Chương 241: Plant Cruelty
As for why Zhao Yunxiao had not just gone straight for the body strengthening system from the very start, that was simply because it was impossible to do so.
Firstly, cultivators had to be at the Peak Foundation Building realm to even begin cultivating the body strengthening system.
Without the existence of spiritual meridians to carry energy throughout their body, even the body strengthening system that focused on the body would be unable to exhibit its prowess. In this case, cultivators would be left with sheer muscle strength, making them almost no different from ordinary strong mortals.
Secondly, the barrier of entry was much higher for the body strengthening system. Opening each of the Six Gates of Self-Actualisation required a catalyst, and all of them comprised various precious ingredients that were not easy to obtain.
Unless one came from an affluent background, one would have to either be able to find these ingredients themselves, or earn enough spirit stones to purchase them. Both of these options were impossible without first possessing sufficient strength.
Thirdly, even with a catalyst in hand, the actual process of breaking through each gate could be described as torturous, requiring immense physical and mental fortitude to overcome. Not to mention ordinary mortals, even many cultivators had failed to endure through it!
That was why Zhao Yunxiao had been shelving the matter in the past.
But now that Zhao Yunxiao had reached Advanced Essence Gathering realm and successfully gathered a small amount of wealth, he decided that it was finally time to proceed with it.
Just by opening a single one of the Six Gates of Self-Actualisation, Zhao Yunxiao would get an immense boost to his overall combat capability!
"How nice! I wish I could quickly reach Peak Foundation Building realm, so that I can embark on the path of body strengthening as well!" Lu Zhiying said in envy. "What about you, Senior Martial Sister Gu? When are you going to start?"
"I won't be doing it," Gu Qiansi shook her head with a smile. "My physique is not ideal for body strengthening. So, rather than getting distracted by that, I would rather focus my time and resources on the essence cultivation system."
"You are not?" Lu Zhiying's disappointment could almost be seen on her face.
"It is not meant for everyone," Zhao Yunxiao agreed with Gu Qiansi's decision. "You should think it over carefully as well, Junior Martial Sister Lu. You don't want to end up losing your talent advantage by spending too much time on something that does not suit you."
"Got it, I will definitely slowly think it through!" Lu Zhiying answered without hesitation.
Zhao Yunxiao: "..."
Gu Qiansi: "..."
Will she really?
Well, it was something for the future. They still had time to slowly convince Lu Zhiying to review her future plans.
After having his fill, Zhao Yunxiao left for the Sect Library while the two young ladies continued with their work at the Lightwind Pavilion.
He had two goals for the day.
First and foremost, he had to verify the feasibility of Lou Yuan's methods. If he still had time after that, he would try looking into possible ways to suppress Hua Xian, or just weaknesses of fairymist flower in general.
Time passed in the blink of an eye as he dived into the world of knowledge. Before he knew it, dusk had descended upon Purple Plum Mountain.
Zhao Yunxiao rolled up the scroll in front of him, and gently placed it back on the shelves.
Huu-!
He closed his eyes and let out a long breath, taking a short moment to organise the large amount of newly obtained information in his head.
In the end, not even the vast records of the Sect Library contained every forging method that Lou Yuan had included in the blueprint.
However, what he managed to find was still more than enough. From there, Zhao Yunxiao was able to extrapolate the rest from his existing knowledge about the fundamentals of smithing.
His conclusion – it should be feasible.
Lou Yuan's blueprint would work!
Zhao Yunxiao could not help but let out a satisfied smile.
The blueprint was good to go. Now, all that remained was whether the smith had the skills to turn a mere plan into reality!
Zhao Yunxiao did not head back to his residence immediately. Instead, his next destination was the Sect Market.
He had a clear goal this time and did not bother looking at other things on sale.
Lou Yuan's blueprint required a different set of materials from his original plan, some of which he did not have in his possession.
Thankfully, these were still relatively common materials that were not too expensive. Otherwise, Zhao Yunxiao might just have to take another trip to gather the materials himself!
Apart from the forging materials, he also purchased a separate set of talisman papers and some special ink.
This was due to his second takeaway from his time at the Sect Library today. With the help of these items, he was intending to suppress Hua Xian once and for all!
Despite the late hour, Zhao Yunxiao got to work immediately after returning to his residence.
He laid out the talisman papers all over the countertop, and started drawing runes on the talismans like a madman.
Each talisman required a combination of numerous runes, drawn meticulously in a special manner and order. Every rune had to be created in a unique manner and infused with a certain amount of essence energy. As the number of completed runes increased, Zhao Yunxiao could not help but feel the strain both physically and mentally.
It was not just a matter of ten or twenty talismans.
Hundreds of talismans were required, which amounted to thousands of runes in total.
"What are you doing?" Hua Xian asked curiously.
Having grown up alone in the wilds, he had never been properly taught on such topics. Therefore, while he might have a great understanding of how nature and energy worked, he was still rather clueless about equipment and miscellaneous items like talismans and runes.
