Path to Heaven

Chapter 13 – Too Fake

Translated by: Pumpkin

Edited by: Earl, Fumma

Proofread: Kulops

“Wahahaha! It’s another one!”

The laughter that sounded like a frequent brothel patron seeing the brothel’s most popular girl naked was once again heard in the little stone house.

[Kulops: what a crazy comparison???]

In the following six days, Wei Suo had remained in a fanatical state the entire time. That was because every two Fireball Talismans that he managed to make was equivalent to a single Low Quality Spiritual Stone. It was like he had fallen into a Spiritual Stone mine where everything he dug out would be Spiritual Stones. To Wei Suo who had been craving for Spiritual Stones for many years, he naturally would have to dig all day and night.

To the green gowned old man, he too have managed to pick up a treasure. It was just like how he had determined at the beginning; Wei Suo indeed possessed a pretty good talent on talisman making. Now, when he tried to make sixteen Fireball Talismans at once, he would be able to successfully make roughly twelve of them. His success rate was greater than seventy percent now. Furthermore, what Wei Suo was currently using was just an ordinary talisman writing brush. If he was to change that talisman writing brush to a better one, then it was likely for his success rate in making Fireball Talismans to instantly surpass eighty percent. Among all the masters that the green gowned old man had served, there was not a single one who possessed over an eighty percent success rate in making Fireball Talismans.

Furthermore, Wei Suo was now experienced in talisman making. When he started to get tired from making talismans, he would temporarily stop and begin to make talisman paper because making talisman paper does not require a large amount of energy and mental strength. He would wait till his energy and mental strength recovered and then continue to make more talismans. At the beginning, Wei Suo was only able to make over ten Fireball Talismans in a single day. However, by the fourth day, Wei Suo was able to make around thirty Fireball Talismans in a single day.

“This sort of guy is actually a talisman making genius. I’ve truly seen a ghost.” Seeing Wei Suo’s current appearance of laughing out loud complacently while holding a Fireball Talisman up, the green gowned old man shook his head. If he had not seen it for himself, the green gowned old man would never associate this sort of vulgar guy with a talisman making genius.

[TL: I would like to point out that Wei Suo’s name sounds like vulgar/wretched in mandarin.]

“What are you doing?” After he shook his head, the green gowned old man’s eyes opened wide.

That was because Wei Suo would always count his Fireball Talismans a couple of times everyday. Every single time that he counted them, his eyes would shine with light. However, this time, after he counted them, he actually placed all of the Fireball Talismans on top of his bed. Hearing the green gowned old man’s voice, Wei Suo ‘he he’ laughed and then laid down onto the bed covered with Fireball Talismans.

“…” The green gowned old man became speechless. At this moment, he kind of had an understanding of why this guy had such a high success rate in making talismans. This guy was practically a total wealth craze. A single Low Quality Spiritual Stone was capable of making his two eyes shine with light. A single Fireball Talisman was half a Low Quality Spiritual Stone. Thus, he would naturally be more careful than anyone when making them.

“Haha!” Wei Suo who was lying on top of a large pile of Fireball Talismans was extremely pleased. He had already counted the amount of Fireball Talismans that he managed to make in the past seven days countless times already. There was a total of a hundred and forty one Fireball Talismans. Yes, that was a hundred forty one Fireball Talismans. This was equivalent to seventy Low Quality Spiritual Stones!

After lying on the bed covered with Fireball Talismans for a moment, Wei Suo got up and then began to gather the Fireball Talismans one by one and placed them into a leather bag.

“What are you planning to do now?” Seeing Wei Suo who was about to exit the house, the green gowned old man asked.

“Going out to sell the Fireball Talismans. After all, the majority of the stores are still open right now.” Wei Suo said as he looked at the green gowned old man. “After all, if I was to make over thirty Fireball Talismans in a day, I would be exhausted to death. It’s better that I go and convert them into Spiritual Stones. At that time, when I’m tired from making Fireball Talismans, I could seize the chance to train. Isn’t the purpose of me making Fireball Talismans to convert them into Spiritual Stones to cultivate anyways? Like this, I would be able to not waste any time at all.”

“Your way of thinking is pretty good indeed.” The green gowned old man sneered and said. “However, if you were to directly sell all of these Fireball Talismans, then I reckon that within two days, that whatever Heaven’s First Sect would immediately find you. In the future, you would be able to do nothing but make talismans for them. As for me, I can forget about taking form in my lifetime too.”

“What do you mean by that?” Wei Suo was at a loss.

The green gowned old man instead asked. “There are a total of how many talisman makers and pill concoctors in the Spirit Peak City?”

Wei Suo thought for a moment and then said. “I reckon there’s ten to twenty of them?”

The green gowned old man cast a side-eye at Wei Suo. “In that case, do you understand now?”

Wei Suo shook his head. “Nope.”

