Bai Yue Lake.

Located in a high position within the Tianyin Sect, Bai Yue Lake is abundant in spiritual energy, higher than in other areas.

Entering here, one's cultivation speed would be faster than in other main veins.

This place is filled with geniuses, and very few disciples are accepted.

The Duanqing Cliff, on the other hand, is located lower, with slightly lower entry requirements. Although many people reside there, only a few are famous.

"Huff, I’m here."

After purchasing the necessary tools for making talismans, Jiang Hao arrived at Bai Yue Lake, feeling quite emotional.

If it weren’t for provoking Tianhuan Pavilion, he thought Duanqing Cliff would have been just fine.

Shaking his head, he found the guard and explained his purpose.

"Take care of the Pure Yang Flower?" The guard fairy looked at Jiang Hao and carefully examined him before asking, "Do you have experience with this?"

"I am Jiang Hao, an inner disciple of Duanqing Cliff. I’ve worked in the spirit herb garden for a few years," Jiang Hao replied honestly.

"Then follow me." The guard fairy gestured for him to follow.

"I’ll remind you that the Pure Yang Flower is about to bloom, which is why it needs to be watched over. This is not an easy task. If you don’t do it well, there will be punishments," she added kindly, her simple bun giving her a composed appearance.

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Sister. I understand," Jiang Hao thanked her with a glance.

This senior sister’s eyes were clear, not exceptionally beautiful, but her appearance was quite pleasant.

At least she was much more natural than Senior Sister Yun Ruo.

She wasn’t cold, nor was she pretending to be friendly, giving the impression of someone somewhat innocent.

It turned out that not all people from the demonic sect looked as fierce as they seemed.

As for her true nature, Jiang Hao couldn’t figure it out. "You can know a person’s face, but not their heart."

"My surname is Zhou, and I’m Zhou Chan. Since you’ve accepted this task, you’ll need to come here every day. When the time comes, just find me, and I’ll let you in," Zhou Chan said as she led Jiang Hao to a courtyard.

With Senior Sister Zhou’s guidance, Jiang Hao met the caretaker of the courtyard.

Elder Qianxu, a middle-aged beauty in a blue fairy gown that reached the floor, with a light blue belt at her waist and a sheer cloak draped over her shoulders.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Her expression was neutral, giving off a cold air. She was the deacon elder of Bai Yue Lake.

Jiang Hao muttered inwardly, "She looks like someone who would act like you owe her money."

But he didn’t dare speak these words out loud.

A moment later, Jiang Hao saw a white spiritual herb occupying a large portion of the land. Its surroundings seemed to be covered with white frost.

At the edge of the frost was a red gourd, from which a hot aura radiated.

"The gourd contains magma. Your task is to pour magma at the edge of the white frost every half an hour after noon, six times a day," Elder Qianxu said as she looked at Jiang Hao and continued, "It’s getting late today. You can start tomorrow."

"Understood." Jiang Hao respectfully agreed and then left.

Back at his dwelling, he looked at his status board.

[Name: Jiang Hao]

[Age: 19]

[Cultivation: Early Foundation Establishment]

[Cultivation Method: Tianyin Hundred Turns]

[Divine Ability: Nine Turns to Replace Death (Unique), One Inspection per Day]

[Vitality: 16/100 (Can be cultivated)]

[Cultivation: 20/100 (Can be cultivated)]

[Divine Ability: 2/3 (Cannot be obtained)]

"Although the numbers are small, they are growing quickly."

"Maybe it won’t take long to advance to the mid-foundation stage. But the 1,000 spirit stones are a bit of a hassle. I’ll have to see if I can earn some spirit stones from making talismans."

Making talismans, alchemy, forging.

Talismans had the lowest entry requirements but were the cheapest. Unless one could make intermediate or advanced talismans, it wasn’t worth much.

The quickest way to earn spirit stones was still through alchemy.

However, the entry requirement for alchemy was high, and it involved significant investment and time.

In the room, Jiang Hao took out the newly bought talisman-making guide and started reading.

The guide recorded twelve types of talismans.

The simplest was the Swift Travel Talisman, which increased speed.

There were also the Calm Heart Talisman and Fire Talisman.

These three talismans were necessary for Qi cultivation.

At the Foundation Establishment stage, one could fly on a sword, solidify the mind, and perform spells effortlessly.

So normally, there was no need for these lower-level talismans.

However, these three were the best for practice. As for their price...

Three talismans combined could barely sell for a spirit stone.

You’d need about six to make a profit.

This wouldn’t earn a lot of money, so he had to aim higher.

After reading through the Swift Travel Talisman-making method, Jiang Hao sat cross-legged and calmed his mind. After a long while, his state reached its peak.

Then, he picked up the talisman brush, dipped it in cinnabar, and began making talismans.

Each stroke was steady and forceful, flowing smoothly as spiritual energy formed on the talisman paper.

After some time, the last stroke slowly fell.

The talisman glowed faintly and then returned to normal.

"Done?"

"It was that easy?"

Thinking about it, for a Foundation Establishment cultivator like himself making Qi cultivation talismans, if he kept failing, that would be the real problem.

He spent the entire night practicing Swift Travel Talismans, Calm Heart Talismans, and Fire Talismans.

When all the materials were exhausted, he stopped making talismans.

"Thirty-one in total. After subtracting the cost, I can earn three spirit stones."

"Three spirit stones in one night. In a month, that’s ninety. In three months, that’s two hundred seventy. If I add in the daytime hours, that’s five hundred forty."

Jiang Hao calculated carefully and found there was hope to gather 1,000 spirit stones.

As long as Tianhuan Pavilion didn’t do anything over the next three months, he should be able to pay the 1,000 spirit stones within the deadline.

However...

After going to sell the talismans, he realized his thinking was too naive.

These talismans indeed sold for six for one spirit stone.

But there was little demand.

He had to wait for a long time to sell even one spirit stone, and he couldn’t even cover his costs.

With a sigh, Jiang Hao had no choice but to buy more materials and try again tonight to practice the talismans needed for Foundation Establishment.

The next day, he returned to Bai Yue Lake to begin taking care of the Pure Yang Flower.