Ji An laid the finished talisman paper on the table and counted the quantity.
Thanks to his expertise in planting techniques, comparable to many elder spirit farmers, the talisman grass he cultivated had good quality.
Although his talisman-making skills were not yet high, he could still make high-quality talisman paper more easily.
Seventy-two sheets of Tier One Lower Grade Talisman Paper, twenty-one sheets of Tier One Middle Grade Talisman Paper, four bottles of Tier One Lower Grade Talisman Ink, this was the entire harvest.
Making talisman paper and ink is more profitable than planting spirit grain, but it also takes more time.
Now that he has advanced to Qi Refining Fourth Level, the quantity and quality of the magical power in his body have greatly improved, and next season he should be able to cultivate four acres of spirit grain and one acre of talisman grass.
He glanced around the sparse furnishings in the room and sighed softly.
Although this year he had abundant harvests, he couldn't withstand the large expenses and lots of debts, and the one-year period had arrived, the spirit stones owed to Old Huang and others also needed to be settled.
Even if he wants to borrow again, he needs to wait a few months; otherwise, repaying and then borrowing again would give people an unreliable impression.
Putting away the talisman paper and ink, Ji An pulled out a small wooden box hidden under the bed.
Enough spirit stone left to exchange for next season's grain seeds and Contribution Points and Yellow Sprout Rice for three months' consumption; the box contained all the crystal stones accumulated in the past six months, 10 spirit stones and 56 spirit crystals.
However, the novice protection period for spirit farmers has passed, starting next season, he will need to pay land rent and taxes. Future quarterly income will be much less.
Ji An left the bamboo building and rode the talisman bird to the Jade Water Marketplace.
He landed at the fishing stall and strolled into a regular private room at the Hundred Flavors Pavilion.
A few days ago, he reserved a table of spiritual food: two meat dishes, four vegetarian dishes, and a soup, plus five bottles of spirit wine costing one spirit stone and 80 spirit crystals, making him very distressed.
Today, he invited several creditors for a gathering; this display still needed to be maintained.
Packaging himself to let people know he's not doing poorly, so that they can lend spirit stones to him with peace of mind in the future.
At 7:05 AM, Wei Songnian was the first to arrive at the private room.
"Haha, congratulations to Junior Brother for advancing to mid-stage Qi Refining."
"Same joy, same joy," Ji An smiled, unwrapping the cloth bag on the table:
"These talisman paper and ink, Senior Brother, please check."
Wei Songnian patted the talisman paper, feeling the thickness, and nodded slightly:
"Junior Brother's high-quality talisman paper yield is quite impressive, comparable to spirit farmers who have been cultivating talisman paper for years."
He knew Ji An only planted half an acre of talisman grass, yet to have so much high-quality talisman paper was quite good.
Efficiently counted the number of talisman paper and checked the quality of the talisman ink, Wei Songnian quickly calculated:
"Tier One Lower Grade Talisman Paper, 72 sheets, 1 spirit crystal each, total 72 spirit crystals;
Tier One Middle Grade Talisman Paper, 21 sheets, 8 spirit crystals each, total 168 spirit crystals;
Tier One Lower Grade Talisman Ink, 4 bottles, 35 spirit crystals each, total 140 spirit crystals.
Total of 380 spirit crystals, Junior Brother, would you like to buy some materials? If not buying, I'll give you crystal stones."
Of course, he wanted to buy things, Ji An took out a bottle of Yellow Bud Pill, smiling:
"The last pill given by Senior Brother, there is one I haven't consumed, returning it to Senior Brother.
Hmm, then 6 bottles of Jade Python's essence blood and half a pound of vermilion, two pounds of agarwood pine resin."
Normally purchased pills cannot be returned, but now he had a close relationship with Wei Songnian, he could return.
Vermilion, pine resin, and python blood are materials for making talisman ink, by taking some time each day to make it bit by bit, it constitutes an income.
Wei Songnian took the jade bottle, poured out to check the quality and quantity, nodded:
"Hmm, 12 Yellow Bud Pills left.
