Chapter 147: A Group of Talismans

Shapeshifting Talisman.

As the name implied, it was used to alter one’s physical appearance.

When Ji Yuan was previously at the Water Dragon Sect, he had inquired about this "Shapeshifting Talisman," but the information he received had not been very satisfactory.

This Shapeshifting Talisman was indeed a type of Second-Tier Talisman.

However, its effect… was rather lackluster.

Why?

Because the Shapeshifting Talisman only changed the user’s appearance in the eyes of others. In other words, upon use, it merely cast an illusion over one’s body surface, making others perceive a different appearance.

The effect did exist, but even cultivators of the same realm could see through it.

Especially in the eyes of Foundation Establishment cultivators—one sweep of their Divine Sense would immediately detect something unusual.

So, its function for disguising oneself was extremely limited.

It could only be considered marginally useful.

But the Shapeshifting Talisman Ji Yuan had now acquired?

It was different—very different. From the memory that had suddenly appeared, he learned that once this Shapeshifting Talisman was used, it could truly alter his facial features.

That is to say, it could change his appearance.

Not only that, but even his aura would change accordingly—if used at the Foundation Establishment stage, at least someone at the Golden Core stage would be required to detect the anomaly.

Even someone at the peak of Foundation Establishment wouldn’t be able to tell.

With that kind of effect, Ji Yuan had only one impression: anything produced by the Talisman Room must be top quality!

What a pity—the Panel didn’t directly gift him a few sheets. He still had to draw them himself.

Ji Yuan was planning to try sketching them now, to draw a few Shapeshifting Talismans and test their quality.

If the effect was good, then going out in the future would become much more convenient.

It would also be much safer, and even allow more recklessness.

With this thought, Ji Yuan decided to go to the Enlightenment Room for some talisman enlightenment.

Before that, he didn’t forget to call up the Panel to check the spiritual effects and upgrade requirements for this Level 3 Talisman Room.

【Talisman Room: |v3】

【Spiritual Effect 1: First-Tier Talisman success rate +60%, Second-Tier Talisman success rate +40%, Third-Tier Talisman success rate +20%, Fourth-Tier Talisman success rate +5%】

【Spiritual Effect 2 (Talisman Treasures Gathering): One usable twice Talisman Treasure is nurtured every three years.】

【Upgrade Requirements: Middle-Grade Spirit Stone ×600; Gold-Devouring Rat King Whisker ×5; Earth Vein Dragon Blood Cedar ×9 jin; Successfully draw one Talisman Treasure. (Not Fulfilled)】

Spiritual Effect 1 remained the conventional upgrade bonus.

But Spiritual Effect 2 was something else entirely—Talisman Treasures Gathering—truly a name that matched its function.

One Talisman Treasure every three years.

It seemed like a long time, but when considered together with the upgrade conditions, that perspective changed.

To upgrade this Talisman Room to Level 3, one must create a Talisman Treasure—that at least required someone at the Golden Core stage to accomplish, right?

At least, Ji Yuan hadn’t heard of any method for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to refine a Talisman Treasure.

Even though the Panel hadn’t said he needed to refine his own magic artifact into a Talisman Treasure, did that mean it was possible to refine someone else’s?

Assuming Golden Core stage, what was the lifespan of a Golden Core cultivator?

Five hundred years, at a minimum.

Compared to five hundred years, what did three years amount to?

Moreover, since the Panel hadn’t specified details, Ji Yuan speculated that when he reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he would receive a Golden Core Talisman Treasure. Once he formed a core, he might even get a Nascent Soul Talisman Treasure.

At that point, he would truly become formidable!

It was just a pity that the Talisman Treasures consumed so much energy. He would need to test later to see whether he could find an artifact that could constantly replenish spiritual energy.

Otherwise, a Talisman Treasure alone would be useless.

After examining it all, Ji Yuan closed the Panel.

Returning to the Enlightenment Room beside him, where the Talisman Brush, Talisman Ink, and Talisman Paper were all in place, Ji Yuan calmed his mind and picked up the Talisman Brush to begin.

