Cultivation Starts from Farming-Chapter 822 - 371: Swordsmanship Breakthrough—One Sword Becomes Ten Thousand (3)
He originally thought that the Water Lake Rat had casually brought back an ordinary fourth-order demon beast, but didn’t expect it to have such a background?
"That’s right."
The Water Lake Rat nodded proudly, "There are three fourth-order middle-grade Golden Spirit Mice and seven or eight fourth-order lower-grade Golden Spirit Mice in its clan."
"What’s even more astonishing is Jin Linger’s own father. That old guy is probably just one step away from reaching the fourth-order upper grade."
Upon hearing this, Xu Ping raised an eyebrow.
A fourth-order upper-grade demon beast, that is already on par with a late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivator of the human race.
In fact, ordinary late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivators might not even be a match for a fourth-order upper-grade demon beast.
Even his divine techniques might not be a match for this kind of demon monarch, who is about to touch the threshold of the upper grade.
"To think you managed to associate with such a young master of the demon race."
Xu Ping’s gaze turned to the Water Lake Rat, with a somewhat indescribable oddity in his tone.
"That’s naturally due to this little rat’s charm, and Jin Linger was the one who took the initiative." The Water Lake Rat displayed a smug expression again.
It was not lying about this.
It had even met Jin Linger’s father, who seemed inclined to pair the two of them.
"Alright, don’t act smug just because you got lucky."
Xu Ping retracted his smile and spoke seriously, "You should maintain good relations with the Golden Spirit Mouse clan."
If the clan leader of the Golden Spirit Mouse breaks through to the fourth-order upper grade, it could become a powerful ally for him and the Water Lake Rat.
After all, possessing a fourth-order upper-grade demon beast would mean being valued even in the True Dragon Hall.
The top forces of the Outer Sea human race would not dare to provoke them lightly.
...
Half a month later, the Water Lake Rat left Blood Bone Island with Jin Linger again.
Before leaving, Xu Ping naturally did not forget the important task—collecting blood.
Deep within the cave abode, the Dragon Blood Fruit Tree, guarded by layers of restrictions, was no longer the fragile form when it was first planted.
Over the course of ten years, with the pure Flood Dragon bloodline from the Water Lake Rat nurturing it, assisted by Xu Ping’s secret techniques for maturation, the tree had long since transformed.
Its trunk was thick and gnarled, entirely red like blood jade, with intricate and mysterious dragon scale-like patterns covering the surface.
Most strikingly, at the top of the canopy, there were two fist-sized fruits, emanating an overwhelming and intense aura of vitality and blood.
"Indeed, it is the higher cultivation of a dragon race like the Water Lake Rat that nourishes this tree the best!" A slight smile naturally curled on Xu Ping’s lips.
The higher the quality of the Dragon Blood Fruits, the stronger the medicinal power, which meant that his breakthrough in body refining to the fourth-order middle grade would occur much sooner.
And a fourth-order middle-grade body refining cultivation meant he could fully control an army formation composed of ten fourth-order puppets.
There was even hope to upgrade some of the fourth-order lower-grade puppets to fourth-order middle-grade puppets.
By then, the power of this puppet formation would no longer simply be at the threshold of a late-stage Nascent Soul level.
Instead, it could truly contend with a late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivator.
However, the materials required for fourth-order middle-grade puppets are extremely rare and hard to find.
With his current strength, hunting a fourth-order middle-grade demon beast was somewhat difficult.
The most important issue was still that of evil Qi.
The evil Qi generated from slaying a fourth-order middle-grade demon beast is a completely different concept from that of a lower-grade one.
It could significantly increase the likelihood of attracting the attention of the True Dragon Hall.
However, the time for refining fourth-order middle-grade puppets is still far off; planning can wait until after breaking through body refining to the fourth-order middle grade.
After watering the Dragon Blood Fruit Tree, Xu Ping returned to the talisman crafting room to continue his research on the drawing of fourth-order talismans.
After such a long time of study, he had a faint feeling that he was only a thin layer of paper away from successfully crafting his first fourth-order talisman.
...
A year passed like the blink of an eye.
On this day, the underground cave abode was exceptionally quiet.
Xu Ping stood in front of the jade table, expressionless, as calm as an ancient well.
He unfurled a piece of fourth-order talisman paper that emitted a faint silver glow, then concentrated, steadying himself, and picked up a fourth-order talisman brush with his fingers.
The brush tip was saturated with spiritual ink.
Xu Ping’s eyes sparkled sharply; his wrist hovered over the talisman paper, his entire essence, energy, and spirit reaching a peak and merging with the talisman brush in his hand.
As the brush descended.
Hiss!
The moment the brush tip touched the talisman paper, there was a faint yet clear, arc-like sound as if lightning was dancing.
Complex and mysterious violet runes, embodying the essence of lightning, were steadily and swiftly inscribed with precision on the talisman paper that shimmered with a silvery glow.
Each rune seemed alive, traversing the talisman paper and emanating a chilling electrical aura.
They echoed and connected, gradually forming a complete and intricate rune array.
The entire drawing process was smooth and fluent, as though Xu Ping had practiced it countless times.
His mind was wholly immersed in a state of profound mystery.
The final stroke fell.
Buzz!
The entire talisman erupted with an intense violet thunder glow.
The fourth-order lower-grade talisman, Thunder Escape Talisman... complete!
"It’s done."
Xu Ping exhaled a breath of turbid air, his eyes flashing with a trace of joy.
He had been immersed in talisman art for many years.
From Nanchuan to Feng Yuan, today, he finally became a Grandmaster of Talisman Crafting!
Although this talisman was of fourth-order lower grade and had limited enhancement to his combat prowess, it was extremely useful to an ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
The cultivators of the Outer Sea generally had considerable wealth, making it perfect for exchanging for fourth-order puppet materials.
Moreover, as his mastery of talisman crafting continued to progress, crafting fourth-order middle-grade talismans would be of great use to him.
...
Two months later.
Two guests arrived on Blood Bone Island,
bringing some liveliness to this usually rather quiet island.
In the main hall of Blood Bone Hall, spiritual Qi was thickly swirling, and the scent of fragrant tea filled the air.
"Fellow Daoist Liang, Fairy Lei, please."
Xu Ping warmly received Liang Ming and Lei Jingyan, personally pouring them each a cup of spirit tea.
