He channeled a thread of Spiritual Power into the talisman, and the Seven Profound Arrow Avoidance Talisman reacted instantly.
All the lines on the talisman lit up at once, emitting a slightly dazzling white light.
The next moment, Lü Zhong watched as the light from the talisman spread over his body, forming a faintly glowing membrane.
'This membrane of light alone is enough to protect me from arrows?'
Lü Zhong found it rather miraculous. After a moment of thought, he decided to test it.
It was the only way to truly understand the principle behind how the Seven Profound Arrow Avoidance Talisman worked.
Remembering the talisman only lasted for ten seconds, he quickly found an iron nail and slowly pressed it against his palm.
At first, he felt nothing. But as Lü Zhong applied pressure, the iron nail felt like it was sinking into a quagmire. The more the membrane deformed, the more force was required to press the nail deeper, increasing exponentially.
Despite using all his strength, Lü Zhong only managed to leave an indentation on his hand. He felt no pain at all.
The effect lasted for ten seconds before the membrane of light vanished completely.
'It seems the Seven Profound Arrow Avoidance Talisman works by using this membrane of light to block incoming arrows. I wonder if other types of Arrow Avoidance Talismans work the same way.'
Lü Zhong had a feeling that the principles behind other Arrow Avoidance Talismans might indeed be different.
'Besides, the Seven Profound Arrow Avoidance Talisman is only a Tier One Lower-Grade Talisman. Its protective effect must be limited.'
Even in the Cultivation Realm, he suspected that talismans still followed... well, the law of conservation of energy.
The effect of a talisman was proportional to the Spiritual Power put into it.
An Arrow Avoidance Talisman was probably no different. It might be able to block a hundred arrows from a One-Stone Strong Bow, but against a Ten-Stone Strong Bow, that number would drop drastically. It might even be shattered by a single bolt from a Bed Crossbow.
Lü Zhong felt he needed to do more research to determine exactly how much force it could withstand.
However, that was a task for another day when he had more time.
For now, the most important thing was to continue with his Talisman Making.
As he worked, Lü Zhong discovered that while the methods for drawing different talismans varied greatly, they shared many commonalities. He suspected this related to the so-called fundamentals of Talisman Making, which he would need to study to understand the underlying principles.
Before long, he had completely exhausted his Spiritual Power.
Lü Zhong went to the kitchen, where a pot of Cyan Rice Spirit Rice was already cooked and fragrant.
A faint, grassy aroma began to fill the small kitchen.
Having eaten Cyan Rice Spirit Rice for so long, he knew that even though it tasted bad, it at least smelled pleasant.
'Just have to endure it a little longer. In three days, the market will open. Once I sell these Arrow Avoidance Talismans, I can finally replace this awful Cyan Rice Spirit Rice.' As he thought this, a look of anticipation filled his eyes.
He lowered his head and began to wolf down the rice in his bowl.
...
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was once again market day in the Qingliu Ruins.
Lü Zhong had been looking forward to this day for a long time. He rose and washed up before dawn.
Once ready, he took the completed Seven Profound Arrow Avoidance Talismans and headed out toward the main street.
Having lived in the Qingliu Ruins for so long, Lü Zhong had learned a fair bit about the local customs. Besides the anniversary of the Qingyang Sect's founding patriarch, the cultivators here also celebrated other special holidays with various festivities.
For instance, the annual Lantern Festival was just around the corner.
According to local custom, every household was supposed to hang colorful lanterns by their door on the day of the festival.
It was said that hanging the lanterns would bring good fortune and smooth sailing for the entire year to come.
In that sense, it wasn't much different from burning incense and praying to the gods.
Lü Zhong didn't believe in it. 'We're cultivators pursuing Longevity,' he thought, 'why would we still engage in superstition?'
'Hmm, maybe I should buy a couple of lanterns too?'
'It's not that I'm superstitious, it's just... better to be safe than sorry...'
He chuckled to himself at the thought.
Before long, Lü Zhong had picked a spot for his stall.
It was next to a general store, where there happened to be a small, empty space perfect for a stall.
He had set up shop here several times before and always managed to sell all his talismans. It was something of a lucky spot for him.
Just as Lü Zhong was spreading out his stall cloth, the assistant from the general store came out.
The general store sold a wide variety of goods, but most were for cultivators. For that reason, the shop had hired a practitioner as an assistant—a fifteen-year-old youth with Five Spirit Roots.
Seeing Lü Zhong, the assistant greeted him warmly.
"Fellow Daoist Lü, here to set up your stall again today?"
"That's right. With the Lantern Festival coming up, I was hoping to sell a few more..."
Seeing that it was still early and the streets were sparse with people, Lü Zhong started making small talk with him.
Their conversation wasn't particularly meaningful, consisting mostly of little rumors they had each picked up.
As they continued to chat, the topic inevitably, and predictably, turned to women.
"I've already got it all planned out. As soon as I succeed at introducing Qi into the body and reach the Qi Refining First Layer, I'm going back to my hometown to get married," the assistant said with a wide grin. He then went on to talk about his plans, which already included buying land and establishing a household.
As Lü Zhong listened, he couldn't help but be reminded of a rumor he'd heard a few days prior.
'Perhaps a cultivator just like him was living in seclusion in that massacred mortal village. If so, I wonder what went through his mind when he faced the Demon Cultivator's Soul Summoning Banner?'
Would he have watched his wife and children be slaughtered, collapsing to the ground, hating his own powerlessness?
Or would he have regretted giving up on his cultivation, not persevering to the end...
Then again, perhaps the truly pitiful ones were the cultivators who persisted in their training yet never amounted to anything.
They might never have known the joys of a wedding night, nor the feeling of being surrounded by their children and grandchildren.
In the end, the path to Longevity was likely just another way to die.
Killed by a Demon Cultivator, breathing one's last in some nameless corner, or simply being erased by another cultivator who took a disliking to them.
'What's the use of thinking about all this? Better to just take things as they come.'
Lü Zhong gave a self-deprecating laugh in his mind and stopped his train of thought, returning his attention to the assistant's talk of buying land.
Before long, a customer entered the general store, bringing their conversation to a temporary halt.
On Lü Zhong's end, after a short wait, he also sold his first Arrow Avoidance Talisman.
He had made sure to ask around about the price for a Seven Profound Arrow Avoidance Talisman over the past couple of days.
The talisman was a Tier One Lower-Grade Talisman, and its target customers were Loose Cultivators who often adventured in the wilderness. It was a low-volume, high-profit item; even a regular Arrow Avoidance Talisman could sell for eight talismanic coins.
His Seven Profound Arrow Avoidance Talisman, however, could fetch a price of ten talismanic coins.
After factoring in the cost of Talisman Paper and Talisman Ink, as well as the Spiritual Power consumed during Talisman Making, Lü Zhong figured he could earn a double-digit number of Spirit Stones each month just by selling Seven Profound Arrow Avoidance Talismans.
By his careful calculations, it would be around twelve or thirteen.
This was only five or six Spirit Stones more than he made just from drawing Cleaning Talismans.
The reason was that while it took less time to draw a Seven Profound Arrow Avoidance Talisman, it consumed significantly more Spiritual Power and mental energy than a Cleaning Talisman.
So, even though the profit per talisman was extremely high, his overall output of finished talismans was actually lower.
Nevertheless, Lü Zhong was still taken aback by the result.
Without even realizing it, he had achieved his goal of a double-digit monthly income!