Chapter 19
Chapter 19.
At last, I had formed a second thunder node.
Thanks to the enlightenment from the immortal wine, reaching the second star hadn’t been very difficult.
The first thunder node was near my dantian, but this one settled near my inner core, which had moved closer to my middle dantian.
Soon, the path of thunder qi connected with my lower dantian, forming a continuous circuit.
Like stars linking up to form a line, the connected thunder nodes in my body amplified their power and began to glow.
Before long, purple thunder flashed throughout my body and instinctively condensed at my fingertips.
“Purple Cloud Thunder Finger.”
As I recited the incantation and spoke the yao words, the purple thunder qi condensed at my fingertip shot into the air in an instant.
Crackle—.
Boom—!!
The Purple Cloud Thunder Finger I unleashed from my fingertip was as thin as a thread, but its speed and destructive power were downright frightening.
It had punched a hole straight through my fairly sturdy cave abode.
‘Even when I practiced with the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder Diagram, I never damaged the training grounds.’
It was probably because forming a second thunder node and reaching the second star had doubled its power.
Naturally, the Purple Cloud Thunder Slash of the Divine Thunder Slash Saber Style, the physical technique, was sure to be even more powerful than before.
I repaired the hole in the cave abode with the Earth-Melting Art, then gathered my energy.
‘Seo Geum is in seclusion, so I’ll check on that later.’
Even if she was my servant, she was also a fellow cultivator walking the same path of the Dao.
I didn’t want to do anything that might interfere with her training.
Seo Geum called me her master, saying she was my servant, but I didn’t want to treat her like a slave.
My modern sensibilities wouldn’t allow it.
Rather than a servant, she was more like a housemate.
To me, who’d lived alone for over a hundred years, Seo Geum was... well, someone who could ease the loneliness the Yao Immortal Gallery couldn’t dispel.
“Then, next up... the Winged Insects.”
The Winged Insects had lost a great many wings in the last battle.
Their wings looked like spirit talismans, and I’d inscribed talismans directly onto them with my own blood and put them to use.
They were far more effective than ordinary talismans, and had played a major role in the last battle.
“That Chain-Lightning Talisman was pretty awesome.”
The Chain-Lightning Talisman, which unleashed successive bursts of thunder qi, had been quite effective.
There would surely be plenty of people coming after my cave abode in the future. I’d obviously have to face a lot of them then.
‘Looking at it this way, this is turning into some kind of defense game.’
Anyway, protecting my home meant I’d eventually have to face a lot of cultivators.
There was nothing better than the Chain-Lightning Talisman for that.
‘I should keep making Chain-Lightning Talismans.’
The same went for the Stealth Talismans and Qi-Concealment Talismans.
My Purple Cloud Divine Thunder Saber Art was all about killing in a single strike.
If I could launch a surprise attack, doing so would obviously improve my chances of survival. And even aside from that, the two talismans that hid my presence would be very useful if I kept making them and feeding them to the Winged Insects.
Someday, I might have to leave Golden Ring Immortal Paradise and explore the Lower Realm.
I felt all the more certain of that after drinking Ho Chung’s immortal wine.
To comprehend the Great Dao, I needed a wider variety of experiences and fortuitous opportunities.
‘Even if I fell into a game, this isn’t a game to me anymore.’
The cave abode in Golden Ring Immortal Paradise.
The laws of the forbidden grounds.
Thinking about those things, the most likely explanation was that someone who cared about me—
My parents—had left me here because of circumstances beyond their control.
Someday, I might meet my parents, and whatever those unavoidable circumstances were could threaten my life.
Of course, even if that weren’t the case, I had to grow stronger in a world of immortal cultivation. That was the only way I could protect myself and the things I cared about.
‘And I’ll get to eat lots of delicious food.’
There was no need to take things too seriously.
Keep it light, keep it simple.
That was how I’d decided to live this life.
“But... what? Why are there more of them?”
When I entered the spirit insect chamber, the Winged Insects, which had looked so pathetic without their wings, had grown new ones and were buzzing around energetically.
Through the subjugation seal connecting us, they were clamoring that they were hungry, but their numbers seemed to have increased.
There had originally been five Winged Insects, but somehow there were twenty now.
“Did they have babies while I was away?”
In just five years?
I was puzzled, but it was a good thing for me.
It meant I could stockpile more talismans now.
Ten of them could carry Chain-Lightning Talismans, and five could carry Stealth Talismans.
What wasn’t there to like about being able to deploy so many of them like that?
“Maybe it was because they lost their wings. They say all living things become more fertile when they grow weak.”
That was probably the reason.
Of course, it wasn’t all good news.
“Their yao power has dropped a little.”
The Winged Insects, whose yao power had risen to the Second Realm, had fallen back to the Great Perfection of the First Realm.
It was probably because they’d given birth.
Five of them were at the Great Perfection of the First Realm.
The rest of the young ones had yao power at the initial stage of the First Realm.
It was a little disappointing, but what could I do?
Their numbers had grown, and all I had to do to make up for it was keep crafting talismans with my Talisman Crafting Art and feeding them to the insects.
In the end, time would take care of it.
‘I can expand the variety of spirit talismans I have.’
Their power might be a little weaker, but I could use a wider variety of talismans now.
So naturally, I should expand the range of types I could make.
‘What would be good?’
I sent my spiritual sense into the jade slips on Talisman Crafting in the cave abode and began searching for something suitable.
I unrolled a jade slip, made of jade like a bamboo scroll, and pressed it against my forehead. Its contents flowed into my mind.
Talismans for movement and escape.
Divine Movement Talismans, Water-Travel Talismans, Flying Sword Talismans, and Starstride Talismans.
