Parsing Mystic Script, Brain Matter for Tanning Hides

"This is my immortal fate!"

After a long while, Fang Shu came back to himself, his eyes shining brightly.

Jingle, jingle!

Cautiously, he took out his Soul-Suppressing Bell once more and shook it hard.

This bronze bell had not been a gift from his second uncle, but an ancestral heirloom. It could steady the mind, clear the heart, dispel illusions, and protect the clan.

Fang Shu repeatedly confirmed that the information in his mind was no delusion or hallucination. A wondrous object called the "Dao Register," or the "Child's Register," truly existed within his mind.

He muttered, "Storybooks truly do not deceive people. There really are immortal fates and wondrous encounters in this world."

At once, he felt that his path toward immortality in this life finally held hope.

After savoring the feeling for a moment, Fang Shu's expression settled. He began pondering exactly what benefits this wondrous object could bring him.

"The first use, warding off evil, should protect me from calamities and schemes. It is a passive effect. As for the second use, recording..."

A thought stirred within him, and he silently called, "Dao Register."

Buzz!

Runes immediately surged within Fang Shu's mind, forming line after line of text:

[Register Master: Fang Shu]

[Lifespan: Currently sixteen years old. Lifespan diminishing. Expected end of life at twenty-seven. Caused by depleted essence and blood; may be restored through recuperation.]

[Realm: None]

[Dao Practice and Dharmic Power: None]

[Cultivation Method: None]

[Spells Cultivated: Mouth-and-Stomach Secret Sword Technique]

[Magical Artifacts Mastered: Long-Tongue Sword (Mouth-and-Stomach Secret Sword Technique), Soul-Suppressing Bell]

A great flood of information sprang up in his mind, densely packed. From major matters to minor ones, it included languages, writing, possessions, the meanings of all kinds of terms, and even a long list of family relations dredged up from his memories.

At first glance, it made his eyes swim, leaving him overwhelmed.

Yet this effect also made his heart pound.

"As expected of an artifact used by an immortal palace to pass down teachings. Its effects are extraordinary.

"With this thing, I can inspect my cultivation progress and physical condition anytime, anywhere. It is like carrying a whole team of physicians with me."

He marveled while familiarizing himself with the Dao Register.

With the memories of his previous life, he figured the thing out in no time. With a shift of thought, he concealed much of the dense information on the Dao Register, leaving only the important parts.

He also made the text display more concise.

For instance, he directly changed the lifespan entry to:

[Lifespan: 16/27 (lifespan diminishing)]

The words "lifespan diminishing" in particular were a sinister blood-red, painfully glaring to his eyes.

Fang Shu could not help touching his chest.

He did not even need the Dao Register to examine why his lifespan was being shortened. He knew it had to be caused by the Long-Tongue Sword inside him.

Fortunately, according to the Dao Register's description, his expected lifespan was merely an estimate based on his current state. It could still be restored through proper nourishment and care.

Fang Shu thus forced down the panic in his heart.

Still, his urge to rush to the immortal market and seek refuge with his second uncle became several degrees more urgent.

What a joke!

It had been one thing not to know. But now that he knew his lifespan was truly being shortened, who could possibly bear that?

Especially when Fang Shu, in this life, could not even live to thirty. It was simply too unfair!

But unfair as it was—

The Long-Tongue Sword was, after all, his only spell. Moreover, he had the heart's blood of an ordinary demon in hand, which could ease the symptoms. Fang Shu was not about to throw away the Long-Tongue Sword just like that.

He forced himself to shift his attention away from the words "lifespan diminishing."

After calming his heart and steadying his breath, he began considering the Dao Register's third function.

Buzz, buzz!

The two words [Analysis] immediately appeared in his mind.

The Dao Register indicated that Fang Shu could toss into it any writing or images he could not understand, as well as languages or music he could not comprehend.

After the Dao Register chewed over and analyzed them, it would teach them back to him in words and language he could understand.

The richer the written and spoken languages accumulated by the Register Master, and the clearer his understanding of a given language or script, the more accurate the Dao Register's analysis of that language or script would be.

Fang Shu suddenly understood. "So it is a translator."

In an instant, Fang Shu thought of countless uses for this function.

He could rely on it to learn the languages of foxes and birds.

Once he mastered them, he could teach little demons, write documents for them, or pass along messages. He would be able to find a meal anywhere!

"After all, it is only a Dao Register 'for children.'" Fang Shu thought to himself, while also looking forward to something.

"According to what it said when it recognized me as its master, perhaps it can grow along with my cultivation, much like a natal magical artifact. When that time comes, it may have other great uses."

After sorting through everything several times—

He came to understand and test out the Dao Register's three great functions.

