The Secret of the Blue Gourd

Yang Yi did not participate in the talisman making competition, though many other talisman makers did.

Those participating in the talisman making competition were all high-grade Qi Refining talisman makers. They wagered spirit stones, medicinal pills, artifact refining materials, or alchemy materials, with the first-place winner taking all the stakes.

Seven talisman makers participated in the competition, and Han Changming watched Mu Yunxiao craft his talismans.

Mu Yunxiao was crafting Chain Fireball Talismans. Perhaps because of the pointers Yang Yi had just given him, he used twelve sheets of talisman paper to successfully craft three Chain Fireball Talismans.

Ye Yufeng crafted two Chain Fireball Talismans, and Han Changjiong crafted two Great Strength Talismans.

The Great Strength Talisman is a high-grade Qi Refining talisman that can grant the caster several hundred catties of extra strength; a single Great Strength Talisman can sell for fifty spirit stones on the market.

A single Chain Fireball Talisman is worth twenty spirit stones, so three would only be worth sixty spirit stones.

"Fatty Han, you actually learned how to craft Great Strength Talismans," Ye Yufeng said with some surprise.

Han Changjiong chuckled, a smug expression appearing on his face, though he said modestly, "Just a stroke of luck! I am still far behind Fellow Daoist Yang."

At the Talisman Maker Exchange Meeting half a year ago, Han Changjiong had only just qualified to participate and finished near the bottom. However, he had practiced crafting Great Strength Talismans extensively over the past six months, slowly improving his success rate, all to make a stunning impression today.

"Great Strength Talismans are not easy to craft, especially the beginning and the finishing touches. To craft two from a single stack of talisman paper, it seems Fellow Daoist Han has put in quite a lot of effort," Yang Yi said with a smile.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Yang has a sharp eye. I have indeed spent a great deal of time practicing the Great Strength Talisman."

Having received praise from Yang Yi, Han Changjiong was very happy.

Han Changjiong won the competition thanks to his two Great Strength Talismans, receiving one hundred spirit stones alone, along with some monster materials.

"This Talisman Maker Exchange Meeting concludes here. Next time, it will be Fairy Ye's turn to host."

After chatting for a few moments, the cultivators dispersed and returned to their respective homes.

Back at the Spirit Talisman Pavilion, Han Changming hurriedly took out his talisman making tools and began to craft talismans.

He had gained many insights from this Talisman Maker Exchange Meeting and had learned quite a lot.

A day passed by in the blink of an eye.

Han Changming set down his Talisman Brush and looked at the dozens of blue talismans on the table, a faint smile appearing on his pale face.

The Water Wall Talisman is a mid-grade Qi Refining talisman, and a single one is worth five spirit stones.

Han Changming's mana was nearly exhausted, and his mental energy had been heavily depleted.

He took out his Spirit Gathering Stone, intending to absorb the spiritual energy within it to recover his mana.

"Eh? What is going on?" Han Changming let out a soft exclamation, a strange expression appearing on his face.

He remembered very clearly that before he put the Spirit Gathering Stone into his Storage Bag, it was full of spiritual energy, but now, the spiritual energy inside seemed to have diminished.

Han Changming thought for a moment and took out the Blue Gourd to observe it carefully.

Before he obtained the Blue Gourd, the Spirit Gathering Stone had never shown any abnormalities. Could the missing spiritual energy have been absorbed by the Blue Gourd?

He examined the Blue Gourd closely but did not find anything unusual.

Han Changming placed the Spirit Gathering Stone beside him, letting it slowly absorb spiritual energy. Once it was full, he placed the Blue Gourd next to it.

As Han Changming had suspected, the Blue Gourd did indeed absorb spiritual energy. If he hadn't had the Spirit Gathering Stone in his hand, it would have been very difficult for him to discover the anomaly of the Blue Gourd.

An artifact that automatically absorbs spiritual energy? This was the first time Han Changming had ever seen one; in his experience, such artifacts did not exist.

The Spirit Gathering Stone absorbs and stores spiritual energy, but where did the energy absorbed by the Blue Gourd go?

Han Changming conducted an experiment: he poured some clear water into the Blue Gourd. The next day, the water contained spiritual energy. This discovery left Han Changming ecstatic.

He tested it repeatedly and discovered the function of the Blue Gourd.

The Blue Gourd could slowly absorb spiritual energy. When clear water was poured into it, it would gradually turn into Spirit Well Water, which contained spiritual energy.

Under normal circumstances, it took nearly half a month for clear water to transform into Spirit Well Water, but if it absorbed the spiritual energy from the Spirit Gathering Stone, it only took one day for the transformation to occur.

The Spirit Well Water produced by the Blue Gourd could be consumed and had certain benefits for cultivation. No matter how long the water was stored in the Blue Gourd, it remained Spirit Well Water and would not turn into anything else; the spiritual energy contained within the Spirit Well Water had a limit.

Since the Blue Gourd could turn clear water into Spirit Well Water, could it also replenish spent spirit stones? If that were true, Han Changming would effectively possess multiple Spirit Gathering Stones.

He intended to refine the Blue Gourd, but to his surprise, he found he could not. He tried injecting his mana into it, but it was like a stone sinking into the ocean.

He poured all his mana into it, but the Blue Gourd showed no reaction at all.

For the next month or so, Han Changming spent his time exploring the functions of the Blue Gourd.

First, the Blue Gourd was a magical treasure, likely of a very high grade. He could not refine it or command it; he could only uncork it to produce Spirit Well Water. Second, the Blue Gourd required a large amount of spiritual energy to convert clear water into Spirit Well Water; the Spirit Gathering Stone could shorten this time, and the more water there was, the longer it took. Third, the Blue Gourd could hold up to ten thousand catties of water, though converting that much would take a vast amount of time. Fourth, the spiritual energy in the Spirit Well Water was limited; it provided a bonus to talisman making, increasing the success rate, and could also be consumed for cultivation, though one would need to drink a large amount.

In one day, the Blue Gourd could convert one bowl of clear water into Spirit Well Water; if there were two bowls, it would take three or four days.

The more water there was, the longer the conversion time.

One bowl of Spirit Well Water contained as much spiritual energy as three or four days of Han Changming's hard cultivation. Because the spiritual energy in the Spirit Well Water was limited, the higher Han Changming's cultivation level became, the less effective the water would be.

In other words, as Han Changming's cultivation improved, the benefits of consuming Spirit Well Water would diminish. Of course, the Blue Gourd might have other functions that Han Changming had yet to discover.

Han Changming was incredibly excited. He had thought he had obtained a low-grade Qi Refining artifact, but it turned out to be an auxiliary magical treasure.

The surface of the Blue Gourd had several blue cloud patterns, so Han Changming gave it an imposing name: the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd.

With the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd in his possession, Han Changming could accelerate his cultivation speed in the short term and improve his talisman making success rate.

Of course, without the Spirit Gathering Stone, it would take nearly half a month for the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd to turn a bowl of water into Spirit Well Water. If not for the stone, Han Changming might have gotten rid of the gourd; a low-grade Qi Refining artifact for storing liquid wasn't worth much, and the Han Clan had no shortage of gourd artifacts.

Han Changming would not tell anyone about the existence of the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd. He understood the principle that an innocent man may be punished for his wealth.

Coming to Kuixing Market this time was the right choice; he had obtained the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd.

With the help of the Taiyi Spirit-Transforming Gourd, Han Changming was confident he could reach the sixth level of Qi Refining within a year, as one bowl of Spirit Well Water was equivalent to three or four days of his hard work.

Thanks to Poli for the tip.