Chapter 167: Chapter 166: Battle Mark System (Seeking Monthly Pass)_1
"Witchcraft is the sacrifice to heaven and earth; spirit marks are the worship to the Dao!"
The voice of the Big Shaman wasn’t loud, yet it clearly rang in the ears of each youth: "The first magic spell pattern you choose represents different paths..."
"For example, the ’Wind Blade’ magic spell pattern could be further inscribed with the ’Gathering Wind’ and ’Wind Pressure’ spell patterns, eventually forming the ’Xun Wind Spirit Pattern’! Using this spirit pattern to draw upon the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy to upgrade the Battle Mark, establishing the Witch Foundation, one could rise to become a Big Shaman like me!"
While speaking, the Big Shaman waved his sleeve.
A faint breeze manifested and then wound around each youth, making their bodies light and floating them midair.
This display of magic had not the slightest hint of mundanity. Once the youths’ amazement had enough time to settle, they gently returned to the ground.
"The power of witchcraft varies, with distinctions of Sun, Moon, and Stars! Minor shamans can only release Dawn Star Level witchcraft through spell patterns... Big Shamans utilize spirit patterns to cast Bright Moon Level witchcraft, the power of which can explode more than tenfold... As for the ultimate ’Witch King’? They gather spirit patterns into ’Treasure Patterns’, casting Sunlight Level witchcraft, each capable of ravaging mountains and boiling seas, earth-shaking and formidable... Each Witch King is a god walking upon the earth! Only tribes capable of producing a Witch King have the qualifications to establish cities..."
"What I just demonstrated was merely a fraction of the ’Xun Wind Spirit Pattern’s power; if used in battle, it would be even more terrifying!"
"When you journey through the wilderness and encounter great cities, remember to always be respectful, otherwise, you might bring disaster not only upon yourselves but upon your tribe as well!"
By the end, the Big Shaman’s voice carried a sharp edge.
The youths below all nodded in agreement.
But Ba Ji stood there somewhat dazed: "Big Shaman... what about me, who chose the ’Flame’ Battle Mark? What should I do?"
"Within the tribe, there are only two complete collections of spirit patterns, one is the ’Xun Wind Spirit Pattern’, and the other is the ’Metal Spirit Pattern’... As for fire attribute spell patterns, there are only two, one is ’Flame’ and the other is ’Fierce Temperature’... Generally speaking, if one cannot find a matching spell pattern within the tribe, one can seek them out elsewhere. For example, the nearby ’Fierce Mountain Tribe’ possesses the fire attribute ’Fierce Mountain Spiritual Mark’..."
The Big Shaman glanced at Ba Ji, answering indifferently: "Of course... generally only shamans who have opened three or more spirit apertures have the potential to cultivate to the third spell pattern. Shamans with only one or two spirit apertures might spend their entire lives only wandering between one or two spell patterns..."
A laugh came from the youths, causing Ba Ji to hang his head.
The Big Shaman’s implication was clear, he, who only had a half spirit aperture, would probably only be able to cultivate one spell pattern for his entire life, without even considering the subsequent combination into a spirit pattern.
...
After the class, as Ba Ji walked through the tribe, recalling the Big Shaman’s words from earlier, he clenched his fists tightly.
"Should I accept fate? No... Although I have only a half spirit aperture, I possess the ’Spirit-opening Scripture’!"
"In terms of cultivation speed, I’m absolutely beyond an ordinary shaman! I must collect all spirit patterns and become a Big Shaman, then seek my revenge!"
Ba Ji talked to himself.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks at the sight of the person blocking his way: "Green Wolf?"
Ba Ji stepped back: "What do you want? It is forbidden for ’shamans’ within the tribe to fight at will..."
"I didn’t expect someone with only half a spirit aperture to be able to cultivate to the point of a Battle Mark..."
Green Wolf emerged from the shadows, his figure smooth and his face cold: "A pity... trash will always be trash... and so is the spell pattern you chose!"
"I am a shaman. My father, my grandfather were all shamans... hence I chose the ’Wind Blade’ spell pattern as my first choice. As long as I’m diligent and work hard, the tribe’s inheritance will be opened up to me one after another!"
Green Wolf took a step closer: "As for you and your brother, whose ancestors were even slaves... how could they comprehend the mysteries of a shaman’s power? Ha ha ha... To think you chose a fire spell pattern, truly foolish, you have severed your own future! I was a bit worried before, but now I’m not worried at all. I’ll keep you around, let you watch as I step by step become a Big Shaman, then I will easily crush you to death..."
Ba Ji felt a suffocating sensation, his hands involuntarily tightening on the corners of his animal skin clothing.
...
"I see..."
Fang Xi’s divine consciousness within the mirror shard was finding all this quite intriguing.
"Gathering spell patterns to form spirit patterns, using this as a foundation to establish a foundation... why does it sound somewhat similar to the legendary ’Divine Skill Foundation Establishment’?"
Having undergone Foundation Establishment, Fang Xi’s perspective and knowledge had broadened. He often bought some common knowledge books to read, enriching his experience significantly.
He understood that in the ancient Cultivation World, there was a type of cultivator who painstakingly practiced magic spells, dominating with a powerful magic, and later refining a native magic spell to establish their foundation, known as the ’Divine Skill Foundation Establishment’. It was said their combat abilities were quite formidable.
Even after ’Divine Skill Foundation Establishment’, there was ’Divine Skill Core Formation’, differentiated into nine grades of Golden Core, and according to the Golden Core quality and divine skill, they were divided into nine levels. Cultivators with inferior cores were often looked down upon by those with superior quality Golden Cores... but for some reason, the practice declined and gradually disappeared.
In the present-day Cultivation World, the concept of nine grades of Golden Cores didn’t even exist.
