Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

Chapter 298 Returning to Tianjin, Materials Ready

After flying out of the Nine Dragons, Chen Mo withdrew the full power of his evil energy escape technique.

Having flown at full speed the entire way, the magical power within his body leaked out like a floodgate had been opened.

If this continues, let alone making our way to Tianjin, it will be a question of whether we can even survive until then.

He glanced down and saw a deserted island.

The island is small, overgrown with waist-high weeds and a few crooked trees, and there isn't even a decent road. It's so desolate that even birds don't want to land there.

Chen Mo's body sank, landing on a relatively flat open space in the center of the island.

The moment his feet touched the ground, he immediately withdrew the murderous aura and black smoke surrounding him, took out a kite from his storage space, and casually tossed it into the air.

The kite grew taller in the wind, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a paper bird with a wingspan of nearly two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), hovering quietly in mid-air.

"This thing is so much easier," he muttered, turning over and sitting down.

The kite took flight and slowly flew towards Tianjin.

Compared to the previous method of flying at full speed, the kite is much slower, but it is more energy-efficient.

The amount of magical power consumed to keep the kite flying is less than a fraction of the power required for the evil energy escape technique.

The sea breeze, carrying salty and fishy vapors, washed away much of the bloody smell on him.

Chen Mo shifted to a more comfortable position and took out the glutinous rice balls he had hidden in his pocket, placing them in his palm.

The little guy had been enveloped in malevolent energy the whole way, so it was so scared that it buried its head under its tail and curled up into a ball of fur.

Only now, feeling the gentle breeze and warm hands, did my limbs slowly relax.

The glutinous rice ball has a black and white striped skin that is as soft as freshly fluffed cotton, with black and white patches on its back.

But its four little paws were snow-white, as if it had stepped on dough.

The most eye-catching feature is its long tail, with a small tuft of white hair at the tip, resembling the tip of a calligraphy brush.

The little guy first rubbed his wet nose against Chen Mo's fingers to make sure there was no danger, then put his front paws on Chen Mo's thumb and stood up.

The kite is skimming across a vast expanse of sea.

The afternoon sun spread across the sea, breaking into countless golden scales that dazzled the eyes.

The sky was a deep blue that looked like it had been washed many times, incredibly high and distant, with a few white clouds drifting slowly, their shadows falling on the sea, rising and falling with the waves.

Tangyuan was stunned.

His bright black eyes were wide open, reflecting the entire sky and ocean in his pupils.

On her small, strikingly black and white face, her mouth was slightly open, revealing a tiny bit of pink tongue.

"Squeak~~"

Chen Mo looked down at the little thing in his palm, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up slightly.

Tangyuan suddenly jumped up from his palm, almost jumping off the kite, but he caught her with quick reflexes.

The little guy struggled between his fingers for a moment, but when he realized he couldn't fly away, he looked up at the sky and watched the few white clouds slowly move by. The whole mouse was stunned, and even the tip of its tail stopped curling.

It has seen the sky.

In the realm of ghosts, the sky is always gray and hazy, and even the sunlight has no warmth.

"Squeak squeak squeak..."

Suddenly, Tangyuan started spinning in Chen Mo's palm, then stopped after spinning twice to look at the sea.

I kept spinning around and I accidentally got dizzy.

She stumbled and fell onto Chen Mo's hand, landing on her back with her limbs in the air, revealing her soft, white belly, her eyes still darting around.

Chen Mo finally couldn't help but chuckle and gently rubbed its belly with his index finger.

The little guy reflexively curled up his limbs, hugged his fingers, and made "gurgling" sounds.

After rubbing it a couple of times, he suddenly stopped and frowned slightly.

Suddenly, a critical question came to mind.

"By the way, what do you usually eat?"

Tangyuan peeked half its face out from between its fingers, blinking its bright black eyes, clearly not understanding.

Chen Mo held it back in his palm, stared at the fluffy little thing for a moment, and realized that he seemed to have forgotten to ask Granny Mouse about it.

You can't expect Tangyuan to eat rice with you, can you?

But it doesn't seem like it's impossible.

The old woman had said before that it was still young and needed clean magical energy to nurture it. "You only need to consume magical energy?"

Chen Mo looked at Tangyuan thoughtfully, and gently flicked its little ears with his fingers.

After a moment's hesitation, he decided to give it a try.

The Yin energy within his body slowly began to circulate, and the pure energy gathered along his meridians to his fingertips.

He carefully controlled the output, drawing only a trace and slowly injecting it into Tangyuan's body.

The little guy froze.

Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat, thinking something had gone wrong, and he was about to withdraw his magic power.

The next moment, a very faint halo suddenly appeared on Tangyuan's black and white fur.

The halo was silvery-white, cold as moonlight, spreading from its back, along its fur to its limbs, and finally enveloping the entire mouse.

Tangyuan's eyes widened, reflecting the silvery-white light in her pupils. Her whole little body tensed up, as if she were sensing something unfamiliar.

A few breaths later, its eyes slowly narrowed, and on its small, black-and-white face, its mouth curved into an extremely tiny arc.

