More than ten days passed.
Qingxia Market was bustling with activity.
Wu Ming, the old man who sold him the Cuiyan Pen, finally succeeded in refining the third-rank magical weapon, the Congyun Sword. He was invited into the sect by the Sixi Sect and respected as an elder, which caused quite a stir.
Sun Hedao walked into Sanyuanzhai alone and came out angrily after a long time. Some gossipers said that he had gone to apologize, but as for whether he was forgiven, no one knew.
Another strange thing was that many independent cultivators disappeared inexplicably around the market. As a result, the defense of the market was strengthened, and even cultivators in the Condensation Vein Realm were sent to investigate.
As for Zhou Shu, he had been deducing in his hut, oblivious to the outside world, with only talismans in his mind.
The Golden Armor Talisman and the Green Vine Talisman were much simpler than the Thunderstorm Talisman, but it was not so easy to deduce them completely.
The Green Vine Talisman was the most difficult to create, not because of its complexity, but because the ink used to draw it was made from a century-old bitterling vine. The vine's texture was tough, and its sap was as thick as mud. This made the ink difficult to guide, requiring a higher level of spiritual energy and a longer calculation process.
"It'll probably take another three days to fully calculate it,"
Zhou Shu, exhausted and depleted of his spiritual energy, smiled and collapsed to the ground to rest.
An unseen moment had passed before he was awakened by an itch on his face. He opened his eyes and looked closely to see a black beetle crawling all over him, even poking his face with its horns.
"You greedy thing, you only know how to get spirit stones! I get it, I'll get you some later, don't bother me."
Zhou Shu reached out and flicked the beetle away, then scolded it.
In a short time, the beetle had devoured all his spirit stones, and seemingly enjoying the sweetness of it, it pestered him daily, demanding more.
"You only know how to eat, but you have to work after eating. Are you a pig?"
Zhou Shu was also very curious about the beetle. He had never heard of a spirit insect that consumed spirit stones so much. There must be something special about it, but it has not yet shown itself.
The beetle stared at him with its green eyes, glanced at him with disdain, twisted its fat body, climbed onto the futon and did not move.
Zhou Shu shook his head, picked up a few drawn thunderstorm talismans, and walked towards the market.
After walking for a while, he saw two familiar people at the entrance of the market.
Yan Yue's face seemed to be covered with a layer of dust. She paced back and forth with her head down, looking quite anxious.
Yang Mei followed behind her, swinging her arms back and forth, her little face twisted into a ball, and she complained in a low voice from time to time.
Zhou Shu walked over slowly and greeted with a smile, "Senior Sister Yan, Junior Sister Yang."
Yan Yue looked up at him and nodded without saying anything, but Yang Mei excitedly shouted, "By the way, Sister Yan, we can ask Senior Brother Zhou Shu to go with us!"
Yan Yue smiled bitterly and shook her head, "That won't work."
Yang Mei said naively, "Why not? Three people should be enough, right?"
"What we have to face is a second-order monster. It will take at least three cultivators at the fifth level of the Qi Refining Realm to deal with it. You..."
Zhou Shu listened for a while, and roughly understood what they were talking about. He smiled and said, "Senior Sister Yan, is there something wrong with the mission?" The
only thing that could make this female cultivator so anxious was the mission that she had been thinking about all the time.
Yan Yue straightened slightly and gave Zhou Shu a helpless smile. "Junior Brother Zhou, your guess was correct. It seems all my hard work has been for nothing."
She felt a pang of sadness. She had finally received the mission, gathered the necessary personnel, and even managed to gather the most difficult, mid-grade Thunderstorm Talisman, but in the end, she still couldn't complete it.
Everyone she had invited had left, leaving only Yang Mei, with her experience, but she was completely useless.
"Can you tell me more?"
Zhou Shu, who had a soft spot for Yan Yue, asked, seeing her distress.
Yan Yue thought for a moment, but before she spoke, Yang Mei spoke first. She said indignantly, "Hmph, isn't it all the fault of those two senior sisters? They agreed to go on the mission with Senior Sister Yan, but they refused to go!"
Zhou Shu seemed to understand. "Oh."
Yan Yue shook her head, smiled and sighed, "I can't blame them. Sun Hedao spoke in the outer sect, saying that anyone who helped me would have no good life in the future. They were just forced into a corner."
