Zhou Wen returned to school on tenterhooks the entire way. But nothing happened even when he returned to his dorm.
Zhou Wen didn’t dare be careless. He summoned all the Companion Beasts he could use and stopped sleeping in his bedroom. He stayed in the living room. With the antelope and chick by his side, he felt safer.
It was strange. Ever since they had come back from Mount Laojun, the chick that was as fat as a duck had actually slimmed down again. It looked like it was in high spirits like before.
Zhou Wen wasn’t in the mood to study how the chick had lost weight in the blink of an eye. He sat on the sofa and placed a few notebooks to the side as he drew Substitute Talismans one by one.
These were life-saving treasures. If he could produce one, even if The Thearch wanted to deal with him, it might be able to save his life.
He drew one after another, but the success rate of a Substitute Talisman was really low. However, as the saying goes, ’practice makes perfect,’ Zhou Wen gradually got the gist of it after repeatedly drawing.
Although this was a skill obtained from an Essence Energy Skill Crystal, Zhou Wen was the one who needed to draw the talisman. When he realized that if he only drew the symbols using Essence Energy, the success rate was pathetic.
The lines of the Substitute Talisman seemed to contain some kind of profoundness. Zhou Wen sensed the strangeness of the lines and gradually figured out something.
This Substitute Talisman needs to be drawn with my Essence Energy. The lines drawn are also imbued with some kind of mysterious power related to me. It looks like the drawing of a talisman, but it’s actually a form of understanding of oneself. At the same time, it’s also a way to communicate with external objects... Zhou Wen thought as he drew.
Zhou Wen spent the entire day and night drawing. He didn’t know how many Substitute Talismans he had drawn by the next morning. He had almost used up several thick diary books by the time he finally completed one.
It was also thanks to Zhou Wen’s infinite Essence Energy that he could do so. If it were anyone else, they probably wouldn’t be able to draw so many times in a couple of months.
Although the Substitute Talisman is useful, it’s too difficult to draw one. It’s really not easy to get one talisman. Zhou Wen held the Substitute Talisman that he had drawn and was somewhat excited. With this talisman, it was equivalent to having an additional life.
Unfortunately, the Substitute Talisman could only be used by himself. This was because the Substitute Talisman that Zhou Wen drew was closely related to him, so it could only help him block calamities.
As for what kind of calamity the Substitute Talisman could withstand, Zhou Wen didn’t know.
Although talisman drawing wasn’t easy, Zhou Wen was thrilled by what he had gained. Talisman drawing needed him to sense the connection between himself and external objects. In this period of time, Zhou Wen kept using the Dao Sutra, allowing him to gain some insight into it.
The Dao models itself after nature. To condense a Life Soul from the Dao Sutra, I’ll probably have to work hard on Heaven Man Unity, Zhou Wen thought to himself.
Although there were some clues, as long as there was a direction, there was a possibility. It was better than being directionless as previously.
Now, Zhou Wen didn’t have the time to take in nature. He stored away the Substitute Talisman that he had drawn and slept.
Drawing the Substitute Talisman consumed both his Essence Energy and energy. He was already exhausted from all the drawing. Furthermore, he hadn’t recovered from his serious injuries. Now that he had the Substitute Talisman to protect him, he could finally sleep peacefully.
He slept soundly. Due to his exhaustion, Zhou Wen slept like a log. He only woke up when the doorbell rang.
Who is it? Zhou Wen stretched his back and wanted to ask.
"Meow!" However, Zhou Wen’s voice shocked him. He hurriedly covered his mouth with his hand.
However, when he reached out his hand, Zhou Wen was instantly stunned. How was that a hand? It was a furry paw. The fingernails on the claw were like hooks. What should have been the palm now looked like a pinkish meat lump that resembled a club suit from a pack of cards.
What... What’s wrong with me... Zhou Wen was alarmed. He wanted to stand up and size himself up, but he soon realized that his body had become very strange. Furthermore, there was a problem with his vision. All the furniture and things around him had become very large.
The clothes he wore yesterday were at his feet. They looked huge as though they were for giants.
Zhou Wen immediately felt something amiss. He hurriedly ran to the mirror and looked at it.
"Meow!" Looking at the black and white cat in the mirror, Zhou Wen was dumbfounded. He covered his mouth in horror as the cat in the mirror did the same.
At the dormitory’s entrance, a tutor rang the doorbell a few more times, but no one opened the door. Hence, he said apologetically to the old man beside him, "Elder Jun, I’m really sorry. It looks like he’s out."
Jun Tingyu was very disappointed. In order to visit Zhou Wen at Sunset College, he didn’t hesitate to use his connections with a friend at Sunset College, but Zhou Wen wasn’t around.
"It’s alright, I’ll come again next time." Jun Tingyu could only return in disappointment.
In the dormitory, Zhou Wen was about to explode from anxiety. He twisted his body and made various poses. He even tried to raise his tail. All he wanted to do was prove that the cat in the mirror wasn’t him.
Unfortunately, no matter what he did, the cat in the mirror did the same thing.
Even more terrifying was that when Zhou Wen attempted to use his Essence Energy Art or summon his Companion Beasts, there was no reaction.
The Thearch... It must be The Thearch’s doing... Damn it... I have the Substitute Talisman on me. How can there be a problem? Zhou Wen ran to his pile of clothes and used his claws to tug at it a few times. He realized that the Substitute Talisman was inside his clothes, untouched. It hadn’t done a thing.
Don’t tell me I’m now permanently a cat? Zhou Wen hurriedly took out his phone. Thankfully, he didn’t need to unlock using his fingerprints. A pattern worked too. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even be able to unlock his phone.
After unlocking his phone, he immediately sent a message to The Thearch. "The Thearch, how am I supposed to buy those instruments when you’ve made me like this?"
Zhou Wen knew that he could only move The Thearch with benefits. It was probably useless for him to beg for mercy.
"I have plenty of ways to get people to deliver things to me. Who said I have to let you buy them? As for you, you have to be punished." The Thearch finally replied.
Zhou Wen sent a few more messages, hoping to move The Thearch and quickly change back into human form. However, the news was like a rock sinking into the sea. The Thearch didn’t reply to him at all, as though she was determined to have him remain a cat for the rest of his life.