Chapter 27: Matter Settled, Clothes Brushed Off, Dao Talisman Transformed
Early morning, the sky just beginning to lighten, with a slight chill.
In Gu Ling Town, mist permeated the streets, and people walking through it felt truly as if traversing the clouds.
Fang Shu wrapped in a Daoist robe, empty-handed, slipped alone into Du Gu Guan.
All the items he had carried when setting out, he had already disposed of completely.
What could be burned was burned, what could be thrown was thrown.
Even the fox fur magic tool, he had spent some talisman money to store in a pawn shop in the town, exchanging it for a black ticket.
As for the items scavenged from Cheng Guanzi’s body, he hadn’t had time to examine them closely, and likewise stored them all as a black ticket, just at a different shop.
Handling them this way was out of fear that these items might have tracking marks or medicinal powder, allowing thieves to follow the trail and find him.
Additionally, even with the fox fur wrapped around his body, Fang Shu still repeatedly used clean clothes talismans and scent-dispelling talismans, cleaning himself from head to toe.
Even the long tongue sword was taken out by him and carefully scraped clean several times.
With such measures, Fang Shu believed he had been extremely cautious, leaving no definitive traces, and moreover, the one who killed Cheng Guanzi was a “fox demon,” what relation did it have to him, Fang someone!
However, as Fang Shu paced through the dojo, his mind raced with thoughts, still unable to stop repeatedly reviewing last night’s events, unable to calm his heart.
He walked all the way to the front of Du Gu Guan’s cultivation practice hall.
Smelling the lingering stench of sweat piled up in the hall, he finally steadied his mind, forcibly suppressing all stray thoughts.
Fang Shu quickly entered the hall.
At this time in the hall, aside from that young man even more diligent than him, there were still no other dojo disciples as usual.
He did not disturb the other, found a corner on his own, and began tempering his body again and again, pounding his qi and blood.
With each move and form, Fang Shu gradually immersed himself in it, completely free of stray thoughts.
His cultivation practice today was quite different from yesterday.
Fierce aura surged on his body, that originally quite proficient insect skill now seemed to come alive, with muscles bulging on his chest and abdomen, back, forming secret script insect faces that writhed and laughed ferociously.
In one night, just from killing one person, the progress of his insect skill surprisingly surpassed ten days of usual effort.
Buzz!
Finally, the Dao talisman in Fang Shu’s mind trembled lightly, and dense text immediately emerged, gradually bringing him back to awareness.
But he did not stop cultivating right away, instead slowly assuming the mantis stance for stance practice standing.
His figure hunched, bones protruding sharply, truly like an enlarged mantis, standing quietly in the corner, awaiting prey.
At this moment, Fang Shu maintained the stance while directing his attention to his mind.
He was methodically reviewing all the text that had emerged in the Dao talisman since killing Cheng Guanzi:
【Talisman Master has slain a First Calamity Essence Refining Immortal, obtaining an immortal cultivator system spirit. The Three Disasters Six Tribulations Eighteen Calamities system is thereby supplemented… supplementing…】
【First Calamity Long Tongue Sword has absorbed immortal cultivator system spirit essence blood. Per《Hundred Insects Blood Refining Health Preservation Secret Skill》text, named “Precious Blood”.
First Calamity Long Tongue Sword having consumed Precious Blood, is self-sacrificing and refining… Tongue Sword may feed back immortal cultivator Precious Blood to nourish Talisman Master’s physical body, accept?】
【Note: Talisman Master and Precious Blood are of the same species, same species spirits cannot consume each other, risk of madness.
Dare to ask Talisman Master: Precious Blood fed back by First Calamity Long Tongue Sword, reject? Guide into Dao Talisman?】
【Order received, guiding blood into talisman, Dao Talisman updating…】
Dense text, Fang Shu looked at it for a good while before reaching the end.
Its main content was two pieces of text, emerging one by one:
【Three Six Pill Method supplementation complete, Talisman Master pill method progress now measurable.
Current realm: Not Entered Stream（two tenths three parts）.
