The sun shone brightly, its gentle rays filtering through the thatched roof into the hut, creating a series of beautiful specks of light.
Inside the hut, Zhou Shu immersed his hands in the medicinal liquid, his eyes slightly closed, his resolute face facing the sun. He occasionally let out long breaths, his expression serene.
Twenty days had passed in the blink of an eye, and he had broken through, reaching the second level of the Qi Refining Realm.
After a year on the path to immortal cultivation, this achievement wasn't something to be proud of, but the hardships he had endured proved to be a real struggle, and that made him cherish it all the more.
At the second level of the Qi Refining Realm, the Qi Sea expands slightly, more than tripling the amount of spiritual energy it can hold, while most cultivators can only double it at best. With
his fully awakened Qi channels, Zhou Shu clearly possessed a distinct advantage in the early stages of cultivation. However, this wasn't of much use. Currently, his accumulated spiritual energy still lagged behind that of a normal cultivator at the first level of the Qi Refining Realm.
Only by repairing his Qi channels and Qi Sea could these advantages truly materialize.
But when that day would arrive, he truly didn't know. But he knew that only by striving would he have the opportunity to truly become a winner.
After completing his training, he raised his jade-white hands, slowly sat back on his cushion, and began his daily deductions.
He had studied the hydrotherapy talisman, and found that compared to the thunderstorm talisman, the runes were significantly more complex. Thousands of lines intertwined, and ordinary practitioners wouldn't even be able to discern them clearly, let alone guide them with spiritual power.
But after his deductions and calculations, these were nothing. Yesterday, he had completely organized them and meticulously mapped them.
Compared to the complexity of the runes, the ink itself was much simpler, requiring no special preparation; all it needed was fresh spiritual spring water.
"The hydrotherapy talisman is truly remarkable. Using the runes, it can fully unleash the spiritual energy of the spiritual spring water and exert its healing properties. To be able to achieve this, our Yan family ancestors were truly capable."
With a silent compliment, Zhou Shu considered the spiritual spring's problem.
Spiritual springs are unique to the world of immortal cultivation. When underground waterways pass through subterranean spiritual veins, the water absorbs spiritual energy from these veins and, upon bubbling to the surface, forms springs, often found in mountainside forests. Spiritual
springs are a highly practical and readily available resource for cultivators, useful for planting, refining tools, alchemy, and talisman making. Spiritual springs
are divided into different tiers based on the amount of spiritual energy they contain, similar to spiritual veins, ranging from tier one to tier nine. A
single sip from a tier nine spiritual spring can lead to immortality.
This myth, circulated in the world of immortal cultivation, is largely untrue. If becoming an immortal were so easy, the world would already be filled with them. Furthermore, tier nine spiritual springs have never been seen in the world of immortal cultivation, existing only in legend.
Most sects possess spiritual veins and, naturally, spiritual springs. Legend has it that the Four Xi Sect in the Qingyuan Mountains possesses a tier four spiritual spring, so dense with water vapor and abundant with spiritual energy that cultivators have found enlightenment while sitting there, making it a sacred site within the sect.
Qingxia Market, located in the bustling city, lacks spiritual springs, but there are numerous nearby, the nearest no more than fifty miles away. There's a first-grade spiritual spring there, owned by a family estate. Most cultivators can buy a small bucket for just a few spirit stones.
"I have to go out."
If it's talisman ink you need, that's fine—you can find it in the market. But spiritual spring water must be freshly drawn. If it's left for a long time, it loses its spiritual energy, rendering the talismans made from it ineffective.
Zhou Shu, quick to act, prepared briefly and set out.
Fifty miles of flat road, using the Divine Travel Talisman, would take only half an hour.
As soon as he left the market, he heard someone behind him calling, "Brother, brother, wait."
Zhou Shu turned and saw a cultivator of fifteen or sixteen standing at the market gate, waving at him. The cultivator was strikingly handsome, as handsome as a woman. He wore a gray robe and bore no sect markings, appearing to be a casual cultivator.
"What's up?"
the cultivator bowed, quite respectfully. "I'm You Jing, my junior. I'm honored to meet you, Senior Brother. Are you leaving here to fetch water from the spiritual spring at Yujia Village?"
Zhou Shu nodded slightly.
Judging by You Jing's appearance, he seemed to be a recent cultivator, his cultivation level slightly lower than his own, so he wasn't a threat.
You Jing's face lit up with joy, and he hurried over. "May I go with you?"
Zhou Shu examined him for a few seconds, but remained silent.
You Jing explained quickly, "I'm an apprentice at the Hundred Craftsmen Workshop in the market town. Today it's my turn to fetch water from the spiritual spring for use in refining equipment in the workshop, but... Senior Brother, you know, things have been very uneasy around the market town recently, and I don't dare to go out alone. When I saw you leaving from here, I wanted to go with you so I could give myself some courage."
Zhou Shu looked at his expression and didn't pretend, so he nodded and said, "It's okay, but you have to follow me, I won't wait for you."
He knew what You Jing was worried about, but the road to fetch water was always crowded, and it was noon now. Even if someone wanted to catch a casual cultivator, they wouldn't choose to do it here, as it would be too easy to be discovered.
"Thank you, Brother. It's okay, I can keep up."
You Jing approached happily, a talisman in hand. "I asked the monk for a Swift Wind Talisman, so it should be fine."
Zhou Shu's face paled. "Then let's go."
Compared to the more commonly used Speed Talisman, the Swift Wind Talisman increased speed even more effectively. Although You Jing's cultivation was low, with the Swift Wind Talisman, he could keep up.
They sprinted all the way.
"Brother Zhou, have you heard? Those missing cultivators were reduced to ash by demons. Not even a bone remains. No wonder we can't find anything..."
"You said we wouldn't encounter those demons, right? I heard they have three heads and six arms, and are ferocious..."
"Alas, Brother Zhang was going to..."
"Stop."
Zhou Shu glanced at You Jing, and You Jing quickly stopped his incessant chatter.
Zhou Shu stopped and looked around warily. "No,"
You Jing rubbed his head, a puzzled look on his face. "Why not? This is the road. My senior brother and I have walked this way several times."
The sun was shining brightly, and the road was straight and wide. It looked much the same as before, except for the absence of a single person.
"There were people passing by every now and then a quarter of an hour ago, but we haven't seen a single person in the past few dozen breaths."
Zhou Shu pondered for a moment, then suddenly felt a jolt in his heart. "Could we be trapped in an illusion?"
Qi Refining cultivators couldn't project their spiritual awareness, making it difficult for them to detect the existence of an illusion. They often fell into it without realizing it, dying without even knowing how.
"What, an illusion?"
You Jing's face paled, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Zhou Shu, with a sudden thought, took out a thunderstorm talisman and hurled it at the thatched grass by the roadside.
Crackling!
Thunder crackled, and the thatch was struck by lightning, yet it showed no reaction, not even a hint of burning. However,
a faint mist could be seen emerging from the lightning.
Undoubtedly, they were trapped in an illusion. They were no longer on their original path, and their location was unknown, but there was likely water nearby.
"Retreat!"
Zhou Shu made up his mind and retreated quickly. You Jing followed closely behind him.