Chapter 99: The Lesser Heaven-Deriving Jade Talisman Is Forged, Black Whale or Green Goat!

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Ao Stone Blessed Land.
Tortoise Mountain, the cave residence rented by Shen Lian.
In this blessed land, almost every cave is named after either turtles or ao turtles, as if they were all gathered for a meeting.
Inside the cave.
Shen Lian was examining the spoils he had obtained at the auction: a fragmented scroll of the Great Evolution Escape Technique and a raw piece of Mysterious Spirit Jade Core—both acquired according to his wishes.
As for the pets he was raising, they had long been forgotten.
Talk all you want, make all the fuss you want, but life is what matters most.
If he were to kill Qi Chengzan, Shen Lian would have to think it over carefully.
After all, Qi Chengzan had an old demon backing him.
Who wouldn't be afraid of someone bold enough to cause trouble in the Ten Thousand Star Sea without hesitation?
Anyway, he was timid.
Such a person would keep even thunder at a distance to avoid being struck.
Ao Stone Immortal City was good; Shen Lian intended to stay longer and bring some joy to his fellow cultivators here.
He guessed Qi Chengzan would soon leave Ao Stone Immortal City.
How could the head of a family always be wandering outside?
He had been tracking him since Liuxian Island for over ten months.
Forget about family then.
Qi Chengzan probably came to the Immortal City mostly to participate in the auction.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have repeatedly bid for attack talismans and related pills during the auction.
Now that the auction was over, it was about time to return home after such a long absence.
By keeping the blood bean insect, he could monitor in real time whether Qi Chengzan had left.
Shen Lian was confident that as long as he stayed in the city, Qi Chengzan couldn't outlast him.
...
“It seems I should participate more often in the Immortal City's auctions from now on.”
His divine consciousness entered the jade slip, carefully savoring the profound secrets of the escape technique within.
Compared to the elemental escape techniques he had acquired during the Qi Refinement stage, the jade slip contained much deeper mysteries.
After half an hour, Shen Lian reluctantly put down the fragmented Great Evolution Escape Technique scroll and picked up the raw Mysterious Spirit Jade Core.
The surface of the core was rough, and inside he could see numerous mineral spots.
When cutting, he needed to remove the areas with mineral spots; otherwise, the talisman drawn would lack smoothness and might explode during use...
Exploding during drawing was one thing, but an explosion in the dantian was far worse.
Although Shen Lian had never cut such jade before, it was not so difficult.
He simply compressed his divine consciousness into the shape of a blade and sliced the jade core—very straightforward.
Ten days later, Shen Lian sat wearily, surrounded by neatly cut jade slices and leftover waste.
To maximize the number of slices, he did not cut them uniformly—some were rectangular, others polygonal—avoiding the black mineral spots.
He ended up with two intact pieces of Mysterious Spirit Jade Core and 127 small jade slices.
Most of the jade slices measured about one inch by one inch.
If not for his practice of refining and condensing silk in the Myriad Spirits Immortal Puppet Technique, it would have been hard to sharpen his divine consciousness into a blade shape.
After storing the jade talismans, Shen Lian rested for more than half a month before recovering, at which point his divine consciousness strength had increased by six zhang, reaching 866 zhang.
He took a Spirit Gathering Pill and began slowly refining it. Then he pulled out one small jade slice from his storage pouch.
In the cultivation world, talismans above the third tier rarely use beast skin anymore; some use spirit wood for talisman paper, others use jade similar to the Mysterious Spirit Jade Core.
By the fourth tier... skinning a fourth-tier great demon for talisman paper? Are you out of your mind?
Just think about the number of human Nascent Soul cultivators to estimate how many fourth-tier demons there are.
Only powerful Nascent Soul ancestors can hunt fourth-tier demons; the weaker ones get swallowed by demons and are lucky to survive.
Wouldn't it be better to just be a Nascent Soul ancestor rather than messing with demons?
Caressing the jade slice in his hand, Shen Lian took out three bottles of spirit ink: second-tier low grade, second-tier medium grade, and second-tier low-grade Heavenly Evolution Spirit Ink.
Because only his fire spiritual force had comprehended the Heavenly Evolution Fire Domain so far, all the spirit inks nurtured emitted fire energy, and his main talismans were fire-aligned.
