The assistant's hand carving the object paused, and he looked up at her.
They were staying in his eighty-spirit-stone-a-night inn, yet they were asking about the most luxurious talisman shop.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and his tone carried a hint of subtle teasing. “Right in the middle of Yunque Boulevard. The one with two jade qilin statues at the entrance and night-luminescent pearls embedded in its sign is the one.
“But, Daoist friend, the cheapest talisman in that shop starts at one hundred mid-grade spirit stones. Are you sure you want to go?”
Xue Mingzhao's smile remained unchanged, her tone perfectly natural. “Just going to take a look and broaden my horizons.”
The assistant let out an “oh” and lowered his head to continue working, muttering, “Broadening horizons is good. The jade qilins at their door are quite grand. It doesn't cost anything to stand outside and look.”
Xue Mingzhao thanked him, pulled Su Ye, and left the inn.
Xue Mingzhao looked around as she walked, suddenly stopping in an inconspicuous corner.
It was a small stall selling masks. Various masks hung there—some thin and silver-gray, some with carved wooden patterns, and a few sewn from animal hides, all in different shapes and sizes.
“Boss, do you have any masks that can conceal one's cultivation aura?”
The vendor immediately picked up a silver-gray mask as thin as a cicada's wing from the stall and handed it over. “Daoist friend, you have excellent taste! This is the Thousand-Face Illusion Mask. Once worn, it not only perfectly conceals your cultivation aura, but it also alters and adjusts your appearance and temperament. I guarantee even your own master wouldn't recognize you standing right in front of you.”
Xue Mingzhao raised an eyebrow. She had only asked on a whim, but such a thing actually existed.
“How much?”
The vendor smiled and held up five fingers. “Not expensive at all, just fifty. If you buy two, you can have them for eighty. I'm only giving you this price because I feel a connection between you and these masks, so it's practically a giveaway.”
Xue Mingzhao pursed her lips and began, “Thirty...” She was about to say “each,” but before she could finish the sentence, the vendor cut her off.
“Deal!”
Without the slightest hesitation, the vendor quickly grabbed two masks, shoved them into Xue Mingzhao's arms, and said, “No refunds.”
Clutching the masks, Xue Mingzhao wailed inwardly: I offered too much!
Su Ye leaned in, his eyes full of admiration. “Junior Sister, you're amazing at bargaining! They were originally eighty for two, and you dragged it down to thirty for both. What a steal!”
“Let's not talk about it.”
Seeing Su Ye's face full of glee at having gotten a bargain, Xue Mingzhao silently slapped the masks onto her own face and Su Ye's.
In an instant, their appearances transformed, and the cultivation auras on their bodies vanished without a trace.
Xue Mingzhao nodded in satisfaction. The money hadn't gone to waste.
The two kept moving, heading straight for Yunque Boulevard, which the assistant had mentioned.
Turning the corner, they both stopped in their tracks.
Before them stood a three-story pavilion with upturned eaves, looking extremely grand. On either side of the main entrance stood a spiritual jade qilin statue taller than a person. They were completely translucent and cast a soft green glow in the night.
Suspended above the main entrance was a massive gold-lettered sign—Heavenly Talisman Pavilion. It was bordered by a ring of supreme-grade spirit stone fragments, shining so brightly on their own that they were dazzling even without lanterns.
The two of them strolled confidently into the Heavenly Talisman Pavilion.
As soon as they entered, the hall was so brightly lit by spirit stone lamps that the floor reflected the light.
An assistant quickly hurried over to greet them, a polite smile on his face. “What kind of talismans are you two looking for? Our shop has everything from low-grade to high-grade in stock, including offensive, defensive, and auxiliary talismans.”
Xue Mingzhao scanned the talismans displayed on the shelves, withdrew her gaze, and got straight to the point. “I wanted to ask, do you buy talismans here?”
The assistant maintained his professional smile, replying lukewarmly, “Daoist friend, the talismans at our Heavenly Talisman Pavilion are all hand-drawn by the grandmasters of our pavilion, with guaranteed quality. We generally do not purchase talismans from the outside.”
Xue Mingzhao raised an eyebrow. “Not even if they are supreme-grade talismans?”
Hearing this, the assistant's expression turned serious. He carefully sized up the round-faced young girl in front of him, then glanced at the silent Su Ye behind her.
A supreme-grade talisman was no small matter; it was far beyond the authority of a mere welcoming assistant.
He turned sideways and raised his hand to guide them. “Daoist friends, please come upstairs to discuss this in detail.”
The assistant led them to a private room at the end of the third floor.
The room wasn't large, but every single decoration exuded a low-key luxury.
The door curtain was woven from spiritual silk, and every item on the display shelves emitted faint ripples of spiritual energy. Even the doorknob was carved from high-grade spiritual jade.
“Please wait a moment, you two. I will go fetch our manager.” The assistant bowed and withdrew, his pace more than twice as fast as before.
Three cups of freshly brewed spiritual tea sat on the table, steam curling upward. The tea's aroma, mixed with spiritual energy, wafted directly into their noses.
Sitting in the private room, Su Ye watched Xue Mingzhao calmly sip her tea. He couldn't help but lean closer to her, lowering his voice to ask, “Junior Sister, where did you get a supreme-grade talisman? If Martial Uncle Wen gave it to you to save your life, it would be too much of a loss to sell it.
“Supreme-grade talismans aren't common cabbages. There are very few talisman grandmasters on the entire Tianyan Continent who can draw them.”
Xue Mingzhao had just set down her teacup and was about to reply when the door to the private room was gently pushed open.
The newcomer wore a moon-white robe without a single unnecessary accessory, save for a simple, ancient dark-silver ring on his right index finger.
His gaze swept indifferently over the two, pausing briefly on their masked faces before he spoke as if nothing were amiss, “I am Mo Jiu, the manager of the Heavenly Talisman Pavilion. I heard that you two hold supreme-grade talismans you wish to sell?”
Xue Mingzhao nodded. “I do.”
Manager Mo was in no hurry to ask what kind of talisman it was. Instead, he picked up his cup of tea from the table, blew on the steam, and said casually, as if making small talk, “As you two may know, the number of talisman masters on the entire Tianyan Continent who can draw supreme-grade talismans can be counted on one hand.
“I know every single one of them. Forgive my lack of sight, but you two look unfamiliar. Might I ask which grandmaster you study under?”
The question was asked politely, but the underlying meaning was clear:
You two don't look like people who can produce supreme-grade talismans. Explain where they came from first.
Xue Mingzhao didn't say a word. She simply took out a talisman, placed it on the table, and slid it toward him.
Mo Jiu looked down. It was the most ordinary yellow talisman paper, the kind where a few spirit stones could buy a whole stack.
His tone turned cold. “Daoist friend, bringing out a sheet of yellow paper... Do you think I, Mo, have never seen a supreme-grade talisman, or do you think the threshold of our Heavenly Talisman Pavilion is so low that anyone can come in and play a joke?”
Xue Mingzhao reached out and picked up the talisman paper. “If Manager Mo cannot recognize quality, then there is no need for us to continue this discussion.”
Mo Jiu glanced at Xue Mingzhao. This young girl was incredibly confident. Either she truly had the goods, or she was completely putting on an act and bluffing.
He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and pressed down on the talisman paper. “Wait.
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