Don't Cause Trouble Chapter 46: Lightning Dispelling Talisman

Only after the people from the Wuxing Sect went upstairs and entered their private room did Ye Su withdraw her gaze.

"Word is that Cheng Huaian also reached the Nascent Soul stage last year, but since he’s twenty-one and a talisman cultivator, it only caused a stir within Guizong City," Zhou Yun said. She had heard about it through a message from the Sword Sect.

Ye Su gently swirled her wine cup. Right now, the most watched cultivators in the entire cultivation world were sword cultivators. First, because sword cultivators focused solely on the sword, without being distracted by external things. Second, since the fall of the gods, the few who had successfully transcended tribulation and ascended were all sword cultivators.

Because of this, there were widespread rumors in the cultivation world that only sword cultivators could ascend, while others could, at most, reach the tribulation stage and go no further.

"The people from the Wuxing Sect have arrived, so the auction in the second half of the night is probably starting soon," Xu Chengyu said, having asked the staff to replace their dishes and drinks with a new set. He turned to Ye Su. "Do you want to bid on any talismans?"

Ye Su raised her head and finished the wine in her cup. "I’ll take a look."

In another private room—

"What’s so interesting about this kind of auction? If you want talismans, just ask the elders for them," Lian Lian said. She was dressed in bright red, striking and eye-catching, though her expression held clear arrogance. She glanced discontentedly at Cheng Huaian sitting beside her. "Do you really think you can learn anything from those auctioned talismans? We have so many to study in the Wuxing Sect already."

"To succeed, you must learn from the strengths of others," Cheng Huaian replied, lowering his eyes and speaking in a composed, proper tone.

Lian Lian scoffed, resting her chin on her delicately manicured hand. "Succeed at what? You reached Nascent Soul and barely anyone noticed. But when Lu Chenhan formed his core, he became famous overnight in the cultivation world."

"Senior Sister," Cheng Huaian looked up at her, "if I recall correctly, you like Lu Chenhan."

Lian Lian grabbed the wine jug and drank straight from the mouth of it. "Tch. This wine’s nowhere near as strong as Kunlun’s."

"You still have to take part in the Sect Tournament," Cheng Huaian said, his gaze drifting to the street outside the window. "The Sect Master will definitely make you go."

Lian Lian casually tossed the wine jug aside. It spun in a circle on the table as wine trickled out from the spout. She leaned heavily into her chair. "What, so I can show up just to be the least attractive one?"

"Then you should focus on cultivation," Cheng Huaian’s eyes landed on her hand. "There’s still time."

Lian Lian glanced at him. "Worry about yourself. When are you going to get over that weird habit of pretending to be an old man?"

"That’s just for fun," Cheng Huaian said, lifting the wine jug and pouring himself a drink — not the slightest bit ashamed.

……

Half an hour later, all the performers in the main hall on the first floor had left, and the manager of the Yu Xiang Pavilion stepped onto the stage.

"Everyone, the annual talisman auction is about to begin. I’m sure many of you who’ve come from far away have been eagerly waiting. As always, we’ll be auctioning talismans written by master-level talismanists."

After finishing the usual opening remarks, the manager handed over the stage to another host.

Ye Su glanced around the hall and at the entrance to the restaurant—everywhere was guarded.

"Our first item is the Spirit Concealment Talisman. Once it’s applied, even a cultivator at the Body Integration stage won’t be able to detect the user," the host announced, pointing to a talisman protected by a magical artifact on the stage. "Starting bid: twenty thousand mid-grade spirit stones."

"Senior Sister, that talisman sounds amazing," Xia Er leaned against the window, then turned his head and asked Ye Su, "Can you copy it just by looking at it?"

Ye Su stood at the back with her arms crossed. "No."

The talisman had been tampered with, making the strokes completely unreadable.

Each of the talismans being auctioned was one Ye Su had never seen before. She didn’t bid on any of them— even if she bought one, she probably wouldn’t be able to replicate it. Her cultivation level was too low.

"The bid’s up to fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones already," Xiyu said, stunned as the host continued shouting out bids. "A single talisman can make that much?"

"That’s not even high. The best ones are still to come," Xu Chengyu said. "Top-tier talismans take immense effort from the talismanist, so it’s not considered expensive."

