78: Ice Blue Soul-Stabbing Talisman

The reception hall of the Liu Family residence.

A special guest had arrived, and Liu Xuan had specifically set aside time to receive him.

"Father!"

Bai Zhiwei bowed to the man. Her tone was somewhat joyful; having been away from home for several months, she felt an extra sense of warmth upon seeing her father again.

The man appeared to be in his thirties or forties, with a clean-shaven, fair Face and a refined, gentle temperament. He was none other than Bai Zhiwei's father, the First-Rank Low-Grade Talisman Master, Bai Zixuan.

"Zhiwei, are you getting used to living here with Young Master Liu?"

Seeing that his daughter was safe and sound, Bai Zixuan breathed a sigh of relief, but a flash of heartache crossed his Face.

His daughter was innocent and naive, and she hadn't even left the Family many times. If it hadn't been for the Clan Chief's desperate pleading, citing the Family's peril, he would never have sent his daughter away!

"Don't worry, Father. Young Master... Young Master treats me very well!"

Bai Zhiwei glanced at Liu Xuan, blushing, then reached out to gently stroke her lower abdomen. "I have good news to tell you, Father: I am pregnant!"

"Ah?!?"

Bai Zixuan was stunned.

Was he going to become a grandfather so soon?

He had previously heard rumors that the women sent by various families to Liu Xuan had become pregnant. He had assumed those were exaggerated rumors, but now it seemed they were all true.

'If she's pregnant, so be it! My daughter has a Ninth-Grade Spirit Root, and her Heart-Nature and Comprehension Ability are average. Giving birth early is a good thing.'

Bai Zixuan could see that the happiness on his daughter's Face did not seem fake. Having a good place to settle down was actually quite nice.

Putting aside his thoughts, Bai Zixuan cupped his hands in a salute toward Liu Xuan. "My daughter and I haven't seen each other for many days, so I inevitably lost my composure. Please excuse me, Young Master Liu!"

The news that Liu Xuan had become an apprentice to Ancestor Qingyun and was now a Personal Disciple of the Red Pine Sect had already reached Yongning; Bai Zixuan naturally knew of this.

Liu Xuan did not speak. He dared not presume the status of Liu Xuan's father-in-law.

"Father-in-law, you are too polite! You are an elder; just call me Liu Xuan!"

The Bai Family was one of the seventeen top Qi Refining families in Yongning, with a Cultivator at the Qi Refining Perfection stage. Since Bai Zixuan was also a First-Rank Talisman Master, Liu Xuan was willing to give him this much Face.

"I dare not! I dare not!"

Bai Zixuan hurriedly waved his hands. "Young Master Liu, you are the honored Disciple of Ancestor Qingyun. It is better to call me Fellow Daoist Bai!"

Liu Xuan nodded indifferently, not dwelling on the issue, and asked, "Fellow Daoist Bai, what is the purpose of your visit?"

In the Cultivation World, seniority was extremely chaotic, influenced by factors such as cultivation level, age, and ethics. Liu Xuan was already used to it.

Bai Zixuan took out a bottle of Talisman ink from his person and presented it, explaining, "This is Talisman ink refined from the ice blue spiritual spring water unique to our Bai Family's Ice Blue Valley. Please take a look, Young Master Liu!"

Liu Xuan became interested and carefully examined the bottle of Talisman ink in his hand. A sensation of icy coldness traveled from his hand.

The Talisman ink was ice blue, with wisps of Lingyun flowing within. At a glance, one could tell it was not a low-level product.

Before Liu Xuan could ask, Bai Zixuan presented a few more blue Talisman papers. These papers looked similar, only differing in Rank.

Liu Xuan looked them over; there were four levels: First-Rank Low Grade, First-Rank Medium Grade, First-Rank High Grade, and First-Rank Peak.

"Our Bai Family of Ice Blue Valley makes a living from Talismans, primarily through this special ice-attribute Talisman Material.

Most of the First-Rank Low Grade Materials are consumed internally; the Clan Chief and I are both First-Rank Low-Grade Talisman Masters.

However, the First-Rank Medium Grade, High Grade, and Peak Materials can only be sold.

The ice blue Talisman ink and ice blue Talisman paper are quite special and are best suited for drawing a Talisman called the 'ice blue soul-stabbing talisman'.

This Talisman is difficult to draw and has limited uses. Few people in the Sect refine it, so it is basically sold to other regions. Previously, we sold it to the Chen Family, and they were responsible for handling it..."

