Qi-to-Ink Conduction

Shen Qingzhou walked over expressionlessly, passed him, and pushed open the courtyard gate.

"Clean up the things on the ground."

"Yes, yes!" Ahu was so frightened his soul nearly fled his body. In a flurry, he scrambled to find a broom.

Shen Qingzhou entered the courtyard, sat beside the stone table, and poured himself a cup of cold tea.

Ahu followed him in with his head lowered. Like a child who had done something wrong, he stood to one side, not daring even to breathe loudly.

He did not know when Shen Qingzhou had returned, nor how much he had seen.

"Oh?" Shen Qingzhou took a sip of tea, then suddenly chuckled. "I never knew I was so formidable that I'd become a legend among the outer sect disciples. Ahu, tell me again—besides being one of the Twin Jades, what other titles have they given me?"

"N-No! This disciple... this disciple was talking nonsense!"

Ahu's face reddened like pig liver, and he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Shen Qingzhou shook his head and set down his teacup. "Lu Chen is about to break through to the Qi Refining Second Layer, and Zhao Heng's swordsmanship has improved as well. Sounds like everyone has been working hard."

"Enough. Don't just stand there."

Seeing Ahu's embarrassment, Shen Qingzhou stopped teasing him. "Those empty reputations are fine to hear, nothing more. Cultivation is one's own affair and has nothing to do with others."

"Yes, this disciple understands!" Ahu hurriedly answered, a great stone finally dropping from his heart.

"Starting today, I'll be entering seclusion. Keep the courtyard gate shut, and don't let anyone step within half a pace. Leave the three daily meals outside the door." Shen Qingzhou instructed, "That'll save you from going out and making up more earth-shattering stories about me."

"Yes, Senior Brother!" This time, Ahu answered with wholehearted conviction.

"Get up."

Shen Qingzhou said no more. A slight warning was enough; the child had no bad intentions, and he had no need to deliberately make things difficult for him.

He waved a hand, signaling Ahu to leave.

Shen Qingzhou sat cross-legged on his meditation cushion and began taking stock of what he had gained on this trip down the mountain.

First was the gray-clothed man's storage pouch. Inside were five low-grade spirit stones, several bottles of low-quality pills with unclear effects, and a copy of the Mountain-Shifting Formula.

[Detected manual Mountain-Shifting Formula (fragment)]

[Analyzing...]

[This method originates from the Wèi Earth Tradition. It emphasizes using spiritual qi to communicate with the power of the earth, condensing soil into mountains and shifting mountains to deflect force.]

So... it was a defective Rogue Cultivator cultivation method. Shen Qingzhou felt somewhat regretful.

Still, good Rogue Cultivators were not necessarily inferior to true disciples, and this method was not entirely worthless.

The techniques within for using earth-aspect spiritual qi were all absorbed by the ability Infer Ten from One, becoming part of his reserves of knowledge.

After squeezing it dry, Shen Qingzhou casually tossed it aside.

He took the crystalline square case from his sleeve.

The instant the case opened, a chill spilled out, making the study much colder. The fist-sized Wall-Water Essence lay quietly within. Inside the deep-blue jade seemed to be a sealed deep pool, with ripples of waterlight stirring within it.

Shen Qingzhou held it in his palm.

The cultivation method of the Abyss-Sinking Formula began circulating on its own. The Abyss-Hiding Sword Qi Seed within his qi sea was drawn by it and let out a faint hum.

Pure water-aspect spiritual qi entered his body through the meridians in his palm.

Once the spiritual qi entered his body, it slowly sank into his dantian qi sea under the guidance of the Abyss-Sinking Formula.

Shen Qingzhou's Qi Refining First Layer qi sea had originally been like a shallow well, with sparse spiritual qi. Once the power within this essence entered, the entire "shallow well" began to tremble.

The mist-like spiritual qi was compressed by that force, gradually becoming denser and turning into liquid.

This process was harder than he had imagined.

Who knew how much time passed before he drained the last trace of essence from the Wall-Water Essence. The deep-blue jade shattered with a crash into powder, slipping through his fingers.

What had once resembled a shallow well had now become a deep pool, its capacity several times greater.

The spiritual qi in his qi sea had also changed from a hazy mist into a shallow pool of black water.

Qi Refining Second Layer!

Shen Qingzhou opened his eyes and sensed the changes in his body. Both the quantity and quality of his spiritual qi were entirely different.

