Chapter 109: Stumbling into a Forbidden Area

Chapter 109: Stumbling into a Forbidden Area

Although Chu Ning didn't think much of it, he didn't show any expression. He casually took everything and then cupped his hands, "Thank you, Executive..."

"Ah, no need to thank me! If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way." As Liao Yunming spoke, he stood up to leave.

Chu Ning sighed and muttered, "Are you that busy, Executive Liao? Never mind, I was actually going to ask for your help. I've already achieved a 60% success rate in crafting mid-tier elementary talismans from the Spirit Talisman Manual. And they say these talismans are of extremely high quality, even better than those from the Wind Canyon. I wonder if the sect would be interested in them."

Hearing this, Liao Yunming, who had just taken a step forward, immediately stopped and turned to look at Chu Ning, his eyes wide with surprise, "What did you just say? You've achieved a 60% success rate in crafting mid-tier elementary talismans from the Spirit Talisman Manual, and they're all of high quality?"

Without answering, Chu Ning directly took out several talismans from his storage bag and handed them over.

From the very first day he started working with talismans, he had displayed remarkable talent, and his performance at Yanjifang only served to reinforce that impression.

Thus, he had no reservations about demonstrating his abilities.

Moreover, he hadn't told the other party that he could already craft elementary high-grade talismans.

Liao Yunming took the talismans from Chu Ning's hand. Even though they were mid-tier elementary talismans, and he had known beforehand that Chu Ning could create them, he still looked surprised.

The quality of these talismans was indeed top-notch; even if he made them himself, they wouldn't be any better.

More importantly, Chu Ning claimed to have a 60% success rate in crafting them.

This...

"Go ahead and draw some talismans for me to see." Liao Yunming said to Chu Ning seriously.

Chu Ning naturally didn't refuse and immediately took out a talisman brush, beginning to draw various talismans from the Spirit Talisman Manual in front of Liao Yunming—the Yinlei Talisman, the Vajra Talisman, the Earth Shield Talisman, the Subdue Qi Talisman, the Clear Wind Talisman, and even the Restraining Beast Talisman that Liao Yunming had taught him before.

These talismans were like second nature to Chu Ning, who practiced drawing them every day.

If he wanted to, he could easily achieve a success rate of over 80%.

However, at this moment, to avoid being too shocking, he maintained a success rate of around 60%.

Even so, it was still enough to astonish Liao Yunming.

"Your talent for talisman-making, tsk tsk, I have indeed underestimated you." Liao Yunming's face was filled with delight, even though he had previously thought that Chu Ning's talent was exceptional.

Chu Ning's performance at this moment had exceeded his expectations.

"Chu Ning, come here!"

At this moment, Liao Yunming no longer mentioned leaving.

"From now on, you will be a key disciple cultivated by the Spirit Talisman Pavilion. Stay at Yanjifang for a while longer to hone your skills and accumulate more resources to improve your cultivation. Once you reach the late Qi Refining stage, I will definitely teach you more advanced talisman-making techniques from the Spirit Talisman Pavilion. Within it, not only are there methods to craft elementary high-grade talismans, but also those for intermediate and even advanced talismans."

Hearing Liao Yunming's words, Chu Ning's heart skipped a beat, and he almost asked if the other party could teach him the advanced talisman-making techniques right now.

However, after thinking about it, he held back and only sighed, "Executive Liao, thank you for your kind offer. But it's still too dangerous outside the sect. If it weren't for the fact that I happened to buy an intermediate-grade talisman and had the Silver Crystal Frost Bamboo Shield given by Executive He, I might have already lost my life to the Yin Demon Sect."

Upon hearing this, Liao Yunming immediately waved his hand, "As for intermediate talismans, we don't have many in the Spirit Talisman Pavilion, but we're not lacking in talismans. Wait a moment."

After saying this, Liao Yunming went upstairs and quickly came back down.

"Here are five intermediate low-grade attack talismans, each one of them is exceptionally powerful." Liao Yunming said as he handed over ten talismans to Chu Ning.

"Here are another five intermediate low-grade defensive talismans for you. With these talismans, even a Qi Refining cultivator at the peak of their power will have difficulty breaking through your defense immediately. Perhaps even a Foundation Establishment cultivator might be able to hold them off for a while."

