There's something wrong with me

Chapter 178 Spiritual Energy Structure

'good. ’

Zhang Feng felt this was a good specimen, which would allow for better research into the issue of malevolent energy.

This talisman, too, has a peculiar structure.

I can heal your wounds.

In order to continue to conduct better research.

Zhang Feng chose to treat him.

"what?"

"S-senpai...?"

Upon hearing Zhang Feng's words, the two were completely unable to follow the train of thought of this master.

Just minutes before, they seemed ready to take the villain down with them.

But now a master wants to save them?

They just can't wrap their heads around it.

But there was excitement and gratitude, and I also realized that the two of us seemed to have misunderstood each other.

After all, they can be killed so easily these days.

Our lives are in other people's hands.

In particular, the Taoist priest thought that if the master really wanted to kill them, it would be one of the henchmen of General Tao, as they suspected.

There's no need to inquire about your senior's condition.

Just kill them, and take their heads to claim the credit.

In the senior brother's opinion, after witnessing Zhang Feng's various methods, he also had a great deal of faith in the master's words.

Because you can see through all his secrets at a glance.

He had never seen or even heard of such a person before.

Let's talk about the cause and effect of your injury.

Zhang Feng was more curious about the 'corpse's' past, wanting to know what exactly happened, or whether it had anything to do with the main quest.

For a moment, the three of them had their own ideas.

But all of this was transformed into the senior brother's intermittent narration, as well as a more detailed account of the events.

About ten minutes passed.

Although Zhang Feng was a little overwhelmed by his intermittent explanations, he understood everything.

First of all, this General Tao was a powerful warlord from another province.

According to the Taoist priests, General Tao was more interested in searching for secret techniques and some strange treasures.

Among them, the relics of "Master Yangshan" contain some legendary secret techniques and treasures.

Zhang Feng felt it should be some kind of magical artifact.

If so, this is very likely related to non-main quests.

However, General Tao has many capable men under his command, and he seems to be someone who is not easy to mess with at the moment.

However, although this general was not someone to be trifled with, General Hang of the same province was focused on minting copper coins.

He is a proper businessman.

I bet they have quite a few treasures in their possession.

Zhang Feng liked businessmen.

Therefore, Zhang Feng felt that if he wanted to make contact with the general, he could try to do so with General Hang first.

In my memory, the shopkeeper's nephew was one of General Hang's men.

This seems like something we could build together.

If there are no treasures, then wait until the Taoist brother recovers and then go there to look for the remains of 'Yangshan Zhenren'.

This is also a good opportunity to strengthen one's own capabilities.

In other words.

Before their strength exceeds the limit, if General Hang has any treasures, he can study them in advance.

These plans are all good.

As for the 'Yangshan Ruins', we are not afraid that General Tao will take all the treasures away.

Because he heard from the Taoist priest and his senior brother that they had also kept some information to themselves, only giving General Tao a general location name.

But it was precisely this little trick of the Taoist senior brother to hide his true abilities that earned him a hundred muskets pointed at him.

General Tao wanted to press for answers.

His senior brother was also a man of courage; he jumped off the cliff.

"Since you already knew about the treasure, why didn't you search for it sooner?"

After hearing these things, Zhang Feng also asked the question that had been on his mind.

They thought the answer would be that their own strength was insufficient, or that the sect had regulations, or that they were missing some mechanism or component, which prevented them from opening the ruins.

To everyone's surprise, my senior brother sighed and said, "The ruins are suspected to be in a place... inside a mountain that looks like a chestnut... My junior brother and I went to look for it a few years ago... but we couldn't find the entrance."

And then consider this: what happened in Yangshan...? Was it true? Or false?

He then added precisely, "That General Tao... I only told him... in Pengshan Forest..."

Pengshan Forest is about 600 li long and 170 li wide.

There are over ten thousand peaks inside; finding a mountain can be quite a task.

These two only knew the location, but not the mechanism.

They weren't even sure if it was true or not.

Zhang Fengxin understood immediately and felt that it must be true.

After all, it was something that happened smoothly at the beginning of the game.

Even if it's not true, there must be some relevant clues inside.

It's impossible to make a statement without a clear purpose.

As for these two people.

Zhang Feng planned to arrange for them to go to the city first, rather than putting them in an inn.

Because this is the only place in this remote and desolate area, it's quite a target.

If General Tao's spies really find out, then there will be a lot of trouble.

Zhang Feng didn't want to invite trouble for no reason.

Besides, the matter of refining the corpse, my own cultivation, and the talismans I just obtained all require a certain amount of time to process.

Thinking.

Zhang Feng looked at the two of them and said, "You two go to the nearest city first."

Every few days, I will heal your senior brother's injuries.

"In the city?" The senior brother looked troubled. "Brother Zhang... there are too many people and too many eyes in the city... if someone with the surname Tao comes along, it's a small matter if something happens to the two of us... but won't it implicate you?"

