Chapter 159: The Supreme Treasures of the Jade Slip

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“Fool, what a fool! Oh, heavens, please drop a fool like that on me too!”

“He really thinks he got a great deal! He doesn’t even know that you have to be at the ancestor-level to cultivate spiritual sense. He deserved to be ripped off!”

“Haha…”

The waves of ridicule from behind them reached Qin Haoxuan’s ears, but he paid them no mind. In a way, he had indeed gotten a great deal; those people just didn’t know it. Right now, all he wanted to do was hurry back and learn how to use his spiritual sense.

Back in his room, he placed the Introduction to Spiritual Sense on the table and finally let out a sigh of relief. If all went well, after he learned how to use his spiritual sense, broke the restriction, studied The Great Art of Talismans, and refined a few life-saving talismans, the danger level of the “Entering the Mortal World” trial in twenty days would be greatly reduced.

Suddenly, a question occurred to Qin Haoxuan. “Why didn’t that disciple turn this book into the sect for contribution points? I remember the sect buys secret manuals.”

Ye Yiming looked at it and said, “This manual is tattered and incomplete, and it’s only the second half. It doesn’t have the method for cultivating spiritual sense. As for the application methods, they are all more or less the same. This manual is of no value to the sect; it’s normal that they wouldn’t accept it.”

Following the instructions in the manual, Qin Haoxuan began to condense the misty golden spiritual sense in his mind, combining it together to form a “Spiritual Imprint Array.” This array was countless times more solid than the crude “golden rods” he had been fumbling to create before, and it radiated a compelling aura. The small seal of light, like a miniature version of a Heavenly Seal, rotated and tumbled in his mind, exuding an extremely powerful might. According to the manual, as his spiritual sense grew stronger, this array would grow larger.

In other words, he could use this Spiritual Imprint Array like a brick to smash people, but as his spiritual sense strengthened, it would develop all sorts of other powers. Even if it had no other use, just using it to smash people was much better than his previous chaotic attacks.

After learning the basic application method, Qin Haoxuan finally understood why Elder Chu had looked at him with such disappointment when he had slept in class. It turned out these basic things were so useful.

Xing said to him with a serious expression, “Let’s begin. I will now tell you the basic principles of this restriction and how to break it.”

“Restrictions are an important subject within the study of arrays, and they are very common in our cultivation. Take the Aqueous Manor Token, for example. If I didn’t know how to break the ward, we would never have gotten it. Nine times out of ten, any good thing will be protected by a restriction. To break one, the key is to understand its principles… I will first explain the principles of this restriction, and then tell you how to use your spiritual sense to break it…”

It was rare for Xing to be so serious, and it actually made Qin Haoxuan feel a bit uncomfortable. But as his lecture deepened, he grew more and more astonished. This creature, who was usually a shameless joker, was an absolutely brilliant teacher, even better than Elder Chu. He explained profound concepts in simple terms, summarizing the easy parts concisely while patiently explaining the complex and important parts in detail.

“Whew, I didn’t realize it was this important. I have to study this properly,” Qin Haoxuan said with a long breath after Xing had taught him the method. The explanation alone had taken a full hour, and Qin Haoxuan had listened with rapt attention.

After the profound lecture on the world of arrays was finished, Qin Haoxuan said to Xing earnestly, “You must teach me more about arrays in the future!”

Xing rolled his eyes, made a gesture of counting spirit stones, and said, “The tuition is very expensive.”

Qin Haoxuan cleared his throat and said righteously, “Right now, you and I are grasshoppers on the same rope. If you don’t want to go back to the Netherworld and be hunted down, then you need my help to continue hiding. If something happens to me, do you think you can survive in the Taichu Sect?”

Xing glared at him with contempt, but he had to admit, the boy had a point. “But tuition is essential! Knowledge is a priceless treasure! If you offer a low price, you are insulting knowledge and will be punished by the heavens!”