Then, he took out a jade slip, "Here's a primary upper-tier escape technique. It has a plain name—the Escape Form Technique. However, this escape technique is not slow, and it should be twice as fast as your usual wind-riding speed. Take it and cultivate it to increase your chances of survival."

Hearing this, Chu Ning's face lit up with joy as he accepted the jade slip.

"Thank you, Executive Liao."

Liao Yunming nodded and then took out several small cloth bags from his storage bag, "Oh, right, He Changyou asked me to give you these bags of spirit plant seeds."

Chu Ning was slightly taken aback but still reached out and took them.

He had originally planned to tell He Changyou that he didn't seem to have a courtyard in the outer sect, but now that he knew the other party wasn't around, he didn't need to look for him.

So he brought it up with Liao Yunming instead.

Upon hearing this, Liao Yunming immediately waved his hand, "That's nothing. Our Spirit Talisman Pavilion also has a courtyard here in the outer sect."

As he spoke, he called out to Tan Zhang, "Tan Zhang, bring a restriction plaque from one of the pavilions' unoccupied courtyards."

After a quarter of an hour...

As Chu Ning walked out of the Spirit Talisman Pavilion with the restriction plaque in hand, Liao Yunming's face was filled with a satisfied smile.

"Old He, I've done you this favor. In the future, when this kid reaches the late Qi Refining stage and returns to the sect, he'll officially be a member of my Spirit Talisman Pavilion."

After leaving the Spirit Talisman Pavilion, Chu Ning still headed towards the Spirit Planting House.

He had originally intended to look for He Changyou, but since the other party wasn't around, there was no need for Chu Ning to go out of his way.

However, this time, Chu Ning had also brought back quite a few spirit plants, which he needed to hand over to the sect to offset his monthly contribution.

Fortunately, there were people in the Spirit Planting House who specifically handled such matters, so He Changyou's absence didn't affect anything.

But upon further thought, it made sense since Mu Ling was also a member of the Spirit Talisman Pavilion.

It was only natural for their courtyards to be close to each other within the same pavilion.

He had intended to greet Mu Ling but found that she wasn't around, so he dropped the idea.

Instead, he went straight to his own courtyard to take a look. The layout was quite similar to Mu Ling's.

As he planned to return in a couple of days, Chu Ning didn't have the time or inclination to fuss over the courtyard.

He found a room and performed a simple cleansing spell before stepping into the courtyard.

He was ready to start examining the items he had obtained earlier.

As he picked up the Earth Spirit Bracelet, Chu Ning also took out a large piece of Earth Spirit Crystal from his storage bag.

Then, he casually retrieved a small jade knife from the same bag.

This tool had been prepared before his trip to Yanjifang, as certain special spirit plants required cutting as well.

He picked up the jade knife and, after checking the dimensions of the Earth Spirit Bracelet, began to cut the crystal to fit.

Soon enough, a small piece of the crystal was chipped off.

Chu Ning embedded it into the bracelet, but hesitated as he was about to cut a second piece.

He wanted to test the bracelet's power, but the Earth Spirit Crystal was precious, and cutting too many pieces would be wasteful.

He decided to embed just one for now.

Chu Ning put down the jade knife and released Ling Xiao Bai from his spirit beast bag.

He intended to have the little guy unleash a spell to test the bracelet's defensive capabilities.

This little fellow had actually advanced to the upper first stage, which meant its level was equivalent to a late Qi Refining cultivator.

Considering that spirit beasts and demon beasts were generally stronger than ordinary cultivators of the same level, Ling Xiao Bai was the perfect candidate for this test.

"Xiao Bai, wait for my signal. I'll activate my defense, and then you can cast a spell at me," Chu Ning instructed.

As he spoke, he channeled his qi into the Earth Spirit Bracelet, activating it.

A yellowish barrier immediately enveloped his body.

Ling Xiao Bai opened its mouth and spat out a white, ice-based spell that shot toward Chu Ning.

"Bang!"

The spell hit the yellow barrier, causing it to ripple slightly before returning to its stable form.

Chu Ning's eyes lit up at the sight.

Ling Xiao Bai's spell was as powerful as an attack from an ordinary eighth layer Qi Refining cultivator.

