Chapter 139 Investment

Zheng Fa held the talisman and looked at it for a long time.

This is a seal, blood red all over, square and with the golden armor symbol on it a little blurry.

"Brother Li, why are you still standing? Please sit down!" Seeing that Li Nuo was still looking at him anxiously, Zheng Fa said politely, "Tell me what this talisman is about."

Li Nuo was stunned, as if he didn't expect Zheng Fa to be so interested in the talisman.

He seemed unable to speak. His lips moved for a long time but he couldn't utter a word.

Zheng Fa misunderstood. He said, "This should be Senior Brother Li's family secret method. I am being rude."

"No, it's not!" Hearing this, Li Nuo waved his hands repeatedly: "What kind of family secret method is this? This thing... No one in Jiushan Sect is interested in it."

He could not hide his dejection when he said this.

Zheng Fa frowned slightly and looked at the talisman, a little puzzled: "Is there something wrong with this talisman?"

Senior Brother Li nodded honestly and said, "Junior Brother, how was this talisman made?"

Zheng Fa looked at the color of the talisman and asked uncertainly, "Blood?"

"Yes, this talisman is actually made of a mixture of spirit beast blood." Li Nuo said frankly, "But each type of talisman requires a different proportion of spirit beast blood. If there is a mistake, an explosion will occur when the talisman is engraved on it."

"...What about the number and grade of talismans drawn on this talisman?" Zheng Fa asked.

"A cultivator at the first level of Qi training can draw thirty yellow-grade golden armor talismans in one day with it."

Zheng Fa was a little dazed.

He also thought about the problem of talisman printing.

But after thinking about it, drawing talismans really cannot be done without cultivators - the talismans need spiritual consciousness to capture the talismans in the void, and spiritual power to draw the talismans on talisman paper.

From Zheng Fa's experience, cultivators in the Qi Refining Stage are often limited by their spiritual power, and the number of talismans they can draw in a day is limited.

For example, Zheng Fa, when he was at the first level of Qi training, he could only draw three talismans with his spiritual power in a day.

"So, this talisman uses the spiritual energy in the blood of the spirit beast to replace the spiritual power of the cultivator?"

Zheng Fa asked.

Li Nuo nodded and said, "Junior brother, you have made it clear. That is exactly the case."

Zheng Fa placed the talisman gently on the table, with a look of disappointment on his face - the effect of this talisman was far worse than he had imagined.

Li Nuo looked at him, his eyes full of anxiety.

"Then I would like to ask, how many talismans can be drawn with one talisman?" Zheng Fa asked another key question.

Li Nuo's face became even more embarrassed.

"According to my father's estimation, a talisman like this can produce about a thousand yellow-grade talismans."

"How much does this talisman cost?"

"Six spirit stones."

Li Nuo's voice became even lower.

Zheng Fa calculated that the Golden Armor Talisman was a very common talisman in the Jiushan Sect.

The price is not expensive. One thousand yellow-grade gold armor talismans can be sold for about thirty-three spirit stones, or maybe even less.

If you take into account the consumption of talisman paper and spiritual ink, it would cost about thirty spirit stones.

The net profit is not even three spirit stones...

This thing is a pure loss! Seeing Zheng Fa figured it out, Li Nuo's face gradually showed a bit of despair.

"Brother Li, what do you want to do by coming to see me?"

"I..." Li Nuo's voice was barely audible: "I want you to lend me some money..."

"Studying sigils?"

"yes."

Li Nuo lowered his head, as if he found it difficult to speak.

"Junior brother, I don't want more. Ten yuan a month, no, five spiritual stones will be enough."

"If we have a new talisman, maybe the cost can be reduced."

"When the time comes, Junior Brother, you can hold the talisman and make money...make money..."

Li Nuo couldn't continue talking here.

He seemed to suddenly think of Zheng Fa's current identity - the head disciple, deeply trusted by Senior Sister Zhang, and a well-known genius talisman master in the sect.

How could I possibly be interested in these little things?

"Brother, this matter... let me think about it carefully for a few days."

When Li Nuo heard this, he thought it was Zheng Fa's polite refusal.

"Then I won't disturb you, brother." He didn't beg, but stood up and said sadly.

