89: Chapter 89 Purchase Limit

Over the past three days, every time Lin Xuan passed by cubicle C-Wu-12, he could almost always see Junior Brother Zhao fretting over failed Talismans.

A rough calculation suggested he had ruined at least thirty sheets of paper, with only two successful Talismans to show for it.

The material cost for a single Armor-Piercing Talisman was 22 points.

Two successful Talismans sold for 56 points, but the material cost for thirty failed Talismans was 660 points—a massive loss.

"How exactly do I stabilize the Metal-Sharp Qi of this Armor-Piercing Talisman?" Junior Brother Zhao irritably scratched his hair, crumpled the failed Talisman into a ball, and threw it on the ground. "It explodes every time I reach the fifteenth stroke! According to the Jade Slip, I should retract thirty percent of my Spiritual Qi, but the moment I do, it dissipates!"

He took a few deep breaths and fished out another pale golden sheet of paper from his Storage Pouch—this was the special gold-patterned paper used for drawing the Armor-Piercing Talisman, costing 210 contribution points per stack.

He spread it out, dipped his brush in the Metal-Sharp cinnabar mixed with iron powder, and set pen to paper.

At the tenth stroke, his hand shook.

At the twelfth stroke, his output of Spiritual Qi became unstable, causing the lines of the Talisman pattern to twist slightly.

At the fourteenth stroke—

"Rip!"

The Talisman paper tore down the middle, and the Metal-Sharp Qi sprayed out of control, leaving several shallow scratches on the table surface.

Another failure.

Junior Brother Zhao sat blankly for a moment, then suddenly slammed his fist hard onto the Talisman-making table!

With a dull "thud."

Outside the light screen, a patrolling Deacon happened to pass by. Hearing the sound, he frowned and raised his hand to knock on the cubicle's light screen.

The light screen rippled, opening an entrance.

The Deacon walked into the cubicle, swept his gaze over the balls of discarded Talisman paper on the floor, then looked at the mere two successful Talismans on the table. His voice was cold: "Zhao Mingyu, the value of the Materials you have wasted over the past three days has exceeded three hundred contribution points. If you cannot produce a stable output by tomorrow, your quota task will be adjusted to drawing the 'Golden Light Talisman'."

Junior Brother Zhao turned pale: "Deacon, I, I will try again... I am almost getting the hang of the Armor-Piercing Talisman..."

"The Hundred Talisman Hall is not a place for you to practice," the Deacon interrupted, his tone flat. "In wartime, every portion of Materials is precious and cannot afford such waste. Either draw the Armor-Piercing Talisman, or switch to drawing the Golden Light Talisman. At this time tomorrow, if I do not see stable output, your quota will be adjusted automatically."

Having said that, he turned and left.

The light screen closed.

Junior Brother Zhao sat blankly for a long time, his shoulders slumping. In the end, he lowered his head in defeat and rummaged through his crate to find a stack of yellow Talisman paper—the Materials for drawing the First-Grade Medium Grade Golden Light Talisman.

Gritting his teeth, he laid out the paper again and dipped his brush in the cinnabar.

As his brush fell, his hand was still trembling slightly.

Lin Xuan withdrew his gaze.

This was the norm at the Hundred Talisman Hall.

Some people, like Senior Brother Zhou, were experts in one field but had to push themselves to the limit to earn more contribution points.

Some, like Senior Sister Su, chose the safe but low-profit path, playing the long game.

And others, like Junior Brother Zhao, coveted the high prices, took risks to switch, and ended up losing everything, nearly getting punished in the process.

The Sect's needs were also revealed through these details—

The Armor-Piercing Talisman, with an acquisition price of 28 points, was significantly higher than other Talismans of the same grade. The front lines needed a means to tear through enemy defenses.

The Fire Rain Talisman, for area-of-effect damage, had an acquisition price of 25 points. It was suitable for countering the mass-attack tactics of the Xuanyin Sect, who were adept at corpse manipulation and soul gathering.

The God-Speed Talisman, Rejuvenation Talisman, Golden Light Talisman... these Talismans for life-saving, healing, and defense also had stable acquisition prices between 20 and 25 points. Survival was always the primary need.

As for the Thunder Shield Talisman, at 22 points, it was neither high nor low, just standard.

"What the Sect lacks most are offensive Talismans that can break defenses and deal large-scale damage," Lin Xuan understood in his heart. "Next are the defensive, healing, and escape types that ensure survival."

His Thunder Shield Talisman belonged to the latter; the demand was stable, but it was not the most scarce.

This was fine; it kept him from drawing attention.

After adjusting his breath for about two quarters of an hour, his Divine Sense had mostly recovered.

Lin Xuan stood up and walked out of the cubicle with five Thunder Shield Talismans.

The Talisman submission counter was in the Geng-character area on the west side of the hall, where a short queue of about a dozen people was currently waiting.

When it was Lin Xuan's turn, the Deacon Disciple took the five Thunder Shield Talismans and carefully inspected them one by one.

A faint glimmer of Spiritual Qi flashed from his fingertips as he probed inside the Talismans to check if the Spiritual Qi circulation was stable and the structure complete.

"Five Thunder Shield Talismans, all of superior quality," the Deacon recorded. "The quota is four, with one extra. Base reward is 88 points, plus 25 points for the surplus, totaling 113 points."