The Divine Movement Talisman wrapped the legs in wind energy to briefly boost one’s speed.
Using one before performing a footwork technique or a movement art would undoubtedly increase one’s speed even further.
It was basically like a movement-speed buff.
‘The Water-Travel Talisman is... a swimming buff.’
The Water-Travel Talisman was a talisman for moving underwater, helping the user breathe and swim freely in rivers, seas, and the like.
That wasn’t a bad one, either.
I never knew what might happen if I went to the Lower Realm someday.
Next was the Flying Sword Talisman.
It was a flying talisman that let low-realm cultivators who hadn’t properly mastered sword flight lift their treasured swords into the air and fly on them.
Unfortunately, I didn’t need that one.
‘Next is the Starstride Talisman.’
The Starstride Talisman was an escape talisman that compressed the distance in an instant, propelling the user dozens of zhang away as if they’d been launched.
This one looked pretty useful.
Of course, I’d learned the thunder-attribute movement art, Thunderbolt Step, a long time ago.
But I couldn’t rely solely on a movement art in case of an emergency during battle.
My opponent could have one, too.
Using the Divine Movement and Starstride Talismans alongside a movement art would greatly improve my chances of escape and increase my odds of survival.
‘I should learn all of them.’
The number of Winged Insects had increased, after all.
At this rate, their numbers would keep growing.
Then I could learn all sorts of talismans and use the right one for each situation.
‘I’ll take all of them except the Flying Sword Talisman!’
I had plenty of materials lying around in the cave abode anyway.
Next were offensive talismans.
Lesser Thunder Talismans, Falling Thunder Talismans, and Great Thunder Talismans.
For now, I narrowed it down to thunder-attribute talismans.
The Winged Insects might be talisman bugs, but the talismans they used were still significantly affected by the talisman crafter.
Since I made the talismans, fed them to the Winged Insects, and supplied them with my own yao power, talismans that matched my attributes would naturally be more effective.
So of course, that meant thunder qi.
The Lesser Thunder Talisman was a basic talisman that shot a simple bolt of lightning.
It was a spirit talisman used by low-realm cultivators with thunder roots.
Its power was a little underwhelming for me.
It was like, why bother?
I mean, I’d just used the Purple Cloud Thunder Finger.
The Purple Cloud Thunder Finger was a stronger instant-activation finger technique than the Lesser Thunder Talisman, so there was no need for me to use one.
So next was the Falling Thunder Talisman.
“I should learn this one.”
The words on the jade slip unfolded in my mind like a picture.
A talisman that struck down like a bolt of lightning falling from the sky.
Apparently, depending on the talisman crafter’s talent and skill, it could bring down one, two, or even three bolts of lightning.
Since that depended on the talisman’s quality, it was a spirit talisman that suited me pretty well.
‘The Winged Insects could probably unleash more than three bolts at once.’
I didn’t have to worry too much about the materials needed to make them, either.
The important thing was the thunder qi.
I had to pour in powerful thunder qi and inscribe yao characters to make them.
The materials needed for the process were actually quite expensive, but I had them all in the cave abode, so there was nothing to worry about.
“Heh heh heh. Being born with a silver spoon is awesome!”
And next was the Great Thunder Talisman.
As its name suggested, it was a talisman that fired off a great bolt of lightning.
It was the next version of the Lesser Thunder Talisman, and its power was incomparable to that of the lesser one.
“Everything about it is great, but...”
The materials and crafting method were complicated.
From the Great Thunder Talisman onward, even a third-realm talisman crafter had only a thirty percent chance of succeeding, so the difficulty seemed to have suddenly shot up.
“Still, I think I could give it a try.”
I didn’t have many materials, but I thought I could somehow make about ten of them.
My Talisman Crafting skill was at the middle stage of the Second Realm.
According to the Dao-Bone New Scripture, my aptitude wasn’t particularly high, either.
[Crafting Skills]
* Alchemy: 12+100 (Yang Void Staircase)
* Artifact Refining: 12 → 13
* Feng Shui: 10 → 11
* Talisman Crafting: 15 → 16
* Medicinal Herbs: 11 → 12
* Ore Materials: 14 → 15
The increase was probably from the immortal wine.
It seemed enlightenment about worldly affairs affected a variety of things.
Still, even so, my aptitude wasn’t all that good...
‘I wonder if there’s some treasure that can raise my aptitude itself, like the Yang Void Staircase.’
Something like a brush or ink, for example.
The spirit brushes and spirit ink in the cave abode were certainly quite high-grade, but they weren’t tools on the level of the Yang Void Staircase, which raised one’s aptitude itself.
“I guess my parents never thought I’d be interested in talismans... Well, they do say talismans don’t have much room to grow stronger at the highest levels.”
The higher one’s realm, the less valuable talismans became.
Each talisman was certainly powerful, but they were inevitably consumable, especially considering the effort that went into making them.
Great cultivators at the Nascent Soul or Deification stages tended to say that instead of putting effort into a single talisman, one should focus on raising one’s realm.
One could strengthen one’s alchemy, artifacts, or formations instead, and keep growing stronger without being limited to a single use.
‘But I’ve already invested in it... and I’ve already had fun with it.’
And I have the Winged Insects, too.
I mean, I’m already in too deep.
Besides, it was only a questionable choice for high-realm cultivators. Talismans were perfect for someone at my level.
There was no harm in exploring them further for now.
“I’ll try the Great Thunder Talisman... later.”
There was no need to challenge it now and waste my materials. I could take my time, reach the late stage of the Second Realm, then Great Perfection, and give it a try after that.
Time would take care of that, too.
I’d have to keep making talismans whenever I had a spare moment to feed them to the Winged Insects, anyway.