Its long tail was no longer curled up; it was gently shaken in his hand, and the tuft of white fur at the tip of the tail shone slightly.

"Gurgle..."

Tangyuan made a series of satisfied sounds and rolled around in Chen Mo's palm.

"You really eat this?"

Chen Mo could sense that the wisp of Yin energy injected into Tangyuan's body had not dissipated, but was being slowly absorbed by the little guy's body.

To his surprise, the silvery-white halo around Tangyuan lasted for about ten breaths before gradually dissipating.

After the halo faded, the little guy's fur looked even fluffier and softer than before, and even his eyes seemed brighter.

After a short while, Tangyuan slowly turned over, rubbed its wet nose against Chen Mo's thumb, and held onto his fingers tightly with its two front paws.

He tilted his head back, his bright black eyes filled with longing, clearly saying he wanted more.

"Alright, that's enough. Don't give me too much at once, or I'll get too full."

Chen Mo, feeling both amused and exasperated, withdrew his finger and gathered the glutinous rice ball in his palm.

The little creature, unwilling to give up, burrowed between his fingers, trying to find another trace of magical power.

After struggling for a while and finding that it was really gone, it curled up into a ball, feeling wronged.

It buries its head in its tail, only showing its two ears, which twitch to express its dissatisfaction.

Chen Mo shook his head and looked at the outline of the land gradually appearing on the horizon.

I wonder if this little thing eats anything other than magic power.

I can't be its baby bottle every day from now on, can I?

An hour later, the coastline gradually became clear.

The kite carried Chen Mo over the gray mudflats, where the seawater below changed from deep blue to murky yellowish-brown.

The salty sea breeze in the air began to carry the smells of coal smoke and fish.

Chen Mo found a piece of wasteland on the edge of the East District and slowly lowered the kite.

The wasteland was surrounded by withered yellow weeds, and several piles of construction waste were haphazardly dumped by the roadside. In the distance, factory chimneys were belching black smoke.

Occasionally, one or two donkey carts would pass by on the dirt road, but the old man driving them wouldn't even glance in their direction.

The kite shrank automatically after landing and was put into Chen Mo's sleeve.

Tangyuan poked half its head out from his collar, sniffed the unfamiliar air, sneezed a little, and then withdrew.

Chen Mo dusted off his robes and walked along the dirt road onto the main road.

Not far along, we saw the tram tracks.

After waiting on the platform for less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a dark green tram came clanging along.

There weren't many people on the bus, so Chen Mo found a window seat and sat down.

Tangyuan peeked out from the collar, perched on the lapel, and stared curiously at the street scene slowly receding outside the window.

The brick buildings are of varying heights, the vendors carry their wares on shoulder poles, and even the yellow dog chases after the tram.

It stared wide-eyed at everything, its tail tip twitching.

Everything looked new and exciting to me, along with a touch of unease.

After watching for a while, it yawned slightly and tucked its head back into its arms.

The tram swayed and rattled for about half an hour before stopping at the platform at the intersection of East Street.

Chen Mo got out of the car and walked along the familiar alley.

Willow Leaf Lane remains the same as before, with a few puddles on the bluestone pavement, and the leaves of the plane trees on both sides have begun to turn yellow, with one or two occasionally falling onto your shoulder.

Under the old locust tree deep in the alley, several old women were sitting on small stools picking vegetables. When they saw Chen Mo walk by, they looked up at him, then went back to their work.

The courtyard gate was not closed. Chen Mo pushed the gate open and went in, passing through the small courtyard planted with a few rose bushes, and then pushed open the main gate.

Ghost Banner Taoist was sitting in a single chair with a pot of tea in front of him.

Hearing the door open and seeing that it was Chen Mo returning, he quickly stood up and bowed.

"Master Chen is back. I wonder if his trip went smoothly?"

Ghost Banner Taoist's gaze swept over Chen Mo, and he frowned slightly when he saw the dark red stains on his robes.

Chen Mo closed the door, sat down on another sofa, and let out a long sigh.

"It wasn't exactly smooth sailing, but it wasn't exactly bad sailing either."

He picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup. The tea was already cold, but he was too lazy to heat it up again, so he drank it all in one gulp.

"But something else happened on the way," Chen Mo said, taking the glutinous rice ball out of his pocket.

Tangyuan was dozing in his arms. When he took her out, her eyes were still closed, and she was curled up in his palm in a daze.

A few breaths later, it slowly woke up, first sniffing the unfamiliar scent in the air, and then looked up to see the Ghost Banner Taoist.

"Squeak~"

Tangyuan let out a low, wary cry, shrinking its whole body between his fingers, its bright black eyes fixed on the Ghost Banner Taoist, its ears pressed low.

Ghost Banner Taoist stared at the little thing for several breaths, his expression changing from doubt to surprise.

"...Is this Master Chen's spirit pet?"

I found it on the street.

Chen Mo gently rubbed Tangyuan's head with his thumb to soothe its nervousness. "Call me Tangyuan."

