Chapter 12: Qi Refining Level 4
After a night of bitter cultivation, Lu You opened his eyes in delight.
He had unexpectedly entered a strange, indescribable cultivation state. By the time he came back to his senses, he had already reached Qi Refining Level 4.
Sure enough, walking the line between life and death could stimulate a person's potential and bring about transformation.
He had actually entered the legendary state of enlightenment.
Yesterday, Lu You had experienced killing someone for the first time—by his own initiative.
After that, he had deliberately sought out trouble, nearly died, and only barely escaped with his life.
In just a single day, he had gone through more excitement than his entire previous lifetime combined.
"Heh, looks like even having a mixed spiritual root isn't a problem. As long as I enter enlightenment a few more times, my cultivation speed won't fall behind those so-called geniuses." Lu You was easy to satisfy, just reaching Qi Refining Level 4 was enough to fill him with joy.
Knock, knock, knock.
There came the sound of knocking from outside the courtyard.
Opening the door, Lu You saw that Senior Sister Zeng Yan had come to visit.
Luckily, Lu You had planned ahead. Whenever he cultivated or drew talismans, he only ever left a single set of materials out in the open. No matter how troublesome it was, he always fetched things as he used them. This time, with Zeng Yan coming directly to his door, Lu You didn't need to tidy up the house, nor did he have to worry about the small cauldron being exposed. He naturally invited Zeng Yan inside.
"Junior Brother, do you know why you didn't encounter any bandit cultivators yesterday?"
As soon as Zeng Yan entered, she put on a mysterious expression.
"Oh? Is there some explanation behind that?"
Lu You looked eager for gossip. He knew that last night's explosion in the back mountain had been far too intense, so cultivators were bound to investigate. But he never imagined the news would spread into the Verdant Cloud Sect so quickly, or that Senior Sister Zeng Yan would hear about it so early in the morning.
"Just yesterday, the bandit cultivators discovered an ancient giant tomb in the back mountain of the lower district. They gathered together, hoping to gamble on a stroke of fortune. Who would have thought they'd trigger the tomb's restrictions? According to the townsfolk of the lower district, the back mountain last night looked as if it had suffered a heavenly tribulation, the entire mountain was blasted apart, and the giant tomb was completely exposed from within. Naturally, all those bandit cultivators died under the heavenly lightning."
"The entire mountain was blown apart, and all the bandit cultivators died?!" Lu You exclaimed in shock, hurriedly asking, "Senior Sister, was that lightning really a tribulation? If so, wouldn't that ancient tomb be terrifying beyond measure?"
Compared to how the bandit cultivators died, Lu You was far more interested in knowing just how destructive his million Thunder Technique Talismans actually were in the eyes of real cultivators.
Zeng Yan smiled faintly. "If a true heavenly tribulation had descended, the entire lower district would have been reduced to ashes. Those were just mortals, what do they know? Our Verdant Cloud Sect has already sent a Golden Core elder to take a look. The restriction on that ancient tomb is roughly equivalent to mid-stage Foundation Establishment in power. However..."
Her voice suddenly grew excited. "That elder discovered that the Foundation Establishment-level restriction was only superficial. This ancient tomb appears to be a legacy tomb. Once the restriction is broken, there's no further danger, except that a certain force repels Golden Core cultivators from entering. If a Golden Core cultivator forces their way in, the entire tomb will automatically self-destruct. For cultivators below the Golden Core realm, however, entry is completely unhindered."
A legacy tomb?
So-called legacy tombs are created by powerful rogue cultivators who, upon realizing their lifespan is nearing its end, build a blessed grotto to leave behind their treasures and cultivation techniques for a destined successor. If the inheritor's cultivation is too high—already possessing their own established system—the restrictions of the cave abode will reject them. If such a cultivator forces entry, the abode will self-destruct. After all, the purpose of a legacy is to find someone to inherit one's teachings, not to perform charity. Naturally, the cave abode will still contain all manner of trials; those who fail them—or whose temperament doesn't suit the legacy—often die during these trials.
Recalling that eerie eyeball from last night, Lu You couldn't help but shudder. That thing looked nothing like something meant for passing on a legacy.
