"Rain-Praying Seal!"
"A secret category Dharma Seal!"
"This seal connects with the heavens and the earth; one command moves the wind and thunder, another sends down torrential rain."
"It is an essential Dharma Seal for invoking rain and driving away drought."
"Only those who have consumed Water Element Spiritual Water, and whose Spiritual Sense contains water force, can practice it."
This stall is located in the center of the Market. The stall owner appears to be a Daoist around 30 years old, with green branches and leaves embroidered on the sleeves of his cyan Daoist Robe.
Gu Yuan already knows the significance of Daoist Robes in the Cyan Peak Daoist School. Generally, cyan robes are worn by Qi Refining Disciples, and the number of green leaves indicates the layer of Qi Refining reached.
And the Daoist before Gu Yuan, with six leaves embroidered, is clearly at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.
"Greetings, Senior Brother!"
Gu Yuan cupped his hands in a respectful greeting, his attitude warm.
The Daoist opened his eyes and glanced at Gu Yuan, a flash of green light passing through them. He then looked at Gu Yuan's robe, his expression slightly surprised.
Gu Yuan, merely at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, was wearing a Middle-grade Daoist Robe with five leaves embroidered, implying a connection within the school!
With this thought, the Daoist became more cordial, smiling warmly:
"Junior Brother is interested in this Rain-Praying Seal?"
"What a good choice!"
"The art of invoking clouds and summoning rain is extremely rare at the Qi Refining Realm. This Rain-Praying Seal can alter weather phenomena, causing torrential rain over a ten-mile area. If you learn this seal, Junior Brother, you will definitely complete the rain invocation task at the school."
Cultivators serve as a Sect's defenders, but ordinary people are its foundation.
Within any Sect's territory, a large number of ordinary people are sheltered as seeds.
And with a large population and vast territory, various disasters and Demon Beast appearances are inevitable. Therefore, the Sect issues various tasks for disciples to handle, which also serve as training.
Among these tasks, invoking clouds and summoning rain to change weather phenomena is common.
However, aside from cloud invocation and rain summoning, such magic offers little advantage in Magical Combat, so most disciples generally do not specifically study it, resulting in a smaller market and fewer buyers. The Daoist is here merely trying his luck.
But Gu Yuan's interest is not in this seal itself but in the "conditions for practice."
"May I ask, Senior Brother, since this Secret Seal must be practiced only by those who have consumed Spiritual Water, is there a special significance to this?"
As Gu Yuan asked, he took out three Spirit Stones and placed them on the stall, purchasing the Dharma Seal.
The Daoist had suspected Gu Yuan was well-connected and, seeing him so straightforward, his smile widened with flowers blooming on his face. He promptly explained:
"Junior Brother is new to the sect, it's normal not to be fully aware."
"This Spiritual Sense Pass at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer is the first critical pass in cultivation!"
"The disparity in cultivation begins at this point!"
"From this stage, the refining of Dharma Seals requires special techniques. Although most Dharma Seals do not require specific Spiritual Sense, unique seals indeed require unique methods to integrate Dao Patterns; otherwise, no matter how powerful your Spiritual Sense is, you cannot condense Dao Patterns into a seal!"
"Such seals are referred to as Secret Seals!"
"For example, the Rain-Praying Seal is crafted from the discarded skin of a thirty-year Water Snake, combined with Thunder-Attracting Grass and Water Element Flower, gathering three Dao Patterns which integrate as one for refinement. But without having consumed Spiritual Water, it is impossible to merge the three Dao Patterns into one!"
"Yes, like our school's exclusive seal, the Golden Brilliance Great Sword Seal, it requires having consumed 'Golden Roar Spiritual Water' to learn."
"Junior Brother is currently at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer and may not have consumed Spiritual Water yet. With help from seniors, just consuming middle-grade or above Spiritual Water will easily allow you to refine this Rain-Praying Seal!"
Gu Yuan had learned some of this information from books in the past few days but not in great detail. However, after the Daoist's explanation, it immediately clicked for him.
