Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 149 Talisman Sword and Temple Worship

Upon reflection, aside from talismans, this was the first time Chen Ji had seen a letter written by Yan Chixia.

There are rules to follow when it comes to writing, but Chen Ji didn't seem to care about the font; he was looking at the content instead.

The letter is short; one glance might not be enough, but two glances are usually enough to finish reading it.

The gist is that Yan Chixia felt he had achieved success in his cultivation and there was no point in staying on Sendai Mountain any longer, as there were no demons or ghosts nearby to hone his swordsmanship.

It just so happens that the capital is going to hold the Luotian Grand Ritual, and there are still some days left. He can go south to the place Chen Ji mentioned earlier to take a look. If there really is such a temple, he can kill the tree demon grandmother with a sword as a token to enter the capital to participate in the Grand Ritual.

If not, then he would travel the land upholding justice, which would be worthy of his reputation as a swordsman.

Finally, it was explained that this letter was not an ordinary letter, but a talisman sword technique he had developed. If Chen Ji encountered minor troubles and was unwilling to take action, he could tear up the talisman sword and have sword energy to fight back.

Chen Ji put down the letter, gaining a deeper understanding of the concept that one's handwriting reflects one's personality.

The paper and ink used by Yan Chixia to write the letter were not of good quality. Although the ink was thick, it still bled a little on the paper, just like the thick beard he had when he first met Yan Chixia.

As for the talisman sword?

Chen Ji smiled and shook his head.

He had already discerned the extraordinary nature of this letter; under his Qi-observation technique, he could faintly sense the flow of Qi and magical power—a characteristic only found in high-quality talismans.

I wasn't sure what kind of talisman it was before.

Only after watching it did I realize that there was a trace of Yan Chixia's sword energy hidden inside.

And now I finally understand why Yan Chixia had the confidence to go out of the mountains to gain experience.

He has a sword in his hand and a sword in the talisman. He has never heard of any other Taoist priest using such a technique before. Even when facing demons and ghosts who are skilled in combat, he can catch them off guard.

Moreover, now that the notification for the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony has been issued, temples and monasteries that are farther away should have already set off. Unless they force their way into the Great Demon King's place, they should be safe.

I just don't know if there is a Lanruo Temple in the place he is going to, and whether there really is a scholar and Xiaoqian inside.
Chen Ji thought about it for a moment and then stopped thinking about it.

Even if he did, it wouldn't matter to him right now. It would only be relevant if they met again in the future and he could learn some magic from him.

He carefully put the letter away, went out again, and inquired about their progress in their spiritual practice over the past few days.

“Fellow Daoist, do you think our talents are the same as yours? What results can we achieve in a few days of cultivation? We’ll just be reabsorbing the moon’s essence, and since the timing isn’t right, there’s no progress.”

The mudfish demon had already returned to the well. Upon hearing the question, it deliberately manipulated a jet of water to burst out of the well and lay on top of it to reply.

The bronze toad demon and the stone mill demon thought for a moment before replying seriously.

"Sir, we have practiced the Five Elements Transformation Technique. Now the speed of transformation is much faster than before, and the things we can transform into are also much larger than before."

"Moreover, Fellow Daoist Stone Mill can now restore his original stone nature, unlike before when he could only become like himself."

"I am also grateful to Fellow Daoist Tongchan for explaining the properties of copper, which is why I was able to understand these things."

After the stone mill demon finished speaking, it revealed its ghostly form and bowed to Chen Ji.

"The living wood given to me by you is also very effective. Now that I've become a ghost, my cultivation is even more solid than before. If I were still alive, at this speed, I could master human form in a hundred years at most."

"..."

Chen Ji moved his lips, somewhat embarrassed to admit that the speed was indeed a bit slow.

Even the slowest foxes on the mountain learned to transform into human form in just a few decades, while the more intelligent ones did it in just a few years.

However, I then thought that the stone mill demon was, after all, a demon made of wood and stone.

It took Senior Huai thousands of years to learn how to transform into human form, and the Mountain God of Sendai Mountain took ten thousand years to gain wisdom. The Stone Mill Demon's speed seems to be that of a genius.

So he nodded and looked at the stone mill demon.

"With such talent, fellow Daoist, you should have no problem becoming a Ghost Immortal in the future."

"A ghost immortal..."

The stone mill demon sighed, as if reminiscing about something, and after a moment, smiled calmly.

"I take your kind words with a grain of salt."

After he finished speaking, the bronze toad demon began to tell his own story.

"When will you go to Sendai Mountain again, sir? The copper ingots haven't been given to the Taoists yet. They seem to be busy these days and haven't come down to collect them."

"What were you saying back then?"

“We make copper ingots, and the Taoists come to collect them whenever they have time. It takes anywhere from three to five days. This has always been the case until the last time it was ten days ago.”

"They've been cultivating in preparation for the Luo Tian Grand Ritual lately, perhaps something has delayed them?"

Chen Ji explained.

The bronze toad demon's mouth twitched as if it wanted to speak, but after a long while it finally spoke to Chen Ji.

"But sir, I'm running out of money. I seem to have reached a critical point in my cultivation recently, and if I don't have any more money, I won't be able to continue."

Chen Ji suddenly understood.