"Don't blame them? Look, I'm not afraid..." Yang Mei pouted and stamped her feet, angry alone
. "Silly girl." Yan Yue looked at Yang Mei tenderly, and laughed.
Yang Mei was young and didn't understand these things, but how could those outer disciples really dare to offend the inner disciples? Those female cultivators were good at talking, but they were weak when it came to fighting.
Zhou Shu thought for a moment and said slowly, "What is your mission?"
Yang Mei glanced at Yan Yue and saw that she had no intention of stopping them, so she whispered, "Brother Zhou, we're going to pick a spiritual fruit, but there's a second-level monster guarding it. It's very troublesome."
Zhou Shu pondered for a moment and suddenly said, "Is it a second-level monster, the Golden Ring Kui Python?"
Yan Yue's eyes lit up, and she looked at Zhou Shu in confusion, "Brother Zhou, how did you know?"
Zhou Shu smiled slightly, "I guessed it. The Golden Ring Kui Python likes to eat spiritual fruits, and what it fears is lightning. You want the Thunderstorm Talisman to deal with it?"
"Junior Brother, you're quite right,"
Yan Yue replied, but the doubt in her eyes hadn't faded; instead, a sharper glare had taken hold. "Junior Brother Zhou, do you know a lot about demonic beasts?"
She was puzzled. Zhou Shu had guessed the specific demonic beast with just one sentence, clearly familiar with the habits of the Golden Ringed Kui Python. But the Golden Ringed Kui Python was incredibly rare, not something a common cultivator could possibly know about. And Zhou Shu was just a casual cultivator, a recent arrival in the Immortal Realm. This made no sense.
Furthermore, the Golden Ringed Kui Python's fear of lightning had taken her a long time to discover, something she'd considered a secret. How could Zhou Shu know about it?
Zhou Shu explained, "I've read a demon-hunting tome that happened to mention the Golden Ringed Kui Python, so I have some understanding of it."
"Is that so?" Yan Yue nodded gently, thoughtful.
Zhou Shu smiled, but remained silent.
He had more than just a passing understanding.
During his time at Tianyun Peak, he had read nearly every tome on monster hunting. Written by veterans of the Wuwang Sect with personal experience, these texts not only explained the habits of monsters but also their weaknesses and unique characteristics in incredible detail.
He knew very little about low-level monsters. As for the Golden Ring Kui Python, he knew it wasn't just afraid of lightning, but also had a greater weakness.
Yang Mei hesitated, then whispered, "Brother Zhou, since you know everything, why don't you join us on this mission?"
Zhou Shu looked at Yan Yue and said slowly, "If Sister Yan can't find anyone, I can help."
This was an opportunity not to be missed. The Golden Ring Kui Python was a rare second-level monster. Obtaining its demon pill would be of great benefit to him.
"Great!"
Yang Mei jumped up, beaming.
Yan Yue frowned slightly and quickly shook her head. "Junior Brother Zhou, I appreciate your kindness, but the Golden Ring Kui Python is a second-level monster. Although its strength is not very strong among second-level monsters, it will be useless with your current cultivation level."
How could you possibly deal with a second-level monster at the first level of the Qi Refining Realm?
Zhou Shu said calmly, "Your previous plan was to use the mid-grade thunderstorm talisman to temporarily trap the Golden Ring Kui Python for a few breaths, then seize the opportunity to pick the spiritual fruit and escape, right?"
A look of surprise flashed in Yan Yue's eyes. "Yes, Junior Brother Zhou was right."
What Zhou Shu said was almost identical to their plan, which made her quite puzzled. She couldn't help but wonder, could he really have a solution?
"The key to this plan is the timing. The Thunderstorm Talisman is not fast, and the Golden Ringed Python, as a second-level demon beast, is quite fast. We can only find a chance to attack during a fight. Sister Yan, can you hold it back by yourself?"
Listening to Zhou Shu's explanation, Yan Yue nodded subconsciously, "If I were alone, I could barely hold on for a dozen breaths, but who would cast the talisman? I don't think any of you can do it..."
Zhou Shu said firmly, "That's good, the plan can be changed. Let's kill the Golden Ringed Python first, and then go pick the spiritual fruit."
"Ah, are you sure? Kill the Golden Ringed Python?" Yan Yue was stunned.
"Sure, but it will take a few days. I'll prepare some things..."