Chapter 303: Talisman Manual

Before long, all movement within the cave dwelling ceased; all the demon cultivators had been killed.

The princess's complexion was a deadly shade of white. Although the demons who were killed weren’t of the fox race, they could still be considered her kin to a certain extent. So, when she saw so many casualties among her kind, her eyes began to well up with hatred.

"It really is here," said Fang Chen, looking at the pit in front of him. There was a relieved smile on his face. He then prompted Jiang Zhong to retrieve the jade box from the pit on his behalf.

If it weren't for his ability to leave his body with his divine soul, he wouldn't have noticed this jade box.

The jade box temporarily caught the princess's attention. She was perplexed; how did the sword cultivator know where it was? What was even inside it?

Jiang Zhong opened the jade box.

"Sect Leader Fang, there is a talisman manual inside,” he said, handing it to Fang Chen with a solemn expression.

The princess was struck dumb for a moment.

A talisman manual? Could it be...?

Fang Chen took out the manual from the box and began to flip through it with great concentration.

This manual described three yellow rank mid-grade talismans. The first was the Binding Talisman, the second was the True Fire Talisman, and the third was an Illusion Talisman. These three talismans were highly valued in the Fox Clan.

Demon King Tianfeng had been afraid that he might encounter any mishaps outside and end up losing the inheritance, so he left it here. It was his effort at curbing any contingencies.

Fang Chen had predicted this, that was why he wanted to raid his room in the first place.

Closing the manual, Fang Chen sighed. "It looks like it’s really much more difficult to craft yellow rank, mid-grade talismans than to craft low-grade ones."

The simplest talisman of the three was the Illusion Talisman, which created illusions around where it was used, up to a certain range. It could evoke fear in the hearts of those who it’s thrown at, causing them to perish under their own fears.

The True Fire Talisman was slightly more difficult to craft than the Illusion Talisman. But the most challenging one to craft had to be the Binding Talisman. It was complex and required one to have a decent one to have a certain amount of experience under their belt in order to craft it.

"Stay in this room for the next few days.” said Fang to the princess, pointing at the room. “Try not to come out unless absolutely necessary.”

"Alright.” the princess nodded expressionlessly and crossed to enter the room.

Jiang Zhong expressed some concern. “Do we have to stay here for several days, Sect Leader Fang?”

"It'll be alright. They wouldn't expect me to come here. It’ll take them sometime if they want to find us,” said Fang Chen. “I’ll be busy refining some yellow rank, mid-grade talismans for the next few days.”

Jiang Zhong nodded heavily, still looking somewhat worried. He wasn't afraid for his own safety, he was most concerned about Jiang Tianai; he didn't want her to be faced with any dangers.

However, considering their previous predicament, where they had been constantly pursued by the Spirit Blood Sect, this was a turn for the better.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Fang Chen took out all the spiritual materials he had acquired. Many types of spiritual materials and treasures were laid out. Little Sword began to feast on the extravagant meal with indulgence, very eager.

"Little Chen, this is so delicious! I feel like I’m getting stronger again,” gushed Little Sword as it wolfed down the spiritual materials.

Fang Chen could sense that was becoming more and more intelligent. It sounded like a teenager now.

"Eat as much as you want.” Fang Chen chuckled. “How far are we from reaching the third rank of the sword body?"

"We’re still far off,” Little Sword said. “I’ll need at least twenty or so meals like this."

Twenty?

Fang Chen sighed inwardly.

This one meal has already cost me over ten thousand low-grade spirit stones. That’s way too extravagant even for a Golden Core Realm cultivator.

Little Sword was really quite the glutton.

An hour later, Little Sword finally became full and satisfied, swirling around Fang Chen like a nimble silverfish. Its length had reached nearly three inches, resembling a dagger. Correspondingly, its attack power had also increased slightly.

Fang Chen merged with Little Sword and began to have a feel for the sword body, and he suddenly felt that the over ten thousand low-grade spirit stones were not in vain. The sword body’s strength had increased by at least one point. That was equivalent to a cultivator at the twelfth stage of the Qi Refining Realm!

Fang Chen began crafting an Illusion Talisman in the following days, and he almost immediately learned how difficult it was. Despite the stability enhancement of the new talisman brush and the substantial amount of spiritual energy he had, his hand couldn't stop trembling as he drew.

He had tried many times and failed many times, yet he couldn’t even achieve a ten percent completion before he failed.

The talisman materials he had were dwindling quickly—he had already lost one-tenth worth of two thousand low-grade spirit stones’ materials. Yet, he still hadn't succeeded in drawing a single Illusion Talisman.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

During these five days, Fang Chen's spiritual energy had been depleted dozens of times, yet his reserves became increasingly abundant. Even though he hadn’t advanced to the Foundation Building Realm, the increase in his spiritual energy seemed endless. Comparatively, the spiritual energy of over a dozen cultivators at the twelfth stage of Qi Refining combined couldn't match his rich and vigorous spiritual energy.

Fang Chen had made significant progress on the Illusion Talisman. He could even reach ninety percent completion now, so as long as he mastered the remaining ten percent, he would be able to successfully complete his very first Illusion Talisman.

Finally after several days of being immobilized, Fang Chen heard Xia Ji speak, with much difficulty.

"F-Fang... Da...."

Fang Chen immediately put down his brush and crossed over to Xia Ji's side. "Has the effect of the Binding Talisman worn off?”

"I... I feel... much better..."

Xia Ji still spoke with some difficulty, his fingers trembling slightly.

"Don't worry, it should probably completely wear off in an hour or two," said Fang Chen with a smile. Although his combat power was extremely strong, he still couldn't dissolve the effect of the Binding Talisman. All he could do was wait for its effect to dissipate on its own.

Two hours later, Xia Ji suddenly slumped to the ground, breathing a long sigh of relief.

"That was suffocating....."

"Haha, how do you feel?" asked Fang Chen.

"Tired. Fortunately, I managed to sleep through it a few times." Xia Ji chuckled bitterly, then looked at Fang Chen with raised brows. "Fang Da, when did you start cultivating?"

"About a year ago.”

"A year ago?!" Xia Ji's eyes widened in astonishment. "You've only been cultivating for a year until now!?"

Fang Chen nodded slightly. "More or less."

"You're really a monster!” Xia Ji's expression kept shifting erratically. “In just one year, you were able to kill Demon King Tianfeng?! He's at the mid-stage of the Foundation Building Realm! No, he's not an ordinary mid-stage Foundation Building Realm cultivator either. He can battle three cultivators of the same level!"

Fang Chen showed a smile. "It's complicated."

Xia Ji sighed. "I understand. There are indeed some things in the cultivation world that are hard to talk about. No wonder Tao Yu contacted me earlier, saying that your martial cultivation had already recovered. It turns out that you were a cultivator."

"Brother, how many people do you still have in the capital?" asked Fang Chen with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Xia Ji chuckled. "Can't say, can't say. Just know that they're nothing compared to your Hidden Courtyard."

"Let's leave it at that," Fang Chen smiled and then shifted the topic with a serious expression. "How much do you know about the Spirit Blood Sect?"