The increase in cultivation was secondary; the additional benefits brought by the Wall Water spiritual treasure were considerable as well.

After breaking through, he took out the jade slip of the Kan Water Talisman Compendium, along with the talisman paper, cinnabar, and wolf-hair brush Su Yu had given him.

He had already read the jade slip twice and copied it over and over until his hand nearly cramped. He could say he knew it like the back of his hand.

The talisman arts of the Kan Water Lineage chiefly concerned concealment, stealth, isolation, infiltration, and purification.

The jade slip recorded in detail the methods for drawing three basic talismans.

The Constellation Concealment Talisman, Jade Well Purification Talisman, and Star-Felling Spirit-Breaking Talisman were all quite practical talismans.

He reviewed the contents of the jade slip once more, especially the key points of drawing them. It also contained Su Yu's annotated notes.

He was going to try unlocking his next profession!

"With Metal-Water Qi as the bones, draw upon the power of the constellation..."

Shen Qingzhou closed his eyes. Thanks to the Profession Panel, he had memorized the entire structure of the talisman pattern, the turns of every stroke, and every spiritual-power node until they were as familiar as a well-worn text.

He opened his eyes, picked up the wolf-hair brush, dipped it in cinnabar, and held its tip above the talisman paper.

Focused Concentration activated.

Only the talisman paper before him remained in his sight. He circulated the refined Metal-Water Qi within his body and slowly infused it into the brush tip according to a specific ratio.

The first stroke fell.

"Sizzle..."

Spiritual light flashed across the talisman paper, then a wisp of green smoke rose from it as it immediately caught fire.

He had failed.

Shen Qingzhou was not annoyed. He knew that his spiritual-power output had been unstable, and the proportion of Metal-Water Qi had also been wrong.

The beginning of all things was difficult. He replaced it with a fresh sheet of talisman paper and tried again.

This time, he was far more careful, and his control over spiritual power was much finer.

The brush tip moved across the talisman paper. Under the cinnabar's tracing, one talismanic rune after another gradually took shape.

Just as he drew the final stroke and prepared to lift his brush—

Pale-blue words appeared before his eyes.

[Detected host action: completed one talisman drawing]

[Talisman Master profession unlocked]

It worked!

[Profession: Talisman Master]

[Level: Talisman-Making Apprentice (0/100)]

[Profession Ability: Qi-to-Ink Conduction]

[Qi-to-Ink Conduction: When drawing talismans, enables one's spiritual qi to flow more smoothly into the talisman brush and talisman ink, increasing the success rate.]

[Note: A spark of spiritual light becomes a talisman; all things beneath heaven can be written.]

Another profession.

Scripture Master, Qi Collector, Talisman Master—each served a different purpose.

With this profession, he finally had the qualifications to enter the "business" Su Yu had mentioned. Otherwise, relying on his own comprehension alone, he still had enough self-awareness to know his limits.

He picked up a third sheet of talisman paper and began drawing again under the enhancement of Qi-to-Ink Conduction.

This time, the feeling was completely different.

It flowed in one unbroken breath.

"Silky."

When the final stroke fell, the glow of the entire talisman withdrew inward, and an obscure ripple flashed past.

It worked.

A complete Constellation Concealment Talisman.

[Drew one talisman Constellation Concealment Talisman, proficiency +5]

[Talisman Master level increased: Talisman-Making Apprentice (5/100)]

Shen Qingzhou picked up the talisman and activated it with spiritual qi.

An invisible ripple spread out and enveloped his entire body. If one did not look with the naked eye and relied only on spiritual perception, there was clearly no one here at all.

The second, the third...

Within the study, only the soft rustling of brush tip against talisman paper remained.

At first, drawing a Constellation Concealment Talisman required his utmost concentration and nearly half a quarter-hour. As his proficiency rose, the time kept shortening.

[Drew one talisman Constellation Concealment Talisman, proficiency +5]

[Drew one talisman Constellation Concealment Talisman, proficiency +5]

...

[Talisman Master level increased: Talisman-Making Apprentice (50/100)]

The results were not bad.

He began studying the other two kinds of talismans.

The Jade Well Purification Talisman was a solidified version of Jade Well Cleansing Water. Its effect was the same, but each use was faster, consumed less, and was more convenient.

The Star-Felling Spirit-Breaking Talisman was a variant of the Star-Felling Gold-Shattering Blade. It sealed Metal-Water Qi inside the talisman and, as its name implied, was specifically aimed at a cultivator's divine soul.

