I Live Forever In The World of Cultivation World

Chapter 90: Success Rate

For a Qi Refinement Realm cultivator at the sixth level, crafting a low-grade Thick Earth Talisman didn’t require much effort or spiritual energy.

However, crafting a mid-grade Thick Earth Talisman was another matter entirely. Being able to craft even one in a single day would already be quite remarkable.

A mid-grade Thick Earth Talisman could withstand several strikes from a mid-stage Qi Refinement Realm cultivator. The spiritual energy contained within was naturally immense.

For He Song, with his sixth level Qi Refinement Realm cultivation, completing such a talisman would instantly deplete most of his spiritual energy.

Thus, he would need to recover his spiritual energy before attempting another.

At present, though, He Song was crafting low-grade Thick Earth Talismans.

Naturally, they required far less spiritual energy.

He continued crafting.

His gaze was focused, and his brush moved like a dragon in flight, tracing out intricate talisman scripts on the paper.

Finally, as the last stroke fell...

The talisman paper before him emitted a flash of light.

He Song immediately felt some of his spiritual energy being drawn into the paper.

When the talisman paper stopped absorbing energy, it had successfully transformed into a low-grade Thick Earth Talisman worth five spirit stones.

Sensing the slight reduction in his spiritual energy, He Song’s face briefly showed a hint of joy.

The fourth attempt at talisman crafting—another success!

"Two successes and two failures. A 50% success rate? No, I can't calculate it like that. I've only crafted four so far. I’ll need a larger sample size to determine the true success rate."

Looking at the low-grade Thick Earth Talisman before him, He Song shook his head, discarding any feelings of pride.

A low-grade Thick Earth Talisman had a market price of five spirit stones.

However, the cost of materials—talisman ink and talisman paper—already amounted to two spirit stones.

If the wear and tear on the talisman brush were included, the costs would rise slightly.

Fortunately, talisman brushes were durable and wouldn’t wear out quickly.

Thus, while expensive, their contribution to the cost was relatively low.

In essence, if a talisman craftsman’s success rate didn’t reach 50%, they would likely incur losses.

Even at a 50% success rate, crafting two talismans to produce one successful piece would yield a profit of just one spirit stone.

Each attempt cost two spirit stones, and a completed talisman sold for five.

If success came only after three attempts, the craftsman would lose one spirit stone per talisman.

This price for talismans was the result of intense competition among talisman craftsmen, driving the market price down.

There was no helping it.

The number of people who could craft talismans was simply too large.

Without achieving a 50% success rate, most talisman craftsmen couldn’t even make a living.

He Song found it hard to believe that, after only studying the Introduction to Talismans Book for a year and just beginning to practice, he could achieve a 50% success rate.

Typically, for an ordinary cultivator learning talisman crafting, studying the Introduction to Talismans Book alone would require at least two years.

He Song had only taken one year because he had already reached the mid-stage of Qi Refinement Realm and had prior experience with the Introduction to Formations Book, providing him with a solid foundation.

This allowed him to progress much faster than the average cultivator.

Ordinary cultivators learning talisman crafting needed to memorize the drawing methods for talisman scripts described in the Introduction to Talismans Book and refine them into their own understanding before attempting practical application.

When they began practical crafting, their success rates were typically very low.

A student considered promising in talisman crafting might succeed twice out of ten attempts.

The majority of ordinary cultivators, however, might only succeed once out of ten tries—or not at all.

And crafting talismans required spirit stones.

Each attempt cost at least two spirit stones in materials.

Once a failure occurs, the entire cost is lost.

Of course, one can continue to study the Introduction to Talismans Book. Doing so will gradually improve the success rate.

Later, when spirit stones are more abundant, one can use them to purchase talisman paper and ink for crafting.

This is why the vast majority of cultivators only begin to learn various cultivation arts, including talisman crafting, after reaching the mid-stage of Qi Refinement Realm.

There’s no other way.

In the early stages of Qi Refinement Realm, cultivators were simply too poor.

Only when their cultivation reaches the mid-stage and their income improves can they afford to learn talisman crafting.

Previously, Meng Guan had written to He Song, lamenting that he hadn’t learned a single cultivation art by the mid-stage of Qi Refinement Realm and regretted it deeply. This was precisely because of such circumstances.

In the time that followed, He Song used up the remaining six sets of talisman crafting materials.

Out of ten total sets of materials, only three yielded success.

He ended up with three low-grade Thick Earth Talismans.

This result made He Song secretly pleased.

It seemed that his prior study of formations and his spiritual advantages made him more suited to talisman crafting than the average cultivator.

For his first attempt at talisman crafting, achieving a success rate of over 30% was remarkable.

With continued study of the Introduction to Talismans Book and further practice, he believed he could soon raise his success rate to over 50%.

At that point...

It would be the right time to reveal his identity as a talisman craftsman.

Once his reputation as a talisman craftsman spread...

He Song’s gaze shifted toward his private chamber.

Inside, within a small storage bag, were over 11,000 jin (5,500 kg) of spirit rice.

When the time came, he could use his position to sell all this spirit rice, earning a profit of over 1,100 spirit stones.

With that, he’d never lack spirit stones again.

After carefully storing the three low-grade Thick Earth Talismans on his desk, He Song thought it over and decided to wait.

He would act only when his success rate reached a solid 50%.

For now, He Song’s life returned to a calm routine.

During the day, he managed the medicinal garden, cultivating amidst its rich spiritual energy. His cultivation level was steadily progressing toward the seventh level of Qi Refinement Realm.

At night, he returned home to study the Introduction to Talismans Book.

Occasionally, he would take out a talisman brush, without dipping it in ink, to draw scripts on the table and practice the feel of crafting talismans.

However...

With his spirit stone supply running dangerously low, He Song couldn’t afford to practice talisman crafting daily.

He resolved to wait for another year until he received his annual stipend before resuming talisman crafting.

In the meantime, He Song decided to use his inkless brush to familiarize himself with the process of crafting talismans. This would help him hone his technique without wasting resources.

As for actual talisman crafting...

That would have to wait until he received his stipend and could buy materials again.

Since he hadn’t yet revealed his identity as a talisman craftsman, He Song couldn’t estimate his true success rate.

Unable to explain the source of his spirit stones, He Song decided to wait another year.

The small storage bag still had plenty of space. Even after harvesting spirit rice a few more times, there would be room to store it, and it wouldn’t spoil inside the bag.

Rather than taking risks for the sake of time, it was better to stick to the plan.

This way, his safety would be assured, and the spirit rice he grew wouldn’t go to waste.