Sound Transmission Talisman

"Is this dog of yours a spirit now?" Fatty Huang couldn't help but exclaim.

At this, Aunt Wu and Wu Xia'er both looked over. Aunt Wu examined him carefully for a moment, even mobilizing the True Qi within her body. Only then did she truly confirm it.

"Good heavens, it really is!"

A look of surprise also appeared on her face. "You little fellow actually broke through at the same time as Xia'er. What a coincidence."

Wu Xia'er became even more excited. She petted Wu Tian's fur and happily cried out, "White Dragon, White Dragon, you broke through too? Does this mean you've gotten smarter?"

"I heard that once they become spirits, they get very smart. Can you talk now?"

"Hurry up and speak to me..."

Aunt Wu chuckled and chided from the side, "Don't be silly, girl. Only creatures that have become demons can change their physical form and speak human language."

"It doesn't have that ability yet."

Wu Xia'er's eyes darted around. She ran to Aunt Wu's side and said with a grin, "Mom, can you give me a Sound Transmission Talisman?"

Aunt Wu, busy with what she was doing, chuckled and chided, "What harebrained idea are you cooking up now, you crazy girl? What do you need a Sound Transmission Talisman for? You'd be better off practicing your incantations."

Sound Transmission Talismans were one of the more common talismans. They came in pairs, yin and yang, and could only transmit sound within ten li. Of course, there were also more advanced and exquisite hundred-li transmission talismans, and even the legendary thousand-li transmission talismans, which were not something ordinary Skull Mountain disciples could obtain.

The Sound Transmission Talismans Aunt Wu used were for contacting the disciples responsible for purchasing supplies from down the mountain. The sect provided them monthly. If any ingredients were needed, a message would be sent via Sound Transmission Talisman, and they would be delivered the next day.

However, talismans were consumables. Depending on the skill of the talisman crafter, they were divided into upper, middle, and lower grades. The higher the quality, the more times they could be used.

The ones provided by the sect were naturally the most common Sound Transmission Talismans. If used daily, one talisman would only last a little over half a month.

"Mom, just give it to me, Mom, you're the best, please." Wu Xia'er hugged her mother's arm and shook it vigorously, her voice sickeningly sweet, enough to melt anyone's heart.

"You silly girl, you just know how to coax me." Aunt Wu hesitated for a moment. Although these Sound Transmission Talismans weren't particularly precious, she and her husband still had to support Wu Xia'er, especially now that she had reached the Qi Nourishing Realm. The resources required would only increase from this point on.

The couple's lives were quite tight.

However, seeing her daughter's pleading eyes, Aunt Wu's heart softened. She grumbled but stopped what she was doing and went to the storage room in the back. Soon, she emerged with a pair of talismans, one blue and one white.

"Here, use it sparingly and don't waste it."

"You've just reached the early stage of Qi Nourishing. This is the time to open your acupoints. No fooling around."

"Hee hee, I knew you were the best, Mom." Wu Xia'er grabbed the talismans and ran off. She went to Wu Tian and placed the blue talisman on his forehead.

"White Dragon, quickly use the True Qi in your body to awaken the talisman."

Upon hearing this, Wu Tian circulated his Tongyou Qi to his forehead. The next moment, the talisman emitted a blue light, burning like a flame before quickly disappearing. Only a blue incantation remained on Wu Tian's forehead.

"Haha, watch this." Wu Xia'er had seen her mother use the Sound Transmission Talisman before and had always been curious as a child. She knew exactly how to use it.

She placed this talisman on her left arm and circulated her True Qi. With a flash of white light, a silver-white incantation instantly appeared on her previously fair skin.

"Hee hee, White Dragon, hurry up and go eat!" The little girl giggled and ran off.

Seeing this, Fatty Huang couldn't help but grumble, "A Sound Transmission Talisman costs a Minor Merit to exchange, and you're using it on this beast. What a waste..."

They had to know that he and his wife worked hard for a month, and together they could only earn twenty Minor Merits.

Although the sect allocated a certain quota of Sound Transmission Talismans to the Canteen, with two distributed each month, they sometimes preferred to work harder by running errands themselves and then trading the saved Sound Transmission Talismans to other disciples.

