Chapter 213

Chapter 213: Rune-making

Little White slept in Zhou Luo’s own room; he had deliberately built a resting place for this little guy.

The pure white little creature lay there with even breathing, emitting a light glow all over its body.

This glow was not spiritual light but an effect generated by Illusionary Power.

If touched carelessly, one would be affected by the Illusionary Power.

Probably, this was counted as Little White’s self-preservation method.

Therefore, Zhou Luo couldn’t let Shi Yi and the others touch this guy, which even led to their dissatisfaction.

Zhou Luo approached Little White; because he possessed the Beast Taming Technique, he also mastered numerous beast-taming techniques and methods.

When he raised his right hand, a stream of pure spiritual energy altered as his lips moved slightly; the spiritual energy landed on Little White’s body, penetrated that glow, and entered deep within.

Zhou Luo slightly closed his eyes and released his mental strength.

In the hundred skills of cultivation, no matter what the skill, it was inseparable from mental strength.

Even in battle, mental strength was a reliable offensive capability.

But tempering mental strength was a perilous matter.

Because the consciousness sea in the brain was the most vulnerable spot; unless one became a Golden Core master and condensed the Golden Core, would they gain the ability to temper mental strength freely and fearlessly.

Prior to that, cultivators had to proceed cautiously with each tempering session.

Zhou Luo held multiple skills; each time he acquired one, his mental strength only changed marginally—otherwise, with the skills he controlled now, his mental strength might have exceeded that of some Foundation Establishment strong persons.

Even so, his mental strength remained formidable.

Because earlier at Qinyuan Sect, he had once tempered his own mental strength.

That kind, using illusions to simulate scenarios for practice, required setup by at minimum a Third Level Formation Master.

From this, the powerful foundation of Qinyuan Sect could be seen.

So why did everyone aim desperately to squeeze into the Immortal Gate?

Because, unlike these ordinary forces such as long-life families, only powerful Immortal Sects with strong foundations could grant cultivators varied enhancements, making their progress faster.

Individuals of equal talent—one in an Immortal Sect, one in a long-life family.

The former’s training speed would be five times or higher than the latter’s—this was the gap.

With mental strength descending, aided by the stream of pure spiritual energy, Zhou Luo successfully observed Little White’s internal structure.

Although Little White was a Third Level Spirit Beast, as it still occupied the first level state, Zhou Luo could inspect it.

Within his vision, inside Little White, lay only a misty glow.

As he delved deeper into the glow, he witnessed a lake-like expanse of turquoise blue "water".

It was termed lake water but was actually solid Illusionary Power condensed into form.

The structure of the Snow Mountain Spirit Cat differed from common magical beasts; that lake was equal to the Qi sea in humans, and those "waters" constituted the power source.

Now, this lake brimmed full, even overflowing.

This was why a glow emanated over its body.

These details Zhou Luo had only come to know after mastering the Beast Taming Technique.

Little White remained in deep slumber likely because it couldn’t fully absorb the Illusionary Power yet.

Generally, the growth of a Spirit Beast was inseparable from sleep.

When they approached a breakthrough, sleep greatly aided them in steadily absorbing power from the heavens and the earth, allowing for a silent transformation.

This aspect was actually different from humans.

Zhou Luo estimated that once all this Illusionary Power was absorbed, Little White should step into its adult stage.

Spirit Beasts were classified into four stages: juvenile stage, adult stage, mature stage, and peak stage.

Typically, a Spirit Beast needed at least a century to progress from the juvenile stage to the adult stage, with more powerful ones requiring even longer.

For Little White, a Third Level Spirit Beast, to reach the adult stage would also likely take around a hundred years.

But this was the duration under normal growth conditions. Currently, Little White had devoured so much Illusionary Power that the time needed to reach adulthood would substantially shorten.

As a beast tamer, Zhou Luo calculated it would take at most over the course of thirty years to step into the adult stage, possessing the strength of a Second Level Spirit Beast.

This meant Little White would remain asleep for at least another three decades.

Of course, he also had methods to rouse it; he only needed to help it expend that Illusionary Power.

Zhou Luo felt it wasn’t immediately necessary, however. Thirty years wasn’t overly long. Since no life threats were present, letting it remain asleep was acceptable.

Retracting his mental strength, Zhou Luo took out a formation disc and arranged a Gathering Spirit Array around Little White.

Spirit Beasts constantly absorb spiritual energy from the world too; though sleeping, Little White was continuously assimilating surrounding energy.

With this Gathering Spirit Array in place, he anticipated it could expedite the creature’s awakening.

After settling these matters, Zhou Luo exited the room.

In the days that followed, Zhou Luo didn’t invest his focus into the Beast Taming Technique.

When it came down to it, this skill was merely auxiliary; the aspects truly worth emphasis were formations and talismans.

These two disciplines had proven exceptionally vital during the Longfeng Mountain range expedition.

Especially the skill of formations, which had repeatedly rescued him from peril and enabled him to acquire numerous treasures.

Currently, his proficiency in formations kept growing increasingly adept.

Thus, he resolved to concentrate his efforts on talismans.

Spiritual symbols / talismans were always key offensive capabilities for cultivators.

Yet these items weren’t cheap. As consumables, they were hard to adopt as a primary offensive strategy without considerable resources.

Back then, Zhou Luo’s bombardment using top-quality symbols had been nothing short of a crushing, overwhelming attack.

Now, his supply of spiritual symbols / talismans was nearly depleted; he needed to prepare more in advance.

Top-quality symbols / talismans, especially.

Although Lin Xuanfeng was keeping tabs on him now, Zhou Luo possessed several concealment techniques.

Purchasing some talisman-making materials shouldn’t attract the attention of the Lin Family.

Selling loot, however, was definitely not feasible within Maple Leaf City.

With Lin Xuanfeng’s intelligence, if goods from Hehuan Sect disciples or cultivators who vanished in the Longfeng Mountain range flooded the market, suspicion would inevitably point towards him.

This feeling of being suspected was truly unpleasant; it made everything inconvenient.

Pushing aside these thoughts, Zhou Luo donned the mask and left the Lin Family compound.

As expected, the moment he stepped out, the agents Lin Xuanfeng had sent quietly tailed him.

Zhou Luo aimlessly walked the streets, constantly shifting his route. Finally, at a corner turn, he swiftly swapped masks entirely and changed his entire outfit.

By the time the trailing agents passed the spot, the target was long gone.

They hurried back to report the loss to Lin Xuanfeng.

Zhou Luo paid it no mind. He was just buying talisman-making materials. Even if Lin Xuanfeng sensed his activity, he wouldn’t suspect this particular purchase.

Shaking off the followers and now sporting a middle-aged appearance, Zhou Luo headed straight for the city’s largest market, making a beeline for the general goods store.

"Proprietor, I want to make a purchase."

Upon entering, Zhou Luo addressed the middle-aged man leisurely resting within, his altered voice emanating deep and gruff across the shop.

The mask not only altered appearance but also the user’s voice.

The shopkeeper rose and approached the counter, asking jovially, "What would you like to buy?"

Zhou Luo’s face, now firm and resolute, set into a determined line as he stated clearly.

"Materials for rune-making. The finest grade."