Talisman White Deer

With a shake, this magical treasure would make anyone struck by it flip over and fall flat on their back. It was endlessly useful against mortals, and even when used against cultivators, it often produced wondrous effects if deployed by surprise. But once they were prepared, this unorthodox magical treasure was practically useless.

Of the eleven magical treasures Chen Ganliu had newly "uncovered," the one he had refined best was the Soul Stirring Banner, which he had obtained together with this unorthodox Daoist scripture. Its original owner had probably refined it for twenty or thirty years. Layer upon layer of talismans covered it, clearly showing how much painstaking effort had been invested.

He secretly pondered, I originally planned to refine more Illusion Talismans into the Cloud and Mist Banner, enhancing its marvelous uses for defense and warding off enemies. If I refine this Soul Stirring Banner into it and make them into a set, then add these three unorthodox talismans and combine them with clouds filling the sky and illusions, they should complement each other wonderfully.

For Chen Ganliu, who was only at Qi Refining Layer One, the Cloud and Mist Banner was the most compatible magical treasure, with the greatest potential and one he could use for the longest time.

Besides, his attainments in talisman arts were profound. Cultivating these three talismans would not affect his proper cultivation; at most, it would reduce the time he spent drawing the Twelve Talismans of the Profound Gate. He had already reached the limit of his efforts in this branch of talisman arts. With more practice, he could only draw more low-grade talismans and exchange them for Talisman Coins. It was extremely difficult for him to make any further progress.

Chen Ganliu flipped through this Daoist scripture and felt a trace of delight before taking out another volume. This one was somewhat more orthodox, though it was still inadequate. It did not even contain a Qi cultivation method and merely recorded seven or eight spells.

After going through it once, he was rather disappointed. These spells consumed a great deal of time to cultivate. Although some possessed certain subtleties, they were of no use for the time being.

He picked up the last volume of Daoist scripture and, after turning one page, froze slightly.

This volume likewise contained no Qi cultivation method, only twelve spells. Yet when these twelve spells were combined, they formed a Sword Control Technique!

Was a Sword Control Technique good?

Of course it was.

But Chen Ganliu was also aware of his own circumstances. If he achieved great success in Qi cultivation and was willing to spend more than a decade, or even several decades, painstakingly cultivating it, he could indeed master the Sword Control Technique. From then on, he could roam the world and encounter few opponents in the Qi Refining Realm. But he did not even know when he would break through to the Second Layer of Qi Condensation. Where would he find the time and energy to spend on the Sword Control Technique?

Back then, he had envied his senior apprentice-sister for being able to control a sword and had asked her for guidance. His senior apprentice-sister had merely sighed and passed on to him the first formula of the Immortal Encounter Sect's Thirty-Six True Sword Control Arts. He had bitterly trained for three years without accomplishing anything. After that, he had taken the hint and never brought up the subject again.

Obtained together with this volume of Daoist scripture were two "Momentum Swords."

As for another matter, the two Mid-grade Spirit Stones had also come with this volume of Daoist scripture.

Its original owner must have had quite a background.

The Sword Control Technique differed from sword control. It lacked the crucial secret art of "Body-Sword Unity and controlling the sword through the air," and could only drive a Flying Sword to attack enemies from a hundred paces away.

Just as the Sword Control Technique required a Flying Sword, the Sword Control Technique also required Momentum Swords to be used in conjunction with it before it could be performed.

Chen Ganliu had no energy to cultivate the Sword Control Technique, so the two Momentum Swords were naturally useless for now.

After putting away the three volumes of Daoist scripture, Chen Ganliu knew that they were all good things, yet his heart felt clogged instead. He only felt a stifling gloom that had nowhere to go.

He took out his Beast Skin Pouch and tossed the eleven newly acquired magical treasures and all the Talisman Coins he had picked up into it.

These eleven magical treasures were all treasures that cultivators at the level of Qi Refining Layer Two or Three could refine. Aside from the Soul Stirring Banner and the two Momentum Swords, the remaining nine were somewhat weaker, roughly comparable to the Peach Mountain Seal, the Black Dog Nail once used by the Black Robed Daoist, and the Shaking Silver Bell used by the Spiritual Gate Daoist.

