The Azure Citadel Market, within the Luo Family Talisman Shop.

  In the afternoon, worktables were neatly arranged inside the shop, with talisman paper and spiritual ink laid out in order.

  Lu Chi sat in a corner, dressed in a dark gray short jacket with his sleeves rolled high, his expression focused. His features were clear and handsome, yet bore a trace of weariness; a faint shadow under his eyes hinted at many nights of poor sleep.

  He tilted his head slightly, raising a hand to press against his temple, as if enduring a dull pain, his brow tightly furrowed.

  Footsteps sounded near his table as a fellow worker approached and asked in a low voice, "Brother Lu, are you feeling unwell?"

  Lu Chi lowered his hand, his expression unchanged. "It's nothing, just a slight headache."

  The man nodded, seeming accustomed to such answers. He was about to say more when faint footsteps sounded from behind the shop's inner door. He wisely fell silent and turned away.

  The door curtain was pushed aside as Shopkeeper Luo strolled out. A teacup and a palm-leaf fan floated beside him, following his leisurely, almost ethereal steps.

  He walked behind the counter, settled into his seat, and the teacup drifted into his hand. After taking a sip, he swept his gaze across the room and said mildly, "Focus, everyone. Talisman work has been plentiful lately; no one should dawdle."

  A hush fell over the workers. They bowed their heads and resumed their brushes, silence reclaiming the room.

  Lu Chi also picked up his brush to continue painting, yet the dull ache at his brow persisted.

  'This headache is acting up again... It's only halfway through the day, and this is the second time.'

  'Could I really have gotten my mind addled from breathing in all this talisman paper?'

  With his left hand lightly pinning the corner of the talisman, his right hand guided the talisman brush in slow, deliberate strokes. Dipping into the spiritual cinnabar and ink, he meticulously filled in the broken lines along the talisman's "feet."

  His touch was extremely light. The spiritual cinnabar seeped into the paper along the grooves, and the broken seams gradually closed.

  When the final line was restored, the talisman surface tightened slightly, and the patterns merged seamlessly.

  "Done."

  Lu Chi held the talisman up to the light. His face showed nothing, but inwardly he felt a sliver of relief.

  He then tossed the completed talisman into a bamboo tray, which gave a soft clack.

  A stack of damaged talismans still lay beside his table—ones with crooked patterns, curled "feet," or water damage—all waiting for their "second life."

  His work in this talisman shop was repairing damaged talismans; practitioners of this craft were called talisman-menders.

  Creating new talismans was difficult, requiring proper lineage and innate talent. A single misplaced stroke could ruin everything, something most ordinary rogue cultivators couldn't master.

  Mending old talismans was different. It only required skilled, meticulous hands, saving considerable spiritual materials and offering a viable livelihood.

  Lu Chi had worked here for three years, drawing a modest monthly stipend of spirit-sand and spirit-stones. It wasn't lavish, but it was stable.

  By now, many in the shop were already at their stations, heads bent to their tasks.

  Against the wall stood a row of long tables where a dozen or so menders worked, scraping off old cinnabar, repairing talisman "feet," and retracing faded patterns, the soft scratch-scratchof their brushes the only sound.

  Lu Chi rubbed his temple again, then glanced at the water clock.

  At this hour, after finishing one or two more, it would be time to pack up.

  But then he suddenly remembered something.

  Shopkeeper Luo had mentioned offhandedly that he should stay back for a word after work. His tone had been flat, giving no hint of mood, which somehow made it more disconcerting.

  Perfectly fine, yet the shopkeeper wanted to see him? Whatever for?

  This doubt flitted through Lu Chi's mind, but his hands didn't stop. He smoothly pulled over two more damaged talismans, mending feet and extending lines. With a few strokes, he stabilized their spiritual intent and placed them in the bamboo tray.

  Before long, the water clock indicated the hour.

  Everyone tidied their workspaces, lifted the door curtains, and scattered, their steps hurried.

  Shopkeeper Luo sat behind the counter, looked up at him, and beckoned. "Lu, boy, come closer."

  Lu Chi, as usual, neatened his tabletop, then stood two paces before the counter, waiting quietly.

  Shopkeeper Luo appeared aged, slightly stooped with graying hair at his temples, yet he was a cultivator at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement—a figure of some repute within the market.

  Most talisman-menders in the shop were at the third or fourth layer of Qi Refinement; Lu Chi himself was only at the third. In daily dealings, they all tread carefully around the shopkeeper.

