A month has passed since Gu Yan purchased the talisman brush. A new talisman brush increased his efficiency by 40%. Coupled with his breakthrough, he could draw a maximum of 2 middle grade and one lower grade talismans without disturbing his practice.
Gu Yan also managed to learn how to cast Gold Sword spells without errors, and memorized the paths of spiritual Qi.
As his fortune increased, Gu Yan also started to purchase some spirit beast meat, usually at a slightly higher price to maintain secrecy. Consistent training along with sufficient nutrition changed his physique. Although there is no change in appearance, since cultivation itself optimizes a monk's physique, he felt he packs much more strength.
Coupled with the fierce bull technique, he is confident that he can fight above his level against an average cultivator.
"So, I could be considered a genius now?"
". . . Maybe? You're asking the wrong people about this. I don't know a genius's capabilities to compare you to them."
"Hmm, true."
Gu Yan also made great progress in his realm. He speculated that he would reach Qi refining level 5 in just 2 years or less, and this was not considering taking pills. Lin Yuan tried sending spiritual QI into Gu Yan's body again as he did during his previous breakthrough, but was stopped by Gu Yan himself.
"It didn't feel like 'I' cultivated when you were infusing Qi into me. It felt too external, as if it shouldn't belong to me."
Lin Yuan argued back that pills, talismans, weapons, and everything else were also external. Gu Yan didn't know what to say about that, but thankfully for him, the spirit did.
"Alchemy, Talismans, Formations, and everything else are part of the Great Dao. Infusing Qi is not. Imagine a Mahayana realm monk initiating a young cultivator. He could reach the peak of QI refining in 2 weeks, and that is if we consider the time it takes to adapt to his rocketing strength."
So Lin Yuan gave up. Anyway, once Gu Yan learns to draw first order late stage talismans, he would make a lot of money, enough to take pills every single day for a middle stage Qi refining cultivator.
Gu Yan estimates that if he could take pills, it would take him less than half a year to reach Qi refining stage 5.
While Gu Yan was practicing, Lin Yuan asked him why he could run so fast.
"I don't know. If there is something I am confident in more than my talisman skills, its my running skills"
"Hmm~, maybe you have a special physique, like the . . . the holy . . . running body?"
". . ."
"The Holy Running Body might not rank in the top ten of the Holy Physiques, but it definitely in the top 100. The Holy Running Body specializes in speed, and was formed as a symbol of support by the Heavenly Dao for the human race during its war against the Kun Peng clan in the ancient times.
The ones who have this physique could travel beyond the speed of light even before reaching the immortal realm. At its peak, they could even shatter the space around them to achieve instant movement and absolute protection. It is said that the Holy Body of Space was created just so it could stop the Holy Running Body.
Afterwards, it received several patch updates, making it weaker overall. But it is still powerful. The only downside of a Holy Running Body is that the user would not experience any boost in practice speed."
". . . Really?"
"Nonsense! Of course not!! Only an idiot like you would believe it."
So Gu Yan went back to training again.
But growing strength brought a sense of security to Gu Yan, and it increased his confidence. So much so that he went against Gu Shou's group . . . and got beaten black and blue.
With a valuable lesson, and under Lin Yuan's constant lectures, he began to appreciate hiding in clumsiness. But he still carried himself with confidence when inside his home, which brought smiles on his mother's and aunt's faces.
Gu Yan also noticed his aunt talking more and more with Gu Zhen. After talking to his mother, he found out that Gu Zhen and Shen Ling both admired each other for a long time. But Shen Ling is nominally Gu Yang's concubine, and a widow after his death, even if he never treated her as such.
Moreover, one of them is a foundation establishment monk, and the other a mortal. It was only after the household improved that they started to see each other again. Gu Yan felt quite conflicted about the whole issue, but Lin Yuan advised him to wait and see where it develops first.
While one courtyard of the Gu family was thriving after 5 years of Gloom, in another courtyard, decorated luxuriously but always desolate, a young girl was at her wits end.
Gu Xun'er was very happy when she narrowed down the necklace's/locket's to Gu Yuan. So much so that she excitedly reported it back to her mother and promised to get it back soon.
But her mother saw a bigger picture and told her to come back and that she will send her brother to take it back. Gu Xun'er wanted to reject it but she didn't have a say.
Part of the reason why she was the one who was selected to search for the lost treasure was because she volunteered, just so she could stay away from her brother. Her brother was adopted by her mother as a disciple decades before she was born.
He was one of the rarest geniuses in the entire Black Imperial Realm, possessing a heavenly spiritual root of metal attribute and also a royal body which no one knows, since he never needed to use it when fighting.
She used to run around behind his back calling "Brother~" sweetly. But one day, she overheard her mother say that she wanted her brother to marry her, and he agreed. The look he gave her from that moment changed slightly. She didn't know what changed, but she didn't like it.
So, she started to distance herself from her brother, but he began to pester her. She took the opportunity to run away by taking this mission, and even sent messages to her mother about how she liked a boy here.
Her mother didn't show any reaction, but she started getting messages from her brother almost every day multiple times.
