"Once you receive our signal, simply place this array plate near the mysterious talisman maker's cave to activate it."
The rest is none of your business.
Master Qiu recalled the mysterious man's words and looked at the array plate in his hand that was sealed.
Yet, a sense of unease lingered in my heart.
He could vaguely sense that something very ominous was sealed within this array.
Once the lockdown is lifted, unimaginable things may happen.
However, thinking of the conditions promised by that mysterious person, and the oppression that lowly maid had been putting me down these past few days.
Master Qiu suppressed his unease again.
Since that lowly maid treated him like this, then he shouldn't blame her for being ungrateful.
Master Qiu's eyes were filled with a sinister look.
While Master Qiu harbored resentment due to his drastically reduced income.
On the other hand, many businesses in the city were also very dissatisfied with their income last month.
At Tianji Workshop, the workshop owner looked at the account book in his hand with a very unpleasant expression.
"Our income last month was reduced by half?"
"Master, our Tianji Workshop's talismans were originally the most popular in Canglan City."
However, after Treasure Pavilion launched their new talismans last month, most cultivators in the city have been buying talismans only from them.
This has resulted in our talismans not only being practically unsellable, but also severely impacting the sales of magical artifacts and elixirs.
The beautiful woman explained.
"Treasure Pavilion!"
The Master of the Heavenly Mystery Workshop spat out the name through gritted teeth.
"Did you finish what we asked you to do last time? And is Qiu Rong willing to help us with something?"
"It's all taken care of, and the goods have been delivered to him. However, Qiu Rong is very greedy. He actually asked us for 100,000 low-grade spirit stones before he would be willing to cooperate with us."
Furthermore, he will only do anything after he has obtained the spirit stones.
"One hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones? That's quite an appetite!"
Upon hearing this, the Master of the Heavenly Mystery Workshop's eyes turned cold again, and a murderous intent arose in his heart.
He never expected that a mere appraiser at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm would dare to ask for such an exorbitant price.
However, considering the current situation, he temporarily suppressed his murderous intent.
He said coldly, "Agree to his request first, then tell him that after accepting the spirit stones, he must do a good job, otherwise he should know what will happen."
"Yes, I will take care of it right away."
The beautiful woman responded and was about to go out to make the arrangements.
However, at that moment, a person rushed in from outside, looking flustered, and said:
"Master of the workshop, the Venerable Lord of the Upper Realm has arrived and is already outside."
"What did you say?!"
This was no small matter; the Master of Tianji Workshop suddenly stood up, his face full of astonishment.
"According to the usual schedule, there should still be five days left. Why did it arrive so quickly this time?"
“I don’t know either, but His Excellency did come. And he didn’t come alone. There was also a young Venerable and an old servant. And judging from the way he looked, His Excellency was very respectful to the young Venerable.”
The subordinate answered with trepidation.
"There is another young Venerable One?"
Tianji Fangzhu's heart skipped a beat again, and a bad premonition rose up.
He hurriedly went outside, and when he arrived at the main hall, he saw a noble young man with bright eyes and a mysterious and gorgeous robe sitting in the main seat.
The Venerable One, who would come to collect spirit stones every three years in previous years, stood respectfully behind him.
Beside them stood an old servant with a frail face.
"Young Master Yu!"
When the master of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion saw the noble young man clearly, he was greatly shocked and immediately bowed to him.
At the same time, I was filled with fear and anxiety.
He never expected that the one who came down this time would be Young Master Yu from the main family.
Why would such a trivial matter as collecting spirit stones bother this person?
"Uncle Qian, it's been a long time. I heard that you were transferred to Xiaocangjie to manage the business more than 20 years ago."
Over the years, they have managed the business below very well.
It just so happens that I just came out of the customs area and ran into the financial manager who was coming down to collect accounts. Since I had nothing else to do, I also came down to visit you.
"It's also a good opportunity to see the customs and culture of the lower realm and broaden my horizons."
The elegant young man smiled.
However, the Master of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion felt a cold sweat break out on his back.
He felt a tremor in his heart, especially when he heard the other party praise him for managing the business so well.
He knew the man in front of him well; don't be fooled by his current amiable demeanor.
But once he gets angry, his fury is truly boundless, and even in the upper realm, countless forces tremble before him.
There was no way around it; as one of the thirty-six superior clans of the Tianyuan Great World, the Gongshu family simply possessed such power.
"Young Master Yu is too kind. This old servant is flattered," the Master of Tianji Workshop said with a forced smile.
"But Uncle Qian, when I came in just now, I saw that there seemed to be very few guests outside. Could it be that something happened in the city today that kept everyone from coming out?"
The elegant young man suddenly changed the subject and asked a question.
The master of Tianji Workshop paused.
He wanted to explain himself, but he knew even more that if he were to lie to this person and be caught, he would probably suffer an even worse fate.
After weighing it in his mind, he immediately knelt down with a thud.
"Young Master Yu, this old servant is guilty!"
"Oh, what crime have you committed?" the elegant young man said indifferently.
“This old servant has failed in his management and operation. As a result, the business of Tianji Workshop is not as good as before. Fewer and fewer customers are coming to buy treasures every day. I am truly ashamed of my master’s high expectations.”
The Master of Tianji Workshop lamented.
His tearful and ashamed appearance left the beautiful woman and others in the corner speechless.
They had never seen the shop owner look like this before.
In the past, when the Venerable Ones from the Upper Realm came to collect debts, he was nervous, but never as fearful as he is now.
However, the wealthy young man was not moved by the Master of the Mystery Workshop's lament.
He didn't even change his expression, simply saying calmly, "Tell me, what exactly happened?"
"It's like this, Young Master Yu, just last month, a trading company in the city called Zhenbaolou launched a new batch of talismans..."
Master Tianji recounted the events of last month in detail.
Of course, during his narration, he couldn't help but embellish the story of how Treasure Pavilion disregarded industry rules and wantonly damaged the price of talismans.
"Such a thing is true?"
Upon hearing this, the elegant young man showed a hint of surprise on his face.
Even the two elderly men with obscure auras behind him showed surprise.
"What kind of talismans did the Treasure Pavilion offer that are so popular?"
"These are the talismans. Young Master Yu, please take a look."
Master Tianji took out several talismans from his storage artifact and presented them to him.
As the wealthy young man took the talisman and examined it...
He added, "The power of these talismans is actually just so-so, not much different from the talismans in our workshop."
But Treasure House drove their prices down too low, and they did it on purpose.
They prepared a large quantity of these low-priced talismans, effectively monopolizing the entire talisman market in Canglan City.
This resulted not only in our Tianji Workshop, but also in the talisman business of other merchants in the city, which was extremely bleak, with almost no one buying them.
"This talisman is quite interesting. The person who refined it from low-grade spirit jade into a talisman of this level is quite talented."
The young man is highly accomplished and comes from a family with extensive learning.
He immediately recognized the profound mystery of the talisman in his hand and exclaimed in admiration.
But after he finished praising him, his expression turned cold again.
"However, this Treasure Pavilion is far too outrageous. How dare they steal the business of my Gongshu family like this?"
