Seeds Sprout

After turning it over and over in his mind, Su Yu still decided to give talismans. He knew both Su Qingyi and Chen Sisi, so he would give them two High-grade Rank 1 Fire Cloud Arrow Talismans.

"Compared to pills, these might save their lives at a critical moment," Su Yu thought to himself.

Fortunately, he had materials for Fire Cloud Arrow Talismans stored in his Cosmos Bag. Although he had used up all his Fire Cloud Arrow Talismans while dealing with the Ghost Head Golden Condor, there were still nearly ten days left. Refining two talismans would not be difficult.

He cultivated the Azure Wood Age Wheel Art and the Body Refining Technique, refining talismans in his spare time.

He released the Earth Fire Ape Cub from the Beast Taming Pouch and fed it several Perfect low-grade Rank 1 Hundred Beasts Pills every day.

Though this little fellow was not yet three years old, its aura had already reached the brink of the Early Rank 1 Monster Beast peak, comparable to an immortal cultivator who had just broken through to the third layer of Qi Refining.

At this rate of growth, the Earth Fire Ape would become a mid-Rank 1 Monster Beast in another year or two.

This growth rate was at least twice that of an ordinary Earth Fire Ape.

Besides feeding the Earth Fire Ape, Su Yu continued nourishing the seed he had obtained from the Ancient Jade Box every day. After three or four years of nourishment, the seed had now fully recovered, brimming with life force.

On the second day after Su Yu returned, as he poured mana into the seed as usual, it suddenly burst forth with a dazzling emerald-green radiance and fell from his hand to the ground.

In the blink of an eye.

The seed sprouted and grew. Within a few dozen breaths, a tree appeared before him—ten feet tall, with an ancient, gnarled trunk covered in palm-sized patterns like scales, exuding an ancient and weathered aura of time.

"This..." Su Yu froze for a moment. What exactly was this seed?

Before he could make sense of it.

A red flower formed on the tree. As the flower bud bloomed, the room was filled with a rich scent of pollen and blossoms after more than an hour.

When Su Yu inhaled the pollen, the blood qi buried deep within his body by the Body Refining Technique abruptly began to boil.

At that moment, Su Yu's soul felt as though it were floating toward immortality. It was as if his soul had left his body, stepping free of its shackles and rising into the air, where he saw his own body below.

"It feels so good. What in the world is this seed?" Su Yu was utterly astonished.

He could feel his divine sense rapidly growing stronger.

In less than a quarter of an hour.

Boom!

The Crocodile Demon's 108 Forms Body Refining Technique, which should have taken at least several more years to break through, surged from the sixth level to the seventh.

Yet only half the rich pollen and floral fragrance had been consumed.

Another quarter of an hour later.

The pollen and floral fragrance were completely exhausted, and the proficiency of his seventh-level Body Refining Technique had risen to 44.7%.

The flowers on the tree drifted away with the wind, turning into flying ash.

Soon after, the entire tree withered into ashes.

Another flat seed fell from within.

Su Yu reached out and caught it, delight filling his heart. This single sprouting and flowering had saved him at least five or six years of Body Refining Technique cultivation.

"The seventh level of the Body Refining Technique is comparable to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining."

He then sensed the changes in his divine sense.

"My divine sense has grown by a full twenty percent."

A slight change came over Su Yu's face. His Qi Refining Realm cultivation had not changed, but his divine sense had become much stronger. This meant that his foundation was even more solid and profound.

When his cultivation broke through in the future, the increase would be stronger and greater.

A towering building rose from level ground.

A twenty-percent increase in divine sense was a new transformation.

"It won't only improve my cultivation. Stronger divine sense will have an even greater effect on auxiliary professions such as alchemy, talisman crafting, and formations." Su Yu was pleased as his gaze fell upon the seed.

The new seed was slightly larger than before, and its life force was still fairly strong.

However, if he wanted it to sprout again, it would likely need to be nourished for some time.

