After leaving Flying Immortal Peak, Wen Jiu headed straight for Dead Corpse Land. He made up an excuse, claiming he'd found a corpse with exceptionally strong Yin Qi, and asked for a handcart.
After digging up that corpse, Wen Jiu headed straight for the heart of Dead Corpse Land. He found a pile of Corpse Remnants indeed thick with Yin Qi and piled them on top of the corpse. Then he headed straight for the distant corpse-burial grounds in the green hills.
Of course,
Wen Jiu didn't take the talismans.
He still had them masking the corpse's aura.
The other corpse buriers didn't think much of it. When they saw the Corpse Remnants on Wen Jiu's handcart, thick with Yin Qi, they even hurried to thank him.
After all, Wen Jiu was no longer a corpse burier.
Yet he was still willing to help clear away Corpse Remnants thick with Yin Qi, which was an enormous help to them.
If they had to move those Corpse Remnants themselves right now, there was a nine-in-ten chance they'd absorb Yin Qi and fall seriously ill for ten days or half a month.
After burying the corpse, Wen Jiu continued searching for Yin Souls in Dead Corpse Land as usual, until dusk.
To Wen Jiu's surprise, just as he was about to head back, Liu Xiao arrived with twenty or thirty Night Patrol Division disciples.
Of course,
they weren't there for him.
They were there for Dead Corpse Land!
Besides them, there were also disciples from the Monster Slaying Division and the Demon Suppressing Division, bringing the total to nearly a hundred.
As soon as the hundred or so men arrived, they immediately gave the corpse buriers an extended leave and sealed off Dead Corpse Land.
From this day on, no one was allowed to enter or leave Dead Corpse Land freely!
Hearing that, Wen Jiu's expression changed.
Luckily, he'd moved the corpse today.
Otherwise, it might really have been dug up. Unlike those spies, who wouldn't dare make any big moves,
the people from the Night Patrol Division, Monster Slaying Division, and Demon Suppressing Division dared to turn over every inch of Dead Corpse Land's yellow earth.
Still, even though he'd moved the corpse,
how was he supposed to obtain Corpse Qi and Yin Qi from now on?
Forget it. At least I managed to keep that corpse safe. I'll find another way to cultivate.
Wen Jiu comforted himself.
But his expression remained grim.
Seeing this, Liu Xiao quickly asked, "What's wrong, kid?"
Wen Jiu cautiously asked, "Brother Liu, I'm a Corpse Nurturer. Now that Dead Corpse Land's sealed off, what am I supposed to do about my cultivation from here on? And what about my Black Zombie?"
"The peak master issued the sealing order, so Night Patrol Division disciples can't enter anymore... But as for your Black Zombie, leave it buried inside to cultivate. Take me to mark its location, and I'll pass the message along to Steward Mu. As long as they don't dig up anything under your Black Zombie, I'll keep an eye on it for you."
"Thanks, Brother Liu."
When he heard the order had come from the peak master, Wen Jiu hurriedly thanked him and didn't ask anything further.
As for cultivation, although he couldn't go inside to search for Yin Souls, he could leave the Black Zombie there to cultivate. It wouldn't delay his progress toward the Upper Realm, so it wasn't too bad.
If necessary, he could also remotely establish a spiritual connection and control the Black Zombie to search for Yin Souls by itself.
Still, Wen Jiu figured that probably wasn't realistic. Dead Corpse Land had become a heavily restricted area. How could they possibly allow the Black Zombie to wander around?
Over the next few days,
Wen Jiu could only stay home and draw Soul Seizing Talismans during the day.
But while on night patrol, Wen Jiu secretly observed Dead Corpse Land for a while and found that everyone going in and out was at least an overseer.
There were stewards.
He even saw a Flying Immortal Peak elder at the fifth Qi Refining stage.
And the Black Zombie really was safely buried there under Liu Xiao's watch. They'd only dug it up and taken a look at the beginning.
But from the looks of things, Dead Corpse Land wouldn't be reopened anytime soon.
With no other choice, Wen Jiu could only practice the Yin Talisman Method with all his might. Since he couldn't cultivate inside and obtain Corpse Qi and Death Qi, he might as well raise his progress in the Yin Talisman Method first. He'd have to study it eventually anyway.
For three days straight, Wen Jiu drew talismans for five hours each day, pushing himself to the limit. He also borrowed six Low-grade Spirit Stones from Wang Nian.
With steady progress and the experience he gained from his daily settlement, Wen Jiu maxed out the entry-level experience for the Yin Talisman Method in just three days.
He successfully advanced to the Minor Accomplishment stage.
[Soul Seizing Talisman (Minor Accomplishment 0/200)]
Once his Soul Seizing Talisman experience reached the Minor Accomplishment stage, Wen Jiu could draw non-ranked Soul Seizing Talismans with a one-hundred-percent success rate.
Ten in a row.
Wen Jiu succeeded every time.