"I'm creating an insurance plan," Zhao Yunxiao answered matter-of-factly while continuing with the drawings.
"An insurance plan? Are you going to do something dangerous again?"
"That's right."
"Hah! You sure enjoy seeking thrills!" Hua Xian laughed. "After fighting that bull demon, you came back to fight your senior, and now you are going for yet another challenge? Impressive! So, what will you be doing this time?"
"You really want to know?"
"Do you know how bored I am, stuck in this bag? Of course, I want to know!"
"Well, I am about to release a demon from his seal. So, I am preparing an insurance plan to keep him under control."
Hua Xian: "..."
He was not stupid, and immediately realised that Zhao Yunxiao was referring to him.
While he could understand Zhao Yunxiao's wariness to a certain extent, wasn't this going a little too far?
There were at least hundreds of talismans out there!
To use all that against him, couldn't that be considered plant cruelty?
Still, he dared not speak further.
Perhaps anything would be better than staying locked up in the bag like this, never seeing the light of day. What's more, if he were to say something wrong and accidentally ruffled Zhao Yunxiao's feathers, who knew if the latter would suddenly decide to increase the severity of the measures?
He could only watch sadly as Zhao Yunxiao continued to create what could be his future shackles right before his very eyes.
No, that's not it.
By creating everything in front of him, Zhao Yunxiao was only creating an opportunity for him to observe the process and find potential loopholes for exploitation in the future.
Come to think of it, this was a huge mistake on Zhao Yunxiao's part!
Hua Xian immediately focused all of his senses on the talismans that Zhao Yunxiao was drawing, determined to find gaps in the process.
Unfortunately, he had just about no attainments in the field of talismans to speak of. No matter how hard he tried to analyse Zhao Yunxiao's work, he still understood nothing about what Zhao Yunxiao was doing!
Zhao Yunxiao had expected as much.
Despite that, he was not someone who would base his actions on mere assumptions. After all, there was always a slight chance that Hua Xian had managed to learn some skills in this aspect despite his background.
Therefore, Zhao Yunxiao was only drawing the foundational talismans here.
As for the few talismans that would act as the core of the eventual array, he would draw them in private at a later stage, away from the prying eyes of Hua Xian.
***
The sun had yet to rise when Zhao Yunxiao arrived at the Lightwind Pavilion.
"Oh? You are here, Junior Martial Brother Zhao?" Nie Hanchang looked up in surprise, being halfway through breakfast himself.
"Senior Martial Brother Nie?" Zhao Yunxiao was just as surprised to see Nie Hanchang there. "Are you always here this early?"
"Time waits for no man," Nie Hanchang said. "Every minute spent hunting is a minute of training."
Nie Hanchang saw no need to congratulate Zhao Yunxiao for his victory yesterday.
He had absolute trust in Zhao Yunxiao. In his opinion, that result had been a given from the moment Zhao Yunxiao dared to issue the challenge!
"You are really impressive," Zhao Yunxiao clapped. "I really have a lot to learn from you in that aspect."
"You are probably the last person who should be saying that," Nie Hanchang let out a light chuckle. "But why are you here this early today?"
"This..." Zhao Yunxiao hesitated a little before answering. "You know, I've decided not to hand Hua Xian over to the sect administrators for now."
"I know. You would have done so long ago if you truly wanted to," Nie Hanchang was not surprised to hear that.
"Such keen insight..." Zhao Yunxiao smiled awkwardly before placing the sealing bag in front of him. "Well, I am thinking of transplanting Hua Xian here."
"Hi, nice to meet you again," Hua Xian's voice came from within the sealing bag.
"Here?" Nie Hanchang was slightly surprised this time. "It's not like I have any objections, but may I know why?"
"Let's just say he helped me out a little in terms of cultivation, and I am hoping that he will be able to help you guys the same way," Zhao Yunxiao explained.
"Hey, you never told me that!" Hua Xian protested. "And did you say that's just a little help? Let me tell you that it's a huge deal!"
"He sure got more talkative," Nie Hanchang commented. "But by saying that he helped in your cultivation, are you saying that he played a part in your breakthrough to the Advanced Essence Gathering realm?"
"That's right," Zhao Yunxiao nodded. "And perhaps he would be able to help everyone too."
"Like I said, I never agreed to that!"
"Is it safe?" Nie Hanchang asked.
"So far, so good," Zhao Yunxiao nodded. "But don't worry. I will be putting in place certain safeguards just in case he goes wild."
"I see. Need any help?"
"If you have the time."
"Definitely."
Hua Xian let out a helpless sigh. This interaction gave him flashbacks to the journey back from Ghost Fog Valley. Back then, the two of them had completely ignored everything he said as well.
Just like that, the duo started to create a complete array around the clearing – an array that constantly drained demonic energy from within, converting that into energy to power itself.
By planting Hua Xian in the middle of this array, it became akin to a self-sustaining system, using him as a living energy source to power his own shackles!
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