After returning home, Zhou Yi first took out the Basic Essence Refining and Spirit Manifestation Method. The book was not thick, only a little over ten pages. The first few pages recorded the cultivation method. Zhou Yi merely skimmed them; with the panel, he was not worried about cultivation. Skipping past the method, he looked at the final page.
The final page quantified spiritual power. With a yellow Spirit Testing Talisman, one could test the upper limit of spiritual power below the level of a Refining Master. As for how to test the spiritual power of those above a Refining Master, the book did not say.
If a newly initiated talisman master poured spiritual power into a Spirit Testing Talisman, the talisman would emit a pale yellow glow. The greater the spiritual power, the deeper the color, until a thread of blue light mixed into it, signifying the limit of a talisman master.
After breaking through that limit and becoming a Grand Talisman Master, the Spirit Testing Talisman would turn blue. Beyond blue came the purple of a Refining Master.
This also corresponded to the colors of the talismans a talisman master could draw, but a yellow Spirit Testing Talisman could at most test the limit of a Grand Talisman Master.
Zhou Yi set down the Basic Essence Refining and Spirit Manifestation Method and picked up the Compendium of Talismans instead.
The Compendium of Talismans was far thicker than the Basic Essence Refining and Spirit Manifestation Method. Zhou Yi opened it.
The first page did not contain a talisman, but an introduction to talismans.
It turned out that even the most basic yellow talismans were divided into low-grade, mid-grade, and high-grade according to their difficulty.
Zhou Yi turned to the second page. There, sure enough, was the Spirit Testing Talisman used to test spiritual power, along with its description and method of drawing.
The words "low-grade" were marked beneath the talisman. It seemed that the Spirit Testing Talisman was merely a low-grade yellow talisman.
Zhou Yi continued flipping through the pages. After finishing the whole book, he made a count.
This book contained thirty low-grade yellow talismans, most of them basic talismans like Water Purification Talismans, Fire-Starting Talismans, and Blood-Stopping Talismans. They were not of much use to him, but Zhou Yi still committed them firmly to memory. They might come in handy someday.
There were twenty fewer mid-grade talismans than low-grade ones, leaving only ten. Most of them were also of little use to him, such as House-Guarding Talismans, Item-Finding Talismans, and Disease-Dispelling Talismans.
By the time he reached the high-grade talismans, their number had plummeted to a mere five. Zhou Yi had heard of several of them before. Aside from the Three Powers Talisman and the Light Body Talisman, the other three were talismans he often used: the Evil Exorcising Talisman, Evil Warding Talisman, and Signal Talisman.
Zhou Yi carefully read the descriptions of the Three Powers Talisman and the Light Body Talisman.
Three Powers Talisman: Primarily used to form a Talisman Array and guard against the arrival of the strange. When three Three Powers Talismans are placed nearby and imbued with spiritual power, they will self-destruct upon the arrival of the strange, activating the spiritual power within to alert the one who set the array. www. Note: The Three Powers Talismans must not be placed more than one zhang apart. Light Body Talisman: Affixing the talisman to oneself increases the speed of martial artists below the Vitality Realm by thirty percent. Note: Only one may be used at a time.
After finishing both books, Zhou Yi placed them on the table. Just as Old Qin had said, learning by himself would take far too much time. Zhou Yi planned to study them after obtaining Yin Energy.
Turning to look out the window, he saw that last night's snow had stopped, but the gloomy sky still carried an oppressive air.
A light rain fell in scattered drops from the sky. Just as Zhou Yi was wondering where to obtain Yin Energy, the noise outside suddenly grew loud.
Zhou Yi opened the door. People were running through the streets in the rain. He walked out, grabbed a passerby, and asked, "What's going on?"
Sensing that someone had grabbed him, the passerby struggled twice. When he failed to break free, he turned to look at the person holding him.
Seeing the passerby look over, Zhou Yi repeated, "What happened?"
Only then did the passerby see clearly that the one holding him was from the Patrol Team. He hurriedly said to Zhou Yi, "The strange are here! The strange are here! Let go of me!"
Hearing that the strange had attacked, Zhou Yi's pupils contracted slightly. He then asked the passerby, "Where are they?"
"At the village entrance!" the passerby shouted.
Zhou Yi released him, then activated his footwork and ran against the stream of people toward the village entrance.
Why had the strange come to the village? Though the weather was gloomy, it was still daytime. Ordinary strange creatures would not come out; there was no mist during the day to strengthen them. Could it be the Red and White Fiends?
With that thought, Zhou Yi could not help growing anxious. He raced toward the village entrance at top speed.
When he reached the entrance, Zhou Yi frowned at the sight before him. White mist blanketed everything outside the village.
Zhou Yi remembered clearly that this white mist belonged to the White Fiend. Last time, he had not seen what lay within it clearly, but this time, he did.
Many white "people" floated within the mist. Those white "people" carried a coffin, like a wedding procession. The two at the front carried white lanterns, while the two at the back blew suonas. Yet no matter how they blew, not a sound came from the instruments.
The ground within the white mist was covered in white funeral paper, trampled beneath the feet of those "people."
These "people" carried the coffin and wandered around the village entrance, yet they never took a single step into the village.
Seeing this, Zhou Yi did not rashly make a move. He merely stood beside the entrance and waited for Qu Yong and Old Qin to arrive.
Before long, Zhou Yi heard running footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw that it was Qu Yong.
Qu Yong stopped beside Zhou Yi and asked, "What's going on? Why is there only the White Fiend?"
As soon as Qu Yong finished speaking, red mist began to appear within the white mist. A sedan chair emerged before them, surrounded by many "people" dressed in wedding clothes. Strange smiles hung on their faces. If not for these eerie "people," Zhou Yi would have thought it was the daughter of a wealthy household being married off.
Unlike the White Fiend, the Red Fiend's purpose was clear. The sedan chair, carried by four sedan bearers like paper figures, advanced toward the village entrance.
Just then, the coffin within the white mist moved in front of the sedan chair, and the scene fell silent.
"The White Fiend wants to stop the Red Fiend? But why?" Qu Yong muttered in a puzzled tone.
Zhou Yi naturally heard Qu Yong's words, but he had no answer either. He could only say, "We'll have to wait for Old Qin."
Since Old Qin had not practiced martial arts, he was already panting heavily when he reached the village entrance. Before he could catch his breath, Qu Yong, standing nearby, impatiently told him everything they had seen.
Old Qin frowned after hearing it, unable to think of the reason. He could only shake his head at the two of them.
Then Old Qin stood to the side, carefully pondering the descriptions of the Red and White Fiends in the ancient records.
"The Red Fiend represents souls that died unexpectedly because of joyous occasions, while the White Fiend represents water ghosts steeped in immense resentment..." Old Qin murmured to himself.
At that moment, a flash of insight streaked through Zhou Yi's mind. He then said to Qu Yong, "I'm going to the yamen."
Though Qu Yong did not understand, the strange had not yet entered the village, so he told Zhou Yi to go quickly and return quickly.
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