Returning to his residence.
Li An still felt a bit depressed.
He somehow fell into a trap...
"Tan Qingxue's personal contribution points are estimated to be less than four thousand, definitely much less than Sun Lin..."
"In the Talisman Hall, she is no longer a match for Sun Lin, so she can only try other methods."
"Just any Second Grade Spirit Medicine can be exchanged for thousands of contribution points, but going to the Spirit Beast Mountain Range... there are some risks."
Actually, Li An had paid attention to the news about the Spirit Beast Mountain Range. Since the battle at Spirit Plant Mountain, the Hundred Beasts Sect had not disturbed the main base of the Profound Yang Sect, and the Spirit Beast Mountain Range returned to normal, no longer as dangerous as before.
Many low-level disciples poured into it and gained a lot. Over the past year, there were seldom reports of disciples getting injured or killed there.
Going to the Spirit Beast Mountain Range is safe as long as you avoid the dangerous places and rely on your own experience, Li An could almost ensure his own safety.
However, he was quite risk-averse. After all, living well in the Talisman Hall, with a long life expectancy, he could progress step by step in cultivation, which was wonderful...
But, after putting out the newly received premium talisman pen and paper, Li An was quite pleased.
The premium talisman pen was made from special white jade stone and Spirit Wolf Hair, with a rune of a sketchy bird engraved on the pen body.
Using a premium talisman pen would make the perception and depiction of the Great Dao more precise!
And the premium talisman paper, totaling seventy sheets, each as white as snow, with a fine and heavy texture, was crafted through multiple procedures.
—Normally, even a Middle Grade First Level Talisman Master would only be issued twenty sheets of talisman paper each month. The extra fifty sheets were bought by Li An for two Spirit Stones.
After all, going to the Spirit Beast Mountain Range, it's necessary to make more preparations!
"When going to the Spirit Beast Mountain Range, opportunities aren't important. The key is to be able to retreat safely when encountering danger."
Li An had an idea.
"Cold Rain Talisman, an upgraded version of the Cold Wind Talisman, a control-type rune that can further slow down the enemy's movement speed!"
"The Swift Movement Talisman can sharply increase running speed for a short time, perfect for escaping!"
"Also, the Earth Sinking Talisman and Thorn Talisman, I can refine some too! They all help to save lives."
Holding the heavy premium talisman pen, concentrating with utmost focus, the Super Sensing Skill was activated to the extreme. Each subtle change of the brush became very clear to his eyes.
He began to draw, with spiritual ink sketching one Great Dao symbol after another on the snow-white talisman paper.
The first sheet of talisman paper was only half drawn before it was ruined.
However, Li An was not discouraged, it was already quite good!
He ruined fourteen sheets in a row, before finally completing a Swift Movement Talisman on the fifteenth sheet!
"The Swift Movement Talisman only lasts for three minutes, one sheet is not enough!"
Li An was quite delighted.
Three minutes can do a lot in a fight, but the escape distance is not very far.
So he continued to draw talismans.
...
That night, he used up all seventy sheets of talisman paper, and drew three Swift Movement Talismans in total!
The success rate was far below one-tenth.
The Swift Movement Talisman, a Middle Grade First Level Talisman, sells for about one Spirit Stone per sheet. Even if all were sold, it would only barely break even!
This was thanks to his past life's experience, for others, the success rate would be even lower, with costs far outweighing returns, making it thoroughly unaffordable.
No wonder Tan Qingxue felt that Li An's application for the premium talisman pen and paper was a waste of effort.
"Getting familiar initially is slow, but increasing the success rate later isn't hard..."
Li An was already quite satisfied. With his current Spirit Root sensitivity, being able to break even at the start was already not bad.
After finishing all of this, he continued with his "Iron Sand Bath"!
Over half a year, Li An's skin peeled and regenerated countless times.
He could now comfortably sink into the iron sand, feeling no pain at all!
Randomly grabbing a piece of iron sand, it had almost become as smooth as a pellet.
"The first batch of iron sand is almost used up."
Li An murmured, meanwhile, he grabbed a nearby dagger—not the Starlight Dagger, but an ordinary iron dagger.
He gripped the dagger tightly, but his hand didn't bleed at all. Instead, there was a metallic grinding sound, and the dagger's blade was bent by his palm!
"The first layer of the Iron Tree Skill, 'Iron Skin', is basically achieved!"
He was very satisfied!
Simultaneously, he checked internally, and the third leaf in his Dantian was fully unfurled.
In another six months, Qi Refining Third Layer will reach Perfection, and then he'll move onto Qi Refining Fourth Layer!
...
The next day, Li An first went to the Artifact Refining Hall, looking for Wang Dazhu.
"Brother An, the silver sand you want might take some more time... It's really hard to gather."
Wang Dazhu's build had become more stout, his skin a healthy blackish-red, and his vitality very strong.
Moreover, he was close to breaking through to Qi Refining Fifth Layer.
Li An had entrusted Wang Dazhu with the task of refining Spiritual Silver Sand, as the second layer of the Iron Tree Skill, 'Iron Flesh', required this material.
"No rush, Dazhu, how's the situation with the storage pouch?"
"Oh, the one I asked Master Yu to refine... charged at cost, twenty Spirit Stones."
Wang Dazhu took out a brand new storage pouch and handed it to Li An.
Li An took the storage pouch and examined it, thoroughly satisfied!
A low-level storage pouch, capable of holding items a cubic meter in volume, was sufficient for Li An.
—Using the storage pouch made storing and retrieving items much easier. Since he was now able to refine a substantial number of Middle Grade First Level Talismans, having them on his person could easily cause them to be noticed.
"Alright, Dazhu, thank you!"