Chapter 24: Chapter 23 Silver Dragon Spear Technique, Return to Nature!
Ning Daoran nodded, treasures that could enhance one’s personal safety index were naturally something he sincerely wanted.
Liu Ruyan bit her red lips and said, “I won’t hide it from you, junior brother, these past two years I have indeed touched upon the basics of Second Order Lower Grade talismans, and there was a moment of inspiration where I managed to create one.”
With that, she gently slapped her storage bag, and instantly, a deep blue talisman fluttered out.
“Second Order… drawn on high-quality talisman paper?” Lin Sheng was slightly startled.
Ning Daoran had already browsed through numerous books in the Book Collection Pavilion and had gained a substantial understanding of talismans.
The materials for talismans varied, among which the talisman paper was divided into inferior, ordinary, top-grade, and high-quality four kinds.
Generally speaking, talismans of the same grade made from high-quality paper would be about 20 percent more powerful than top-grade ones and over 50 percent more powerful than ordinary paper!
Therefore, the talisman in front of them was the best of Second Order Lower Grade talismans.
“Second Order Lower Grade Frost Freeze Talisman.”
Liu Ruyan spoke softly, “Once activated, it can even cause a Foundation Establishment expert to lose their combat ability for a short time, its power is quite astonishing.”
She glanced at Lin Sheng and explained, “But using a Second Order talisman consumes too much mana and is too powerful, and it’s very difficult to control, so I didn’t bring it out when I was practicing in the depths of the Yellow Dragon Mountain Range.”
Lin Sheng gave her a deep look, I understand.
Liu Ruyan’s pretty face flushed with color.
“Junior Brother Ning, if it were an ordinary talisman, I would have just given it to you. But such a high-quality Second Order talisman is really too valuable, so… unless you take out an item of equal or greater value than this talisman…”
“What do you need?”
Lin Sheng immediately slapped his storage bag, and instantly two First-tier top-grade magical artifacts flew out, “Ruyan, would these suffice for a trade?”
“Ah?”
Liu Ruyan was stunned, then gave him a reproachful look.
Lin Sheng laughed, “Junior Brother Ning is my brother, and he has twice saved my life. How could I, as his senior brother, stand by idly when he wants something?”
“Cough cough…”
Ning Daoran took a deep breath and said, “Senior brother, wait a moment. I won’t lie to you. During my last outing, I also came across some opportunities. Wait, let me fetch something for you two to take a look.”
With that, he lifted a section of the floorboard and climbed down a ladder to the basement. Under the cover of the Concealing Breath Technique, he casually picked two nearly five-hundred-year-old Yan Ling Grasses from the underground spirit herbs.
Although Yan Ling Grass wasn’t anything rare, once it reached five hundred years, it could be used to refine Second-stage Heavenly Net Pills, an elixir that could greatly advance one’s Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation!
He specially took a box out of his storage bag to pack and store the two Yan Ling Grasses.
As Lin Sheng and Liu Ruyan were marveling that this small building even had a basement, Ning Daoran had already placed the two Yan Ling Grasses in the box and pushed it forward.
“The Yan Ling Grass is nearly five hundred years old?”
Lin Sheng was greatly surprised, “Your luck is so good, junior brother. I thought all the spirit herbs in the vicinity of the Chaotic Sect were scraped clean by those Loose Cultivators!”
“Sister.”
Ning Daoran smiled, “Would these two Yan Ling Grasses be enough to compensate for your high-quality Second Order Frost Freeze Talisman? If it’s not enough, I can make up for it with more spirit stones!”
“That’s enough.”
Liu Ruyan’s chest heaved, in fact, this trade was definitely in her favor, as those Foundation Establishment old monsters adored these five-hundred-year-old Yan Ling Grasses, and their value was much higher.
She thought for a moment and said, “As your senior sister, I can’t let you suffer a loss. How about this, aside from the Frost Freeze Talisman, I’ll also gift you four First-tier Talismans.