Not bothering with Xing’s theatrics, Qin Haoxuan steadied his mind and prepared to break the restriction. Following Xing’s method, he condensed his golden, misty spiritual sense into numerous tiny, bean-sized Spiritual Imprint Arrays. He then arranged them into the shape of a sharp knife. This small knife, composed of many tiny arrays, emitted a faint golden light and a piercing blade qi.

He carefully began the process of breaking the restriction, following the steps Xing had taught him.

Half an hour… An hour… Two hours…

After three hours, a faint, azure light finally bloomed on the surface of the jade slip. The first layer of the restriction was finally broken. The moment it opened, Qin Haoxuan, having labored for three hours, collapsed onto his bed, completely exhausted, not even wanting to lift a finger.

After resting for a while, he sat up and, with an excited heart, once again sent his spiritual sense into the jade slip to begin reading The Great Art of Talismans.

The interior of the jade slip was like a wondrous small world. After exploring the first layer, he tried to go deeper but was met with another restriction, one that was completely different from the first and clearly much more advanced. Knowing that one shouldn’t bite off more than one can chew, he began to read the contents of the first layer. It recorded the methods for creating three talismans.

The first was the Thousand-Mile Talisman. This was a type of Godspeed Talisman, but it was far superior to ordinary ones in every aspect, from its number of uses to the speed it granted.

The second was the Black Tortoise Talisman. Its description was a single sentence: Can block the attack of an early-stage Spirit Tree Realm expert!

The third was the Wolf’s Edge Talisman. Its description was also a single sentence: Can unleash the power of an early-stage Spirit Tree Realm expert!

After reading the descriptions of these three talismans, Qin Haoxuan, who had been filled with unease, was suddenly ecstatic. These were exactly what he needed to have a chance against the Spirit Tree Realm’s Master Chi Lian. And with the Thousand-Mile Talisman, he would have a way to escape.

The heavens have taken pity on me! he thought. If he could refine these three talismans, his chances of survival would increase dramatically. He eagerly read on to see the required materials and methods.

“Black Tortoise Talisman: requires the shell of a hundred-year-old Black Tortoise as the talisman catalyst, and mutton-fat jade as the talisman body…” The moment he read this, his heart sank.

He didn’t know the value of mutton-fat jade, but he knew about Black Tortoises. Elder Chu had mentioned them before. They were true demons that lived by the sea, thousands of li away. Even if he could find one, how could he possibly defeat a hundred-year-old demon with his current cultivation? He’d be lucky to escape with his life.

“Well, what is it?” Xing asked, seeing Qin Haoxuan’s dark expression.

“There’s a Black Tortoise Talisman that can block a full-power attack from an early-stage Spirit Tree Realm expert.”

Xing clicked his tongue in amazement. “This Great Art of Talismans of yours is really something. What kind of materials does it require?”

“The shell of a hundred-year-old Black Tortoise as a catalyst…”

“Ugh… as expected of a Spirit Tree Realm level talisman…” Xing was taken aback, but he quickly suggested, “The last time I was at your sect’s market, I saw a lot of good things. Maybe you can buy a Black Tortoise shell there.”

Qin Haoxuan shook his head and sighed. “It would be too expensive. And it’s not guaranteed they’d even have one.”

“Are there any other talismans?” Ye Yiming, who had been listening, asked. “Just the one?”

“There are two others. One is the Wolf’s Edge Talisman, which is equivalent to a full-power attack from an early-stage Spirit Tree Realm expert.”

Ye Yiming frowned thoughtfully. “The materials for defensive talismans are usually rarer. Perhaps the materials for this offensive one will be easier to find.”

“Mm, let me see the materials for the Wolf’s Edge Talisman,” Qin Haoxuan said. He sent his spiritual sense back into the slip.

After glancing at the long list of materials, he let out another helpless sigh. “It needs the claws and teeth of a demon wolf as a catalyst. And it also has to be a hundred-year-old demon.”