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It was not just Chen Zhuo who reacted swiftly; everyone present was a cultivator, and none were slow on the uptake. Upon seeing True Person Luo's dharma form, they all rose in unison, bowed, and chorused, "Greetings, True Person!" True Person Luo nodded slightly and said with a warm smile, "Be seated, all of you." Only then did the crowd take their seats. A dignified Golden Core cultivator, yet so approachable! Chen Zhuo could not help feeling a bit astonished. In the world of the Immortal Mansion, even within the Qi Refining stage, there was blatant discrimination between undergraduates and vocational students. Yet this Golden Core cultivator showed no disdain whatsoever toward vocational students! Verdict reached: a good Core. True Person Luo did not say much else, merely sweeping his gaze across all the Qi Refining students in attendance. When that gaze fell upon him, Chen Zhuo felt as though an immense mountain had clamped down on him, leaving him slightly breathless. Then, True Person Luo began calling names one by one. "Zhou Muqian, your cultivation has grown somewhat slack lately. I observe that your spiritual energy is obstructed and your primal yang depleted. The path of immortal cultivation demands guarding one's heart. Do not fall for online livestreams; those streamers are all enchantresses from Hehuan Entertainment." "This student takes it to heart." Hearing True Person Luo's words, a student with an innate spiritual root in the front row, at the fourth layer of Qi Refining, blushed with shame. It was hard to tell whether he was embarrassed by falling behind in his cultivation progress, or by having True Person Luo publicly expose the fact that he had been watching erotic webcasts lately... "Zhao Qi..." In this manner, True Person Luo went down the line, critiquing each student one by one. Offering encouragement to some, reprimanding others. He truly carried the demeanor of a grandmaster of the immortal Dao. Even Meng Yan received feedback; True Person Luo actually praised his immortal foundation as robust and his future as promising. Soon, he came to Chen Zhuo. "Chen Zhuo?" Upon seeing Chen Zhuo, True Person Luo sounded subtly surprised in a different way. After a moment of contemplation, he only said, "A solid immortal foundation. Cultivate diligently, and contribute to the Immortal Mansion in the future." With that, True Person Luo commented on a few more students, then stepped forward and vanished from the classroom in an instant. His visit had lasted barely ten minutes. Yet it left every student in the classroom buzzing with excitement! "A Golden Core True Person! I actually spoke with a Golden Core True Person!" "Usually, I only see Golden Core True Persons on television. I never imagined one could be so genial and approachable. Our Immortal Mansion truly possesses great strength!" "The True Person said my future is promising! It looks like I have a real shot at successful Foundation Establishment and becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator!" "..." The students whispered among themselves, but Chen Zhuo muttered suspicions in his heart. What was that about? Why did he pause on me and look somewhat surprised? Still... Chen Zhuo looked up toward Meng Yan. Meng Yan seemed even more exhilarated, with an unmistakable sense of having survived a close call. Uh. There was clearly something off here. Could True Person Luo really not have seen through it? "All right, back to class." Once True Person Luo had left, Teacher Qin resumed his sour, funeral-faced look, addressing the students languidly: "Where did we leave off last week?" "Ah, right. Today we study the most basic pill medicine of ancient cultivators: powdered Qi Gathering Powder. To facilitate absorption, ancient cultivators typically mixed it with water and drank it. Those of higher realms mostly inhaled it directly through their nose or mouth..." Teacher Qin continued expressionlessly, "Nowadays, the advanced version of Qi Gathering Powder is called Wanji Origin-Nourishing Essence. A single vial costs three hundred spirit coins, and its efficacy exceeds Qi Gathering Powder more than fifty times over..." ... After class, Chen Zhuo left carrying a dose of Qi Gathering Powder. This time, the quality was visibly better than the previous batch of Qi Condensation Pills, though by the looks of it, still inferior to Senior Si Jing's Qi Gathering Powder. Not that it mattered. For this packet of Qi Gathering Powder, Chen Zhuo would first see whether Li Changqing had any spirit stones. If he had spirit stones, Chen Zhuo would sell it to him; if not, he would bundle it with the senior's other pills and sell them to Jishi Hall. After all, Chen Zhuo still needed to write an ingestion report. Naturally, he would prioritize providing it to Li Changqing. Ingestion reports were crucial. If he wanted to upgrade from vocational to undergraduate within his appraisal major, or land a good part-time job in the future, it basically depended on his monthly ingestion reports. The more detailed the report, the better test subject you were proven to be, qualifying you to test better medicines. Grades were on the line. Of course, if Chen Zhuo wished to switch majors when upgrading to undergraduate—such as testing into a sword