Chapter 3: Earning Money While Lying Down

Adjusting his breath, Wang Chen quickly calmed his mind to a state of perfect stillness. The spiritual power within him surged through his meridians and flowed into the wolf hair brush, which he then used to swiftly draw on the talisman paper.

Although his previous life's talisman-making skills were only at the beginner level and his success rate was quite low, after a short while, a misstep in controlling his spiritual energy ruined one sheet of paper entirely.

But the good news was that his proficiency in talisman crafting had increased by one percent.

[Cultivation Arts: First-tier Talisman Crafting (Beginner 96%)]

Seeing this, Wang Chen quickly steadied his nerves and continued drawing a second talisman. After seven or eight more failures, with only a few sheets of talisman paper left from his past life, he finally succeeded in creating a Water Shield Talisman.

At the same time, a wave of insight rose in his heart. He noticed that his control over spiritual energy had become more delicate, and his understanding of the Water Shield Talisman deepened considerably.

Glancing at the system panel, he confirmed his breakthrough in talisman crafting.

[Cultivation Arts: First-tier Talisman Crafting (Proficiency 1%)]

A smile curved Wang Chen’s lips, encouraging himself to press on.

Soon, all the raw materials for making talisman paper were completely consumed, yet Wang Chen successfully crafted six more Water Shield Talismans.

His success rate had increased from a mere ten percent to thirty percent!

“Phew, that’s better. At least life will improve a little now.”

Murmuring softly, Wang Chen looked at the seven Water Shield Talismans on the table, feeling the gloom in his heart lift entirely.

Although the system’s critical bonus had made him rich overnight, the batch of top-grade Qi Gathering Pills he had obtained was far too dangerous to expose.

Not only was selling them out of the question—leaking even a hint of information could cost him his life tonight.

Even though the Ningyue District had an enforcement squad, no law was strong enough to resist the allure of profit.

That was why Wang Chen had been in such a hurry to craft talismans; otherwise, he would have been forced to live off those precious Qi Gathering Pills.

After tidying the table and pocketing the Water Shield Talismans, Wang Chen prepared himself and stepped out.

He lived in the southwest sector of the outer district of Ningyue District.

Almost every building within sight was a wooden house, all constructed by the outer district cultivators themselves, resembling slums.

Yet even here, residents had to pay ten spirit stones monthly as rent to the district market—otherwise, they would be evicted.

It was clear that living in the district market was far from easy!

Every aspect of life demanded spirit stones; without them, one didn’t even have the right to survive in the district market.

In truth, life here was worse than that of cattle and horses.

But with the carrot of eternal life dangled ahead, fresh recruits kept pouring into the district market each year, becoming the new consumables.

As Wang Chen weaved through the alleys of the outer district, he saw many other cultivators.

However, upon seeing him, most passed by expressionlessly, showing no intention of greeting.

In this world where individual might was everything, the fundamental law remained the survival of the fittest.

Everyone constantly shifted between prey and predator.

Each year, thousands of cultivators perished in the beast-infested mountains outside the district market—were they all devoured by beasts? Probably not.

This made Wang Chen recall the dark forest theory from his past life.

Whoever revealed themselves first would die first.

With this in mind, Wang Chen felt even more grateful that he had not rashly sold the top-grade Qi Gathering Pills.

Otherwise, he doubted he would have made it home alive today.

After a while, a massive city tens of zhang tall appeared before Wang Chen.

These city walls were built from Golden Luminous Stone, a common mineral without special properties, notable only for its hardness.

Ordinary cultivators’ attacks left no mark on this stone, but because it was so tough, Golden Luminous Stone was unsuitable for forging magical tools.

It simply couldn’t be melted easily.

Only a Golden Core stage cultivator’s Golden Core True Fire could fully liquefy it.

Yet such cultivators had better options for forging, making this material rather useless.

Therefore, Golden Luminous Stone was mainly used for constructing city walls.

A faint spiritual light enveloped the walls—this was the Ningyue District’s protective formation, rumored to be impenetrable even by late Foundation Establishment cultivators.

At the city gate stood four young men wearing azure robes, each embroidered with the character “Yuan” on their chests.

They were members of the district’s enforcement squad, stationed at the entrance to the inner district.

Any wandering cultivator without a residence permit for the inner district had to pay ten spirit sand to enter.

One hundred spirit sand equaled roughly one spirit stone, and with tens of thousands of people passing through daily, the district market earned over a thousand spirit stones just from entrance fees.

Not to mention management fees, rent, taxes, and all the other miscellaneous charges.

A district market was truly a mother hen laying golden eggs. If Wang Chen’s strength were sufficient, he would consider owning one himself.

Making money while lying down—how delightful!

Filled with envy, he acknowledged that for now he was still a small fry, resigned to paying his spirit sand to enter.

Upon stepping into the inner district, a surge of spiritual energy immediately greeted Wang Chen, and many wandering cultivators were already sitting cross-legged practicing near the gate.

This was the source of the district market’s entrance fee income.

The spiritual energy within the inner district was at least thirty percent denser than that outside, which attracted many wandering cultivators eager to enter.

However, renting a room inside started at hundreds of spirit stones monthly—far beyond the means of ordinary wanderers.

They could only sneak in to absorb the inner district’s spiritual energy before it closed each night.

Walking along the blue stone-paved streets, Wang Chen headed toward the trading district, where the bustling crowd of cultivators filled the thoroughfare.

The storefronts lining the streets were grand and magnificent, accessible only to those with deep pockets.

Poor individuals like Wang Chen could only browse the trading district, having no right to enter the shops.

Upon reaching the trading district, Wang Chen found the manager and paid a stall fee of five spirit sand before setting up in a corner.

This area was specifically for wandering cultivators; most low-tier cultivators bought supplies here.

The first-tier Water Shield Talisman, as a defensive talisman, sold well, and soon several customers gathered at Wang Chen’s stall.

After some bargaining, Wang Chen sold the seven Water Shield Talismans at an average price of two and a half spirit stones each.

This was half a spirit stone more per talisman than selling through a shop.

As for shops, the starting price was three spirit stones per talisman, with guaranteed quality.

Those with money naturally preferred to buy from shops, while those without could only browse the trading district.

If one had a keen eye, they might get decent talismans; if not, they had only themselves to blame.

After an hour of trading, Wang Chen closed his stall and took his earnings to purchase yellow paper and spiritual rice.

He spent ten spirit stones on three jin of spiritual rice and another five spirit stones on nearly one hundred sheets of yellow paper.

With that, Wang Chen’s journey into the inner district ended, and he returned to the outer district.