“You’re a dumbass.” Unable to contain himself, the green gowned old man scolded. “The talisman makers that have a high success rate in making talismans were few to begin with. This is especially true for someone like you with a new talisman recipe. You are essentially a hen that can lay golden eggs. Any and all sect will want to snatch you for themselves. After they snatch you away, do you still think that all the talismans that you make will be yours? At that time, if you can even keep a single one of ten talismans that you make, you’ll be pretty well off already. As for an artifact spirit like myself, they have more than ten different methods to forcibly snatch away the knowledge in my mind. At that time, not only would my knowledge be snatched away, they might, in the fear of these talisman recipes being spread to other sects, directly kill me to silence me. For an idiot like you, even if you were caught and become a slave laborer, it would not amount to much. I just hope that you do not spread the harm to me.”

“That is indeed a problem.” Wei Suo’s eyes rolled around. Suddenly, he started to laugh mischievously. “Old man, rest assured. I can still guarantee that there would not be any problem after I sell this batch of Fireball Talismans.”

“Not be any problem?” The green gowned old man looked to Wei Suo with an unbelieving expression.

“In any case, it’s evening right now. Furthermore, I would not be going too far away from the Spirit Peak City and also have this many Fireball Talismans on me. There shouldn’t be any problem. Let me bring you and we’ll check things out.” Wei Suo ‘he he’ laughed and then placed the little black tile jar into his clothes, rapidly locked the door to his house and ran out like a wisp of smoke.

…

Night time. Three cultivators carrying leather bags on their backs were running toward Spirit Peak City.

All three of these cultivators were low level cultivators whose job was to gather two kinds of medicinal herbs for a single shop. To cultivators of their level, they would never dare to spend a night outside of the Spirit Peak City.

When they passed the Black Bubble Pond, the three cultivators saw a youth with disheveled hair that appeared to have been burned searching through the Black Bubble Pond.

“This guy is definitely someone who cannot even afford to pay the rent for the Heaven Capital City for consecutive days. At such a late time, he’s still here trying out his luck in the pond.” This black pond located less than two hundred miles to the south of the Heaven Capital City was a large swamp that would occasionally give off fist-sized marsh gas bubbles. Ordinarily, there would not be many demonic beasts coming and going through this place. However, it was said that a couple thousand years ago, there were a lot of cultivators who had battled here. Following the marsh gas bubbles, there would sometimes be fragments of magical treasures and such, that floated to the surface of the swamp. Sometimes, they would also enter the swamp and run their hands around to see if they’d be lucky enough to obtain something.

To these three cultivators, for there to be a person who continued to search the swamp at such a late time, he was definitely poor to a state of madness. Without any other method to make money, he could only try his luck at such a place.

When comparing themselves with this individual, these three cultivators immediately felt that their lives had been much better off. Inevitably, they began to rejoice in other’s misfortune. It was so much that they were unable to contain themselves, laughed out loud and shouted at that youth. “Brother, you seem exhausted, have you managed to find anything nice?”

“Not yet… eh, what is this?” With a thunderous noise, the three cultivators were surprised as they watched the youngster pull out a rusty and ancient looking iron case.

“Fire Talismans! There’s this many Fire Talismans!”

“He truly managed to find something?!” The three cultivators opened their eyes wide in shock as they looked to the youth in the distant. However, it was absolutely true. They have watched as that youth opened that rusty and stained little iron case. Inside that case was a large pile of vermillion colored technique talismans that were radiating a dim red light.

“My luck today is truly great! Hey, I must give you all one of these Fire Talisman.” The youth with the disheveled hair pulled out one of the Fire Talisman from the case and placed it in the hand of one of the three dumbstruck cultivators. After he gathered the remaining Fire Talismans and placed them into his clothes, he rapidly disappeared into the darkness.

“This is truly a Fire Talisman? He truly managed to find that many Fire Talismans?”

The square faced cultivator who was holding the Fire Talisman and the other two cultivators were both looking at the vermillion technique talisman with stupefied expressions for a long time. In the end, the square faced cultivator was finally unable to resist his urge anymore. He clenched his teeth and focused a stream of True Elemental Energy into the technique talisman.

“Boom.” A basket sized fireball immediately rushed forth from this cultivator’s hand and exploded in the swamp not far away from them. The dazzling flames illuminated the surrounding several hundred meters.

“Level one Fireball Talisman! It’s a level one Fireball Talisman! That guy’s luck is truly amazing, he managed to find that many level one Fireball Talismans!”

“That pile of Fireball Talismans from earlier, there’s at the very least over a hundred of them!”

The feeling of rejoicing in other’s misfortune that the three cultivators had at the beginning was completely gone. Replacing it was a deep sense of jealousy.

…

“How was it? Old man, this move of mine is beautiful, no?” Once he returned to his stone house, Wei Suo immediately took out the Ghost Raising Jar and complacently said to the green gowned old man.

“What’s beautiful about it?! ‘Fire Talismans! There’s this many Fire Talismans!’ When you were shouting those words earlier, didn’t that sound a bit too fake?”

“Haha, is that so? I think it’s alright. After all, everyone in the Spirit Peak City would know by tomorrow that there was a lucky bastard that managed to find a large pile of Fireball Talismans. By that time, there shouldn’t be any problem if I was to go sell them.” Wei Suo laughed out loud, took off his clothes that were covered with mud and jumped into a cask that was filled with water. He began to complacently bathe himself.