To First Tribulation Refining Essence Human Immortal realm, seven tenths seven parts.】
【Dao Talisman update complete,《Hundred Insects Blood Refining Health Preservation Secret Skill》analysis progress updated… remaining, five days three hours.】
Staring closely at the Dao talisman, joy emerged in Fang Shu’s heart.
The original Dao talisman could measure his lifespan, but had no overly direct description of his cultivation progress, especially the gap to the next realm.
He had thought this was due to the Dao talisman’s limited ability, after all what he obtained was only a Talisman of the Outer Disciple.
Unexpectedly, after slaying Cheng Guanzi and absorbing this fiend’s essence blood, the Dao talisman began supplementing itself, now able to directly show his cultivation progress.
But pondering this, Fang Shu’s mood calmed:
“Two tenths three parts, I still have seven tenths seven parts left before I can break through the barrier, attempting to become a First Calamity Immortal.”
And by now, it had been nearly two months since he entered the dojo for cultivation.
This was already the result of him taking quite a few medicines lately. Although later he mainly focused on sacrificing and refining the long tongue sword, somewhat neglecting his own cultivation, the gains in between could not be underestimated.
His brows furrowed slightly, thinking to himself:
“That is to say, with my spiritual root, if I want to temper to ten tenths, break through the barrier to refine essence.
It would truly take one or two years, no different from ordinary disciples in the dojo, even somewhat inferior.”
He immediately thought of the evaluation the Dojo Master had given him—lower-middle spiritual root.
However, Fang Shu was only downcast for a moment, then turned his attention back to the《Hundred Insects Blood Refining Health Preservation Secret Skill》analysis progress.
The two words “five days” immediately relaxed his brows.
Originally, the Precious Blood on Cheng Guanzi’s body, after being absorbed by the long tongue sword, made the long tongue sword overfull, then it attempted to feed back to Fang Shu.
But Fang Shu and the other were both human, same species cannot consume each other.
Fang Shu followed the Dao talisman’s suggestion, returning all the long tongue sword’s feedback to the Dao talisman.
In this way, nourished by essence blood, the Dao talisman began updating.
Now at the end of the update, the Dao talisman’s efficiency in analyzing secret scripts had greatly increased.
Fang Shu compared the remaining time before the transformation, discovering the current analysis efficiency was more than double the previous!
“Good!” he thought:
“Once the secret script analysis is complete, fully mastering the insect skill, my cultivation efficiency will be constantly at its optimal state!”
Immortal cultivator cultivation methods are quite mystical, not only allowing cultivation and body strengthening during learning.
After complete mastery, they further strengthen the immortal cultivator’s body, and the cultivator’s cultivation efficiency reaches personal maximum, with assistance during breakthrough.
This strengthening stops only when the immortal cultivator’s realm exceeds the cultivation method.
Additionally, some unique cultivation methods, after the cultivator fully masters them, have secret scripts manifesting on the body at all times, their effects like magic possessing the body, providing benefits to the cultivator.
For example, this insect skill in Du Gu Guan.
After Fang Shu fully masters it, his resistance to snakes and insects toxins will greatly increase, thereby helping him fearless of insect poisons daily, and even have a chance to endure the Scorpion Basin tribulation, successfully breaking through!
Expectation filled Fang Shu’s heart:
“Only five days left, and I can fully master the insect skill. At that time, my cultivation progress will surely be faster than before.”
For a moment, he was full of ambition, suddenly feeling the immortal path promising.
However, no matter how turbulent Fang Shu’s heart, on the surface he remained calm.
Having thoroughly reviewed the Dao talisman’s changes, he slowly opened his eyes, continuing to methodically temper his qi in the cultivation practice hall.
Time ticked by.
As the mist on the streets slowly dissipated, other disciples gradually arrived in the cultivation practice hall.
Li Hou Er that fellow sauntered in, spotted Fang Shu. As usual, he couldn’t help exclaiming in admiration at Fang Shu’s diligence, then immersed himself in cultivation.
Ha! Heh!
In an instant, the cultivation practice hall was filled with shouts, the atmosphere heated.
The disciples began their daily cultivation.
Fang Shu blended in, utterly unremarkable.
No one would know that last night he had gone out and secretly slain an immortal cultivator, with considerable gains.