"Brother, you probably misunderstood what I meant." Zheng Fa said, "I meant that it's not appropriate for me to pay personally, but it would be best if the General Affairs Pavilion or the Spells Pavilion paid."

"Ah?" Li Nuo didn't understand the difference, but he understood one thing: "Junior brother, have you agreed to lend me the money?"

"I won't lend you money, but I can invest." Zheng Fa explained: "The sect will provide the money, and you will provide the talisman technology. If we can make money, we can discuss how to divide the money."

Li Nuo understood and didn't understand what he said.

What is clear is that some shops in the market do this - hire a skilled monk, such as an alchemist, and then give him shares.

But what I don’t understand is that their technology can definitely make money.

As for myself...

"What if we lose money?" He was not confident anymore and asked, "Will the sect be willing?"

"Investment always has risks." Zheng Fa said with a smile: "Let me be frank. If there is any money made, the sect will definitely get the majority of it. The money you get will definitely be very little in comparison."

Zheng Fa's words did not discourage Li Nuo at all.

"As long as you can get me money to study the talisman, I don't need money in the future!"

He said excitedly, his eyes a little red.

…

After seeing off Li Nuo and the other two, Zheng Fa thought for a moment and walked towards Senior Sister Zhang's courtyard.

Only then did he remember that, except for the day he took office as a lecturer in the Talisman Pavilion, he had not seen Senior Sister Zhang for quite a while, and he was still a little uncomfortable.

I don’t know what my senior sister is busy with recently.

When he arrived at Senior Sister Zhang's house, he realized that this senior sister was not busy with anything.

Oh, not really, I was busy enjoying myself.

In the small pavilion in Senior Sister Zhang’s backyard.

She and Senior Sister Yuan leaned crookedly against the guardrail.

The stone table in the pavilion was filled with food - juicy fruits, chewy-looking meat jerky, hot cakes, and preserved fruits in small white ceramic jars.

As they ate, they were also whispering and talking and laughing, just like a gathering of close friends in the secular world, comfortable and relaxed.

He had seen Senior Sister Yuan like this before.

But Senior Sister Zhang like this... was beyond Zheng Fa's imagination.

I always feel like something is wrong.

"Senior Sister Zhang...you..."

The two senior sisters were not surprised to see Zheng Fa come in, and Senior Sister Yuan even waved at him.

As soon as Zheng Fa stepped into the pavilion, Senior Sister Yuan stuffed a spiritual fruit into his hand.

“Is it delicious?”

Looking at Zheng Fa swallowing the fruit in his mouth, Senior Sister Yuan asked with a smile.

"Delicious." Zheng Fa nodded sincerely. This spiritual fruit was not only delicious, he could even feel that the moment the fruit flesh entered his throat, it directly turned into a stream of pure spiritual power, which made the spiritual power in his dantian much deeper.

"This one is five spirit stones." Senior Sister Zhang suddenly said, "Remember to return it to me."

"..." Zheng Fa took the spiritual fruit, opened his mouth and looked at his stomach.

It was as if he wanted to spit out the fruit pulp.

Looking at Senior Sister Zhang again, I found that she had a smile on her face, and what she just said was obviously a joke.

but……

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Is this the life of a Jindan Zhenren? Think about how Li Nuo almost knelt down for the five spirit stones per month.

Zheng Fa couldn't help but have a complicated expression.

"What did you think of?"

Zheng Fa did not hide it. He came to see Senior Sister Zhang to discuss Li Nuo's matter.

His idea was that funding Li Nuo's research was actually a small matter.

But there have to be rules for this matter - how to encourage the disciples of Jiushan Sect to conduct research, who will pay for it, and how the final profits will be distributed.

There should be a charter.

Unexpectedly, Senior Sister Zhang directly rejected him.

"Li Nuo can't do that."

"Ah?" Zheng Fa was stunned and asked, "He and you, Senior Sister..."

"No, his father was also from our lineage, so there is no old grudge. But the talisman won't work."

Zheng Fa was silent. He looked at Senior Sister Zhang, knowing that she would not reject him without any reason.

