Chapter 36

As the cloud patterns surged, it seemed that a cluster of cloud lights also appeared around the talisman knife, drifting indistinctly. Moreover, the luster at the blade's edge was even brighter.

However, Zong Shou's frown remained, and he did not show any sign of joy.

"Only the form, not the essence. Replicating the Cloud Shock Divine Sword Intent with soul power is ultimately not the true martial practitioner's will—"

Murmuring softly, Zong Shou wondered if he was setting his standards too high.

The Cloud Shock Divine Sword Intent he had imprinted on the willow leaf talisman knife was only a negligible thread.

But for a martial artist still at the Body Wheel stage, it was an absolutely unmanageable level. Even a Ground Wheel expert at the innate level would find it extremely difficult to resist.

If it were three months ago, and he were to fight Li Jian Wu again, this one strike would not just take out one of his eyes, but directly pierce through his brain and take his life!

He took out the last willow leaf talisman knife and continued to imprint the sword intent. This time, the amount was slightly reduced. However, after only a quarter of an hour, the entire flying knife exploded into powder.

Zong Shou shook his head inwardly; the previous success was probably just an exception. The distribution of red copper and the overall structure of that willow leaf talisman knife were far more reasonable and resilient than the other four.

Even such a weak sword intent could not be reinforced, which was a problem with the material.

However, these willow leaf talisman knives were the best talisman weapons he could obtain in a short time.

Better flying knives would need to be custom-made from large merchants like the Treasure Weapon Hall, which had high-level spirit forgers. They were also very expensive. Alternatively, he could buy better materials and refine them himself.

"Although the success rate is low, the power is still quite good if the sword intent is imprinted. I can continue in the future—"

Zong Shou pondered for a moment and then hid the only successful talisman knife in his sleeve. He took out four more willow leaf flying knives and hid them close to his body, so that they were not visible from the outside.

He had no intention of continuing the experiment, not because he was unwilling, but because he could not. First, his current soul power was almost depleted. Second, there were only these five flying knives that could truly resonate with the spirit.

Just as Zong Shou was about to immerse his mind deep into his soul, preparing to observe the twelve Heavenly Talisman seeds outside the Soul Power Sea, especially the 'Yun' character, a voice came from outside the carriage door: "Is it convenient for Young Master now?"

It was Yin Yang?

Zong Shou's mind stirred, and he guessed the reason. He immediately stopped meditating and laughed, "Uncle Yin, come in!"

A tall figure stepped in, and it was indeed Yin Yang. His expression was somewhat solemn, and his eyes showed a hint of surprise when he looked at Zong Shou. He then walked to the soft couch and sat down cross-legged, asking tentatively, "Could it be that the Young Master has already cultivated the two fetal breath meridians?"

Zong Shou knew he couldn't hide it, so he smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.

Once the two fetal breath meridians were cultivated, a martial artist's body would emit a slight aura.

At this point, Zong Shou had just opened these two meridians and could not yet control them, so a high-level martial artist could easily detect it.

Yin Yang's eyes immediately brightened, and then his expression turned serious: "The Young Master's talent is indeed beyond that of ordinary people! I don't know how the Young Master managed to cultivate the two fetal breath meridians in just three months, but I must remind the Young Master that the foundation of a martial artist is more important. One must never rush for quick success—"

Zong Shou smiled bitterly inwardly; how could he not know this principle? But he also knew that the other party was well-intentioned.

Fortunately, Yin Yang did not ramble and only solemnly reminded him a few times before returning to the main topic: "When His Majesty left Qian Tian Mountain, he only instructed Chuxue and me to take the Young Master out of Linhai Academy and join Lingyun Sect. He did not give any further instructions. I suppose His Majesty did not anticipate yesterday's events. Now that the Young Master is unwilling to join Lingyun Sect, we need to plan our future actions—"

Zong Shou nodded again, understanding the logic. He had already guessed that Yin Yang was here for this matter.

Sure enough, Yin Yang's tone changed, and he took out a rough animal skin map, gesturing with a somewhat inquiring look: "There are five routes out of Yanxia Town to leave the Suzhuan Mountains. One is to return the original way through Longze Plain to Qian Tian Mountain. Another is to go east, about a thousand miles, to reach the eastern coast of the Cloud Sea, where there is a city called Yunsheng City. Although it's not a major port, you can still find ships to sail out to sea. The other three routes are all infested with fierce beasts, including several sixth-stage beast kings that even Lingyun Sect can do nothing about. Our Cloud Turning Car would find it extremely difficult to pass through!"

Zong Shou smiled. Despite all that Yin Yang had said, the underlying meaning was essentially two options: escape to the eastern coast of Donglin Cloud Continent or return to Qian Tian Mountain to compete for the demon king's position.

Rubbing his chin, Zong Shou pondered for a moment and then smiled, pointing to the eastern side of the animal skin map: "Let's go to Yunsheng City first!"

He remembered that the place was not far from Yunsheng City. This year, it had not yet appeared, only after the first wave of spiritual energy surge. That year was also the beginning of the "Divine Emperor" game, which started a thousand years later.

However, if he remembered correctly, there was a type of heavenly spirit treasure growing nearby, and a few of them should be ripe. They were not particularly precious, but he could use them recently.

There was also that item, which he could retrieve. This was his greatest confidence in rejecting Lingyun Sect—

"However, none of these routes are ideal! It's best to go through here—"

Yin Yang was slightly taken aback, seeing Zong Shou's finger draw a fine line on the animal skin, leading straight to the east of the Suzhuan Mountains.

"Young Master, that is the Black Mud Swamp, which is part of the Longze Plain. Although there are no high-level spirit beasts, our Cloud Turning Car cannot pass through—"

This route would definitely exceed the expectations of those three people. However, the most famous in the Black Mud Swamp were not the fierce beasts hidden in the mud, but the packs of swamp wolves and large areas of corpse-eating ants, which were almost invincible in the swamp. Even fifth- and sixth-stage demon beasts often avoided them.

"So we need to modify this car a bit, or even replace it. The current speed is still too slow!"

Considering the physical condition of this body, without a vehicle, it would be impossible to move. Zong Shou laughed bitterly to himself and pointed to another spot on the map. "Let's go to Xiaoyuan City first. I heard that it is rich in fine steel?"

The place Zong Shou pointed to was near Danling Mountain, less than three hundred miles away. In both the "Divine Emperor" game and ancient historical records, Xiaoyuan City was known as the Eastern Mining Capital of Donglin Cloud Continent.

It was rich in iron ore and various associated metals, a holy land for early spirit forgers and spirit weapon masters.

Even if it did not have the scale of later times, it would not lack materials and spirit forgers.

Yin Yang also showed a thoughtful look, carefully examining the wind wall array carved on the carriage, and finally laughed bitterly: "Fine! I'll follow the Young Master's wishes. After leaving Xiaoyuan City, we can directly enter the Black Mud Swamp. Knowing our strength is insufficient, it would be like courting death to compete with those people. Temporarily avoiding their sharp edge is a good strategy—"

Zong Shou's eyebrows immediately coldly raised, realizing that Yin Yang had misunderstood his intentions. He was not going to Yunsheng City to escape from Donglin Cloud Continent.

ps: Continuing with three updates, I need your recommendations and collections. The ranking on the new book list is precarious, and the votes from the Three Rivers haven't increased. Please help!