Sound Transmission Talisman

"Your dog has become a spirit?"

Fatty Huang could not help crying out in surprise.

Wu Aunt and Wu Xia'er both turned to look. Aunt Wu examined him carefully for a moment and even activated the True Qi within her body. This time, she was certain.

"Well, would you look at that! It really has!"

A look of astonishment appeared on her face. "You little fellow actually broke through at the same time as Xia'er. You two really are fated."

Wu Xia'er became even more excited. Stroking Wu Tian's fur, she cried happily, "White Dragon, White Dragon, you broke through too? Does that mean you've become smarter?"

"I heard that after creatures become spirits, they all get especially clever. Can you talk now too?"

"Quick, say something for me to hear..."

Aunt Wu laughed and scolded from the side, "You little brat, stop fooling around. Only living beings that have become demons can alter their bodily structure and speak human words."

"It doesn't have that ability yet."

Wu Xia'er rolled her eyes mischievously, ran over to Aunt Wu, and said with a grin, "Mother, can you give me a Sound Transmission Talisman?"

Aunt Wu continued working with her hands as she laughed and scolded, "What harebrained scheme have you come up with now, you crazy girl? What do you want a Sound Transmission Talisman for? You might as well cultivate your incantations properly."

Sound Transmission Talismans were one of the more common types of talisman. They came in a pair of yin and yang talismans and could transmit sound only within ten li. Of course, there were also more profound and exquisite Hundred-Li Sound Transmission Talismans, and even the legendary Thousand-Li Sound Transmission Talismans. Those were beyond the reach of ordinary disciples of Skull Mountain.

Aunt Wu's Sound Transmission Talisman was used to contact the disciples from the Food Hall who were responsible for purchasing supplies down the mountain. The sect supplied them each month. Whenever they needed any ingredients, they would send a message through the talisman, and the other side would deliver them the following day.

But talismans were consumables. Based on the skill of the person who crafted them, they were divided into low, middle, and high grades. The higher the quality, the more times they could be used.

The Sound Transmission Talismans provided by the sect were naturally the most ordinary kind. If used every day, a single one would last only a little over half a month.

"Mother, please give me one, Mother. You're the best. Please, please." Wu Xia'er hugged her mother's arm and shook it vigorously, her voice sweet enough to turn cloying. Anyone who saw her would have softened.

"You little dead girl, all you know is how to sweet-talk me." Aunt Wu hesitated for a moment. The Sound Transmission Talisman was not exactly precious, but the couple still had to support Wu Xia'er. Now that she had reached the Qi Nourishing Realm, the resources she would need in the future would only grow.

The couple's own days were already extremely tight.

However, looking at her daughter's pleading eyes, Aunt Wu's heart softened. She continued muttering even as she stopped what she was doing, went to the room where miscellaneous items were stored, and returned shortly afterward with a pair of talismans, one blue and one white.

"Here. Use them sparingly. Don't waste them."

"You've only just reached the Qi Nourishing Realm. Now is the time to open your acupoints. Don't play around too much."

"Hee-hee, I knew Mother was the best." Wu Xia'er snatched up the talismans and ran straight over to Wu Tian, pressing the blue talisman against the center of his brow.

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

Hearing this, Wu Tian circulated his Tongyou Qi, sending it toward the center of his brow. The next moment, the talisman emitted a streak of blue light and burned like a flame. Soon, it vanished completely, leaving behind only a blue incantation on Wu Tian's brow.

"Ha-ha, watch me." Wu Xia'er had long seen her mother use this Sound Transmission Talisman. She had always been curious as a child and had already learned exactly how to use it.

She pressed her talisman against her left arm and then circulated her True Qi. With a flash of white light, a silvery-white incantation appeared on her originally fair skin.

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

Seeing this, Fatty Huang could not help muttering, "A Sound Transmission Talisman costs one Minor Merit to exchange for, yet she used it on that beast. What a waste..."

After all, the couple worked themselves to the bone for an entire month, and together they could earn only twenty Minor Merit.

