Chapter 1233: Nine Spirits Into Sainthood, Nine Separations For Forming Souls (I)

Rustle...

A mountain wind found its way into the grand hall where Luo Chen was drawing away, causing the red talismans on the wooden racks to flutter. As they danced along in the breeze, Qu Jiu found himself getting jittery.

He couldn't help keeping his eyes on the talismans—well over a hundred of them, in fact—all drawn by his grand-master over the past few days without a break. Making him restless was not so much the sheer number but the fact that the bulk of them were Sunburst TalismansQ As they swayed like this, the enormous energy contained within made them akin to blazing suns about to plunge down from the sky. If they were to detonate all at once, even an Adept would be blown to smithereens. And he, Qu Jiu, wasn't even an Adept yet!

"Little Jiu, your mind is not calm."

A gentle voice entered his ears. Qu Jiu looked over to see that Luo Chen was still focused on making talismans. The Supreme Elder had noticed his disturbed mind without even looking.

Qu Jiu forced a strained smile out of his tightly clenched jaw. "My mental cultivation is still lacking."

Luo Chen kept doing what he had been doing as he said calmly, "I know your upbringing was fraught with hardship, and to this day, you still resent your father. Along the way, you've become a little extreme, and it's hard for you to find peace within yourself. This mentality is detrimental to cultivation, and even more so to talisman making. It's the reason you've been unable to make a second-tier talisman."

Qu Jiu sank into silence.

Talisman-making was not as simple as it might seem. This art had its unique entry barriers and required aptitude just as any other. The most crucial requirement was a heart and mind as steady as a rock. Talisman-makers needed to be able to remain unflinching even as a thousand mountains crumble before them. For someone who lacked the ability to control their emotions, this was simply impossible; naturally, their mind wavered easily during the drawing process. At best, a stroke deviated from its desired course, rendering all prior effort wasted; at worst, an improper channeling of mana activated the talisman on the spot and hurt the maker.

In the past, Qu Jiu had merely held a shallow interest in the art; he had never delved deeper into its practice. Only recently had his talisman-making skills improved under Luo Chen's guidance. He had grown by leaps and bounds, yet he remained stuck before second-tier talismans, all because his mental fortitude was inadequate.

"Have you ever practiced the Fine Dust Primordial Art?"

"I haven't. This technique places very high demands on the divine soul. Even the modified version created by Elder Wang requires the practitioner to be at least a late-stage Initiate."

"Is that how it is? Well then, I'll teach you Stilling Wind and Waves. Practice it first to learn how to sever distracting thoughts and remain unmoved by external things. Once your cultivation rises, you can easily transition to the Fine Dust Primordial Art."

Qu Jiu was dumbstruck. Is he... teaching me a secret technique, just like that?

Just then, the voice of a visitor from somewhere far away rumbled into the hall.

"Primal Sovereign Nine Spirits requests an audience with Great-Grandmaster Luo Chen!"

Qu Jiu paled.

Primal Sovereign Nine Spirits was a highly renowned figure in the Skypiercing Five Domains, and he was famous even across the entire Eastern Wilderness. On top of being a lofty middle-stage Sage, he possessed incredible mana beyond his cultivation, rumored to be on par with that of a late-stage Sage. This alone placed him among the top of Nascent Soul cultivators. Currently, in the Skypiercing Five Domains, only Ye Lingtian and Divine Origin could surpass Nine Spirits in terms of mana, whereas middle-stage Sages like Fairy Windflower and Golden Plume were no match for him.

Back when the demons attacked the Nine Spirits Domain, Primal Sovereign Nine Spirits had managed to escape from the assault of three Demon Emperors working together. That couldn't be a clearer testament to his prowess. So when an expert of such caliber announced his visit so "arrogantly," by directly addressing the Supreme Elder, Qu Jiu had to doubt his intention.

He couldn't help casting a concerned glance at Luo Chen. His grand-master, however, appeared to be keeping his undivided attention on drawing, and his composed look did not waver for even a moment. Only when the final stroke was completed did he pick up the talisman and raise his gaze with it.

"Phew..."

Letting out a soft breath, Luo Chen gazed with immense satisfaction at the talisman in his hand, on which shades of green and red intertwined. It was a third-tier Azure Yang Talisman! Inscribed upon it was, of course, his signature Azure Yang Great Handprint, the spell he had been most proud of during his Golden Core days.

After drawing over a thousand low-tier talismans, he could finally make third-tier talismans with ease. With this, he was a proper third-tier talisman-maker!

