SWDnovel Chapter 55 Preparation
Chapter 55 Preparation
Chen Bai nodded in agreement.
The shopkeeper's gaze swept over the various spiritual materials on the counter.
He reached out and picked up the ball of earth vein essence, examined it carefully under the light of the blazing lamp for a moment, and then said:
"This mass of 'earth vein essence' is the main material for the seal blank, and it is of excellent quality. In addition, 'earth mother stone' and 'sunken soil crystal' are used as auxiliary materials."
All three are the essence of the earth element, belonging to the same origin, and complementing each other in form and substance.
They don't clash when paired together; in fact, they can amplify each other's power.
As he spoke, he took out a small copper scale from under the counter, weighed the spiritual materials that Chen Bai had brought one by one, and wrote a few lines on a piece of paper.
Then he stood up again, walked to the chart, carefully compared the zodiac signs and grades of several materials, paced back and forth a few times, and then sat back down in front of the counter.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, if this seal is made using only 'Earth Mother Stone' and 'Sinking Soil Crystal,' its weight will still be too heavy to meet the requirements."
He picked up a fine-tipped vermilion brush and sketched a rough draft of the seal impression on the paper, continuing as he drew:
"To fully realize these two mysteries, we would probably need to use higher-grade materials or rely on quantity, which would be costly..."
The shopkeeper shook his head, looking troubled.
"I'm afraid it's difficult to lower the price! Here are a few replacement options for you to consider—"
Currently, there are three auxiliary materials suitable for combining with earth-elemental materials in seal crafting that can be selected.
He opened a thick catalog of spiritual materials next to him, pushed it to Chen Bai, and pointed to a few lines in it.
"Firstly, the 'Hundred-Year-Old Spirit Tortoise Plastron,' a mid-grade first-tier item."
Water is the wealth of earth; by nourishing the earth with water, the seal, once formed, can possess a sense of vitality and growth, adding a touch of resilience to its suppressed state.
Secondly, "Red Copper Marrow" is also of the first-grade mid-level quality.
Red copper belongs to the element of fire, and fire is the mother of earth. Fire and earth generate each other, making the seal even denser after it is made.
It is indestructible and possesses a fierce and powerful aura, belonging to the category of offensive warfare.
Thirdly.
The shopkeeper flipped through a few pages and pointed to a line of text in the catalog: "Heavenly Rain Flower Stone, Tier 1 Low Grade".
This stone comes from the bottom of a deep pool and secluded ravine. Its body has seventy-two holes. When the wind enters, it produces illusory sounds and has a rudimentary ability to create illusions.
If you desire a magical seal capable of trapping and harassing your enemy, this item would be an excellent auxiliary material.
After listening, Chen Bai did not rush to make a decision.
He originally intended to refine a simple and unadorned "replica magic weapon" similar to the "Fan Tian Seal".
To win by force, with dignity and honor.
With the force of a mountain pressing down, it strikes unexpectedly; it doesn't make a move unless it's absolutely necessary, and a single strike can decide the outcome.
Unfortunately, while the idea was appealing, cheap and effective magical artifacts didn't exist, so Chen Bai had to regretfully put the idea aside for the time being.
He compared the characteristics of the three auxiliary materials, picked up the sketch of the seal blank drawn by the shopkeeper, finalized the plan, and finally looked up and asked, "When can we pick up the seal?"
The shopkeeper placed the vermilion pen on the pen holder and then examined the spirit paper covered with annotations from beginning to end.
After a moment of contemplation, he raised his head, his tone resolute.
"Fellow Daoist Chen has prepared all the necessary spiritual materials, so refining them won't be difficult. The shopkeeper just finished a job, and the furnace can be opened tomorrow—"
"It will take seven to eight days, at the earliest, for you to collect the seal."
Chen Bai nodded.
The process took seven or eight days, which was faster than he had expected.
"Then it's settled. Thank you, shopkeeper." Chen Bai cupped his hands in greeting.
The shopkeeper stood up to return the greeting, and as he saw Chen Bai to the door, he seemed to remember something and asked, "By the way, Fellow Daoist Chen, have you thought of a name for this seal?"
