"I'll take this Mother-Child Swift Shadow Shuttle."
After giving it some thought, Xu Chunniang still decided to choose it. In battle, circumstances could change in the blink of an eye; the faster the Spiritual Artifact, the greater its advantage.
The Mother-Child Swift Shadow Shuttle came as a set of seven and was exceptionally agile, more than enough to make up for its lack of power.
After buying the offensive Spiritual Artifact, Xu Chunniang still had forty-eight spirit stones left. She planned to buy some talisman-making supplies.
After all, beginners did not need to buy the best things. As long as they were sufficient, that was enough.
The tools needed to learn the art of talismans were a talisman brush, talisman ink, and talisman paper.
Of these, the talisman brush was the most expensive, but it was a one-time purchase and could be used for a long time.
Talisman ink and talisman paper, though cheap, were consumables. Once they were used up, she would have to spend money to buy more.
Under Senior Sister Yao's introduction, Xu Chunniang ultimately spent ten spirit stones on a Low-grade Talisman Brush. This kind of talisman brush could only produce Low-grade Talismans, but it was sufficient for a beginner.
After buying the talisman brush, Senior Sister Yao began introducing talisman ink and paper.
"There are many kinds of talisman ink. Based on their attributes, we divide them into nine kinds, corresponding to nine types of techniques.
"For example, if you want to draw the Fireball Technique and Water Arrow Technique, you need to buy Fire Ink and Water Ink. If you want to draw the Light Body Technique or Swift Travel Technique, then you need unaligned Black Ink.
"For beginners, Low-grade Talisman Ink will suffice. One spirit stone buys one block of talisman ink, and one block can draw ten Beginner Talismans."
Xu Chunniang possessed water, earth, and wood attributes. Other than unaligned talismans, she had the greatest chance of success when drawing talismans of those three attributes.
"Then give me ten portions of Water Ink first."
Her Water Spiritual Root had the highest purity. Drawing water-attribute talismans would certainly be easier for her to succeed with.
Having finished introducing talisman ink, Senior Sister Yao began introducing talisman paper. "A ream of Low-grade Talisman Paper costs only one spirit stone, with twenty sheets in each ream. A ream of Mid-grade Talisman Paper costs four spirit stones, while High-grade Talisman Paper costs one spirit stone per sheet."
Naturally, Xu Chunniang chose Low-grade Talisman Paper. "I'll take five reams of Low-grade Talisman Paper."
Ten portions of Water Ink and five reams of Low-grade Talisman Paper came to fifteen spirit stones in total. Xu Chunniang paid without hesitation.
Senior Sister Yao took out a ream of talisman paper and two bottles of unaligned Black Ink. "Consider these a bonus for buying the Spiritual Artifact."
There was no way Xu Chunniang would refuse something given for free. She accepted them and placed them together with the talisman-making supplies she had bought earlier.
"By the way, do you have any pills that can treat wounds?"
Xu Chunniang was about to leave when she suddenly remembered this matter.
This time, she had truly been injured badly. Although the spiritual energy had nourished her wounds enough that they no longer hurt as much and had begun slowly healing, using medicine would allow them to close faster.
"For healing medicine, there are two kinds: External Wound Pills and Internal Wound Pills, each for a different kind of injury.
"A Low-grade External Wound Pill costs three spirit stones each, while a Low-grade Internal Wound Pill costs five spirit stones each. As for Mid-grade pills, they cost twice as much as the Low-grade ones. High-grade pills cost four times as much as Low-grade ones."
Xu Chunniang nodded. For the same type of pill, the higher its grade upon refinement, the greater its effect and the fewer impurities it contained.
And the more impurities a pill contained, the more Pill Toxin it held.
"Then I'll take Mid-grade ones. One External Wound Pill and one Internal Wound Pill."
Her purse was rather empty at the moment, so she would buy one of each.
After leaving the Treasure Pavilion, Xu Chunniang had only seventeen spirit stones left on her person. In an instant, she was back to square one.
However, she had gained one Spiritual Artifact, and another Mid-grade Spiritual Artifact would be ready for her to collect in a few days.
Upon returning to Carefree Residence, Xu Chunniang could not wait to take out the Mother-Child Swift Shadow Shuttle and admire it.
"A Spiritual Artifact... I finally have a Spiritual Artifact too."