“Don’t worry about that,” Zhang Feng said nonchalantly. “First, Qi Province is a thousand miles away from here, so his people might not be in this province.”

Secondly, it's precisely because the city is a melting pot of all sorts of people that you two can find a good hiding place.

At this point, Zhang Feng added solemnly, "You shouldn't pretend to be corpse drivers; this is attracting too much attention."

You can also remove the white cloth covering your senior brother's clothes.

Of course, I will teach you two a simple disguise technique, which is not complicated.

All you need is some hair and blush powder.

This technique must also be used.

As Zhang Feng spoke, he looked at the two of them, who were showing their true faces.

Apart from the senior brother being covered with a white cloth, the two men's faces were completely open and undisguised.

In response, Zhang Fengzhen would like to say one thing:
"Since you're all in this state, can't you use some of the tricks commonly used in the martial arts world, like disguise or something?"

Honestly, they've been forced into this situation, can't they just play it safe and develop their strength more cautiously?

But then he remembered that the two were cultivators.

Perhaps they really do possess some eccentricities that are hard for ordinary people to fathom.

This falls under the category of a person's personality, and it's very difficult to change.

Strangely enough, they nodded and readily agreed to the disguise.

Because in their minds, since the wise man had already said those words, they felt that hiding them was the right thing to do.

So, if wise people believe that those who know when to yield are the heroes, why are they still so persistent about this?

Sometimes it's strange how some people react when they see strong people doing the same thing.

Those who are slightly stronger then think that this is the right thing to do.

after that.

The three of them walked together in the direction they had come from.

But after walking for more than ten miles...

The senior brother then said to Zhang Feng again:
“Brother Dao… I’m sorry… I lied to you before… Actually… Yangshan isn’t in Chestnut Mountain in Pengshan Forest, but two hundred miles away from Chestnut Mountain… It’s another hundred-meter-high peak…”

After chatting with Zhang Feng for so long, and seeing that this master really seemed to want to help them, the senior brother realized that this fellow Daoist Zhang was not a bad person.

Therefore, I decided to tell the truth.

It's like being bitten by a snake once and being afraid of a rope for ten years.

Important secrets should naturally be kept strictly confidential.

If it weren't for Zhang Feng's extraordinary demeanor, they would have continued to conceal the truth.

Zhang Feng glanced at him, but didn't seem to care much.

On the contrary, I feel that this is what a normal person should be like.

On a first meeting, you shouldn't say a single truthful thing.

But it's also pretty silly of them to say it so quickly.

No wonder they had to reveal their true identities when they fled.

These two, seemingly clever, are actually just like Aoyama—both are idiots.

They are still too unfamiliar with conventional 'worldly methods'.

The matter of a single warlord may seem like a huge loss, but in reality, the losses were far from over.

If it were someone like Brother Wang She, then that would be considered a normal, intelligent person.

No matter who he's talking to, he never tells the truth.

Honestly, Zhang Feng still doesn't know if Brother Wang She even considers him a brother.

But he always thought about him and would search for him every time he was on the border in modern times.

……

after an hour.

The two Taoist priests went straight into the city.

Zhang Feng then returned to the inn.

I just got back.

The shop was empty, but the chef, his apprentice, and the shopkeeper were all waiting for Zhang Feng at the door.

Zhang Feng saw that they seemed to be welcoming him, but he hadn't said anything yet.

The shopkeeper said first, "Brother Zhang! Why didn't you say so earlier? You have such skills!"

'Craftsmanship?' Zhang Feng was practicing his skills and didn't react for a moment.

But when they saw the plate of vegetables in the inn, and that a few vegetables were missing from it.

Zhang Feng knew that the three of them couldn't resist and ate again.

Even though this dish was meant for the Taoist priest, the shopkeeper and the others thought that it wouldn't matter if a few were missing.

Because Zhang Feng cooked a very generous portion of this dish, filling the entire plate.

And then I ate it.

The shopkeeper felt like he had struck gold!
This cooking skill is absolutely top-notch!

It's even better than the Yanlai Restaurant in the city.

The head chef of Yanlai Restaurant is widely recognized as the best in the area.

"Such excellent skills..." The shopkeeper felt he was about to strike it rich. "We don't need much, just this one dish."

Once my reputation spreads, my inn's business will definitely boom.

The shopkeeper now sees Zhang Feng as a cash cow.

“I used to know how to cook,” Zhang Feng replied casually. “Before coming to the inn, I even studied cooking, but my skills weren’t very good back then, so I didn’t say much about it.”

"Tonight, I thought my skills were almost there, so I decided to give it a try." Zhang Feng had been carefree since childhood, wandering for many years and doing many odd jobs before finally arriving at this inn three years ago.