Only when the Five Elements were perfected could he craft Heavenly Evolution talismans encompassing all elements.
The size of the Mysterious Spirit Jade Core indicated how many talisman runes it could hold, and the number of runes related to how much spiritual energy it could store.
Looking at the medium-grade second-tier spirit ink and the low-grade Heavenly Evolution spirit ink on the talisman crafting table, Shen Lian scratched his head.
Had he known, he wouldn't have nurtured the low-grade second-tier ink; although the jade slice was small, its size condensed the essence of heaven and earth and could easily hold a nurtured high-grade second-tier Heavenly Evolution spirit ink.
Using high-grade ink on such a small slice was wasteful, but medium-grade was fine.
With this in mind, Shen Lian took out his alchemy furnace, shrinking it to half a foot in size.
He cast a cleansing spell, then poured the low-grade Heavenly Evolution spirit ink and the medium-grade spirit ink inside, stirring with his finger.
Perfect—like stirring a large vat with a toothpick.
Divine consciousness sensed that the two grades of spirit ink had merged, the aura significantly stronger than the medium-grade ink alone.
Fortunately, the low-grade ink had been nurtured in the Heavenly Evolution Fire Domain; otherwise, merging it with the medium-grade ink would have had little effect.
Still dissatisfied with the mixed spirit ink, Shen Lian continued to invest his spiritual power to nurture it.
...
Ten days later.
The first simplified Heavenly Evolution jade talisman was successfully drawn.
Shen Lian held the small jade slice, eyes burning with excitement, comparing it to other talismans in his hand.
After careful comparison, the small jade talisman’s power was about equivalent to a seventh-level Foundation Establishment cultivator, similar to an ordinary jade talisman without nurturing.
Both being made of Mysterious Spirit Jade Core, the small talisman could also be nurtured in the dantian, potentially increasing its power to eighth or ninth level Foundation Establishment.
However, its size limited the upper limit of nurturing, making it unlikely to reach the power of a talisman mimicking a Core Formation stage pill.
This was a problem arising from Shen Lian’s cutting as well as the jade core itself, which contained many mineral impurities limiting the size of the slices.
To maximize quantity, he had to cut small and irregular pieces.
But it wasn’t a big problem; Shen Lian needed precisely this level of attack power.
Even without nurturing, he could form a Three Fire Returning Mountain Formation of thirty-six talismans or a Four Pillar Thunderfire Formation of twenty-four talismans, with power roughly comparable to Core Formation stage pills.
He could even use 108 small talismans to form the Heavenly Evolution Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend Thunderfire Formation.
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If the jade talisman is not large enough to hold sufficient power, then combine them in talisman formations.
Cultivators from seventh to ninth level Foundation Establishment are in luck!
By this calculation, from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation level talisman attacks, there is preliminary full coverage.
Humbly put, cultivators at Core Formation stage and below are fortunate.
For Core Formation seniors, just wait a bit longer—come on, get your number ready and line up.
After a moment of excitement, Shen Lian’s mood settled.
With the small Heavenly Evolution jade talisman completed, he could use talisman formations to nurture the great Heavenly Evolution jade talisman, allowing his dantian to relax.
The chance of dantian explosion was further reduced, a cause for celebration.
Adjusting his aura, Shen Lian took out a new jade slice, preparing to draw all the jade talismans at once.
...
While Shen Lian was focused on his work.
Outside Ao Stone City.
In a pitch-black large room with small rooms like dark compartments inside.
Some compartments held cultivators in loose black robes, whispering quietly.
“Hehe... fellow cultivator, although this is a broken talisman treasure with many flaws, it can still rival a strike from an ordinary Core Formation true immortal. It’s a rare item; I wouldn’t show it to just anyone.”
Qi Chengzan, cloaked in black robes, squinted silently.
He had preliminarily examined the broken talisman treasure; it did have issues and required a blood sacrifice to activate, but otherwise was passable.
The price premium was outrageous.
The old-timers here were truly adept at profiteering from misfortune.
“Seventy thousand spirit stones, no haggling.”
“Is seventy thousand spirit stones expensive for a life-saving method?”
