fail
Danfeng.
Wen Zheng handed over the materials, while Qu Hong focused intently on refining the unformed pills in the furnace, her forehead beaded with sweat from the tension.
"Alright." Qu Hong took out a pill and handed it to Wen Zheng. "How about you try this?"
Qu Hong refined the simplest and most common Spirit Gathering Pill, which is not very useful and is generally used by cultivators to replenish their spiritual power.
"Thanks." Wen Zheng swallowed it in one gulp, and the spiritual power in the Spirit Gathering Pill poured out and accumulated in her dantian.
Wen Zheng did not activate the accumulated spiritual power, as it was too little to help her break through her cultivation level. Therefore, she focused her attention on drawing talismans.
The words Qingling Daoist said that day, "The stronger the spiritual power, the stronger the talisman," made Wen Zheng think for several nights. She had a vague idea in her mind, but she couldn't quite grasp it.
She is currently in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, and breaking through to the next level would be extremely difficult, so the claim that she has strong spiritual power is unfounded.
But Qingling Daoist couldn't possibly be unaware that her meridians were damaged. Since he said that, there must be something he overlooked.
After thinking for a long time, Wen Zheng decided to try the method of compressing spiritual energy.
Compress all the spiritual power within the limited number of runes and see if the power of the runes will increase.
She sold the items she had taken from the warehouse, bought materials, and asked Qu Hong to help her refine pills. After taking the Spirit Gathering Pills for two days, she felt that it was almost ready.
"Do you want to try?" Qu Hong glanced at Wen Zheng, then silently carried the alchemy furnace away.
Wen Zheng stepped forward to lend a hand: "Mm."
"You can use the courtyard for now. I'm going to find my master to refine pills." Qu Hong carried the pill furnace away.
Wen Zheng wanted to help, but she refused.
After everyone had gone far away, Wen Zheng took out yellow paper and a pen. One of the five petals of the peach blossom on the Qingling Brocade Pen was already lit up, and the pink peach blossom stood out against the green pen handle.
Wen Zheng frowned as she looked at the lit peach blossoms. After thinking for a moment, she still put down her brush and drew a talisman.
A large amount of spiritual energy was released from his dantian, flowing along the broken meridians and landing on the Azure Spirit Brocade Brush. The brush tip slowly traced across the paper, and one rune after another appeared. The red runes were different from those drawn before; just looking at them, one could feel the immense power within them.
Wen Zheng's face was deathly pale, but her hands kept moving. This time, the talisman drawing took an unusually long time. When Wen Zheng felt that the spiritual energy in her dantian was about to be drained, she hurriedly stopped. Fortunately, the talisman was just finished.
A perfect flying talisman appeared on the rough yellow paper on the table.
Wen Zheng has been busy these days and forgot about flying on a sword. Just a couple of days ago, she saw a flying talisman in a book, a talisman that is between low-level and high-level talismans.
This was perfect for her, as she wanted to practice.
Wen Zheng picked up the talisman and activated it. The yellow paper floated and lit up, and a stream of air surrounded her. Her body gradually rose up, and her toes left the ground.
Wen Zheng succeeded on her first try and smiled happily.
The flying talisman possessed abundant spiritual power; Wen Zheng flew a great distance, and even from afar, the talisman still shimmered. Satisfied with the result, Wen Zheng turned and flew back, leaning forward to retrieve the talisman.
When her fingertips touched the talisman, the paper felt as hot as burning wood. Wen Zheng's finger was burned and a large blister appeared. She immediately pulled her hand back in pain.
"What's going on?"
Wen Zheng was puzzled as to why the talisman was so hot, as if it were about to explode.
She reached out again, and this time the yellow paper wasn't so hot, so she managed to grab it.
The next second, an explosion rang out.
Hearing such a loud commotion, Qu Hong, who hadn't gone far, hurriedly dropped the alchemy furnace and rushed towards the direction of the explosion.
What came into view was the courtyard that had been razed to the ground. The alchemy materials she had hung out to dry before leaving the house had turned to dust, and the recliner she used to rest on had also disappeared.
Qu Hong was skeptical that this was her courtyard: "Did you just survive your tribulation?"
"No, I didn't undergo the tribulation." Wen Zheng crawled out from the corner, her clothes all burned and tattered.
"I'm sorry, my talisman drawing process resulted in an accidental explosion. I will compensate you for all of this."
