Chapter 20: Jade Altar Temple, Temple Master's Direct Lineage

Early morning, Li Yinsheng walked out of Junior Martial Uncle Jiang's bedroom. He didn't head straight to Mu Xiaoyu's bedroom to drag her out of bed for cultivation as usual, because he planned to give her a day off.

First, she hadn't rested for an entire month. Although the profundity of the Qingxuan Scripture, coupled with the nourishment of Nourishing Essence Pills and Qingxuan Divine Light, ensured her physical health, her mind definitely needed a break. Even high school seniors in his past life rarely went a whole month without a single day off.

Second, Li Yinsheng intended to head directly to Baoguang Temple today to find a Daoist Temple skilled in Arrays and have them set up a small-scale Spirit Refining Array on this Xuanzhen Peak. Although the production of special Spirit Charm was extremely low, Junior Martial Uncle Jiang couldn't use it, and Li Yinsheng himself mainly relied on his Grotto Heaven for cultivation, making it unnecessary for him as well. If it was solely supplied to his junior martial sister, a small-scale Array could easily provide it uninterrupted for all twelve hours of the day. To some extent, this treatment was on par with the Daoists of other Daoist Temples.

However, other Daoist Temples used large-scale Spirit Refining Arrays that covered a massive area. The special Spirit Charm produced through Refinement was not only far more abundant but also much purer—something a small-scale Array could never hope to match. Regardless, this level of treatment was definitely something disciples of other Daoist Temples could not compare to.

Of course, he didn't tell Junior Martial Uncle Jiang about this. After all, he still hadn't found a chance to reveal his current Cultivation to his martial uncle. If he dared say he planned to borrow a hundred thousand talismanic coins on credit to build a Spirit Refining Array, his uncle would fight to the death to stop him from doing something so foolish.

Fortunately, having taken care of his martial uncle for over a decade, he had always been reliable and had never done anything absurd. Therefore, when his uncle suspected him of taking out a loan to build an Array, the older man hadn't even needed Li Yinsheng to deny it; he had quickly shaken his own head, dismissing the possibility. After all, in his uncle's mind, Li Yinsheng was the kind of person who wouldn't waste a single talismanic coin, let alone go into debt for a hundred thousand of them.

But Li Yinsheng indeed intended to buy an Array on credit. With his current Cultivation, even if he used the most tedious method of venturing into the Hundred Thousand Mountains to forage for medicinal herbs or hunt sentient Demon Beasts, earning a hundred thousand talismanic coins would only take a few months. While earning the money first and paying for the Array in full could save him the interest of buying on credit, the Daoist Temples that constructed Arrays weren't loan sharks. If he only delayed payment for a few months, the interest wouldn't amount to many talismanic coins.

Things like Arrays were best enjoyed as early as possible. With slightly over a year and a half left until the next Lesser Yang Dao Examination, he didn't want to delay everything for months just to save a few talismanic coins on interest. That would be penny-wise and pound-foolish.

Forming a hand seal for the Wind-Gathering Skill, Li Yinsheng soared into the air and flew toward Baoguang Temple. Previously, when he used the Wind-Gathering Skill for Flying in the Sky, he had needed the empowerment of Clear Spirit Qi to barely manage it. But now, not only could he easily take flight relying solely on his own Cultivation, he was also much faster than before.

Later that morning, inside Baoguang Temple.

Dressed in a plain, solid black Daoist Robe and wearing the same Conical Hat from his last visit, Li Yinsheng walked along the bluestone-paved road between the shops. At the roadside stalls, quite a few Cultivators practicing the arts of Alchemy, Artifact Refining, or Talisman Painting were selling their practice works. Although these skills varied, they all consumed a considerable amount of wealth to learn, so selling their own creations to recoup costs was the choice of most Cultivators.

However, constructing Arrays was not among them. Leaving aside the high difficulty of permanent Arrays, the material costs alone were not something individual Array Masters who needed to set up street stalls could afford to dabble in. An Array Master capable of accumulating that kind of capital wouldn't have poor Array skills and would inevitably hold a high status in their Daoist Temple, being either of the Direct Lineage or a Steward. Why would such a person set up a stall? Wouldn't it be better to just take orders directly at their own Daoist Temple's shop?

Temporary Arrays meant for combat didn't cost quite as much, so individual Array Masters could barely shoulder the expense. As he walked, Li Yinsheng passed a few stalls selling temporary Arrays, but unfortunately, the quality of most was deeply worrying.

"Sigh..." Li Yinsheng shook his head. "Looks like I still have to go to a Daoist Temple to buy an Array," he muttered to himself. "Expecting to find one at a street stall is impossible."

He was only muttering to himself, but a middle-aged Cultivator running a talisman stall nearby chimed in with complete familiarity.

"Fellow Daoist, you're absolutely right!" The middle-aged Cultivator stroked his beard. "Back then, I didn't understand this logic. I bought a substandard Array by the roadside and nearly lost my life to the jaws of demons and monsters."

Li Yinsheng looked at the speaker, a middle-aged Cultivator with a square face, a wide mouth, thick eyebrows, and large eyes. This was considered quite old among the Cultivators setting up stalls. Normally, the ones running stalls were young disciples who hadn't cultivated for very long and lacked proficiency in their skills.

Li Yinsheng lowered his head to look at the talisman paper displayed for sale on the man's table, and his mouth twitched involuntarily.

"What kind of garbage is this!" he exclaimed inwardly. "Did you hold the brush in your mouth while Drawing Talismans? This doesn't even reach the level of someone who has spent three years self-studying Talisman Painting. These talismans are such a mess! The base, core, and foot are all jumbled together. Can they really still be used? And did you seriously write your own name in the corner? Do you think you're signing an autograph? Will a talisman like this actually work?"

Adhering to the principle of not offending people for no reason, Li Yinsheng only criticized the work in his mind and didn't speak a word out loud. However, the middle-aged man seemed to know his own level very well. Seeing Li Yinsheng staring silently at the table for a long time, he understood exactly what the young man was thinking.

"Heh..." The middle-aged man gave an honest, good-natured smile. "Fellow Daoist, laugh if you want to. You don't have to hold it in.

"I'm not a Talisman Master to begin with. My true profession in the temple is Guardian of the Dao and Demon Suppression. Talisman Painting is just a hobby; I just draw for fun."

Li Yinsheng didn't laugh. Sometimes, when faced with something that was way too abstract, it was actually hard for a person to laugh right away.