Transformation Fire Treasure Talisman

The spell Elder Chen gave Xiao Chen was called the Transformation Fire Treasure Talisman.

Unlike ordinary Fire Avoiding Methods, this spell could not directly help a cultivator withstand the invasion of Fire Qi.

Instead, the cultivator first had to follow the described mental cultivation method and form a Talisman Script out of mana, storing it within the Heart Aperture.

Should Fire Qi enter the body, the Talisman Script would automatically absorb it, condensing it into strands of Mysterious Fire for storage, thus keeping the Heart Meridian unharmed.

If the Talisman Script became full, or if an enemy had to be faced, one could form a hand seal and unleash it, spraying out all the Mysterious Fire stored within.

Used well, it could both protect oneself and provide another means of attack.

Of course, this was still a Yellow-grade Spell, so it had two major flaws.

First, once the Talisman Script was unleashed, it could not be drawn back into the body. Mana had to be expended again to condense a new one.

Thus, it could only be played as a trump card, not used as a regular offensive spell.

Second, the amount of Fire Qi the Talisman Script could store was quite limited.

At the beginner stage, it could only store ten strands of Mysterious Fire. At the Lesser Accomplishment Realm, one hundred; even at great accomplishment, at most one thousand.

Elder Chen had specifically instructed Xiao Chen to hurry and cultivate the Transformation Fire Treasure Talisman to the Lesser Accomplishment Realm.

Otherwise, the raging Fire Qi within the Flame Pool Secret Realm would be impossible to withstand.

Under normal circumstances, merely getting started with a Yellow-grade Spell took ten days to half a month. Reaching the Lesser Accomplishment Realm would be nearly impossible without a year or two.

As for bringing a technique to great accomplishment, that required decades of bitter cultivation, until practice made perfect and everything became thoroughly integrated.

Elder Chen had originally felt that three months was far too short, that there was simply not enough time.

But considering the extraordinary comprehension Xiao Chen had displayed before, along with his several bouts of Sudden Comprehension, he decided to let him try.

That was also why Elder Chen had been so gratified when he saw Xiao Chen decisively choose a Yellow-grade Technique.

Yet after only about a day of practice—

By the morning of the third day, with Hextech's enhancement, Xiao Chen had successfully condensed a Talisman Script and smoothly entered the beginner stage.

He then came to the familiar riverbank, donned his defensive robe, and summoned a Fire Crow, directing it to fly farther away and breathe flames.

Then he gradually approached the fire, absorbing Fire Qi at its outer edge to test the Talisman Script's storage capacity.

The result was no surprise. After burning for an entire day, more than fifty strands of Mysterious Fire had condensed inside the Talisman Script, filling only about half its capacity.

"Ah, what a pity. If only I had ten Talisman Scripts, each with ten times the capacity. How wonderful would that be?"

Xiao Chen feigned a sigh, but the corners of his mouth curled upward slightly.

"Transformation Fire Treasure Talisman, go!"

With a low shout, the Talisman Script in his Heart Aperture immediately flew out of his body. It expanded dozens of times in an instant, then sprayed the Mysterious Fire within toward the front.

In an instant, the temperature ahead surged sharply. Even the pebbles below were roasted until they cracked with explosive pops.

The power of this strike was already very close to Poison Crow Black Fire, ten times stronger than Fireball Art.

Though its range was clearly smaller and the flames were mainly concentrated directly ahead, its temperature was slightly superior.

One had to know that this Talisman Script had contained only half its Mysterious Fire just now.

If it could store a full hundred strands, its power would certainly far surpass Poison Crow Black Fire, enough to become a killing move.

And this was only the beginner stage. If cultivated to the Lesser Accomplishment Realm, its power could increase tenfold.

"If I one day reach great accomplishment, I imagine it could rival a Foundation Establishment cultivator's attack."

At that thought, Xiao Chen's spirits rose. He sat down right where he was and began condensing another Talisman Script.

Perhaps because he had already condensed one before, the new Talisman Script took only One Hour to settle firmly within his Heart Aperture.

"Over the next few days, I'll use up the Spirit Herbs I have on hand, then put alchemy aside for a while."

"From then until the Secret Realm opens in March, I'll focus on cultivating the Transformation Fire Treasure Talisman and strive to reach the Lesser Accomplishment Realm."