And with this defense, Chu Ning estimated that the barrier could withstand at least five such attacks.

Keep in mind that this was with just one Earth Spirit Crystal embedded.

If he added nine more crystals, the defensive power would double.

Even a Qi Refining cultivator at the peak of their power would find it difficult to breach such a defense.

As for Foundation Establishment cultivators, Chu Ning wasn't sure, but he had a feeling they wouldn't fare much better.

With that thought, Chu Ning withdrew his qi.

However, the barrier remained intact, sustained by the lingering spiritual energy of the Earth Spirit Crystal.

This lasted for about half an hour before the barrier finally dissipated.

During that time, Chu Ning had cut ten more small pieces of Earth Spirit Crystal.

As soon as the barrier vanished, he quickly embedded all ten pieces into the bracelet.

Meanwhile, Ling Xiao Bai, curious about its new surroundings, wandered around the courtyard, its little eyes darting this way and that.

As Chu Ning worked, the little beast trotted around the courtyard, occasionally glancing in different directions.

Once Chu Ning finished embedding the ten pieces, Ling Xiao Bai scampered over to him.

It let out a "cheep" in a particular direction.

"Xiao Bai, that's where the inner sect is located, so it's natural for the spiritual energy to be denser there," Chu Ning explained with a smile.

At that moment, Ling Xiao Bai suddenly "cheeped" in another direction.

Chu Ning turned to look, a puzzled expression on his face as he glanced at the little beast.

"Are you saying that the spiritual energy is also dense over there?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That direction should be the outer fringes of the outer sect, almost at the boundaries of the mountain range.

How could there be denser spiritual energy in that area?"

Chu Ning's gaze turned skeptical as he considered the possibility.

"Xiao Bai, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"Cheep!" Ling Xiao Bai let out an indignant cheep, clearly disagreeing with Chu Ning's suggestion.

Chu Ning laughed and said, "Alright, alright, you're not mistaken. I was the one who was wrong."

"Cheep!" Ling Xiao Bai cheeped again, as if insisting that Chu Ning follow it.

"No, stay here," Chu Ning shook his head.

"It's not appropriate to wander around the sect randomly. What if we accidentally stumble into the cave abode of a senior? That wouldn't be good."

Upon hearing Chu Ning's refusal, Ling Xiao Bai "cheeped" once more, but eventually relented and plopped down lazily when it realized that Chu Ning wasn't going to budge.

Chu Ning, meanwhile, turned his attention back to the items he had acquired that day.

He took out the Blazing Flame Bracelet, a straightforward offensive artifact that could be activated by infusing it with qi.

Just as Elder Tong had described, it had two modes of attack.

Chu Ning put the Earth Spirit Bracelet on his left hand and the Blazing Flame Bracelet on his right.

Now, he had a plan for how to combine these new artifacts with his existing offensive capabilities.

For long-range attacks, he could use the Blazing Flame Bracelet to shoot fire blades or, if the opportunity presented itself, employ his Divine Wood Longbow.

And if an enemy got too close or if he chose to close the distance using the Thunderstep Technique...

At the same time, Chu Ning also took out the several intermediate low-grade talismans that Liao Yunming had given him.

Indeed, as the other party had said, there were talismans of various attributes.

Chu Ning was thoroughly satisfied and carefully put them all away.

However, when he picked up the so-called spirit plant seeds given by He Changyou through Liao Yunming, Chu Ning couldn't help but sneer.

This time, the Executive of the Spirit Planting House was being rather stingy.

Seeds of spirit plants like the Golden Origin Fruit would have been quite nice to have before he went to Yanjifang, but now, they held little attraction for Chu Ning.

Apparently, the Executive of the Spirit Planting House had underestimated both Chu Ning's current wealth and abilities.

Chu Ning put these things away in his storage bag, and since he had nowhere else to go, he decided to return to his room to cultivate.

Without any spirit plants to assist in his cultivation of the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art, Chu Ning had to rely on the Spirit Nurturing Pills he had. Fortunately, this didn't affect his progress too much.

After consuming a Spirit Nurturing Pill, Chu Ning cultivated for half a day until he had completely digested the pill's effects before stopping.

Chu Ning couldn't be bothered to cook at this moment, so he took a Pill of Fasting and ate some spirit fruits instead. Then, he continued cultivating.