cultivator academy—he would need to start preparing for sword practice now. Returning to his cave dwelling, Chen Zhuo contacted Liang Ningwan privately, exchanged for 45 spirit coins, and then reached out to Yu Xia. [Default Nickname 9527]: Senior Yu! I have a few more sheets of talisman paper made from three-hundred-year spirit bamboo! But I don't want spirit coins this time. I want to barter. Do you have any relatively high-grade talismans on your end? Not long after the message went out, Yu Xia replied. [Persuading People to Craft Talismans Deserves a Thunderbolt]: High-grade talismans? What kind are you looking for? Chen Zhuo thought for a moment and typed back. [Default Nickname 9527]: Offensive type. Ideally something like that Sword Qi Talisman from before—the more powerful, the better! I have six sheets of premium talisman paper on hand. [Persuading People to Craft Talismans Deserves a Thunderbolt]: Six sheets of three-hundred-year spirit bamboo talisman paper? You sure have quite a few of these "ancestral" talisman papers... Yu Xia was obviously skeptical, but the quality of the talisman paper was truly too good to refuse. After hesitating briefly, Yu Xia began typing. [Persuading People to Craft Talismans Deserves a Thunderbolt]: I have a complete version of a first-tier high-grade Sword Qi Talisman. It was my proudest work from last semester's final exam. I originally intended to keep it for personal use, but for six sheets of premium talisman paper, I can consider trading it to you. Chen Zhuo's eyes lit up. A first-tier high-grade Sword Qi Talisman! This was vastly superior to the defective product he had bought before. If even that defective one had been so powerful, wouldn't the complete version be off the charts? [Default Nickname 9527]: What are its special traits? [Persuading People to Craft Talismans Deserves a Thunderbolt]: Just like what's described on the official website. I'm not a Foundation Establishment talisman master; I can't craft custom-tailored versions. This talisman lets you manipulate sword qi just like controlling a magic tool. Its power is on par with wielding an upper-grade magic tool, though it only lasts twenty seconds. Twenty seconds of an upper-grade magic tool! Those keywords made Chen Zhuo's heart race. In the ancient cultivation world, such a feat could only be achieved through a talisman treasure. And a talisman treasure was a special talisman crafted by Golden Core cultivators or higher, who extracted the power of their own magic treasures and sealed it into a talisman. It could be reused and possessed immense might! Such items were generally left to descendants or disciples for self-defense and lifesaving. When low-tier cultivators used them in battle, they could effortlessly slay peers of the same realm. Employing them was as convenient as using a magic treasure, unlike rigid talismans that could only fire in a single direction. Such powerful talisman craft had already become open-source in the world of the Immortal Mansion. Even ordinary talismans could achieve this level. [Default Nickname 9527]: Deal! Meet at the usual place? [Persuading People to Craft Talismans Deserves a Thunderbolt]: Three this afternoon, southeast corner of the University Town Public Cultivation Square. ... At three in the afternoon, Chen Zhuo arrived punctually at the University Town Public Cultivation Square. Yu Xia looked even more exhausted than last time. Her dark circles had deepened, her hair was a mess, and her clothes were thrown together haphazardly. Catching sight of Chen Zhuo, Yu Xia walked over briskly. "I brought the goods. Have a look." With that, Yu Xia produced a talisman radiating potent spiritual energy and displayed it before Chen Zhuo. Yu Xia said wearily, "Once activated, the sword qi will circle three feet around you. You can control it with your divine sense, but it only lasts twenty seconds. If you use it, be mindful of the timing." "Is the power truly equal to an upper-grade magic tool?" Chen Zhuo asked. At his question, Yu Xia immediately puffed out her chest. "My talisman success rate might not be high, but I still produce top-notch pieces once in a while! This talisman took me three whole days to make, using the finest cinnabar and purest spiritual energy. If the power falls short, I'll refund you ten times over!" Seeing how confident Yu Xia was, Chen Zhuo felt reassured. He promptly produced six sheets of premium talisman paper and handed them over. Yu Xia took the talisman paper and inspected it meticulously, her face once again contorting in anguish. "Indeed, they really are made of three-hundred-year spirit bamboo. The spiritual energy is remarkably pure..." After lamenting for quite a while, Yu Xia finally spoke up: "If you ever come across any more of your 'ancestral' stock, you don't have to give me talisman paper. Just bring me the raw three-hundred-year spirit bamboo you 'inherited,' and I'll buy it at a high price!" What a terrible waste of good material! Giving talisman paper was far worse than simply giving the raw bamboo. Hearing this, Chen Zhuo merely gave a cheeky grin and didn't reply. Later on, he really ought to look into the price of spirit bamboo. Selling raw materials on a small scale didn't seem like a problem at all. Everything was for the sake of immortal cultivation!