Devastation

Shi Yu looked at this scene, thinking, It seems when all nine chains are completely shattered, my bloodline will awaken.

Feeling that the spark of the Void Fissure Spiritual Flame had thoroughly merged into her body, Shi Yu turned her hand over once more, channeling her spiritual energy.

A cluster of crimson fire sprinkled with brilliant gold appeared in her palm, exuding scorching heat.

Her face lit up with joy. “It turned into my natal fire.”

With a natal fire born, she would no longer need to exert effort building fires or lighting charcoal when concocting pills and refining artifacts in the future.

Furthermore, a natal fire moved at the user's will and was far easier to control, which would not only boost efficiency and success rate, but also improve the quality of pills and artifacts.

Her trip to the Fulong Mountain Range had yielded truly abundant rewards.

Looking down at herself, the clothes she had been wearing had turned to ash the moment they touched the magma, and even the Fire Feather Brocade Robe couldn't last more than a few breaths submerged in the molten rock before being completely ruined.

Shaking her head with a hint of regret, Shi Yu retrieved a new set of robes from the Fate-Tapping Bell, put them on, and tied up her hair once more.

Standing at the crater's rim, she turned and looked toward the market town to the north in the distance. Now that her business here was done, it was time to set off and return.

Having obtained what she came for and with the spirit beast rampage in the Fulong Mountain Range over, once she rested and regrouped after getting back, it would be time to figure out how to travel to the main city of Lingtai Prefecture.

“I wonder how Xie Cheng and Xie Zhixun are doing.” She frowned slightly.

Wu Hao had tracked her down using the Trail-Seeking Butterfly and was killed by her hand, meaning the other two brothers must have split up with him to pursue Xie Cheng and Xie Zhixun.

The Spirit Wandering Talisman had an unpredictable teleportation distance. If the two had bad luck and were only teleported a few miles away, the outcome would likely be grim, as the Trail-Seeking Butterfly would quickly catch up with them.

If they were fortunate enough to be teleported farther away, buying them some time, the Detoxification Pills she gave them should dissolve much of the poison, allowing them to save their lives and escape the pursuit.

Shi Yu wasn't sure if the remaining Wu family brothers would come after her next, and she worried about encountering unexpected danger on her way back to the market town. After all, she would be returning alone, unlike the journey here when their large group could deter most spirit beasts lurking in the shadows.

Since the crater was still relatively safe for now, she simply pulled out several Earth-attribute spiritual materials from the Fate-Tapping Bell.

“Two liang of Earth Crocodile Turtle blood, three mace of Yellow Crystal Jade dust, one mace of Earth-Element Sand...”

Placing the spiritual materials onto a jade dish, Shi Yu ground and prepared the talisman ink on the spot, intending to craft a few more Spirit Wandering Talismans to keep in reserve.

Mixing Tier-2 talisman ink required a technique far less crude than simply grinding and blending ingredients like Tier-1 ink. It required infusing spiritual energy to adjust and balance the ink, keeping it stable—a process with many points where mistakes could easily be made.

Once the talisman ink was prepared, Shi Yu took out several sheets of treated talisman paper. Selecting a relatively flat stone as her drafting board, she smoothed a piece of paper over it, dipped her talisman pen in the ink, and began tracing complex source runes.

Dense, pure Earth spiritual Qi gathered at the tip of the talisman pen. Lowering her head, Shi Yu slowly brought the pen down to draw the first source rune.

A Tier-2 Spirit Wandering Talisman contained six interconnected source runes, making its creation far more difficult than that of a Tier-1 spirit talisman. Moreover, as a teleportation talisman involving spatial attributes, its six source runes were significantly harder to draw than ordinary ones.

Previously, she had failed many times before barely managing to make two, which had bought her a crucial chance to escape when it mattered most.

But now, as she set pen to paper, Shi Yu clearly felt much more at ease than before.

The first source rune took little effort, drawn cleanly in a single smooth stroke. The ink flowed across the paper effortlessly like a gentle stream, without a trace of stiffness.

Holding her breath and focusing her mind, she continued drawing the remaining source runes.

Every subsequent source rune had to interlock and resonate with those drawn before it. Consequently, drawing the six source runes grew progressively harder with each stroke.

Yet as Shi Yu drew, everything went surprisingly smoothly.

Fifteen minutes later, all six source runes were drawn to perfection. As the final stroke landed, faint trails shimmered with soft light, and the source runes began to leap across the paper, seemingly ready to spring forth.

Gazing at the freshly crafted Spirit Wandering Talisman, Shi Yu set down her talisman pen and gently ran her fingers across the surface of the paper.

“After stepping into the fourth layer of the Qi Refining Realm, I have more spiritual energy to spare in my body, and my control over spiritual energy has deepened as well.”

Yet that was not the sole reason she had crafted the Spirit Wandering Talisman so effortlessly just now.

Flicking her fingers lightly, the spark of the Void Fissure Spiritual Flame—now her natal fire—leapt onto her fingertip.

Golden threads intertwined within the flame, creating a striking sight.

“The Void Fissure Spiritual Flame possesses spatial attributes...”

