Chapter 216

Chapter 216: The Transformation of Purple Crystals

Li Hui originally planned to craft talismans, but he suddenly froze, reaching into the Bamboo Box to rummage around.

Not long after, his fingers felt as if they had been bitten, and he quickly pulled them back, his expression shifting between confusion and concern. “What’s strange? Why have twenty purple crystals turned into two hundred? They maintain the same size. Senior Sister Yue said they are the remnants left behind during the transformation from high-grade Miao Jade to supreme Miao Jade. What does it mean for their numbers to increase? Moreover, the gold and fire Miao Jade has been completely consumed—what on earth is going on?”

Within the Bamboo Box, the spiritual energy didn’t increase, but the purple crystals had indeed given birth to many offspring. Furthermore, when Li Hui tried to take out a purple crystal for a closer inspection, he discovered they were arranged in the Initial Array of the treasure cabinet. His finger struck painfully against the box, and he wondered who could explain what was happening.

He focused, consulting texts, yet found nothing similar. One thing was clear: the original twenty purple crystals were vibrant and colorful. Now, the two hundred purple crystals in the box had a more singular hue, mostly varying between deep red, light red, deep green, and light green. The center of each purple crystal showed different shades, but the vibrant colors were no longer visible.

“Forming the Initial Array with Miao Jade, placing the Spiritual Seed at the center to activate it—that’s the key.”

“The problem lies in my using the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays to replace the Spiritual Seed. I cannot activate the Initial Array but can only manipulate the Miao Jade with basic spiritual energy!” He pondered, “Could this mysterious depth be achieved through coincidence with the purple crystals?”

“No, it’s not fully formed.” Li Hui shook his head in denial. “If the treasure cabinet really were complete, it would produce various wonders and provide the first true adjustment for my body. These two hundred purple crystals operating in the Initial Array still can’t meet the requirements. The Hydrangea asked me to gather Miao Jade, implying a vast minimum amount. Is it possible that a lack of Miao Jade is why I can’t activate it successfully? This seems very likely…”

Just then, the purple crystal array began to exert a pulling force, drawing the Jade Heart of the Earth Court, which was also stored in the Bamboo Box, towards it.

“What’s going on?”

Before Li Hui could react, the two hundred fist-sized purple crystals began to rotate and crashed into the Jade Heart, creating a "ding ding" sound.

It was as if two hundred strong men were bullying a frail youth.

The Jade Heart had a noble origin and didn’t suffer any damage; however, feeling its dignity challenged, it surely wouldn’t let this go easily. It immediately released a faint greenish light, surging into the array with great vigor.

The two hundred purple crystals suddenly changed formation, beginning to orbit the Jade Heart, slowly absorbing the greenish light it emanated.

Li Hui understood at this point; it all boiled down to a lack of a core. Realization dawned on him: “The Heavenly and Earthly Arrays only use the treasure cabinet array as a filter to absorb spiritual energy. The two aren’t integrated into one. These purple crystals have indeed connected the array to a core. However, this is useless to me; I need the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays to link with the Jade Heart to truly replace the Spiritual Seed.”

“How can I establish that connection?”

“Sympathy Talismans? No, they can’t be used on objects; they are typically used to enhance connections between people.”

“Wave-Nauseating Yuan Talisman? No good either; it helps to blend different Miao Jade’s spiritual energy. Purple crystals are purple crystals and can’t be treated like ordinary Miao Jade.”

Li Hui thought of dozens of talismans and kept dismissing them, feeling increasingly frustrated at their inability to connect the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays with the Jade Heart. Just then, he remembered how the Cold Armor Emperor froze eighteen tracking talismans together to create the Dragon Roar Whisker Symbol. The way the ink penetrated and froze to form beautiful patterns left a deep impression on him.

“Dragon Roar Whisker Symbol?” With this thought, he became unstoppable, repeatedly recalling the Dragon Roar Whisker Symbol, hurriedly taking out talisman paper and talisman ink to draw it based on memory.

Even with the enhancement of the silver snake bracelet, it remained extremely challenging to draw the Dragon Roar Whisker Symbol in one go.

After failing one paper after another, only on the twentieth attempt did it seem somewhat promising. The talisman paper shimmered with faint silver light, yet eventually transformed into a wisp of green smoke and became ineffective. This talisman didn’t match up, and the silver snake bracelet seemed clueless about which direction to assist him.

“Wait, don’t rush to copy the Dragon Roar Whisker Symbol.” Li Hui set down the talisman brush and pondered, “Eighteen tracking talismans froze together to transform into the treasure-level Dragon Roar Whisker Symbol. Is there a way to reach an agreement through this process so that the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays can run independently while being able to be embedded within the treasure cabinet array at any time?”

“I need to think carefully. The Dragon Roar Whisker Symbol is the culmination of tracking talismans. Since it can draw out the vast elemental energy and true energy stored within the Nine-Nine Scatter Yuan Gourd, it should also be able to activate the treasure cabinet array.”

“Cycle, split, operate independently, draw talismans!”

“I need to draw the talismans on the surface of the Jade Heart and ensure the talisman power completely penetrates…”

Li Hui immersed himself in design, and upon finding direction, he immediately took up his brush to try.

He continued to draw the Dragon Roar Whisker Symbol, and soon hundreds of talisman papers lay torn on the ground beneath him, only sensing he was a hair’s breadth away from success.

“It will definitely succeed; as long as I find the right feel, the silver snake bracelet can expand the talisman methods.” Suppressing his impatience, he skillfully maneuvered the brush, as he reached a thousand pieces of talisman paper used, the paper’s surface suddenly shimmered with silver light.

With a light tremor, the silver light twisted and adjusted the strokes.

Li Hui watched intensely as the silver light retracted, and the talisman formed into Nine Patterns Three Exotics.

On the back of this talisman appeared nine dragon whisker-like patterns, initially red, quickly shifting to silver, then transforming into gold, representing the Three Exotics in its designs.

This talisman was already incredibly close to the treasure level, but it still wasn’t a treasure talisman. Even with the assistance of the silver snake bracelet, he couldn’t break through that barrier.

Next, Li Hui pondered for a moment before picking up his brush again.

He began to pour his energy into drawing tracking talismans, searching for commonalities between the tracking talismans and the Dragon Roar Whisker Symbol. Even though the tracking talismans reached the level of Nine Patterns Three Exotics with the enhancement of the silver snake bracelet, they were inherently different, differing both in power and impact range.

Li Hui tried again, showing no concern for consumption.

As each talisman paper broke and was rendered useless, he appeared to engage in futile effort, but in reality, he gained more clarity in his heart. Until sounds of explosions echoed outside, where the Demon Cultivating Army clashed with the Nine Sky beasts, he finally set down the brush after exhausting almost all of his blank talisman papers and talisman ink!

“Hahaha, just look at me, Li Yingjun! I’m not only decent-looking, but my mind is also sharp. With both appearance and wisdom, I’m stellar! After all this hard work, I’ve finally learned successfully, understanding the Cold Armor Emperor’s method of freezing talismans with frost.”

“Simplifying talisman methods is the trend; I just need to follow the flow. On the surface, it seems mystical, but in reality, it’s not that complicated.”

“Ha! High-level demon cultivators are still high-level; what the Cold Armor Emperor can achieve from a high vantage point doesn’t mean I can match it right now.” Li Hui closed his eyes to rest, and after a moment opened them to begin preparation, taking out the rare materials he had collected along the way and removing the powder made from the Conch of the Ascending Record.

He hesitated for a moment, then made the final decision to take the plunge.