Shi Yu did not stop practicing her new movement technique in the courtyard until she was completely exhausted.
Feeling thoroughly worn out and aching all over, she casually steamed some spiritual grain to eat. Seeing that night had fallen, she retreated to her room and fell into a deep sleep.
When Shi Yu opened her eyes again, the small tree outside her window looked even greener under the bright sun, which filtered through the leaves to cast dappled spots of light into the room.
By the time she woke, the sun was already high in the sky.
She got up and washed, feeling a rare sense of refreshing clarity she hadn't experienced in a long time.
Since her identity as a woman had been completely exposed, Shi Yu no longer bothered disguising herself as a man, opting instead to change back into her original female robes.
The plain, flowing gauze dress looked light and graceful in the sunlight.
Her hair was loosely tied into a simple bun, resting gently against her slender shoulders and lending her a touch of youthful grace.
Shi Yu looked into the mirror at the reflection. After all this time, the plain features transformed by the Scarlet Glass Flower were actually becoming quite pleasant to her eyes.
Setting down the mirror, she prepared some food. “Time to check on Chen Er.”
Stepping into the neighboring room, Shi Yu swept her spiritual sense over Chen Er and found that his injuries had improved significantly.
“He should wake up soon.”
Reassured, she set the food down beside him, popped a few Rejuvenation Pills into his mouth, and turned to leave.
Back in her courtyard, Shi Yu brought out a talisman pen, talisman paper, and several spiritual materials, beginning to grind and mix the talisman ink required for Spirit Wandering Talismans.
Since she intended to sell them at auction, she needed a sizable quantity; this time, she mixed an entire small jar of talisman ink.
She murmured to herself, “If I make few mistakes, this much ink should easily yield around twenty talismans.”
Holding her pen with lowered eyes, she focused entirely, dipping the tip into the radiant ink before beginning her strokes upon the talisman paper.
Every stroke was precise and perfectly weighted. Source runes materialized one after another as brilliant spiritual light flickered, intertwining seamlessly.
Having rested for a full night, she was in peak condition and successfully crafted three Spirit Wandering Talismans in a row, all of respectable quality.
However, as she began the fourth talisman, having barely drawn two of the six source runes, Shi Yu felt something amiss.
The ink strokes suddenly grew blurred. Fine cracks appeared on the shaft near the tip, leaking fragments of spiritual light that widened the fissures.
She quickly halted her painting, but the spiderweb of cracks spread rapidly across the entire pen. With a sharp snap, the talisman pen shattered to pieces in her hand.
Holding a pile of pen debris in her palm, Shi Yu set it aside. “Asking a Tier-1 talisman pen to draw Tier-2 spirit talismans was indeed straining it.”
Any talisman pen below Tier 5 was considered a consumable. No matter how carefully maintained, long-term use would eventually wear it down to cracking point, so she wasn't surprised.
Refined from Sunset Red Cedar Wood and Green Mane Sable belly fur, this pen had accompanied her for a long time and fulfilled its duty honorably.
For an ordinary talisman master, the expense of talisman pens alone was a major burden.
Those fortunate enough to acquire a fine, high-tier talisman pen would practically treasure it like a sacred relic, taking exquisite care of it and using it with utmost caution.
If a pen broke—an ordinary one was manageable, but losing a top-quality one would leave a talisman master heartbroken for days.
Fortunately, Shi Yu was an artifact refiner herself, so she suffered no such worries.
“I'll just refine a new one.”
She put away the completed Spirit Wandering Talismans and temporarily placed the ink inside the Fate-Tapping Bell to preserve its spiritual energy.
“Which spiritual materials should I use?”
After a moment's thought, she retrieved two Moonlight Stones she had previously asked Jiang Qihe to buy and placed them on the table, intending to use them for the pen barrel.
The two translucent white stones held a soft hue, shimmering with faint radiance as if bathed in moonlight—a truly captivating sight.
“Moonlight Stone isn't particularly rare, but it's remarkably versatile. It's just right for refining a Tier-2 talisman pen.”
Thanks to its gentle nature, Moonlight Stone rarely conflicted with other spiritual materials. When refining artifacts, it could be paired with almost anything without issue.