Besides that, the Canteen had other sources of "oil and water," allowing them to save two to three Minor Merits each month.

The couple usually lived frugally, only wanting to save more merit points so that Wu Xia'er's future cultivation path would be smoother.

Seeing the Sound Transmission Talisman being wasted like this now, Fatty Huang felt a pang of heartache.

Aunt Wu glared at him. "Xia'er broke through today. Consider it a gift for her. Our daughter is usually well-behaved enough. Don't complain to me here."

Fatty Huang was "dealt with" by his wife and obediently shut his mouth, but his gaze towards Wu Tian became somewhat peculiar.

"If I remember correctly, the one from the Wild Dog Cave is looking for wild dogs that have become spirits for his disciple to cultivate the Beast Transformation Incantation and the Yin Soul Incantation."

"Just providing the information can earn ten Minor Merits. If one can capture a spirit dog, depending on its quality, it can fetch twenty to fifty Minor Merits."

Fatty Huang's heart stirred. Ten Minor Merits required him to work diligently for a month, and now he could earn it just by passing on information.

"I don't want to be greedy for those twenty Minor Merits. Xia'er would throw a fit if she found out. This is just providing information, done secretly."

"Besides, Xia'er is about to become a disciple. We still need to prepare the monsters and other resources she'll need for her cultivation later. We should save whatever we can."

"Anyway, this dog won't live much longer after becoming a spirit. It'll be skinned and its soul extracted eventually."

The moment Fatty Huang harbored evil thoughts, Wu Tian immediately sensed it. His Talent for Seeking Auspiciousness and Avoiding Calamity naturally activated. In his eyes, Fatty Huang's body was enveloped in a faint bloody light.

And above his own head, a patch of black clouds appeared.

"Fatty Huang has evil intentions towards me, and it's very likely to put my life in danger..."

Wu Tian's gaze instantly turned ice-cold. He knew Fatty Huang had always disliked him, but Aunt Wu had always been extremely kind to him, as was Wu Xia'er.

Just then, he suddenly felt the blue incantation on his forehead growing warm, even vibrating slightly.

Wu Tian's mind stirred, and he moved his Tongyou Qi to his forehead, pouring it into the incantation left by the Sound Transmission Talisman.

"Haha, White Dragon, can you hear me?"

As his Tongyou Qi entered the incantation, he immediately heard Wu Xia'er's bell-like laughter.

Wu Tian suppressed the anger and murderous intent rising in his heart and tried to respond with his mind, "Xia'er, is that you? I can hear your voice."

"Wow, wow, wow, White Dragon, is that your voice? I can really hear your voice, it's so cute, good boy!"

Wu Xia'er had originally been hiding in her room, but upon hearing Wu Tian's voice, she couldn't help but run out directly, pull Wu Tian into her arms, and say excitedly, "Dad, Mom, I heard White Dragon speak! Wow, he's so adorable!"

Wu Tian, nestled in the little girl's embrace, felt her excitement and kindness and let out a soft sigh.

After some playful interaction, it was time for Wu Xia'er to go to the Law Transmission Hall. After her breakthrough, she needed to report to the steward of the Law Transmission Hall. After making a record, the sect would assign her to one of the Thirty-six Caves to find a master.

After Wu Xia'er left, Wu Tian didn't eat the Python Essence Meat that had been saved for him. Seizing the opportunity while Aunt Wu wasn't paying attention, he secretly slipped away.

As he ran to the corner outside the door, he still heard Aunt Wu's voice, "Why didn't that little fellow eat this meat and blood?"

"It's good that he didn't. It's a waste to give it to that beast anyway," Fatty Huang grumbled.

Wu Tian looked back and left a message for Wu Xia'er using a Sound Transmission Incantation.

"Xia'er, I won't be coming to the Canteen from tomorrow onwards."

"Please tell Aunt Wu and... um, also..."

"Cultivate well, goodbye!"

Wu Xia'er's voice immediately came back through the Sound Transmission Incantation, but Wu Tian had already withdrawn his Tongyou Qi and left without looking back.