The normal price for Jade Python's essence blood is 20 spirit crystals per bottle; after the sect occupied Mo Ya Mountain, the price dropped slightly, for Junior Brother, 18 spirit crystals a bottle.
Half a pound of vermilion and two pounds of pine resin, total 30 spirit crystals, leaving Junior Brother owing 202 spirit crystals."
He paused, sighing:
"Making a bottle of talisman ink takes a considerable amount of time, coupled with fierce competition, not much profit in lower grade talisman ink.
You need to develop a unique formula for talisman ink to truly earn crystal stones.
There's a junior sister I know who acquired an incomplete talisman master's legacy during a mission, containing unique talisman ink formulas, and her life immediately improved."
The lower grade talisman ink he purchased was only for 35 spirit crystals, but the talisman ink from unique formulas commanded a price of 45 spirit crystals or above, and selling materials to such talisman makers required ensuring substantial discounts.
"Easier said than done!"
Ji An shook his head; developing a unique formula would require countless experiments.
What materials to add, the proportion of each, all have strict requirements.
He didn't have the time or energy, nor the accumulated knowledge in this field, better to earn some hard-earned money.
"Senior Brother, how much for the Jade Pill?"
"30 spirit crystals each."
Ji An grimaced, quite expensive, but the main ingredient for the Jade Pill, Jade Corn, must be planted in Tier One Lower Grade or higher spirit fields, expensive for a reason.
He calculated for a moment and took out two spirit stones, saying:
"Buying 10 Jade Pills, Senior Brother, just give me eight, the other two will offset what you previously loaned me.
No need to return change from the spirit stone, originally owed Senior Brother one spirit stone, repaying it all.
Now, I still owe Senior Brother 24 Yellow Bud Pills in spirit stones, will repay after a few months."
Good borrowing, good repaying, borrowing again won't be difficult.
"Why rush to repay, Junior Brother!"
Wei Songnian declined, but later seeing Ji An's firm attitude, he accepted the spirit stones.
He took out 10 Jade Pills and 2 spirit crystals, handed them over.
After a while, Old Huang, Zhao Mengyao, and Chu River arrived one after another, and the restaurant served dishes.
Ji An introduced everyone to each other, then opened his small wooden box and began repaying debts.
"Senior Brother Huang lent me one spirit stone a year ago."
"After entering the sect, Senior Brother Chu River lent me two spirit stones."
"Senior Sister Zhao lent me three spirit stones."
He laughed dryly, saying:
"Senior Sister Zhao, Senior Brother Chu, I still owe you 3 spirit stones each, give Junior Brother half a year.
Fortunately, Senior Brother Zhang went to Mo Ya Mountain, otherwise I wouldn't have a single spirit stone left today."
His total assets have drastically shrunk, leaving only 2 spirit stones and 57 spirit crystals; if Zhang Yuanshan were present today, he would have to give out two more spirit stones.
Zhao Mengyao said:
"No rush, Junior Brother, don't let repaying spirit stones delay cultivation, it wouldn't be worthwhile."
Despite rules protecting the new sect members of spirit farmers, it was still quite surprising to her that a new member could accumulate so many spirit stones in a year.
It's often said that spirit farmer disciples struggle to accumulate spirit stones, but this claim clearly does not apply to Ji An.
The fact that he can associate with two late-stage Qi Refining disciples rather than be reliant is also quite an achievement.
Chu River nodded slightly, internally admiring Ji An's rapid crystal stone earning capabilities, far exceeding normal disciples.
Old Huang sighed:
"Junior Brother can accumulate so many spirit stones in a year, your path in cultivation will be smoother than most sect disciples.
Your current level is not far from those elder spirit farmers who have been cultivating for over a decade."
This Junior Brother's starting point is much higher than an ordinary spirit farmer disciple.
The more valuable part is that the other party's cultivation hasn't fallen behind, advancing from the First-Layer Qi Refining to mid-stage in a year, possibly even looking to Foundation Establishment in the future.
Ji An smiled:
"Thank you, Senior Brothers, for your help. Without you, I wouldn't be where I am today.
Come, everyone, let's drink to this."