Qi Chengzan’s face darkened. He wanted that broken talisman treasure but didn’t have enough spirit stones.
Seventy thousand spirit stones was absurdly expensive, but compared to his life, what were spirit stones?
“Fellow cultivator, think it over carefully.”
Opposite him, an old face smiled, having finally found a sucker ripe for the picking; his blade was sharpened to a gleam.
If not you, then who?
...
Returning from the black market, Qi Chengzan’s expression was grim.
Ao Stone Immortal City’s black market was deeply entangled with the Mystical Sea Sect; even if he wanted to rob, he lacked the ability.
Seventy thousand spirit stones—were the black market operators ex-robbers turned cultivators?
A talisman treasure rivaling a Core Formation strike was rare and precious; price was secondary.
Qi Chengzan raised his palm, a wriggling blood bean insect twisting in it.
He lacked spirit stones and dared not rob the black market.
But someone else had spirit stones.
Thinking about how, as the head of his family, he couldn’t even raise seventy thousand spirit stones without selling the family fortune, while a low-level Foundation Establishment cultivator casually spent ninety thousand on junk.
Qi Chengzan’s eyes grew colder.
Spending ninety thousand casually meant that person had at least a couple hundred thousand spirit stones in storage artifacts, not counting other spiritual items.
Three days later.
In Ao Stone Blessed Land, Qi Chengzan changed his appearance and moved into a cave residence.
Two thousand spirit stones per month rent—previously he had been unwilling to pay.
But if you don’t spend a little, how can you make a lot?
After settling in the cave, Qi Chengzan climbed to the peak and looked around.
His gaze settled on another cave on a small hill nearby.
“Is it this one?”
The blood bean insect in his palm trembled slightly.
Divine consciousness sensing no longer worked at this distance, but the blood bean insects could communicate through bloodline power.
After one last glance from afar, Qi Chengzan returned to his cave and activated its formation.
Then, he gently drew his palm open.
Ao Stone Immortal City had Core Formation true immortals stationed, but they were in the northern palace of the city.
Ao Stone Blessed Land was in the eastern part of the city; even if Core Formation true immortals came, they wouldn’t forcibly inspect every cave’s formation unless something happened.
A faint bloodstain scent began to spread in his palm.
Qi Chengzan quickly took out a pile of spirit stones, placing his palm among them, then shattered them into a spiritual mist.
“How many days now? Still no sign, curse you to appear.”
After casting for a quarter-hour, with the blood scent nearly overflowing the mist, Qi Chengzan immediately stopped.
After erasing all traces, he resumed the next day.
Finally, five days later, a translucent blood bean insect appeared, gradually becoming ethereal.
Qi Chengzan carefully stored it in a jade bottle; one blood bean insect was not enough.
...
Two months later.
Shen Lian, holed up in his cave, finally drew the batch of small Heavenly Evolution jade talismans.
The cost of these jade slices was slightly cheaper than medium-grade talisman paper.
The only minor issue was the irregular shape of the slices, resulting in variable power among the talismans and small fluctuations.
Such inconsistent power talismans were risky for nurturing a great Heavenly Evolution jade talisman, as they might cause explosions.
In the cultivation world, jade stones were cut to standard sizes for good reason.
Shen Lian carefully selected forty-seven jade pieces with similar spiritual fluctuations suitable for nurturing the great Heavenly Evolution jade talisman.
However, he didn’t act immediately.
His current residence was unsuitable.
Although Ao Stone Blessed Land prioritized safety and privacy, there was no Core Formation fluctuation detected here.
Nurturing a Heavenly Evolution jade talisman here risked leaks that might attract Core Formation true immortals’ attention—a big problem for him.
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He needed to leave the city to find a remote place, dig a deep cave, and set it as the talisman formation’s placement site.
If he were to leave the city...
...Shen Lian’s divine consciousness fell onto the blood bean insect.
Still there!
He had been in Ao Stone Immortal City for about five months, yet Qi Chengzan was still watching him.
Seriously, what kind of madness is this?
Those connected to the old demon of Black Cliff were all insane—beyond normal limits.
Not worth provoking, not worth provoking.
He had already eliminated three of the old demon’s disciples and ruined one of the demon’s schemes; he really didn’t want to keep feeding the demon more trouble.