Although the sect allocated a certain quota of Sound Transmission Talismans to the Food Hall, distributing two every month, the couple sometimes preferred to work a little harder running errands and then trade the talismans they saved to other disciples.

Besides that, the Food Hall had some other profitable perks, allowing them to save another two or three Minor Merit each month.

The couple were frugal in their daily lives, thinking only of saving up more Merit points so that Wu Xia'er could have a smoother path of cultivation in the future.

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

Aunt Wu glared at him. "Xia'er broke through today. Consider it a gift for her. Our daughter is already obedient enough normally, so stop complaining here."

After being thoroughly dealt with by his wife, Fatty Huang obediently shut his mouth, but his gaze toward Wu Tian grew strange.

"If I remember correctly, the one from Wild Dog Cave seems to be looking for a spirit-turned wild dog for his disciple, to cultivate the Beast Transformation Incantation and Yin Soul Incantation."

"Just providing information earns ten Minor Merit. If you can capture a Wild Dog Spirit, you can get twenty to fifty Minor Merit depending on its appearance."

Fatty Huang's heart stirred immediately. Earning ten Minor Merit would require him to work hard for an entire month, yet now he could get it just by passing along some information.

"I don't even covet the twenty Minor Merit. If Xia'er found out, she'd probably make a fuss. This is only providing some information—no one will know."

"Besides, Xia'er is about to take a master, and we'll have to prepare the spirits and monsters she needs for her future cultivation. She'll need plenty of other resources too. Every bit saved is worthwhile."

"Besides, after this dog became a spirit, it wouldn't live much longer anyway. In the end, someone would skin it and extract its soul."

The moment Fatty Huang developed malicious intent, Wu Tian sensed it. His Talent for Seeking Auspiciousness and Avoiding Calamity activated naturally, and in his eyes, Fatty Huang's body was shrouded in a faint layer of bloodlight.

Above his own head, meanwhile, a mass of black clouds appeared.

"Fatty Huang has developed malicious intent toward me. He might even put my life in danger..."

Wu Tian's gaze instantly turned icy cold. He knew Fatty Huang had never liked him, but Aunt Wu had always treated him well, as had Wu Xia'er.

Just then, he suddenly sensed the blue incantation at the center of his brow growing warm, with even a faint tremor running through it.

Wu Tian's thoughts stirred. He circulated his Tongyou Qi to the center of his brow, pouring it into the incantation left by the Sound Transmission Talisman.

"Ha-ha, White Dragon, can you hear me?"

As the Tongyou Qi entered the incantation, he immediately heard Wu Xia'er's laughter, clear as silver bells.

Wu Tian suppressed the anger and murderous intent rising in his heart and tried responding 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 you! Your voice is so cute, and you're so good!"

Wu Xia'er had originally been hiding in her room, but after hearing Wu Tian's voice, she could not help running out and pulling him into her arms. Excitedly, she said, "Father, Mother, I heard White Dragon talking! Wow, he's so adorable!"

Wu Tian lay in the little girl's embrace, feeling her excitement and goodwill, and sighed softly.

After playing around for a while, it was time for Wu Xia'er to go to the Law Transmission Hall again. After breaking through, she needed to report to the Law Transmission Hall's steward. Once it was recorded, the sect would assign her to one of the Thirty-six Caves to take a master.

After Wu Xia'er left, Wu Tian did not eat the Python Essence Meat that had been set aside for him. Taking advantage of Aunt Wu's inattention, he quietly slipped away.

When he reached the corner outside the door, he still heard Aunt Wu's voice. "Why didn't that little fellow eat this meat?"

"It's good that he didn't. Feeding it to that beast would have been a waste anyway," Fatty Huang muttered.

Wu Tian looked back, then used the Sound Transmission Incantation to leave Wu Xia'er a message.

"Xia'er, starting tomorrow, I won't be coming to the Food Hall anymore."

"Please tell Aunt Wu and... um, tell him too..."

"Cultivate well. Goodbye!"

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