It was marvelous. Song Ciwan immersed herself in the subtle mysteries of the various Strange Techniques.
First, she looked at the Void Illusion Demon Sword. This Daoist Technique was named after a sword, but it wasn't actually Swordsmanship. Instead, it was an exceptionally bizarre Heart Demon Dao Skill.
The Void Illusion Demon Sword did not strike the body, only the demonic thoughts within!
If a person's heart was free of demons, this sword was useless. But if there was even a trace of a demon in one's heart, a single strike would cause Heart Demons to proliferate and illusions to arise.
If the victim could withstand it, their mental state and Cultivation might greatly improve, their Divine Soul would stabilize, and they could reach a new level.
From this perspective, the Void Illusion Demon Sword seemed like a positive, supportive Cultivation Technique.
But in reality, the Heart Demons triggered by the Void Illusion Demon Sword were often magnified to their absolute limits. Very few people in this world could face a Heart Demon of a comparable level, let alone one whose Magic Power had been multiplied. How many could possibly survive such a demonic trial?
The Void Illusion Demon Sword was, at its core, a true sword that executes the heart!
'Incredible!' Song Ciwan committed the cultivation secrets of this Daoist Skill to memory. When she was done, she let out a long sigh.
'Thankfully, I'm the one who controls this technique. After cultivating it, my own resistance to Heart Demons will also increase. Otherwise, if I had to face this move myself,' Song Ciwan thought, 'I probably wouldn't be able to withstand it either.'
The human heart was too complex. Who could say with certainty that their own heart was free of demonic thoughts?
Perhaps only a newborn baby could possess true purity.
After memorizing the Void Illusion Demon Sword, Song Ciwan turned to the Puppetry Technique, Substitution.
This Magic was not just profound, but also bizarre.
Find a hundred-year-old peach branch and a section of a hundred-year-old li tree. Use a special Spell to establish a blood connection with these Peach and Li Woods. Then, water them daily with fresh blood, infusing them with two years of Lifespan per day. After refining them this way for forty-nine days, one can obtain two Wooden Puppets.
Hide the Peach Wood Puppet in a secluded place for safekeeping, and carry the Li Wood Puppet on your person. This pair of Puppets can then shield their master from one fatal blow.
At the most dangerous moment, the Li Wood Puppet dies in the master's place, and the Peach Wood Puppet summons the master back to the hiding spot. A classic bait-and-switch, a Substitution.
Simply put, this was a Substitute Death Technique, one that required burning Lifespan to cultivate!
Song Ciwan grew a little excited. 'Burn Lifespan? Who cares! I have Lifespan to spare! This Strange Technique and I are a match made in heaven! Hahaha…'
"HONK!" The Big White Goose flapped its wings, flew half a foot into the air, and gave Song Ciwan a solid nudge.
It was as if to say: 'Wanwan, what are you so happy about? Why not share with your goose?'
Song Ciwan grabbed the Big White Goose, gave it a good rustling, and shared her joy.
"Hahaha! Big White, oh Big White, from now on, you'll see me walk with a swagger! You get it? Do you understand?"
Big White Goose: "HONK HONK HONK!" It struggled, poked a wing out of Song Ciwan's embrace, and with a FLAP FLAP FLAP, fanned her right in the face.
"Honk honk, honk!"
Song Ciwan: "Hahaha! 'Oh, Big White, Big White, you wouldn't understand. You're just too cute. How could you possibly get it?'"
Finally, she examined the Side Door Taoist Skill, Escape into the Night. This was an Escape Technique that only worked in places with shadows. The night would enhance it, doubling its speed and concealment.
Of course, this didn't mean it couldn't be used during the day. After all, even in daylight, wherever there is light, there must also be shadows.
It was just that when used during the day, its effects would be somewhat weaker compared to at night.
Even so, it was still wonderful.
Song Ciwan was in a great mood. After opening her "blind boxes," she moved on to the next task: stir-frying pig intestines.
The Demon Beast offal she brought back today was more Pork Demon intestines. Most of the Pork Demons in the Washing Room were artificially raised by the Demon Refining Platform. A batch was slaughtered every day, as they were the main ingredient for refining Qi Blood Elixirs.
