Chapter 24: The Divine Wood Recognizes A Master Part 2

“I’m afraid so… Transformation consumes energy. If the Host’s cultivation were high enough, your own spiritual qi could sustain its transformation,” 006 said.

Huo Zhi was speechless. Right now, this thing was somewhat useless, consuming way too many Spirit Stones!

“This thing is a talisman brush, but it doesn’t even have a bristle tip! How am I supposed to draw talismans with it?” Huo Zhi asked again.

“It should be capable of forming a bristle tip. But such a fine transformation requires even more Spirit Stones,” 006 replied.

“…” Huo Zhi fell silent. She was panting heavily as she ran while carrying Linlang. She hadn’t had time to use a Healing Talisman for her earlier injuries. Her chest felt tight and burning with pain, and she felt like she might cough up blood at any moment.

She needed to buy more talisman materials and earn Spirit Stones, which meant going to a large, populated city.

But right now, she was a wanted fugitive. If she revealed any flaw and was discovered, it would be almost certain death.

As Huo Zhi pondered and watched her surroundings warily, hoping to find another safe place to hide and heal, she suddenly sensed a powerful aura approaching. Her entire body tensed.

“Little one, don’t be afraid. It’s me.” A voice rang out—it was Moyi Guihua. As her words faded, she arrived before Huo Zhi on her pink silk ribbon.

“Sister Moyi, how did you find us?” Huo Zhi was shocked and suspicious. Even Qin Ceyi had lost track of her location and had to rely on a bounty for others to find her. Yet Moyi Guihua had managed to track her down!

“Little one, you do trust me quite a bit, don’t you? You’re still wearing the red hairpin I gave you.” Moyi Guihua gave Huo Zhi a charming smile.

“…” Huo Zhi touched the hairpin on her head, stunned. So this thing also had a tracking function. She had only tested its protective barrier feature and hadn’t been wary of it.

Had Moyi Guihua anticipated this from the very start?

Facing Moyi Guihua, Huo Zhi felt somewhat uneasy.

The current massive manhunt wasn’t just from Qin Ceyi anymore, but also the people from the Artifact Talisman Sect. Twenty to thirty thousand Spirit Stones was several times the savings of an average Core Formation cultivator.

Moyi Guihua was a gray character, neither wholly righteous nor purely evil, acting without many constraints. It was true that she fiercely protected her own.

Earlier, Huo Zhi had desperately sought her help. Now, having experienced so many life-and-death plots and betrayals from other cultivators, facing Moyi Guihua alone again, Huo Zhi wasn’t sure if it boded well or ill.

“Little one, you are truly interesting. It’s probably just luck that you’ve survived this long. Rest assured, I hold only appreciation for your beauty, with no ulterior motives. You haven’t forgotten, have you? I already consider you half a disciple of mine. I won’t claim much for the Blissful Union Sect, but protecting our own is our first rule,” Moyi Guihua said with a smile, bluntly commenting on Huo Zhi’s wariness.

“Sister Moyi, you treat me so sincerely, I don’t want to lie to you. My words about joining your noble sect were just for self-preservation. I’m being hunted everywhere now. Wherever I go, I’ll likely bring trouble to my host,” Huo Zhi said, her face flushing slightly.

“Do you think I’m afraid of trouble? If you joined the Blissful Union Sect, it would all be worth it. Oh dear, don’t look so troubled. Fine, fine. I’m not forcing you to join my sect. I did accept your Spirit Stones, after all, and one shouldn’t take rewards without merit. You’re injured, this Little Cinnabar Bird is unconscious, and you’re both wanted. You need a place to settle. If you trust me, come with me,” Moyi Guihua said.

“Sister Moyi, you are aware of the Positioning Talisman on me,” Huo Zhi hesitated.

“Others might not know, but I do. The tattoo talisman patterns on the bodies of Blissful Union Sect disciples are all inscribed by me. Removing a Positioning Talisman is a bit troublesome, but not impossible. Your beauty—letting your sister admire it a few more times will be payment enough.” Moyi Guihua’s words were drawn out and tender, almost like a lover’s whisper.

“Very well, then I’ll trouble you, Sister Moyi!” Huo Zhi agreed upon hearing this.

Moyi Guihua’s willingness to help might have ulterior motives. However, as she recalled the original story, Moyi Guihua was originally a member of the Immortal Talisman Sect. She was an expelled disciple, and there was a whole history of grievances behind it.

Regardless, Moyi Guihua’s understanding of tattoo talisman patterns was probably the most profound of anyone currently. Completely erasing the Positioning Talisman meant “washing the tattoo,” which also relied on Moyi Guihua.

Once Huo Zhi agreed, Moyi Guihua moved to her side. She activated a Teleportation Talisman, grabbing Huo Zhi to be transported away with her.

Moyi Guihua used a fixed-location teleport, and in an instant, they arrived inside the Blissful Union Sect’s grounds.

“Sect Leader, you’re back! You, you actually brought this woman back!” A veiled woman in the teleportation hall smiled upon seeing Moyi Guihua, but her brow furrowed when her gaze fell on Huo Zhi.

“Mei’er, do not be rude. She is an honored guest I’ve brought back. Treat her with care. Go select two handmaidens; I will take them to the Jade Charm Pavilion to settle in,” Moyi Guihua instructed the woman.

“Yes, Sect Leader!” The woman called Mei’er said no more, though her frown remained as she looked at Huo Zhi. She silently withdrew.