He was considered one of the shopkeeper's confidants.

Because there were only a few of them at the inn.

The shopkeeper is very shrewd; even when he sometimes acts as a waiter himself, he doesn't hire many people.

If it weren't for the head chef's recent complaints that he would leave if he didn't find an assistant, he would be the only one in the kitchen.

"From now on, you'll be our head chef!"

The shopkeeper is now making direct personnel changes, "Cook Sun will be your assistant, and his apprentice will run errands for you."

"Then let's hire two more people." Zhang Feng became interested when he heard about the restaurant. "After we make money and have more customers, we'll expand."

Are you aware of the expansion?

Zhang Feng pointed to the entire inn and the area around it.

"Such a large piece of land, and your nephew works under General Hang. With a little maneuvering and some back-and-forth, he can get it all."

Just think about it, even if all eight tables in the restaurant are full right now, and each meal lasts two hours, how many customers can you serve in a day...?

If we expand, we can accommodate…

Zhang Feng was discussing business with the shopkeeper, emphasizing the idea that "the more you build, the more you earn."

"Oh... how many silver dollars can be earned in a day..." The shopkeeper listened with a radiant face, completely stunned by the 'pancake-style lecturing method' of later generations.

This novel business concept, coupled with Zhang Feng's extensive experience running restaurants in several worlds, made him a natural fit for the business.

These words are, of course, based on concrete evidence.

And because Zhang Fengtian was in contact with the planning department every day, he was able to express himself very well on some operational details.

Even someone as shrewd as the shopkeeper was completely bewildered and misled.

And now, he not only thinks Zhang Feng is a master of cooking, but also a genius in business!
How come he didn't discover such a talent before!
If he had discovered it sooner, wouldn't he have become rich long ago?

……

'How I hate it!'

When I got back to my room that evening...

The shopkeeper was filled with regret and tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

But just when he couldn't sleep, he suddenly realized there was something he hadn't mentioned.

"I forgot, I forgot. I'm taking Brother Zhang to the city to exchange for silver dollars tomorrow."

I need to talk to him about it.

I'll take this opportunity to go to the city and buy some things for Brother Zhang, to better strengthen our relationship.

The shopkeeper was very organized and quickly got dressed, ready to go and talk to Zhang Feng.

……

Early the next morning.

Zhang Feng and the shopkeeper rode in a passing donkey cart, heading straight into the city.

on the way.

This was Zhang Feng's first time experiencing a donkey cart.

But I've seen quite a few; they exist in the world of Dan Jin, the world of princes, and the world of martial arts.

However, in the Danjin world, he was riding a village tractor.

The prince's world is filled with tall, magnificent horses.

The world of martial arts is filled with green mountains.

So this is truly my first time sitting here.

How should I put this experience?

It's actually similar to riding in a horse-drawn carriage, but it's shaky and not very stable.

It could be said that the donkey was braying and shaking its head, while the driver was humming a tune and shaking his head.

Zhang Feng and the shopkeeper, who were sitting in the carriage, were also slightly shaking their heads while holding onto the carriage frame.

It happens without you even realizing it.

……

Come to the city.

As far as the eye can see, there are only low, old brick and tile houses.

Didi—

There were also old-fashioned cars on the uneven roads.

"Where is the boss going?"

The rickshaws at the city gate were also running around haphazardly, and you could almost smell their sweat from a great distance.

"Sir..." There were still some beggars by the city gate.

And some people who didn't look like beggars were also sitting on the roadside, looking pale and thin.

This Republic of China was different from the glamorous lives of the young masters and ladies in the TV dramas Zhang Feng watched.

The whole situation was very depressing.

It feels like despair is everywhere?
It's a kind of 'all gray' like in a black and white television.

The people on the street were mostly wearing gray and worn-out dirty clothes.

At first glance, the whole world appears gray.

Even in Zhang Feng's memory, it has always been this gray feeling.

They also yearn for big cities, thinking that big cities might be better.

But at this moment...

Zhang Feng could also see some elegantly dressed young men and women who added a touch of brilliance to this almost 'black and white' world, standing out from the people around them and forming a stark contrast.

And also when they appeared.

Zhang Feng knew that what he longed for in the big city was to see more color.

'If I had plenty of time, I could try to revise it.'

Zhang Feng felt that he was probably used to serving the people, and when he saw these dirty and chaotic scenes, his first thought was to 'fix' them.

But this is fundamentally flawed, unlike the martial arts world where there is still a complete legal system.

Like in the world of martial arts, once the sects are wiped out, it's over.

If all those powerful figures were eliminated, things would become even more chaotic.

You should know that there are 'ghosts and cultivators' in this world.

It's impossible for me to sort it out in a short time.

"Brother Zhang, let's go to the money exchange..."

The shopkeeper, however, was used to the mess and carefully clutched his small bundle as he walked toward the money exchange ahead.