Now, the only option she has is to finish the mission as soon as possible, or at the very least, make some progress. She estimated that it would take about 1-2 months for her brother to find her, which means 1-2 months of time.
"Nowhere Enough!!"
She definitely cannot get the treasure from Gu Yuan's hands in 2 months. So she changed her target. She would place Gu Yan into the Clear Sky sect and make him antagonize Gu Yuan.
So, with that plan in her mind, she started to make a plan.
Gu Yuan decided to relax after a month of hard work. His savings reached an all time high of nearly 250 stones. And he wanted to know about what had happened during this period which might affect him.
After he walked out, he heard from conversations around him that Gu Shou had gone to work as a mine supervisor. This increased Gu Yan's mood again, and he was above Cloud nine.
The only people who even bothered with him now were Gu Shou and his bunch. The rest got bored out of humiliating him. With Gu Shou gone, the number would effectively be reduced to zero. Of course, if Gu Ming wanted to, then the situation would be much more different.
So he went around the market searching for anything he would want to buy, while also keeping his ears open for conversations near him. Result? Nothing.
Most conversations were about infidelity of some cultivators or mortals, which he didn't want to know at all. Lin Yuan then came to his rescue and told him to go visit a tavern where monks frequent.
Listening to his advice, Gu Yan went into a well decorated tavern carved out of blue stones. He walked to a corner table and sat down. When the waiter came to ask him about his order, Gu Yan wanted to ask for news from him but Lin Yuan stopped him.
Gu Yan ordered 3 dishes, and four more for parcel, and listened in to the conversations around. Many of them were still garbage, but some stood out.
"The demon path minor sects managed to outmaneuver the Qingyun sect forces in their recent skirmish. But the arrival of a mysterious swordsman at the nascent soul realm who cut open their route with a single sword strike marked their end. However, quite a few of them managed to escape."
"The Sea beasts submerged another immortal city, but they managed to cooperate with monsters from land and used a divergent tactic."
"A warehouse of the Jia family was ransacked by an unknown group but the Jia family stated that the Song family was the mastermind behind this and they stole something valuable from the storehouse. Their lower forces clashed several times over the past few weeks resulting in many casualties."
This also made Gu Yan wonder at how chaotic the world is. He didn't think he could survive in this world as he was 5 years ago, a naive 10 year old child.
The dishes arrived and Gu Yan quickly dug in, much to the envy of Lin Yuan. He finished his meal fairly quickly, and the packed food also arrived. He paid an exaggerated bill of 8 stones for the meal and tea.
He was just about to walk outside when he hesitated. Lin Yuan told him about tipping to waiters to express their satisfaction towards service. Although the waiter didn't do much, Lin Yuan still thought of tipping him.
He looked at the mortal waiter, hesitated for a second, and took out 5 pieces of silver from his pocket and placed them in his hand. The waiter looked at the 5 pieces in his hand, looked at Gu Yan again, and looked back at his head in surprise.
He then shot Gu Yan a disdainful glare, put back the silver in Gu Yan's hands and went back to his work, leaving behind a confused Gu Yan. A moment later, he came back to senses and was furious. But he didn't take it out on the waiter, and just walked out.
He wandered the streets lost in thought, walked in the direction the crowd cleared up. He then heard a bark which snapped him out of his daze. Gu Yan looked in the direction and found a dog guarding a store.
It was a spirit dog, more intelligent than a dog because it consumed some spiritual herbs, but cannot cultivate because of lack of bloodline talent. It is one of the most famous pets to have for mortals, since it could understand complex sentences after training, and wasn't much harder to take care of compared to a normal dog.
Gu Yan walked in front of the dog and crouched down and petted it. The dog knew what he was doing, so it wagged its tail to show its happiness.
Gu Yan then placed silver pieces in front of the dog and told it was a tip. The dog looked at the pieces, at Gu Yan, and at pieces again. It then shot him a disdainful glare, picked the pieces with its mouth, and placed them in Gu Yan's hand, and walked inside the store leaving behind a broken heart.
Gu Yan looked at the silver pieces in his hand covered in dog saliva and stayed that way until the shop owner came out and asked what's wrong. Gu Yan went to a butcher shop to buy a few hundred grams of meat and went to his next destination, leaving a butcher looking at wet silver pieces in confusion.
Gu Yan bought small gifts for his mother and aunt, and purchased some spirit beast meat to speed up his martial arts prowess. He replenished his supplies and walked back.
Along the way, Lin Yuan didn't speak. Gu Yan felt thankful for Lin Yuan's consideration, if it weren't for Lin Yuan who randomly disconnects for a few minutes and connects again wheezing heavily.
Back home, Gu Yan gave his gifts to the two older women with a stoic face and walked inside his room without giving them a chance to thank him.
Another month passed by, and thankfully, Gu Yan's life remained monotonous during this period of time. He made considerable progress again, and life felt good for him. Lin Yuan himself learned a lot about talismans from Gu Yan, making him quite skilled it the arts.
He managed to learn how to draw Gold Sword talisman without making any errors, down to the last stroke; his body became much stronger, breaking the limits of what humans could achieve in Lin Yuan's previous world; and he also mastered the fierce bull technique after consistent practice and Lin Yuan's pointers.