As long as Core Formation was successful, no matter whether one’s cultivation technique was top-tier or ordinary, they all had a Golden Core with boundless applications!
"Divine Skill Foundation Establishment disappearing must have a reason; perhaps there are hidden dangers lurking... It’s better for me to follow the mainstream."
Fang Xi made his decision internally.
"However... this technique is quite interesting after all, and it could be used to my advantage."
He would definitely follow the mainstream, at least to avoid any major pitfalls.
As for such peculiar divine skills, given their sharp edge in combat, he couldn’t give them up and could let his puppets, arrays, and even spiritual pets and disciples try them...
Back in Great Liang, Fang Xi had Martial God Sect bring in some death-row prisoners to test the Spirit-opening method.
The result was that every single one of them exploded and died!
This caused Fang Xi a bit of frustration but also made him realize that the bodies of the Shaman Race from the Fragment World indeed had their unique aspects.
Reckless transplantation of cultivation techniques might result in incompatibility.
"However, the spiritual energy in the Fragment World is much denser than in Great Liang, perhaps I could try teaching the Shaman Race magic spells?"
The Shaman Race’s application of magic was extremely singular, relying only on spell patterns, which differed significantly from the cultivators’ finger gestures and incantations, freely choosing Five Elements Spells... According to the theory of spiritual roots, everyone has Five Elements spiritual root attributes, and naturally, all can cast the Five Elements spells.
The only addition is when learning the magic series of the highest quality spiritual root one has.
Fang Xi discreetly devised a package for Little Mice No. 1 and then began to ponder his own affairs.
"The array patterns from the Fragment World are of great use to me; I must collect a large number of them..."
"If magic spells are so useful, Spirit Marks should be even better... perhaps even Treasure Patterns?"
The Big Shaman’s descriptions of the Witch King, though perhaps exaggerated, still gave Fang Xi a sense of familiarity.
"Third-order power, huh? Comparable to a Core Formation Cultivator... I hadn’t expected such beings in the Fragment World!"
"Unfortunately, Spirit Apertures and Battle Marks are two sides of the same coin, carried only by the constitution of the Shaman Race..."
"But if I could acquire Spirit Marks, or even Treasure Patterns, I could completely inscribe them onto arrays, or even onto Spiritual Instruments..."
Fang Xi’s eyes brightened more and more.
His ’Green Wood Longevity Skills’ were average in spell combat, but this kind of Divine Skill was entirely reliant on his own capabilities.
If he could inscribe third-order Treasure Patterns, regardless of arrays, magic instruments, or talismans... their might would be extremely terrifying, more than enough to ensure his self-protection in the Cultivation World!
Living beings cannot bear Battle Marks, but inanimate objects should have no such issues.
Even if there were problems, it would only result in material wastage, a minor failure that Fang Xi could easily afford to endure.
...
Fragment World.
Late at night.
"Mirror, mirror... What should I do?"
Ba Ji rubbed the bronze mirror, murmuring to himself.
Everything that had happened today had left him in despair.
As for the ’Fierce Mountain Spiritual Mark’? Not to mention that the two tribes were enemies, even if they were not, such a fundamental inheritance would never be open to an outsider!
Furthermore, whether the ’Fierce Mountain Spiritual Mark’ even contains ’fire’ magic spells is a question in itself.
Amid his troubles, he suddenly discovered that the bronze mirror, which had been silent, finally had a response!
Lines of Witch texts became spells, flowing across the surface of the mirror.
"Gestures, incantations... for casting witchcraft?"
After looking at them, Ba Ji felt as though he was reading a Heavenly Book: "How could this be possible? Isn’t it that all witchcraft can only be cast through Battle Marks?"
Hearing this made Fang Xi roll his eyes.
’Great... No need to think about it; after getting used to casting innate Monster Skills like an idiot, the difficulty level of learning independent magic for this world’s Shaman Race is absolutely disastrous...’
As Fang Xi watched Ba Ji begin to practice the awkward incantations, he suddenly felt a wave of mental exhaustion.
On the surface of the mirror, a new light flashed, and another line of Witch texts emerged: "Xun Wind Spirit Pattern, Metal Spirit Pattern..."
"Hmm?"
Ba Ji, who was already twisting his tongue, found the names of these two Spirit Marks strange: "Why is the precious mirror pointing out these two major Spirit Marks? Could they be useful to me?"
"But... I can’t access them either!"
In the Dongfu library opened by the Big Shaman, only the most basic magic spells were available. The two great Spiritual Mark inheritances that could make one a Great Shaman were always kept secret—the most precious treasure of the Black Mountain Tribe!
Even as a Shaman, Ba Ji had no access to them.
But at this moment, he couldn’t help but contemplate deeper.
If he could get these two great Spirit Marks as the mirror suggested, could he possibly be promoted to a Great Shaman using them?
After all, the treasure was rather formidable, possessing not just the Spirit-opening Scripture, but also Witchcraft that could be cast without Battle Marks!
...
Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm.
In the closed-door cultivation room.
Fang Xi opened his eyes, slowly recovering his spirit.
"Whether Shamans can cast Five Elements Spells like Immortal Cultivators, I really don’t know... it’s just an experiment anyway..."
As for the Xun Wind and Metal Spirit Marks?
The weren’t for Ba Ji, they were for himself!
And Ba Ji?
If he could get his hands on them, great; if he couldn’t, or even if he slipped up and got captured... or killed...
Well, then it would be time to switch to another ’mirror holder’!
Fang Xi always kept an open mind—after all, the mirror wasn’t particular about its holder.
If Ba Ji couldn’t access them, what about switching to another ’Shaman’ inscribed with wind or metal Battle Marks? Wouldn’t that provide a chance to access them?
As long as one is creative enough, there are always more solutions than problems!