Dao Palace identity jade plate could enter. A good person would definitely have an identity jade plate, but someone with an identity jade plate wasn’t necessarily a good person, like a traitor from the Dao Palace.

The safe zone and the inside were the Dao Palace’s base. Those evil cultivators usually wouldn’t come here to die, especially those who had been expelled from the Dao Palace. They would definitely be annihilated if they came back, and the Dao Palace would probably keep an eye on them.

But it was better to be safe than sorry. What if she ran into a ghost while walking at night, even if the probability was low?

I should probably prioritize practicing my martial arts. But before she could practice martial arts, she needed a way to justify her cultivation. And she couldn’t keep the talismans a secret forever. If she suddenly pulled them out, it would make people even more suspicious.

It had been a year since the beast cores came out. The highest-level mortal cultivator was already at the second layer of QiCondensation, and they could now protect those who were taking the beast cores. The Dao Palace should be close to opening up the sale of beast cores.

After Yun Xian finished her meal, she returned to the mountain.

New Year’s Eve came again, and the Dao Palace indeed announced that the lowest-grade beast cores would be sold in the Hall of External Affairs. Mortals who wanted to buy them could use contribution points to find a Dao Palace disciple to protect them or find someone themselves.

Once the beast cores were available for purchase, Lynn Naya didn’t rush to buy one. She waited half a month until most of the Dao Palace disciples had left and then went to the Hall of External Affairs.

After buying a beast core and a matching cultivation method, Lynn Naya also got a jade slip for talisman-making from Scarface Qing. Xue Yong and the others also got one using their positions, but unfortunately, after trying for half a month, none of them had learned it.

Ever since the talisman-making technique appeared at the cultivator market, the Dao Palace had taken advantage of it and let Scarface Qing sell talisman paper and materials. They were all very basic things, but with these, there were now six successful talisman masters in the mortal area. One of them had a high talent. It was said that he learned the Cleanse Talisman in three days and was now trying to create a first-grade mid-tier talisman.

A month and a half later, when the number of mortal talisman masters had grown to twelve, Lynn Naya sat under the grapevine in her courtyard and began drawing talismans.

The passing Xue Yong and the others were first stunned, and then their expressions became strange. But no one came to disturb her. They even helped her stand guard in case someone suddenly came in.

When Scarface Qing came back from work in the evening, he walked into his courtyard and saw his wife gesturing to him to be quiet. Xue Yong also motioned for him to be quiet.

What’s going on? Scarface Qing was a little confused at first. When he saw Lynn Naya with a brush in her hand, focused on drawing talismans on the stone table, he was a little lost. But when he finally realized what was happening, his expression lost all control.

Normal people can’t draw talismans. Only a cultivator can use a spiritual brush.

The fact that Healer Lynn can draw talismans means she is also…

But before the bitterness in Scarface Qing’s heart could rise, he saw a flash of light from Lynn Naya’s brush.

Did she just succeed in making a talisman?

Didn’t they say that this stuff was hard to learn and required talent? Xue Yong and the others chewed on their brush heads until they were mush and couldn’t even draw a single line.

There were so many cultivators in the market, but there were only twelve talisman masters so far. If Healer Lynn really became the thirteenth talisman master, even if she wasn’t the best, she would still be amazing.