Yang Yi did not take part in the talisman-making contest, but several talisman makers did.
All those who entered the contest were first-tier, upper-grade talisman makers. They wagered spirit stones, pills, crafting materials, or alchemy materials, and the first-place winner would take the entire pot.
Seven talisman makers competed. Han Changming watched Mu Yunxiao make talismans.
Mu Yunxiao was making Chain Fireball Talismans. Perhaps because Yang Yi had just given him some pointers, he used twelve sheets of talisman paper to make three Chain Fireball Talismans.
Ye Yufeng made two Chain Fireball Talismans, while Han Changjiong made two Great Strength Talismans.
The Great Strength Talisman was a first-tier, upper-grade talisman that could grant its user several hundred jin of strength. Each one could sell for fifty spirit stones on the market.
A Chain Fireball Talisman cost twenty spirit stones, so three were worth only sixty.
"Fatty Han, you actually learned how to make Great Strength Talismans?" Ye Yufeng asked, somewhat surprised.
Han Changjiong chuckled, his face showing his smugness. "It was just luck! I'm still far behind Fellow Daoist Yang."
At the Talisman Maker Exchange Meeting half a year ago, Han Changjiong had only just qualified to compete, and his results had been near the bottom. But over the past six months, he had practiced making Great Strength Talismans extensively, slowly improving his success rate. He had been hoping to make a stunning debut.
"Great Strength Talismans aren't easy to make, especially the beginning and the ending strokes. You managed to make two from a stack of talisman paper. It seems you've put in a lot of effort, Fellow Daoist Han," Yang Yi said with a smile.
"Haha, Fellow Daoist Yang, you have a keen eye. I really have spent a lot of time making Great Strength Talismans."
Han Changjiong was delighted by Yang Yi's praise.
Han Changjiong won with his two Great Strength Talismans, taking home a hundred spirit stones as well as some monster-beast materials.
"That concludes this Talisman Maker Exchange Meeting. Next time, it will be Fairy Ye's turn to host."
After chatting for a while, the cultivators dispersed and went their separate ways.
Once he returned to the Spirit Talisman Pavilion, Han Changming hurriedly took out his talisman-making tools and began crafting talismans.
He had gained a great deal from this Talisman Maker Exchange Meeting and learned quite a few things.
The day passed in a flash.
Han Changming set down his Talisman Brush and looked at the dozens of blue talismans on the table. A smile appeared on his pale face.
They were Water Wall Talismans, first-tier, middle-grade talismans that sold for five spirit stones apiece.
Han Changming had little magical power left, and his spiritual sense was badly depleted.
He took out his Spirit Gathering Stone, intending to absorb the spiritual energy inside it and restore his magical power.
"Huh? What's going on?" Han Changming murmured, his expression turning odd.
He clearly remembered that the Spirit Gathering Stone had been full of spiritual energy when he put it in his Storage Bag. But now, the spiritual energy inside seemed to have diminished.
After a moment's thought, he took out the Blue Gourd and examined it closely.
The Spirit Gathering Stone hadn't acted strangely before he acquired the Blue Gourd. Could the gourd have drained its spiritual energy?
He inspected the Blue Gourd carefully but found nothing unusual.
Han Changming placed the Spirit Gathering Stone beside him and let it slowly absorb spiritual energy. Once it was full, he set the Blue Gourd next to it.
Just as Han Changming had suspected, the Blue Gourd really could absorb spiritual energy. If he hadn't had a Spirit Gathering Stone, he would have found it difficult to notice anything unusual about the Blue Gourd.
A magical artifact that absorbed spiritual energy on its own? Han Changming had never seen one before. As far as he knew, no such artifact existed.
The Spirit Gathering Stone absorbed spiritual energy and stored it. But where did the energy drained by the Blue Gourd go?
Han Changming ran an experiment, pouring some clean water into the Blue Gourd. By the next day, the water contained spiritual energy. This discovery filled him with delight.
He tested it repeatedly and figured out what the Blue Gourd could do.
The Blue Gourd could slowly absorb spiritual energy. Clean water poured into it would gradually turn into Spirit Well Water, infused with spiritual energy.
Normally, it took half a month or so for clean water to turn into Spirit Well Water. But if the gourd absorbed energy from a Spirit Gathering Stone, the water could transform in just one day.
The Spirit Well Water produced by the Blue Gourd could be drunk and offered some benefits for cultivation. No matter how long clean water was stored in the gourd, it would remain Spirit Well Water and never turn into anything else. The amount of spiritual energy it could contain had a limit.
Since the Blue Gourd could turn clean water into Spirit Well Water, could it also restore the spiritual energy in depleted spirit stones? If so, Han Changming would effectively have several Spirit Gathering Stones.
He planned to refine the Blue Gourd, but was surprised to find that he couldn't. He tried channeling magical power into it, but it was like pouring water into the sea.
He poured all his magical power into it, yet the Blue Gourd showed no reaction.
For the next month or so, Han Changming continued to explore the Blue Gourd's functions.
First, the Blue Gourd was a magical treasure, and apparently a high-grade one. He couldn't refine or control it; he could only pull out its stopper and use it to produce Spirit Well Water. Second, the Blue Gourd needed to absorb a great deal of spiritual energy to turn clean water into Spirit Well Water. A Spirit Gathering Stone could shorten the process, and the more water there was, the longer it took. Third, the Blue Gourd could hold up to ten thousand jin of clean water, but transforming that much water into Spirit Well Water would take a long time. Fourth, Spirit Well Water contained only a limited amount of spiritual energy. It improved his chances of successfully making talismans, and he could also drink it to cultivate, though he had to consume a large quantity.
In one day, the Blue Gourd could turn one bowl of clean water into Spirit Well Water. Two bowls took three or four days to transform.
The more clean water there was, the longer it took to turn into Spirit Well Water.
One bowl of Spirit Well Water contained as much spiritual energy as three or four days of Han Changming's hard cultivation. Because the water's spiritual energy was limited, its effects diminished as Han Changming's cultivation increased.
In other words, as Han Changming's cultivation improved, Spirit Well Water would become less effective for his training. Of course, the Blue Gourd might have other functions that he had yet to discover.
Han Changming was extremely excited. He had thought he'd obtained a first-tier, lower-grade magical artifact, but it turned out to be an auxiliary magical treasure.
The Blue Gourd's surface bore several blue cloud patterns, so Han Changming gave it the imposing name Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd.
With the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd, Han Changming could speed up his cultivation in the short term and improve his success rate at making talismans.
Of course, without a Spirit Gathering Stone, the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd would take half a month or so to turn one bowl of clean water into Spirit Well Water. If he hadn't had the Spirit Gathering Stone, Han Changming might have gotten rid of it. A first-tier, lower-grade magical artifact used to hold liquid wasn't worth much, and the Han Clan had no shortage of gourd artifacts.
Han Changming wouldn't tell anyone about the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd. A man's wealth was a crime in itself—that was a lesson he understood well.
His trip to Kuixing Market had been worthwhile. He had obtained the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd.
With the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd's help, Han Changming was confident he could reach the sixth level of Qi Refining within a year. After all, one bowl of Spirit Well Water was worth three or four days of hard cultivation.
Thanks to Po Li for the tip.
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