Other than the mother shuttle, the remaining six child shuttles were all tiny enough to fit into her palm.
"I really want to test its power. If I encounter a Cloud Tiger Beast again, I'll have another method at my disposal."
Eagerness flickered in Xu Chunniang's eyes, but she quickly forced down her impulse to enter the mountains and find a Cloud Tiger Beast to test its power on.
The major examination was only a few days away. It was better to be cautious—heal her wounds first, then refine the Spiritual Artifact. There would be no shortage of chances to use it later.
After spending three days healing her injuries, Xu Chunniang took out the Mother-Child Swift Shadow Shuttle and prepared to refine it.
"A low-grade Spiritual Artifact has a total of three formations inscribed upon it. Once I refine all three formations, I'll be able to control the artifact's core and wield it as freely as my own arm. I'm already at the fourth level of Qi Refining, so breaking through these three formations shouldn't be difficult."
She took a deep breath and guided the spiritual energy within her body toward the Mother-Child Swift Shadow Shuttle. Before long, it filled the entire artifact.
The formations were like tiny mazes. Once spiritual energy entered, it crashed around inside like a headless fly.
Xu Chunniang did not rush. Instead, she slowly probed her way forward.
The formations within a low-grade Spiritual Artifact were not complicated. Soon, her spiritual energy found the exit and entered the second maze...
A day passed. Xu Chunniang opened her eyes; she had completely refined the Mother-Child Swift Shadow Shuttle.
Without any visible movement from her, the Mother-Child Swift Shadow Shuttle on the table suddenly rose into the air and began dancing through the room.
Then, the Mother-Child Swift Shadow Shuttle split into seven. The mother shuttle flew in front, with the six child shuttles behind it. One moment they flew in one direction, the next they streaked wildly through the air, creating a lively spectacle.
After controlling it for the time it took an incense stick to burn, Xu Chunniang stopped and carefully assessed herself. If she continuously used the Mother-Child Swift Shadow Shuttle, she could hold out for two incense sticks' worth of time.
Having used it personally, Xu Chunniang came to appreciate the Mother-Child Swift Shadow Shuttle's marvelous qualities. This set of Spiritual Artifacts was extremely compact, swift and nearly silent in flight—perfect for sneak attacks.
Its drawback was that it consumed a great deal of spiritual energy and was somewhat less powerful than Spiritual Artifacts like flying swords.
After resting for a while, Xu Chunniang controlled the Mother-Child Swift Shadow Shuttle again. She had only just refined it; if she wanted to wield it as freely as her own arm, she would need extensive practice.
The next day, Xu Chunniang did not practice with the Mother-Child Swift Shadow Shuttle. Instead, she went early to the Treasure Pavilion. Today was the day she was to collect her soft armor.
Senior Sister Yao was away on business, and another beautiful female cultivator was now responsible for receiving customers.
The beautiful female cultivator took the contract, handed over the soft armor, and said with a smile, "Junior Sister is truly capable. At such a young age, you've already earned the captain's trust and can stand on your own. Fortunately, we did not betray Junior Sister's trust. That Wind Cloud Tiger Hide has successfully been refined into a Mid-grade Spiritual Artifact."
Learning that the refinement had succeeded, Xu Chunniang happily accepted the soft armor and examined it closely.
Though soft, the armor was extraordinarily tough, and it carried no small amount of Wind Spiritual Energy.
The only regret was that the armor seemed rather too large for her at present. Still, she should be able to wear it with some difficulty.
The beautiful female cultivator promptly introduced the soft armor. "This was refined by a Mid-grade Artifact Refiner within our pavilion. Besides its formidable defensive ability, because its main material is Wind Cloud Tiger Hide, it contains a large amount of Wind Spiritual Power, allowing its wearer to move with greater speed and agility."
Xu Chunniang's eyes lit up. She had not expected it to have such an additional function; it was somewhat beyond her expectations. She nodded to the beautiful female cultivator. "Thank you for telling me. I'll take the item now. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving first."
"Please wait, Junior Sister."
Seeing that Xu Chunniang was about to leave, the beautiful female cultivator hurriedly called out to stop her.
Thank you to Fellow Daoists Huang Yueping and Xing Yun Lifang for their tips, and to Fellow Daoist Smaogirl2 for the monthly vote! Another bonus chapter day—so long as readers continue to support me, I'll keep posting bonus chapters for everyone!
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