After adjusting his condition, Su Yu picked up his talisman brush and began drawing that day's Fire Cloud Arrow Talisman. After dipping the brush in the essence blood of a High-grade Rank 1 fire-attribute monster beast, he set it upon the talisman paper. It was completed in a single stroke, like a formation and yet like naturally formed talismanic patterns.

Su Yu poured his mana and divine sense into it. Even his spirit and vitality merged into the talisman alongside each stroke.

Buzz!

More than two hours passed.

When the final stroke came to a halt, the talisman erupted with dazzling crimson light. Spiritual energy from all directions gathered and was swallowed by the talisman, strengthening its aura.

Shortly afterward, the surrounding spiritual energy calmed once more.

Su Yu's face was somewhat pale. More than eighty percent of his mana, divine sense, spirit, and vitality had been consumed, but as he looked at the talisman before him, he was overjoyed.

"A Fine Talisman—I actually drew one!" Su Yu laughed heartily in delight.

Like pills, talismans of every rank were divided into three quality tiers: ordinary, fine, and perfect. These described their quality.

However, unlike pills, where the same materials could produce pills of different quality—

Talismans could not.

Talismans required corresponding materials. For instance, to make a fine High-grade Rank 1 talisman, one needed higher-quality, fine High-grade Rank 1 talisman paper.

Thus, Fine Talismans were relatively rare, because drawing them was much more difficult.

As for perfect-quality talismans, that depended on opportunity and luck. Materials, condition, and skill were all indispensable. They were far rarer than Perfect Pills.

This fine High-grade Rank 1 Fire Cloud Arrow Talisman was also the first fine High-grade Rank 1 talisman Su Yu had ever refined.

Success on the first try!

After carefully sensing the talisman's aura, Su Yu thought, It's much stronger than an ordinary Fire Cloud Arrow Talisman. Even against someone at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, if used well, it might seriously wound or even kill them.

Seeing this, Su Yu began looking forward to even more powerful talismans, such as those ancient talismans—the Fire Thunder Talisman, Fire Dragon Talisman, and Fire Thunder Sword Talisman.

If he could use them to create even stronger talismans, he might be able to kill a ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator in an instant.

With several days remaining until the wedding, Su Yu continued drawing Fire Cloud Arrow Talismans over the following days. He used up all five sets of fine materials in his possession and obtained three fine Fire Cloud Arrow Talismans, for a success rate of sixty percent. His Fire Cloud Arrow Talisman proficiency rose to 52%.

He also successfully drew four ordinary Fire Cloud Arrow Talismans.

He used up all the materials he had prepared.

On the eve of Su Qingyi and Chen Sisi's wedding, Su Yu presented his congratulatory gift.

In Su Yu's view, Chen Sisi, this disciple of the Cloud Sword Sect, was quite good. Her looks could be rated an eight or nine out of ten, and she possessed an Ice Attribute Spirit Root. In terms of talent, she was one or two levels above Su Qingyi.

However, Su Qingyi's cultivation progress was not slow. He seemed to have his own fortuitous encounter as well.

The two were compatible, and for now, they seemed well matched.

The wedding was held in grand fashion. Many members of the Chen Family came, as did immortal cultivation families and cultivators friendly with the Su Family, all gathering at Azure Mountain. The wedding feast lasted three days before it finally dispersed.

After the wedding, Family Head Su Peng approached Su Yu to discuss having him represent the Su Family in handling matters concerning the Purple Gold Sand Mine shared with the Chen Family, allowing him to gain some experience.

But Su Yu declined on the grounds that he wished to focus on cultivation and alchemy.

Experience?

Too dangerous! It would be more like it once he had broken through to Foundation Establishment or even Core Formation before taking on such a task!

In the end, the matter was handed over to Su Qingyi.

Su Yu returned to Cloud Mountain Market with his master Su Yun, Su Zhi, and Chen Sisi, whose own wedding had concluded. Su Zhi and Chen Sisi returned to their sect.

Over the following days, Su Yu devoted himself to cultivation in Cloud Mountain Market.

From time to time, he kept an eye on the situation between his family and the Chen Family, as well as the movements of the Maple City Bai Family.