I proved immortality with thunder magic.

Chapter 87 Gifts and Tests

After understanding Aaron Kwok's mindset, Zhou Tai knew what tone and attitude to use when talking to him.

After a long chat in the living room, Aaron Kwok, having gotten the answer he wanted, was happily seen off by Zhou Taili at the door.

After seeing Aaron Kwok off, Zhou Tai returned to the living room and sat down, lost in thought.

Aaron Kwok's visit to offer his congratulations was naturally sincere.

But they did indeed have ulterior motives.

He never gave up on his original idea, which was to open his own shop.

Today, Aaron Kwok's "Kwok's Goods Store" is indeed quite good, and he manages it very well, making it a thriving business.

However, "Guo Ji Store" is, after all, the Guo family's property. Although Aaron Kwok is the manager, he is actually just an employee. If he does well, he can only get more bonuses and dividends every year.

Moreover, he also had to worry about one thing: if he managed "Guo's Goods Store" better and better, would the elders of the Guo family be jealous and replace him with one of their own?

This kind of thing is not unusual; many cultivation families experience similar incidents.

So whether it's for profit or for long-term considerations, Aaron Kwok hopes to own a shop.

He visited Zhou Tai today to offer his congratulations and, for the first time, expressed his idea to Zhou Tai, hoping to gain Zhou Tai's support.

According to his suggestion, as long as Zhou Tai was willing to support him, the two of them could each contribute half the capital to take over a shop and start their own business.

From then on, Zhou Tai provided thunder talismans and identity protection, while he and his Daoist partner were responsible for managing the shop, and the profits were split equally between the two.

Of course, the thunder talismans provided by Zhou Tai still had a purchase price; he wasn't just supplying them for free.

Zhou Tai neither objected to nor immediately agreed to Aaron Kwok's plan, but simply asked him to prepare a detailed plan for him to review.

Moreover, according to Zhou Tai, if Aaron Kwok wanted to do this, it would be best to go to other markets, not Bailong Market.

He was also thinking of Aaron Kwok.

After all, if Aaron Kwok quits his job as the shop owner and goes into business on his own, "Kwok's Goods Store" will lose its trump card, the Thunder Talisman, and its business will definitely decline in the future.

If Aaron Kwok's shop were still in Bailongfang Market and business were booming, his family would probably be even angrier.

Another point is that although Bailong Market has a considerable flow of people, it is still much less than the markets under the jurisdiction of Nanhua Sect and Lingxu Sect.

That's just Zhou Tai's personality; he either doesn't do anything at all, or he does something big.

Not long after Aaron Kwok left, Li Hongzhi also arrived to congratulate Zhou Tai.

Since it was inconvenient for him to enter the gate of Spirit Beast Mountain, he could only meet Zhou Tai at the Spirit Beast Manor outside, and he also gave Zhou Tai a stack of century-old thunder bamboo paper as a congratulatory gift.

Centennial Thunder Bamboo Paper is made from century-old Thunder Bamboo and is very precious. It can be used to draw second-level Thunder Talismans.

Moreover, the production of this kind of talisman paper has always been low, and even if you have money, it is difficult to buy in large quantities.

As far as Zhou Tai knew, even if he placed an order through the Talisman Hall of Spirit Beast Mountain, it would be difficult to purchase in large quantities.

Therefore, second-tier lightning talismans are extremely rare in the cultivation world, and are almost priceless!

In any case, none of the shops in Bailong Market sell second-tier thunder talismans.

Li Hongzhi once mentioned in a casual conversation that he had seen a second-tier high-grade thunder talisman auctioned off as a precious collectible, fetching a sky-high price of eight thousand low-grade spirit stones, almost matching the price of a second-tier mid-grade magic weapon!

Zhou Tai's willingness to heed Zeng Qiming's advice and abandon past path dependence was also related to the rarity of century-old Leizhu talisman paper.

