Talent Plunder (Please Keep Reading)

Shen Xuan was overcome with joy and excitement.

Sixty years!

He had waited a full sixty years, and at last, he had gotten the Golden Finger every transmigrator needed!

But what exactly was this Mysterious Jade Talisman for?

He gazed at the Golden Small Characters on the Mysterious Jade Talisman, utterly bewildered.

Originally, he had accepted his fate. He had spent most of the savings he'd built up over forty years to marry a Ding Family Mortal Woman, start a family, and place his hopes in raising his children.

But in his sixtieth year, after marrying a beautiful young wife, he had suddenly awakened the Mysterious Jade Talisman.

Since things had come to this, how could he be content to live an ordinary life?

He couldn't forget the dreams he'd had as a youth.

To Wander Freely in the World, watch the winds and clouds change with a smile, and Attain Dao Through Longevity.

When he saw the values for cultivation techniques, realms, and talisman arts, Shen Xuan confirmed his suspicions.

His Lifespan was nothing special, and he had known his Spiritual Root for years.

On the Xuan Yuan Continent, ordinary cultivators had all Five Elements.

Only those with a sensitivity score above 10 had a Low-grade Spiritual Root.

Shen Xuan's best was his Water Spirit Root, with a mere 8 points of Spiritual Energy Sensitivity. He had a textbook Inferior Spirit Root.

It wasn't that he hadn't worked hard; it was that his Spirit Root Aptitude had capped his potential!

It kept him from breaking through!

Since the Mysterious Jade Talisman had appeared, there had to be a way to break this deadlock.

Shen Xuan looked at Ding Yuyao, who was fast asleep.

Could it be because of her?

Without stopping to dote on her, Shen Xuan continued.

Half an hour later.

Exhausted, Shen Xuan focused on the Mysterious Jade Talisman before him.

The old-fashioned Golden Small Characters slowly appeared.

There wasn't the slightest change.

At that moment.

Shen Xuan felt as though something had slipped through his fingers.

Come to think of it, that made sense.

Ding Yuyao was only a mortal woman with no Spiritual Root.

The Mysterious Jade Talisman had most likely appeared because the time was right.

Perhaps it was his age, perhaps his Cultivation Realm, perhaps...

That didn't matter.

What mattered was figuring out how to make good use of the Mysterious Jade Talisman and keep cultivating!

Shen Xuan's gaze settled on the "Plunderable Talent" entry, and a glimmer of longing passed through his eyes.

Shen Xuan gently moved Ding Yuyao's arm aside and slipped out of bed on tiptoe.

She'd been worn out last night. He'd let her sleep a little longer.

As soon as Shen Xuan left the bedroom, Ding Yuyao opened her pretty eyes, her face flushed with shyness and tinged with pride.

Her husband was not only a cultivator, but also a Talisman Master!

And he was vigorous, full of life—nothing like a sixty-year-old mortal.

Yesterday, they had gone at it for a whole hour!

It had left her aching all over!

By early morning, the Market had grown lively.

The vendors called out, hawking their wares.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, newly married and already out so early!"

"A pear tree pressing down on a crabapple—Fellow Daoist Shen, you certainly know how to enjoy yourself!"

"I've always said Fellow Daoist Shen was blessed! I got my hands on a Mysterious Water Turtle today. Since you're in luck, I'll sell it to you cheap!"

The vendors were all familiar neighbors, and they took turns teasing Shen Xuan.

One of them was selling a Low-grade Mysterious Water Turtle he'd acquired.

For some reason, Shen Xuan's heart stirred when he glanced at the Mysterious Water Turtle.

It was only as big as a bowl, still a Juvenile Body.

Seeing Shen Xuan stop, the vendor called out, "Three Spirit Stones. I'm practically giving it away—consider it a wedding present!"

"It's too small. It's a Juvenile Body. Two Spirit Stones at most!" Shen Xuan replied with a scowl.

"Hey, this is a genuine First-order Low-grade Yao Beast! Raise it to adulthood, and it'll fetch at least twenty Spirit Stones!"

A nearby vendor laughed.

"Everyone knows Mysterious Water Turtles live a long time. It takes at least forty years to raise one from a Juvenile Body to adulthood! Will Fellow Daoist Shen even have any use for it then?"

"Go on, don't come messing up my sale! All right, Fellow Daoist Shen, two Spirit Stones and nine Spirit Pearls!"

Spirit Pearls were a smaller unit of currency in the Cultivation World. Ten Spirit Pearls made one Spirit Stone.

"Two Spirit Stones, take it or leave it."

Shen Xuan pretended to walk away.

"Hey, Fellow Daoist Shen, don't go!"

"All right, I'll sell it to you. Let's call it a lucky charm!"

After buying the Mysterious Water Turtle, Shen Xuan went to a butcher's stall in the Market and spent one Spirit Pearl on a pound of Low-grade Savage Beef.

