Zhang Chen drew a few more silver talismans, placing them on the table just in case, to equip Xiaodouding with them tomorrow. Fearing they might not be potent enough, he deliberately infused them with the Light of the True God to enhance their power against the supernatural.
Although the Light of the True God only lasts for a day, Xiaodouding is with him every day, so he can replenish it anytime.
This Huangli Temple is quite unsafe! It needs another layer of protection!
What if it gets lost?
The talisman was drawn by his own hand, connected to his Essence, Qi, and Spirit. How could it get lost?
Even if someone else picks it up, he can sense it from afar and summon it back with a mere thought.
"Am I now considered a master?" A hint of smugness appeared on Zhang Chen’s lips.
Gold talismans and silver talismans will be Zhang Chen’s most important cards against assassination and even interception in the future.
"I’m getting hungry!" Zhang Chen finished drawing the talismans, rubbed his stomach, and it started to growl again.
However, there’s nothing he can do about it now, with the court’s army here. He doesn’t even know if there are any Abnormal People (the author decided to change ’gods’ to ’abnormal people’ to avoid confusion with the Yellow Heaven Dao’s Divine Enthronement).
"Bear with it! Once the noblewoman descends the mountain, will there still be no food to eat?" Zhang Chen mumbled to himself, then lay down on the bed, cradling Xiaodouding in his arms as if holding a doll, directly smothering Xiaodouding with his embrace.
Xiaodouding, half-asleep and dreaming, muttered, "Zhang Chen, I’m hungry! I want to eat meat."
Hearing this, Zhang Chen lifted his head to glance at Xiaodouding. Seeing that Xiaodouding was just talking nonsense in his sleep and had not woken up, Zhang Chen’s lips curved into a smile, he pinched Xiaodouding’s cheek and then fell asleep too.
Zhang Chen drifted off into a hazy sleep, whereas over in the small building, Xie Lingyun found it difficult to fall asleep.
In the small building where Xie Lingyun was resting, an incense burner was gently releasing blue smoke. Xie Lingyun sat cross-legged before it, performing a seal technique with her fingers, entering a meditative state.
At this moment, black gas swirled around Xie Lingyun, transforming into a giant skeleton that enveloped her as if about to swallow her whole.
Sweat poured down from Xie Lingyun’s body like rain, soaking her garments and the mat she was sitting on was also stained with sweat.
’Hoo~’
Suddenly, at one moment, Xie Lingyun took a deep breath, sucking in the smoke from the incense burner into her chest. As the smoke entered her abdomen, the Qi Mechanism around Xie Lingyun flashed continuously, her hand performed various seal techniques, and finally, at a certain point, the black skeleton around her dissipated, leaving Xie Lingyun quietly sitting cross-legged on the mat, her breathing becoming steady.
After about a quarter of an hour, Xie Lingyun opened her eyes, a seriousness revealed in her gaze: "Big trouble! The backlash from this mysterious thing is growing stronger, and with the increase in my cultivation, its ability is also becoming more powerful, even transforming into my heart demon, merging with me. If I can’t find a way to curb this bizarre danger before breaking through next time, I fear I’ll meet my demise in catastrophe. I don’t have much time left; I must find a way to suppress this anomaly before my next breakthrough."
Previously, Xie Lingyun’s confrontation with the skeleton formed by the black gas was actually to suppress her level, unwilling to let it break through.
"I had initially hoped the mysterious Yellow Heaven Dao would have some ability, but Yellow Heaven Dao left me quite disappointed! The boasts they made at the foot of the mountain were all noise; once I reached the mountaintop, it turned out to be completely different. Although Yellow Heaven Dao’s incense divine power is magical, it cannot suppress the strange entity, let alone extract that damned Celestial Demon from my Divine Soul."
"This so-called Celestial Demon may not have a high realm, merely a level four existence, but it’s incredibly bizarre, merging with my soul, parasitic and immortal, truly troublesome. It will either be me who subdues it, or it will devour me and take my place." Xie Lingyun slowly stood up and said to the outside of the door, "Bring a basin of water, I need to wash."
The next morning
Zhang Chen was pulled up by Xiaodouding tugging on his ear. After washing up, he headed towards the main hall, where everyone began their morning classes.
