Chapter 74: Immortal Spirit Root-Seeking Bird

The moonlight was like frost, and the stars were faintly visible.

A cool autumn breeze brushed past gently, making the empty area far from the village feel even more quiet and desolate.

Su Chunfeng pulled a sheet of Yellow Ritual Paper from his pocket. During his stop at the Shatai City bus station at noon, he had spotted a paper shop not far away—the kind that sold items for funeral rituals. Su Chunfeng went in and bought a sheet of Yellow Ritual Paper for two cents.

Since he had bought the Yellow Ritual Paper for later use, other necessary items couldn’t be missing either. So, he ran to a pharmacy near the station and bought a bit of Cinnabar, also commonly known as Vermilion Sand.

The quality of the Yellow Ritual Paper wasn’t great, but for him, it didn’t matter whether it was good or bad.

He folded the Yellow Ritual Paper several times and gently tore it into eight strips of similar size, about five to six centimeters wide and twenty centimeters long—these were now Talisman Papers that could be used for drawing talismans.

He folded the remaining paper into a small, thick groove. Su Chunfeng took the water bottle he had brought from the bus, squatted down, glanced around to make sure no one was there and everything was quiet. He calmed his mind, neatly stacked the eight paper strips together and placed them on the ground beside him. He took out the small paper packet containing a bit of Cinnabar, poured it into the small groove, then lightly added some water from the bottle. He used his right index finger to mix it evenly.

Then, he silently recited the Spell Incantation heart formula, pinched a hand seal with his left hand to press down on the eight Talisman Papers, dipped his right index finger into the Cinnabar liquid, gathered his energy and chanted the incantation. He pressed his finger onto the top Talisman Paper and slowly drew a stroke!

He dipped into the Cinnabar liquid again, and drew another stroke!

The speed wasn’t fast, but each stroke necessarily went through the entire stack, penetrating straight down to the eighth paper strip.

Talismans were divided into innate talismans and acquired talismans. Only a highly skilled Occultist could draw innate talismans, meaning they weren’t bound by time, location, or materials, and could be drawn anytime, anywhere with a single stroke—this was the so-called “a single spark of spiritual light becomes a talisman.” Acquired talismans could be drawn by masters and Occultists whose cultivation barely reached the Talisman Offering realm. But that required being at a specific location, during a specific season and time frame, preparing all the necessary Esoteric Technique tools in advance, and going through cumbersome procedures like purifying oneself, calming the mind, setting up an altar, and so on, before one could draw the talisman.

Drawing a talisman first required precision, but merely being able to draw it precisely wasn’t enough; copying without understanding wouldn’t produce the slightest effect.

As the saying went, “If you know the knack of writing the talisman, you startle ghosts and gods; if you don’t know the knack of writing the talisman, you invite the laughter of ghosts and gods.”

After finishing the drawing, Su Chunfeng picked up the eight talismans with his left hand and took a big gulp of water from the bottle with his right. He put the bottle down, pinched a hand seal with his right hand, and his index finger traced a few strokes in the air above the talismans while he silently recited the Spell Incantation. Then he opened his mouth and sprayed the water onto the eight talismans with a “pfft” sound, and then set the talismans down.

Next, he took the completed Talisman Papers and began rapidly folding them.

Each Talisman Paper was folded into a different shape.

After folding six Talisman Papers, he began interlocking the six papers folded into different shapes, then folded them again. Finally, he folded a vivid, lifelike paper-zigzag object shaped like a small bird, no bigger than half a palm.

In Esoteric Arts, this small paper bird was called the Immortal Spirit Root-Seeking Bird.

Su Chunfeng set the Immortal Spirit Root-Seeking Bird down, then stood up and silently recited the Spell Incantation in his mind. With both hands simultaneously pinching hand seals, he sensed the subtle changes present in the stable Five Elements Magnetic Field of the nearby earth and air. At the same time, he stepped in a special pattern, slowly moving over the uneven ground.

Just then, two bright, glaring beams of light came from far away in the east.

Su Chunfeng immediately walked over to the bicycle by the roadside and stood there calmly.

A large cargo truck roared as it drove over. Upon reaching the bumpy area, it slowed down and passed by slowly. The person in the passenger seat looked at Su Chunfeng standing by the bicycle through the window, then paid little attention and turned away—any outsider passing by who didn’t know the situation would surely think Su Chunfeng was a watchman for the construction site.

Actually, this section of road under construction, where would it need anyone to guard it? After work in the evening, everyone would leave with their tools.

But just after the vehicle passed, Su Chunfeng sensed an abnormal fluctuation in the Five Elements in the air.

Excellent!

Su Chunfeng let out a sigh of relief.

When true masters performed Art Casting, to avoid the inevitable Natural Backlash, they often chose an area where the Five Elements Magnetic Field was relatively more aligned with the Esoteric Technique they were casting. They used the matching strength and operating frequency of the natural Five Elements Magnetic Field to minimize the impact of their casting on the magnetic field as much as possible. This way, the natural Backlash would also be very small, and they themselves wouldn’t suffer greater backlash damage.

Now he discovered that when vehicles drove to this spot and slowed down, they caused a certain magnetic field disturbance. And this disturbance subtly and vaguely matched the operating pattern of his casting within the Qi of Five Elements…

Su Chunfeng immediately returned to the spot where he had drawn the talisman. He took the Cinnabar liquid, the Immortal Spirit Root-Seeking Bird, and the water bottle, and ran back to the bicycle where he had just stood. He used his foot to scrape out a relatively flat patch of ground on the road surface. Then, with his right hand dipped in the Cinnabar liquid, he silently recited the Spell Incantation and quickly sketched an earth talisman on this flat ground.