Huo Zhi glanced at the woman. If her name was Mei’er, she was likely a disciple of Moyi Guihua and a loyal one at that. In the original story, she died saving Moyi Guihua.

The other members of the Blissful Union Sect probably had their own objections to Huo Zhi’s arrival as well. They wouldn’t all welcome her as Moyi Guihua did.

Moyi Guihua led Huo Zhi and Linlang to the lavishly decorated Jade Charm Pavilion. The fragrant breeze of perfume met them. Everything was decorated sensuously and luxuriously, and the spiritual qi was dense and rich.

“This is my courtyard. You’ll stay in a side room here, so don’t feel constrained. The Little Cinnabar Bird has exhausted too much mental power; recovery will take some time. If we could buy a Spirit Recovery Talisman to restore mental power, she would recover faster. But those talismans… the lowest quality is Low-Tier Profound-Grade, costing around two thousand Spirit Stones each. Do you still have Spirit Stones? If there’s no rush, she can also recover slowly,” Moyi Guihua said as they arrived. Her assessment of Linlang’s condition was similar to 006’s.

“Sister Moyi, could you help me buy some talisman materials? I’ll pay you in Spirit Stones.” Huo Zhi laid Linlang down on the bed. Recalling what Moyi Guihua said, she remembered that high-tier Spirit Recovery Talismans could indeed restore mental power. They required special materials, which were not as cheap as basic talisman materials.

Huo Zhi was only at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage. Tempered by the fire-type spiritual qi within the Secret Realm, her cultivation was now more stable and approaching Great Perfection, soon to attempt Core Formation. But she wasn’t sure if she could successfully draw a Profound-Grade talisman.

Profound-Grade talismans were usually only drawable by Core Formation cultivators, requiring stronger mental power and spiritual qi support.

Now that she had acquired the most powerful talisman brush in the entire book, she could at least give it a try.

She could also demonstrate her abilities to Moyi Guihua, allowing Moyi Guihua to re-evaluate her, solidifying their cooperative relationship and repaying Moyi Guihua’s help.

“You can draw talismans?” Moyi Guihua looked at Huo Zhi with great interest.

“I can draw a little. I’ll list some talisman materials. It might be a bit of a long list. Could Sister Moyi please arrange this? I can offer one-tenth of the talismans I draw as a thank-you gift,” Huo Zhi said.

“Alright then. Write down the materials, and I’ll send someone to buy them,” Moyi Guihua said, paying little mind to the “one-tenth” Huo Zhi mentioned.

If she successfully drew ten, that was only one as a gift—a thousand or two thousand Spirit Stones at most.

Huo Zhi listed out quite a few materials. Remembering she still needed to feed Spirit Stones to the small log, she didn’t offer any Spirit Stones. Instead, she picked out over ten unneeded talisman artifacts from her Storage Bags for Moyi Guihua to exchange.

“It seems your harvest was indeed quite good. These talisman artifacts are of decent grade. We can probably exchange them for about a thousand portions of Profound-Grade talisman materials. Are you sure? Foundation Establishment cultivators can draw Profound-Grade talismans, but the success rate is much lower,” Moyi Guihua estimated for Huo Zhi.

An average Talisman Master had about a five to six percent success rate for talismans matching their cultivation level. A good Talisman Master might reach a success rate of around twenty percent.

Drawing a high-tier talisman above one’s cultivation level carried a success rate that was likely zero.

“I want to try. I’ll trouble you, Sister Moyi,” Huo Zhi said.

“Very well, I’ll send someone to buy them right away. You rest and heal your injuries first. When I return, I’ll remove your Positioning Talisman,” Moyi Guihua nodded. She cast an ambiguous, charming smile at Huo Zhi, then turned and swayed away with a sensual, alluring figure, even her retreating back looking sexy and hot.

As soon as Moyi Guihua left, Huo Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. She sat cross-legged next to Linlang, used a Healing Talisman to treat her own injuries, then used a Dust-Clearing Talisman and changed into a fresh set of clothes. She also changed Linlang into clean clothes and tidied her hair.

After doing all this, Huo Zhi thought about the talisman drawing later. For talisman materials, she had only symbolically asked Moyi Guihua to buy a brush since she already had one on hand. Now she could try using it.

She took out the small log and tested it by channeling spiritual qi into it. The flow was utterly unimpeded.

Just like materials have electrical resistance, various materials also have a “spiritual resistance.” The small log’s conduction of spiritual qi was so smooth that there was almost zero loss.

Looking at the bald-ended talisman brush, Huo Zhi was reluctant to spend more Spirit Stones to make it grow a bristle tip. She thought for a moment and realized she seemed to have something on hand that could serve as a brush tip: fur. She closed the door, used a talisman to block spiritual sense probing, then transformed to reveal her tail.

Remembering the pain of plucking fur last time, inspiration struck. She picked up the comb she’d just used to brush Linlang’s hair and ran it through her tail. As she continued combing, some tail fur clung to the comb.

Watching the gathered handful of fur, Huo Zhi marveled at her own genius—she didn’t have to endure the pain of plucking. At the same time, she felt a surge of worry: why was she shedding so much fur? At this rate, was she going to go bald?!

Just as Huo Zhi finished tidying the tail fur, there was a knock at the door. It was Mei’er, whom Moyi Guihua had instructed, arriving with the handmaidens.

“I must see for myself what skills these two have, who caused the Sect Leader’s old injury to flare up and brought so much trouble! They’re nothing but vases, relying on their pretty faces to bewitch the Sect Leader!” Outside, Mei’er stared at the door, her eyes and brows unable to hide her resentment.