Wen Jingshu stared back deadpan and said, “Pass the hand seals to me.”
Mu Yanghe replied cheerfully, “Alright!”
Demonstrating as she spoke, Mu Yanghe explained, “First do this, then do that, and finally like this. Then let it simmer for forty-nine breath-spans, and our batch of pills is ready!”
Listening to her superfluous banter, Wen Jingshu suppressed the urge to bury her in the dirt and committed the hand seals to memory.
After mentally simulating the process several times as usual, Wen Jingshu took a deep breath, preparing to refine pills using only three hand seals.
“Turn up the fire and toss in the main herb! Lower the fire and add the secondary herb. Yes, perfect, keep it steady. Let’s simmer it over low heat, and finally finish with a strong blast of flame to condense the juices! Pill completed!”
A burst of pill fragrance surged forth, far richer in spiritual energy than any Sixth-Grade pill. With just a single whiff, Wen Jingshu felt her mind clear instantly, as if merging with the world itself.
With a wave of her hand, eleven pills floated before her eyes.
Unsurprisingly, all eleven were supreme-grade!
Wen Jingshu popped one into her mouth to sample it—its effects were three times stronger!
She knew immortal qi was countless tiers higher than spiritual qi, so she had wondered why using immortal qi for alchemy hadn't yielded vastly superior results before.
It turned out she had simply been doing it wrong!
Using only three hand seals was the correct way to refine ‘immortal pills’!
“How about that, Little Celestial Maiden? Haven't I proven my identity?”
Though it was clearly just a stark white, smooth skull, Wen Jingshu could somehow sense an aura of smug triumph coming from it.
Expressionless, the young female cultivator pushed away the skull leaning close to her. “Passable, I suppose.”
Mu Yanghe giggled. “Hahaha, I knew this celestial maiden was the best!”
“Didn't I tell you taking me with you would be helpful, Little Celestial Maiden?”
Ignoring her, Wen Jingshu silently pulled out her talisman brush and paper, preparing to draw talismans.
The talisman paper, brushes, and materials in the lower realm were far too inferior to withstand immortal qi—a fact proven when Sui Qi had shattered 4,999 talismans.
Thus, Wen Jingshu didn't use her wood immortal root to draw talismans, still choosing her domineering lightning spiritual root instead.
And what she planned to draw this time was the Heavenly Dipper Thunder Execution Talisman, an art far more destructive than the Thunder-Attracting Talisman.
Anyone with a lightning spiritual root could draw a Thunder-Attracting Talisman, but only those with a heavenly lightning spiritual root could draw a Heavenly Dipper Thunder Execution Talisman.
A single talisman could cleanse evil aura, eradicate demonic qi, and sweep away demon energy. As a talisman cultivator, Wen Jingshu had only ever seen one at an auction, but now she could draw it herself.
Clearing her mind and calming her spirit, she set her brush to paper, her strokes flowing like a soaring dragon in one smooth execution.
The talisman was complete, but it also completely drained her.
For a Thunder-Attracting Talisman of equivalent quality, she could draw ten, but she could only manage a single Heavenly Dipper Thunder Execution Talisman.
Wen Jingshu held the Heavenly Dipper Thunder Execution Talisman and sensed its power carefully, her eyes brightening.
Just holding the talisman in her hand, she could feel the surrounding foul air diminish significantly.
She observed the Heavenly Dipper Thunder Execution Talisman a bit longer, eager to try it out.
Pinch-holding the talisman between two fingers, she casually flicked it toward a boulder in the distance.
The Heavenly Dipper Thunder Execution Talisman flew out of her hand. In the blink of an eye, a deafening explosion echoed as the boulder burst into fine dust, accompanied by Mu Yanghe’s squawking shrieks.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch! What was that? Why does it feel so numb?”
Wen Jingshu was speechless as she watched her rub her own bones with both hands.
The Heavenly Dipper Thunder Execution Talisman that had drained all her spiritual energy was only enough to scratch an itch for this skeleton?
Is this the durability of immortal bones?
Realizing that she too would possess such a formidable set of bones in the future, Wen Jingshu suddenly found herself looking forward to it.
And so, Wen Jingshu spent her time drawing talismans and refining pills aboard the Aoyou Ferry. When bored, she strolled around the ship. Three months flew by in the blink of an eye.
