However, when it all came down to it, these were all internal matters of Linyao Market and did not have much to do with Gu Changhuan, an outsider.

He was currently purchasing basic materials for artifact refining and drawing spiritual talismans.

He might as well keep the business in the family. Disguising his appearance first, he bought his supplies from the Gu Clan's shop.

The basic materials were all very cheap; Gu Changhuan bought a whole Storage Bag's worth of materials and only spent a little over three hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Back at his cave abode, he activated the formation and entered the fire chamber. The room did not supply a flame; it was simply built from materials that could withstand greater heat.

That was no problem. Foundation Establishment cultivators could produce their own True Fire.

Gu Changhuan took out Zhenlingzi's notes and thus began his long journey of learning artifact refining and drawing spiritual talismans.

Artifact refining and pill refining actually share a common aspect, and that is fire control.

Gu Changhuan knew pill refining, so he naturally held an advantage in fire control.

Holding Zhenlingzi's notes, he read them carefully, then took out a piece of copper essence and began his first attempt at artifact refining.

First, he used his Foundation Establishment True Fire to smelt the copper essence, removing impurities, and then proceeded to shape it and carve magical patterns. After a little over two hours, Gu Changhuan refined a spirit sword that barely reached First-Tier Low Grade.

Even a rogue cultivator would turn his nose up at it.

Dissatisfied, Gu Changhuan melted the sword down and began refining, shaping, and inscribing it again.

After repeatedly smelting it four times, Gu Changhuan finally refined a relatively decent First-Tier Low Grade spirit sword.

He admired the new sword. It should fetch twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones in a shop. A little small, perhaps, but that was no flaw. Small and mighty was the way to go.

A whole day had already passed by then.

Gu Changhuan recorded his insights and experiences on a jade slip, striking while the iron was hot to start learning how to draw spiritual talismans.

However, drawing spiritual talismans was not that easy. After Gu Changhuan ruined over ten spiritual talismans in a row, the Spiritual Qi in the fire chamber became noticeably richer.

Gu Changhuan put down the Talisman Brush and took a deep breath. This approach would not work; rushing for results would only backfire.

He came to the first floor of Xuantian Tower and saw many spiritual seeds sprouting, which greatly improved his mood.

Most of the seeds were first-tier high-grade. The highest were second-tier high-grade, and there were only a few varieties of those. With time passing faster inside the tower, he would have a crop of spiritual herbs to harvest in three months outside.

Nearly two hundred types of spirit plants occupied less than one-tenth of the area on Xuantian Tower's first floor.

Gu Changhuan frowned. This would not do.

How could such a large piece of spirit farmland be left empty?

Yet what to plant was also a problem.

Spirit rice seemed the best choice. Its seeds were cheap and available in bulk, and it was easy enough for puppets to tend. But it matured quickly. If he couldn't sell each harvest in time, wouldn't it simply pile up inside the tower?

There was only so much the market could absorb.

He considered his options. Herbs could be made into pills, but rice...

Wine!

He could brew wine! And spirit rice could be made into Inedia Pills, too.

Any surplus herbs could go into medicinal wine.

Furthermore, spirit wine stored well, so he would not need to rush to sell it.

Excited by the idea, he soon bought a large quantity of spirit rice seeds from the Gu Clan's shop and poured them into the two Type One puppets.

The puppets became busy again.

Gu Changhuan was in high spirits and returned outside Xuantian Tower to continue drawing spiritual talismans.

He fed Spiritual Power into the brush with care, focusing on every stroke. When he lifted the brush, the talisman paper stayed intact. Success!

It seemed he still had quite some talent.

Zhenlingzi had also stated that those with the Great Dao Body found learning anything simple.

Gu Changhuan took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and continued drawing spiritual talismans.

He had previously drawn the simplest Fireball Talisman; why not first master drawing the Fireball Talisman before moving on to other spiritual talismans?

Thus, half a month passed.

Half a month later, the fire chamber door finally opened. Gu Changhuan emerged laughing, a first-tier high-grade talisman in hand. His topknot was disheveled, and a hole had burned through the hem of his robe.

Yet Gu Changhuan clearly did not mind. After failing over ten times in a row, he had finally successfully drawn a First-Tier High Grade Fire Snake Talisman.

Going from a novice to a First-Tier High Grade Talisman Master in half a month was not something just any Foundation Establishment cultivator could achieve.

Only after laughing for a while did he notice what a state he was in. A wash soon restored his usual handsome appearance.

Not sleeping for half a month would tire even a Foundation Establishment cultivator, so Gu Changhuan returned to his living quarters and slept heavily. After waking up, he dove back into the fire chamber.

This time, he intended to continue artifact refining.

According to Zhenlingzi's records, refining puppets was slightly more difficult than refining Magical Artifacts.

In particular, some of the delicate core components of puppets were extremely difficult to refine.

Therefore, to successfully refine puppets, one had to master artifact refining as well.

The fire chamber door closed for another half month. When it opened again, Gu Changhuan walked out holding a First-Tier High Grade spirit sword. This time, he did not even bother washing up, plunging directly into the living quarters to sleep.

On this occasion, Gu Changhuan slept a full day and night.

Upon waking, Gu Changhuan felt that traveling outside was far more fulfilling than staying within the clan. He did not need to be restrained in anything he did, feeling entirely at ease.

His artifact refining skill had now also reached First-Tier High Grade, so it was time to purchase materials for refining puppets.

He took out a jade slip and began checking what materials were required to refine puppets.

The materials in Zhenlingzi's notes differed from those available in this world, but substitutes could be found for almost all of them.

The basic materials consisted of Ironwood and certain metals, alongside the most important component: demon beast soul essences.

Puppets were partly alive, in a sense. Their demon beast soul essences allowed them to follow commands.

He left his cave abode and paid the rent on his way out. As he passed the entrance to the Rogue Cultivators' Plaza on the third level, he slowed.

His storage pouch still held many low-tier talismans and artifacts he had made over the past month. He had no use for them himself. He could sell them at the plaza and see what made the place so special.

Thinking of this, Gu Changhuan turned and headed up to the third floor.

The third floor was clearly much livelier than the other two. People came and went, often with groups of three or five gathered around a stall, arguing over some spiritual item.

It was a bustling scene.

As on the second level, a table stood at the entrance from the stairs. A red-faced old man sat behind it.

Seeing Gu Changhuan, the old man was just about to speak when a wine belch cut him off.

A strong reek of wine spread around him.