Among them are a First-tier top-grade Intense Fire Charm, a First-tier High-grade Divine Speed Talisman, and two First-tier Mid-grade Cold Wind Talismans, all of which can boost combat power.”
With that, Liu Ruyan lightly patted her storage bag, and four more talismans leaped out, joining the high-quality Second Order Frost Freeze Talisman she pushed towards Ning Daoran.
In this way, the trade was roughly equivalent.
As a matter of fact, Ning Daoran was just slightly better off, since Liu Ruyan gifted two additional Mid-grade Cold Wind Talismans.
But it didn’t bother her; as the senior sister, it was only right for the junior brother to have a bit of an advantage.
“Alright!”
Ning Daoran took the talismans and said with a smile, “Thank you, senior sister, hehe, I’ve stumbled upon a treasure!”
He quickly stowed all the talismans away in his storage bag. With these, he felt 20 percent braver when leaving the mountain.
Liu Ruyan carefully put the two Yan Ling Grasses into her storage bag as well. Such high-aged spirit herbs were rarely seen and were priceless on the market.
She had already decided, one Yan Ling Grass would be given as a tribute to the Foundation Establishment Ancestor of the Liu Family, which was the duty of a direct daughter. The other Yan Ling Grass, with its abundant medicinal properties, could be used to ask a Pill Master friend to refine a Solid Color Pill for her.
That way, no matter what realm she reached in this lifetime, she would remain forever beautiful as a flower.
“What was meant to be a nice meal turned out to be a trading session,” Lin Sheng grumbled.
Liu Ruyan couldn’t help but laugh.
Ning Daoran then said, “Senior Sister Liu, if you refine another high-quality Second Order talisman in the future, let me know, ha. If I have something exchangeable on hand, I will always be interested.”
“Sure.”
Liu Ruyan gave a light smile with dimples; this inconspicuous Outer Sect junior brother had unexpectedly profound resources.
However, she was unaware that just a zhang beneath her, there was a large patch of Yan Ling Grass over four hundred years old.
Another year passed, and it would all truly add up to five hundred years.
Soon afterward, dishes were served.
A braised spirit fish, a butterbean chicken casserole, several home-style stir-fries, and for rice, round and full grains of Second-order Green Bamboo Spirit Rice.
Lin Sheng shoveled food into his mouth at remarkable speed, and even Liu Ruyan, a young lady from a Foundation Establishment family, couldn’t stop singing its praises, sufficiently illustrating the culinary skills that Ning Daoran and Old Lu had honed over so many years!
At night, the stars shone brilliantly.
Lin Sheng and Liu Ruyan left side by side on their Royal Weapons, resembling an immortal couple.
On the second floor of the small building, Ning Daoran and Big Stupid Deer lay on individual recliners, enjoying the summer night’s stars.
The soundproofing talisman had been buried, and indeed, it provided sound isolation for the Small Cloud Mist Array. From now on, one man and one deer could scheme loudly in the courtyard without fear of eavesdropping.
A single talisman, truly miraculous.
Ning Daoran felt somewhat helpless; it was a pity that his own talents were mediocre, unable to master anything he learned, and that Dan Formation Talisman could not be cultivated by Refining Time alone; it had to be accomplished bit by bit.
He narrowed his eyes; this Senior Sister Liu was quite interesting.
Senior Brother Lin was interested in her as a person, but Ning Daoran was only interested in her talisman.
Having lived two lifetimes, he did not have any “love-struck” notions; in this dangerous Cultivation World where peril lurked at every corner, his own strength was the ultimate guarantee—this, he knew all too well in his heart and mind.
It was said that Senior Sister Liu’s family was once a Golden Core family, a prominent clan that had produced a False Core True Man.
Unfortunately, they had since fallen into decline; although they retained some of their foundation, they were now virtually indistinguishable from an ordinary Foundation Establishment family.
However, with the appearance of Liu Ruyan, who had an exceptional talent in the Talismanic Way, the Liu Family became ambitious again. They invested significant resources to send her to the Inner Sect of the Chaotic Sect, hoping that Liu Ruyan would succeed in Foundation Establishment one day.