  Shopkeeper Luo said mildly, "You've been in my shop for three years now. You know your place, neither rash nor sluggish. Compared to others, you waste far less effort. I... am quite satisfied."

  'Shopkeeper Luo rarely praises anyone lightly. Starting with praise before getting to the point... could he be using this to assign more talisman work?'

  Lu Chi thought to himself, his expression remaining respectful. "This junior merely follows the methods taught in your establishment, not daring to claim any credit."

  Shopkeeper Luo sighed softly. "Recently, talisman commissions have flooded in, yet market prices have been driven down fiercely. After the shop's collective consideration, the remuneration for mending must be adjusted slightly downward. Are you willing to accept this?"

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  Shopkeeper Luo continued, "If you are unwilling, there's no need for hardship. Starting tomorrow, you need not return. Here are thirty taels of spirit-sand as compensation."

  With that, he opened his palm, producing a handful of fine spirit-sand from his storage pouch.

  'It's either accept lower pay or be shown the door?'

  'Forget it. I won't stay. The pay here was meager to begin with; another reduction would leave only hard labor. Better to seek other work.'

  After a moment of contemplation, Lu Chi accepted the spirit sand with both hands and cupped his fists respectfully.

  "I accept the shopkeeper's generous gift."

  Shopkeeper Luo seemed slightly taken aback by his swift agreement.

  He paused briefly, then gave an indifferent nod.

  He offered no further words, nor any attempt to persuade him to stay.

  For a Qi Refinement third-layer cultivator was utterly commonplace in the market district.

  Losing one meant nothing; a replacement could be found in the blink of an eye.

  Before long, Lu Chi walked out of the talisman shop.

  A cloth bag was slung over his shoulder, containing his old talisman-mending tools and the thirty taels of spirit sand.

  Only after crossing two streets did the tension in his shoulders begin to ease.

  He was unemployed!

  Though Lu Chi had considered his options carefully, being dismissed so abruptly—cast out from a place he had worked for three years—left a hollow feeling in his chest.

  Today, he had merely lost his livelihood.

  With spirit stones harder to come by, his cultivation would likely stagnate…

  In this brutal world of immortal cultivation, where the strong preyed on the weak, who could say what tomorrow might bring?

  "But… at least from now on, I won’t be under anyone’s thumb.

  My time will be my own."

  Lu Chi suppressed the flicker of frustration within, summoning instead a wry sense of optimism.

  After all, he had at least stepped onto the path of cultivation.

  That was far better than his struggles in the mortal world—both in his past life and in this one.

  Lu Chi was a transmigrator.

  In this world of cultivation, he had been born a mortal in the countryside.

  A plague took his parents one after the other, and his relatives shirked any responsibility.

  Fortunately, he was literate.

  He scraped by taking odd jobs: copying texts, keeping accounts, occasionally delivering letters or messages.

  It was during that time, behind a dilapidated temple, that he found a nameless cultivation manual.

  Its contents were fragmentary, yet it contained a method for Qi Refinement and breath circulation.

  Sandwiched within were a few pages with rudimentary talisman?crafting hand?seals and instructions for drawing talisman “feet.”

  They weren’t sophisticated, but they were practical.

  Lu Chi practiced according to the manual for some time.

  To his surprise, he tested positive for spiritual roots.

  Guiding Qi into his body, he stepped into Qi Refinement and became a cultivator capable of minor arts.

  Later, he came to the Azure Citadel Market District.

  Relying on those few pages of talisman knowledge, he entered the talisman shop and finally gained a stable income and a place to belong.

  He had originally thought that from here, the Great Dao was within reach.

  That one day, he would command the wind and rain, soaring on a flying sword.

  Instead, what he’d honed most since beginning his cultivation wasn’t flight, nor combat techniques, but watching the water clock, racing deadlines, and reading the shopkeeper’s mood.

  More critically, his body was frustratingly resilient.

  Cultivators in Qi Refinement could practice inedia; going without food or drink for short periods was no major issue.

  Moreover, circulating his spiritual power could suppress drowsiness—shoving it down into his dantian—allowing him to stubbornly stay awake for days on end.

  In another context, this might be called “refinement of the Dao body.”

  In the shop, however, it became a boon in the shopkeeper’s eyes—the more shifts he could endure, the better.

  As time passed, while he cultivated the Dao, his life felt more like that of a beast of burden, tethered to his work.

  Now, suddenly cut off from his stipend, his feet felt somewhat unmoored.

