Reading Books

"It's that Water Aspect Bird... Brother Yu, you have to help me this time!"

Baoguang's brief explanation made Yu Ci suddenly understand. The young Taoist priest had accepted a mission for Good Deeds yesterday: to capture a Water Aspect Bird that had been nesting in the Duanjie Mountain Range. The reward was a hundred merit points, which was quite generous even among outer disciples.

Don't get Yu Ci wrong; he earned three hundred merit points with just one Fish Dragon, but that was because Fish Dragons were incredibly rare and someone needed one urgently. In the merit system established by the Li Chen Sect, tasks like the Fish Dragon mission were rare, with fewer than ten listed in total under both "recruitment" and "deployment." The vast majority of Good Deeds rewards were single digits, with two or three merit points being the most common.

For example, the Li Chen Sect, with the full effort of Bai Ri Mansion, supplied about ten Fish Dragon Grass plants annually. This was almost the entirety of the sect's income in recent years, yet even with such resources, the exchange price per plant was only five merit points.

Rewards of a hundred merit points weren't unheard of, but high returns always meant high difficulty.

The Water Aspect Bird was a very peculiar species. Legend had it that this bird had no fixed form, and each year it would randomly choose a flock of migratory birds, transform to resemble them, and blend in to prey on their young. It was quite detestable. While the description sounded bizarre, the bird merely possessed some sort of Illusionary Arts ability, and such creatures were not uncommon in the cultivation world. The ghost beasts under Sky Rift Valley were the most typical example.

This bird wasn't a ferocious beast, but its Illusionary Arts were a real headache. Especially since this thieving bird blended in with a large flock of migratory birds, appearing almost identical to normal birds. If you couldn't find it, there was no way you could capture it.

"Helping is no problem, but according to you, you've already found the Water Aspect Bird?"

The most crucial part of this mission was finding the Water Aspect Bird's whereabouts. If the mission steps and rewards were broken down, the search alone would probably account for ninety-nine merit points!

Facing Yu Ci's question, the young Taoist priest looked vexed and, more importantly, anxious. "Brother Yu, Senior Brother Yu, you absolutely must help me this time. We can talk about other things on the way. I just missed my attack and startled the bird. If we delay any longer, it might fly away."

As he spoke, Baoguang was about to pull Yu Ci onto the "Ghost Gauze Cloud" that was already parked in the courtyard. The cloud-like sheer fabric occupied most of the courtyard's area. Touching it felt like touching silk or mist, with almost no substance.

Seeing it, Yu Ci chuckled, "Last time I wanted to play with it for a while, and you were so reluctant. Now you're being so generous."

Baoguang blushed, unable to speak. Seeing this, Yu Ci stopped teasing him, straightened his robes, and ascended, landing steadily beside him. Baoguang, unable to contain his impatience, quickly recited the incantation to activate it. The "Ghost Gauze Cloud" trembled slightly and began to float upwards, rising nearly a hundred feet into the air before stopping.

"What a treasure."

Yu Ci patted the sheer fabric beside him, genuinely envious. Perhaps there were countless magic treasures and artifacts in the cultivation world that could fly, but they all required a cultivator to refine them for a considerable time before they could be controlled freely, and their use was closely related to the cultivator's own cultivation level. Under normal circumstances, flying with an artifact was the exclusive right of cultivators at the Core Formation stage or above.

In this context, if an object, right out of a craftsman's hands, could be controlled to fly without even needing the cultivation of "Differentiate Consciousness, Transform Thought," and possessed relatively good maneuverability, it would be considered extremely rare, even if it were only a craftsman's artifact.

Baoguang had heard such praise countless times, but he just chuckled and changed the incantation. The water vapor from the high altitude gathered here and seeped into the sheer fabric. Once a certain amount of water vapor had accumulated, mist began to generate from within, enveloping the fabric. At this point, even sitting on it, one couldn't tell it was made of sheer fabric; it was quite marvelous.

Then, the sheer cloud and mist began to move. It started incredibly slowly but gradually picked up speed. The water vapor gathered on the four sides was controlled by the talisman array within the sheer fabric, converted into driving force, and then ejected backward in a concentrated stream, creating a clear trail in the clear sky.

The "Ghost Gauze Cloud" could travel four hundred li in an hour, which was about the same speed as a Spirit cultivator at full sprint. However, it consumed almost no personal energy. Therefore, even with its drawbacks like slow initial acceleration, sluggish speed changes, susceptibility to fire, and inability to fly in thunderstorms, it was still a rare treasure.

This artifact was a spoils of war that the old Taoist Yu Zhou had seized years ago after breaking up a cult that had deceived mortals. Its creator was long forgotten. The cult members used it to impersonate deities, essentially tricking ordinary people. Yu Zhou, seeing its ingenious craftsmanship, had kept it for his collection and later gave it to Baoguang. Although it served no purpose other than transportation, it was unique within the entire Li Chen Sect.

The "Ghost Gauze Cloud" traveled at full speed, and in just over half an hour, the two arrived above South Frost Lake. During this time, Baoguang had recounted his embarrassing experience.

Originally, the young Taoist priest had been quite lucky. Two days prior, he had gone to South Frost Lake to gather herbs and, by sheer chance, witnessed a Water Aspect Bird changing its form and blending into a flock of newly arrived wild ducks. Upon returning to the monastery, he happened to see a new announcement in Tongde Hall, which was precisely for hunting a Water Aspect Bird.