Luo Chen casually tossed the Azure Yang Talisman to Qu Jiu. The terrifying mana in it hadn't fully settled in, causing the young man to fluster out of fear that he might accidentally trigger it.

"This one's for you. As for all these first-tier and second-tier ones, contact the sect leader to have them taken inventory of and stored for use in battle. That's about it for now. Oh, also take this scroll. It records Stilling Wind and Waves and some of my personal insights while practicing it. Study it well."

After giving Qu Jiu these instructions along with a jade scroll, Luo Chen lightly patted his spotless white robe and walked out of the hall with a smile on his face.

***

Under the watchful gazes of many, both overt and covert, Nine Spirits stood outside the gates of the Luo Tian Sect, waiting quietly. As time trickled by, many in the shadows started to have criticisms.

Some big shot this great-grandmaster alchemist thinks he is! A great Sage like Primal Sovereign Nine Spirits set his pride aside to pay a courtesy call, yet he's been kept waiting for so long, and this Luo Chen is still nowhere to be seen!

These onlookers anticipated to see Primal Sovereign Nine Spirits storm off in anger. To their disappointment, after about half the time it took to savor a cup of tea, a response came from Verdant Mountain.

"I cannot express enough my delight for the wind that brought you here, friend from afar. My apologies for keeping you waiting. Please come in!"

Wind and clouds gathered, and a divine rainbow bridge extended from the horizon. Spanning across a hundred li, it descended to the visitor's feet.

This single action revealed Luo Chen's profound mastery in spells. As Nine Spirits looked down at the rainbow-colored bridge starting at his feet, a serious look briefly crossed his eyes. Then, with a faint smile, he stepped onto the bridge, which then withdrew toward the mountain.

The many Luo Tian Sect disciples who had been holding their breath returned to their normal routines. The dust settled, and so did the restlessness. Only the onlookers outside were left exchanging bewildered stares.

Nine Spirits still went in without saying anything, even after waiting for so long? Are Luo Chen's alchemy skills really that impressive?

For a moment, they had to reassess Luo Chen's position in the Eastern Wilderness. Though his return had been hasty, though he was only at the early stage of Nascent Soul, and though he didn't come from a deep heritage, he had already risen to the same standing as a veteran like Primal Sovereign Nine Spirits!

***

"It's good seeing you again, Fellow Daoist Luo."

"It's been half a year, Fellow Daoist Nine Spirits, but you still look as fresh as ever. Actually, I've been waiting for you."

"Oh? You knew I'd come find you?"

"Haha, during my Nascent Soul Formation Ceremony, you showed the most interest in my alchemy aside from Old Tal and Fellow Daoist Wind Listener. Though I do find it a surprise that you'd come to me before Wind Listener. I wonder if he'll follow."

"My, how very perceptive of you! Well, I do actually have a favor to ask; I hope you could refine a pill for me."

"No problem at all. As long as we agree on payment, we can make it happen!"

Having secured a verbal agreement from Luo Chen, Nine Spirits let out a sharp sigh of relief. The way he viewed it, his earlier willingness to set aside his ego and "humbly" pay his respects out in the open had finally paid off.

In fact, Nine Spirits understood Luo Chen's motives very well: Luo Chen wanted to build his reputation through fulfilling alchemy commissions so as to secure a standing in the Eastern Wilderness. It just so happened that he, Nine Spirits, had a need in this regard, so he had decided to scratch Luo Chen's itch and use his long-established reputation to elevate the latter's.

As far as Nine Spirits was concerned, even though Luo Chen had deliberately made him wait earlier, he couldn't care less, so long as the man could really refine what he needed. He wanted the pill and Luo Chen wanted the public image, and he was completely fine with that transaction.

"Fellow Daoist Luo, I'll make you an offer you can't refuse. How about twenty wisps of crimson firmament energy, ten wisps of maroon firmament energy, and ten wisps of purple firmament energy? I also have various quantities of the other six types if you need them. Everything is negotiable."

Luo Chen was a little surprised.

Why would someone have that much firmament energy on hand? He even has a stock of all nine types! Most importantly, he seems to know the use of all of them? I only mentioned needing crimson firmament energy to him, but he's actually offering me maroon and purple firmament energy, too.

Indeed, Luo Chen could also make use of maroon and purple firmament energy as well because they were part fire-attribute. It was apparent from his specific offer that Nine Spirits was also aware of this.

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