Then, he took out a few strands of hair he had cleverly obtained from his father and uncle, and stuffed them all into a crevice on the Immortal Spirit Root-Seeking Bird.

After doing all this, he crumpled the groove that had been soaked through with Cinnabar liquid and was almost falling apart, scattered it into the construction pits, and kicked some loose dirt and small stones to bury it. He figured that when construction resumed the next day, these crumbled fragments of Yellow Ritual Paper and Cinnabar liquid paste scattered about wouldn’t attract anyone’s attention.

After a while…

A convoy of three trucks hauling sand and gravel roared past one after another.

What luck! Su Chunfeng inwardly rejoiced.

As soon as the three vehicles left, he immediately took out the Root-Seeking Bird. Holding the Immortal Spirit Root-Seeking Bird aloft in his left hand, he bit the fingertip of his right index finger which still had Cinnabar liquid on it, softly chanted the Spell Incantation, drew two strokes on the Immortal Spirit Root-Seeking Bird, then uttered softly from his mouth: “Quick…”

Poof!

A strange, dark blue flame ignited.

Su Chunfeng gave a gentle toss with his left hand. Instantly, the flame was extinguished. The Immortal Spirit Root-Seeking Bird had already turned into a scattering of paper ash, dispersing in the faint autumn breeze, leaving not a trace behind.

However, unseen by ordinary people, an intangible paper bird was fluttering away into the night sky towards the northeast.

Su Chunfeng stood there and waited a little while longer, then immediately got on his bicycle and headed east. At the crossroads not far ahead, he turned left to go north, thinking secretly to himself: “The robber should be someone from North Li Village, right?”

But when he rode his bicycle to North Li Village, he sensed the Immortal Spirit Root-Seeking Bird turning east again.

Su Chunfeng frowned. Riding his bicycle through the unfamiliar village, twisting and turning through the lanes, he finally exited the village and found a small dirt country road. Following the direction of the Immortal Spirit Root-Seeking Bird, he rode east for about another two kilometers, arriving at a village with potholed roads and mostly low, old houses.

The Immortal Spirit Root-Seeking Bird flew towards the northwest corner of the village.

Su Chunfeng rode his bicycle, twisting and turning through the narrow, bumpy streets and alleys, and arrived at a rather secluded alley entrance at the edge of the village.

Under the night sky, in this obviously extremely poor village, old, low houses were everywhere. Some residences even had low courtyard walls made of mud bricks. The utility poles in the streets were still the old wooden kind. In the night, electrical wires were strung messily through the air, leading into each household.

Only, not many homes had their lights on.

At this point, the Immortal Spirit Root-Seeking Bird had already landed.

Su Chunfeng leaned his bicycle against a dark corner at the alley entrance. Silently reciting the Spell Incantation in his mind, he carefully sensed the precise landing spot of the Immortal Spirit Root-Seeking Bird while slowly walking into the alley.

This alley was about thirty meters deep, going straight north out of the village.

At the very edge of the village was a low, dilapidated small house. The mud-brick courtyard wall was only about one and a half meters high, crooked. A gate made of thick wooden sticks fastened together with wire leaned crookedly to the side, not closed. In the yard, there was a pile of firewood and two stacks of corn cobs covered with plastic sheets. Against the innermost wall by the low red-brick outhouse, a broken flatbed cart was discarded.

There were three low rooms facing south. The two worn-out wooden doors of the main room were slightly ajar. A dim yellow light came from the small west room window, and faint voices could be heard.

Su Chunfeng looked around. The yards of other nearby households were pitch black, and the alley was quiet.

After a brief thought, he tiptoed into this run-down yard and went straight under the window of the west room, listening closely to the conversation inside.

“Come on, bottoms up…”

“Those two idiots, Hu Zi and De Yi, are so scared they don’t dare go out.”

“Exactly, I say what’s the big deal? Brother Lin Qiang, you’re the man! If it weren’t for you, could our brothers have gotten so much money at once? Haha!”

“Damn, was it easy for me? I watched that plowing vehicle for days, spit!”

“Here, a toast to Brother Lin Qiang!”

“Cheers!”

…

Su Chunfeng, crouching under the window, had a cold, stern look on his face.

He took out the remaining two Talisman Papers. Biting his right index finger again, he silently recited the Spell Incantation and drew a few strokes on the Talisman Papers, easily changing their nature. Then, holding the two Talisman Papers between his left index and middle fingers, he used his right index finger to trace a few strokes in the air pointing at the papers.

With a light poof, a dark blue flame flashed and went out.

Su Chunfeng slowly stood up, leaning sideways against the window. Through the dirty, dim glass, he looked inside.

It wasn’t very clear, but he could vaguely make out three young men, probably in their mid-twenties, sitting around a low small wooden table, drinking heartily and chatting happily.

Su Chunfeng silently recited the Spell Incantation. Through the Esoteric Technique energy wave formed by the Talisman Papers, he sensed the life force emanating from the three men with extreme precision and keenness, undetected by ordinary people. Soon, he concluded that the young man sitting at the west side of the table was already quite drunk. His aura was clearly chaotic, and the masculine life force he himself emitted was obviously weaker than the other two.

“Follow the taboo! Out!” Su Chunfeng softly uttered these three words.

Inside the room, the young man sitting at the west side of the wooden table suddenly yelled: “Damn, who the hell are you?”

“Xiao Tao, what are you talking about?” the young man opposite him immediately glared and said angrily.

“It’s you? Fuck your mother!” The young man called Xiao Tao suddenly grabbed a liquor bottle and smashed it toward the young man sitting opposite him.