I transmigrated to a chaotic world and became the sole player.

Exhausted, wounded, and laden with spoils, Lu Zhao returned to Qingmu Town before nightfall. He first went back to the dilapidated house on South Street to treat the injury on his left shoulder, applying the remaining hemostatic powder, and changed into a cleaner set of old clothes before heading to the notice board next to the garrison headquarters.

"Master Wang, I've come to deliver the reward." Lu Zhao placed the wooden plaque and a small cloth bag containing the ears of a poisonous bat, along with the fangs and venom glands of the elite poisonous bat, on the counter.

The clerk looked up and was startled to see Lu Zhao's appearance. He took the bag, opened it, and carefully examined the pair of unusually large fangs, which were still covered in venom. A look of surprise appeared on his face.

"This is... the fangs of that elite poisonous bat from Black Wind Cave? You took care of it?" The clerk looked up, sizing up Lu Zhao with a hint of seriousness in his eyes. The bounty for Black Wind Cave had been posted for some time, and many people had accepted the mission, but most of them formed teams and quickly dealt with ordinary poisonous bats. Those who could kill that elite bat were rare. The key was that this young man looked young and his aura wasn't particularly strong, yet he managed to complete the task alone?

"I got lucky." Lu Zhao didn't say much, just nodded calmly.

"Hmm..." The clerk counted the poisonous bat's ears again to confirm the number, noted it down in the register, then took out a small cloth bag from under the counter, weighed it in his hand, and pushed it in front of Lu Zhao: "Not bad, this is one tael of silver as a reward. The fangs and venom glands of this elite poisonous bat are worth two hundred coins on the market. That's one tael and two hundred coins in total, please count it."

Lu Zhao took the cloth bag; it felt heavy in his hand. He poured out the silver, which contained three pieces of good quality silver, about one tael, plus two hundred copper coins. He carefully put them away, cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you, sir."

"Hmm," the clerk stroked his beard, looking at Lu Zhao with a slight shift in his eyes, "You look unfamiliar, you've just arrived in town, haven't you? You're quite skilled and courageous. Are you interested in taking on some more jobs? The garrison headquarters occasionally offers short-term jobs that require quick reflexes and a willingness to take risks, such as escorting messengers to neighboring villages or clearing out wild beasts in the mountains. The pay is higher than regular bounties, and it's safer."

This could be considered a gesture of goodwill and an attempt to win him over. Lu Zhao's mind raced. The job at the garrison might be stable, but it offered little freedom and the risk of getting caught up in local power struggles, which might not be suitable for his current development. What he needed was a way to acquire cultivation resources and improve his strength, not just money.

"Thank you for your kind offer, sir. I am new here and still need to settle in. I will certainly come to bother you again if I have the opportunity in the future." Lu Zhao politely declined, but his attitude was respectful. He did not want to offend the sir with official connections.

"Very well, it's a good thing that young people have such vision." The clerk didn't mind, waved his hand, and looked down at the account book again.

Lu Zhao, carrying the silver, didn't return immediately but went to Liu's General Store first. He wanted to buy materials for drawing talismans. One tael and two hundred coins seemed like a lot, but cinnabar and talisman paper were quite expensive. The shopkeeper of Liu's General Store was a thin old man who lazily raised his eyelids when he saw Lu Zhao enter.

Lu Zhao inquired about the prices. Low-grade cinnabar powder cost one tael of silver, talisman paper (the cheapest hemp paper) was 100 coins for ten sheets, and a better quality talisman brush (rabbit hair brush) cost 300 coins each. Rooster blood was cheap, 50 coins a pot, but it needed to be ordered in advance. He only had enough silver to buy one tael of inferior cinnabar powder, twenty sheets of talisman paper, and a small bottle of rooster blood. He couldn't even afford a talisman brush, so he had to use a sharpened bamboo stick instead. As for peach wood swords and other magical implements, those were out of the question.

"Shopkeeper, do you accept materials from demonic beasts?" Lu Zhao took out the remaining fangs, venom glands, and wings of the poisonous bat, as well as the [broken soul core] he had obtained from killing the Yin Serpent earlier. He was cautious and only took out one soul core.

"Oh? Let me see." The shopkeeper became interested and took the items. Seeing the poisonous bat materials, he nodded: "A pair of poisonous bat fangs, of acceptable quality, suitable for making poisoned arrowheads, priced at thirty coins. One poison gland, of acceptable toxicity, suitable for making poison, fifty coins. A pair of bat wings, of acceptable toughness, twenty coins. A total of one hundred coins."

He picked up the soul core, examined it closely, then brought it to his nose to smell it. His brow furrowed, and he exclaimed in surprise, "This is... a soul core? And it contains Yin energy, but it seems to have been purified? Young man, where did you get this?"

Lu Zhao's heart skipped a beat; it seemed this item did indeed have some value. "I acquired it by chance; I wonder if the shopkeeper would consider buying it?"

"I will accept it," the shopkeeper said thoughtfully, "However, this soul core is of low quality and contains mixed Yin energy. Although it is an auxiliary material for refining certain special magical artifacts, the amount used is small and it is not easy to handle. At most, I will give you three hundred coins."

Three hundred coins! That's more valuable than all the poisonous bat materials combined! Lu Zhao was secretly delighted, but he didn't show it on his face, saying, "Shopkeeper, these soul cores are hard to come by. If I didn't need them urgently, I wouldn't be willing to sell them. How about four hundred and fifty coins?"