Song Ciwan took out the intestines, stir-fried them until they were fragrant, and traded them for a Strengthening Pill.
She stored the Strengthening Pill for now, then began to trade away the various trinkets she had bought from the market today.
[You have sold a sewing kit and obtained one crudely stitched Human Skin Mask.]
[You have sold a Peach Wood Hairpin and obtained one piece of a Low Level Exorcism Talisman.]
[You have sold one dou of assorted grains and obtained one basket of stone cakes.]
[You have sold one pouch and obtained one basket of scrap cloth.]
[You have sold one kite and obtained one piece of a Low Level Light Body Talisman.]
Using up all her remaining trading opportunities for the day in one go, leaving nothing behind, Song Ciwan discovered a new direction for the Heaven and Earth Scale.
She was suddenly lost in thought. A single Peach Wood Hairpin and a single kite had yielded fragments of an Exorcism Talisman and a Light Body Talisman, respectively. 'So what if I offered ten Peach Wood Hairpins or ten kites at once? Could I get a complete Exorcism Talisman and Light Body Talisman?'
'Or, if ten isn't enough, maybe a hundred would do the trick?'
However, even though small items like hairpins and kites weren't expensive, with her current finances, she couldn't afford to buy them in bulk.
'How can I quickly earn enough money to spend freely?'
As Song Ciwan pondered, she took the crude Human Skin Mask from the Heaven and Earth Scale's storage space. She tried placing it on her face, then looked at her reflection in the mirror.
In the blurry Copper Mirror, a stiff, white face appeared, seemingly pieced together from fragments. Under the dim, yellow lamplight, the dense network of stitches on the face was unsettling enough to make one's heart tremble.
The Big White Goose, which had been pacing nearby to aid its digestion, suddenly turned its head. Caught completely off guard, its goose eyes met that face.
"HOOONK—!" A shrill, prolonged honk pierced the air.
The goose flew, the goose hopped, and goose feathers floated everywhere.
In the courtyard to the east, the matriarch of the neighboring Tian Family couldn't help but cry out, "Aiyo! What's that little lady of the Song Family doing, butchering a goose in the middle of the night?"
Holding a dustpan, she seemed to want to creep to the courtyard wall to peek, but her husband quickly stopped her. "What are you doing? I told you, their house is full of Bad Luck. If you look over there, aren't you afraid it'll rub off on you?"
The Tian matriarch mumbled sheepishly, "I was just thinking, their goose is so big. A young lady like her can't possibly eat it all in one go..."
In the end, she didn't dare suggest going next door to ask for some goose, her superstitions holding her back.
In the courtyard to the west of the Song Family, someone else also sighed, but with a tone of pity, "That little lady of the Song Family has been getting stranger and stranger ever since she went to the Washing Room. Now she's even killing her goose. I wonder how much longer she can last."
The Washing Room had indeed become Song Ciwan's best cover, allowing her to achieve a different kind of "great hermit hiding in the city."
Song Ciwan calmed the goose, then buried her head in her Cultivation. The night passed without incident.
A person's confidence can come from many sources, but strength is definitely the most important. No matter what, working hard at cultivation and never slacking off could never be wrong.
For the next period of time, Song Ciwan's life officially settled into a regular, three-point routine.
Home, the Washing Room, the market, and back home—that was her daily route.
It might have looked mediocre, numb, and tedious, but in reality, for Song Ciwan, this life was busy, progressive, and full of fun.
She scheduled her time tightly. Trading Malice for Lifespan was a daily necessity. The daily trade for a Strengthening Pill was also a must, as was swapping for other basic materials.
As for certain special types of "qi," those weren't something she could encounter every day.
Song Ciwan wasn't worried if she didn't find any. She had enough Magic and Cultivation Techniques to learn for now. Biting off more than one could chew was a bad idea; it was better to master what she had first.
Her main focus was still on collecting the Hundred-Year-Old Peach Branches and hundred-year-old li branches. After a period of observation, she already knew how to obtain them.
Furthermore, she had also spotted a "tool" of a person who could help her make money.