Chapter Nine: Gloomy Rain (Please keep reading and recommend!)

Su Ye held the talisman brush, channeling the Yin-Yang Five Thunders technique to draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, gathering it to the tip of the brush. A streak of azure-violet light surged forth from the brush's tip. Swiftly, Su Ye outlined the talisman patterns, overlaying them onto the medicinal herbs arranged on the table. Instantly, the latent power within the herbs was drawn out by the force of the talisman, erupting in a spectrum of colors.

These lights represented the essence within each herb. Once Su Ye drew them out with the talisman patterns, he proceeded to inscribe new patterns, wholly different from before. The extracted essences responded to this new talisman, slowly weaving together.

It was a painstakingly slow process. Nearly an hour passed before the essences fully merged, forming a single talisman medicine.

"This talisman medicine is refined from century-old ginseng, polygonatum, vermilion grass, and four other herbs. It can be used to enhance my cultivation," Su Ye mused, gazing at the talisman medicine in his palm, a smile rising on his lips.

The talisman medicine appeared no different from pills forged in a furnace—just a round pellet.

These seven herbs were potent, and Su Ye managed to produce three pills for increasing cultivation.

He had brought many kinds of medicinal herbs from the secret vault—not only to refine talisman medicine for cultivation, but also for healing, such as red sage, turmeric, and dragon’s blood.

The talisman medicines refined from different herbs bore their properties. Su Ye then used red sage, turmeric, and others to make several healing talisman medicines.

By the time Su Ye finished, most of the day had passed. Meanwhile, Zhao Qi and the other guards had procured the materials needed for making talisman paper and ink, as Su Ye had instructed.

Thanks to his companion jade talisman, Su Ye was exceptionally gifted in talisman crafting—even in making talisman paper and ink.

Once the guards handed him the materials, Su Ye immediately began to craft them.

According to Zhao Qi, Zhao Huaisheng’s lair was within Jinhua County. Now, Su Ming had already set out from Jinhua County to find Zhao Huaisheng, and it would not be long before Su Ming returned to the Su family with him.

Su Ye was unsure of Zhao Huaisheng’s cultivation, but since Su Ming had already broken through to the Second Realm, Zhao Huaisheng must at least be in the First Realm, perhaps even Ninth Grade.

After preparing the talisman paper and ink, Su Ye wasted no time in crafting talismans.

Since Zhao Huaisheng was a sinister cultivator who raised ghosts, most of the talismans Su Ye made were for warding off spirits and suppressing evil. He also crafted two Thunderfire Talismans.

Thunderfire Talismans were especially effective against evil spirits and ghosts; their sheer destructive power made them formidable against ordinary cultivators as well.

Su Ye was barely considered a First Realm cultivator; his dantian held only a scant amount of energy. He relied on the companion jade talisman in his mind-sea and two spirit-infused jade stones from the secret vault to craft his talismans.

Yet these were only auxiliary aids. After making more than ten talismans, all their energy was spent.

"Five days have passed," Su Ye sighed softly. He packed away his talisman brush and other tools, then stepped out into the courtyard.

Beneath the osmanthus tree sat a meditation cushion, woven from silver-grass and tinted a bluish-gray. Silver-grass naturally gathered spiritual energy, and Su Ye had inscribed a spiritual gathering pattern onto the cushion, making it a low-grade magical artifact.

Seated cross-legged, Su Ye took out a cultivation-enhancing talisman medicine, placed it beneath his tongue, and began refining its power with the Yin-Yang Five Thunders technique.

Spiritual energy from heaven and earth converged, flowing like a gentle stream into his body.

Both the spiritual energy and the medicine’s power were refined by his technique, transformed into energy that poured into his dantian.

In his previous life, Su Ye had already reached Ninth Grade. Now, he needed only to refine enough power to quickly restore his cultivation to that level.

Five days later, rain fell relentlessly.

The entire city of Jinhua County was shrouded in a curtain of rain. Su Ye did not encounter Zhao Huaisheng and his disciple, but instead received news that a Su family estate outside Jinhua County had been attacked by a monster.

"Master, nine people have died at Zhao Manor. Their deaths are horrific. I’ve sent men to investigate, but they are no match for the monster," Zhao Qi reported, worry etched across his face. His men were skilled, and he was only slightly stronger than them, but his brothers could not withstand even a single blow from the monster. He himself was no match either.

After much hesitation, Zhao Qi finally decided to inform Su Ye and let him decide how to proceed.

"You stay at the manor. Find someone else to accompany me to Zhao Manor," Su Ye decided without hesitation.

Five days had passed, and the cultivation-enhancing talisman medicines he’d made were all used up. With their power, he had restored his cultivation to the First Realm in just five days.

To reach the Second Realm, he needed to refine more spiritual energy. But by conventional cultivation, it would take a very long time to break through.

Now, hearing of a monster causing havoc outside the city, a new idea took shape in his mind.

Monsters were terrifying to ordinary folk, but to cultivators, they were a treasure trove.

If he could slay the monster wreaking havoc at Zhao Manor, he could use its blood and flesh to craft even more powerful talismans.

Zhao Manor lay a hundred li south of Jinhua County, at the foot of Blackstone Mountain—a considerable distance from the city.

"Gao Yuan, how much do you know about Zhao Manor?" Zhao Bai asked with a smile.

Gao Yuan was the guide assigned to Su Ye by Zhao Qi. He was also a Su family guard, born in Gaoshan Village within Jinhua County.

Gaoshan Village neighbored Zhao Manor, so Gao Yuan was well acquainted with it.

"Master, actually, rumors of a monster at Zhao Manor began a month ago, but they kept it hidden. At first, the monster wasn’t killing anyone. But something changed, and the monster lingered at Zhao Manor, refusing to leave. Over this time, nine people have been slain," Gao Yuan said gravely.

He glanced nervously at Su Ye. The people of Zhao Manor had not spoken of this; Gao Yuan only knew because Gaoshan Village was adjacent, revealing some hidden truths.