If he continued to practice drawing talismans in the same way he always did, constantly correcting his mistakes, even if he had plenty of spirit stones, he simply wouldn't have that many hundred-year-old thunder bamboo talisman papers to use up.

However, the great path of talismanic arts that Zeng Qiming mentioned is difficult at first but easy later; once you master one method, all methods become easy. This can greatly reduce the number of times he has to make mistakes when learning new talismans.

As the days passed, Zhou Tai was so immersed in the new talisman-drawing experience that he didn't feel the time was flying by.

On this day, the sound of wind chimes suddenly rang outside the courtyard gate, indicating that a guest had arrived.

If Zhou Tai's acquaintances were to visit, they would usually notify him in advance with a communication talisman. Since he had not received a message, it meant that the visitor was not an acquaintance.

So he immediately released his divine sense to observe the person who came.

Beside the stone steps outside the door, a thin middle-aged man stood with his hands behind his back.

As Zhou Tai's divine sense spread out, he seemed to sense something and immediately spoke calmly, "Using divine sense to secretly spy on people is a very impolite thing to do in the cultivation world. Is this how Junior Brother Zhou treats those who come to visit?"

Zhou Tai was also somewhat alarmed, because the middle-aged man was actually at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage and he had never met him before.

Upon hearing the other person's words, he hurriedly withdrew his divine sense, then flew straight out of the window and quickly flew to the gate to open it.

He opened the courtyard gate and immediately bowed to the thin, middle-aged man standing before him, saying, "Senior brother, please forgive me. I have only recently succeeded in establishing my foundation. Seeing that the visitor was not an acquaintance, I couldn't help but peek out out of curiosity. I apologize for any offense I may have caused!"

Seeing that his apology was sincere and knowing that he had only recently established his foundation, the middle-aged man did not pursue the matter further. He simply nodded slightly to him and said, "My name is Zhong Sheng. I am currently cultivating in a cave in the Green Wood Forest. I have come uninvited today because I have heard of Junior Brother Zhou's reputation and wish to make his acquaintance and obtain a few Thunder Talismans."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai immediately looked enlightened and nodded repeatedly, saying, "So it's Senior Brother Zhong. Your visit is an honor to our humble abode. Please come in with me, and I will prepare some simple tea and wine to entertain you!"

After saying that, he gestured and invited the other person into his home.

The two entered the living room and took their seats as host and guest. While boiling water to make tea, Zhou Tai casually asked, "I wonder where Senior Brother Zhong heard of my junior brother's reputation?"

Over the years, there have been quite a few outer disciples who have heard of Zhou Tai's reputation and have taken the liberty of coming to his door to befriend him and ask for thunder talismans.

However, the fact that an inner disciple with a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation level would come to his door under this pretext made Zhou Tai suspicious; it was hard to believe.

Faced with his probing, Zhong Sheng simply smiled and said, "I've forgotten exactly who it was, but it should be some outer disciple."

""

After speaking, she looked at Zhou Tai with curiosity and said, "I heard that when Junior Brother Zhou successfully established his foundation, he was already over sixty years old. I wonder what kind of miraculous medicine Junior Brother Zhou used to be able to reverse his aging and become so young after establishing his foundation!"

Zhou Tai realized that this person's uninvited visit today was definitely not to ask for the Thunder Talisman, but rather had another purpose.

As for the specific purpose, we still need to probe slowly.

His thoughts raced, and he smiled calmly, saying, "I didn't use any miraculous pills or elixirs; I was simply fortunate enough to receive a Blood Ginseng Replenishing Pill from the sect leader!"

Upon hearing his answer, Zhong Sheng immediately shook his head in disbelief.

However, it's understandable why Zhou Tai didn't tell the truth.

After all, the two had no connection whatsoever, and when strangers among cultivators interact, it is most taboo to speak too much with someone you don't know well, lest they discover your secrets and be targeted.

