That evening, in Chen Mu's room.
Chen Mu was wearing a long lens over his right eye, carefully examining Mingye's dagger.
After observing for a while, he picked up an exquisitely crafted brush, dipped it in Fu Mo, and began to trace the talisman on the paper beside him.
He copied the talisman very carefully, and if he was not satisfied, he would crumple the talisman paper into a ball, throw it away, and continue copying on a new piece of paper.
After a long while, he seemed to have figured out all the rune structures and laid out the remaining talisman papers on the table one by one.
When laid out, it appears to others as a jumble of runes, but in Chen Mu's mind, these runes slowly combine to form a complete rune pattern.
After a long while, as if he had made up his mind, he took out a small, exquisitely crafted brush from his storage ring, dipped it in Fu Mo, and began to draw on the dagger.
The runes on the dagger were extremely fine. Chen Mu hadn't brought the "fine rune engraving instrument" he made in Chen Village with him, and relying solely on his magnifying glasses made the process much more difficult.
However, as a Qi Nourishing Realm, he has extremely strong control over his muscle fibers and rarely makes mistakes; he's just a bit slow.
The dagger's material was extremely strange. Even though Chen Mu had been a talisman master for so many years, he had never seen such a spiritual material before. It seemed to be a kind of iron, but it felt warm to the touch. The rust on it could not be scraped off at all, as if it were already one with the dagger.
The rune damage mentioned by the Myriad Treasures Pavilion refers to the rust covering part of the runes, which occasionally obstructs the flow of Spiritual Power into the blade, causing the artifact to malfunction.
If an ordinary person wanted to repair this dagger, they would need to know the original structure of these rune patterns. However, the rust had obscured many of the rune details, Myriad Treasures Pavilion didn't repair it, probably because they couldn't find anyone who knew about these rune patterns.
However, since Chen Mu began studying runes, he has never learned advanced rune structures. All the advanced rune usages he has mastered are basically things he figured out on his own.
Of course, he would occasionally copy some of the mature rune structures that others had developed, but he had long since developed the habit of exploring on his own.
Now, others might need to know the original rune pattern of this dagger to repair it, but Chen Mu doesn't need to. He can repair it according to his own ideas, and even find ways to adjust and improve it.
However, the rune pattern on this dagger was far too complex, more so than any rune structure Chen Mu had ever learned before. The only thing that could barely compare to it was the Rune Core.
The Rune Core is his most accomplished work, combining computer thinking and rune technology. Although its performance still needs further improvement, the complexity of the rune pattern on this dagger is comparable to that of the Rune Core, which shows just how complex it is.
However, this did not stump Chen Mu; on the contrary, it aroused his strong interest, and he couldn't wait to master the rune pattern.
Repairing a rune pattern is much easier than mastering the complete rune pattern. After pondering it all night, he finally figured out what the pattern was all about.
Only a small portion of the runes on the dagger were obscured. He carefully filled the rust with the Fu Mo bit by bit, his hands as steady as those of a precision instrument.
It wasn't until dawn, when sunlight streamed through the window, that Chen Mu finally finished repairing the runes on the dagger.
After repairing it, Chen Mu still didn't dare to relax. He took out a Blazing Flame Talisman, lit it, placed the dagger on it to heat it, and then used his Divine Soul to control the temperature.
Under the intense heat of the flames, the newly filled patterns on the dagger became increasingly indistinguishable from the original patterns until they were completely invisible to the naked eye. Only then did he stop.
call...!
He relaxed, let out a long sigh of relief, and a wave of exhaustion washed over him. Ignoring everything else, he simply collapsed onto the table and fell asleep.
In the afternoon, Chen Mu finally woke up slowly from his sleep as Dusk approached.
He was wearing an overcoat, and there was a meal on the table.
He sat up, stretched his aching neck, and felt an unbearable hunger in his stomach. He immediately picked up the food next to the table and wolfed it down.
After a while, Mingye walked in from outside. Seeing that Chen Mu had woken up, he nodded and greeted him.
Mingye no longer wears a mask, but she still loves black. She is dressed in a black women's outfit, with a simple hairpin in her hair, giving her the air of a chivalrous woman from the martial arts world.
"Hey, did you deliver this food? Where's Duoduo?"
"She is cultivating."
"Oh, thank you."
"Need not."
Although Mingye appears cold on the outside, she's actually quite caring!
Chen Mu thought to himself that he felt even closer to Mingye.
"Oh, by the way, I've finished repairing this dagger. You can try it out!"
Chen Mu picked up the dagger next to the table and handed it to Mingye.
Mingye took the dagger, infused it with Spiritual Power, and gently swung it twice. Then his expression changed.
"What, is there a problem?"
A hint of nervousness appeared in Chen Mu's eyes.
"Hmm, but it seems like a good thing. I feel its ability to cut through space is stronger; it seems capable of creating passages over short distances. Like... this."
Mingye slashed his knife in front of him and lunged forward.
In a flash, Mingye appeared three meters away.
"Is this... teleportation??"
Chen Mu was shocked. He had always thought he was studying rune patterns for spatial cutting, but he never expected it to be spatial transfer.
Although spatial transfer and spatial cutting sound similar, they have very different meanings for talisman masters. Spatial cutting is a manifestation of power reaching its limit, but its effect is too singular and its application range is limited.
However, spatial transfer is much more complex, and can give rise to countless variations. How to form spatial channels and how to maintain the integrity of space are all extremely complicated.
If Chen Mu could grasp the secrets of this rune pattern, it would be of great help to his other research, which greatly surprised him.
It seems Myriad Treasures Pavilion misjudged again. They mistakenly believed that a treasure with spatial cutting ability could actually perform spatial transfer. If they had known, they would definitely have spent a lot of money to repair it, since a treasure capable of spatial transfer must be at least a sixth-grade treasure.
Even if Chen Mu doubled his current wealth, he might not be able to afford a treasure of this level.
The two items he bought from the Myriad Treasures Pavilion had effects that far exceeded his expectations. Chen Mu was already secretly planning to go to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion more often to hunt for treasures, thinking he would definitely make a fortune.
However, only Chen Mu could do such a thing. After all, as the successor of the Rune Ancestor, it's normal for him to be able to do this.
Talisman masters are a profession that is extremely suitable for making money. Even in the Central Land Plains, talisman masters are still one of the most rare professions. The practice of buying broken treasures, repairing them, and selling them for money, like Chen Mu did, is not uncommon among talisman masters.