Chapter 138 - 134: Qi Blood Perpetuation
In the morning, Li Yuan retrieved the scroll from his storage bag—the one Captain Wang had given him containing the method for making talisman paper from herbs—and spread it across the tabletop.
The contents on the beast hide were divided into two parts.
The first half explained the principles.
The stalks and leaves of Spirit Grass contain a large amount of plant fibers, and these fibers themselves carry a faint Spiritual Power.
By chopping, crushing, and soaking the Spirit Grass in a specially made medicinal solution, the fibers would soften under the solution’s effects, realign themselves, and finally be pressed into thin sheets. Once these sheets were dried, they became herb-based talisman paper.
Compared to ordinary beast-hide talisman paper, herb-based talisman paper had better spiritual conductivity. This was especially true for paper made from Wood Attribute Spirit Grass, which would significantly increase the success rate when drawing Wood Element Talismans.
The second half was the specific production process.
Step one, harvesting. Select Tier One Low Grade Spirit Grass. Take the stalks and large leaves, but not the roots or tender shoots.
Step two, chopping and soaking. Chop the Spirit Grass into fingernail-sized pieces and soak them in fresh water for an hour to remove surface dirt and impurities.
Step three, potion soak. Remove the pieces from the water and soak them in a prepared Shaping Potion for four hours. The Shaping Potion’s recipe was simple, requiring only the mixed juices of two common herbs that could both be found in the herb garden.
Step four, mashing and pressing. After soaking, remove the pieces and mash them into a pulp in a stone mortar. Pour the pulp onto a flat stone slab and press it flat with another stone slab, controlling the thickness to be about that of two sheets of Cyan Pattern Paper stacked together.
Step five, drying. Place the pressed thin sheets in a well-ventilated area to air-dry naturally. This should take about a day.
The process wasn’t complex, nor was it very difficult.
Li Yuan rolled up the beast hide, put it away, and left his stone house.
The herb plots on the outskirts of the herb garden were planted with a large and diverse variety of Tier One Low Grade Spirit Grass. Li Yuan walked a lap along the stone railing, selected a few stalks of Cyan Spirit Grass with thick stems and wide leaves, and snapped them off three inches above the root, taking the stalks and large leaves.
When the stalks of the Cyan Spirit Grass were broken, they oozed a few drops of pale green, slightly sticky juice with a faint, grassy smell.
Li Yuan picked a few more, gathering a small bundle.
Then he went to another herb plot and found the two types of herbs needed to prepare the Shaping Potion, picking a handful of each.
Returning to the open space in front of his stone house, he used a stone mortar to crush the two herbs into juice, mixed it with some fresh water, and stirred. The potion was ready. It was light brown and had a slightly bitter smell.
Just as he was about to start chopping the Cyan Spirit Grass, he heard footsteps behind him.
Steward Wang walked down the slope, a document in his hand. He paused for a moment when he saw Li Yuan squatting on the ground, fiddling with the herbs.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to make herb-based talisman paper."
Steward Wang grunted in acknowledgment but didn’t say more on the matter. He walked over and stood in front of Li Yuan.
"That herb for you, it’s been approved."
He handed over the document. It bore the seal of the Talisman Hall and stated that the requisition of one stalk of Strengthening Grass was approved, to be paid for by deducting the corresponding Contribution Points.
"Come with me to pick it."
The two walked up the slope and circled around to the inner side of the fence.
The Strengthening Grass was still in its original spot. Its stalk was a vibrant green, and the silvery fuzz on the edges of its leaves glimmered in the sunlight.
Steward Wang bent down to inspect it. After confirming its condition was normal, he nodded at Li Yuan.
"Pull it. Pull the whole thing out, roots and all. Don’t break the rootlets."
Li Yuan squatted down and cupped his hands around the soil at the base of the Strengthening Grass. A translucent system panel popped up, but Li Yuan ignored it.
A trickle of Spiritual Power seeped out, loosening the soil around the rootlets. Then, he slowly pulled upward.
The rootlets came out of the soil bit by bit, the long, thin tendrils completely intact. A few clumps of damp earth still clung to their tips.
The entire plant was uprooted.
Li Yuan gently shook the dirt from the Strengthening Grass, wrapped it in a piece of Oil Paper, and put it in his storage bag.
Steward Wang watched him put the herb away, then turned and shouted down the slope.
"Everyone, over here! We’re having a meeting."
His voice wasn’t loud, but everyone in the several stone houses up and down the herb garden heard it.
Cultivator Zhou emerged from the western stone house, and Cultivator Feng stood up from beside the stove. The Pill Refiner on the upper slope also poked his head out, hesitated, then came down as well.
