94: Skyrocketing prices and Young Master Ling's plea for help

Tianxing City, Central District, Qingshi Alley.

Although the morning sun was bright, the air of the entire Tianxing City was still filled with a lingering smell of burning.

At the entrance of the "Wannian Talisman Array Shop," the wooden sign reading "Triple Price" was like a giant magnet. Instead of discouraging customers, it attracted even more panicked Loose Cultivators.

"Old Man Han! I want ten evil warding talismans! Here are three hundred Spirit Stones! Keep the change!"

"I want two bottles of Special Detoxification Pills! I'll buy them even at five times the price! I saw Old Wang next door get smoked into a dried corpse by the poisonous smoke last night with my own eyes. It was terrifying!"

The shop was crowded with people.

Zhou Wannian sat behind the counter, collecting money with one hand and handing out goods with the other. On his wrinkled old face, the smile never faded.

"Don't push, don't push! There's enough for everyone!"

"Fellow Daoist, we just ran out of evil warding talismans, but I have an 'Enhanced Exorcism Incense' here. It's more effective, just a bit more expensive. Do you want it?"

"Yes! Give me a bundle!"

Looking at the mountain of Spirit Stones in the cash box, Zhou Wannian felt no guilt at all.

People who fear death are always the most generous.

He wasn't just selling Talismans; he was selling peace of mind so these Loose Cultivators could sleep soundly tonight.

Just then.

"Move! Everyone move out of the way!"

A rapid sound of hooves echoed at the entrance of the alley.

Two Foundation Establishment guards in Ling Family uniforms forced the crowd apart, escorting a luxurious carriage to a stop in front of the shop.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and Young Master Ling stepped down with a haggard face. His eyes were deeply sunken, and he looked to be in such a hurry that he couldn't even maintain the decorum he usually prioritized.

"Old Man Han! Help!"

As soon as Young Master Ling entered, he grabbed Zhou Wannian's hand and said in a raspy voice, "Do you still have those 'disposable Formation Plates' you gave me last time? How many? I'll take them all!"

Seeing that it was the Young City Lord, the surrounding Loose Cultivators immediately retreated outside the door, but they all craned their necks to eavesdrop.

Zhou Wannian calmly pulled his hand back and poured him a cup of tea.

"Young City Lord, what happened? Did last night's demon calamity... even affect the City Lord's Mansion?"

"Sigh, don't mention it."

Young Master Ling drained the tea in one gulp and smiled bitterly. "Although several Elders stepped in to suppress it last night, those demonic creatures are too bizarre! Even though they were driven back, the poisonous gas and pollution they left behind are extremely stubborn."

"And..."

He lowered his voice, his expression solemn. "According to reports from scouts, the beast tide in the Outer Sea seems to have been provoked by something and is accelerating toward Tianxing City! The Star Palace has already issued orders that all noble families must send their elite forces to establish the first line of defense in the Outer Sea!"

"I'm about to lead a team to war."

Zhou Wannian's heart stirred.

It seemed the commotion caused by that "Spirit Control Sect remnant" was indeed to coordinate with the offensive from the Outer Sea.

"Since it's for the sake of Tianxing City, this old man naturally cannot stand by and watch."

Zhou Wannian sighed, putting on a "this is difficult for me too" expression. "It's just that, as you've seen, Young City Lord, after last night's demon calamity, the price of Talisman-making Materials has skyrocketed. Moreover, several of my key primary Materials (such as heavy water sand) are out of stock..."

"I understand!"

Young Master Ling directly pulled out a Storage Pouch and slapped it heavily on the table.

"Here are thirty thousand Spirit Stones! Consider it a down payment! The Ling Family will provide the Materials! As long as you can rush out fifty 'Enhanced Formation Plates' for me within a week, I'll give you another great gift!"

Thirty thousand Spirit Stones!

The surrounding Loose Cultivators' eyes widened in shock. What kind of incredible luck did this Old Man Han run into?

But Zhou Wannian remained calm.

He picked up the Storage Pouch, weighed it, and then looked at Young Master Ling.

"Young City Lord, money isn't the issue. But crafting these Formation Plates is extremely taxing on the mind. Fifty of them... I'm afraid these old bones of mine won't be able to handle it."

This was price-gouging and asking for the "great gift" in advance.

Young Master Ling bit his teeth, seemingly having made a decision.

He took out a gold-stamped invitation from his robe and handed it to Zhou Wannian.

"Old Man Han, I know you're not short of Spirit Stones. This invitation is an entry ticket to the 'High-Level Auction' hosted by 'Tianxing Pavilion' in half a month."

"This auction is only for those at the Foundation Establishment Stage or above with a certain status. It's said that... the main ingredient for the 'Gold Core Pill' will appear!"

"Gold Core Pill?!"

Zhou Wannian's originally cloudy eyes instantly lit up.

Although he had only just reached Foundation Establishment and was far from Core Formation, it didn't stop his desire for such a strategic resource. Moreover, being able to attend an auction of this level was a recognition of status in itself.

"Deal."

Zhou Wannian took the invitation, a sincere smile appearing on his face.

"Rest assured, Young City Lord. Since you are so sincere, even if it costs me my life, I will make those fifty Formation Plates for you!"

"Then I'll leave it to you, Old Man Han!"

Young Master Ling breathed a sigh of relief. With this batch of Formation Plates, his survival rate in the Outer Sea would increase by at least thirty percent.

After seeing Young Master Ling off, Zhou Wannian looked at the invitation in his hand and turned to shout to the Loose Cultivators who hadn't dispersed yet:

"Everyone, my shop has run out of Materials today. We are closing. Please come back early tomorrow!"

With that, he slammed the shop door shut with a loud bang and hung up the familiar "Closed to Guests" sign.

Returning to the secret room, Zhou Wannian first took out a Sound Transmission Talisman and glanced at it.

Still no movement.

"No news from Tingfeng Tower yet?"

Zhou Wannian's eyes were calm. "It seems last night's hurdle wasn't easy to pass. However, as long as Li Feiyu didn't expose me, whether he's dead or alive isn't that important."

It was just a sunk cost.

He put aside his thoughts and focused on the big business at hand.

"Thirty thousand Spirit Stones, plus the auction invitation."

"This deal is not a loss."

Zhou Wannian took out the turtle spirit brush and the Materials left by Young Master Ling.

He began to draw.

But this time, while drawing those complex defensive runes, his wrist shook very discreetly a few times.

A thread-like special pattern, almost completely merging with the surrounding spiritual energy circuits, was silently implanted deep into the core of the Formation Plate.

That was the "Concentric Sensing Pattern."

An extremely obscure auxiliary rune, usually used to detect the spiritual energy stability of a Magical Artifact.

Even if a master at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage or even Core Formation Stage inspected this Formation Plate, they would only think it was a "fuse" added to prevent the plate from overloading and exploding. They would never think of its other uncommon use—

Directional resonance.

"As long as these fifty Formation Plates are scattered across the Outer Sea defense line, they will be like fifty weak signal sources."

"Through the sensing of the mother plate, I can roughly calculate the intensity and main direction of the beast tide."

Zhou Wannian's final stroke fell.

*Weng.*

The Formation Plate took shape, and the sensing pattern flashed once before instantly vanishing beneath the heavy defensive spiritual light, leaving no trace.

Zhou Wannian picked up the Formation Plate and held it against the flickering candlelight. In that moment, the wrinkles on his face seemed to smooth out a bit, revealing a faint, hunter-like cold smile.

"Young City Lord, the path in the Outer Sea is slippery."

"You go ahead and scout the way for me."

"I'll be behind... watching you."