Its main body contained a potent essence of spatial laws. Although the tiny spark that merged into her body fell far short of the main flame, it still inherited a trace of spatial law power.

Naturally, Shi Yu reaped the benefits.

This made her exceptionally adept at crafting Tier-2 Spirit Wandering Talismans—teleportation talismans that likewise carried spatial attributes.

Understanding the reason, Shi Yu's eyes curved into a smile. Taking advantage of the abundant spiritual energy still in her body, she set to work making more Spirit Wandering Talismans.

Only after crafting six or seven in a row, when her spiritual energy was nearly exhausted, did she stop. She swallowed a Dew-Condensing Pill and some Life Spring water, then sat cross-legged to regulate her breathing.

The Fire spiritual Qi around the crater was extraordinarily active, visibly boosting her cultivation efficiency. The depleted spiritual energy in her body recovered much faster than usual.

...

Her surroundings were remarkably quiet. Until she finished adjusting her breathing, not a single living creature came to disturb her, almost as if someone were protecting her.

Shi Yu realized what was happening after a moment's thought and bowed deeply to the crater. “Thank you, Senior.”

The Void Fissure Spiritual Flame gave no reply, but Shi Yu did not mind. She straightened up, knowing she should not linger and intrude any further.

Stepping onto the ground softened by the baking heat of magma, she headed down the mountain toward the market town, making her way back.

This journey took about ten days.

During her return journey, Shi Yu read through the newly acquired 《Wind Walking Art》 whenever she had spare time.

Since her surroundings were unsafe, she merely pondered and practiced on her own without recklessly entering the chaotic space inside the Fate-Tapping Bell, which would consume a massive amount of divine sense to evolve the technique.

Still, her natural comprehension was excellent. After memorizing the movement technique, she practiced daily and made rapid progress. She only needed to wait until she left the mountain range to let the figure inside the chaotic space refine and evolve it further.

In the Fulong Mountain Range, the two dominant overlords—the Moon-Embracing Kite-Falcon and the Scarlet Flame Void-Cleaving Python—had perished together. As their lingering pressure gradually dissipated over time, the spirit beasts in the mountain range became increasingly active.

Shi Yu encountered quite a few spirit beasts blocking her path along the way. Unwilling to get entangled in fights with them, she would combine 《Lesser Swallow Steps》 with the 《Wind Walking Art》 to slip away whenever she met one.

One focused on agility while the other emphasized speed; combined, they proved exceptionally useful for running away.

Only when an encounter was truly unavoidable would she take it seriously and seek an opportunity to disengage from combat.

In any case, she hadn't come here to train. Having accomplished her goal, returning as early as possible without wasting time was what mattered most.

When she walked once more along the bustling streets of the market town and heard the surrounding clamor, Shi Yu let out a small sigh of relief.

She was truly exhausted. Qi Refining cultivators still needed sleep to restore their spirit. On her solo return trip, she hadn't even dared to close her eyes to rest, only setting up a quick maze array to nap briefly whenever drowsiness overwhelmed her.

After so many days, thoroughly worn out, she wanted nothing more than to return to her courtyard and sleep before dealing with anything else.

However, upon returning to her small courtyard, Shi Yu was met with complete devastation.

Everything in the yard had been completely destroyed. As far as the eye could see, all kinds of utensils had been trampled or overturned, fragments scattered across the ground, with dark red, dried bloodstains faintly visible.

Her eyes turned cold as she stepped over the scattered mess and went inside to take a look.

The interior was equally ruined. Her bed had been chopped into broken wooden planks, her quilt slashed into pieces with stuffing flying everywhere. The clothes in her wardrobe were completely tossed out, thrown on the floor, and trampled with footprints.

Her mood instantly sank to rock bottom, her entire aura radiating gloomy rage.

“Was it done by the Wu family brothers?”

Then who else held a grudge against her?

Despite her foul mood, her thoughts remained calm. Shi Yu's gaze landed on the dark red bloodstains in the yard.

Traces of a brief struggle remained in the yard. This blood likely belonged to Chen Er; after she left, he was the only person who came to the courtyard.

She had a faint guess. Just as she was about to step out the courtyard gate, she saw a young shop hand running toward her in a panic from afar.

“Young Master Shi! Young Master Shi, you're finally back!”

Shi Yu recognized him as a shop hand from Tongyi Pavilion.

Out of breath, he said, “Manager Jiang sent me to keep watch here, ordering me to inform you immediately as soon as you showed up!”

Shi Yu asked concisely, “Where is Chen Er?”

Shivering from the cold aura surrounding her, the shop hand stammered, “Brother Chen Er was... was taken away by people sent by Manager Yan of Duize Tower!”

“Oh?” Shi Yu's gaze grew colder. “Chen Er is an outer disciple of the Yuxu Sect after all. How does Manager Yan have the nerve to abduct a Yuxu Sect disciple? Is he not afraid of offending the Yuxu Sect?”

“This... this...” The shop hand stammered, at a loss for words.

“Or rather,” Shi Yu raised her eyes, already understanding, “is there someone from the Yuxu Sect backing him?”