There were two other people as well.
Li Yuan hadn’t seen them before.
Two Cultivators approached from the direction of the northern slope of the herb garden. They walked quickly, their clothes stained with withered leaves and dirt, looking as if they had just emerged from the forest.
The one in front was twenty-six or twenty-seven, of medium, slightly thin build, with a dark complexion and sharp eyes. His aura was at the Qi Refining Fifth Level. The one behind him was a bit older, in his early thirties, with broad shoulders. He walked with a steady gait, his footsteps nearly silent on the gravel.
’Qi Refining Sixth Level.’
Li Yuan gave the man in the back a second glance.
Not because of his Cultivation, but because of the way he walked. His weight was distributed with extreme evenness as his feet landed, knees slightly bent, as if ready to exert force or change direction at any moment. The muscles of his forearms were faintly visible under his cuffs, unlike a Cultivator who relied solely on Spiritual Power.
’He looks like he practices a Body Refining Technique.’
The two walked into the open area and cupped their fists toward Steward Wang.
"Steward Wang."
Steward Wang nodded at them and explained to the others.
"These two are the herb garden’s scout cultivators. Like you, they’re responsible for standing guard, but they work on a rotational basis. They usually patrol and scout the periphery, on a different schedule from us permanent guards."
He then jutted his chin toward Li Yuan.
"This is Li Yuan, a Talisman Maker sent by the Talisman Hall. He doesn’t need to go out scouting; he’ll just stay here and make Talismans."
After the introductions, the younger of the two scout cultivators took a marked beast-hide map from his robes and spread it on the stone surface next to the stove.
"We have intel."
He pointed to a location on the beast-hide map with his finger.
"We discovered traces of activity in a valley about seven or eight li northwest of the herb garden. Footprints, residual Spiritual Power. The traces are no more than two days old, so someone must have set up camp there recently."
He drew a circle around the location.
"The area isn’t small, about two to three li deep from front to back. We didn’t dare go too deep, just looked around the periphery. We can confirm signs of activity from at least three to five people."
Steward Wang squatted down to look at the map.
"People from the Li family?"
"Not sure." The young Cultivator shook his head. "We didn’t see any Li family markings, but the location isn’t far from the herb garden, and the previous groups of Cultivators who harassed us came from the northwest. The direction matches."
The scout cultivator who practiced the Body Refining Technique, who had been silent until now, spoke up, his voice low.
"It’s probably the base camp of the group that’s been harassing us."
The clearing fell silent for two breaths.
Steward Wang straightened up and scanned the group.
"Do we strike tonight or not?"
Cultivator Zhou was the first to answer, his tone decisive.
"Strike. We’re being too passive, letting them probe us at our doorstep every day. Now that we know their location, it would be wrong not to check it out."
Cultivator Feng hesitated for a moment, then nodded as well.
"It’s no solution to keep being harassed like this. If we can find their nest, we can at least stir things up and let them know they aren’t the only ones who can be a nuisance."
The young scout cultivator added,
"The area is a bit large, but as long as we conceal our auras and approach carefully, we can scout the periphery first. We can decide whether to fight after that."
Steward Wang’s gaze turned to Li Yuan.
"Can you make a few Concealing Breath Talismans?"
"As many as you need."
Li Yuan paused, then added,
"I also have a Concealing Breath Jade Pendant. I can use it with a medicinal solution to create a Concealing Breath Spirit Liquid. The concealing effect lasts longer than a Concealing Breath Talisman."
"But it requires specific herbs. I don’t know if you have them here."
Steward Wang’s eyes lit up.
"Excellent!" He slapped his thigh. "Just tell me what herbs you need."
"Then it’s settled. Li Yuan will stay behind to make the Concealing Breath Talismans and the Concealing Breath Spirit Liquid. Everyone else who can fight will go tonight. Two people are enough to stay and guard the herb garden."
He turned his head to look at the Pill Refiner and Cultivator Feng.
"You two will stay behind."
The Pill Refiner breathed a sigh of relief. Cultivator Feng nodded.
After the meeting dismissed, Li Yuan returned to his stone house.
He closed the door and put aside the task of making herb-based talisman paper. The Concealing Breath Talismans and Concealing Breath Spirit Liquid were what was urgently needed tonight.
He took out gray concealing-breath talisman paper and dark silver Spiritual Ink from his storage bag, spreading them on the desk.
He dipped the Jade Cloud Talisman Brush in the dark silver Spiritual Ink and put the brush to paper.
The Concealment Pattern started with a heavy stroke and ended with a light one, gathering Spiritual Power from the outside in. He had practiced this reverse flow of Spiritual Power many times. Although he wasn’t an expert yet, his success rate had been steadily increasing since he grasped the basics.
