He began to attain enlightenment from the Demonic Sect.

Chapter 14 Schemes

After seeing Huang Quan off, Du Jianyuan returned to his quiet room and sat cross-legged.

He held the jade pendant in his palm, turning it over and over for a good while, but still couldn't find any clues about it.

"Given Brother Quan's consistently frugal nature, how could he so easily give away such a valuable jade pendant?"

Du Jianyuan muttered to himself, his eyes still filled with doubt.

The Huang Quan he knew was indeed quite kind-hearted and willing to lend a helping hand whenever he could...

But it was absolutely impossible for Huang Quan to take something out of his own pocket to give away.

How could someone who wouldn't even lend out half a pound of spirit rice suddenly become so generous?

"Whatever their intentions, I'll just find someone to pass this on to later. If it works out, great; if not, it's not my fault."

Du Jianyuan never intended to collect ink bamboo himself from the beginning.

At most, I'll take some time tomorrow to go to the alchemy room and ask An Mingjun to help me find two people to see who's willing to take on this job... I've done all I can think of.

After all, the reward was only two spirit stones, which really didn't tempt him.

He would rather draw a few more Fire Talismans than spend the time gathering bamboo; it would be safer and easier, and there would be no need to leave the cave and take that risk.

With a change of heart, he put the matter aside for the time being.

Du Jianyuan spread out the talisman paper and used the power of the evil fire magic to mix the spiritual ink.

"With my current cultivation level of Qi Refining Level 3, coupled with my perfected low-grade talisman technique, drawing the Fiery Talisman is already second nature to me..."

"Unless the talisman paper is of extremely poor quality, or the artist fails to draw the talisman due to environmental factors or mental distraction, the success rate is 100%."

After all, low-grade talismans are only entry-level items.

The rune structure is simple and requires relatively little mana, and with the [Heaven Rewards Diligence] spell in place, there was almost no hesitation in his writing.

In just half an hour, six Fiery Talismans were neatly laid out on the table, without a single mistake.

If his magical power hadn't been almost completely depleted, he could have continued drawing.

Du Jianyuan picked up a Flaming Talisman and examined it carefully, pondering:

"The crafting instructions mention that the Fiery Talisman can enhance its power and quality by absorbing the souls of flesh and blood..."

"In other words, if you can kill someone and draw a Fiery Rune on that person's body, you can absorb all their remaining power into the rune and then transfer it into a Fiery Rune..."

"Perhaps I can use this method to upgrade my talismanic arts to the middle grade?"

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

Fighting with others is too dangerous and completely unnecessary.

If he just keeps drawing talismans honestly, he will soon earn enough spirit stones to buy mid-grade talisman-making techniques, and he won't have to take that dangerous and demonic path for the time being.

"I need to find a way to save up some spirit stones... Whether it's the crafting method for mid-grade talismans or the method of gathering qi, everything costs money."

……

The following day, in the evening.

After Du Jianyuan finished drawing the eighty Fire Talismans that needed to be handed in, he headed towards the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.

As he stepped into the palace and passed the mission area, he paused slightly, not expecting to run into someone he knew.

Zhu Huai also saw Du Jianyuan, and his face immediately lit up with joy. He rushed forward and greeted him politely.

"Brother Yuan, what a coincidence! I didn't expect to run into you here... Are you here to collect your talisman work?"

"Just passing by, buying and selling some things."

Du Jianyuan replied politely, his expression amiable, but he asked with some doubt:

"Isn't the talisman shop pretty busy lately? How come you have time to come here and take on jobs?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Huai laughed and explained:

"Lord Yan's workshop is indeed quite busy, but I was lucky. Earlier, I wasn't as efficient as others, so Lord Yan sent me to another workshop..."

"Now I'm under Lord Shen's supervision. She's kind and gentle, and she placed me under the tutelage of a senior Qi Refining Level 2 expert to learn papermaking. I figured it out a week ago... Now I just need to finish my normal daily quota and I can leave work immediately. Lord Shen won't make things difficult for us."

Du Jianyuan couldn't help but smile:

"You're lucky to have escaped this calamity."

He had naturally heard of Lord Shen's reputation.

Everyone in Fu's room said she was kind and rarely exploited her subordinates.