Among all the Second-Tier Talismans Ji Yuan had drawn, this Shapeshifting Talisman was likely the most difficult. It had numerous talisman runes and extremely dense corners—any slight mistake would cause the talisman paper to turn to ash and vanish.

The only fortunate part was that this talisman didn’t have any Five Elements attribute, so Ji Yuan didn’t need to rely on any additional materials.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

Still unable to master the Shapeshifting Talisman, Ji Yuan stepped out and came to the Fish Pond, where some mid-First-Tier Spiritual Fish were being raised.

Every time Ji Yuan returned to the sect, he would bring some back. While they didn’t earn much money, Spirit Stones were all about accumulating little by little.

However, he wasn’t here today for the Fish Pond, but to check something else.

He approached a stone wall filled with thick Yin energy. Reaching into a crevice with his right hand, he exerted some force and pulled out the embedded boulder.

At once, an overwhelming wave of Yin energy surged out.

Ji Yuan hurriedly activated his vital energy, surging blood and Qi to protect himself, barely avoiding being corroded by the Yin energy.

“Damn it, is this place haunted?!”

Judging by the intensity of this Yin energy, if a Qi Refining novice were here, even a direct blast might be fatal. A mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator would likely require recuperation afterward.

“When I placed the Yin Ghosts here, it wasn’t this terrifying. What the hell have they been doing?”

With this thought, Ji Yuan summoned the two Yin Ghosts from within the cave.

With a "whoosh" sound—

Two black shadows shot out, circling around Ji Yuan.

He could sense that the two Yin Ghosts wanted to get close to him, but they feared the domineering blood Qi emanating from his body and didn’t dare approach.

Ji Yuan just studied the two wisps of black mist.

Their size—compared to before—was probably double. And their aura… they were both at the ninth layer of Qi Refining!

Such rapid progress?!

Just what was the origin of that Black Coffin Bai Piao had? Could it really have been dug out from a Ten Thousand Corpses Family pit?

For the first time, Ji Yuan began to doubt that explanation, because he noticed that even after the Yin Ghosts had emerged, the Yin energy inside the cave had not diminished in the slightest.

That meant the Yin energy was not emitted by the Yin Ghosts, but rather by that Black Coffin.

Was the effect really this strong? Ji Yuan restrained his own blood and Qi, stepping into the cave.

This Black Coffin had originally been placed at the very center of the cave by him. It was still in its original position now, without the slightest change, but compared to before, a dense surge of Yin energy was continuously pouring out.

It was radiating from all around the Black Coffin, as if it truly had a coffin lid.

But he clearly hadn't seen one before. Ji Yuan had only viewed it with the naked eye earlier, which might not have been accurate. Now he released his Divine Sense for a thorough inspection, yet still found no gaps whatsoever.

This Black Coffin was a single piece—in other words, it was just a block of black stone shaped like a coffin.

That Yin energy wasn’t really coming from any “coffin lid seams,” but rather diffusing from all directions.

It only felt that way because he was looking down from above.

Although he didn’t know why the Black Coffin had so much Yin energy, at present it seemed to be a good thing—the two Yin Ghosts were already pouncing onto it, devouring greedily.

Ji Yuan estimated that once they “ate” the Black Coffin, breaking through to the peak of Qi Refining shouldn't be a problem.

As for Foundation Establishment, that might not be enough.

Moreover, if they wanted to reach Foundation Establishment, they would likely have to modify the Yin Ghost Formation themselves—at the very least, upgrade the formation to Second Tier. Even if that wasn’t possible, they’d have to touch the threshold of Second Tier.

Leaving the cave, Ji Yuan turned to look back at it.

“The Yin energy is this rich… I wonder if calling Tu Yue over would allow her to benefit a little?”

“Even just nurturing her slightly would be good.”

Such a useful corpse servant, Ji Yuan had to take good care of her. So he summoned Tu Yue, who was currently feeding the pigs.