The ferry docked at a remote small town. Cangwu Island possessed mediocre resources and lacked specialized natural treasures, so few cultivators traveled back and forth. Naturally, the ferry terminal here was far less grand than one might imagine.
Due to the divine tree commotion a thousand years ago, this place had once experienced a period of glory. But now that the dust had settled and the crowds had dispersed, the decaying town bore only faint traces of its former prosperity.
Cangwu Town was roughly the same size as Shanbin City. After disembarking from the Aoyou Ferry, Wen Jingshu first found a secluded spot to change her appearance. She then visited the local pill and talisman pavilions to sell off the pills and talismans she had crafted for practice, before finally heading to the local Jiuchuan Pavilion branch.
Perhaps because the location was so remote, the Jiuchuan Pavilion branch here appeared exceptionally modest.
It was a simple three-story building, with only a single receptionist on the first floor whose cultivation was merely at the Nascent Soul Stage.
“Are you here to post a mission, Fellow Daoist? Or to ship a treasure?”
Wasting no time, Wen Jingshu produced the transmission talisman Linglong had given her back then and said, “Check this.”
The male cultivator took the talisman, recognizing immediately from its quality that she was an A-class client.
A warm smile instantly broke across his face. “Please wait a moment, honored guest. I’ll look into it for you right away.”
He formed a specific hand seal and probed it with his divine sense to pull up the key hidden information regarding the service. Unfortunately, his authority was insufficient to view the details within.
“Honored guest, the delivery of the specified treasure exceeds my authorization level. I'm afraid you will only be able to retrieve the full information once you reach Songhuai City.”
This place was indeed remote, so Wen Jingshu found his explanation reasonable.
Besides, the main branch of the Wang family was located in Songhuai City, and she was heading there anyway.
Just as Wen Jingshu reclaimed her transmission talisman and turned to leave, the male cultivator called out hurriedly:
“If you aren't in a hurry, honored guest, I happen to have an escort mission bound for Songhuai City. I wonder if you might be interested?”
Cultivators were scarce around here, and this mission had been listed for over three months, constantly lacking one member to complete the team.
If he couldn't dispatch this mission soon, he feared this branch might get shut down entirely.
Left with no other choice, he plucked up the courage to ask her.
Coincidentally, three cultivators who had accepted the mission arrived just then. The male cultivator introduced them enthusiastically: “These three are the other team members.”
Seeing that Wen Jingshu was a frail female cultivator, the burly man leading the group frowned. “What is your cultivation level? What path do you practice? Our team requires at least an early Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator.”
Habitually donning an alias, Wen Jingshu replied, “Early Foundation Establishment Stage, talisman cultivator.”
Wang Kui nodded. “A talisman cultivator? That works. Welcome to the team. We set off tomorrow. I'm Wang Kui—how should I address you, Fellow Daoist?”
Wen Jingshu: ...
This felt eerily reminiscent of the time Fang Chun gave her that mission.
Oh well, it was on the way regardless, and she had no urgent business. Traveling with mercenaries could be considered practical experience anyway. Without batting an eye, Wen Jingshu said:
“Liu Ru.”
The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, Wang Kui and the other two were already waiting downstairs at the inn where Wen Jingshu was staying.
Seeing Wen Jingshu come downstairs, another thin, sickly-looking male cultivator in the group remarked with a sour tone, “Must be nice being a female cultivator. You've got far more ways to earn spirit stones than the rest of us.”
Tian Can’s words carried an unmistakable insinuation. As a talisman cultivator, Wen Jingshu instantly picked up on the subtext.
Expressionless, she retorted coldly, “You can try doing it yourself if you like. It's just a shame your face is so hideous and your mouth so foul—most female patrons probably wouldn't find you appealing.”
Tian Can hadn't expected a frail talisman cultivator like her to talk back so fiercely. His face darkened immediately. “Liu Ru, don't think I'll yield to you just because you're a woman!”
Wen Jingshu sneered, her expression filled with utter contempt.
“Yield to me? What, do you look down on me?”
“Save your male supremacist nonsense for the mortal realm. In the cultivation world, strength is respected above all, and mothers are honored above all! Do I need your leniency?”
“If we're really getting down to technicalities, male cultivators like you who cannot bear life are the actual defective products.”
Rate on N.U.
