Chen Fan stood in the medicinal herb field and carefully read through the ancient book once more. His expression grew increasingly grave, but when he reached the end, a trace of a smile finally appeared on his face.
The Nine Palaces Sword Art was indeed, just as the Fat Daoist had said, a perfect match for his Blazing Heaven Sword Art. Moreover, the profound Nine Palaces Formation greatly enhanced the Blazing Heaven Sword Qi.
The Yu Step moved like the wind, swift as lightning!
This perfectly matched the core of the Blazing Heaven Sword Art. Once he reached Foundation Establishment, he would be able to cultivate this sword art, and his strength would only grow.
"By the way, kid, while you were away these past few days, your Immortal Qi rose to 110 points," the Green-feathered Bird said.
"Oh?" Chen Fan was startled. He remembered that when he had passed the First Layer of the Heavenly Court, he had only been rewarded with 50 points of Immortal Qi. He hadn't expected it to increase by 60 after he'd been gone for more than ten days.
"Someone entered the Recording Stone and fought the illusion of you from back then. They fought six times in all, so you gained 60 Immortal Qi. When will you reach 500 and challenge the Second Layer Heavenly Court? I've only got one star above my head. I can't hold the fort," the Green-feathered Bird said lazily.
"So I need 500 Immortal Qi to qualify for the Second Layer? Is there any way to increase my Immortal Qi faster?" Chen Fan asked, rubbing his chin.
"Of course. You can enter challenge matches. Apply at the Heavenly Court Hall for cultivators at a similar realm or with a similar amount of Immortal Qi, then fight them. The winner gets all of their opponent's Immortal Qi, and dying in one of these matches doesn't mean you'll actually die." Seeing that Chen Fan was interested, the Green-feathered Bird eagerly explained.
"I see. Then let's go take a look at the Heavenly Court Hall." Chen Fan nodded.
The Green-feathered Bird flapped its wings, and Chen Fan appeared outside the Heavenly Court Hall. The Green-feathered Bird turned back into a jade pendant and hung at his waist.
"Can't you show yourself here?" Chen Fan asked.
"Mm. The Heavenly Court Hall has a restriction. I can show myself elsewhere in Lingxiao City." The pendant didn't move, but Chen Fan heard the Green-feathered Bird's voice in his mind.
The area around the Heavenly Court Hall was much livelier today than the first time he'd come. To his surprise, many people were asking around for a One-Star Heavenly Soldier at Qi Refining Layer 2. Among them was even a Foundation Establishment expert.
When he entered the Heavenly Court Hall, he was even more astonished. The people who had originally been hawking long swords and talismans were now holding up little signs, all searching for that Grade A One-Star Heavenly Soldier.
Only after he saw his own record on the Heavenly Soldier Ranking did he understand. He was the only One-Star Heavenly Soldier to have received a Grade A rating.
Many Foundation Establishment experts were searching everywhere for him under the pretext of taking him as a disciple. Some had even hired the peddlers, who were holding up signs and asking around.
Then Chen Fan spotted someone he knew in the crowd: the old man who had sold him talismans before.
The old man stood amid the crowd, holding up a sign while hawking talismans to cultivators who passed by. His two narrow, shifty eyes darted around. When he spotted Chen Fan, his eyes lit up, and he ambled over with a broad smile.
"Senior." The old man's opening word nearly gave Chen Fan internal injuries. This man was old enough to be his grandfather, yet he was calling a young man "Senior." Though that was perfectly normal in the Cultivation World, Chen Fan was only at Qi Refining Layer 4 in the Heavenly Court, while the old man was at least at Qi Refining Layer 5.
"Long time no see. Do you need talisman paper?" The old man flashed a mouthful of yellow teeth as he grinned.
"Not for now." Chen Fan shook his head indifferently. He had only come to see how people fought in the hall, but now he had temporarily changed his mind.
At Qi Refining Layer 4, it would surely be difficult for him to find a One-Star Heavenly Soldier at the same level. If he matched opponents by Immortal Qi, his 110 points were too few. He decided to break through to Qi Refining Layer 6 in the Heavenly Court before entering a match. Then he could also challenge the Second Layer Heavenly Court in one go.
"Heh heh, I've got a business deal. I wonder if you'd be interested?" the old man pressed.
"Not interested." Chen Fan didn't trust him. If there were a profit to be made, why would someone like this take a loss?
"Listen first. You might be interested once you've heard me out." The old man chuckled and, with a mysterious air, pulled a dilapidated ancient book from his robes and waved it in front of Chen Fan.
Chen Fan narrowed his eyes and struggled to make out the four characters in the title. Then he paused. "Daoist Talismans?"
"Exactly. It's the Daoist Talisman Compendium. It contains countless methods for refining and drawing talismans. It's a rare treasure, and it's been handed down in my family for generations. It's worn out, but a few pages are still intact." The old man nodded repeatedly.
"Not interested." Chen Fan shook his head. He was devoted to the sword, and he had little interest in talismans or pills. A few to keep on hand were enough; having more would only distract him.
"Just take a look." The old man shoved the book straight into his hands.
Chen Fan had no choice but to accept the tattered book and leaf through it. He had seen many of the talismans inside before, but they were all ordinary ones, like Fireball Talismans and Waterball Talismans. Chen Fan could draw them with his eyes closed.
After a long while, he came across a Pure Yang Talisman, but half of it was missing. The next few intact talismans were all Five Elements Strange Sword Talismans he had already learned. He flipped through them slowly; since the old man insisted he look, there must be some remarkable talisman in there. Only when he reached the final section did his eyes narrow slightly.
"Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talisman?" Chen Fan's heart stirred. This talisman had no offensive power, but it could replenish a cultivator's essence, energy, and spirit. Though it couldn't bring the dead back to life or flesh out bare bones as the legends claimed, it was still a fine healing talisman.
"Only the Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talisman is useful to me." Chen Fan looked at the old man.
"Heh heh, same deal as before. I'll give you this book, and you give me ten sets of Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talismans." The old man grinned, showing his yellow teeth.
"Impossible. Not only is Mid-grade Talisman Paper, which is needed for the Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talisman, hard to find, but drawing even one nearly drains your Divine Soul. You're asking for the moon." Chen Fan shook his head. Of course, he was exaggerating when he said that drawing one would drain his Divine Soul.
"Then I'll provide ten sets of Mid-grade Talisman Paper. Once you've drawn them, give me six sets. How about that?" The old man conceded.
"Two sets." Chen Fan was calm.
The old man's eyes flew open. "Kid, what kind of haggling is that? Two sets of Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talismans wouldn't amount to much after selling them. They'd barely cover the cost of my ten sets of Mid-grade Talisman Paper, let alone this Daoist Talisman Compendium."
"At least five sets. Half each," the old man tried again.
"Three sets," Chen Fan said.
"You win. We'll each take one step back. Four sets." The old man gritted his teeth.
"No. Three sets, at most. Truthfully, these talismans aren't all that useful to me." Chen Fan said. If the old man had put a sword art in front of him, he might have been tempted, but talismans held little appeal for him unless there was some tremendous benefit.
Seeing that Chen Fan really wasn't interested, the old man worried he might simply walk away. After all, the tattered book was worth only a few dozen taels, and though the Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talisman was hard to find, people who knew how to draw it were even harder to come by.
"All right, it's a deal. When can you give them to me?" The old man finally nodded, then pulled a stack of talisman paper from his bundle, leaving Chen Fan stunned.
Thirty yellow talismans, and every last one was Mid-grade Talisman Paper.
"If nothing goes wrong, it'll be half a month from now. Meet me here then." Chen Fan took the stack and gave the old man another look, thinking that he had quite a few resources at his disposal.
"What are you looking at? This is all my savings. Don't you dare run off with the paper!" The old man felt he'd gotten the short end of the deal and spoke sourly.
Chen Fan paid him no mind and turned to leave the Heavenly Court Hall. He didn't believe a word the old man had said. Who would trade all their savings for a pile of Mid-grade Talisman Paper? And who would carry a stack of Mid-grade Talisman Paper around with them? Those two kinds of people couldn't be compared: the first was a lunatic, while the second had resources. Clearly, with the old man's shrewd nature, he couldn't be a lunatic.
He returned to his Immortal Cave and studied the talismans. Thanks to his experience from his previous life, they weren't too difficult for him. The only drawback was that they consumed too much True Qi and Divine Soul. At his current level in the Heavenly Court, he could draw only three at a time.
The next day, Chen Fan withdrew from the Heavenly Court. He had spent the whole night finishing one set of Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talismans. His clone in the Heavenly Court was now utterly exhausted and sat meditating in the medicinal herb field.
Just then, a commotion suddenly came from outside his room. Someone seemed to be crying.
He frowned slightly. The voice didn't sound like Chen Jingjing or Zhang Rumeng. It sounded more like a child.
"Little Medicine Boy?" Chen Fan realized. That voice clearly belonged to the Little Medicine Boy.
He gave it no further thought, stood up from his chair, and headed for the door...
"Xiao Tian, is Senior Brother Mo Bai still in that wooden hut?" Chen Jingjing asked.
"Mm. His injuries are severe. Those people were too ruthless. Master is treating him right now." The Little Medicine Boy nodded, crying.
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Fan's wooden door creaked open. The Little Medicine Boy turned around, called out, "Brother Chen Fan!" and ran over, clinging to Chen Fan's leg and sobbing.
"What happened?" Seeing the Little Medicine Boy crying so hard, Chen Fan thought someone had bullied him. But he had just heard them mention Mo Bai.
Chen Fan had always been curious about Mo Bai. Nearly all the disciples on Heavy Sword Peak respected and loved their Senior Brother. He was said to be a good person in every way, especially kind to his junior brothers and sisters, whom he treated like his own siblings.
Chen Fan remembered that when this body had been badly injured in Demon King Valley, Mo Bai had carried him out of danger and then had the disciples bring him back. That had given Chen Fan the chance to be reborn. Yet he still hadn't met Mo Bai even once.
"Senior Brother Mo Bai is badly injured. He's lying in the Little Medicine Boy's wooden hut, and his master is treating him." Zhang Rumeng spoke to Chen Fan.
"Xiao Tian, come with me to see Senior Brother Mo Bai." Chen Fan picked up the Little Medicine Boy, wiped away his tears, and continued, "If you want to avenge Senior Brother Mo Bai, you have to be a man. And men don't cry."
At his words, the Little Medicine Boy slowly stopped crying. He struggled to hold back his tears and clenched his little fists. "I won't cry. I'm a man."
"Mm." Chen Fan smiled and patted his head.
Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng smiled faintly too, but neither of them could truly feel happy. Senior Brother Mo Bai was like an older brother to them and had always looked after them. His cultivation had even reached Qi Refining Eighth Layer. They hadn't expected that anyone could seriously injure him.
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