Spring Bloom Spiritual Vein, Natal Spirit Talisman

Two streams of Black Qi swooped down through the air. A girl gathering herbs hurriedly dropped her basket and cried, "Grandma, someone's come to make trouble again."

Jiang Ningxue and Xie Zhanrou looked at each other in dismay. Before long, a woman in battle attire, carrying two Greensteel Swords, came running out. When she saw the two of them, she could not help spitting to the side and saying, "So it's the two of you, Sisters. What brings you here today?"

"My child has such poor eyesight that she actually told me that thief had come to make trouble again. What a laugh."

Jiang Ningxue and Xie Zhanrou laughed together. "How did Grandma Tie offend someone? If that person dares come again, we'll strike together."

The three of them began reminiscing. After chatting for a while, the girl from before came over and said to Chen Ganliu, "Although you're the junior apprentice-brother of the two aunts, our Pear Blossom Cave never receives unrelated men. I'll take you somewhere else to stay."

Chen Ganliu was somewhat curious. Jiang Ningxue and Xie Zhanrou had said halfway here that they were going to visit a friend, then brought him to Pear Blossom Cave. He asked casually, "Sister, what's your grandma's background? Why is she so heavily on guard? Has something happened recently?"

Seeing how mildly he spoke, the girl smiled. "I hardly deserve to be called Sister. I'm just a little demon, unlike all of you esteemed cultivators of the Demonic Sect."

"My grandma is known as Pear Blossom Lady. Because she has cultivated for many years, the Demon Kings of the fourteen famed mountains and forty-eight caves nearby all respectfully call her Grandma. She is the first wife of Soul Qilang, the steward of Plum Blossom Mountain."

"These past few days, a Wild Boar Demon has kept coming to our door. He says he's taken a fancy to this cave and to my mistress as well, and demands that Grandma take Pear Blossom Cave and remarry him as his bandit chieftain's wife."

"That Wild Boar Demon is quite capable, too. My grandma has fought him seven or eight times, but has never been able to defeat him."

"By now, two or three letters have been sent to Plum Blossom Mountain. It's just that Master Soul Qilang has yet to return, so we have to endure it for the time being."

Chen Ganliu thought, This steward of Plum Blossom Mountain must be rather soft. Otherwise, how could someone bully his household at the door?

The girl took him to a cave in the rear mountain and handed him a jade token. "This is the talisman token for entering and leaving the cave. You can stay here for now."

"My grandma had this cave specially opened to receive outside guests. Everything you need is provided, and a mountain spring has even been diverted inside. Rest here for now, and I'll bring you food tonight."

Chen Ganliu thanked the girl. When she turned back, she suddenly stamped her foot. Yellow smoke billowed beneath her, lifting both feet half an inch off the ground as she drifted away, swift as a galloping horse, straight toward the front cave. Only then did he believe that she was a female demon—and one with no shallow cultivation.

Chen Ganliu held up the talisman token and waved it. The restrictions on the cave opened of their own accord. He walked inside, and the restrictions closed again.

The cave was not large, only about half an acre. It had seven or eight bedrooms and a hall. A pool had been dug beside the hall, presumably for some aquatic demon to dwell in. Mountain spring water burbled inside, then flowed away in another direction. The water was exceptionally clear.

Chen Ganliu chose a soft couch and sat cross-legged. Unable to resist, he cultivated once first. When he reached the Heavenly Demon Vein Shifting Method, he formed a talisman in advance, intending to crush it in case anything went wrong so he could alert his two senior sisters. Only then did he refine it.

When he reached the fifth wisp of spiritual qi, he had no more qualms and continued refining.

This time, Chen Ganliu was prepared. No matter how the wisp of spiritual qi changed, he responded patiently.

After roughly three or four hours, the wisp of spiritual qi suddenly came alive and burrowed wildly through Chen Ganliu's body. Remaining calm in the face of danger, Chen Ganliu kept his hand seal steady, wanting to see how the wisp would change.