It seemed that even the Golden Core elders of the Verdant Cloud Sect had been deceived by that bizarre eyeball.
However, once Lu You learned that his full-powered talisman control was already comparable to the Foundation Establishment realm level attack, beyond a trace of excitement, his heart filled with confidence about his future path of cultivation.
This was only first-tier talismans. If he studied diligently and mastered second-tier talismans—or even piled up infinite resources to create third-tier talismans—then even if his spiritual root was poor and his cultivation realm lagged behind, he could still rely on talismans to protect himself in this cultivation world.
Seeing Lu You spacing out, Zeng Yan's expression suddenly turned serious.
"Junior Brother, in the coming days you absolutely must not go down the mountain to buy materials. Now that this legacy tomb has been discovered, many rogue cultivators have flooded into the lower district, there's even Foundation Establishment cultivators among them. Things are chaotic right now. Killing for treasure is nothing unusual, and even if you keep a low profile, you could still be dragged into disaster for no reason at all."
Hearing the concern in her words, Lu You felt a warmth in his chest.
"Senior Sister, you don't need to worry. I'm planning to cultivate peacefully for the next few days."
Then, thinking of the look in Zeng Yan's eyes when she mentioned the legacy tomb, Lu You asked with some concern, "What about you, Senior Sister? You're not thinking of going to try your luck at that legacy tomb, are you?"
"I'm only at level eight of the Qi Refining realm. There are even Foundation Establishment cultivators coming this time, what business do I have joining the excitement?" Zeng Yan shook her head.
Compared to Foundation Establishment, Qi Refining was like a baby compared to an adult.
The protagonists of this legacy tomb were bound to be Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even if a Qi Refining cultivator managed to obtain some treasure inside, it would only end up as a wedding gift for someone else.
Zeng Yan's real purpose in coming was simply to tell Lu You not to think about going down the mountain. Seeing that he listened, she left satisfied.
Learning that his senior sister wouldn't go provoke that eerie eyeball at the tomb also made Lu You happy as he saw her off.
As for what things were like down the mountain, or whether the exposed ancient tomb was dangerous, Lu You—the true culprit—had no interest in caring. He threw himself wholeheartedly into talisman cultivation.
This time, the talisman manuals he had bought from the Myriad Talismans Pavilion contained a total of seven first-tier talismans:
Golden Light Talisman, Thunder Technique Talisman, Divine Eye Talisman, Purifying Heart Talisman, Evil-Repelling Talisman, Detoxification Talisman, and Light Rock Talisman.
There was no need to say much about the Golden Light Talisman and Thunder Technique Talisman, Lu You had already used them extensively.
The Divine Eye Talisman, once activated, granted night vision for the duration of the talisman. Moreover, with long-term and repeated use, the spiritual energy acting on the eyes would permanently enhance the user's eyesight. Although each talisman's improvement was minor, the gains added up over time. It was the best-selling talisman in the mortal world and an essential item for cultivators with poor vision.
The Purifying Heart Talisman soothed the liver and relieved stagnation, calmed the mind, helped cultivators enter a cultivation state more quickly, and eliminated distracting thoughts.
The Detoxification Talisman, as its name suggested, was used to neutralize poisons.
The Evil-Repelling Talisman was more interesting. It was a special talisman with a warning function. When worn, if the bearer encountered evil entities or extremely targeted malicious intent, the talisman would automatically ignite, alerting the user.
As for the last one—the Light Rock Talisman—after use, it reduced the mass of an object. It shared similarities with the Divine Speed Talisman Lu You possessed, but in terms of rank and usefulness, the Divine Speed Talisman's function was too limited, suitable only for travel. The Light Rock Talisman, on the other hand, was far more versatile. Even after reaching the Golden Core realm and gaining the ability to fly on a sword, the Light Rock Talisman would still have its uses, whereas the Divine Speed Talisman would become utterly obsolete.
Strictly speaking, the Divine Speed Talisman was probably a low-grade talisman developed by that old Daoist after failing to fully comprehend the Light Rock Talisman, settling for a lesser substitute instead.