Chapter 82: Mass Producing Talismans
Minutes passed as Xiang Yu continued crafting talismans. By now, he had produced more than twenty explosive talismans. However, fatigue was beginning to set in. When he examined his spiritual sea, he noticed it was starting to dry up as the continuous channeling of energy took its toll.
After making a few more talismans, he decided to take a rest, setting aside the stack of completed talismans.
As his concentration relaxed, Xiang Yu finally took proper notice of the water surrounding the core of the spiritual vein.
In cultivation novels, something like this would be a holy spring or something similar , he reasoned to himself.
Curious, he approached the spring’s edge and activated his appraisal.
[Spirit Spring]
The description confirmed his suspicions. From his memories, spirit springs were springs filled with concentrated spiritual energy that could aid in cultivation or recovery. But a question remained: how should he use it? Should he scoop some up for a drink, or should he immerse himself completely?
Deciding to test it first, Xiang Yu knelt by the edge and cupped his hand, scooping up a small amount of the iridescent liquid. He brought it to his lips and took a cautious sip—only to immediately spit it out with a grimace. The liquid was intensely bitter, almost caustic, and seemed to thrash violently inside his mouth.
"I guess it’s soaking then," he muttered, somewhat embarrassed despite having no audience.
After quickly removing his clothes, Xiang Yu cautiously lowered himself into the spring. The moment his body submerged, a wave of refreshing energy coursed through him. Every cell seemed to tingle with revitalization as the spring’s essence penetrated his skin, muscles, and meridians. He could feel subtle changes occurring within his body. He wondered if the spring also possessed body-refining properties.
Taking advantage of the spirit spring’s rejuvenating effects, Xiang Yu settled into a meditative posture within the water. While the spring naturally replenished his qi and strengthened his body, he turned his attention inward to recover his depleted spiritual sea. As he deepened his meditation, he could sense the vast expanse of his spiritual sea gradually refilling with energy.
Time lost all meaning as Xiang Yu became completely absorbed in his cultivation. The outside world faded away, his awareness focused entirely on the harmonious circulation of energy within his body. He remained in this blissful state of deep meditation until the system notification suddenly appeared before him, jolting him back to reality.
His eyes snapped open as the system’s reset screen materialized:
[Body Refining: 11th Layer (420/11,000) (+60/11,000)]
[Qi Gathering: 3rd Layer (150/300) (+150/300)]
[Mind: Level 4 (308/4000) (+60/4000)]
[Transcendent Dao Body: Level 1 (25/1,000,000) (+1/1,000,000)]
[Enlightenment: High (760/3000) (+46/3000)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 6th Grade (5075/40,000) (+5/40,000)]
[High-grade Lightning Strike & Palm: Beginner (20/100)]
[High-grade Fire Palm: Minor Success (2/200) (+2/200)]
[High-grade Water, Wood, Earth, Metal Palm: Beginner (60/100)]
[Cook: 4th Grade (20/600) (+20/600)]
[Appraiser: 9th Grade (50/100) (+50/100)]
[Talisman Maker: 9th Grade (30/100) (+30/100)]
[Experience Points Doubled]
[Talisman Maker: 9th Grade (30/100) → 9th Grade (60/100)]
[Appraiser: 9th Grade (50/100) → 8th Grade (0/200)]
[Cook: 4th Grade (20/600) → 4th Grade (40/600)]
[High-grade Water, Wood, Earth, Metal Palm: Beginner (60/100) → Minor Success (0/200)]
[High-grade Fire Palm: Minor Success (2/200) → Minor Success (4/200)]
[High-grade Lightning Strike & Palm: Beginner (20/100) → Beginner (40/100)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 6th Grade (5075/40,000) → 6th Grade (10,150/40,000)]
[Enlightenment: High (760/3000) → High (1520/3000)]
[Transcendent Dao Body: Level 1 (25/1,000,000) → Level 1 (50/1,000,000)]
[Mind: Level 4 (308/4000) → Level 4 (616/4000)]
[Qi Gathering: 3rd Layer (150/300) → 4th Layer (0/400)]
[Body Refining: 11th Layer (420/11,000) → 11th Layer (840/11,000)]
...
Xiang Yu noticed that the spring seemed to be more useful than he had expected. Though it had only slightly enhanced his Body Refining realm, its impact on his Qi cultivation had been substantial. His normal daily practice had already given him a hundred experience points, yet merely soaking in this spring for a brief period had given him an additional fifty points.
He realized that the spring was actually more effective than spiritual food. Unlike consuming spirit food, where his limited spiritual root could only absorb a fraction of the available energy while the rest dissipated uselessly, the spring’s qi was naturally absorbed through his skin and meridians, allowing for a much higher utilization rate. As for the excess, it would just remain in the spring, meaning nothing was wasted.
The process was also gentler, avoiding the violent energy surges that sometimes accompanied spirit food consumption. This way, he could focus on other things while still cultivating his qi.
However, as Xiang Yu assessed the spring more carefully, he noticed its energy had been nearly depleted. The water that had once shimmered with multicolored energy now resembled ordinary river water, its spiritual essence exhausted.
He wasn’t particularly concerned—the spring would eventually recharge as the spirit vein beneath continued to produce energy—but it did suggest the spirit vein wasn’t as powerful as he had initially hoped. He guessed the spirit vein was probably not that high level.
Though the spring hadn’t fully restored his spiritual sea, the subsequent doubling of his Mind cultivation experience had completed the process, even expanding the area in his spiritual sea further. As always, his system was still the best.
As for his other stats, there wasn’t much difference, except his four elemental palm techniques that had advanced to the Minor Success stage. Most surprising was his Appraiser profession, after spamming it earlier, it had reached the halfway point of 9th Grade, then jumped directly to 8th Grade after the doubling effect.
Eager to test this advancement, Xiang Yu immediately picked up one of his handcrafted talismans and activated his Appraisal skill:
[9th Grade Talisman]
A sigh of disappointment escaped his lips. Though the skill had indeed advanced, the improvement wasn’t that great. It could now identify the grade of the item but still failed to specify the talisman’s type—arguably the most crucial information.
Undeterred, Xiang Yu turned his attention to the surrounding herbs, applying his Appraisal skill to each of them:
[9th Grade Herb] * 12
[8th Grade Herb] * 5
[7th Grade Herb] * 2
His eyebrows rose with genuine surprise. He hadn’t expected such high-quality medicinal herbs to be growing in this place.
Finally, he directed his Appraisal toward the spirit vein itself:
[Low-Grade Spirit Vein]
The assessment confirmed his earlier suspicion. While not particularly powerful by cultivation world standards, even a low-grade spirit vein remained an extraordinary find. The fact that it could nurture herbs up to the seventh grade was quite impressive.
But this wasn’t the time for herb gathering or spirit vein analysis , he reminded himself. With enemies still searching for him throughout the pavilion, survival remained his priority.
He examined the twenty-eight talismans he had already created. Though the number was quite impressive, it still fell short of what he needed. To ensure victory against a Core Formation cultivator—even an injured one—he would require many more.