"I know the talisman. It requires the blood of a spirit beast." Senior Sister Zhang didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "The blood of spirit beasts is getting more and more expensive now... It's cheaper to hire ten Qi Refining Stage disciples."

Good fellow! The blood of spirit beasts is expensive, but the blood and sweat of our Nine Mountain Sect disciples is not expensive...

What is the low-cost advantage of humans over animals?

But Zheng Fa also knew that Senior Sister Zhang was right about this matter.

"I've thought about this, too. If the talisman is still this efficient, it won't work." Zheng Fa pondered, "But technology is always improving. I think the investment is not big, and maybe we can reduce costs and improve efficiency in the future."

Zheng Fa has a good attitude.

He wanted to fund talisman research mainly because this kind of thinking of improving productivity was too rare in the Xuanwei world - as for guaranteeing that this thing would succeed, he was not sure.

But when it comes to research, who can guarantee 100% success?

"If it's really like what you said, it's even worse." Unexpectedly, Senior Sister Zhang shook her head and said, "Li Nuo has a very bad reputation in the market. Do you know why?"

"have no idea."

"After the talisman comes out, won't the talisman masters have nothing to do?"

“…”

Zheng Fa finally understood why Senior Sister Zhang was not very supportive when she heard Li Nuo's name.

Every time new technology emerges, a group of people will suffer losses.

The people who have the greatest influence on talismans are the talisman masters of the Jiushan Sect.

Especially since at least half of the Qi Refining disciples in the sect rely on drawing talismans to survive...

The spiritual materials needed to make talismans are limited, and the demand from the Xuanwei Realm is not endless - this leads to a high probability that talisman masters will become unemployed after the appearance of talismans.

"If it's someone else, I have nothing to say if you want to support him." Senior Sister Zhang said, "If it's Li Nuo... at least the General Affairs Office won't give any money."

Zheng Fa nodded silently.

The General Affairs Office has a close relationship with the talisman masters, so we must take the feelings of these talisman masters into consideration.

The cultivators in the Xuanwei Realm are, after all, farmers or handicraftsmen.

Therefore, it is inevitable to have a mentality of cherishing what one has.

They are not as happy to see some new technologies as Zheng Fa.

Especially... when this group of people not only have the will to maintain their own interests, but also have the military strength to maintain their own interests.

It was Senior Sister Zhang who had always suppressed her peers and had never been afraid of anyone.

They would advise Zheng Fa to think deeply.

Seeing that Zheng Fa understood, Senior Sister Zhang comforted him, "It's a good idea for you to have this idea, but this matter..."

“I still want to try this.”

Zheng Fa suddenly said.

"Um?"

"Senior Sister Zhang, just like Uncle Pang said... the Xuanwei Realm is going to be in chaos."

Zheng Fa explained.

Senior Sister Zhang’s eyes deepened.

"In the past, it didn't matter whether we had this or not, but when a real fight breaks out..." Zheng Fa explained, "The technology that can quickly create talismans may change the situation of the battle."

"That's it? It can draw yellow-grade talismans now..."

Senior Sister Yuan muttered.

"Maybe not, but like what you said, Senior Sister Zhang, the previous road has been exhausted. We have to find another way... We can give it a try."

Senior Sister Zhang was silent for a while, but still shook her head.

Zheng Fa felt a little disappointed, as he understood Sister Zhang’s refusal.

Indeed... the problem with talismans is no longer the cost, but that it will offend almost all the talisman masters in Jiushan Sect, and may not lead to any good results.

"Don't show up, I'll do it."

"ah?"

"Your cultivation is still too low. It's not a good thing to offend these disciples." Senior Sister Zhang said softly, "I will pay the spirit stones. If they have anything to say, they can only keep it to themselves."

Senior Sister Yuan looked at Zheng Fa, then at Senior Sister Zhang, and opened her mouth wide.

She suddenly had an idea and said, "Senior Sister, I also have an idea, but I'm short of spiritual stones..."

Senior Sister Zhang just looked at her without saying anything.

“……” Senior Sister Yuan picked up a piece of preserved fruit and silently covered her mouth.

Zheng Fa looked at Senior Sister Zhang and felt that if this continued, he would have no choice but to give himself to her with tears.

(End of this chapter)