The members of Qianji Sect had been out for a while, but they had mostly stayed within secret realms. Their understanding of the broader cultivation world’s norms was still somewhat limited.

"Next up—our final talisman," the host announced, looking visibly excited. "Can anyone guess what it is?"

"Lightning Dispelling Talisman!" someone shouted from inside one of the private rooms.

"That’s right—the Lightning Dispelling Talisman," the host clapped his hands. A cultivator immediately brought out the talisman. "As everyone knows, after the Nascent Soul stage comes the Soul Formation stage—the first step toward true ascension. To reach Soul Formation, one must survive heavenly lightning tribulation. This Lightning Dispelling Talisman was drawn by the Sect Master of the Wuxing Sect himself, using his own blood. It took seven years to complete and can block one strike of lightning!"

Whether in the main hall below or in the private rooms above, the entire audience immediately erupted into a frenzy.

"Senior Brother, we should try to bid for that one," Zhou Yun said to Xu Chengyu.

"Let’s give it a shot," Xu Chengyu replied. "We didn’t bring a lot of spirit stones, though."

Xia Er counted on his fingers. "Took him seven years to make it? He meant seven days, right?"

"No way," Ma Congqiu replied. "A Lightning Dispelling Talisman has to withstand a lightning strike—it’s not something you can casually draw. Plus, the talismanist has to use their own spiritual blood. They can’t draw it every day. Even with no mistakes, it would still take seven years to complete."

Down below, the auctioneer had already started the bidding. "The Lightning Dispelling Talisman is incredibly rare. The starting bid is fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones. Each raise must be no less than one thousand."

"Fifty-one thousand!"

As soon as the first bid was called out, laughter rippled through the private rooms—then the bidding picked up again.

"Sixty thousand!"

The host glanced around the people in the main hall, then looked up and asked, "Anyone else want to bid higher than sixty thousand?"

Xu Chengyu spoke calmly, "Seventy thousand."

Ming Liu Sha was sipping tea, and immediately spit it out when she heard that. This was what he meant by not bringing many spirit stones?

"Big Sister Lu, have you ever seen a high-grade spirit stone?" Xiyu whispered.

Lu Jiu shook her head. "No."

High-grade spirit stones rarely circulated among ordinary cultivators. Each one contained incredibly pure spiritual energy, completely different from the low-grade and mid-grade stones that had impurities.

"Eighty thousand," someone in another private room called out.

"Senior Brother, I’ve got thirty thousand high-grade spirit stones on me," Ma Congqiu said.

"I’ve got seventy thousand," Zhou Yun added.

A bunch of poorer cultivators nearby turned green with envy. Was this the kind of wealth young people were supposed to have?

Even Ye Su said, "I’ve clearly been too impolite in the past."

Zhou Yun explained, "We earned these spirit stones by doing tasks from the Disciplinary Hall at Sword Sect. Actually, sometimes the sect posts missions for outside cultivators too—those jobs pay in high-grade spirit stones."

In just a few moments of conversation, the price for the Lightning Dispelling Talisman in the hall had already surged to ninety-nine thousand high-grade spirit stones.

"Ninety-nine thousand for this talisman. Any more bids?" the host was now asking for the second time.

Xu Chengyu said, "One hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones."

"Alright, this guest has offered one hundred thousand," the host tapped the small bell in front of him. "One hundred thousand going once… going twice… any more?"

"One hundred and ten thousand."

Zhou Yun frowned and shouted out toward the hall, "One hundred fifty thousand."

A collective gasp swept through the Yu Xiang Pavilion. Even Xu Chengyu was startled. "Junior Sister, one hundred fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones is no small amount."

"Senior Brother, we can always earn more when we get back to the sect," Zhou Yun replied without concern. "Once a Lightning Dispelling Talisman is used, there’s one less in the world—we can’t miss this chance."

"One hundred fifty thousand could buy a high-grade defensive artifact easily," Xu Chengyu said.

"But even a top-tier defensive artifact can’t directly neutralize a strike of heavenly lightning," Zhou Yun shouted her bid again toward the hall.

These major sects had spiritual veins that were ever-regenerating. Once a portion was mined, it would replenish again after a few years. The veins were so pure they had no impurities, meaning cultivators could absorb their energy directly without needing to refine it.

Ye Su traced her fingers over the cold porcelain wine cup, eyes downcast, lost in thought.