Then Fang Shu sprang to his feet and paced back and forth through the cave, his mind constantly churning with plans and anticipation for his immortal cultivation life.

Suddenly—

His gaze dropped to the tiger hide once more, and his eyes flickered!

He immediately picked up the tiger hide and began reading the words on it word by word, sentence by sentence, especially the phrase "spell Mystic Script."

What was Mystic Script?

It was also known as immortal script, Dao characters, talisman-seed writing, and so on.

These characters had been created by ancient immortals after comprehending the heavens and earth, nature, and the principles of all things, then imitating them with supreme wisdom. They far surpassed the so-called dragon seals and phoenix scripts.

It was said that in ancient times, such writing itself contained immense Dharmic power. Holding it, one could summon wind and rain, remake heaven and earth.

But it was exceedingly difficult to learn.

In ancient times, an immortal cultivator who wished to learn even a single simple character first had to cultivate an entire spell to great mastery. Only then could they condense an immortal character in their mind, calling it a "talisman-register seed," which possessed many wondrous uses.

Because the threshold was too high, and because direct immortal characters carried enormous karma, an ordinary person might exhaust their lifespan and perish with soul scattered and spirit dispersed after a single glance.

Thus, immortal masters throughout the ages encrypted immortal characters. Only those who painstakingly pursued them with penetrating wisdom could unravel their true essence. In this way, they successfully contained the principles of heaven and earth within ordinary writing.

As things had developed to the present day—

The cultivation manuals, scriptures, talismans, magical artifacts, and all else in the world all took Mystic Script as their core.

Mystic Script came in endlessly changing forms: profound and simple, new and old. It had been woven into every aspect of immortal studies, vast and complicated beyond measure, yet every character was a pearl of wisdom.

According to Fang Shu's second uncle—

In a scripture or manual exceeding a million characters, the most vital core instruction might consist of only one character of "Mystic Script."

The other million words and illustrations were merely all manner of explanations and analyses of that single Mystic Script character.

Only by understanding that one Mystic Script character could one be said to truly understand the entire scripture. Otherwise, no matter how fluently one memorized it, it was all false skill—deceiving oneself and others.

Such a situation in immortal cultivation was called "a single word worth a thousand gold," and "the true transmission takes but one sentence; the false transmission fills ten thousand scrolls."

Fang Shu held the tiger hide.

He discovered that the Mystic Script for the Fur-Shedding Skin-Changing Technique numbered exactly thirteen characters, neither more nor less. Their forms were not particularly complicated, and like his Mouth-and-Stomach Secret Sword Technique, it belonged to a crude and shallow spell.

Fang Shu had experience learning the Mouth-and-Stomach Secret Sword Technique. In addition, the tiger hide recorded the cultivation insights of the old fox keeper. If he devoted himself wholeheartedly, at a rate of one character per month, he should be able to master this spell in a little over a year.

"Taking a year away from all else to master one crude spell—this speed is already middling talent."

He calculated inwardly. "Unless I can receive the guidance of a good teacher, or use demon hides at the Refining Essence level as practice material from time to time, only then can the time be shortened."

At this thought, Fang Shu's eyes flickered again.

At most, he had only one Refining Essence-level demon hide. As for a good teacher... that depended on whether he truly had such fate!

Fang Shu stared fixedly at the dense writing on the tiger hide. The Dao Register he had just absorbed into his body silently appeared in his mind.

He silently called, "Analysis."

In that instant, Fang Shu felt as though he were seeing an illusion. The individual characters on the tiger hide seemed to fly up, rushing toward his face and pouring into his mind.

Before he could make sense of it or memorize the words flooding into his mind, they had all entered the Dao Register.

In particular, the thirteen incomparably complex Mystic Script characters—which could not be copied or imprinted unless one had mastered them—were also drawn into the Dao Register, where they bloomed with faint light.

The moment he saw this, intense anticipation arose in Fang Shu's heart.

Then the Dao Register trembled lightly and conveyed a message:

[Analyzing Fur-Shedding Skin-Changing Technique. Its method is detailed, though slightly incomplete. Mystic Script complete, thirteen characters in total. Current analysis... estimated time required: one hundred and seventy-nine days... The technique contains the experiences of predecessors... estimated time required: seventy-seven days... The technique text possesses corresponding remnants of a magical artifact; may be analyzed and examined... estimated time required: forty-nine days... Comparing against texts already in the Register Master's knowledge repository; analysis in progress...

Current analysis of this technique is estimated to be completed in as little as thirty-four days, with the Register Master's assistance.]

A string of tadpole-like characters swam past Fang Shu's eyes, leaving him dazed for a moment.

But he did not have time to lose himself in wonder. In the instant he became distracted, the Dao Register in his mind had already begun analyzing the Fur-Shedding Skin-Changing Technique.

