Chapter 85: The Black Needle Poison Bee

“I didn’t expect the Clear Sight Spirit Liquid to be this expensive—fifty lower-grade spirit stones per bottle, and at least five bottles are needed just to make the eyes bright and spirited enough to see through rice paper,” Zhou Changwang muttered, his face somewhat darkened.

The price was indeed steep. But there was no other choice—if he wanted to cultivate the Spiritual Eye Technique, he had to buy it. Enduring the ache in his heart, he purchased five bottles.

It was said that the Watercloud Pavilion also offered a spirit liquid called Golden Spirit Eye Elixir, an upgraded version of the Clear Sight Spirit Liquid. With long-term use, it was rumored that one’s eyes could even undergo a metamorphosis, transforming into innate spiritual eyes.

Thousand-Mile Vision, Void-Penetrating Sight, Illusion Eyes… These were all considered types of innate spiritual eyes, each possessing incredible and mysterious powers, comparable to legendary divine abilities—formidable beyond compare.

However, a single bottle of Golden Spirit Eye Elixir was worth three hundred lower-grade spirit stones, and he estimated he would need thousands, even tens of thousands of bottles to have a chance at such a transformation.

So, although Zhou Changwang had heard the introduction, he felt no temptation at all.

After leaving the Watercloud Pavilion, his stock of spirit stones was once again depleted. Originally, he had three or four hundred, but now only a mere one hundred and fifty were left.

He didn’t linger outside. The cultivators on the streets all wore wary expressions, and even the crowds had noticeably thinned. He had no desire to invite unnecessary trouble.

Returning to his small courtyard, Zhou Changwang immediately took out the Clear Sight Spirit Liquid.

Naturally, he used the half-bottle left from the array master’s pouch. He had already asked the Watercloud Pavilion’s steward to verify its authenticity—it was indeed Clear Sight Spirit Liquid.

Half a bottle was worth twenty-five lower-grade spirit stones; he certainly didn’t want to waste it.

He opened the vial and let the liquid drop into his eyes.

One drop, two, three…

Five drops in each eye.

In fact, five drops at a time were sufficient; any more would be wasted, as the eyes could not absorb it.

Instantly, a wave of indescribable coolness spread through his eyes, making them tremble in comfort and feel utterly relaxed.

After a while, sensing that the liquid had been absorbed, he slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

The surroundings seemed a bit brighter.

Of course, there was no dramatic change; this was a gradual process, and he had only just begun using it. Naturally, there would not be a significant difference right away.

He planned to use it morning, noon, and night, hoping to quickly improve his eyesight enough to see through rice paper, so he could practice the Spiritual Eye Technique.

…

“A new spirit brush truly is extraordinary. Not only is the transmission of spiritual power smoother, but it also has a spiritual power recirculation effect. That is, even if the flow of spiritual power is interrupted, as long as you react in time, you can pick it up again in a snap and continue drawing the talisman without a break…”

Holding the newly purchased mid-grade Gold Tip Talisman Brush, Zhou Changwang’s face showed a hint of delight.

For his talisman crafting, this was a tremendous boon.

Although his success rate was already high and failures were rare, there were still differences between one finished spirit talisman and another.

Take the Thunder Talisman, for example—if he used his old, split-tipped, second-hand spirit brush, the chance of creating a top-grade talisman was only thirty percent. But with this new mid-grade brush, the chance increased to fifty percent.

The difference was enormous.

Zhou Changwang focused intently on drawing talismans, feeling out the properties of the new brush.

Soon, a flash of spiritual light appeared on the talisman—he had just completed a Thunder Talisman, and it was a masterpiece among masterpieces.

Its power reached about sixty percent of a standard Thunder Spell.

“A talisman like this, at current market prices, could fetch at least seven lower-grade spirit stones,” Zhou Changwang estimated, setting it aside and beginning another.

One, two, three…

Suddenly—

Buzz!

A surge of spiritual light radiated from the talisman paper, and a strong wave of spiritual energy gathered, drawing torrents of heaven and earth essence into the talisman.

Thunder Talisman +5

“This is a first-grade spirit talisman? According to the basic talisman records, if a talisman’s power exceeds seventy percent of the original spell, it qualifies as a finished spirit talisman.”

Thunder Spell was a first-grade elementary spell, so this talisman could be considered a first-grade elementary spirit talisman?

Realization dawned, and joy bloomed on Zhou Changwang’s face.

A first-grade elementary spirit talisman’s power was not much different from the actual spell. On the market, especially with the current surge in talisman prices, one could sell for at least fifteen lower-grade spirit stones.

It was said that only second-grade talisman masters had some chance of crafting such talismans.

