Chapter 31: Spirit Gathering Talisman

Old Madam bought soy sauce again, so life returned to normal.

Surprisingly, Ji Chang and Xu Shen did not feel any envy or hatred at all about Li Si being summoned alone by Old Madam. Even when they learned Old Madam would help Li Si with his cultivation to break through to Foundation Building, their expressions were extremely joyful.

“Do not be confused. Senior Brother Ji Chang and Senior Brother Xu Shen will not envy you. Maybe they did before, but now they definitely will not.”

In the village, Senior Sister Jiang was in a good mood as she explained the cultivation of the Heaven-Turning Scripture to Li Si. The reason was that after Old Madam woke up, she immediately saw there was no attached evil spirit or ghost on Senior Sister Jiang’s body. So she reasoned that Zhuwazi’s death by curse was most likely an isolated incident.

“In the past, both of them had the qualifications to attempt to form a Golden Core. Unfortunately, they failed later. After that, as the accumulation of pollution toxicity increased, their cultivation levels dropped again and again. Now, Senior Brother Ji Chang probably only has about 32 years of lifespan left. Senior Brother Xu Shen has about 38 years left. Even I only have about 27 good years left to live.”

“When a person is close to death, their courage fades. They now only wish to spend the last part of their lives peacefully. I am actually the same. However, Master has shown me great kindness. For Master, I can give everything.”

“Master hopes to rebuild the Floating Cloud Sect, so I help her rebuild it. That’s why, even though I am very tired, I still teach you all to read, learn Dao techniques, and study Dao arts every day. I hope you can all grow up quickly and share Master’s burdens.”

“But over the past few hundred years, you are the only one, junior brother, qualified to attempt Foundation Building. So sometimes I really feel lost, not knowing where the path ahead lies. But I worry more that if we all die, and only Master is left alone in this desolate land, what should she do?”

Li Si watched as Senior Sister Jiang talked to herself there. She would absolutely not say these things normally. Now, probably because she believed he had become Old Madam’s successor, she showed him special favor.

So he just listened very relaxedly. That was right. At this point, he finally didn’t need to worry about becoming a human elixir or medicine dregs.

First, Old Madam still hadn’t discovered his Fate Forge. This was his foundation. As long as Old Madam didn’t engage in any strange or crooked paths, he wasn’t afraid.

Second, he had finally gained a deep enough understanding of this broken-down team. Because what Old Madam said about fate, the Mortal Realm, you suppress me, I suppress you—he could believe at least 80% of it.

In fact, he even understood a bit more about Old Madam’s tribulation than others. But he didn’t dare say it, and couldn’t say it. The only thing he could do was ensure he hunted mushrooms every day without fail, continuously pushing Old Madam’s tribulation further back.

He didn’t dare promise too much, but delaying it for eight to ten years was still not a problem.

Actually, this was a good deed that benefited both others and himself.

If what Old Madam said was true, that she and the other eleven True Immortals of the Mortal Realm were responsible for suppressing the fate of the Mortal Realm, then as long as she didn’t die, she could attract most of the Evil God’s attention.

Then, under Old Madam’s cover, he could happily do his own things.

This kind of situation was simply a win-win!

How could Li Si bear to refuse?

At noon, Ji Chang, Xu Shen, Jiang Ying, and Li Si held a short meeting. The topic was just one: should they take down the Five Tribulations Thunderlight Array?

“It has been five days. No trace of that Fallen Demon has been found around the village. So it might have wandered somewhere else. The Five Tribulations Thunderlight Array is different from the other two formation arrays. Even if only the first tribulation killing mode is activated, the daily consumption is still very large. It requires three Spirit Gathering Talismans. I suggest we shut down the Five Tribulations Thunderlight Array.”

Xu Shen spoke gravely. He was responsible for the formation arrays. The Spirit Gathering Talismans were something Old Madam had researched.

It was said that a thousand years ago, formation arrays operated using spirit stones. But now, not a single spirit stone could be found in the whole world, so they could only use Spirit Gathering Talismans.

The Magic Power Xu Shen recovered daily by drinking the Great Soul-Returning Broth was basically all used to make Spirit Gathering Talismans.

“I don’t care. I’m only responsible for the Stone House and making Demon Sealing Talismans.” Ji Chang spoke. Anyway, he rarely left the village, spending most of his day in the Stone House, clinging to Old Madam’s presence, extremely safe.

“I have no opinion. Fallen Demons have no intelligence. Since that Demon Man hasn’t appeared for four or five days, it probably really isn’t here anymore.” This time, Jiang Ying agreed very readily, because initially it was she who made it up to scare Li Si. Now it was time to stop while they were ahead, and not let Li Si have to keep standing night watch outside every day.

“Not appropriate!”

Seeing Jiang Ying say this, Li Si quickly objected. He was kidding; that Demon Man definitely wasn’t nearby anymore, but there were still those Evil God Cultists. Who knew when they might attack? What would they do then?

Although the fighting power of the Evil God Cultists wasn’t exaggerated, the cost of killing them was too great. How could it compare to using the formation array to kill them? It was fast and had no aftereffects.