Of the thirteen Fur-Shedding Skin-Changing Technique Mystic Script characters that had once seemed strange and obscure to him, one had already begun having its "outer skin" peeled away, revealing itself before him.

The feeling was utterly mysterious, beyond the power of language or writing to describe!

Fang Shu felt as though divine inspiration had descended upon him. Every glance he cast at the spell's contents on the tiger hide brought another measure of understanding and another line of thought to his mind.

When he had previously examined Mystic Script, he had needed to scribble and sketch, purchase all kinds of materials, and test them for verification. But now, he completed all of that within his mind.

Moreover, the Dao Register within him reminded him that he could use the various traces upon the tiger hide to assist in analyzing the Mystic Script.

One term sprang into Fang Shu's mind:

"Divine artifact!"

This Child's Register could actually analyze spell Mystic Script!

With its assistance, perhaps he truly could see results from learning a spell in just one month?!

For a time, Fang Shu was filled with countless emotions. In the end, only one thought remained:

"Just what kind of force is that Mountain-Sea Immortal Palace? Even a Child's Register meant for outer disciples possesses such tremendous power. Could it truly be an immortal palace...?"

After that—

Having witnessed the Dao Register's analytical function, and knowing that every additional spell he mastered meant another measure of power to protect himself—

Fang Shu suppressed his urge to set out for the immortal market. Instead, he secluded himself in the cave to comprehend the technique.

When thirsty, he drank a mouthful of heart's blood from the gourd. When hungry, he suspended the Long-Tongue Sword outside the cave to catch the birds and hawks that swooped down.

Only on very rare occasions did he leave the cave.

Later, he discovered a finger-wide stream by the cliff. After using the Long-Tongue Sword to divert it into the cave, he entered what was practically a death seclusion, completely immersing himself in comprehending the spell.

One character, two characters... three characters, four characters...

Finally, three days earlier than the Dao Register's estimate of thirty-four days, Fang Shu spent only thirty-one days fully comprehending all thirteen Mystic Script characters of the Fur-Shedding Skin-Changing Technique. He could completely visualize them in his mind and copy them out by hand.

He had already thoroughly comprehended this spell.

He merely needed to prepare a demon hide and refine it into a fur-and-hide magical artifact, and then he would have cultivated this spell!

On this day—

When Fang Shu emerged from his state of secluded comprehension, his expression was dazed.

He still found it hard to imagine that in only one short month, he had actually comprehended an entire spell.

The work of a year had been completed in a month.

He even suspected that he might still be in that demon tavern, with the old fox keeper's Ghost-Follower Technique having muddled his mind and trapped him in an illusion without his knowing.

Fang Shu thought:

"Since doubts still linger in my heart, why not cultivate this spell completely and use that to test whether the Dao Register's wonders are real or false!"

At once, he took the old fox's corpse from the cave wall.

When he had first begun comprehending the Fur-Shedding Skin-Changing Technique, the spell had recorded methods for preserving fur and repairing corpses.

At that time, although Fang Shu had not been able to comprehend even one Mystic Script character, he could still follow the gourd and draw the ladle, extending the demonic aura within the old fox's corpse.

Now that a month had passed, he cut open the beeswax and honey coating the old fox's corpse and found that its demonic aura was indeed congealed within and had not dispersed. Only the flesh and organs had shriveled.

But that did not matter. On the contrary, the demonic aura within the old fox had seeped even deeper into its hide than it had a month ago.

"Good." Fang Shu softly exhaled.

Following the spell's records, he then discovered that although this old fox had not yet entered the Dao through Refining Essence, it was not far from doing so. Its whole hide was sufficient for him to refine into a magical artifact.

After examining the old fox's corpse for a moment, Fang Shu took out the Long-Tongue Sword.

After skillfully skinning all its fur, a crack rang out in the cave.

He had used the Tongue Sword to lift open the old fox's skull and completely remove its brain matter.

The first step in hide preparation and artifact refinement was tanning the fur.

Besides using all kinds of medicinal materials, the most original method of tanning was to use the brain matter of a demon creature.

According to the Fur-Shedding Skin-Changing Technique, the paste made from the brain of every living creature was exactly enough to tan the fur from its entire body. It was quite miraculous.

Over the past month, Fang Shu had already experimented many times with wild birds and beasts.

Sitting cross-legged in the cave—

After whipping the brain matter into paste with a special technique, he evenly spread it over the inner side of the fox hide.

Next came waiting and kneading.

He had to let the demonic aura in the old fox's brain matter seep as deeply as possible into the fur, creating an artifact blank that was supple rather than hard, neither rotting nor decaying. Only then could it be refined into a magical artifact.