He simply smiled and nodded, saying, "To receive the Blood Ginseng Replenishing Pill with the sect leader's special permission, Junior Brother Zhou must have done something of great contribution to our sect. You are truly a meritorious official of our sect. I admire you greatly!"

"It's just a small contribution, not worth mentioning. I don't deserve such praise from Senior Brother Zhong!"

Zhou Tai waved his hand repeatedly, not taking the other party's words seriously.

Then he picked up the brewed tea and poured a cup for both himself and the other person.

"My humble abode is simple, with only some coarse tea that is hardly presentable. I hope you will forgive any shortcomings in my hospitality, Brother Zhong!"

Zhong Sheng didn't touch the hot tea he was offered, but instead looked at him and said, "Junior Brother Zhou has the aptitude of a lightning spirit root. After successfully establishing your foundation, the sect leader should have recommended an elder of the sect as your master. I wonder if Junior Brother Zhou has already found a renowned master?"

Zhou Tai didn't understand why he would suddenly ask this, but thinking that it wasn't something that needed to be hidden, he nodded slightly and said, "The sect leader did say that he would recommend me to several elders who are interested in taking me as a disciple, but more than ten days have passed and we still haven't received any news!"

Upon hearing this, a glint flashed in Zhong Sheng's eyes, followed by a strange expression on his face. He said, "That's strange. As far as I know, although the elders of our sect have high requirements for accepting disciples, a talented young man like Junior Brother Zhou, who has already proven his potential, shouldn't have gone unnoticed by any elder for so long. Is there some hidden reason behind this?"

After speaking, he carefully observed Zhou Tai's reaction.

Zhou Tai was slightly taken aback at first, then frowned and looked at him with some suspicion, saying, "What Senior Brother Zhong said does seem a bit off. Could it be that Senior Brother Zhong knows something?"

At this point, Zhou Tai also became somewhat unsettled, and couldn't help but ponder the question, wanting to know why this was happening.

Zhong Sheng shook his head repeatedly, saying, "How could I possibly know such a thing? I just find it strange based on common sense."

Then, seemingly casually, he added, "However, Junior Brother Zhou, you don't need to worry too much. You should know that there aren't many inner disciples in our sect with clear master-disciple relationships. Even if we can't become disciples, it won't affect our subsequent cultivation. In fact, it might even make us more carefree!"

His words seemed to be meant to comfort Zhou Tai, but Zhou Tai did not accept them.

He immediately turned to him with a serious expression and said, "Senior Brother Zhong, you jest. The matter of becoming a disciple is of great importance. With the guidance of a renowned master, one can avoid countless detours and mistakes in future cultivation. Moreover, having a master to protect you within the sect is a different matter than not having one. How can one not care about such an important matter!"

Zhong Sheng narrowed his eyes, then asked with a teasing tone, "That's true, but what can you do if you haven't received any notification, Junior Brother Zhou?"

Upon hearing his words, Zhou Tai suddenly calmed down.

As the saying goes, "too much talk between strangers," the topics Zhong Sheng was discussing with him were already quite deep, touching on personal privacy.

Zhou Tai became even more suspicious of his motives.

So Zhou Tai didn't answer his question anymore, but calmly looked at him and asked in return, "Brother Zhong, are you really here today to ask for a talisman?"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Sheng realized that his words had gone too far.

A thought quickly crossed his mind, and he soon came up with a new idea.

He nodded with a smile and said, "Of course. I've heard that Junior Brother Zhou has an outstanding talent in talisman-making. He could draw a first-grade high-quality thunder talisman when he was in the Qi Refining stage. Now that he has successfully established his foundation, I imagine his talisman-drawing skills have become even more exquisite. I wonder if I would have the honor of seeing his masterpiece in person?"

This answer clearly did not satisfy Zhou Tai, but a direct refusal seemed too blunt. After a moment's thought, he nodded slightly and said, "Since Senior Brother Zhong is so interested, then this junior brother will make a fool of himself!"

Then he led the other person to the study on the second floor.