On his first attempt, the Metal-Water Qi at the brush tip exploded inside the brush shaft the instant it came into contact.

"Bang!"

A fine crack split the wolf-hair brush shaft.

After losing several spirit stones' worth of goods, Shen Qingzhou frowned and changed brushes.

On the second try, the spiritual power lost balance halfway through the talisman pattern, and the talisman paper burned to ash with a sizzle.

The third time, the fourth time...

On his seventh attempt, he laid down the final stroke, and the talismanic runes on the paper finally connected into a complete whole.

It worked. Delight appeared on Shen Qingzhou's face!

[Drew one talisman Star-Felling Spirit-Breaking Talisman, proficiency +15]

[Talisman Master level increased: Talisman-Making Apprentice (65/100)]

The proficiency from one Spirit-Breaking Talisman equaled three Concealment Talismans!

The days of seclusion passed swiftly.

Over half a month, Shen Qingzhou spent every day either meditating to recover spiritual qi or using all his remaining time to cultivate and draw talismans.

As for copying scriptures, he had no new powerful manuals at hand, so there was little room for improvement.

He stopped writing.

On the desk lay twenty-one Constellation Concealment Talismans, nine Star-Felling Spirit-Breaking Talismans, and fifteen Jade Well Purification Talismans, arranged neatly.

These were the results of half a month. The batch of beginner materials Su Yu had given him before he went down the mountain had already been used up.

Only five low-grade spirit stones remained in his storage pouch.

"This won't do. Resources need to form a closed loop, or I'll draw talismans until I draw myself to the execution line."

He began calculating the accounts.

Su Yu had mentioned that a Constellation Concealment Talisman had a market price of fifty contribution points within the sect. Since one low-grade spirit stone could be exchanged for one hundred contribution points within the sect, that meant the sect's buyback price was not high.

This income would have been an enormous sum for an ordinary outer sect disciple, but Shen Qingzhou could not be happy about it.

It could only count as a small profit—not enough for his upcoming cultivation expenses.

And... the price would definitely be lower than in the black market.

He opened the introductory jade slip for inner sect disciples, sent his divine sense into it, and found the sect stipend section.

It stated clearly: Inner sect disciples of Sword-Coming Peak received a monthly stipend of three low-grade spirit stones and one bottle of Essence-Nourishing Pills.

Shen Qingzhou looked at the numbers, then calculated his own expenses.

He was now at the Qi Refining Second Layer. Going from the second layer to the third required several times the total spiritual qi as before. Relying only on absorbing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth would make it impossible within several months.

If he wanted to improve quickly, he had to take pills.

One bottle of low-grade Qi-Refining Powder was only enough for three days of intensive cultivation. He needed ten bottles a month, costing five hundred contribution points.

One bottle of mid-grade Qi-Refining Powder could last seven days. He needed four bottles a month, costing eight hundred contribution points.

And that was only for pills.

Continuing to draw talismans required money for materials. If he wanted to raise his strength, he also needed a suitable artifact. How could a sword cultivator go without a treasured sword?

There were quite a few items listed under the artifact section of the exchange catalog.

Shen Qingzhou stared at the illustration and description of the Blackwater Sword. It suited him quite well, and he coveted it greatly.

Unfortunately, the price of three thousand contribution points made his teeth ache.

The sect's monthly stipend was not even enough to cover the fraction left over from buying pills. Trying to save enough through sect channels was truly no easy task.

His father did not dote on him, and his mother did not love him.

Cloudveil True Person merely bore the title, while Su Yu followed her whims and left him to fend for himself.

"Everything still has to depend on myself!"

He shook his head helplessly, flipped through the jade slip, skipped past the sect odd jobs that earned only a few coins, and let his gaze fall upon the blood-red section for Hanging Law Hall.

A mission to hunt a wanted Qi Refining, Fourth Layer Rogue Cultivator offered a reward of one thousand contribution points and ten low-grade spirit stones.

He even saw the notice requesting assistance in investigating Huang Shi. The backer of that gray-clothed man had already drawn the sect's attention.

But none of these was the optimal solution. At the very least, they did not suit him at present; the efficiency was too low, and they delayed cultivation too much.

The more he looked, the angrier he became. Shen Qingzhou simply shut the jade slip.

"Mm, it looks like I really will have to earn my first pot of gold in the black market." He rubbed the space between his brows and thought to himself.