Practicing the Azure Wood Eternal Spring Technique, the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique, and the Spirit Refining Technique in succession kept things interesting.

He cultivated all the way into the night, and when he finished the last round of the Spirit Refining Technique, Chu Ning tried to release his spiritual sense. He found that it had already reached a range of about 24 feet, which pleased him greatly.

The next moment, Chu Ning's expression changed slightly.

Little Ling Xiao Bai had disappeared somewhere.

Chu Ning had gotten used to letting the little beast roam freely in the courtyard while he cultivated.

But at this moment, it was nowhere to be seen.

Chu Ning quickly left the room and carefully examined the courtyard, but he still couldn't find it.

His gaze toward the outside of the courtyard became worried.

"I hope this little guy hasn't gone off to cause some trouble."

Just as Chu Ning was thinking this, Ling Xiao Bai suddenly reappeared, passing through the courtyard's restriction.

Chu Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

But the next moment, his eyes widened in shock.

He saw Ling Xiao Bai holding a red spirit fruit in its mouth, about half the size of a fist, and trotting happily towards him.

"Where...where did you get that from?"

Chu Ning looked at the little beast, feeling a headache coming on.

This was definitely a spirit fruit grown by one of the elders within the sect, and now Ling Xiao Bai had stolen one and brought it back...

Chu Ning quickly walked over and took the spirit fruit from its mouth.

Then, he anxiously asked, "Did you eat any of it?"

"Cheep!" Ling Xiao Bai shook its head.

"Good, that's a relief." Chu Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now, take it back immediately."

At this moment, Ling Xiao Bai let out a "cheep" towards Chu Ning.

"It's fine, no one's there."

No one? Chu Ning frowned. Which elder wasn't in their abode?

"Cheep cheep!"

Ling Xiao Bai let out a few more cheeps.

Combining the little beast's spiritual transmission with his own questions, Chu Ning took some time to understand what it was trying to say.

Ling Xiao Bai said it had found the spirit fruit on a mountain in the direction it mentioned yesterday, where the spiritual energy was denser. Moreover, that place wasn't a human's abode or a spirit herb garden, but an entire mountain range.

However, when he heard that Ling Xiao Bai wanted him to go there, Chu Ning shook his head and said, "Forget it, since it's within the sect's grounds, we shouldn't wander around randomly.

Since you found this spirit fruit, you can have it."

Saying so, Chu Ning threw the spirit fruit back to Ling Xiao Bai.

"Cheep!"

Ling Xiao Bai cheeped and caught the spirit fruit in its mouth, but instead of eating it, it quickly rushed out.

"Xiao Bai!" Chu Ning called out immediately.

But Ling Xiao Bai didn't listen and ran even faster towards the outside.

Chu Ning hurried after it.

By now, Ling Xiao Bai had already run quite a distance.

Ever since it broke through to the upper first stage, its speed had increased even further.

At this moment, with his cultivation at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, Chu Ning couldn't catch up even with Wind Riding.

Even if he wanted to use the Beast Trapping Talisman, he was already out of range.

The use of flight artifacts was prohibited in the outer sect's area.

Chu Ning could only swear in his heart and chase after it with Wind Riding.

Fortunately, it was already night, and there was no one around.

Moreover, the executives of the various peaks would have returned to the inner sect, so one human and one beast went unnoticed.

They reached the edge of the outer sect, and only then did Ling Xiao Bai stop.

"Cheep!"

By now, the spirit fruit had already been eaten by it.

Ling Xiao Bai let out a cheep towards Chu Ning, along with a spiritual transmission.

"There's a restriction there?"

Chu Ning heard this and didn't find it strange. It was very likely the sect's protective restriction at the edge of its territory.

After all, beyond this point, they would be outside the sect's mountain range.

With this in mind, Chu Ning immediately transmitted back to Ling Xiao Bai:

"Alright, this is the sect's restriction, we mustn't touch it casually. Let's go back."

As he spoke, Chu Ning squatted down to reach out and grab the little beast.

At this moment, a white light suddenly appeared on Ling Xiao Bai's head, enveloping Chu Ning as well.

Then, Ling Xiao Bai lunged forward.

With Chu Ning wrapped in the white light, it charged straight into the restriction.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end