It was late, and a bright moon had risen. Yan Chihuo finally stepped into the Cloud Soaring Sect, feeling some joy, some uncertainty, and an emotion he could not quite put into words.
He took out the Snake Scale and held it up to the moonlight, only to find that its patterns seemed clearer than before. He paused briefly, then immediately understood: his eyesight was now exceptional, so he could see the patterns more clearly.
With that in mind, he silently circulated his spiritual power and recited the incantation. A moment later, a beam of black light rose and enveloped his body, forming a layer of armor. He had a feeling that this time, when he cast the Stone Armor Art, it was not only faster and consumed less spiritual power, but the armor itself was also slightly more powerful.
The reason for this was that he could see the patterns on the Snake Scale more clearly, allowing his spiritual power to flow more smoothly through them. He had never expected that his improved eyesight would bring him such a benefit.
He dismissed the Stone Armor Art and began meditating to recover his spiritual power. As soon as he started circulating it, he felt a surge of spiritual energy from heaven and earth enter his body at a speed several times faster than when he had been at Tiger Roar Manor.
He was overjoyed. Now he understood why Ping Qi had been surprised that he had reached the Body Tempering Middle Stage after only ten years in the mortal world. The speed of cultivation in the cultivation world truly could not compare to that in the mortal world.
Before long, he had replenished the spiritual power he had expended. He then cast Earth Shrinking Step and Falling Rock Art in turn, and both had indeed improved. He put away the spells and began meditating to cultivate.
He did not rush to increase his spiritual power. Ping Qi had told him on the way that although he had reached the Body Tempering Middle Stage, he had lacked guidance during his cultivation, and the spiritual energy in the mortal world had been too weak. As a result, some of his foundations were still shaky. Once he reached the Cloud Soaring Sect, he should not rush to advance his cultivation, but first strengthen his foundations.
He cultivated for over three hours before stopping. He felt strength coursing through his whole body and was secretly delighted. Body tempering meant using the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to cleanse the flesh, tendons, and marrow. Once body tempering was complete, the body was no longer mortal. Although Yan Chihuo had previously reached the Body Tempering Middle Stage, the spiritual energy in the mortal world had been too scarce, and the cleansing of his tendons and marrow had been incomplete. His body was therefore still far from that of a true cultivator at the Body Tempering Middle Stage.
This time, his body had improved considerably through cultivation, and his strength had greatly increased. After all, earth-attribute cultivation arts were inherently more defensive and increased physical strength, while the Spirit Jade Vajra Art was especially effective at increasing strength.
Seeing that it was already late, he closed his eyes and went to sleep. Early the next morning, he hurriedly ate breakfast and went to Ping Qi's cave abode. Ping Qi's cave abode was practically a Palace, and he even had young attendants to serve him. By comparison, Yan Chihuo's own cave abode was truly shabby.
Ping Qi glanced at him and said, "Looks like you put in some effort last night. Your body has improved somewhat. For the next three months, don't rush to advance your cultivation. Wait until you've strengthened your foundations."
Yan Chihuo nodded in agreement, then said, "Master, Senior Brother Shu said yesterday that I could choose a Talisman Artifact. I hope you can advise me."
Ping Qi said, "Talisman Artifacts are extremely important to cultivators at your Body Tempering Stage. Cultivators in the early stages of body tempering must recite incantations and use a Talisman Artifact to cast low-tier spells. Once they reach the middle stage, they can instantly cast low-tier spells with a Talisman Artifact in hand. In the late stage, they can cast spells instantly even without one. But with a Talisman Artifact, they can not only increase a spell's power, but also save spiritual power."
Ping Qi continued, "I advise you to wait three months before choosing one. Your foundations aren't firm yet, so the Talisman Artifact you pick might not suit you. You may think it's powerful now, but once you've strengthened your foundations in three months, you might find it lacking. If you want to exchange it then, it won't be so easy."
He added, "However, I can tell you what kind of Talisman Artifact to choose. You cultivate the Spirit Jade Vajra Art, which greatly increases your strength, so you'd do best to pick something heavy, such as a shield, staff, axe, or hammer. That way, the two will complement each other. Also, although the Talisman Artifacts in the Cloud Soaring Sect are all worth roughly the same, they differ greatly in how well they suit each person."
Yan Chihuo knew Ping Qi was about to explain the differences between the Talisman Artifacts, so he paid even closer attention. Ping Qi said, "Whether it's a Talisman Artifact or a Dharma Tool, or even a magic treasure or a spirit treasure, each is first cast into a primal embryo, then inscribed with restrictions. The more restrictions it has, the more powerful it is. But if the primal embryo is poor in quality, it can only withstand a limited number of restrictions. The Talisman Artifacts in our sect are worth about the same, but they vary greatly in the number of restrictions they have."
Yan Chihuo asked, "So the primal embryos differ in quality? Why can't they all be made to the same high standard?"
Ping Qi smiled. "How could primal embryos all be the same quality? Can an embryo made from mortal-world jade be the same as one made from spiritual materials of heaven and earth? And artifact refiners vary in skill, so naturally the quality of the primal embryos they make varies too."
Yan Chihuo nodded. Ping Qi continued, "Not only do they differ in the number of restrictions, but the types of restrictions vary greatly as well. Restrictions are divided into single and composite restrictions. A single restriction is like the Wood Sword you got before. It has only one restriction: the low-tier metal-attribute spell Sharpness Art. No matter how many restrictions are added to it later, it can never gain any other spell or supernatural ability. A composite restriction, on the other hand, is like the Snake Scale in your hand. It is made up of cloud patterns from two or more spells. With this Talisman Artifact, you can cast a variety of spells and supernatural abilities."
Yan Chihuo asked, "What are the advantages and disadvantages of these two kinds of restrictions?"
Ping Qi said, "You're quite level-headed. Most people would hear what I just said and immediately want a Talisman Artifact with composite restrictions. But they don't realize that each kind has its advantages and disadvantages. Single restrictions use less spiritual power and let you cast spells faster; composite restrictions can't match them in either regard. Of course, if you find a Talisman Artifact you like but dislike its restrictions, you can remove them yourself, then ask one of the sect's artifact refiners to inscribe new ones."
Yan Chihuo committed these words to memory, then asked Ping Qi a few more questions about cultivation. After answering them one by one, Ping Qi suddenly said, "I could give you a Talisman Artifact right now, but you wouldn't be able to use it."
As he spoke, he opened his hand. A patch of multicolored, fine sand lay in his palm. Ping Qi said, "This is a Five Poison Cloud Smoke Cover inscribed with twenty restrictions. It's quite a fine Talisman Artifact, but unfortunately, even though you've cultivated the Poison Dissolving Art, you still can't activate it."
Yan Chihuo looked at Ping Qi, puzzled. The latter said, "Now that you've joined the Cloud Soaring Sect, you have no Talisman Artifact and can't go looking for any deadly poison. If the poison in your body flares up a few more times, the Poison Dissolving Art may no longer be able to suppress it. Without any deadly poison, what will you do? That's why I'm giving you the Five Poison Cloud Smoke Cover. When the poison flares up, you can absorb the poison within it, allowing the Poison Dissolving Art to suppress the poison in your body."
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