“Sigh...”
Holding the small jade talisman, Shen Lian’s divine consciousness entered his storage bracelet. He still had nearly forty thousand spirit stones left.
The spirit stones pooled from Qi Refinement cultivators in the Northwest Sea were almost spent.
Most of the remainder were gifts from the three brothers Xiang Jingying of Thousand Kings Island.
Why had he spent so quickly?
Upon arriving at Ao Stone Immortal City, he consumed:
Ten sets of Spirit Gathering Pill materials, 23,000 spirit stones.
Mysterious Spirit Jade Core, 5,000.
Two sheets of high-grade second-tier talisman paper, 2,000.
Five second-tier medium-grade five-element spiritual items, 23,000 low-grade spirit stones.
At the auction, the Great Evolution Escape Technique fragment, 60,000.
Raw Mysterious Spirit Jade Core, 29,000.
After the auction, more talisman materials, nearly 12,000.
After over half a year, rent for the Tortoise Cave residence was nearly 10,000.
The remaining spirit stones were enough for cultivation.
But he still needed to continue nurturing the Heavenly Evolution jade talisman, buy five-element spiritual items, and purchase second-tier monster beast ink blending materials, all of which required spirit stones.
The only good news was that he found an alternative nurturing method, reducing the consumption of Spirit Gathering Pills and lowering costs significantly.
Still, even with the alternative method, the talisman had to be placed in the dantian for a while at the end to ensure minimal spiritual power consumption when activated.
So he had to spend some Spirit Gathering Pills as a final, intimate nurturing step to maximize the talisman’s synergy with himself.
All of this required spirit stones.
Honestly, he admired Qi Chengzan’s sharp eye—truly ruthless.
A precise target.
A second-level Foundation Establishment cultivator with a fortune rivaling a Core Formation true immortal.
After storing the talismans, Shen Lian stood and stretched.
He had too many matters to attend to and could not be tied down by a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator.
That little bug could be crushed with a thought.
Ao Stone Immortal City was vast; with disguise and relocation, it would be like finding a needle in the ocean for Qi Chengzan to track him.
On this point, Shen Lian was somewhat confident—he could even erase the old demon’s tracking marks, let alone Qi Chengzan’s tiny insect.
Compared to stable cultivation, killing Qi Chengzan brought little benefit and could invite trouble.
It would delay his future cultivation plans.
That nuisance was truly a headache.
A few days later.
Shen Lian woke from cultivation and glanced at the still-present blood bean insect.
It was time to solve this problem.
Killing it here was impossible; by now Qi Chengzan must know where he lived.
Moreover, cultivators living in Ao Stone Blessed Land were few; only a handful came and went, making it easy to be identified again.
Better to go somewhere crowded and lively.
In a joyful place, he could change disguise and outfit without anyone noticing.
When he emerged, he would be a brand-new self.
Then, whether to stay in the city selling joy or go to remote islands to sell it, he could choose at will.
“Buzz—”
The moment Shen Lian activated his cave’s formation, he felt his divine consciousness insect tremble.
Outside the cave, in the grass, a dozen transparent little insects rose and attacked him.
These bugs melded into the void and were undetectable unless one’s divine consciousness was powerful.
As they landed on him, they exploded in clusters of illusory ripples, accompanied by a ringing in his ears.
“Buzz!”
In an instant, ripples appeared in Shen Lian’s divine consciousness sea, growing stronger.
A menacing ghostly demon shadow manifested and forcefully suppressed the ripples, then spiritual power swept through his body as he began inspection.
His eyes flashed with bloodlight; having practiced Blood Condensation Soul Refining Method, he was immediately affected.
One insect was bad enough; now there were over a dozen that disturbed his mind.
As an alchemist, how could he sit still with such unrest?
This was forcing him out.
He glanced again through Xiang Jingying’s memories but found no information on these flying bugs.
Understandable, Xiang Jingying was not specialized in blood bean insect secrets and knew only so much.
This was his own fault for gathering incomplete information.
His eyes casually swept the surrounding hills but found nothing.
Yet the precise release of a new variety of blood bean insect confirmed Qi Chengzan’s nearby presence.
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