Chen Ganliu could not be bothered to inspect them one by one. Their origins were somewhat questionable, after all, and unless his life was at stake, he would not feel right using them.

Chen Ganliu put the Spirit Stones and the excavated Green Jade Stone material into the Storage Ring.

Chen Ganliu had returned to Blazing Light Cave, Twin Cloud Mountain, to live in seclusion for a while and avoid the limelight. Dealing with those Green Jade Stone materials had merely been incidental. Two or three months had now passed, so the Suiyang Immortal Market should have reopened. He still wanted to return and try his luck.

He found a hidden place inside Blazing Light Cave and concealed all his remaining belongings there. Then, carrying only the Storage Ring and the Beast Skin Pouch containing fifteen magical treasures, he drifted down the mountain.

Those who cultivated the Dao and possessed opportunities had to live in seclusion and bitterly cultivate. Those without opportunities had to roam everywhere in search of them.

Although Chen Ganliu possessed superior Daoist methods, he still needed to go out and seek his opportunities.

This time, when he returned to the Suiyang Immortal Market, he would not need to miserably use the Light Talisman to travel. Among the eleven magical treasures he had newly obtained was one for traveling, named the Talisman White Deer!

It was a refined paper deer. Once thrown out, it could transform into a vigorous white deer. It was several times more majestic than the white deer Chen Ganliu had subdued before, with faster legs and much more effortless control. There was just one drawback: it consumed magical power. Unlike his original white deer, which only needed to be fed fresh vegetable leaves before it could gallop freely.

With Chen Ganliu's cultivation at Qi Refining Layer One, even if he went all out, he could only travel two or three hundred li before his true qi was exhausted.

Under other circumstances, he naturally would not have dared to drive the Talisman White Deer at full power. After all, traveling alone through the martial world inevitably brought all kinds of danger. He had to remain vigilant at all times and keep some magical power in reserve to deal with crises.

But now he had more than a hundred Spirit Stones in hand, most of them storing true qi and magical power, which he could draw upon freely. Thus, on this return trip to the Suiyang Immortal Market, he covered the same distance in half the time. After just over three days, he once again saw that dense mountain forest, lush and verdant, wreathed in white mist and brimming with the aura of spiritual beauty.

Chen Ganliu sighed, put away the Talisman White Deer, and walked inside. Even someone who had never visited the Suiyang Immortal Market before could sense how deserted it was.

Chen Ganliu's little wooden hut had long since been blasted flat, without even half a broken log remaining.

As he sighed mournfully, he heard a voice filled with both surprise and delight call out, "Daoist Chen, you escaped unharmed after all!"

Chen Ganliu was also slightly pleased. Turning around, he replied, "So Sister Chen is safe as well. Truly, this is cause for celebration."

"Have you seen Daoist Wu Chang?"

Chen Qing shook her head sadly and said, "I never saw that old Daoist. Hopefully, he escaped too."

Chen Ganliu did not know what to say. He knew that quite a few cultivators had died in the Suiyang Immortal Market during this demonic calamity, but he did not know which people had perished. In his previous life, he had never known Daoist Wu Chang, so he had no idea what kind of luck the old Daoist had met with.

Seeing the vacant look on his face, Chen Qing suddenly said, "Daoist Chen, your little shop is gone too. Would you like to stay with me for a while?"

Chen Ganliu was rather surprised and asked, "Why have you suddenly changed your ways, Sister Chen?"

Although he did not know Chen Qing's true age, this female cultivator looked only around thirty and was quite attractive. There had been no shortage of male cultivators in the Immortal Market who wanted to cultivate together with her and become Dao companions, but Chen Qing had rejected every one of them. Why had she suddenly invited him to cultivate together?

A look of lingering fear appeared on Chen Qing's face, and she said in a low voice, "Life is like a lamp. Extinguishing it is easy."