The value of Spiritual Water is even greater than he initially thought.
There is an additional connection indeed.
He originally thought refining Dharma Seals depended entirely on insight, but now it seems that's not entirely correct.
Refining Dharma Seals appears similar to Artifact Refining, both requiring the melting of materials to form a new object.
However, Artifact Refining emphasizes the "refining" aspect, only needing to control the heat, craft the shape, and finally engrave the Artifact Pattern to complete.
It demands control over the artifact and Spirit Fire.
But Dharma Seal refining emphasizes the aspect of "insight," requiring heart and spirit integration with Dao Patterns, perceiving the Power of Heaven-Earth, and then using heart and spirit to activate Dao Patterns, following a specific sequence to reconsolidate them.
It demands insight into the Dao Patterns.
Only by comprehending Dao Patterns can one integrate the melted patterns to draw the Dharma Seal.
But now it seems insight alone isn't enough; specialized "Spiritual Sense" is also required.
Gu Yuan had previously thought this Pass, as the first at the Qi Refining Realm, merely allowed Spiritual Sense to extend outward, detecting minute details within a certain radius, representing a small leap in life level. But now it appears that this Pass is even more crucial than anticipated.
"Thank you, Senior Brother, for clearing my doubts!"
"I wonder if Senior Brother has any other Secret Seals requiring Water Pattern Spiritual Sense for refinement?"
Gu Yuan pondered over his "Spiritual Flood Dragon Celestial Water," and his heart began to stir.
This unique method of Spiritual Sense might be crucial to enhancing his strength.
"I have another Water Element Seal, but it's not a Secret Seal, just a regular seal; only insight is needed and anyone can refine it."
The Daoist flipped his wrist and took out a Jade Scroll with letters as fine as mosquito legs.
"Mirror Flower Water Moon Seal!"
"Use water as a mirror to summon a Water Element clone, capable of shielding from a single damage of the same realm."
Upon seeing the description, Gu Yuan was slightly disappointed.
This was not what he had been interested in.
The Daoist also noticed Gu Yuan's disappointment.
Perhaps due to Gu Yuan's respectful attitude or his potential "connections," after a moment of thought, the Daoist said:
"Most stalls within the Market sell common items; my Rain-Praying Seal is a Secret Seal but merely possesses cloud and rain summoning abilities with limited power."
"If you truly seek exceptional treasures, you need to visit the 'Celestial Star Dark Market' deep in the Market where genuine treasures can be found."
"The 'Celestial Star Dark Market' was established by Elder Xuan in his youth. Now in his venerable Golden Core age, he barely considers its profits yet still safeguards the area. Prices there are fair, and no one will be oppressed."
"However, entry to the 'Celestial Star Dark Market' has a high threshold; just the admission fee requires five Spirit Stones."
Five Spirit Stones are already a significant sum for most cultivators.
If it involves ordinary cultivators at the Qi Refining Fourth or Fifth Layer, they accumulate roughly twenty Spirit Stones annually. This entry fee consumes one-fifth, which most would hesitate to part with.
However, Gu Yuan is not ordinary.
The favor of a Golden Core, even if slight, is sufficient for him to indulge for some time.
"Thank you, Senior Brother, for the information!"
Gu Yuan also discovered the stalls at both sides of the Market lacked items he needed, and immediately he cupped his hands respectfully towards the Daoist before heading to the depths of the Market.
The Market was not very large, so with Gu Yuan's pace, he quickly exited and saw a pavilion at the island's edge near a cliff.
The pavilion had no guards on either side, only a pitch-black entrance.
"Buzz!"
Just as Gu Yuan intended to step inside, a light curtain appeared from the pavilion's entrance, blocking his path.
A golden toad, about the size of a yard, opened its mouth wide, staring fixedly at Gu Yuan.
Gu Yuan understood instinctively, retrieving five Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag to throw into the golden toad's mouth.
"Ribbit!"
The golden toad let out an excited croak, then abruptly opened its mouth wider, suddenly swallowing Gu Yuan whole before he could react.