Black Leather Booklet

Behind the hill, amid a meadow of blooming flowers, Wang Yu stood silently before an unremarkable mound of freshly turned earth, holding the Black Leather Booklet in one hand.

"Master, you said you wanted your body buried intact somewhere with flowers and grass after you died. Your disciple has done as you asked. But Master, did you foresee this day long ago? Why else would you have left your last wishes in your notes, asking whoever inherited your mantle to go to the Li Household? I'm afraid your disciple won't be able to do that." Wang Yu murmured to the mound, shaking his head repeatedly.

His consciousness would return to Blue Star in a few days. How could he possibly travel somewhere over a hundred thousand li away? Still, the notes really did describe a way to leave the Yellowstone City region.

"Hundred Treasures Pavilion, Redwater River."

Wang Yu murmured the two names.

Just then, a clear cry rang out high overhead. An emerald little bird descended from the sky and landed on a small tree near the mound. After chirping noisily on a branch for a while, it spread its wings and flew away again.

"That bird looks a little familiar."

A trace of puzzlement crossed Wang Yu's brow at the sight, but in the end, he left with the Black Leather Booklet.

Although Daoist Chongyun had only taken him as a disciple for a little over ten days, he had treated him fairly well. But their time together had been so short that Wang Yu could hardly claim to be deeply grief-stricken. It felt more like an elder he got along with had suddenly passed away, leaving a faint ache in his heart.

Wang Yu found a stream outside and drank some water, then returned to the cave. After eating a little dry food without much thought, he sat cross-legged on the ground and looked through the Black Leather Booklet again.

Just as Daoist Chongyun had said, the first half consisted entirely of notes he had jotted down. They included not only insights into cultivating the Yin Water Art, but also accounts of his travels, recording many matters and pieces of common knowledge concerning Immortal Cultivators.

At last, this gave Wang Yu a rough understanding of the cultivation world.

Cultivation, for instance: according to the notes, an Immortal Cultivator's cultivation speed depended not only on the quality of their spirit root and cultivation method, but also on the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy where they cultivated.

For low-level Immortal Cultivators, there was little choice in the former factors. The quality of the spirit root formed from a spirit seed depended entirely on heaven's will, and outside forces could scarcely influence it. As for cultivation methods, such arts were not lightly passed on. Finding a Qi Refining Realm method that could take someone all the way to qi refining perfection was already cause to thank heaven and earth.

Thus, the place where they cultivated was the only thing they could choose for themselves.

According to the notes, the first three levels of the Qi Refining Realm constituted the "False Cultivator" stage of early qi refining. Anyone with spiritual perception who had undergone spirit planting could cultivate through them smoothly anywhere. Beyond the third level, however, they had to find a Spirit Domain containing a spirit vein to continue cultivating. Otherwise, the concentration of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy would be insufficient for further breathing exercises, and their cultivation would not advance a single step.

The Fourth Layer of Qi Refining through the sixth layer constituted the middle qi refining stage, while the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining through the tenth layer constituted the late qi refining stage. After reaching the tenth level, cultivators entered qi refining perfection and could break through the Qi Refining Realm bottleneck into the Foundation Establishment Realm. This likewise required the support of more Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, or the breakthrough would very likely fail.

Spirit veins were extremely rare, however, and usually arose amid famed mountains and mighty rivers. Sometimes they shifted and changed with the tides of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. Regions where no spirit vein had ever arisen were called "Spiritless Lands," while regions where spirit veins appeared and disappeared intermittently were called "Remnant Spirit Lands."

Daoist Chongyun specifically noted that the Yellowstone City region was a somewhat well-known "Remnant Spirit Land." Every ten years, a spiritual tide would temporarily give rise to a first-tier temporary spirit vein somewhere in the region. The cultivation lineage known as the Huang Household would monopolize it for cultivation. They would also make mortals from nearby towns grow "spirit rice," which required large amounts of spiritual energy, to aid the Huang Household members in their cultivation. This was the true face of Yellowstone City's once-a-decade "spirit labor."

But the entire Yellowstone City region lay within a vast basin, surrounded on all sides by precipitous mountains, wilderness, and dense forests. Many ferocious Demon Beasts lived there, and there were no overland routes that mortals could traverse. Even low-level Immortal Cultivators would face great danger if they ventured inside.

The only way ordinary people and low-level Immortal Cultivators could safely leave the region was by the Redwater River, which ran through the entire Yellowstone City region and connected to Tongzhou in the Wu Kingdom. But its waters surged violently, some stretches were unfathomably deep, and numerous fish beasts prowled within it. Mortal boats could not navigate the river. Only a cultivation faction in Yellowstone City called the "Hundred Treasures Pavilion" used a specially made, enormous tower ship each year to carry people into and out of Yellowstone City. Naturally, all passengers had to pay an enormous fare. Daoist Chongyun had originally arrived in Yellowstone City this way as well.

The booklet also mentioned that the "cloud pattern" he had previously examined in the White Cloud Scripture was actually a spirit inscription. Each spirit inscription possessed a certain mysterious power. When arranged into special designs and imprinted onto objects, they became "inscription patterns" or "inscriptions," granting those objects incredible abilities and turning them into Magical Artifacts.