  But on second thought, with those bindings loosened, his time was finally his own.

  Perhaps he could take this opportunity to truly taste a bit of the freedom cultivation was supposed to offer.

  Now that his stipend had been cut off, he felt somewhat adrift.

  But on second thought, with those constraints removed, his time was finally his own again.

  Perhaps he could take this opportunity to truly taste a bit of the freedom cultivation was supposed to offer.

  Walking along the outer edge of the market district, he turned into a narrow alley and arrived home.

  It was just a small courtyard, but it had the advantage of being close to the market.

  A circle of pale blue talisman paper was pasted around the doorframe, its corners slightly curled by the wind, yet not a single stray sound made it through.

  That was the most common Talisman of Silence found in the market—cheap, but effective.

  Once the door was shut, even if chaos reigned outside, inside only one's own breathing remained.

  Before opening the door, Lu Chi first glanced down at the inner side of the threshold, where a thin Warning Talisman was placed.

  On its surface, two cinnabar dots, like red beans, lay side by side, steady and unmoved.

  Only then did he push the door open and close it behind him.

  The market district had been unsettled lately, with rogue cultivators and bandits appearing from time to time.

  Though Lu Chi was poor, he still feared attracting the attention of someone with too much time and ill intent.

  "Not bad."

  Lu Chi let out a soft sigh, poured himself a bowl of water, and drank it down.

  Only then did the accumulated fatigue from working nonstop begin to dissipate slightly from his chest.

  He then sat on the edge of his bed, calming his mind according to the breath?circulation method from the nameless manual.

  His breathing lengthened and shortened rhythmically, smoothly guiding that faint trace of spiritual opportunity into his abdomen.

  The spiritual power consumed by mending talismans, combined with not daring to circulate his Qi freely during the shop's hectic work, had long left his dantian feeling hollow.

  This session of cultivation first aimed to replenish the deficit, lest he feel weak when starting work tomorrow.

  It also served to grind his foundation further—if he could accumulate even half a measure more, so much the better.

  The room was silent save for the faint crackle of the lamp wick.

  Spiritual energy traveled bit by bit along his meridians, initially like a fine thread pulling taut, gradually smoothing out as if following a familiar path.

  When the cycle was complete, he opened his eyes.

  The stifling feeling in his chest had mostly cleared, and his dantian felt more solid than before.

  "At this rate, in two or three months… I should be able to touch the fourth layer of Qi Refinement."

  Before a smile could fully form, the warmth in Lu Chi's heart slowly cooled.

  He knew his own aptitude all too well—only a lower?grade spiritual root.

  Reaching the fourth layer in two or three months didn't sound slow, but what about after that?

  The fifth layer, the sixth, the seventh… How long would those take?

  He weighed the possibilities swiftly in his mind, unable to calculate a definite answer.

  He only felt as if the lamp in the room had dimmed another notch.

  As for the words "longevity" and "immortality," they seemed more like distant mountains shrouded in fog.

  He couldn't even make out their轮廓, leaving only an unspoken question of "someday."

  Born into this world, Lu Chi naturally also wished to become an immortal.

  He desired to live long.

  But the path was too long, and the days were grinding, passing without a visible end in sight.

  Who wouldn't feel some despair?

  As this thought settled, the throbbing ache in his head suddenly intensified.

  It felt as if something inside was slowly pushing, pressing, knocking.

  He instinctively raised a hand to press against his temple.

  His fingertip applied pressure, but it couldn't suppress the dull pain.

  Instead, it grew sharper, clearer.

  Lu Chi frowned, an inexplicable thread of unease rising within him.

  This sensation was strange. It had been plaguing him since that day.

  It didn't feel like exhaustion, nor an old ailment.

  It felt more like… something was about to break through.

  He was just about to take a deep breath to steady himself when the throbbing pain abruptly contracted and vanished in an instant.

  Without any warning, it was gone.

  Lu Chi was stunned.

  His hand still pressed to his temple, before he could even react, his vision suddenly brightened.

  [Career Panel]

  [Name: Lu Chi]

  [Realm: Qi Refinement — Third Layer]

  [Profession: None]

  [Currently Unlockable: Talisman Master (Unlocking…)]

  The panel slid downward as if turning to a new page.

  [Unlock Mission: Talisman Master]

  [Unlock Objectives]:

  [Completed]: Mend three talismans (Completed)

  [Pending]: Successfully create one talisman from scratch