Zhang Feng, being in a local area, decided to follow local customs and leave it at that for now.

Then, next, while accompanying the shopkeeper to exchange money.

With nothing to do, Zhang Feng was recalling his research on talismans from the previous night.

The Taoist priest gave himself that talisman.

Above it is an earth-elemental 'earth spike technique'.

According to their description, it involves 'activating' and 'throwing it on the ground'.

They can use their own spiritual energy to draw in more spiritual energy from heaven and earth, then deform the ground beneath their feet and grow many spikes.

These spikes are very sturdy and covered in spiritual energy, which can break through spiritual energy.

However, since talismans can only be used once, Zhang Feng never experimented with them.

However, theoretically speaking, it is normal for spiritual energy to break spiritual energy.

The enchanted arrows that Zhang Feng envisioned in his martial arts world were based on this principle.

Then, regarding this ground spike technique.

Zhang Feng is drawing.

At this moment again.

Seeing the shopkeeper exchanging money at the counter, Zhang Feng, having nothing else to do, took out a talisman from his pocket and slowly began to draw on it.

This description is based on seeing with 'yin-yang eyes'.

Zhang Feng could see some very ingenious structural arrangements, like the 'ghostly talismans' of Taoist priests, but each connection point was very exquisite, forming a 'structural whole'.

As for more detailed connections and rehearsals, since there is no spiritual microscope, it is impossible to observe them at a microscopic level.

But as long as you have this structure, you can just copy it when the time comes.

After drawing it hundreds or thousands of times, and with appropriate modifications based on the overall fluctuations of spiritual energy, it can be copied and used for one's own purposes.

Drawing talismans also requires practice.

Moreover, its power is also very great, capable of amplifying one's combat strength.

For example, if you draw a talisman using normal spiritual energy, the talisman's destructive power is 1, which is equivalent to your own.

When facing an enemy, if you take out a talisman and activate it with normal spiritual power, the combined damage might reach around 1.5 to 2.

In particular, these talismans can be preserved for three to ten days.

Such a storage period can serve as a tool for both survival and attack.

It's like when you've been fighting someone and you're almost out of spiritual energy, you suddenly use what little spiritual energy you have left to give the other person a few more cards.

Then it's definitely over for him.

However, compared to life-saving items, there are also items that can be used to enhance other items, and so on.

Zhang Feng's primary goal was to integrate these structural 'techniques' into himself, using them as instantaneous personal combat power.

Because it sounds like these kinds of props are external things, not something that comes with one's own strength.

This gives people the feeling that their combat strength is weak.

Zhang Feng disliked this feeling very much.

Therefore, Zhang Feng wanted to thoroughly understand the most basic 'structural principles of magic'.

Principles are knowledge.

Zhang Feng also always felt that the principle of architecture is the basic formula of '1+1' in spiritual energy.

Once you've learned a few 1+1 combinations of Earth elements, you can push them further or optimize them even more.

……

Three hours later.

Back in the inn's backyard.

After spending most of last night and several hours this morning drawing in his mind, Zhang Feng felt he had a better idea of ​​what to expect.

I think I can draw it now.

However, looking at the happy shopkeeper who had just entered the backyard...

After thinking of something, Zhang Feng said to the shopkeeper:
"Manager, regarding the matter of expanding the inn that I mentioned, could you please call your nephew over so we can discuss it in more detail?"

Zhang Feng wanted to get in touch with his nephew and then with General Hang.

Then see if there are any more '1+1's there.

"Yes, yes!" The shopkeeper was now obsessed with money and was very satisfied with Zhang Feng's expansion idea.
"When I was in the money exchange, I had already asked the manager there to leave a message for me."

When my nephew goes to exchange the silver dollars again, have him come to my place so we can discuss it in detail.

After saying that, the shopkeeper hugged the silver coins and went to open the door with a happy smile.

"It would be wonderful if his nephew could come." Zhang Feng nodded and looked at the ground in the yard.

Using his spiritual power, he controlled the light yellow earth element in the air, instantly drawing talismans in mid-air and then rearranging them within four seconds.

rustle-

Zhang Feng did not use his spiritual energy to manipulate the soil, but the soil below rose slightly under the fluctuations of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and then fell back down.

The sketching process is too slow and needs further optimization to find the best route direction.

The spell's structure isn't quite right either; it's still unstable.

Zhang Feng pondered, feeling that it might take him about a month to be able to instantly cast this spell.

But now, if you use your spiritual energy to write on paper, that kind of slow writing...

There should be no problem.

The success rate is at least around 35%.

Zhang Feng draws upon his existing knowledge base, possesses precise control, and has the ability to draw inferences from one instance to another.

In less than ten hours, he has already achieved a minor level of mastery in basic earth-element talismans.

(End of this chapter)