Annam City.
It was a small town under the jurisdiction of Linnan County, not far away, only a hundred li away.
An'nan City, a small city, has only one small spiritual vein, covering about seven or eight blocks, which can support the cultivation of several thousand cultivators. Therefore, most of the people living in the city are mortals.
With a major city of cultivators like Linan County nearby, the surrounding area is naturally relatively quiet.
This city is basically a gathering place for low-level Qi Refining cultivators. Many of them probably came here to live because of the high housing prices in Linan County, and occasionally went to Linan County for convenience.
After Lin Xiuyuan and Chang Feng parted ways, they exchanged some spirit stones and a large amount of talisman materials in the market before arriving in this small town.
I traveled in southern Xinjiang for nearly two years, encountering dozens, if not hundreds, of barbarian demons along the way. The materials I obtained from them were quite valuable and enough to sustain me.
After what happened in Beihefang City, I felt a bit scared and really didn't want to stay in Linan County, this border city.
Although the demonic path suffered a blow and was overturned by the Nine Kingdoms Alliance, the demonic side only suffered nearly a hundred Golden Core cultivators as casualties throughout the entire battle. Although this number sounds quite terrifying, it was entirely due to the successful planning of the three Nascent Soul elders, who launched a surprise attack and delivered a dimensional-reducing blow, resulting in such a victory.
Only the Nascent Soul Ancestor is the deciding factor in victory or defeat.
Moreover, in the early stages of the demonic invasion, the Nine Kingdoms Alliance suffered a considerable number of casualties among its cultivators. Taking Beihe Market as an example, after nearly three years of holding out, at least half of the Golden Sea Sect cultivators stationed there perished. Only through forced conscription were they able to barely maintain a sufficient number of people to hold the market.
Therefore, it is evident that the Nine Kingdoms Alliance must have suffered significant losses of cultivators in the other three major markets, including the Southern Frontier Immortal City. The number of Golden Core cultivators must have been considerable.
Currently, the Nine Kingdoms Alliance has an advantage, but not a significant one. It depends on the severity of the injuries sustained by the Nascent Soul ancestor of the Joyful Union Sect. If he is unlikely to recover quickly, the alliance will have a greater advantage; otherwise, the advantage will be diminished.
The four great demonic sects of the Northwest may one day make a comeback.
Especially since the battle for the secret realms continues, it's clear that the Northwest Demonic Path has no intention of backing down...
After arriving in An'nan City, Lin Xiuyuan and Qin Suwan rented a small shop on the outskirts of the city. Behind the shop was a small courtyard with four bedrooms, which suited their needs.
The rent wasn't expensive, less than six hundred low-grade spirit stones a month. For an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator, it would be considered very expensive, but for Lin Xiuyuan, it was naturally not much.
Although it's not very cost-effective, Lin Xiuyuan's success rate in making talismans is too high. He can produce as many finished talismans as three or four people in a month.
There are only two merchant guilds and a few talisman shops in the entire city of Annan, so even if they are sold in batches, it is still relatively easy for word to leak out. They can't keep going back and forth to Linan County.
It's still necessary to open a shop yourself to cover things up.
With a shop in place, no one knows how many guest talisman masters are consistently supplying talismans, which reduces the risk in this regard. Moreover, covering the cost is relatively easy, so naturally, they won't be stingy with it.
“I’ll be staying here to cultivate for most of the time, so let’s split the workload. I can help sell things in the shop every day, so you and that fire talisman master can focus on making talismans.”
Qin Suwan suggested.
Lin Xiuyuan had no objection to this, saying, "In that case, the shop will be in your hands. You can keep a portion of the profits, so that the Fire Talisman Master and I can focus on making talismans."
"Okay, it's settled then. You get things ready, and I'll go buy some shop equipment, furniture, and a signboard."
With a smile on her face, Qin Suwan went to the next district to find some custom-made furniture and plaques for ordinary people.
After Lin Xiuyuan walked in and looked around for a while, he found that the courtyard was quite clean, but the shop was somewhat abandoned, covered in dust and with broken furniture. It seemed that the place had only been used as a residence for rent in the past, and the shop had not been rented for a long time.
After finishing tidying up the shop, Lin Xiuyuan went to the backyard and patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist.
With a flash of light, a dark red fire python appeared on the open ground in front of them.
It is about ten meters long, with dark red scales that shimmer with a unique light in the sunlight, giving it a somewhat graceful appearance.
It's a triangular snake head tilted back, its cold, vertical pupils gleaming with indifference and ferocity, flicking its tongue and giving off a chilling and venomous feeling.
"Fire Talisman Master, it's been a long time. It seems your injuries have almost healed?"
Lin Xiuyuan's gaze swept over the other person's abdomen. The wound had already scabbed over, and the aura emanating from her body did not show any signs of weakness. It seemed that she was almost fully recovered.
The Fire Talisman Master was seriously injured, so he was kept in the spirit beast bag borrowed from Qin Suwan, only occasionally coming out to get some fresh air and replenish the spirit beast bag with spiritual energy.
However, it was more out of fear that they allowed the other party to stay in the spirit beast pouch for a longer time.
Lin Xiuyuan had sensed that the Fire Talisman Master was no ordinary person when she offered him a Foundation Establishment Pill as payment.
After uncovering its true nature, he recalled seeing a rare fire python that had been captured in the market one day. The python had the same wound on its face, and he guessed that it must be a fire talisman master.
This made Lin Xiuyuan realize that the other party was extraordinary, and he felt a sense of apprehension. Since they were on the run at the time, he kept the other party in the spirit beast bag.
After all, he was able to break free from the restrictions and transform into a human during the Qi Refining stage, and he also had expertise in talismanic arts.
All of this demonstrates that the Fire Talisman Master is no ordinary person.
Throughout the history of Tianyuan Star, the struggle between humans and demons, including the barbarian demons of the southern border, has lasted for a long time.
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