After leaving Senior Brother Luo's stall, Chu Mo had more than accomplished his goals for the trip and was in excellent spirits. He wandered casually through the market, discovering plenty of curious things:
Strange creature remains, corrosive ores... quite a few were objects from other worlds.
Other worlds.
Looking at these things, Chu Mo sank into thought. Cultivators-or rather, the Duo'e Sect-were far more powerful than he had imagined.
Even an ordinary assessment could be held in another world. Apparently, crossing between worlds was no great difficulty for cultivators, and the cost might not be particularly steep either.
Truly, power that reaches the heavens, he marveled inwardly.
He shook his head, casting aside those distant thoughts. Such grand matters were far beyond his current reach.
His immediate priority was to master the three spells he had just acquired, ensure his own safety, and prepare for the advancement assessment after reaching the third level of Qi Refining.
Just as he was about to leave, a familiar figure caught his eye-his chatterbox neighbor, Zhao Yang.
Over the past month, Zhao Yang's name had actually changed from yellow to green, making him a friendly unit. As a result, Chu Mo had lowered his guard around him a little.
At the moment, Zhao Yang was chatting and laughing with a female cultivator in a bright red dress, behaving quite attentively. He had not noticed Chu Mo at all.
Has spring arrived for him? Chu Mo snarked inwardly. Without disturbing him, he followed the path straight back to his courtyard.
The moment he shut his door, Chu Mo could no longer contain his excitement. He kicked off his shoes and flung himself onto the bed. "What a haul!"
Getting three spells for free was equivalent to a net profit of 129 Spell Coins. He could not help cheering inwardly at the boss's generosity.
After carefully reviewing the new knowledge in his mind, he decided to enter secluded cultivation.
One month later.
Chu Mo darted and twisted through a rarely visited stretch of dense forest, his movements elusive as a breeze brushing willow branches, leaving no trace in his wake.
Suddenly, a black gust shot from his sleeve. Several large trees thirty feet away were instantly enveloped in a spectral glow, their color draining at a visible rate until they turned withered yellow, utterly stripped of life.
A closer look would reveal that the black gust was actually composed of countless fine grains of black sand emitting a spectral glow.
[Soul-Severing Sand]
Without stopping, Chu Mo formed a hand seal. A streak of golden light flashed, instantly piercing through the massive, ten-foot-wide boulder before him.
The edges of the fist-sized hole were smooth and rounded, yet an unsettling baleful aura lingered there.
[Golden Baleful Bone-Piercing Art]
"Hah-hah-"
Chu Mo came to a stop, his face slightly pale. For someone at the second level of Qi Refining, casting three spells of considerable quality in succession at full power was still too taxing.
His True Qi was almost exhausted, but his spirits only soared higher. After many days of grueling practice, he could finally cast all three spells in a seamless sequence in the shortest possible time.
In Fuli Heaven, spells-the skills of Qi Refining cultivators-had one extremely significant flaw: casting windup.
Whether a spell was cast through an incantation or hand seals, there was always a delay of several seconds. No amount of proficiency could eliminate it, only shorten it.
Only the divine abilities of Foundation Establishment cultivators could be unleashed instantly.
This was also one reason most Qi Refining cultivators needed a movement technique to protect themselves.
Standing stupidly in place, forming seals and chanting, was practically begging to become a live target. Seasoned veterans of magical combat loved fools like that.
Thanks to his player template, Chu Mo could gain experience simply by practicing. By now, he had reduced his casting windup to the limit of his current cultivation level.
"I need to deliver the talisman paper to Liu Xian tomorrow. I wonder what reward I'll get this time?"
After removing the traces he had left, he returned to his lodgings in a cheerful mood, only to run into Zhao Yang sneaking out.
"Brother Zhao, your complexion... have you been feeling unwell lately?"
Chu Mo looked at him strangely. Sunken eyes, a deathly pale face, every sign of depleted qi and blood-he looked ready to ride a crane into the great beyond at any moment.
"Don't tell me you sold blood at the sect's Merit Hall?" Chu Mo asked, half joking.
A cultivator's spirit blood was itself a spiritual substance. As far as he knew, Zhao Yang practiced the Myriad Forms Treasure Body Art, making his blood an especially high-grade spiritual substance that could fetch a better price.
