Crafting Failure

As soon as the Soul-Nourishing Pill entered his stomach, warmth welled up within him, spreading through his entire body.

In particular, he felt as though something was "growing stronger," yet when he examined his body, he found no change.

Joy stirred in Chen Lin's heart.

It seemed this pill really could nourish and strengthen the soul. Since he did not actually need to split his soul, none of its medicinal power would be expended that way; he absorbed it all himself.

He knew nothing whatsoever about the soul. He only knew this was beneficial, not what specific benefits it offered.

But that did not matter. A benefit was a benefit.

Steadying himself, Chen Lin followed the instructions in the Soul-Splitting Secret Technique, putting on a pained expression and pretending to inject soul force into the talisman as he resumed crafting.

Outside the courtyard.

Lu Li stared unblinkingly into the room. Chen Lin's every movement tugged at his heartstrings, and his hands unconsciously clenched.

The Soul-Detaining Talisman was truly important to him, and exceedingly difficult to craft.

There were few talisman masters he could approach. Even with a Soul-Nourishing Pill, the process would still inflict irreversible damage on the soul, so those few renowned master talisman makers would absolutely refuse to craft it.

Without a Soul-Detaining Talisman, that treasure of his could not be restored to use, greatly diminishing his strength.

At this critical juncture, a decline in strength meant a greater chance of death.

Whoosh!

The talisman paper before Chen Lin erupted in a burst of black flame, ending in failure once again.

Lu Li's eyes looked ready to spit fire as well.

Ye Jingyun glanced at him. Without speaking, she placed a hand on her flying sword, ready to stop him if he lost control of his rage and tried to harm Chen Lin.

Chen Lin's expression, however, remained completely unchanged.

This failure was within his expectations, because he had not drawn the talisman patterns according to the proper crafting method.

He had never intended to finish the talisman in the first place!

Even someone blessed with qi luck could not succeed every single time they crafted something. They had to fail occasionally.

He could not bear to waste his own things, so he could only waste someone else's. Lu Li, that sucker, was a perfect choice.

With Ye Jingyun present, Lu Li could do nothing to him. He would be leaving this city in a few days anyway, so there was no need to pay any heed to those damned Five Major Families.

Besides, he had already swallowed the Soul-Nourishing Pill and could not spit it back out. Though the Mid-grade Flying Sword was tempting, it would not improve his strength much. After all, he was not a sword cultivator who relied primarily on controlling a sword.

While thinking this over, he made several more attempts in succession.

Every single one ended in failure.

Looking at the now-empty bottle of talisman ink, Chen Lin put on a disappointed, helpless expression and slowly rose.

By then, Lu Li, who had been watching the whole time, had already rushed into the room, murderous intent bursting from his eyes so fiercely it seemed almost tangible!

"I'm sorry to have disappointed you, Fellow Daoist Lu, but I truly did my best."

Feigning weakness, Chen Lin swayed twice and gave Lu Li a bitter smile.

"You're courting death! Do you know how many spirit stones those materials cost me? Do you know the value of a Soul-Nourishing Pill? Did you do this deliberately? I'll have your life!"

Overwhelmed by disappointment, Lu Li exploded. With a point of his finger, the flying sword in his hand shot straight at Chen Lin's face!

But the moment the sword launched, an illusory, earth-yellow hand seized it, making it let out a series of mournful cries.

"What is the meaning of this, Fellow Daoist Lu? My disciple already told you he could not guarantee success. Moreover, the Soul-Detaining Talisman has an extremely low success rate to begin with, so failure is perfectly normal. Yet you actually intend to kill him to vent your anger. You clearly have no regard for me, Ye Jingyun!"

Ye Jingyun's voice was cool. As she spoke, she withdrew her spell, and Lu Li's flying sword dropped to the floor with a clang.

His expression dark, Lu Li beckoned his flying sword back from a distance and slowly retreated through the door. Then, so furious that he laughed, he said, "Fine, fine, fine. Ye Jingyun, I hope you can keep acting so tough!"

With that, he sprang into motion and flew out of the courtyard.

Seeing him retreat without a fight, Chen Lin breathed a sigh of relief.

His cultivation was too low to discern Lu Li's exact level. He had feared the man might also be at Qi Condensation Level 9, or even stronger than Ye Jingyun. In that case, she might not have been willing to risk her life to protect him.

He would have had to summon Yu Yuehai then.

"Thank you for your help, Fellow Daoist Ye!"

Chen Lin approached and respectfully bowed to Ye Jingyun.

This bow was heartfelt.

Though he had not figured out why, she had indeed been looking after him all along, showing even more concern than Yu Yuehai.

Ye Jingyun smiled faintly and teased, "What, now that the danger has passed, you no longer acknowledge me as your master?"

"Ah!"

Chen Lin froze.

He had assumed her claim that they were master and disciple was merely an excuse to stop Lu Li from attacking him. Could she actually have meant it?

His gaze flickered several times. For a moment, he could not fathom her true intentions.

But he immediately bowed deeply again. "Your disciple pays his respects, Master!"

Since she had said so, whether she was joking or truly meant it, he had to cement the relationship.

Even if he was nearly old enough to be her father, even if both of them were only at the Qi Refining Stage, he had to acknowledge her as his master.

One more connection meant one more hope of surviving. He could not afford to worry about anything else.

Ye Jingyun neither accepted nor rejected Chen Lin's bow of discipleship. Instead, she simply turned and returned to Yu Yuehai's room.

Chen Lin stood there for a while before returning to his own room, his expression thoughtful.

He sat blankly in his room for another stretch, still unable to work out Ye Jingyun's intentions.

She clearly had some purpose in mind; otherwise, there was no reason to show him such concern. But she would not explain, leaving him no way to guess. He could only take one step and see where it led.

He shook his head to clear his mind, then began concentrating on refining the Soul-Nourishing Pill's medicinal power.

He had never even heard of this pill before. It was probably quite valuable, so he could not waste it.

Once he had refined the pill, he felt refreshed in mind and spirit, with a floating sensation throughout his body.

That sensation did not last long, however, and he soon returned to normal.

After checking himself and finding no changes, he resumed crafting Enlightenment Pills and Thunderbolt Beads.

He had originally planned to craft some Chuyuan Pills as well, but he had actually failed to buy enough materials for ten batches. Since he could not craft them through his own skill, he could only give up.

The materials for Thunderbolt Beads, on the other hand, were still very cheap, and he had bought plenty.

Moreover, as he crafted more and more of them, he actually succeeded a few times without relying on his talent ability.

Could eating so many Enlightenment Pills have opened my mind?

Chen Lin, who had completely lost faith in his own aptitude, could not help feeling overjoyed.

In addition to his improved success rate, his understanding of the Thunderbolt Bead's source force grew ever deeper. He could even modify and simplify its magic arrays, and had managed to layer two balancing magic arrays onto a single set of materials, making it more stable.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind.

Could I use finished Thunderbolt Beads as materials and refine them into a more powerful, layered Thunderbolt Bead combination?

The thought sent a jolt through Chen Lin's sturdy frame. He immediately took out several Thunderbolt Beads and a pile of neutralizing materials.

After carefully turning it over in his mind, he decided it should work in theory.

Thunderbolt Beads produced explosions through the force of the materials clashing with one another. A finished Thunderbolt Bead could certainly be treated as an unstable material; he simply did not know whether the array-layering method he had developed could maintain stability at that intensity.

As for the correct crafting method, that should not pose a problem either.

He could simply follow his previous method, which he already knew as thoroughly as a melon ripe enough to fall from its vine.

The rest would have to be left to his talent ability.