Additionally, it helped enhance perception and spiritual power, making it one of Shi Yu's favorite materials for refining low-tier artifacts.
Besides the Moonlight Stones, she took a tuft of belly feathers from the Moon-Embracing Kite-Falcon to serve as the pen tip, shaking her head softly. “Using such a high-tier material to refine a Tier-2 artifact is a bit wasteful...”
“Still, it's just a small tuft for the tip, so it shouldn't be much of a problem.”
Considering compatibility, she selected a few complementary materials, such as Jade Clarity Stone and Blue Crystal Grass.
Though used in small amounts, these materials could harmonize the attributes and allow the core components to fuse seamlessly, serving as the finishing touch.
Once all materials were selected, Shi Yu wrapped a drop of Slaughter Spring water in her spiritual energy, dropped it into a water bucket, and submerged the materials inside.
Watching as the impurities dissolved and floated away as grayish-black mist, Shi Yu thought, Purification will take a while.
Leaving the bucket aside, she used the spare time to practice 《Swallow Walking Art》.
By evening, Shi Yu checked the bucket. All the materials had been thoroughly cleansed by the Slaughter Spring water, shrinking in size and glowing with brilliant spiritual light.
In high spirits, she felt a wave of anticipation. “Now I can refine the artifact.”
Before generating her natal fire, she had relied on Gansong Charcoal to kindle flames for artifact refining.
But now...
Shi Yu flicked her finger, sending out the Void Fissure Spiritual Flame. Looking at the brilliant fire woven with red and golden threads, her eyes curved with a smile. “Do your best.”
As if understanding her, the Void Fissure Spiritual Flame danced continuously atop her fingertips in response.
When she tossed the materials into the fire one by one, the seemingly small flame surged instantly, enveloping them completely.
Compared to charcoal fire, the Void Fissure Spiritual Flame proved its extraordinary nature the moment it made contact with the materials.
The efficiency of melting the materials was higher than ever before. Connected to the fire in mind and intent, controlling the heat was effortless, allowing her to refine smoothly and naturally.
“As expected of a Heavenly Fire.” This was Shi Yu's first time using the Void Fissure Spiritual Flame to refine an artifact since acquiring it, and the results were truly marvelous.
Sun set and moon rose, then moon fell and day broke again; Shi Yu remained completely immersed in artifact refining. Whenever her spiritual Qi ran dry, she would consume Dew-Condensing Pills and Life Spring water to meditate and recover before continuing.
After a whole night passed, as the first light of dawn broke, the talisman pen was finally completed.
Light blue radiance flowed across the surface of this Tier-2 talisman pen. The barrel was engraved with three restrictions—Spirit-Channelling, Spirit-Gathering, and Durability-Enhancing—their intricate patterns resembling hazy light over a sea of clouds.
Holding it felt exceptionally comfortable, smooth and warm to the touch. Upon contact with her skin, the spiritual Qi inside her was subtly aroused, showing its remarkable efficiency at channeling Qi.
Shi Yu couldn't wait to test her new pen. Sure enough, both drawing speed and effectiveness reached new heights, the seamless flow drawing her in completely.
She crafted several more Spirit Wandering Talismans before pausing to rest.
“Ten or so Spirit Wandering Talismans should be enough. After that, I'll pair them with some Speed-Enhancing Talismans and Escape Talismans...”
While spirit talismans were good, low-tier ones struggled to command high prices.
The Spirit Wandering Talisman sat at the top price ceiling for Tier-2 spirit talismans, but even so, a single card fetched around a hundred low-grade spirit stones at most.
For a Qi Refining Realm cultivator, it was a precious life-saving treasure, but against a Foundation Establishment Realm Master capable of controlling escape rays, the locked escape light rendered the Spirit Wandering Talisman ineffective. Only higher-tier Teleportation Talismans would be of any use then.
Shi Yu thought to herself, Once I finish refining the talismans needed for the auction, I'll take some time to refine a few artifacts and pills as well.
There was no rush to sell the refined artifacts at this hastily assembled auction; she could wait until she reached the main city. For now, Shi Yu didn't want to expose her identity as an artifact refiner in front of Jiang Qihe.
Whether she sold them immediately or not, it was best to be prepared. One could never have too many spirit stones.
Rate on N.U.
