Striving for the Fourth Level

The transparent Immeasurable Crystal powder mixed with the black oil-like Cuttlefish Fat instead turned a peculiar dark blue. As it boiled in the small refined-steel furnace, rings of bright blue ripples spread across its surface, and a fresh fragrance like orange peel drifted out.

Once the Immeasurable Crystal powder had completely melted into the Cuttlefish Fat, Wei Suo carefully poured the viscous dark-blue talisman liquid into an exceptionally clean jade bottle. Without waiting for it to cool, he swiftly dipped the Golden Silk Talisman Brush into the bottle. After it had absorbed enough talisman liquid, he lifted it without the slightest hesitation and set it down on a sheet of golden-yellow talisman paper he had prepared long ago.

The Golden Silk Talisman Brush glided over the golden-yellow paper like drifting clouds and flowing water. When outlining some of the delicate talisman patterns, Wei Suo's dexterity with the brush even left the Green Robe Old Man absorbed in watching.

The first layer of patterns for the Illusionary Light Talisman was exceedingly complex. If he had been crafting a Fireball Talisman, then at Wei Suo's current speed, he could finish outlining it in half the time it took to burn a stick of incense without making any mistakes. Yet now, after a full stick of incense's time, thread after thread of talisman markings had only just connected into a pattern like a chrysanthemum in full bloom. Every filament in the entire pattern began to flow with crystalline radiance.

A fine layer of sweat appeared on Wei Suo's forehead. For him, what limited his Fireball Talisman crafting now was neither the success rate nor speed, but the rapidly draining divine sense caused by such extreme concentration. If his divine sense could not endure, his judgment would deviate, and the talisman crafting would be ruined beyond doubt.

With a light flick of the brush, its tip instantly traced several tiny winding arcs before abruptly leaving the talisman paper.

All the talisman patterns on the sheet suddenly flashed with light, giving the impression of a flower suddenly bursting into bloom.

"Damn it, it finally worked!"

Wei Suo froze for a moment, then let out a strange, gritted-teeth cry.

The difficulty of crafting this Illusionary Light Talisman had completely exceeded Wei Suo's expectations. He had spent two full days on it, and only now had he finally succeeded in completing the first layer of talisman patterns for the first time.

"This fellow managed to finish the first layer in just two days?" At this moment, the Green Robe Old Man had no choice but to admit that Wei Suo truly possessed remarkable talent in talisman crafting. Among those he had encountered before, it took at least seven or eight days for their first attempt at this Illusionary Light Talisman to complete the first layer. Moreover, he knew perfectly well that the second layer was much simpler. Generally, anyone who could complete the first layer had an extremely high chance of succeeding with the next layer, so long as they did not perform abnormally. Still, he coolly reminded him, "There are only two incense sticks' worth of time left. Do you want to howl a couple more times in celebration or something?"

"Damn it!"

Upon hearing that, Wei Suo could no longer afford to be happy. His eyes rolled, and he immediately wiped the sweat from his forehead, straightened his clothes slightly, then poured a stream of True Essence into the half-finished Illusionary Light Talisman in his hand.

A crystalline curtain of light abruptly shot out from the golden-yellow Illusionary Light Talisman covered in dark-blue patterns. "Here it comes!" Fixing his gaze on the position reflected by the crystalline light curtain, Wei Suo immediately stepped in front of it. As the crystalline curtain emitted by the floating Illusionary Light Talisman under his True Essence control shone upon him, he shouted, "Freeze!" A stream of True Essence struck one of the patterns on the half-finished Illusionary Light Talisman. The crystalline light curtain seemed to freeze in place, abruptly halting before swiftly fading back into the talisman.

This step was Image Condensation. Whatever image the Illusionary Light Talisman was meant to display when used later had to be completed at this moment. Wei Suo condensed his own image because he was thinking that when fighting enemies or hunting demon beasts, he could produce several copies of himself and leave his opponents and demon beasts at a loss, unable to tell which one was real. The Green Robe Old Man had told him before that the images produced by this Illusionary Light Talisman were exceptionally lifelike. Only when something struck or passed through them would they distort and reveal themselves.

"Damn it, it has to succeed!"

The moment Image Condensation was complete, Wei Suo immediately grabbed the half-finished Illusionary Light Talisman and placed it on the stone table. At the same time, he swiftly poured a stream of True Essence into the Golden Silk Talisman Brush. The remaining liquid inside the brush flowed out completely and smoothly. Wei Suo then immediately filled the brush with talisman liquid made from the already boiled Vermilion Green Stone and Cuttlefish Fat, rapidly outlining patterns on the golden-yellow talisman paper.

Mysterious lines flowed from beneath Wei Suo's brush. The instant the green talisman liquid seeped into the paper, it strangely merged with the earlier blue lines, forming a sapphire-blue hue.

Beads of sweat sprang out across Wei Suo's forehead. The only thing that did not change was the Golden Silk Talisman Brush in his hand, moving swiftly yet remaining utterly steady.

"Damn it!" Wei Suo suddenly felt his strength failing him. Though there were not many talisman patterns left, a feeling of helplessness washed over him.

His divine sense was exhausted! Crafting this unfamiliar talisman, one he had never successfully crafted before, consumed far more of his mental strength than the Fireball Talismans he had become practiced at making.

Wei Suo gritted his teeth and forced his eyes wide open. While keeping both hands incomparably steady as they controlled the talisman brush, he desperately concentrated his mind. Veins even stood out on his forehead, yet his hand movements remained as gentle as a breeze brushing across the face. At such a moment, none of his usual wretched shamelessness remained.

"It finally worked!"

As the Golden Silk Talisman Brush lifted, every talisman pattern on the sheet abruptly turned sapphire blue. Wei Suo collapsed limply into his chair, his back drenched through, yet his eyes were filled with indescribable excitement.