Of course, the "Talismans" used by Immortal Cultivators like them were likewise drawn with spirit inscriptions, known as "talisman patterns" or "talisman inscriptions." These were what allowed them to unleash various magical effects.

Upon reading this, Wang Yu could not help taking the three yellow Talismans and the Profound Wind Fan out of his robe. He examined the identical patterns on the Talismans, then felt the uneven markings on the fan's surface, and understanding began to dawn on him.

These were all the so-called "spirit inscriptions."

Besides this, the Daoist's notes also recorded that beyond the Qi Refining Realm and Foundation Establishment Realm, Immortal Cultivators had an even higher realm, the Core Formation Realm. Nothing further was mentioned, however. It seemed Daoist Chongyun himself knew little about the later realms.

The second half of the Black Leather Booklet, just as the Daoist had said, recorded the cultivation methods for all twelve levels of the Yin Water Art. At the end were instructions for preparing three medicinal formulas, one of which was the Blood-Refining Soup.

The other two formulas were called "Wood Essence Powder" and "Bone-Corroding Water." The former was an oral medicine for treating disordered dharma power, while the latter was a potent poison that could directly rot flesh and even ordinary clothing into liquid.

Reading the notes' description of the Bone-Corroding Water's effects sent a chill down Wang Yu's back. This "master" of his had even possessed a formula like that. Clearly, he had been no ordinary Immortal Cultivator.

At the very end of the notes were a few last wishes that Daoist Chongyun had clearly added recently.

He wrote that he had recently felt the Huang Household was repeatedly probing him and that their attitude had changed, so he planned to leave Yellowstone City within six months. If something happened to him before then, however, he hoped his remains would be buried somewhere with flowers and grass, and all his possessions would belong to whoever obtained the notes. If that person was his disciple, they could use his identity token to join the Li Household.

Wang Yu slowly closed the Black Leather Booklet. It contained quite a lot of information, and he would have to sort through and digest it gradually.

His only regret was that the booklet did not record any Parlor Trick Arts, leaving him with no way to understand how Immortal Cultivators actually used and controlled their spells.

He placed the Black Leather Booklet on the ground before him and turned his gaze toward another pile of objects nearby.

Besides the jade pendant, emerald-green gourd, and Void-Iron Box Daoist Chongyun had left him, there was also a small iron shield with a large hole in its surface, a gray cloth bag, and a thin, flesh-colored leather glove.

Those last few items had all been found on the Yellowstone City lord's corpse. The corpse itself had been tossed straight into the bronze cauldron and reduced to ash.

Wang Yu picked up the jade pendant and examined it carefully.

The pendant was pure white, with a few simple leaf-shaped patterns on its surface. At its center, one side was engraved with the character for "Li," and the other with the character for "lineage."

He turned it over several times, then absentmindedly waved it a few times above the nearby ground.

Suddenly, the two large characters on the pendant glowed faintly white at the same time. Dust on the nearby ground rapidly rolled away in all directions, leaving the area exceptionally clean.

The jade pendant could be used without dharma power, and it even had a wondrous "Dust-Repelling" effect.

Delighted, Wang Yu tucked the jade pendant into his robe. It seemed that with this thing, he would not get too dirty even if he went a long time without bathing.

He then picked up the damaged iron shield. It was pitch-black and looked small, but it weighed heavily in his hand. A chill seeped into his palm when he touched it, and flicking it with a finger produced a dull humming sound.

The material did not seem to be ordinary steel or iron. It appeared to be the same material as the Void-Iron Box.

Wang Yu picked up the Iron Casket again, compared the two, and finally reached his conclusion.

The only difference was that the small iron shield had three spirit inscriptions resembling "cloud patterns" on its surface, while the Iron Casket was smooth and bore no decorative patterns at all.

But since the Yellowstone City lord had used the small shield as a defensive Magical Artifact, it surely had considerable value.

With that thought, Wang Yu drew the slender silver sword and hacked at the iron shield a dozen or so times in a clattering flurry. Not a single mark appeared on its surface. Instead, the impacts left the web between his thumb and forefinger faintly burning.

Wang Yu was secretly astonished. If this material were used to forge swords and sabers, would they not be divine weapons with peerless edges?

He could not resist picking up the small iron shield and waving it a few times. Nothing unusual happened, however, so he could only shake his head and set it down before picking up the emerald-green gourd.

After Wang Yu gently shook it twice and heard the faint sound of liquid sloshing inside, he put this foundation establishment spiritual item back on the ground and picked up the thin glove.

He had only discovered the flesh-colored leather glove after tossing the Yellowstone City lord's corpse into the bronze cauldron. After all, everything else had burned to ash, while this glove had remained completely intact in the raging flames. No matter how he looked at it, it was no ordinary object.

Wang Yu drew the sharp sword edge across the glove. It left only a faint white mark on the surface, which soon vanished, restoring it to its original state.

Delighted by this miraculous display, Wang Yu hurriedly put the glove on his right hand. It was light, soft, and very elastic, without the slightest stuffy or overheated feeling.

More importantly, it looked so much like skin that unless someone came close, took his hand, and examined it carefully, they really would not be able to tell he was wearing a glove.

He had no idea what material this treasure had been woven from. It was impervious to fire, blades, and spears. It seemed he could practice snatching bare blades with his empty hand when he had the chance.

As for the last item, the unremarkable gray bag, Wang Yu found it something of a headache.