My already meager wallet is empty once again.
Wen Zheng decided to return to Aoxue Peak tonight and take some things from the warehouse to sell.
"We'll talk about compensation later. Are you alright?" Qu Hong stepped forward to help Wen Zheng up.
Even upon getting close, one can still feel the lingering spiritual energy emanating from her, as well as the residual heat from the explosion.
Do talisman cultivators always make this much noise when drawing talismans?
The explosion was very loud, and Elder Danfeng arrived. Upon arrival, he saw Wen Zheng looking like a freak.
"You've switched to alchemy cultivation?" Elder Danfeng asked.
Aside from the oven explosion, she never imagined Wen Zheng would end up like this.
"Ahem, no, I just drew a talisman." Wen Zheng lowered her head shyly.
Making such a commotion on someone else's turf, and she's just a low-ranking handyman disciple, it's a miracle the elders didn't scold her to death.
Elder Danfeng blamed Wen Zheng, but the elders of the Zhuxian Sect all knew that Wen Zheng had obtained the inheritance of Daoist Qingling, and they also knew that she was still a menial disciple, so they did not make things difficult for her.
"Drawing talismans?" Elder Danfeng asked curiously.
She had never seen anyone draw a talisman and cause such a commotion.
“I was looking through my master’s notes the other day and had a new idea, so I gave it a try.”
Wen Zheng did not mention that she had met Qingling Daoist.
Elder Danfeng nodded, ordered someone to tidy up and repair the damaged courtyard, and then left. After treating Wen Zheng's injuries, Qu Hong gave her a few instructions and then rushed off to refine pills.
Wen Zheng lay alone in her room, puzzled as she flipped through Qingling Daoist's notes.
Indeed, Daoist Qingling did leave behind a handwritten note. Wen Zheng thought it was a cultivation technique when she brought it up from the storeroom, but later discovered it was a book on the essentials of hand-drawing talismans.
Wen Zheng glanced at the book briefly after receiving it, not paying much attention to it. However, the failed talisman drawing and subsequent explosion today reminded her of this notebook, so she took it out to read.
After quickly scanning the thin notebook, Wen Zheng's forehead veins bulged. Most of the contents of the notebook were chaotic, like reading a book written in heaven, completely incomprehensible.
"Sigh, the Long Aotian face-slapping trick won't work this time."
Wen Zheng sighed. Which arrogant dragon was as unlucky as her? Half a month had passed, and she still hadn't found a way to cultivate. She was still stuck at the early stage of Foundation Establishment and the beginner level of talismans.
"It's so difficult, so difficult. I wish someone could give me some pointers," Wen Zheng wished.
[Host, I'm here.]
The system appeared out of season.
[The system will provide assistance once the host raises Mu Qing's favorability to 10 or higher.]
The system has been dormant for so long, it has finally reappeared.
The host is taking so long to conquer the target, and even after causing trouble, it's staying far away from the mission objective. It's getting increasingly anxious.
"10 or higher?" Wen Zheng asked curiously, "Then what is his current favorability rating?"
[-5.]
"Never mind then," Wen Zheng said, giving up.
She never intended to win over Mu Qing, let alone increase his favorability by fifteen points.
To her surprise, Mu Qing's affection for her was negative.
Isn't he supposed to be aloof and aloof immortal? Why is he so vengeful?
[Host, the main system analysis indicates your next talisman-drawing failure rate is 80%. It is recommended that you first increase Mu Qing's favorability.]
The system's voice interrupted Wen Zheng's train of thought, and her stubborn nature kicked in: "You say 80% and it's 80%? I don't believe it."
Wen Zheng got up, picked up a pen, and drew the Fiery Talisman she was most familiar with on the yellow paper.
"Bang--"
An explosion rang out, much quieter than the last one, like a firecracker. The table wasn't damaged, but Wen Zheng's hand was bleed red from the blast.
"How could this be?!"
[Everyone told you to listen to me, so start by building a good relationship with them.]
"Don't even think about it!"
Wen Zheng picked up her brush again and drew more than a dozen of the simplest talismans.
Without exception, they all failed.
The crackling sound made Wen Zheng feel like she was playing with firecrackers; her face darkened, and she clenched her teeth.
Just as the system thought she was about to get angry, Wen Zheng spoke up: "Where is Mu Qing now?"
The Sect Leader's Hall.