Wei Suo was no longer the ignorant little Rogue Cultivator who had known nothing when he first began crafting Fireball Talismans. Now, without even testing it, merely from the gentle glow and steady aura emanating from the talisman, he knew that this Illusionary Light Talisman had been successfully crafted.

Most importantly, all things were difficult at the beginning. With the experience of this first success, the second and third talismans certainly would not be as difficult as crafting this one had been.

"Wahahahaha!"

Two days later, another burst of exceptionally wretched laughter exploded from Wei Suo's stone house.

Inside the filthy little stone house stood two nearly identical Wei Suos. Only one of them held nothing, while the other held five golden-yellow Illusionary Light Talismans.

The one clutching the five Illusionary Light Talismans was naturally Wei Suo's true body. He stretched out a hand and touched the illusion created by the talisman. At his touch, it was as if his hand had passed through a curtain of water, and ripples like water waves spread across that "Wei Suo's" surface.

"It really looks real. Haha, it should be enough to confuse those demon beasts with insufficient intelligence."

Over the two days, Wei Suo had crafted another six Illusionary Light Talismans. With six in hand, he had finally been unable to resist using one to see its effect. The result before him left him extremely satisfied. If one did not touch it, then so long as he stood still, it truly was impossible to distinguish real from fake at a glance.

"Right, old man, there's no point in only making copies of me. I need to make some other things." With five Illusionary Light Talismans containing his own image in hand, Wei Suo was no longer satisfied. He said to the Green Robe Old Man, "I need to get some powerful techniques or demon beasts or something, so I can scare my opponents. Maybe if I run into someone timid, I can scare him off directly."

"That would be great. So long as you can find a powerful cultivator to cast a technique for you to condense its image within two incense sticks' worth of time, or find a level-four or level-five demon beast willing to let you condense its image, you can definitely scare people once you go out." The Green Robe Old Man rolled his eyes at Wei Suo. Truthfully, he felt that Wei Suo's choice to condense his own image was already extremely clever. His original intention in teaching Wei Suo the method of crafting this Illusionary Light Talisman had merely been to let him train his talisman-crafting cultivation and divine sense.

"That really is a problem." Wei Suo's face lengthened somewhat. In a powerful sect, he naturally would not have trouble finding an expert to cast a technique or a powerful demon beast to condense an image of. But the key was that he was a lone Rogue Cultivator. Even if he himself could cast some powerful technique, he could not possibly control Image Condensation while casting a technique at the same time.

"Two incense sticks' worth of time... What could I manage in time?" But suddenly, Wei Suo chuckled and looked at the Green Robe Old Man with a thoroughly wretched expression. "Old man, what do you think someone's reaction would be if, while I was fighting him, a herd of Big White Pigs suddenly ran around him?"

"Damn it!" The Green Robe Old Man stared blankly for a moment, nearly toppling headfirst onto the ground.

"Wahahahaha!"

Another half-finished Illusionary Light Talisman took shape in Wei Suo's hand. Then he swiftly ran outside. After rounding two small alleys, he saw dozens of fat white pigs being raised inside an enclosure. Wei Suo gave a sly chuckle, and the crystalline light curtain enveloped the herd of white pigs. He then hurried back into his stone house, and amid a burst of teeth-chilling laughter, a brand-new golden-yellow Illusionary Light Talisman came fresh out of the furnace.

The Green Robe Old Man was speechless.

Wei Suo had not merely crafted one Big White Pig Illusionary Light Talisman, but directly crafted two. He could not help imagining what kind of reaction someone would have if they were fighting Wei Suo and suddenly discovered a herd of Big White Pigs rumbling toward them.

But after gloating for a while, Wei Suo lay facedown on his bed, somewhat melancholy. "Old man, when exactly will I reach the Sea of Consciousness Realm Fourth Level? I've already cultivated everything I can in the Golden Snake Lightning Art. I'm just waiting until the Sea of Consciousness Realm Fourth Level to cultivate the next layer. Why does it feel like my efficiency in absorbing spiritual energy from spirit stones has become worse than before?"

Hearing Wei Suo say this, the Green Robe Old Man grew somewhat serious as well. He nodded and said, "Unless you have miraculous pills, there is no way to shorten the time needed to break through to the Sea of Consciousness Realm Fourth Level. The reason your efficiency in absorbing spiritual energy from spirit stones has declined is because the True Essence and spiritual energy within your body are always in an overly abundant state. Cultivation is like eating. If you want a bigger appetite, you must eat more and move more. Eat a little more every day to stretch your stomach, and do more physical labor. If you want to cultivate faster, you must use your True Essence as much as possible. Constantly use it, consume it, then replenish it. The circulation of True Essence within your body will improve. Just as one's appetite can easily grow larger, if you eat your fill and do nothing, naturally your cultivation efficiency will be poor."

"You mean I should go hunt more demon beasts, and that will make my cultivation faster?" Wei Suo's eyes immediately lit up. "No wonder they say powerful cultivators are forged through fighting, not by squatting at home cultivating."

"This should improve the effect of your spiritual energy absorption and speed up your advancement." The Green Robe Old Man glanced at Wei Suo. "Though theoretically, you do not necessarily have to hunt demon beasts to expend True Essence. You could also stand alone before a wall and desperately fire Azure Water Blades at it or something. Once you exhaust your True Essence, come back and cultivate."

"Damn it, do you take me for an idiot? Hunt demon beasts to earn spirit stones, or attack empty air? True Essence also needs spirit stones and Qi Replenishing Powder to replenish it, all right?" Wei Suo shouted. "Damn it, tomorrow I'm going to hunt some demon beasts."