Liu Xuan recalled the various Talismans he had seen in the Sect's Talisman Hall. He seemed to have indeed seen an introduction to this Talisman, but no Talisman Master knew how to refine it.

After the ice blue soul-stabbing talisman is used, it triggers an ice thorn attack. However, the main damage is not freezing damage, but damage to the Divine Soul, which has miraculous effects against spectral creatures.

Neither the Red Pine Sect nor the entire Heavenly Sword Sect had many spectral creatures, so naturally, there was no market for it, and no Talisman Master would specialize in researching it.

"So, do you mean you want me to help handle the sales channels for these Materials?" Liu Xuan asked.

Bai Zixuan nodded. "Our Bai Family is willing to sell them to the Sect at the price of ordinary ice-attribute Talisman Materials. I ask for Young Master Liu's assistance!"

The price of the ice blue soul-stabbing talisman Materials is twenty percent higher than ordinary ice-attribute Talisman Materials. This move by the Bai Family is effectively a disguised favor to Liu Xuan, intended to move past their previous relationship with the Chen Family.

The ice blue soul-stabbing talisman is extremely popular in the Peach Blossom Sect's territory and has huge profit margins. Over the years, the Chen Family ate the meat while the Bai Family drank the soup, yet they still earned quite a bit and accumulated significant resources.

It is difficult for the Bai Family to sell these Talisman Materials, but for the Sect, it is not difficult at all. The Red Pine Merchant Alliance does not only do business within the Red Pine Sect's territory.

When Liu Xuan returned to the Sect previously, he had visited the Dual Cultivation Hall and, in his capacity as a Disciple of the Dual Cultivation Hall, took over the position of Pavilion Master of the Yongning Hundred Treasures Pavilion. It was reasonable for the Bai Family to seek him out.

"Easy, easy!"

Liu Xuan said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Bai, rest assured! I will definitely handle this for you. If we run it through the Hundred Treasures Pavilion's accounts, no one will have anything to say!"

Liu Xuan had seized the position of Pavilion Master of the Yongning Hundred Treasures Pavilion by leveraging his status. If profits fell, he would have to step down next year. With this matter from the Bai Family, his position as Pavilion Master should be secure!

"Thank you, Young Master Liu!"

Bai Zixuan cupped his hands in thanks.

Selling the Materials to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion might earn slightly less than selling them to the Chen Family originally, but it was stable, which was not bad at all.

With mutual benefits involved, the relationship between Liu Xuan and Bai Zixuan quickly drew closer, and they began chatting about everything under the sun.

"Young Master Liu, you may not know this, but in the southern Peach Blossom Sect territory and the Cloud Top Sect territory, evil Cultivators, ghost Cultivators, and demons and monsters run rampant. This ice blue soul-stabbing talisman is extremely useful, and its price is twice that of ordinary Talismans!"

"It's just a pity that the drawing difficulty is too high and the success rate is low, leading to the devaluation of the Materials. Otherwise, our Bai Family would have become prosperous long ago!"

Bai Zixuan sighed.

"Oh?"

Liu Xuan's heart stirred!

"Fellow Daoist Bai, do you have the drawing manual for this Talisman?"

Others might have a low success rate, but Liu Xuan's success rate was high! He was a Peak First-Rank Talisman Master bestowed by the System; currently, his success rate for drawing all First-Rank Talismans was one hundred percent, which was even more outrageous than a Second-rank Talisman Master.

If the profits were really as high as Bai Zixuan said, Liu Xuan's ability to earn money through Talisman Drawing would increase by another notch.

How could Bai Zixuan not understand Liu Xuan's thoughts? "I do have it, but this Talisman is difficult to draw, and there is no one to provide guidance. Young Master Liu, please do not waste too much energy on it."

He was afraid that Liu Xuan would spend a long time trying and fail to draw it, and then, out of embarrassment and anger, take it out on him, so he offered a word of caution.

"Thank you for the reminder, Fellow Daoist!"

Liu Xuan was delighted and cupped his hands in thanks.

"Very well!"

Bai Zixuan said helplessly, "I will send someone to deliver the manual to you tomorrow."

He did not believe that Liu Xuan could successfully draw the ice blue soul-stabbing talisman; he just assumed he was curious and would give up after a while.

Over the years, he had seen too many such Talisman Masters! This included high-level Talisman Masters within the Sect.