Entry-Level Spells

"Good, then it's settled. From now on, you are my fiancé, the fiancé of Yin Linglong. Once we return to the Yin Household, pay our respects to its ancestors, and complete the wedding rites, you will be its live-in son-in-law and my true husband."

Yin Linglong spoke decisively, then took a Black Ring about an inch across from her waist and continued with a solemn expression:

"Hold out your hand. This is a token of the Yin Household. Once you wear it, no one can deny that you belong to the Yin Household." As she spoke, she put a finger in her mouth and bit it lightly. A bead of blood dripped from her fair, tender fingertip and vanished into the Black Ring in a flash.

The ring hummed and instantly grew a little larger.

Wang Yu held out his hand in surprise. She took one of his fingers and deftly slipped the ring onto it.

The slightly oversized Black Ring flashed with black light the instant it slipped onto his finger, then actually shrank until it fit perfectly.

"Is this a magical artifact?" Wang Yu asked, visibly moved.

"It's an ancestral token of the Yin Household, not a proper magical artifact. Only the blood essence of our direct descendants can truly control it. It can locate people and verify their identities, so it's quite useful. Make sure you don't lose it," Yin Linglong cautioned.

"I doubt losing this thing would be easy." Wang Yu tried to pull the ring off his finger, but the Black Ring remained immovable, as though it had taken root. He could not help smiling wryly.

"Taking it off is quite easy, actually. Apart from using the blood essence of a direct descendant of the Yin Household, a cultivator at Foundation Establishment or above could remove it. Cutting off the finger would work too." The stunning woman glanced at Wang Yu and smiled sweetly.

That smile held a thousand charms, like a hundred flowers bursting into bloom, lending her beauty an even more alluring radiance.

Wang Yu was instantly spellbound. He stared fixedly at her nearly flawless face, unwilling to shift his gaze even a fraction.

"Pah! What are you staring at? Keep staring and I'll gouge your eyes out." Seeing his gaze grow so blatant, Yin Linglong could not help blushing across her white-jade face. She spat lightly, her words fierce but her tone utterly bashful.

"Who told you to look so beautiful when you smile? Besides, I'm your fiancé now. What's wrong with taking a few more looks?" Wang Yu replied unconcernedly, still reluctant to look away from her face.

"You don't look very old. How are you so frivolous? Right, what exactly is your name, how old are you, and where do you come from? I'm twenty-one this year, at the fifth layer of qi refining. Madam Yin was actually my grandmother, but she suddenly passed away five years ago. I wanted the spirit stones, so I impersonated her and continued working as a hidden guard at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion." The blush lingered on Yin Linglong's face, but she changed the subject and began questioning Wang Yu quite naturally.

"My full name is Wang Yu. I'm thirteen this year-no, I should be fourteen now. As for where I come from, I'm from around Yellowstone City. I happened to become the disciple of a rogue cultivator, and only then learned that immortal cultivators existed," Wang Yu replied thoughtfully, rubbing his face.

"What? Impossible! You're that young?" This time, the stunning woman was the one startled, seemingly unable to believe him.

"After my bloodline half-awakened, both my body and mind developed faster than those of others my age. You wouldn't be wrong to think of me as eighteen or nineteen. But if you're thinking of going back on your word and breaking off the engagement now, it's too late. I won't agree," Wang Yu said with a straight face, perfectly serious.

Yin Linglong looked at Wang Yu, speechless for a long while. Then she suddenly raised a slender hand and swiftly pinched his cheek. Her eyes rippled with autumn-water tenderness as she laughed softly:

"A little husband isn't bad either. But from now on, you have to listen to your big sister."

This time, it was Wang Yu's turn to feel his mouth twitch.

His fiancée looked like an immortal maiden on the outside, but inwardly, she did not seem easy to handle.

From her reaction, he could not tell whether she truly believed him or was merely pretending to.

"By the way, Linglong, how did you manage to impersonate your grandmother? Why couldn't I spot a single flaw? And why did you faint earlier?" Wang Yu hurriedly asked, changing the subject.

Hearing Wang Yu address her so intimately, the stunning woman knitted her dark brows, seemingly still unused to it. But her expression quickly returned to normal as she replied:

"That was the Illusory Form Great Art, a secret technique that completely changes a person's appearance through dharma power and medicines."

"It requires late qi refining cultivation to cast, but it can only be used on others, not on yourself. Although it lasts a very long time, a person can only have it cast on them once in their life. Once it's broken, it can never be used on them again."

"Earlier, I was struck by Yu Bintian's spell-breaking item. That later caused the Illusory Form Great Art to go out of control, and the sudden backlash of dharma power made me faint. But once I woke up, I was fine."

"So that's how it works. Tsk, tsk, this Illusory Form Great Art sounds impressive. Does the Yin Household have many secret techniques like that?" Wang Yu asked, his tone full of envy.

"Although the Illusory Form Great Art is useful, it's only a third-rate spell that doesn't qualify for a rank. If we immortal cultivators want to protect ourselves, we needn't waste time studying such things. Instead, we should learn one or two powerful Entry-Tier spells and possess a useful Entry-Tier magical artifact for protection. Even having just one of the two would let us easily defeat other cultivators of the same stage, or even fight across stages. The Four Fiends of Misty Mountain are a very clear example," Yin Linglong said, shaking her head.

"Qian Kunzi's Qiankun Bag was certainly powerful, and Fallen Moon Daoist's Fallen Moon Sword didn't seem weak either. But are entry-level spells really that useful?" Wang Yu grew doubtful as he recalled the recent battle.

Neither Dwarf nor Fallen Moon Daoist and the others seemed to have cast any particularly powerful spells.

"Qian Kunzi and Fallen Moon Daoist only knew ordinary spells. But Blood Enchantress's Blood Stealth Escape and Mad-Hand Auntie's Plague-Driving Hand are entry-level spells that make rogue cultivators turn pale at their very mention. Without a suitable counter, anyone who encounters them can basically do nothing but wait to die," Yin Linglong explained patiently.

"At what layer of qi refining can you learn entry-level spells?" Recalling the Green-Clad Girl's elusive movements, Wang Yu nodded repeatedly, deeply tempted.

"There's no need to rush. In theory, entry-level spells can be cast at middle qi refining, but in practice, late qi refining is the best time to truly master them and use them in combat. Otherwise, a single spell can easily drain all the dharma power in your body."

"Most importantly, you can't just learn any entry-level spell you please. It has to suit your spirit root and your primary cultivation method. Otherwise, you'll get half the results for twice the effort, and its power will be greatly diminished too. The gains won't make up for the losses." She simply began giving her fiancé a lesson in the basics.

"I see. But Linglong, what kind of spirit root do you have? All I know is that although there are many types of spirit roots, most belong to the five elements. Also, could you tell me what I should watch out for when condensing a spirit root?" Hearing this, Wang Yu perked up and eagerly questioned his "fiancée."