Ever since Xie Lingyun arrived, the temple’s morning martial training ritual had been entirely canceled. Once everyone finished their morning lessons and got their breakfast, they started going about their own tasks.
When Zhang Chen and Xiaodouding carried mops and buckets to the main hall, they saw the noblewoman they had encountered the previous day, currently standing in front of the hall, burning incense.
No guards were visible outside the hall, suggesting they were likely scattered around the temple, guarding strategic points.
Seeing the red figure offering incense, Zhang Chen and Xiaodouding, who had been chatting and laughing, suddenly stood at the hall’s entrance, unsure of whether to enter. Zhang Chen looked at Xiaodouding, who looked back at Zhang Chen, both at a loss for what to do.
The red-dressed woman, after bowing her head, stood up and looked at Zhang Chen and Chengyu, a clear and pure smile appeared on her stunning face, which caused Zhang Chen to be momentarily captivated.
"You don’t need to mind me; go ahead and do your work. Otherwise, if you can’t finish it, you might be punished by the old monks of the temple, and you can’t blame me then," Xie Lingyun said with a smile, while looking at the clean and tender Xiaodouding. She couldn’t help but walk up and pinch Chengyu’s fair cheek, pulling it into a ’囧’ shape, her words full of affection, "Such a cute little girl!"
Xiaodouding immediately pulled a bitter face, and even with Xie Lingyun’s bright smile, she seemed more like a demon to Xiaodouding. Yet, wary of her status, she dared not resist, only to hang her head sullenly, tugging the mop in her hand.
However, Xie Lingyun, unconcerned, reached out and vigorously rubbed Xiaodouding’s head, with a feeling of playfully rubbing a dog’s head, before finally releasing Chengyu, gracefully exiting the main hall.
Watching Xie Lingyun’s departing figure, Xiaodouding vigorously rubbed her face, "Women are tigers, this saying is indeed correct."
Zhang Chen glanced at his small tiger, wanting to say something, but eventually chose not to and just obediently continued working.
The two finished cleaning the main hall by the afternoon, returned to the dormitory building, and Zhang Chen carried Xiaodouding by the collar to the table: "These runes, you should keep them well; they’ll be life-savers at critical moments. If you want to activate the runes, you just need to bite your finger, smear your blood on it and silently chant ’Hurry up, as if by law,’ and the talisman’s power will be activated naturally."
Xiaodouding took the runes handed over by Zhang Chen, studied the rune papers, with a look of surprise: "Where were these rune papers bought? They seem different from the ones in our temple."
Zhang Chen patted Xiaodouding’s head, "This is a treasure I refined exclusively; where would you find these for sale outside?"
"Zhang Chen, thank you!"
Xiaodouding looked at Zhang Chen with a peculiar expression, then solemnly stored the runes in the pocket inside her sleeve. Suddenly, at a moment, she turned around to look at Zhang Chen, her voice carrying a hint of uncertainty: "Senior brother."
"Hmm?" Zhang Chen was practicing calligraphy when he heard it and turned to look at Xiaodouding.
"You don’t suppose you’ve got mental issues, do you?" Chengyu cautiously tested him.
Zhang Chen’s expression suddenly froze, his tone slightly elevated: "You still don’t believe I can cultivate immortality? You think I’m crazy?"
"I believe! I believe!" Xiaodouding quickly testified: "How could I not believe you? I believe you can refine Qi to become an immortal, cultivate to achieve eternal immortality, and later I have to rely on you to protect me."
Hearing Xiaodouding’s words, Zhang Chen looked into Xiaodouding’s sincere eyes, the doubts in his heart gradually dissipating, yet feeling that something seemed slightly amiss.
"You continue practicing calligraphy, I have something to attend to and need to go out for a bit," Xiaodouding said to Zhang Chen, then rose, leisurely walking out of the room. Just as they reached the threshold, they turned back to look at Zhang Chen, then their figure disappeared into the courtyard.
"This little fellow, something’s definitely off," Zhang Chen muttered to himself.
"Did she really believe that I genuinely cultivate immortality?"
Touching his chin, Zhang Chen fell into deep thought: "Should be, right? Otherwise, how would she have accepted the talismans?"