At night, Lu Chen returned to his quarters.
He opened the System Panel again.
[Personal Lifespan: 23 years] [Demon Devil Lifespan: 20 years] [Martial Arts: Demon Suppressing Saber Technique (Mastery), Turtle Breath Meditation Method (Beginner), Body Evasion Steps (Minor Accomplishment)] [Clear the remaining Black Claw Heart Rot Sha? Cost: 20 years of Demon Devil Lifespan.]
Lu Chen examined the blue-black, rotting flesh around his wound. Though the Lime Powder could hold the poison at bay, it was still far from enough to repair the damage.
"Clear it."
His Demon Devil Lifespan dropped to zero again. The unease of feeling as if his entire fortune had been emptied made him yearn for new lifespan more fiercely than ever before.
"Phew..."
Lu Chen sat cross-legged on the cold stone bed again and began circulating the Turtle Breath Meditation Method, which he had just learned.
As his breathing grew long and deep, the thin strand of warmth in his dantian, which he had struggled to strengthen, began to flow slowly along the perfect route the system had filled in.
After enduring the Sha Poison's violent assault and the system's vast life force repairing and nourishing him, he was pleasantly surprised to find that his meridians seemed a little tougher and wider than before.
The flow of his internal energy, which had felt somewhat sluggish, now moved much more smoothly.
It was a silver lining—a blessing in disguise.
Once he had consolidated his cultivation, Lu Chen's gaze fell on the pile of junk Foreman Wang had rewarded him with in the corner: a battered copy of Detailed Explanation of Basic Talismans, a Fragment, along with a pile of crudely made talisman paper and cinnabar.
He recalled the time he had spent his last year of Demon Devil Lifespan on a deduction.
The insight gained from that year of painstaking cultivation had ultimately condensed into a single line, glowing faintly in midair.
The art was profound and costly to use, but its potential was boundless.
Lu Chen wasn't content to stop at a single lucky success.
He extended his index finger, cleared his mind of distractions, and focused all his attention on his fingertip. At the same time, he stirred the faint strand of internal energy in his dantian and slowly sent it along the meridians in his arm.
Imitating the insight in his mind, he used his finger as a brush and tried to trace that successful line in the air before him.
The first attempt failed. His fingertip passed through the air without effect, and his internal energy scattered the instant it left his body.
The second attempt failed too. He couldn't perfectly coordinate his mind with his internal energy.
The third...
Lu Chen kept trying, again and again, without growing weary.
This took far more concentration than simply cultivating internal energy. In just a short while, fine beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.
Before he knew it, dawn had come.
Finally, after dozens of attempts, his mind, his internal energy, and his understanding of the line resonated perfectly for a single instant.
His fingertip seemed to touch an invisible barrier, then traced a light stroke.
A barely perceptible streak of light flashed through the dim Corpse Handling Room. It lingered in the air for just one breath before slowly fading away.
Success!
A look of delight shone in Lu Chen's eyes.
It was a tiny step, but one of great significance.
It meant he had begun to master the ability to draw that rune line at will.
Suppressing his excitement, Lu Chen picked up the crude talisman brush, its shaft rough and its bristles long since split. He dipped it into the cinnabar, which was mixed with grit, and tried to reproduce his success on the talisman paper.
But the moment he tried to channel his mind and internal energy into the tip of the brush, a tremendous resistance and sluggishness hit him!
It felt as though a raging stream had suddenly crashed into a rotten wooden dam riddled with holes.
His mental energy and internal energy couldn't pass smoothly through the inferior brush and cinnabar. Most of them were wasted in transit, dissipating before they could reach the paper.
The talisman he drew was crooked and dull, without the slightest hint of spiritual resonance.
[System Notification: Calming Talisman (Incomplete). Calming effect: only one-tenth.]
Looking at his failed work, Lu Chen didn't lose heart. Instead, he suddenly understood, and his eyes grew brighter.
"So that's it... It's not that I lack talent, nor that my understanding was wrong. These tools simply can't carry spiritual resonance!"
This discovery freed him from the bottleneck of self-doubt and showed him the way forward.
Lu Chen looked at the pile of shoddy materials, his eyes burning with desire. "I have to find a way to get real talisman paper, cinnabar, and a decent talisman brush!"
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by Foreman Wang's impatient, rough shout.
"Lu Chen! Where the hell are you? There's new work! Drag your feet and I'll skin you alive!"
The stone door was shoved open with a bang, and Foreman Wang strode inside, his face dark.
He looked Lu Chen up and down, his triangular eyes full of scrutiny.
"Well, you look awful. Didn't sleep well last night?" Foreman Wang asked with feigned concern, though he was really testing Lu Chen's recovery.
He was most afraid that Lu Chen might actually have some real ability. If Captain Li took a liking to him, he might threaten Foreman Wang's position.
But when he saw that Lu Chen still looked weak, as if he were on the verge of collapsing from depleted blood and energy, Foreman Wang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His last trace of suspicion vanished.
This kid really was working thanks to some damn lucky break that was draining his life. Once he was wrung dry, he'd be useless.
In that case, while he was still useful, Foreman Wang had to squeeze him for all he was worth!
Foreman Wang's greed flared up again, and he beckoned toward the door.
"Zhang Mazi, bring it in!"
At once, Zhang Mazi, a veteran who had worked in the Corpse Handling Room for over a decade, came in with another laborer, carrying a stretcher covered by a white cloth.
Zhang Mazi set the stretcher down heavily and shot Lu Chen a sidelong glance, his eyes brimming with unconcealed jealousy and gloating.
Foreman Wang's "cultivation" of Lu Chen had long since made these old hands, who fancied themselves his seniors, resentful.
"Lu Chen, this is a nice job." Zhang Mazi gave a false smile as he lifted one corner of the white cloth, revealing a tail covered in smooth black fur. At the end, it split into three strange branches.
"A Three-tailed Cat Demon! A rare specimen, with plenty of useful materials on it. Foreman Wang has specially given you first pick, so work hard. Don't disappoint him!"
He spoke sweetly, but his hands moved with malice. He deliberately fanned the cold aura rising from the cat demon's corpse toward Lu Chen.
An aura more delicate and more bizarre than ordinary Demonic Sha instantly spread through the room.
Lu Chen felt his head grow slightly heavy, as though an unseen cat were meowing beside his ear. His mind wavered for a moment.
Yin Illusion Sha Qi!