But while his life remained monotonous, the house had a major change. A new member moved in. Although Gu Yan couldn't accept that his would-have-been second mother was interested in his uncle, he could only comply after seeing her smile. However, it turns out he just thought a few steps ahead, a lot of steps in fact.
In the end, Gu Zhen moved in, along with his wife. Shocker.
Gu Yan didn't even know he had an aunt, and she was quite beautiful too. However, she was okay with her husband having another woman since she was a mortal, and Gu Zhen was just asking Shen Ling for advice.
Gu Yan didn't know at that time, but he had unknowingly planted seeds he would rather not sprout.
Leaving behind a busy household, Gu Yan walked out, deciding to take another break under Lin Yuan's urging. He himself liked taking breaks like this, since they make him feel comfortable. Since it was impossible for him to ever feel uncomfortable on a stroll, never, and definitely not last month.
However, his break was cut short by an unexpected visitor. Gu Yan encountered a wild Gu Xun'er right outside his house.
Upon seeing him, she told him that she needed a favor from him. She had a caravan deliver some important goods, but the chamber of commerce didn't want money and instead demanded some security. It was her option, and she came to ask if Gu Yan was willing.
She said that the chamber of commerce would pay him the standard price of an early stage Qi refining cultivator, and they had quite a few missions. She also added that she would speak up for him regarding his talisman tasks.
Gu Yan felt her proposal was quite shady, and Lin Yuan agreed with him. However, it was because of her unintentional help that Gu Ming stopped inciting others against him. Gu Ming used Gu Yan as his beating back, so much so that if anyone was dissatisfied with him, they would vent it on Gu Yan.
In the end, Gu Yan accepted it. Not only was the commission average, but it also gave him a lot of time to improve.
He turned around and walked inside to inform the house of his departure. As expected, his mother and aunt were worried. His uncle happened to butt in in time and convinced them both that Gu Yan needs challenges to grow.
Gu Yan felt grateful for his uncle's timely assistance, but he didn't know that his uncle wanted him out of the picture so that he could seduce his aunt.
Gu Yan went back outside and headed into the market to buy his necessities, the most important of which were talisman papers, specifically, ones which can be used to draw Gold Sword talismans.
While Gu Yan was preparing for his trip, Gu Ming sat in the family hall, troubled by the issue at hand.
The reason why he was careful of Gu Xun'er is because Gu Yuan told him that her background was not something they, or even the Clear Sky sect could handle. So he was told to take care of her with utmost attention when he brought her into the clan on the day Gu Yan was almost exiled.
So, when she stood up for Gu Yan, he immediately stopped his small actions. This has resulted in him having to share some of his resources, but it was a price he was willing to pay.
But what no one, not even his sons know, is that it was under Gu Yuan's order that he targeted Gu Yan. The mastermind behind Gu Yang's death was Gu Yuan. No one knows this except for himself and Gu Yuan, and he only knew about it because he was also the planner behind it.
When Gu Yang was in power, Gu Ming eliminated his rivals and diverted the blame on Gu Yang, until only he was the one remaining who could bear the clan's burden in Gu Yang's absence. But Gu Yuan found out about it somehow, and made a deal with him. Gu Yuan wanted the items on Gu Yang, and Gu Ming got the position he dreamed of.
However, at the moment, Gu Ming received a message from Gu Yuan that Gu Yan must not be kept. While it shocked Gu Ming, he wasn't against it. However, he was afraid of the guardian behind the young girl.
Just when he wasn't sure of what to do, he received a note from Gu Xun'er informing him that Gu Yan would go on a mission of hers and that he wouldn't be bothered with completing talisman tasks.
Gu Ming was very happy with this situation, since it would give him a golden opportunity to kill Gu Yan while on mission.
As someone finished their plans on killing him, Gu Yan finished his shopping and went back home, as the sun was going to set soon, he decided to take up the mission the next day.
After having a hearty lunch with his family, Gu Yan went back into his room and started making the Gold Sword talisman. He slowly began to time the pen according to Lin Yuan's Qi flow.
However, he made a mistake on his first try, wasting 2 stones down the drain. He didn't give up and started making a second one, which also was scrapped. Exhausted, he leaned back on his chair and slowly recounted his process while recovering mentally.
After several tries, and nearly 100 spiritual stones lost, Gu Yan finally succeeded.
This was considering that he had a good talisman pen. And Lin Yuan was also supporting him in deducing the mistakes.
But this also signified an increase in the number of cards in his hands, as well as a better source of income.
With a new assurance for his trip, he decided to end his day, because he has a big day tomorrow.
However, far away from him, a mysterious book also saw his considerable progress and became quite annoyed about not being able to predict him. Since whatever the eye did didn't have any impact, it decided to take matters into its own hands.
As it opened itself and words began to form on its pages, monsters around Wu Wan city grew restless, a fierce butcher decided to find his next victims in a caravan, and the demons who fled from the neighboring Song State changed their route and headed towards the Wu Wan city on their 'own' whim.