Immortality begins with inheriting the myriad arts of cultivation.

According to Han Xingyan, the Fu Alliance is purely a communication platform for talisman makers, and there are no restrictions on its members.

However, his final implied meaning proved that this was actually just empty talk.

Li Ping has always believed that, regardless of whether it is his previous life or the cultivation world, and regardless of the nature of the organization, it must be formed because of common interests or the need to protect the interests of the members within the organization.

The same applies to the Symbol Alliance. The Symbol Alliance has a loose structure, somewhat similar to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Li Ping's previous life.

They also don't impose many restrictions on members of the organization, and on the surface they seem harmless.

However, once their own interests are threatened, they will immediately bare their fangs.

Like the Talisman Alliance, they rely on their technological advantages to control the number of talismans flowing into the market, thereby suppressing the prices of talisman-making raw materials such as talisman paper and ink upstream, while maintaining the price of talismans within a certain range downstream.

In this way, they can pocket the most lucrative profits in the talisman-making industry chain.

Li Ping's large-scale shipment of talismans has affected the price of first-tier spirit talismans, which undoubtedly harms the interests of the Talisman Alliance.

Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents.

If he were merely a Qi Refining cultivator, he would probably have already suffered a heavy blow from the Talisman Alliance.

However, he is a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his own strength is enough to rival the Talisman Alliance. That's why the Talisman Alliance sent Han Xingyan to visit him, using the pretext of congratulating him on his Foundation Establishment to first be polite and then resort to force.

Of course, it would be best if we could take this opportunity to win over Li Ping and get him to join the Talisman Alliance as well.

As long as Li Ping becomes a member of the Talisman Alliance, his long-term interests will align with those of the Talisman Alliance. Without needing anyone else to persuade him, he will voluntarily stand on the side of the Talisman Alliance members and safeguard their interests.

Leveraging its technological advantages, it can achieve steady and long-term growth.

Why not squeeze the upstream talisman-making material suppliers together and reap the benefits from the downstream talisman-buying cultivators?

Why engage in involution?

……

With many thoughts flashing through his mind and having seen through the true nature of the Talisman Alliance, Li Ping no longer had any interest in joining it.

It wasn't that he was arrogant, but rather that the Alliance of Symbols offered him absolutely no help.

He will soon become a mid-grade second-tier talisman maker, and from then on he will only be able to draw second-tier talismans.

He's pursuing a high-end strategy; there's no need for him to get involved with these guys from the Fu Alliance.

Thinking of this, Li Ping smiled and asked, "I know that Fairy Meng Qingyi of Azure Dragon Mountain is a second-tier talisman maker. Is she also a member of the Talisman Alliance?"

"Although we invited Fairy Meng," Han Xingyan shook his head regretfully, "it's a pity that Fairy Meng did not agree to join."

Li Ping nodded and reached for the exquisite wooden box containing the second-tier low-grade 'Silver Wolf Pen' on the table in front of him.

Seeing that he was willing to accept the gift, Han Xingyan smiled, clearly indicating that he was about to achieve his goal.

But Li Ping's next words stunned him. Li Ping put the wooden box into his storage bag and then said solemnly, "I accept Fellow Daoist Han's congratulatory gift. However, regarding joining the Talisman Alliance, I can only apologize. I only wish to focus on my cultivation and do not want to be disturbed by worldly affairs."

Upon hearing this, Han Xingyan immediately lost her composure.

Dude, the gift from the Fu Alliance is ostensibly to congratulate you on your Foundation Establishment, but what does your Foundation Establishment have to do with the Fu Alliance? It's actually an invitation to join the Fu Alliance and a signing bonus for you.

Now you've accepted the gift, but you're unwilling to join the Fu Alliance. Is that something a human would do?

Fortunately, Li Ping quickly spoke up again: "However, Fellow Daoist Han, rest assured, although I am not a member of the Talisman Alliance, I strongly agree with its principles. Only by suppressing the price of raw materials for talisman making and raising the price of finished spirit talismans can we talisman makers live a comfortable life."

He solemnly said, "I can assure Fellow Daoist Han that we will stand on the same side as the Talisman Alliance from now on and will never sell spirit talismans at low prices again."

Hearing Li Ping's promise, Han Xingyan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Before coming to invite Li Ping to join the Symbol Alliance, the Symbol Alliance had already made contingency plans.

If Li Ping agrees to join the Talisman Alliance, then everyone will be happy.

However, if Li Ping is unwilling to join the Talisman Alliance, then we must explain the advantages and disadvantages to him and stop him from continuing to dump talismans on a large scale and disrupt the talisman market in the Immortal City.

Now that Li Ping has given him assurances, he can be considered to have barely achieved his goal on this trip.

Thinking of this, he smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "Fellow Daoist Li is right; this is something that benefits everyone."

……

Han Xingyan took his leave, and Li Ping sat alone in the courtyard, playing with the talisman brush given as a gift by the Talisman Alliance.

Before Han Xingyan's visit, he had no intention of continuing to draw a large number of first-tier talismans. So Han Xingyan's trip was actually a wasted one.

His gaze fell on the talisman pen in his hand. It was a finely crafted talisman pen with a black handle and a silver nib.

The value of a second-tier low-grade item is between 100 and 200 spirit stones. In fact, given Li Ping's current wealth, he doesn't really care too much about it.

He accepted the gift because he was concerned about his image.

To outsiders, the cause of this incident was that he had been producing a large number of talismans, which disrupted the talisman market in the immortal city.

This prompted Fu Meng to send Han Xingyan to negotiate and exert pressure on them for their own benefit.

If Li Ping were to stop drawing talismans and refuse all gifts when the people from the Talisman Alliance come to his door, then to uninformed people, they might think that Li Ping lacks confidence and is afraid of the Talisman Alliance, and therefore doesn't dare to accept gifts.

They might label Li Ping as "honest," "easy to talk to," or "weak and easily bullied," which could affect his future interactions with fellow cultivators.

Li Ping wanted to be a "reformist who dares to refute" rather than a "cowardly reformer," so naturally he didn't want to see such a thing happen.

On the contrary, accepting the gifts offered by the Fu Alliance and reaching a win-win deal with them is a reasonable and measured approach that satisfies both parties, while also sending a signal to the outside world.

That is, Li Ping is a person who can weigh interests and negotiate to resolve differences, not just a "reckless cultivator" who only knows how to fight and kill.

There are many benefits to having such an image under a tree.

For example, in the future, if someone wants to get something from Li Ping, they will most likely choose to exchange benefits rather than take direct action.

Magical implements have no eyes, and magical spells are merciless.

With the Purple Qi Space cheat code, Li Ping's future path to immortality is a smooth road.

He did not want to frequently engage in combat with other cultivators. If problems arose, he would be willing to resolve them without resorting to violence, even if it meant suffering a minor loss.

……

After putting the talisman pen into his storage bag, Li Ping got up, pushed open the courtyard gate, and headed towards the inner city.

With Fairy Meng's "Original Talisman Brush" in hand and enough spirit stones, he was now going to buy mid-grade second-tier talisman ink and mid-grade second-tier spirit wood.

If all goes well, he will soon become a mid-grade second-tier talisman maker.

At that time, a completely different world will unfold before our eyes.