But the moment she reached the cave entrance, Ji Yuan noticed her brows and eyes visibly relaxed. She seemed to enjoy it? A sign?

Ji Yuan had her enter the cave, and that made Tu Yue feel even more at ease. Even her previously dry hair became soft and smooth.

As for her cultivation, she seemed to have practiced Wood and Earth techniques in life. Ji Yuan didn’t know if they still worked after death, and didn’t bother to worry about it.

Just let it serve as some nourishment.

After that, Ji Yuan sealed the cave with stones again and returned to his original wooden house.

Tu Yue, the old employee, had “taken leave,” so Ji Yuan, the boss, had no choice but to step up and resume the long-neglected tasks of feeding chickens and pigs.

As for the Great Toad, it was hopeless. If it were put in charge of raising pigs…

There would be no telling whether it was raising pigs, or the pigs were raising it.

Another ten days or so passed. With the aid of the Enlightenment Room and relying on his own comprehension, Ji Yuan finally grasped the “Shapeshifting Talisman.”

Looking at the talisman in his hand, Ji Yuan recalled how he had previously focused on the fine details within his mind.

Now holding it, when viewed as a whole, Ji Yuan realized something.

All the talisman runes on the Shapeshifting Talisman formed the shape of a person.

“No wonder it was so hard.”

Ji Yuan muttered, then casually slapped the talisman onto himself. Immediately, he felt a unique spiritual energy spread across his entire body, even concealing his original aura, replacing it with one that was rather sinister.

Moreover, most of the spiritual energy from the Shapeshifting Talisman concentrated on Ji Yuan’s face, layering over and over.

Ji Yuan found he could use this spiritual energy to change his appearance—but only by manipulating facial muscles and adjusting the size and placement of facial features. Changing bone structure was still difficult.

Even so, it was more than enough.

Ji Yuan made a few random adjustments, then took a mirror from his storage pouch and looked.

Uneven eyes, a hooked nose, and a crooked mouth—paired with a completely different, sinister aura.

Ji Yuan’s uneven eyes gleamed with excitement.

“Heh heh heh…”

“It’ll be much easier to kill someone from now on.”

“Croak!” The Great Toad sensed something was wrong and leapt up suddenly, landing in front of him with eyes glaring wide.

Ji Yuan put away the mirror and turned to look at it.

Seeing this ugly fellow, the Great Toad naturally assumed Ji Yuan had been hidden away, and instantly stuck out its tongue.

Sensing the powerful impact, Ji Yuan cursed, raised both arms to protect himself, and tore off the Shapeshifting Talisman immediately.

Although his original aura and appearance returned, the Great Toad had no time to stop. After a while—

Ji Yuan finally cleaned himself up. Fortunately, he had reacted fast. Had he been a few moments slower, he might’ve ended up in the Great Toad’s stomach.

Though annoyed, Ji Yuan remembered that the Great Toad had only acted to protect him, so his anger soon passed.

It just meant that for the next half month, he wouldn’t let the Great Toad eat any Spiritual Pigs.

Damn it—getting such filthy saliva on me. Even after cleaning up, Ji Yuan still felt uncomfortable.

Another month or so passed in a blur.

Most of this month was spent by Ji Yuan studying the Nascent Soul technique of the Li family, the Canglan Nine Tribulations Sword Manual.

With the support of the Enlightenment Room and his own decent talent,

Entering the technique wasn’t difficult—he just needed to convert his spiritual energy upon reaching Foundation Establishment. The challenge lay in the future cultivation and advancement of the technique.

In a sense, this technique had easy entry but strict advancement.

Easy to start, difficult to improve.

In the blink of an eye, only two months remained before the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven opened. Ji Yuan once again returned to the Water Dragon Sect to sell and purchase supplies.

After finishing his business, he intended to return to his residence on Hatchling Dragon Island.

It had been so long—he had to at least show his face.

But upon arriving, he saw a letter placed on the gate of his courtyard. He opened it and read:

“Fourth Brother, if you return home, could you come see me? I have a favor to ask.”

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