The two of them talked for a long time in the bamboo forest, mostly about the water therapy talismans.
Through the sparse bamboo shadows, their faces were vaguely visible, both full of vigor and confidence.
"I'm leaving now. I'll prepare well this month."
Yan Yue smiled and bowed sincerely to Zhou Shu. "Senior Sister, on behalf of the Yan family, thank you again, Junior Brother Zhou."
Zhou Shu stepped aside. "Senior Sister, no need to be so polite. My interests are now intertwined with the Yan family's. What's good for us is good for everyone else."
"Junior Brother, you're right."
Yan Yue looked at the smoke lingering around Zhou Shu's hand and shook her head in praise. "The talisman's effect hasn't worn off yet. It's incredible."
Zhou Shu raised his hand and said with a hint of emotion, "If I used a second or third-level spiritual spring, the effect might be even better, but there's no need for that right now. We'll see later."
"Junior Brother, you know a lot. I believe you can do it."
After Yan Yue finished speaking, she seemed to sense something was wrong and looked at Zhou Shu in confusion. "Junior Brother, did you draw those talismans yourself?"
"Do you believe it?" Zhou Shu smiled faintly, gazing at him meaningfully.
Yan Yue watched Zhou Shu ponder for a moment, then pursed her lips without saying anything. Did she
believe it?
Of course she did! She now trusted Zhou Shu almost unconditionally, but her nearly ten years of experience in cultivation made her feel it was simply impossible—drawing a thunderstorm talisman at the first level of the Qi Refining Realm, and a hydrotherapy talisman at the second—no one in the world of cultivation could do that. She was torn between two minds, unsure what to say.
Zhou Shu smiled and waved, brushing away the mist from her hand. "Heh, Senior Sister, don't overthink it. Let's return to the mountain."
"I know. Also, Junior Brother, don't experiment on yourself anymore. It's not good. Just say it, and I always believe you."
Yan Yue finished her words in an inaudible voice, turned around, and walked away, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Watching her back, Zhou Shu smiled and shook his head. Senior Sister Yan Yue, despite her strength and independence, could occasionally act a bit childish, which was quite interesting.
Back at his residence, Zhou Shu continued his peaceful life
, cultivating, drawing talismans, and deducing, day after day.
After three months, the bucket of golden viper's demonic elixir liquid had turned into a pool of clear water. Most of the medicinal power and spiritual energy had been absorbed by Zhou Shu, while a small portion dissipated.
Cultivating within the medicinal liquid, Zhou Shu's cultivation level increased rapidly, leaving him just a hair's breadth away from the third level of the Qi Refining Realm. He
had regained a glimmer of his former genius, but only a hint.
He knew that his spiritual energy reserves had only reached half of what they had once reached in the first level of the Qi
Refining Realm. Much remained to be done, and the road was long.
There was also good news: the deduction of the Flowing Water Sutra was nearing completion, and in two days, he would be able to switch to a new mental method.
The Flowing Water Sutra was indeed far superior to the Guiyi Heart Sutra, evidently a method from a major sect. Its spiritual energy circulation pathways were incredibly complete, passing through almost three hundred Qi channels. This was rare; many sects' basic mental methods only
managed to pass through two hundred. Simply practicing the mental method nourished the Qi channels, requiring no additional practice.
Furthermore, according to his deduction, practicing the Flowing Water Sutra, with good spiritual energy control, even with broken meridians, it could flow like water, with minimal leakage, significantly increasing his cultivation speed.
Yuan Li had clearly put a lot of thought into giving him this mental method.
These days, he's been deducing not only the Flowing Water Sutra but also the "Shadow Escape Technique" numerous times. He only needs to reach the third level of the Qi Refining Realm to learn it.
He estimates that once he's fully mastered it, his speed will be much faster, and even cultivators of the same level, even at the tenth level, won't be able to keep up in a short period of time.
Deduced and calculated spells usually unleash greater power than the original, so such an effect is not surprising.
However, due to his limited spiritual power, he can only use the escape technique for a few breaths before running out of spiritual power. Therefore, it can only be used for surprise attacks and escapes, and prolonged use is impossible.
Everything has its ups and downs.
But compared to when he first arrived at Qingxia Market, his current strength has increased many times over, making him able to basically protect himself. He's on the right track, and his future is promising.
"I'm going out to deliver talismans, and I also need to look for demon pills. I'm out of liquid medicine, so I need to make another bucket for cultivation."
With the talismans in hand, Zhou Shu headed to the market.
"Hurry up! It'll be too late!"
"It's just dawn, so early in the morning, what's the rush?"
"You know shit! The Yan family shop only sells five hydrotherapy talismans a day. If you're late, you won't be able to buy one."
"It's just a healing talisman. Why is it so expensive? I heard it's only a mid-grade one now?"
"Nonsense! This talisman is extraordinary. After using it, I won't have to worry about external injuries for two hours. The sect competition is about to start, and I need to prepare a few to get a good ranking. If I get a ranking, the few spirit stones I need to buy the talismans will be nothing!"
"That's right. I'll go and take a look."
It was only morning, but the streets were already bustling with people. Many people crowded towards the Yan family shop, worried that they would not be able to buy the hydrotherapy talismans.
Listening to these discussions, Zhou Shu smiled slightly, feeling a sense of accomplishment.
As he expected, the appearance of the hydrotherapy talismans immediately shocked the sects surrounding the market.
This talisman held a profound appeal for lower-level disciples, being extremely useful for both demon hunting and sect competitions. Many Qi Refining disciples, after using the hydrotherapy talisman, saw their monster hunting gains multiplied several times over. In a sect competition within the Liuchu Sect, a Qi Refining Level 7 disciple, armed with just three hydrotherapy talismans, overcame all obstacles and unexpectedly defeated three fellow Qi Refining Level 9 disciples, securing a respectable third place.
These stories, spread intentionally or unintentionally by the Yan family, made the hydrotherapy talisman a highly sought-after commodity, and the Yan family shop, the exclusive seller of the talismans, became the busiest business in the market.
Of course, with successful business comes envy.
Some sects have ulterior motives and are using various means to try to dig out the talisman master who made the hydrotherapy talisman. However, there are managers in the market to keep the other sects in check, so they dare not act recklessly. In addition, Yan Yue is extremely calm and careful in his work, so nothing has happened in the past two months.
Zhou Shu walked slowly in the opposite direction of the crowd and soon arrived at the familiar door of Sanyuanzhai.
When the waiter saw Zhou Shu, he ran out quickly, "Mr. Zhou is here, please come in."
"Is the shopkeeper Hua here?"
"Yes, please come in."
Zhou Shu walked into Sanyuanzhai, and Hua Ruoan came over with a smile on his face, "Brother Zhou is finally here, I've been waiting for you for a long time."
"Just kidding, the shopkeeper is so busy, why would he wait for me, hehe." Zhou Shu smiled and shook his head.
Hua Ruoan waved his hand, "You can't say that, haha, Brother Zhou, come with me."
When they arrived at the back hall, Zhou Shu took out the prepared talismans and placed them in stacks on the table, "Shopkeeper Hua, it's the same as usual. Here are thirty thunderstorm talismans, thirty golden armor talismans, and ten green vine talismans, all of which are medium-grade."
Hua Ruoan didn't look at the talismans, but only stared at Zhou Shu, and said meaningfully, "I'll take these, but Brother Zhou, can you give some of your hydrotherapy talismans to our store for sale?"
Zhou Shu was startled when he heard the voice, and then looked at Hua Ruoan with a hint of coldness in his eyes.