Ghost Banner Taoist's lips twitched, clearly feeling that the name was unworthy of this seemingly extraordinary creature.

He tactfully refrained from saying more, simply cupping his hands in a gesture of respect and praising, "A good name."

Tangyuan noticed that Chen Mo spoke to this stranger in a relaxed tone, and her tense body slowly relaxed.

It cautiously peeked out, its little nose twitching a few times. Seemingly finding no threat, it then perked up its ears.

Chen Mo didn't say anything more about the glutinous rice balls. He flipped his hand and took out a gray-black blanket-like object from his storage space.

It was that vengeful spirit's guide.

The thing looked like a folded blanket, only about the size of two palms, with a texture that resembled cloth but wasn't quite cloth, and the material was rough.

Chen Mo casually unfolded it and placed it on the armrest of the sofa.

When fully unfurled, the vengeful spirit is about three feet long.

The edges are jagged, not neatly cut, but rather look like they were torn from something, giving them a rough, primitive feel.

What's most captivating is its surface, which is covered with a grayish-white mist that's almost invisible to the naked eye.

The fog was extremely thin, almost transparent.

And amidst those crisscrossing patterns, blurry human faces kept emerging.

As soon as this thing was taken out, the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees.

The Ghost Banner Taoist, who had been sitting upright in his chair, stood up quickly the moment he saw the vengeful spirits being summoned.

"Is this the vengeful spirit summoning technique of the Xuan Yin Zhai?"

He walked a few steps to the sofa, his eyes almost touching the thin blanket.

"The quality is even better than I expected..."

"These faces... must be fragments of consciousness nurtured by the vengeful spirit threads; each face is the essence of a wisp of vengeful spirit thread."

Chen Mo leaned back on the sofa, tossing Tangyuan aside to play with on its own. "The real headache now is how to pull the vengeful spirit threads out of there."

Ghost Banner Taoist crossed his arms and puffed out his chest. "This old Taoist knows how."

Seeing that Chen Mo did not respond, he pointed to the blanket and continued to explain, "Judging from this vengeful spirit guide, it is probably also a container."

"The vengeful spirit threads are kept inside, intertwined and tangled. If you try to pull them out one by one, you won't be able to finish them even next year."

"I practiced a technique in my younger years called the Silk-Pulling Technique, which can peel out the threads of vengeful spirits one by one without damaging their roots."

"How long will it take?"

"The materials for the Ten Thousand Souls Banner require two hundred strands..."

Ghost Banner Taoist counted on his fingers, "It will take at least seven days, and at most half a month."

"The main problem is that the 'Soul-Binding Silk' is too fragile. You have to be careful when drawing it out, otherwise it will be incomplete and its effect will be reduced when you refine it into the banner later."

Chen Mo nodded, picked up the Soul-Guiding Charm from the table, and casually tossed it to him.

"Then I'll leave this to you."

Ghost Banner Taoist quickly caught it with both hands, cradling the vengeful spirit in his palms, turning it over and over to examine it twice, his eyes filled with excitement.

"Don't worry, Mr. Chen, I guarantee there won't be any mistakes."

Chen Mo picked up his teacup and poured himself another cup of cold tea, looking at him with great anticipation.

"Now that we have all the materials, can we start forging the Myriad Soul Banner?"

Upon hearing this, Guiban Daoist's smile deepened. "That's right. Once I've prepared the vengeful spirit threads, we can make our move immediately."

The ritual implements used by practitioners are divided into three grades: inferior, middle, and superior. This is the most basic common sense.

Inferior magic artifacts are crude and usually can only be engraved with one or two arrays, and the arrays are independent of each other and cannot be linked.

It's only slightly better than ordinary iron; a Qi Refining stage cultivator would be lucky to even have one.

Mid-grade magical artifacts are much more sophisticated.

It can be engraved with three to five layers of formations, and the formations are interlocked to form a simple formation loop. It can absorb the free spiritual energy in the world to maintain its operation, greatly reducing the cultivator's mana consumption.

The merit banner in his hand could barely be considered a mid-grade magic weapon with the weakest power.

As for high-grade magic artifacts, that's on another level altogether.

Besides being made of rare and precious materials, a high-grade magic weapon must have at least six layers of formations engraved on it.

Furthermore, the formations together form a complete array that can operate on its own.

Over time, a superior magical artifact can develop a rudimentary spirituality, enabling it to resonate deeply with its owner's magical power.

They can even spontaneously protect their owners when they are in danger.

Above the highest grade, there are the legendary magical artifacts.

It is said that magical artifacts have become sentient and can generate a wisp of artifact spirit, which is in tune with the mind of its master and can even fight independently of its master.

However, such treasures were already extremely rare before the Red Moon.

After the Red Moon, it became nothing more than a legend.

Most independent cultivators and Qi Refining stage cultivators never even get close to owning a mid-grade magic weapon in their entire lives.

They mostly used homemade talismans, crude magic seals, or incomplete items dug out of ancient tombs.

Having even a low-grade magic artifact for protection is enough to make one stand out in the world of independent cultivators.