Just based on this point, he firmly disagreed with shutting down the Five Tribulations Thunderlight Array.

Ji Chang, Xu Shen, and Jiang Ying all looked at Li Si at the same time, their expressions very strange.

To be honest, if Old Madam hadn’t called this kid for a private talk this morning, causing his status to instantly rise, then a meeting of this level wouldn’t include him at all. Whether to shut down the Five Tribulations Thunderlight Array wasn’t something he could comment on.

But now, not to mention Jiang Ying’s consistent favor towards this kid, even Ji Chang and Xu Shen had to consider it a bit. After all, they were also afraid of suddenly encountering misfortune in their later years.

“Junior Brother Li, are you worried about something?”

Jiang Ying spoke. Now, she found Li Si pleasing no matter how she looked at him.

“Yes, Senior Sister. My consideration is this: as long as Master’s tribulation remains unresolved for a single day, we cannot let our guard down for a single day. Senior Brother Ji and Senior Brother Xu still need to be ready to protect Master at any time. And you, Senior Sister, still need to be responsible for teaching the others and for cooking. We simply cannot spare people for patrols. Under these circumstances, keeping the Five Tribulations Thunderlight Array active gives us an extra layer of defense.”

Li Si confidently used Old Madam’s tribulation as a shield. Anyway, he was the one who decided whether the tribulation actually came or not.

Hearing his words, Xu Shen immediately sighed and started complaining about being poor, “Junior Brother, how could we not know what you’re saying? But the Five Tribulations Thunderlight Array consumes three Spirit Gathering Talismans every day…”

“Making the Spirit Gathering Talismans can be handed over to me. In a few days, I will go out again to hunt Alien Trees and Anomalous Weeds. What I said before still counts. Fetching water is also my responsibility.”

Li Si took on everything boldly and heroically. The more of these trivial tasks he took charge of, the more ways he had to ‘clean’ things. Also, this morning’s conversation with Old Madam gave him some bold ideas.

And to better execute these plans, it was best for him to be in charge of all the Floating Cloud Sect’s external affairs.

“This… isn’t good, is it?” Xu Shen’s smile was so wide his mouth couldn’t close. What a heaven-sent fool, actually taking on tasks proactively.

You should know, the Magic Power needed to draw one Spirit Gathering Talisman wasn’t much, but it still required drinking one large bowl of Great Soul-Returning Broth to replenish. Three talismans meant three large bowls. This process would accumulate pollution toxicity.

If he could hand over this duty, he could probably live at least three months longer.

Ah, the sunset is infinitely beautiful, just that dusk is near. To live a few more days, I, Old Xu, have practically squeezed my brain dry.

Li Si couldn’t be bothered with polite exchanges with Xu Shen. Relying on Old Madam’s halo, he fully embodied the true essence of the phrase ‘young and spirited’.

“It’s fine. But Senior Brother Xu, you must teach me how to make the Spirit Gathering Talisman.”

Hearing this sentence, Xu Shen’s face was all smiles. He stepped forward, put his arm around Li Si’s shoulder, and started walking towards the Stone House.

“Haha! Since Junior Brother is so confident, how could Senior Brother bear to refuse? Rest assured, I will write down the spell formula for the Spirit Gathering Spell for you now, including my three hundred years of talisman-drawing experience. Let me tell you, in our Floating Cloud Sect, among the disciples of our generation, in terms of talisman drawing, if I call myself second…”

“Then I’ll reluctantly claim first place.” Ji Chang suddenly spoke up from the side, looking detached. “Junior Brother Li, do you know there is the saying about One Grass, Two Woods, Three Winds, Four Waters, Five Elements, and Eight Secrets in talisman drawing? The person standing before you now is the current head senior brother of the Floating Cloud Sect, the number one true inheritor of Floating Cloud Sect talisman arts in this generation.”

“Swish!”

Ji Chang reached to his waist and produced a yellowed booklet. Just looking at the worn pages, it was clear it was often flipped through.

No, wait. The existing Dao techniques and secret manuals in the Floating Cloud Sect were all copied by Jiang Ying. Her handwriting was delicate, elegant, and graceful.

But the handwriting in the booklet in Ji Chang’s hand was big and clumsy, as if a beauty was picking her nose, or a drunk ape dancing, or a Fatty wielding a sword. It was quite distinctive, truly the writing reflecting the person.

“True Guide to Talisman Drawing? Written by Ji Donglai? Who is Ji Donglai? Your father?”

Xu Shen stepped forward, glanced at it, and asked sarcastically.

“Pah!”

Ji Chang glared at him angrily. “I am Ji Chang, styled Donglai. Do you object?”

Wow!

Xu Shen was speechless, acknowledging defeat. Because what Ji Chang said was true; in terms of talisman drawing, Ji Chang was indeed stronger.

Having successfully repelled Xu Shen, Ji Chang turned to look at Li Si. Immediately, a big smile spread across his chubby face. “Junior Brother wants to learn the Spirit Gathering Talisman? Easy. Leave it to Senior Brother. Senior Brother just has one small wish. Junior Brother, do you want to learn how to make a Demon Sealing Talisman?”