But drawing non-ranked Soul Seizing Talismans didn't increase his experience beyond Minor Accomplishment—clearly, he'd have to draw ranked ones.
"Great, now I have to borrow Spirit Stones from Wang Nian again." Wen Jiu couldn't help sighing. His Spirit Stone debt just kept getting bigger.
Including the silver he already owed, he was now up to about eleven Low-grade Spirit Stones.
If he repaid that with his Night Patrol Division salary, he'd have to go six months without eating or drinking.
"I'll borrow some more, and while I'm at it, I'll go to the market and sell the non-ranked ones. I should be able to get a little money back."
Wen Jiu immediately left.
He headed straight to Wang Nian's house.
As soon as the door opened, Wang Nian asked, "You haven't left the house lately. What have you been up to?"
"Drawing talismans," Wen Jiu replied.
Then, when he looked into the courtyard, he saw that the stone table in Wang Nian's little yard was also covered in talisman paper.
But almost all of it had been ruined.
Seeing this, Wang Nian hurried over to gather up the discarded paper, afraid Wen Jiu would see it all. Then he gave an awkward laugh. "I'm trying to break through and become a first-rank talisman master, so I've had a few more failures than usual."
If Wen Jiu found out he was drawing non-ranked talismans, and had succeeded only once in thirty tries,
wouldn't he die of embarrassment?
Wen Jiu smiled helplessly.
A non-ranked talisman brush.
Non-ranked Monster Blood Talisman Ink.
And this was supposed to be the setup for drawing ranked talismans?
But Wen Jiu saw through it without calling him out, and simply humored him. "As expected of you, Brother Wang!"
Wang Nian smiled awkwardly, then changed the subject. "What brings you here today?"
"To borrow Spirit Stones."
"Why are you borrowing again... It's not that I won't lend them to you, don't get me wrong... I'm just curious. Why are you always short on Spirit Stones? What are you buying this time?" Wang Nian quickly asked his wife, who was tidying up the mess on the stone table, to fetch the Storage Bag.
Wen Jiu said frankly, "I want to try drawing first-rank, low-grade Soul Seizing Talismans."
"Brother Wen, I can lend you the Spirit Stones, and I don't mind whether you pay them back. But there's something I have to warn you about: don't rush things. The materials for first-rank, low-grade Yin Talismans aren't cheap. Ten attempts will cost a Low-grade Spirit Stone... Wait until you have better than a fifty-percent chance of success with non-ranked Soul Seizing Talismans before you try. Otherwise, it'll be a huge waste."
Wang Nian took the Storage Bag from his wife and was about to pull out some Spirit Stones. Then he asked almost without thinking, "What's your success rate right now?"
"One hundred percent."
Wen Jiu's words left Wang Nian stunned.
His hand, which had been reaching for the Spirit Stones, froze.
He swallowed hard and didn't know what to say for a moment.
"One hundred percent..." Wang Nian murmured. Then he pulled twenty or thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones straight from the Storage Bag and began carefully calculating the cost of a first-rank talisman brush and other supplies for Wen Jiu.
In the end, it still wasn't enough, so he took out another five, bringing the total to a full thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones.
"You really are a freak, kid. One hundred percent... If you were drawing Yang Talismans, those old fogeys in the Talisman Room would trample your doorstep flat." Wang Nian sighed, then remembered his own talent for drawing talismans.
For a moment, he felt like crying.
"Thanks, Brother Wang."
Wen Jiu put away the Spirit Stones and gratefully bowed. Honestly, he felt bad about owing so many Spirit Stones all at once. Fortunately, if he could draw a first-rank Soul Seizing Talisman, he could earn Spirit Stones with it and pay back his debt.
"Don't mention it. What are friends for... Forget it, I'll take you to buy a talisman brush. We'll go to the old talisman master again. I can haggle there, and the worst he'll do is call me shameless."
Wang Nian chuckled and took Wen Jiu to the marketplace.
After they'd bought the talisman brush and everything else, Wang Nian also asked about the essentials of drawing first-rank talismans on Wen Jiu's behalf.
The old talisman master said only one thing.
But it was immensely useful to Wen Jiu.
Focus on intent, method, and control—but not form!
In other words, Talisman Script had a form, but it wasn't fixed. Some deviations didn't matter; plenty of them were acceptable.
It was perhaps like the difference between cursive and regular script.
A true expert—
whether writing in regular script or cursive, the character was still the same character.
Changing its form from regular script to cursive didn't change what it meant.
After returning home,
Wen Jiu didn't rush to draw Soul Seizing Talismans.
The requirements for non-ranked Soul Seizing Talismans weren't very strict, but ranked Soul Seizing Talismans had to be drawn after Midnight.
If he drew one during the day,
he probably wouldn't manage even a single one.
If I successfully draw a first-rank Soul Seizing Talisman, I'll have a new card up my sleeve. Whether I sell it or keep it, it'll be excellent... And I can also try showing it to Steward Mu. Wang Nian wouldn't lie to me; there's a good chance I'll get a pleasant surprise!
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