When that time came, not only would the Liu Family gain an additional Foundation Establishment Ancestor, but more likely, a talented and clever Second Order Talisman Master, extending the family’s destiny for more than a hundred years!
In the blink of an eye, another year and a half quickly passed by.
Ning Daoran turned thirty, but due to his cultivation of the Evergreen Technique, his facial appearance seemed to have frozen, continuously looking like an eighteen-year-old.
It was a pity that he neglected his appearance, spending his days working the fields with Big Stupid Deer with great fervor.
Thus, although there were quite a number of female cultivators in his sect who knew Ning Daoran, not a single one truly had feelings for him.
At this time, after Refining Time for more than twenty thousand years, he was ready to challenge the Returning to Nature level of the Silver Dragon Spear Technique.
Within the twenty zhang deep basement, he sat with his eyes closed, pouring the Refining Time into the Silver Dragon Spear Technique, beginning his diligent practice!
[The first year, your Silver Dragon Spear Technique, already perfected, showed not a single flaw. You had long been a renowned person in the Jianghu but still aspired to go further.]
[Year two thousand four-hundred, your friends in the Jianghu found it odd, asking how you planned to practice the already perfect Silver Dragon Spear Technique; you just smiled without a word.]
[Year four thousand one hundred, one day after practicing your spear, you suddenly decide to go into seclusion. After meditating for half a year, an entirely different mental state suddenly opened for you.]
[Silver Dragon Spear Technique. Yellow Rank Middle Grade (Transformation Realm)]
[Year seven thousand six hundred thirty-three, with your Silver Dragon Spear Technique reaching the Transformation Realm, you swept across the Jianghu. Your spear technique unmatched in several states, but still you were not content to stop there.]
[You practiced rigorously every day, devoting yourself to ascetic practices in the woods, forgoing worldly wealth and honor, even those young, beautiful female cultivators who came to the mountains to seek your instruction and wished to serve beside you, you treated as if they were nothing.]
[Year nine thousand nine hundred, a sudden phenomenon between heaven and earth appeared deep in the mountains. Countless dense clouds enveloped the sky above where you practiced, large swaths of clouds started turning red, something within those warm jade clouds shimmered alongside thunder. At this moment, you knew your Great Way had been achieved.]
[Silver Dragon Spear Technique. Yellow Rank Middle Grade (Return to Nature)]
[Derivative Secret Skill: Silver Dragon Emerges from the Sea]
[Derivative Secret Skill: Silver Dragon Water Collection]
[Refining Time remaining: Fifteen thousand four hundred sixty-six years]
Success!
Ning Daoran was overjoyed, countless insights into the true intent and intricacies of the Silver Dragon Spear Technique flooded his brain, as if he truly had practiced them for ten thousand years, mastering various spear techniques effortlessly!
Moreover, when the Silver Dragon Spear Technique reached the Return to Nature moment, it actually derived two secret skills.
One called Silver Dragon Emerges from the Sea, a thrust that surged forward.
The other, called Silver Dragon Water Collection, a move that descended from the heavens like an overhanging dark cloud, perfect for a sneak attack, likely to blow the heads off cultivators of the same realm with a single strike.
“Phew…”
He rode the momentum and rushed to the surface, pulled out the iron spear of the Big Master from his Storage Bag in the courtyard, and began to wield the Returning to Nature level Silver Dragon Spear Technique.
Instantly, with the spear’s edge breaking through the wind, wisps of silver dragon afterimages undulated with the weapon, as if attracting some true intent of the Martial Arts.
“Secret Skill: Silver Dragon Emerges from the Sea!”
Amidst the sound of cleaving wind, a silver-white spear radiance shot forth, dragon roars echoing within it. Not only that, clouds gathered above, and the peak of martial arts actually influenced the weather!
Above the Chaotic Sect, a silver dragon roared into view!
Frightened, he quickly dragged the long spear back into the twenty-zhang deep secret chamber, trembling in fear.