With the breakthrough in alchemy, advancing in crafting tools was no longer difficult.
When refining Earth-level magical tools, the most crucial aspects were the incredibly precise control of fire and the ability to harmonize different materials.
Depending on the type of magical tool, various formations and runes needed to be inscribed on them to more easily draw upon the powers of heaven and earth.
Some tools required the user’s spiritual energy as a driving force, but Tang Muxi’s cultivation was low, only at the Golden Core stage, and she could at most provide enough energy for an Earth-level magical tool to absorb once.
Therefore, she was quite resistant to this method and had been seeking her master’s help to quickly catch up on formations and runes these past few days.
She had exceptional talent, but her understanding of formations was mediocre; aside from the more common basics, she was almost completely clueless about the more complex ones.
Wen Fei had been troubled by this for a long time, trying various methods to help her disciple understand, but each time the results were unsatisfactory.
Formations and runes were interdependent, just expressed in different ways.
If one was not skilled in formations, they would likely be clueless about runes as well.
Without these two intricate techniques, the refined magical tools would merely be empty shells, lacking true substance.
When she conveyed this to Tang Muxi, her heart was already close to giving up.
Unexpectedly, Tang Muxi was quite stubborn: “Master, since the expression methods are different, perhaps there’s a chance for a breakthrough? I want to try using runes.”
Having lived through so many lifetimes, Tang Muxi rarely used runes, mostly casting spells directly.
Runes and spells were essentially the same thing; one required storing energy and delaying activation, while the other could be used immediately upon completion.
Although the principles behind formations and runes were the same, there were still distinctions.
Tang Muxi was not willing to give up.
These days, Wen Fei had grown accustomed to Tang Muxi’s carefree demeanor, so seeing her full of fighting spirit was rare.
Naturally, she did not want to dampen her confidence and had no choice but to agree, starting to abandon teaching formations and instead focusing on runes.
Most cultivators could use runes, but few had learned them systematically.
Since she wanted to improve, she naturally had to solidify her foundation first.
Wen Fei stayed up all night writing a book on rune knowledge for her.
Considering Tang Muxi’s situation and foundation, this jade slip covered a wide range of topics, almost encompassing all the knowledge applicable below the Earth level.
Given her disciple’s exceptional talent, Wen Fei also added some Earth-level runes and related knowledge to it.
Starting from scratch, Tang Muxi was not anxious and studied diligently.
Along the way, she had many questions, all of which Wen Fei helped clarify.
After seven days, she finally absorbed all the knowledge within and began to draw runes.
With a basic understanding of Xuan-level runes, she picked it up quickly, and with Wen Fei guiding her, Tang Muxi grasped it almost immediately, managing to replicate all the runes from the book in just three days.
Runes drew upon power through their symbols, and every stroke was essential, so even the slightest mistake could not be tolerated.
After checking each one, Wen Fei couldn’t help but nod in approval: “Hmm, not bad, the drawings are fine. Next, you can try Earth-level runes.”
Saying this, she took out ten sheets of Earth-level spirit paper from her storage ring.
“Here, take these, use them sparingly.”
Earth-level spirit paper was expensive; using even one sheet cost a significant amount of spirit stones.
Previously, Wen Fei wouldn’t have minded, but after her injuries, her possessions had nearly been shattered, and being able to produce these ten sheets was already a sacrifice.
Tang Muxi was taken aback and quickly declined, “No, no, I have my own.”
“You have?”
Wen Fei was suspicious; hadn’t she just started learning runes?
How could she have Earth-level spirit paper?
Tang Muxi chuckled and took out the Heavenly Talisman Pavilion that Wen Mingyu had given her.
Opening the box, she vigorously shook it, and before long, a mountain of Earth-level spirit paper piled up on the ground: “Master, look, I have a lot, a whole lot!”
Wen Fei stared in disbelief; even when she had spent money lavishly in the past, she had never possessed this much Earth-level spirit paper.
This… this mountain was at least a hundred or two sheets.
Moreover, it seemed that the small wooden box contained far more than just this.
Tang Muxi seemed to notice her confusion and smugly raised her nose: “This box is called the Heavenly Talisman Pavilion, and it can produce Earth-level spirit paper without limit. If you want, I can give you a storage ring.”
Now Earth-level spirit paper was calculated based on storage rings?
Wen Fei felt her worldview had been shattered.
In comparison, the ten sheets of spirit paper she had seemed pitiful, almost like being destitute.
“Master, don’t you want it?”
Tang Muxi blinked her big eyes and asked.
Wen Fei swallowed hard, feeling quite weak-willed.
“I want it.”
She wanted it so much that she dreamed about it every day.
Tang Muxi, being generous, vigorously shook a small wooden box, emptying it out until she had stuffed an entire house’s worth of low-grade spirit paper into her storage ring to give to Wen Fei.
Wen Fei received it with both hands, cradling it carefully, afraid that a single tremor would cause her to lose the large amounts of money.
“How about I become your disciple?”
Wen Fei said sincerely, her expression almost on the verge of tears from poverty.
Tang Muxi dared not agree and quickly waved her hands.
“No, no! Master has been kind to me, and I will need your guidance in my future cultivation. How can I disrupt the hierarchy?”
Wen Fei felt emotional and gently patted her back.
“Just focus on your cultivation; I may need to rely on you in the future.”
The low-grade talismans were not as difficult to advance in as alchemy, requiring no profound understanding of the Dao.
As long as one could skillfully use the runes and draw them accurately, and then learn some more intricate spirit summoning techniques, it would be relatively straightforward.
However, the low-grade level was still a dividing line, and even with lower requirements, not everyone could reach it.