"Ahem!" Zhao Yang broke into a violent cough at his words.
"You didn't actually do it, did you?"
"I've been... a little short on money lately," Zhao Yang explained awkwardly.
"Brother Zhao, draining your blood essence excessively will damage your Dao Foundation. By the time you regret it, it'll be too late." Chu Mo spoke gravely, with a note of admonition.
"I understand, I understand." Zhao Yang nodded repeatedly, then hurriedly said, "But I have something important to attend to. Let's talk another day."
With that, he ran off without looking back.
Chu Mo shook his head and returned to his room. If Zhao Yang had not been the only green-named person in the sect, he would not have bothered offering advice.
He still had Liu Xian's threat hanging over his own head. He truly had no energy to worry about anyone else's fate.
The next day.
When Chu Mo arrived at Liu Xian's cave abode, a gray-robed youth was already standing quietly to one side.
Huh? Why does he only have ten percent of his health bar left?
Chu Mo looked in surprise at Liu Xian, who was drawing a talisman. Compared with their first meeting, his health bar had fallen by almost half.
Though puzzled, he said nothing and stood quietly to one side to wait.
Half an incense stick later, a freshly drawn Heart-Burning Talisman lay on the stone table. Liu Xian put down his brush and stood.
Chu Mo immediately stepped forward and said respectfully, "Master Liu, your brush dances like dragons and serpents, giving rise to the talisman's resonance all on its own. Every time I observe you, I benefit immensely. It leaves me utterly awestruck..."
The endless stream of flattery left the gray-robed youth rooted to the spot, staring at Chu Mo in disbelief-they were both prospective apprentices, so why was the other so different?
"Hahaha!" Liu Xian was clearly in a good mood. He put away the [Heart-Burning Talisman] with a smile and asked, "Did you bring the talisman paper?"
"Yes." Chu Mo placed three stacks of talisman paper on the stone table and waited for his inspection.
"Oh? A hundred extra sheets. It seems you've been quite diligent this month." Liu Xian sounded somewhat approving.
"It's all thanks to your guidance, Master Liu."
In truth, even after giving it his all, Chu Mo had only made 240 sheets. He had bought the remaining sixty out of his own pocket. As for why he had done so...
Chu Mo glanced at the quest information on his panel.
[Quest: [Second Talisman-Maker Trial]] [Quest description: Make at least two hundred sheets of talisman paper within one month and submit them to Liu Xian. The more talisman paper you submit, the richer the reward Liu Xian will grant.]
Seeing how obedient Chu Mo was put Liu Xian in an even better mood.
After a month of suspicion and paranoia, he had long since cast his initial unease to the back of his mind. Those ten missing Spell Coins had probably been a case of him remembering incorrectly because the backlash from his heart fire had clouded his mind.
"I'll count this assessment as perfect." Liu Xian waved a hand and spoke with considerable generosity.
He still made absolutely no mention of payment, but Chu Mo felt no disappointment, because two notifications had just appeared on his panel.
[Due to your outstanding performance, you have received an additional [Heart-Burning Talisman] x3.]
"Thank you, Master Liu." Chu Mo bowed respectfully.
After a moment's thought, Liu Xian said, "Since you're working so hard, this month you'll make spirit ink like the other two. At least three bottles."
[You have received the quest [Make Spirit Ink].]
"Well..."
"What, is there a problem?" Liu Xian glanced at the hesitant Chu Mo.
Chu Mo considered for a moment, then asked cautiously, "May I ask, Master Liu, how many trials will we have in total?"
At that, Liu Xian chuckled. "How many? The Way of Talismans is vast and profound. How could a mere handful of trials let you glimpse its threshold?
"Making talisman paper and preparing spirit ink are only the most basic of basics. They don't even count as an introduction! Later, there'll be Rune Inscription, Spirit Infusion... there are plenty of trials ahead!"
His tone held a trace of reprimand, along with a hint of dangling a painted cake before them. "Just focus on your work. When it's time to teach you, I naturally will. All right, that's enough for today. You may leave."
He accepted the spirit ink the gray-robed youth handed over, offered a couple of offhand pointers, then dismissed them both from the cave abode.
The cave abode's stone door slowly closed, sealing off the inside from the outside.
A long while later, a roar of shock and fury suddenly erupted from within the cave abode.