As Xiao Chen calculated his cultivation schedule, he suddenly realized, "Hey, why am I becoming more and more like a fire cultivator now?"

Whether it was the Luo Tian Mysterious Fire Crow or the Transformation Fire Treasure Talisman, both were fire-attribute spells.

"If only I had a Fire Spiritual Root. What a pity."

Cultivators with different spiritual roots could gain up to a Ten Percent increase in power when casting spells corresponding to their Five Elements Attributes, depending on the strength of their spiritual roots.

Moreover, when learning new spells, they could get started more easily. It might not be twice the result with half the effort, but at least it would feel as natural as guiding one's own hand.

After sighing, Xiao Chen reminded himself, "When I have time, I should look for some Wood Attribute spells and make use of my advantage."

Techniques would certainly not come knocking on his door, but he could take the initiative to seek them out.

"The eighth day is in a couple of days. I'll take a walk around the Black Market and see whether there are any suitable spells."

However, on the eighth day, he arrived at Chen Shi in the morning and spent more than an hour circling the small mountain southwest of Cattle Village twice.

Yet Xiao Chen found only some felled tree stumps, without seeing a single person.

"Eh, could it be because of the New Year?"

Xiao Chen was somewhat uncertain. "Forget it. I'll come back and take another look on the twenty-third."

But before he could leave, another person in a black robe arrived as well and curiously sized him up.

Then the man asked in a hoarse voice, "Are you from Quanzhou, sir?"

Xiao Chen waved a hand. "You have the wrong person. I was merely tired from traveling and stopped here to rest my feet. Farewell!"

The black-robed man hesitated for a moment before choosing another direction and leaving.

As he passed through Cattle Village, Xiao Chen encountered several more burly figures wearing Black Masks that exposed only their eyes, hurrying toward the southwest.

Judging by their appearance, they were most likely people who had also come to investigate the Black Market.

That was not good news. One perfectly reasonable inference was that quite a number of Black Market Tokens had changed hands.

"By the twenty-third, won't everyone who comes be locals?"

Thinking of that possibility, Xiao Chen silently prayed for the fellow cultivators from Quanzhou. I hope they're all right.

Although he had gone out on the eighth day, he still hurried to refine a furnace of Qi Nourishing Pills that afternoon. Nine pills formed, a steady performance.

At other times, he refined two furnaces a day without interruption.

Under such relentless work, by the morning of First Month Fifteenth, the last furnace of Qi Nourishing Pills was successfully refined as well.

Perhaps because practice made perfect, the pill formation rate this time reached ninety-five percent.

Including the extra pills given by [Buy One Get One], Xiao Chen obtained a total of thirty-eight bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills.

"Very good. Everything has gone smoothly. That leaves two and a half months, which should be enough time."

After putting away the Pill Furnace, Xiao Chen headed straight for the riverbank below the mountain.

He intended both to get some fresh air and to review the Luo Tian Mysterious Fire Crow.

Boom!

The pitch-black flames once again evaporated a great deal of water vapor. Not only had he not grown rusty, he had improved slightly compared with last time.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Half a month of dreary, sunless alchemy had left Xiao Chen stifled. Growing exhilarated from the explosions, he released Poison Crow Black Fire repeatedly, emptying half his mana in one go.

After venting to his heart's content, he let out a long breath. "Hah, that felt good."

He felt good, but the fish in the river were unlucky. More than a dozen fish had been peacefully resting among the Water Grass when they were suddenly blasted into the air.

Fortunately, Xiao Chen had brought a bamboo basket this time.

"This one only had its tail burned off. It can still be saved."

"This one is charred on the inside. It's probably beyond saving."

He rescued two large fish in time and did not spare several others that were less severely burned.

After cutting away the charred portions with his Flying Sword, he could take them back, chop them into filling, and make fish balls to pass off as tangyuan for the Lantern Festival.

"This Evergreen Sword is pretty useful for cutting fish. It's sharp enough, and it neither gets blood on it nor meat stuck to it."

Xiao Chen was quite satisfied with this.

Knock, knock, knock!

Just as he was busy cooking for the festival, knocking suddenly came from the outer door.

"Senior Brother Xiao, happy Lantern Festival! Would you like to go see the lantern fair together?"

He knew at once that it was Su Wanqing.

Xiao Chen was a little curious. Why had she come again?