Which meant, he was now…

Zhou Changwang was rejoicing when, suddenly, the spirit talisman self-ignited without wind and turned to ash in an instant.

He blinked in astonishment.

What just happened?

He’d been on the verge of completing a first-grade spirit talisman—why did it disintegrate?

He checked his status panel.

Thunder Talisman (Proficient 192/200)

Not much change, but the experience did increase by five points.

But the almost-finished first-grade elementary spirit talisman… was gone.

“What went wrong?” Zhou Changwang guessed the cause, but decided to keep drawing.

One, two, three…

At the seventh attempt—

Buzz!

Again, the air trembled, spiritual energy surged, and as the talisman was about to form, it turned to ash.

Thunder Talisman +5

At the same time, a flood of insights about making Thunder Talismans filled his mind, as if he had crafted hundreds in a heartbeat.

“Thunder Talisman, Minor Achievement.”

It now read Thunder Talisman (Minor 4/400).

Even his Talisman Crafting skill increased by four points, rising from (Novice 27/100) to (Novice 31/100).

Zhou Changwang’s expression showed little joy; he’d expected this.

But he finally understood why the talisman self-immolated.

It was the talisman paper.

The quality simply couldn’t bear such powerful spiritual energy, and so it burst and turned to ash.

Moreover, the talisman ink was also too ordinary to withstand the surge of spiritual power…

This left him somewhat helpless.

All he had were ordinary talisman papers, which could barely handle four to six tenths the power of a standard spell—enough for high-quality basic talismans, but not the seventy percent threshold.

The material itself limited him to making only top-grade basic talismans.

“It seems that if I want to create first-grade elementary spirit talismans, I’ll have to buy higher-quality talisman paper and ink,” Zhou Changwang reflected, a hint of regret in his heart.

Although he himself had little actual need for such talismans—his mastery of many spells allowed him to cast them as fast as he could activate a talisman—the value of such spirit talismans pained him.

Fifteen spirit stones per talisman; two would be thirty, almost as much as he’d earned from months of cultivating spirit rice.

After some thought, he decided to stop making Thunder Talismans, lest he craft another first-grade talisman only for the paper to fail.

He then took out the method for drawing the Golden Light Shield Talisman, which he had just bought from the Talisman Fate Pavilion’s proprietor.

The Golden Light Shield Talisman was a first-grade mid-level talisman, far more complex than ordinary basics.

However, with his talisman crafting experience and the jade slip’s detailed explanations of difficulties and solutions, Zhou Changwang quickly began.

One, two, three…

Another round of endless failures.

At last, after the seventy-eighth failed attempt, Zhou Changwang decided to stop.

He felt his state was not optimal. The earlier failures with the first-grade talismans had clearly affected his mindset and mood.

But talisman crafting required calm and tranquility.

Easily finding an excuse, Zhou Changwang stopped and returned to his cultivation chamber.

This time, however, he did not use the Golden Elixir for spiritual lock cultivation.

Excess is as bad as deficiency.

He would only use one spirit pill every five days to improve his cultivation.

Moreover, he had also obtained from the body cultivator Wei Yong of the Rakshasa Gang several pills for strengthening blood and tempering the body—Blood Qi Pills, Vitality Pills, and Body Tempering Pills—which he planned to use sparingly.

After five cycles of cultivation, Zhou Changwang lay down, set his posture, and took out a jade slip.

One breath, two, three…

And quickly drifted into sleep.

The next day, Zhou Changwang awoke refreshed, his spiritual strength slightly enhanced.

But after breakfast, standing in his courtyard, his mood soured.

No fewer than seven or eight Gathering Spirit Grasses had withered and died in the spirit field.

Some others looked wilted and sickly, as if afflicted, their former vitality gone.

“Is this pest damage?” Zhou Changwang hurried over for a closer look.

It was obvious—bite marks covered the plants, and the dead ones were riddled with wounds.

Gathering Spirit Grass was an extremely delicate spiritual herb—poor care could cause it to wither and die. After being chewed, it could not recover.

Zhou Changwang’s expression darkened and he began a careful search.

This time, he quickly found the culprit.

Several Black Needle Poison Wasps, each the size of a child’s fist.

These wasps were aggressive spirit insects; the stingers at their tails could shoot out two yards and were highly venomous.

Even cultivators had trouble with them, the stings raising massive welts that took four or five days to heal.

He had heard of such wasps nesting at the foot of Mount Changling, and often heard tales of people being stung, their heads swelling grotesquely.

“How did Black Needle Poison Wasps end up here?” Zhou Changwang wondered.

But upon seeing such spirit insects, he showed no mercy—one snap of his fingers, and a golden ray shot forth.

Puff!

One Black Needle Poison Wasp was slain.

(End of Chapter)