If any new paper craftsmen had questions, she would arrange for someone to teach them, making her a rare breath of fresh air in this den of iniquity.

The menial servants working under her were generally able to save up enough spirit stones to buy cultivation techniques within a few years.

"I'm also benefiting from Brother Yuan's good fortune."

Zhu Huai, always quick to flatter, readily offered a compliment, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect:

"Now I finally have time to do odd jobs and earn money. In about two or three years, I should be able to save enough spirit stones to buy the 'Heart-Burning Fiery Technique.' At that time, I'll have to ask Brother Yuan for more advice..."

"Of course, if Brother Yuan ever needs anything or needs me to run errands, just come find me!"

Upon hearing this, Du Jianyuan suddenly had a thought and remembered Huang Quan's matter.

"Since we're going to need people to do the work anyway, we might as well go along with it and do someone a favor..."

So he reached into his storage bag, took out the amulet and the bamboo-gathering token together, and laughed:

"Perfect timing. This is a job that Brother Quan asked me to do for him. I just need to collect seventy more bamboo stalks, and I'll get two spirit stones as payment..."

"The other is a jade pendant for warding off evil spirits. Wearing it will protect you from the cold and evil energy, allowing you to move freely in the bamboo forest... Are you interested?"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Huai eagerly took the two items, his eyes crinkling with a smile:

"Of course! I met two fellow workers in the new workshop. They both have jade pendants to ward off evil spirits. Every day after work, they go to work together in the bamboo forest. They can earn two more spirit stones a month. I'm so envious!"

"This time, we can go to the bamboo forest to look for them and look out for each other."

As he spoke, his face was full of gratitude:

"Yuan-ge still takes the best care of me, entrusting such a good thing to me... Sigh, how come Quan-ge forgot about me? Did I offend him somehow?"

His words implied a hint of resentment and misunderstanding towards Huang Quan.

However, when Du Jianyuan heard Zhu Huai's last words, his heart suddenly trembled.

Yes!

If Huang Quanzhen was really worried about the deposit of those two spirit stones, why didn't he transfer the job to Zhu Huai, who had time to do odd jobs?

Why would you specifically come to find a talisman master who's overwhelmed with work?

Moreover, Huang Quan was even willing to give up a jade pendant to ward off evil... If Zhu Huai knew about such a good thing, he would be more than willing to collect a hundred bamboo stalks from scratch.

"This is a trap, waiting for me to fall into it..."

Du Jianyuan felt a chill run down his spine. The thick fog in the bamboo forest reduced visibility, making it the perfect place for an ambush!

He lowered his eyes and his gaze fell on the bamboo-picking token.

It contains Huang Quan's magical imprint, which cannot be erased until the mission is completed...

In other words, as long as he enters the Ink Bamboo Forest with this Bamboo Gathering Token, Huang Quan can slowly pinpoint his location by following the energy flow on the magic imprint.

"They went to such lengths to frame me, all they wanted was the storage pouch on my waist."

Du Jianyuan understood the other party's motives; they simply thought he still had the spirit stones and pills given to him by An Mingjun.

"Since he's so determined to kill me, then he can't be allowed to live..."

Du Jianyuan was never one to passively wait for death. After learning who was plotting against him, he decided to take the initiative and nip the crisis in the bud.

He slowly raised his head, looked at Zhu Huai, whose face was beaming with joy, and said softly:

"Are you really going to take this job? The fog in the Ink Bamboo Forest is thick and dangerous. You're too young to handle it... I can find someone else."

Zhu Huai assumed he was worried about missing the deadline and causing Huang Quan to lose his deposit, so he patted his chest and laughed:

"Don't worry, Brother Yuan, I'll definitely complete the mission on time!"

At this point, Zhu Huai scratched his head and chuckled:

"Brother Yuan, after it's all done, could you please tell Brother Quan that he doesn't have time to go to the Ink Bamboo Forest anyway? Could I borrow this amulet for a few months?"

Seeing that he was determined to go, Du Jianyuan was too lazy to persuade him any further. He figured he could use him to lure Huang Quan out anyway, and laughed:

"If you can complete the task on time, this jade pendant will be yours."

Zhu Huai's eyes suddenly lit up, and he clutched the jade pendant tightly in his hand, as if afraid he would change his mind, and quickly said:

"Okay! It's a deal!"