Mu Qinggang was summoned by the sect leader when he learned of the chaos in the Ghost Realm. He frowned and asked, "Has the Crimson Ghost Clan rebelled?"
The Ghost King has eight ghost generals under his command. The Red Ghost General is second only to the Ghost King in power and is very disrespectful to the reigning Ghost King. It is highly likely that the rebellion in the Ghost Realm was instigated by the Red Ghost Clan.
"No." The sect leader took out a distress message. "The rebels are the War Ghost Clan."
Mu Qing was stunned, her face filled with confusion: "How could it be the War Ghost Clan?"
The current Ghost King comes from the War Ghost Clan; they must be insane to turn against their own people.
The sect leader understood Mu Qing's thoughts and said solemnly, "Something terrible must have happened in the Ghost Realm to make the War Ghost, who is of the same race, betray the Ghost King. I want you to go to the Ghost Realm to take a look and rescue the missing disciples."
“Okay,” Mu Qing agreed without hesitation.
After finishing the serious business, the sect leader added, "The Immortal Sect Competition is about to begin. Take Wen Zheng for a stroll. Remember to disguise yourself so no one recognizes you."
Mu Qing's eyes flickered, and she looked at the sect leader with an ambiguous expression.
"Okay, I'll remember to cover my face."
The sect leader nodded and told Mu Qing to go back first.
On the way back, Mu Qing flew on her sword while her mind wandered to the sect leader's words.
Why did they ask him to disguise himself, but not Wen Zheng? What were they afraid of?
What exactly is wrong with Wen Zheng?
He pondered for a long time until he saw a figure in blue standing outside his palace on Mount Aoxue, seemingly waiting for him.
Mu Qing slowly landed in front of Wen Zheng. Seeing the shy and bashful smile on the person in front of him, he felt a chill run down his spine for no reason.
"Senior brother, you've worked hard," Wen Zheng said sweetly.
Mu Qing's expressionless face crumbled upon hearing her words, and a faint hint of death could even be seen in her usually calm eyes.
"What brings you here?"
Wen Zheng smiled and stepped forward to brush the snowflakes off Mu Qing, welcoming her into the house.
The charcoal fire burned for a while, and a thick carpet was now laid on the previously cold marble floor. Fresh flowers, picked from who-knows-where, were also placed inside, giving the whole house a brand-new look.
"How is it, Senior Brother? Is the arrangement alright?" Wen Zheng looked at Mu Qing expectantly.
Let's raise her favorability rating since she's already drawn all the spirit stones.
Mu Qing was completely stunned and didn't know what to say.
He wasn't moved as Wen Zheng had imagined; instead, he became extremely alert to what Wen Zheng was about to say.
Offering unsolicited favors is either a sign of malice or theft.
Having known Wen Zheng for so long, he was quite familiar with her character. For her to spend spirit stones on such useless things to please him, Wen Zheng must have something more to offer.
"Hmm, get to the point," Mu Qing replied coldly, intending to see what Wen Zheng was up to.
"It's alright, it's alright, senior brother, please sit down and try the spirit fruit." Wen Zheng took out a plate of bright green and juicy spirit fruit and placed it in front of Mu Qing.
Meeting Wen Zheng's glowing gaze, Mu Qing carefully picked up one and ate it in one bite, then sealed all the spiritual apertures in her body.
He feared that Wen Zheng would poison him.
"How about it?"
Mu Qing: "It's very sweet."
Wen Zheng was satisfied with the answer. After waiting for a while and not receiving any notification from the system that her favorability rating had increased, she asked, "System, what is Mu Qing's favorability rating now?"
[-15.]
Wen Zheng: "??"
"How many?"
[-15, your thoughtfulness just now has made my already low favorability rating even worse.]
I've never seen such a low favorability rating. If Mu Qing wasn't still standing there unharmed, the system would have suspected that Wen Zheng had poisoned Mu Qing.
Otherwise, how could the favorability rating drop so quickly?
"Damn it! Being nice to him lowers my favorability rating," Wen Zheng cursed inwardly. "If he doesn't increase my favorability rating, what will happen to my cultivation?"
[Solve it yourself.]
Wen Zheng got angry when she heard the system's reply. When she saw Mu Qing eating the spiritual fruit, she angrily took away the rest of the spiritual fruit: "What are you eating? You don't deserve to eat!"
All they do is eat; their affection level doesn't increase at all.
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