Yu Ci felt a slight stir in his heart and reached out to touch the side of the pool, indeed sensing a layer of erosive, shadowy patterns that felt quite methodically crafted. He let out a breath, blowing away the cold smoke that had nearly congealed over the spring pool, and gazed closely at the rippling water reflecting bizarre, winding patterns like ghost-drawn talismans—seeming like writing yet not writing, looking like paintings yet not paintings.
However, he recognized at a glance that these were undoubtedly Demonic sect inscriptions, with some special incantations mixed within.
He had recognized some similar inscriptions and incantations partly from the "Methods of Initiation" outside the Jade Firmament Celestial Palace, and partly from seeing them in the Nine Palaces Demon Domain beneath the East Sea, though they were fragmented and hard to arrange into coherent passages.
Once he confirmed their source, Yu Ci's first thought was whether Madam Hua had connections to the Demonic sect. But upon second thought, given the Sea Merchant Guild's heritage, it was hardly strange for them to possess a few Demonic sect secret treasures.
Since he knew their source and had experienced their utility, Yu Ci attempted to analyze them further.
He had assumed that, bolstered by the cold spring, his condition was prime; yet after not long, he discovered that good conditions also came in different kinds.
Though the cold spring and the wine he had drunk earlier worked together to complement each other wonderfully, they were of no use whatsoever for synthesizing and sorting things out.
At this time, his thoughts shifted endlessly and his inspiration flickered in and out. Forcibly reigning in his train of thought would only yield half the results with twice the effort.
Sighing, Yu Ci simply gave up.
He closed his eyes, and under