Baoguang was overjoyed and excitedly rushed over the next day. However, the Water Aspect Bird's cunning far exceeded his expectations. Not only did he fail to catch the bird, but he was also disoriented by its Illusionary Arts, receiving a blow to the face. Furthermore, he had startled the flock of wild ducks. Such a vigilant bird might change its habitat, and the Water Aspect Bird would inevitably follow. In that case, all his efforts would be in vain, which the young Taoist priest could not accept. So, he rushed back to get reinforcements.

"Pah, that flat-feathered beast must have flown from the Six Barbarian Mountains."

Baoguang was still grumbling, and Yu Ci chuckled upon hearing this.

The so-called Six Barbarian Mountains were a mountain range many tens of thousands of li south of the Duanjie Mountain Range, a place with a notorious reputation. Legend had it that it was the largest gathering area for demons and ghosts in this world. Baoguang's remark meant he was cursing the Water Aspect Bird, implying it had already become a spirit.

The two stood on the Ghost Gauze Cloud, looking down. South Frost Lake was situated in a valley surrounded by mountains on three sides, serene and quiet. The reeds had bloomed late this year, and they still remained, stretching around the lake from a high vantage point, a vast expanse of white, quite spectacular.

Baoguang paid no attention to this; his mind was entirely focused on the Water Aspect Bird. His gaze swept over the birds taking flight and landing by the lake. Suddenly, he exclaimed joyfully, "There, there, Senior Brother Yu, look, they haven't flown away yet."

Yu Ci had spotted it even earlier. By the reed marsh, there was indeed a flock of gray-black wild ducks swimming out, very conspicuous on the mirror-like clear lake surface. But, which one was the Water Aspect Bird?

Baoguang suddenly became flustered, finding it difficult to speak. "It should be, it should be... my marker fell off!"

An awkward silence fell upon the Ghost Gauze Cloud.

Yu Ci looked at the hundred or so wild ducks playing on the lake surface, speechless for a moment. These birds were not only extremely vigilant but also incredibly fast flyers. Once startled, these hundred-plus wild ducks would scatter in all directions. On the vast lake, it was simply impossible for two people to catch a single bird that had no obvious markings, was skilled in Illusionary Arts, and was almost a spirit creature!

After a long pause, Yu Ci finally said with a wry smile, "Are you sure it has to be alive? Is a dead one acceptable?"

He was thinking of using the Five Thunder Talisman. A single bolt of lightning would finish off all the wild ducks and the Water Aspect Bird, though the condition would be terrible.

Baoguang shook his head resolutely, refusing to agree to anything.

Yu Ci also shook his head and remained silent. He actually had another method: deliberately scattering this flock of wild ducks repeatedly while using the Zhaoshen Map to lock onto them for an extended period. Eventually, he would discover the Water Aspect Bird's weakness and capture it then... But revealing the Zhaoshen Map for such a trivial matter was not something he desired. His friendship with Baoguang hadn't reached that level yet.

"Is there really no way?"

Baoguang drooped dejectedly. "If only we had Senior Brother Li's 'One Qi Thousand Knot Yin Thunder' from the sect. With a radius of one li, just a flick of the wrist, and no bird could escape."

The young Taoist priest spoke without thinking, but Yu Ci, the listener, took notice. He didn't care about Baoguang's unintentional slip of the tongue; he was more interested in the other piece of information revealed in the conversation.

"A... wait, let me think."

Yu Ci stood at the edge of the Ghost Gauze Cloud, gazing at the lake surface, lost in thought. Baoguang, meanwhile, was scratching his head. "? Fishing? I think it's tough. This flock of birds is incredibly cunning, and ordinary methods won't catch them."

Yu Ci didn't respond. After a long period of contemplation, he simply sat down cross-legged, his fingers unconsciously twitching and gesturing. Seeing him like this, Baoguang felt the atmosphere become heavy and dared not make a sound. He just watched expectantly until Yu Ci took out a scroll of silk from his Storage Ring.

The young Taoist priest could no longer suppress his curiosity and leaned closer.

What Yu Ci took out was the only cultivation text he possessed, the "Shangqing Juxuan Xing Shu Mi Shou Fu Jing," which he had obtained along with the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror from Great Immortal Purple Thunder's palace. For a long time, this talisman book had been his sole guide on his cultivation path.

If it were anyone else or anywhere else, Yu Ci might not have openly taken it out. But these past few days, having stayed at Zhixin Temple and interacted with the Taoist priests there, he had become increasingly aware of how colossal the Li Chen Sect was. With a lineage spanning tens of thousands of years, it possessed an abundance of secret techniques, powerful skills, magic treasures, and rare wonders. While this talisman book was a treasure to him, it was probably not even noteworthy to the Li Chen Sect.

Therefore, he didn't need to cling to the idea of cherishing it like a precious heirloom and generously took it out to study.

This talisman book was not in the form of a Jade Slip, which was common in the cultivation world, nor was it ordinary paper. Instead, it was woven from some extremely tough silkworm silk, containing tens of thousands of words and thousands of talisman diagrams, all woven thread by thread. One could only imagine the effort put into its creation.

Since it was made of silk, the book had no pages. It was usually rolled up and unrolled when needed. Yu Ci slowly unrolled the silk, and the text and diagrams flowed into his eyes like water.

Beside him, Baoguang exclaimed, "Wow," making Yu Ci feel that the kid was being overly dramatic. Without looking up, he made a gesture for quiet and continued to unroll it, searching for the talisman diagram he remembered. Soon, he found it.

"This is it... the 'Yindu Black Law Ghost Binding Curse'."

Baoguang also saw the talisman diagram above. But with just a glance, his eyes nearly twisted from the complex patterns, and he couldn't help but gasp. "What is this used for!"

"Bind!"