Before firing the furnace, the seal name must be engraved into the seal blank's spiritual patterns; this cannot be done carelessly.
"Fanshan".
Chen Bai did not hesitate.
The shopkeeper paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "A good name. It has the weight of earth virtue and the purity of immortality."
He took out a vermilion pen and added two words to the remarks column of the contract.
Once outside Chiye Residence, the market was already brightly lit.
The lanterns in front of the shops along the street lit up one after another, some with shimmering glass lanterns and others with ordinary oil-paper lanterns. The light of different shades intertwined on the bluestone pavement, reflecting a warm and cozy atmosphere.
Chen Bai bought two steaming hot pancakes from a street vendor, ate them as he walked, and returned to his residence after passing through two alleys.
As soon as I opened the door, a very faint smell of paper ash wafted out.
The long, rough wooden table in the center was piled high with tools for drawing talismans.
A stack of palm-sized spirit bamboo talisman papers was piled on the left, while several rough porcelain dishes were scattered on the right, with the remaining cinnabar spirit ink in the dishes already half-dry.
A rough pottery brush washer rested on one corner of the table, with a few strands of cinnabar sediment floating in the water.
The mess on the table was the result of his frantic efforts over the past few days to draw talismans and collect spirit stones.
With more than ten days left until the departure date agreed upon with the Spirit Sword Sect, he had made his plans very clear—
Although we have a large number of people to exterminate the monsters in the Ten Directions Mountains, there are too many variables in the mountains, so we must not place all our hopes on others.
Prepare more spirit stones and have more trump cards so that you won't be helpless when faced with a life-or-death situation.
……
a few days later.
Chen Bai took out a palm-sized blue cloth bag from his pouch and sat cross-legged on the bed.
The bag contained the demon cores he had collected in the market over the past few days, which were for the Fetal Breathing stage.
Three pieces, none of them are very big.
It was still a demon core of a red-maned boar. This kind of demon beast seemed quite common, and could be seen in the market from time to time.
The other two are slightly smaller, grayish-brown, and are the demon cores of two rock-armored lizards. They are heavy in the hand, and the shells are rough like sand and gravel.
Demon cores of this grade are not considered expensive in the market. Three of them together only cost a little over sixty spirit stones, almost emptying all the money he had saved from drawing talismans in the past few days.
These low-quality demon cores, once handled by Xiao Ding, take on a completely different appearance.
He held the three demon cores in his palm, closed his eyes, and concentrated.
Within his sea of consciousness, the small cauldron hummed, and a suction force emanated from its hand, enveloping the three demon cores.
The small cauldron trembled for only a few breaths before falling silent.
After a brief pause, three soft beams of light shone from the mouth of the cauldron.
Chen Bai reached out and took three pills of moderate size from his palm.
It is the essence of demonic energy.
Chen Bai put two of them into his storage bag, left one, and then took out the small piece of demon essence from his waist, which had been consumed to the point that it was only the size of a fingernail.
The pure light had already dimmed considerably, and fine cracks had even begun to appear at the edges. It looked like it would be completely exhausted after only one or two more uses.
He held the two crystals together in his palm, closed his eyes, and began to circulate the "Fetal Breathing Sutra".
The dragon-snake-shaped embryonic breath in the dantian sensed the influx of spiritual energy and began to slowly rotate.
Unlike the initial thirst and voracious appetite when he first broke through, this embryonic breath has now grown much stronger. The speed at which it absorbs spiritual energy has slowed down, but the absorption of every bit of spiritual energy is extremely solid, with no waste whatsoever.
Chen Bai guided the fetal breathing to slowly circulate through the meridians, starting from the dantian, going up the Du meridian, passing through the three gates of the coccyx, the spine, and the jade pillow, and then slowly descending along the Ren meridian back to the dantian.
After a full cycle of circulation, the last trace of spiritual energy in the old knot in the palm was squeezed dry, silently shattering into a few grayish-white fragments.
The other crystal also showed a slight dimming on its surface.