No wonder the Copper Toad Demon was concerned about this; it turns out there was this connection.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed seen that the scars on the bronze toad demon's body were faintly showing a silver metallic luster, which was more eye-catching than the previous bronze color.

It does indeed look like it has some silver.

After thinking for a moment, he asked if there were any silver requirements for the copper toad's cultivation method.

"Any silver will do, but clean silver would be even better."

"That's what the bronze toad demon replied."

"I ate a piece of silver before. I don't know how the Taoists obtained it. It looked like normal silver, but it tasted like blood. Although it could be used for cultivation, it was like absorbing moonlight next to an outhouse. It wasn't very good."

Chen Ji laughed out loud at the analogy, but he couldn't offer any advice.

After all, he wouldn't use money to cultivate.

He then comforted the bronze toad demon.

"Perhaps it's the silver given by the butchers from the foot of the mountain when they come up to draw lots or perform rituals, that's why there's a bloody smell." "It's different."

The bronze toad demon shook its head.

“I have thought about what you said, sir. However, the smell of this silver is not just on the surface, but permeates the inside of the silver. It must have been from doing something evil.”

He shook his head as he spoke.

"Never mind, even if someone has done something evil, the Taoists don't know. The food I'm given has become much milder, so I'll just eat less of it in the future. It can be considered a side dish."

Chen Ji found it amusing upon hearing this.

I had never heard of this method of cultivation before.

So he waved and took off his money bag.

"This is what I've saved up over the years. If you need it, consider it a loan to me first. You can give it back to me when the Taoist priest from the temple comes next time."

"This... thank you, fellow Daoist!"

The bronze toad demon wanted to refuse, but couldn't bring himself to say it.

With cultivation at its current level, these mundane rituals are insignificant.

Besides, Chen Ji made it clear that it was only a loan, and he could repay the money later after selling the copper ingots.

Who knows, once I break through in my cultivation, the fossil technique might turn me into a silver ingot instead of a copper ingot.

It will be much easier to repay the money later.

Having made up his mind, the copper toad demon took the money bag, opened it, looked at it for a moment, and then quickly bowed to express his gratitude.

"With this much silver, fellow Daoist, it's enough for three months of cultivation."

"so long?"

Chen Ji was a little surprised.

He thought the silver he had was only enough for the copper toad demon to cultivate for half a day, but he didn't expect it to be enough for three months.

"Fellow Daoist..."

The bronze toad demon spoke leisurely, taking out a piece of silver in front of Chen Ji.

"Fellow Daoist, do you not know that although I can eat silver now, I am very slow?"

"It takes three days to feel the silver properties in this piece of silver. It's not strange that you have enough silver for three months."

"That's right."

Chen Ji suddenly realized, and sighed that such cultivation that requires evolution is indeed not so easy.

Loach needs the bloodline of a true dragon, bronze toad needs to absorb silver...

None of these are things that are easy to obtain.

From this perspective, Bai Shijiu's ability to fuse the bloodlines of the Celestial Fox and the Dream Eater is incredibly advantageous.

No wonder Miss Bai is so wary of other powerful families and clans.

There are reasons for everything!
Chen Ji withdrew his gaze, but subconsciously looked towards the direction of Qingliang Mountain and raised his eyebrows.

Given his relationship with Qingfeng Temple, even the Luotian Grand Ceremony shouldn't affect his ability to collect copper ingots.

Could something have happened on the mountain?

Chen Ji had a sudden thought, but then felt it was unlikely.

With the combined strength of Daoist Xiyun and the old abbot, even a great demon king wouldn't dare to approach them lightly.

But Chen Ji couldn't think of any other reason besides that.

Just then, two soft chirps came from outside the window, and a kingfisher landed outside.

Chen Ji immediately recognized this as a common communication technique used in Qingfeng Temple. After leaving the temple, he opened his hand like the Taoist priests, and the kingfisher slowly landed in Chen Ji's palm.

When he spoke, it was indeed the voice of Daoist Xiyun.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, the temple you inquired about earlier has been repaired and you can come to worship Buddha now."

"Ok?"

Chen Ji was taken aback, then realized what was going on.

This must be because Master Xiyun received some information, but he deliberately changed his mind because he was worried that someone with ulterior motives would hear it.

Then, with a flick of his eye, he looked at the kingfisher and nodded.

"Go back and tell Master Xiyun that I will be there soon... never mind, let's go together."

Since there was nothing to do down the mountain, Chen Ji decided to take the demons and ghosts up the mountain to see if there was anything wrong with the temple.

Lady Hongci has been by my side for some time now, but I didn’t have the chance to check on her before. Now that Master Xiyun has given me the opportunity, it wouldn’t be right not to go.

So he summoned the demons and ghosts to go together.

Just as he was about to ride the wind, he looked at the kingfisher beside him and thought of something.

"If I asked you to deliver a message, would you agree?"

"Chirp?"

The kingfisher paused for a moment, looking puzzled, but then nodded in agreement.

Chen Ji then sent Kingfisher to Sendai Mountain to tell Miss Bai about their trip to Qingfeng Temple.

The kingfisher nodded after listening, then flapped its wings and flew away.

Chen Ji then led the demons and ghosts to fly towards Qingliang Mountain.

(End of this chapter)