After making the Concealing Breath Talismans, he moved on to the Concealing Breath Spirit Liquid. Steward Wang had already delivered the necessary herbs while he was making the talismans.
Li Yuan rummaged in the depths of his storage bag and took out the Concealing Breath Jade Pendant.
He chopped the herbs, placed them in a small porcelain bowl, and infused it with Spiritual Power to force the juices out. Then, he placed the Concealing Breath Jade Pendant in the bowl, using his Spiritual Power to guide the residual concealing energy from the jade into the medicinal solution.
The solution’s color gradually deepened from light brown to dark gray, and a very faint gray mist rose from its surface.
’Concealing Breath Spirit Liquid.’
Li Yuan poured the liquid into several small porcelain vials and stoppered them.
When applied to the body, it could conceal one’s aura for about four hours. The effect was more durable than a Concealing Breath Talisman, but it was a one-time use item.
After everything was prepared, Li Yuan placed the Concealing Breath Talismans and the Spirit Liquid on the side of his desk, ready to be distributed that night.
Then, he took out the Strengthening Grass, which was wrapped in Oil Paper, from his storage bag.
He unwrapped the Oil Paper. The complete Strengthening Grass lay in his palm. Its stalk was a vibrant green, and the silvery fuzz on the edges of its leaves glinted in the light of the room. The rootlets were long and slender, still dotted with a few clumps of soil.
’Now, it’s mine.’
The moment his fingertip touched the stalk of the Strengthening Grass, the panel popped up.
[Detectable equippable item: Strengthening Grass (Complete)]
[Trait Preview: Enduring Qi Blood (Green) — Qi Blood state does not decline with decreasing lifespan]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Unblock all meridians in the body and simultaneously form a complete circulation of Qi Blood throughout all meridians within your body.]
[Current Equipment Slots (5/5). Replace currently equipped item?]
’A green trait.’
’Enduring Qi Blood.’
Li Yuan read the information on the panel twice.
It had only one effect: one’s Qi Blood state would not decline with decreasing lifespan.
A Cultivator’s Qi Blood begins to decline around the age of forty. The higher one’s Cultivation, the later this decline begins, but it is inevitable. By the age of one hundred, a cultivator wouldn’t even have half of their peak Qi Blood left.
After making ’Abundant Qi Blood’ permanent, his Qi Blood cap had increased by thirty percent, and its enhancement effect had also risen by ten percent. But no matter how abundant his Qi Blood was, if it naturally declined with age, all that accumulation would eventually diminish.
This trait directly canceled the decline itself.
The effect was extremely powerful, but it was long-term; there would be no discernible difference in the short run.
There were two conditions for making it permanent.
First, unblock all the meridians in the body.
After reaching Minor Achievement in the Microelement Meridian Introduction Skill, he had already unblocked all the meridians in his body. This condition should already be met.
Second, form a complete circulation of Qi Blood throughout all meridians within the body.
Li Yuan frowned.
’A complete circulation of Qi Blood.’
He knew that Spiritual Power had a complete circulation. When a Cultivation Technique was active, Spiritual Power would leave the Dantian, travel through all the meridians in the body, and then return to the Dantian. That was one cycle.
’But what was a complete circulation of Qi Blood?’
The path of Qi Blood was different from that of Spiritual Power. Spiritual Power traveled through the meridians. Qi Blood traveled through the meridians, but also through blood vessels and fascia. The five stances of the Nourishing Essence Skill made Qi Blood circulate along specific routes, but that wasn’t a complete circulation through all meridians, just a few paths dictated by the Cultivation Technique.
Throughout all meridians meant that Qi Blood had to travel through every major, minor, and micro-meridian in the entire body, just like Spiritual Power, forming a complete cycle.
Li Yuan was silent for a few breaths.
He had never heard of Qi Blood being able to perform a complete circulation like Spiritual Power. Qi Blood had its own path, and Spiritual Power had its own path. Although both used the same network of channels in the meridians, their methods of operation were completely different.
Li Yuan rewrapped the Strengthening Grass in the Oil Paper and stored it deep within his storage bag.
’Can’t equip it for now. My equipment slots are full, and I don’t have a clue about the second permanence condition.’
’I’ll set it aside for now.’
The sky outside hadn’t darkened yet. There were still a few hours until the night raid.
Li Yuan walked to his desk, sat down, spread out a sheet of talisman paper, and continued to draw Fireball Talismans.
He dipped his Jade Cloud Talisman Brush in Spiritual Ink and set the tip to paper.
The six Spirit Patterns were drawn in a single, fluid motion.