After burrowing wildly for a while, the wisp of spiritual qi suddenly seemed to find its target. It lunged forward and connected with the only spiritual vein inside Chen Ganliu's body.

The wisp of spiritual qi melted inch by inch, while the Spring Bloom Spiritual Vein gradually grew. By the time seven or eight parts of the wisp had melted away, the Spring Bloom Spiritual Vein had fully grown, transforming from a Severed Vein into a complete spiritual vein.

Chen Ganliu was overjoyed. So it was this spiritual vein. It happens to harmonize with Spring Bloom as well.

No wonder it became agitated. It sensed my original Severed Vein.

Although most of it had been used to nourish the Spring Bloom Spiritual Vein, half a wisp of spiritual qi remained, continuously generating abundant spiritual vitality.

Unwilling to waste it, Chen Ganliu's thoughts turned, and he hurriedly activated the Heart Talisman Technique. He continuously drew Spring Verdure Talismans, sending each talisman into his body to merge with the newly restored Spring Bloom Spiritual Vein.

With every Spring Verdure Talisman that entered, the Spring Bloom Spiritual Vein could circulate a little more spiritual vitality. With every additional bit of spiritual vitality it circulated, the vein produced a little more spirituality. That spirituality, nourishing the Spring Verdure Talismans within the vein, also gave rise to all kinds of wondrous changes.

Chen Ganliu did not know how many Spring Verdure Talismans he had drawn. When the last trace of spiritual vitality merged into the Spring Bloom Spiritual Vein, the Spring Verdure Talismans united with the vein and suddenly shook with a thunderous rumble, undergoing their most fundamental transformation.

Following Yu Qinghong's guidance, they had become a Natal Spirit Talisman!

The talisman arts of the Green Leaf Sect differed fundamentally from the talisman spells of the Immortal Encounter Sect.

In the Immortal Encounter Sect's talisman spells, each talisman was a spell.

In the Green Leaf Sect's talisman arts, each talisman itself possessed its own wonders but could not form a spell independently. Yet several talismans could be combined into one and cast as a spell. Thus, as long as Green Leaf Sect disciples mastered thirty-six Green Leaf Spirit Talismans, they could cast more than a hundred introductory spells—over ten times as many as the spells mastered by introductory disciples of the Immortal Encounter Sect.

Chen Ganliu formed the hand seal and cast a healing spell centered on the Spring Verdure Talisman. Twelve talismans linked together, radiating emerald splendor that settled onto his body. Even though he had no injuries, he felt incomparably comfortable.

Chen Ganliu's healing spell truly brought him a pleasant surprise. I won't have to fear injuries in the future. If it's only a minor wound, I might be able to heal it on the spot.

But his heart soon dimmed as he thought of his master, Yun Susu. What a pity that the healing spell is useless against extremely severe injuries. Otherwise, why would Master have remained in seclusion until now without showing any improvement?

The Green Leaf Spirit Talismans I've learned are, after all, Daoist arts of the Qi Refining Realm. Master is a great cultivator of the Golden Core Realm, yet she still can't heal her own injuries. I wonder...

Hmm, just how powerful is Master Yao's Demonic Cultivation Technique, anyway?

Chen Ganliu had originally wanted to complain, but then he remembered that he had already taken a second master and could only scatter those resentful words once more.

He now had two masters, yet he had seen them only once between them.

Thinking of this, he found it faintly strange. I had no fate with apprenticeship in my previous life. It seems my luck with taking masters isn't much better in this life.

Master Yun Susu is injured, and I don't know how many years she has left. Master Yao Hanshan is injured as well, and in my previous life I never heard of him appearing again. What if...

What if she's gone too?

Come on, come on! Send more monthly tickets—I urgently need some stimulation...

At this age, it really was true that one felt listless and dispirited every day. Monthly tickets were like readers making a wish: If Old Toad doesn't hurry up and draft, we'll mail him a batch of blades...

They really did help me hurry up and draft.

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