"Four hundred coins, that's the most I can offer." The shopkeeper shook his head.

"Deal." Lu Zhao decided to stop while he was ahead. With this, plus the reward, he now had nearly two taels of silver! He could buy more talismans and cinnabar.

In the end, Lu Zhao used 450 coins, plus a portion of 1200 coins, to raise enough money to buy two ounces of cinnabar powder, fifty sheets of talisman paper, a small pot of rooster blood, a very ordinary rabbit hair talisman brush, and two servings of slightly better quality antidote pills and blood-nourishing powder, just in case. He kept the remaining hundred or so coins for daily expenses.

Holding the heavy materials, Lu Zhao felt more at ease. With these, he could draw more and better quality talismans, giving him a greater chance of dealing with the evil spirits in Li Family Village.

Just as they were about to leave, two people entered the shop. A man and a woman, both dressed in close-fitting clothes, exuding a calm aura and sharp eyes, quite different from the ordinary townspeople. The man was about thirty years old, carrying a long sword on his back, his expression cold and stern. The woman was slightly younger, in her early twenties, with a pair of water-splitting daggers at her waist, and a hint of heroism between her brows. The health bars above their heads were strikingly white, indicating that their levels were not low; the man was level 12, and the woman was level 10.

"Shopkeeper, give me two dozen talisman papers, one tael of top-grade cinnabar, and a few 'Heart-Cleansing Talismans' and 'Exorcising Talismans'," the woman said, her voice clear and crisp, carrying a hint of江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) spirit.

The shopkeeper's attitude warmed up considerably: "Oh my, it's Lady Chen and Chief Escort Wang! Rare guests indeed! Please wait a moment, I'll get them for you right away! Same as always, the talisman paper and cinnabar will be at the usual price. These purification talismans and exorcism talismans are in high demand. Just a couple of days ago, Master Qingxu from Qingyun Temple sent over a batch. They're of excellent quality, but that's the price..."

"Don't worry, shopkeeper, you'll get exactly what you're owed. You won't be shortchanged," the woman surnamed Chen said with a smile. Her gaze inadvertently swept over Lu Zhao, who was about to leave, and lingered for a moment on the talisman and cinnabar in his hand. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but she didn't ask any further questions.

"Alright!" The shopkeeper beamed and hurriedly fetched the goods.

Lu Zhao's heart skipped a beat. Qingyun Temple? Master Qingxu? This seemed to be another cultivation force in Qingmu Town. He remained calm, nodded to the two men as a greeting, and then left with the materials in his arms.

Walking down the street, Lu Zhao's mind began to race. Qingmu Town had an official garrison, local powers like the Changfeng Escort Agency, and commercial establishments like the Baibao Pavilion and Liu's General Store. Now, a new "Qingyun Temple" had appeared, sounding like a Taoist sect selling talismans and elixirs. Moreover, the two people he'd just met were clearly not ordinary martial artists; they were at least "rogue cultivators" who had practiced internal energy or Taoist arts, and they had connections with the Qingyun Temple. This meant that the extraordinary circles in Qingmu Town were more complex and offered more opportunities than he had imagined.

"It seems that besides the bounty missions, Qingyun Temple might also be worth keeping an eye on. And those two..." Lu Zhao thought of the man and woman; their purchase of talismans and cinnabar clearly indicated preparation for some kind of mission. He wondered if they were also dealing with the "Li Family Village" matter? Or did they have another objective?

Back on South Street, Lu Zhao immediately locked himself in his room. He first ground cinnabar, mixed the spirit ink, then spread out talisman paper, calmed his mind, and began to try to draw a real talisman made of top-quality materials.

The brush is a talisman brush, the paper is talisman paper, and the ink is cinnabar mixed with rooster blood. It's completely different from drawing on tree bark with charcoal before!

On his first attempt, the brush moved swiftly and fluidly, the runes forming in one go. His spiritual power and the spiritual ink merged perfectly, and the rune was complete! A flash of inspiration shone through, making it much brighter and more stable than the previous tree bark rune!

[Successfully created an exorcising talisman!]

[Spell Drawing (Basic) Lv1 (62/100) upgraded to Lv1 (80/100)!]

[Obtained: Exorcism Talisman (Normal) x1!]

[Effect: One-time consumable. Activated by injecting a small amount of spiritual energy, it unleashes a power to ward off evil, dealing moderate damage to vengeful spirits, zombies, and low-level evil spirits.]

It's a normal-grade weapon, but its power is much greater! And the proficiency level increases rapidly!

Lu Zhao's confidence soared, and he continued drawing. He was completely absorbed in the mysteries of talismans, one after another, until his mental energy was nearly half depleted, at which point he stopped to rest.

Looking at the three successfully drawn [Exorcising Talismans], two [Tranquilizing Talismans], and several failed talismans with charred black ink, a smile appeared on Lu Zhao's tired face. With these talismans, and the upcoming upgrade to [Spirit Refining Technique], his chances of dealing with the evil creatures in the graveyard had increased significantly.

He sat cross-legged, swallowed a blood-replenishing pill, and began circulating the [Spirit Refining Technique] to restore his spirit. At the same time, he was also thinking about his next plan.

The evil spirits in Li Family Village must be eliminated, but not rashly. He needs more information, and he also needs to see if the "Qingyun Temple" and the rogue cultivator he encountered today will bring any unexpected changes.