Tang Muxi, being inexperienced, did not dare to be overconfident and started from the low-grade inferior level, gradually working her way up.
At first, she faced failures, drawing over ten useless talismans in a row.
Fortunately, she had plenty of spirit paper, so she didn’t feel too regretful about the waste.
She continued to study and draw until, on the third day, she finally succeeded.
Wen Fei watched from the side, feeling a mix of emotions.
If she had had so much spirit paper back then, she wouldn’t have wasted so much time.
Times had changed; there were not many true poor people left.
However, she did not know that the Heavenly Talisman Pavilion in Tang Muxi’s hands was a gift from Wen Mingyu, her niece.
It wasn’t that there were few poor people; it was clear that she was the only one left.
Once she entered the realm of low-grade talismans, the remaining tasks became simpler.
Tang Muxi no longer focused on just one thing; she began to draw talismans while also refining magical tools.
Her first goal was still to refine a magical robe.
The last time she refined a low-grade garment, it was barely able to withstand attacks from Nascent Soul cultivators.
Moreover, she only had one set, which was inconvenient to mix and match.
This time, having learned about talismans, Tang Muxi naturally wanted to incorporate them into her work.
She started searching for applicable talismans and runes, but the library’s catalog was too complicated, and after searching for a long time without any leads, she finally got the answer from Wen Fei.
Wen Fei was proficient in low-grade talismans, excelling in both formations and runes.
When she heard that her disciple wanted to refine a magical robe and was looking for suitable runes, she immediately thought of the Guardian Yuan Formation.
This formation was primarily used for the reconstruction of the primordial spirit of God Transformation cultivators, capable of protecting the primordial spirit from harm.
When it came to defense, there was no more suitable formation in the low-grade category.
Even when breaking through to the Integration stage, it could simply use spiritual materials to enhance the Guardian Yuan Formation.
However, although formations and runes were interconnected, no one had ever converted this formation into a talisman.
Wen Fei thought for a moment and decided to try it herself.
Transforming the formation and runes into each other could deepen her understanding, serving as a way to integrate knowledge.
Wen Fei felt eager to give it a try and promised that she would succeed within seven days, telling her disciple to wait for the good news.
Tang Muxi found Wen Fei’s inexplicable stubbornness hard to understand, but there was nothing she could do, so she focused on her cultivation while preparing materials.
To refine a low-grade magical robe, one naturally needed high-quality low-grade materials.
Tang Muxi had plenty of spirit plants, but when it came to actual forging materials, she really didn’t have many to offer.
The only thing she had was a golden dragon heart-protecting scale.
To craft two sets of magical garments, a single Heart-Guarding Scale was clearly insufficient.
So, she sought out Jiang Yin, thinking of going to the city with her to gather materials.
During her time learning about crafting talismans, Jiang Yin had been busy rearranging the deserted island.
She no longer wanted to rely on the souls and blood of the deceased to nourish the drought demon, so she set her sights on Wen Mingyu, planning to extort a magical vein from her.
Coincidentally, Wen Mingyu had recently returned from the Demon Realm to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, and Jiang Yin intended to pay her a visit.
Naturally, when she heard that Tang Muxi was also going, she didn’t hesitate to agree.
“Have you mastered the talismans yet?” she couldn’t help but ask.
Those with high talent always stood out, and even Jiang Yin had begun to take an interest in Tang Muxi’s progress.
“Yeah, I can draw most of the Earth-level ones now, but some of the more difficult ones are still a bit challenging,” Tang Muxi replied, not sounding too proud.
Instead, she frowned, seemingly dissatisfied with her inability to master them completely.
Jiang Yin sighed and reached out to ruffle her hair, “Don’t be too anxious; there’s plenty of time.”
“But I want to protect Senior Sister,” Tang Muxi murmured softly.
“Protect me?”
This was the first time Jiang Yin had heard someone say they wanted to protect her.
Surprised, a hint of confusion flashed through her mind.
Did she really need protection too?
“Of course!
I’ve become stronger, so I won’t hold Senior Sister back anymore.
If the Demon Emperor dares to harass us again, I’ll fight him back with Senior Sister,” Tang Muxi had been haunted by the memory of the last time the Demon Emperor was furious, forcing her to flee.
Whenever she had free time, she couldn’t help but think that if she had been stronger then, she wouldn’t have let Senior Sister get hurt.
Her moment of kindness had saved many beings within the Tianji Secret Realm, but it had almost cost Senior Sister her life.
In the cultivation world, strength was always paramount.
Kindness without the support of power was ultimately not true kindness; it merely shifted danger and burdens onto others.
And Jiang Yin was the person closest to her, the one most easily hurt by her good intentions.
Having wasted countless lifetimes for this one life of freedom and exceptional talent, how could she let it go to waste?
“You promised to always stay by my side. If Senior Sister were to lose an arm or a leg, I would be heartbroken.”
Jiang Yin felt a surge of emotion in her heart; after all, no one had ever said such words to her before.
But upon hearing “lose an arm or a leg,” all her feelings were dashed, and she couldn’t help but twitch her mouth, lightly hitting Tang Muxi on the back of her head, “You’re the one who would lose an arm or a leg.”
What a sudden curse to throw at her.
She couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
Tang Muxi winced and covered her head, protesting softly, “If, I mean if!”
“Then it’s still not allowed,” Jiang Yin shot her a glance, “We’ll set off to the city tomorrow morning.”
With that, she returned to dealing with matters of the ominous land.
Tang Muxi glared at her from behind and muttered, “A demon is still a demon, unreasonable as ever.”
Unexpectedly, as soon as she finished speaking, she saw Jiang Yin looking over with a ghostly gaze, scaring her into a hasty retreat.