Lin Xuan handed over his identity jade plaque.

The Deacon swiped it across the Formation Plate; the jade plaque warmed slightly, and the contribution points were credited.

He did not leave immediately but turned and walked toward the Materials exchange counter.

The exchange counter was in the Gui-character area on the east side of the hall; there were far more people there than at the submission counter, and the line stretched to the entrance of the hall.

A wave of noise washed over him.

"The price of purple-patterned paper went up again? It was 175 per stack the day before yesterday, and today it's 180?"

"Green-Lin grass juice is out of stock! The Deacon said it will take at least three days before we have more!"

"What about the 'Wind Wolf Blood' I reserved? Didn't you say it would arrive today?"

"Sorry, we just received notice that the front lines need it urgently, so this batch of Yao Beast essence blood has been transferred to the war department. Would you like to check if Iron-Armored Crocodile blood works? The effect is a bit worse, but it's cheaper..."

The sounds of complaints, inquiries, and the weary explanations of the Deacon Disciples were all mixed together.

Lin Xuan stood at the end of the line, listening silently.

When it was his turn, the Deacon behind the counter did not even look up, his voice hoarse: "What do you need?"

"Two stacks of purple-patterned paper and one jar of Thunder-Pattern cinnabar."

"purple-patterned paper is 180 per stack, Thunder-Pattern cinnabar is 95 per jar, totaling 455 contribution points."

It had gone up again.

Lin Xuan's expression did not change as he handed over his identity jade plaque.

Payment deducted, goods collected.

Just as he was about to leave, his gaze swept over a newly posted notice beside the counter—

[Wartime Material Purchase Restriction Order (Applicable to Qi Refinement Stage Disciples)]

1. For Medicinal Pills above First-Grade Medium Grade, each person is limited to purchasing ten bottles per month.

2. For Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, each person is limited to exchanging thirty per month.

3. The following Materials are listed as "Military Priority": Red Copper Ingots, Cold Iron, Green-Lin grass juice, Wind Wolf Blood, common Spiritual Plants over one hundred years old... Disciples must submit an application to exchange for these, and they can only be purchased after approval.

Purchase restrictions.

Lin Xuan noted this information and turned to leave the exchange counter.

Returning to his cubicle, he did not immediately continue making Talismans.

Instead, he took out his identity jade plaque and probed it with his Divine Sense.

[Contribution Point Balance: 2,127 points]

In half a month, he had a net savings of six or seven hundred points. This speed was decent, but...

The influence of the war was permeating every aspect.

Prices were skyrocketing, supplies were being restricted, and even the things that could be bought with contribution points were becoming fewer.

Those truly good things—rare Medicinal Pills, high-grade Materials, top-tier Magical Artifacts—were either listed under military control or had risen to outrageous prices.

"I must make long-term plans."

Lin Xuan pondered for a moment and walked back toward the exchange counter.

This time, while standing in line, he carefully watched the jade board beside the notice that was constantly scrolling and updating with Spiritual Qi:

[Available Materials for Exchange (Updated in Real-Time)]

· Mid-Grade Spirit Stone: 120 contribution points/piece (Stock sufficient)

· First-Grade Yao Beast "Iron-Armored Crocodile" essence blood: 85 contribution points/bottle

· Fifty-year "soul-calming flower": 40 contribution points/stalk (Stock 7)

· Ten-year "hemostatic grass": 5 contribution points/stalk (Stock sufficient)

· First-Grade Low Grade "yellow Talisman paper": 8 contribution points/stack (Stock sufficient)

· ...

When it was Lin Xuan's turn, the Deacon looked up—it was the same one as before, the fatigue on his face even heavier: "What do you need?"

"Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, exchange for ten. The soul-calming flowers, I want them all."

The Deacon paused, looked up at Lin Xuan, and confirmed: "Ten Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, seven soul-calming flowers. Totaling 1480 contribution points. Confirm?"

"Confirmed."

The identity jade plaque was swiped across the Formation Plate.

His contribution point balance plummeted to 647 points.

The seven soul-calming flowers were packed in a special jade box; the small, pale blue flowers had silver veins along the edges of their petals and emitted a fragrance that calmed the mind.

The ten Mid-Grade Spirit Stones were in a separate small cloth bag; they felt heavy in his hand, and he could feel the pure Spiritual Qi contained within even through the bag.

The amount of Spiritual Qi contained in a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone was a hundred times that of a Low-Grade Spirit Stone, and it was purer; it was hard currency during wartime.

Whether for quickly recovering Spiritual Qi or driving high-grade Formations and Magical Artifacts, they were much more useful than Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

The soul-calming flower was the main ingredient for refining the Spirit-Condensing Pill, and it could also be consumed directly, having the effect of stabilizing the Divine Soul and alleviating fatigue of the Divine Sense.

Talisman Makers consumed a large amount of Divine Sense daily, so this would be useful sooner or later.

Moreover, looking at the trend, the price would only rise, not fall.

Stockpiling.

This was the strategy Lin Xuan had gradually clarified over the past half month: convert contribution points into physical goods that might be cut off during wartime or whose prices were bound to continue skyrocketing.

Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, rare Materials... these were the true foundation.