Leaving

After the Red and White Fiends left, the broken brush they picked up provided Zhou Yi with one thousand points of Yin Energy, the most he had ever received. It also gave him twenty points of Qi.

Following this incident, Zhou Yi decided to head to Luoshi City. As Old Qin had said, Qingzhu Village was too small for him to grow. Although the Red and White Fiends hadn't caused any real harm this time, Zhou Yi had felt a sense of powerlessness. If only he had a spiritual skill, he might have been able to contend with them.

Before leaving, Zhou Yi practiced the Basic Essence Refining and Spirit Manifestation Method that Old Qin had given him. It consumed a full hundred points of Yin Energy. When his mental power reached ten points, Zhou Yi felt as though the world before him had become brighter, and his mind clearer than ever, greatly enhancing his perception.

Unfortunately, the basic Talisman Spells couldn't be directly upgraded with Yin Energy; it could only be used to increase proficiency one spell at a time. Zhou Yi didn't want to waste his Yin Energy on them. Yellow-grade Talisman Spells weren't very useful to him at the moment, and he could always upgrade them when needed.

Before departing, Zhou Yi exchanged for the Body Refining Techniques he hadn't learned from the Patrol Team: the Jade Body Skill and the Bronze Man Body. Zhou Yi integrated both into his Indestructible Golden Body, simultaneously upgrading the fused Indestructible Golden Body to perfection. This entire process consumed nearly three hundred points of Yin Energy, but Zhou Yi's Qi and Blood also increased by three points.

With this, Zhou Yi had improved all aspects of himself to perfection. As for his saber and footwork, Zhou Yi planned to learn spiritual skills directly in Luoshi City.

Satisfied, Zhou Yi opened his status panel.

Name: Zhou Yi
Race: Human (10%)
Qi and Blood: 9
Spirit: 1.2
Cultivation Methods: Tongming Record (Perfection), Primordial Pile (Perfection)
Techniques: Body Refining, Saber, Footwork, Other
Yin Energy: 669
Strange Energy: Qi (25)

Seeing that his Yin Energy was still abundant, Zhou Yi felt relieved.

The next morning, Zhou Yi arrived at the village entrance early. However, as soon as he reached the entrance, he noticed two people looking at him: his master and Old Qin. A warmth welled up in Zhou Yi's heart.

As an orphan in his past life, he had never experienced the warmth of family. He never expected to feel it after transmigrating.

Zhou Yi took the reins of the horse. The horse had cost him nearly ten taels of silver.

Zhou Yi led the horse towards the village entrance.

"If you encounter any difficulties, come back directly," Qu Yong said with a smile.

"Zhou, remember, out there, sometimes the most terrifying thing isn't the Weirdness. No matter what, your life is the most important thing!" Old Qin said sternly to Zhou Yi, handing him a talisman pouch.

Zhou Yi took the talisman pouch, which contained a large number of yellow-grade Talisman Spells. Closing the bag, Zhou Yi bowed to Old Qin and his master.

Turning, he mounted the horse. Zhou Yi cast one last look back at Qingzhu Village and the two men before pulling the reins and galloping away.

After riding for nearly half an hour, he left the protective range of the sacred aura. Qingzhu Village disappeared behind Zhou Yi, completely out of sight.

The official road finally appeared before Zhou Yi. It was only about two meters wide, paved on both sides with a special type of stone called Ghoul-repelling Stone. As the name suggested, it didn't have the ability to harm Weirdness, but merely made them feel disgusted.

If one rode on the road at night, and a Weirdness saw you, it would still break through the Ghoul-repelling Stone and devour the traveler.

Looking at the vast world beyond the road, Zhou Yi felt a surge of heroism. From now on, the sea would be wide for him to leap, and the sky high for him to fly.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Yi cracked his whip in the air. The horse, hearing the sound, sped up with Zhou Yi on the official road.

He rode from the plains into the mountains, from the mountains to the river, from sunrise to the sun high overhead. Zhou Yi had been riding for two hours. White mist began to billow from the horse's nostrils, and it snorted.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi dismounted, gently patted the horse's back, and tied it to a large tree nearby. Watching the horse graze on the grass, Zhou Yi took out dry rations from his pack and ate.

After eating and drinking his fill, Zhou Yi mounted his horse and continued his journey, finally spotting an inn before sunset.

The inn was not large, a two-story wooden structure surrounded by many Ghoul-repelling Stones, standing on the side of the official road.

Zhou Yi led his horse to the entrance of the inn. An old man was sitting on a stool by the door, smoking something like a pipe. Seeing Zhou Yi approach, the old man slowly rose from his stool and took the reins from Zhou Yi, saying, "Ten taels of silver!"

Zhou Yi took out silver from his person and gave it to the old man. After accepting the silver, the old man slowly said to Zhou Yi, "There are many empty rooms upstairs. Pick one yourself."

With that, the old man led the horse towards the stable without another word.

Zhou Yi didn't say anything more and headed to the second floor of the inn. He chose an empty room and began to survey the entire space.

The room was a bit old. A table stood in the center, with two wooden stools beneath it. The most conspicuous item in the room, visible upon entering, was a calligraphy piece that read: "No Noise at Night."

He guessed it was to prevent sounds made at night from attracting Weirdness, as the inn lacked the protection of a sacred aura, unlike even some villages.

Zhou Yi could understand why the inn was so expensive. Situated in the wilderness, a single mistake could attract Weirdness, leading to a fate of utter annihilation. Therefore, most people guarding these inns were older.

Of course, some inns on important routes were guarded by specialized personnel.

Knock, knock, knock

"Who is it?" Zhou Yi asked, placing his hand on Han Guang and calling out.

"The innkeeper."

Zhou Yi opened the door and saw the old man entering his room with a plate of food. After placing the food on the table, the old man didn't leave but sat on a wooden stool.

"I tell every guest who stays here my rules," the old man said, pointing to the calligraphy in the room.

"The most important thing is not to make noise at night. Although there are Ghoul-repelling Stones outside the inn, it's not guaranteed that making noise won't attract some Weirdness."

"This meal is included in the ten taels of silver. I've also fed your horse."

After speaking, the old man left the room without waiting for Zhou Yi to respond.

Zhou Yi didn't touch the food on the table. Although he was in the Vitality Realm, he wasn't immune to all poisons.

After closing the door, Zhou Yi took out the talisman pouch Old Qin had given him. He removed three Three Powers Talismans from it and began channeling his spirit into the Talisman Spells.

The Talisman Spells started emitting a faint red glow. Zhou Yi knew the Three Powers Talismans had been activated, so he placed them by the window, the door, and the bed.

Once the talisman array was set up, Zhou Yi sat on the bed, watching the sky outside gradually get swallowed by darkness.

Knock, knock, knock.

This time, the sound wasn't from Zhou Yi's door but from next door. Soon after, he heard the sound of the neighboring door opening.

The benefits of his improved mental strength became apparent. Zhou Yi could effortlessly hear the conversation next door.

Zhou Yi's ears picked up the old man's voice again. However, before the old man could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a gruff voice.

"Got it, got it, what are you nagging about? I've been traveling for over ten years, don't I know the rules!"

Zhou Yi only heard the old man sigh, followed by the sound of footsteps, and then the closing of the door.

After the door closed, Zhou Yi heard the clatter of bowls and chopsticks and chewing sounds.

Hearing this, Zhou Yi shook his head. He took out some dry rations from his travel bag and began to eat.

By the time Zhou Yi finished eating, the sky outside was completely submerged in night. Zhou Yi got up, closed the window, and then lay down on the bed with Han Guang.

He glanced at the talisman array in the room and fell asleep with peace of mind.