Short on funds, he didn't even buy any Spirit Rice before hurrying home.

He still had ten pounds of Spirit Rice at home, enough to scrape by for a month.

Ding Yuyao had gotten up and was peeking around the kitchen, enduring the soreness as she hobbled.

"Use one liang of Spirit Rice and three liang of Refined Rice. Cut half a liang of Savage Beef and boil it all together into porridge."

Shen Xuan gave her his instructions, then went into the cultivation room.

He placed the Beast Bag containing the Mysterious Water Turtle on the table and opened it.

A Juvenile Body Mysterious Water Turtle, no bigger than a bowl, poked its tiny head out.

It gave off a faint trace of Yao Qi.

Shen Xuan focused, and the Mysterious Jade Talisman appeared before his eyes.

His Divine Sense stirred.

Spiritual energy flowed into the talisman.

Whoosh!

A golden light enveloped the Juvenile Body Mysterious Water Turtle.

The next moment.

The Juvenile Body Mysterious Water Turtle's head drooped, and the color quickly drained from its body.

It soon shriveled up, turning dark brown.

Its Yao Qi faded away, too.

Golden light glittered across the Mysterious Jade Talisman.

The old-fashioned Golden Small Characters changed.

[Plunderable Talent: Water Control, Breath Concealment, Longevity.]

[Talent: None]

[Dao Rhyme: 1]

It worked!

A flash of brilliance crossed Shen Xuan's eyes, and excitement surfaced on his face.

He hadn't expected that a common First-order Low-grade spirit beast of the Cultivation World, the Mysterious Water Turtle, could provide him with three Talents to plunder.

Water Control was suited for combat, and Longevity for staying healthy. But what he needed most right now was Spirit Stones.

Shen Xuan mulled it over again and again before finally choosing Breath Concealment.

[Talent: Breath Concealment (3/100)]

At the same time.

Insight into the Spell Technique of concealing one's aura poured into Shen Xuan's mind, as if water had been poured over his head, clearing it in an instant.

"So this is the Mysterious Water Turtle's Breath Concealment Talent?"

"Too bad it was only a Juvenile Body. It provided too few Talent resources."

Shen Xuan checked his own condition.

Soon, he noticed something.

[Breath Concealing Talisman: Mastery Stage (1/400)]

His [Breath Concealing Talisman] skill had advanced!

For a moment, warm tears welled up in Shen Xuan's eyes.

It hadn't been easy!

He'd spent forty years crafting talismans, and only today had he advanced [Breath Concealing Talisman] to the Mastery Stage.

And that had come from just one Juvenile Body Mysterious Water Turtle. If he had an adult Mysterious Water Turtle, then wouldn't he...

Coming back to himself, Shen Xuan couldn't help smiling.

"I've found the right way to use the Golden Finger Hand. I mustn't get careless! The Cultivation World is full of twists and hidden dangers, with peril lurking everywhere. One slip, and I could bring death upon myself, body and Dao both destroyed!"

An adult Mysterious Water Turtle would be conspicuous and expensive, easily arousing suspicion.

Besides, it cost a whopping twenty Spirit Stones, which he couldn't afford right now.

A Juvenile Body Mysterious Water Turtle was better.

It was small and cheap, and people wouldn't pay it much attention.

He'd made it to sixty years old by following his life motto, "Safety first." He'd stayed put in Qinglong Bay Market and never ventured out to take risks.

He'd even paid Spirit Stones in place of doing the Ding Family's labor duties.

When he left the cultivation room, breakfast was already ready, and an intoxicating fragrance wafted through the air, reaching deep into his soul.

It was Spirit Rice porridge made with Savage Beef.

The instant Shen Xuan drank it, a warm current spread rapidly through his limbs and bones.

His blood and energy surged, and his exhausted mind from the night before quickly recovered.

Ding Yuyao, a mortal, stuck out her soft pink tongue and licked her lips.

"Have some, too."

"Ah! Can I have some as well?"

"You can have a little."

Shen Xuan picked up a bowl and served her a small half-bowl.

Ding Yuyao wasn't a cultivator, so she couldn't refine the spiritual energy in Spirit Rice and Monster Beast meat.

Still, she could have a little.

It would replenish her blood and energy and promote Longevity.

Ding Yuyao scooped up a little less than half a spoonful, blew on it for a moment, and gently tipped it into her mouth.

A strange sensation she'd never felt before spread through her body. She felt warm all over, and her whole body seemed to grow lighter.

Her tongue touched a small piece of Savage Beef. She gave it a light bite, and it melted into sweet juices that burst across her mouth.

Looking up at her husband, Shen Xuan, Ding Yuyao's eyes brimmed with gratitude.

Though she came from the Ding Family, she was a mortal woman. This was the first time she'd ever tasted such delicious Spirit Rice and beef porridge!