Chapter 77: Refining Skills

Inside the wooden house.

Chen Mobai flicked the bowl in his hand, and the water inside immediately spilled out. Then he opened his mouth to exhale, and a stream of air, as it left his mouth, emitted a faint white glow.

"Crack!"

The sound of the water freezing echoed in his ears. Chen Mobai, suppressing the swelling in his throat, extended his hand and caught the ice flower he had worked so hard to create.

The icy cold sensation made his palm turn red, but his mood was unprecedentedly joyful.

After seven whole days, he had finally mastered the "Ice Spell."

Actually, he had succeeded once three days ago. But it wasn't until now that he could achieve it with 100% success, fully grasping the subtle moment when the "Ice Breath" was about to form.

He crushed the ice flower in his hand and laughed happily.

He had never felt such a sense of achievement as when he mastered the "Ice Spell."

After laughing, a wave of fatigue washed over him, a result of the excessive use of his mental energy over the past few days, constantly focusing on the refinement process of the Ice Breath in the twelve-story tower.

Chen Mobai did not force himself to stay awake. He finished the last bottle of pear syrup on the table and lay down on the wooden bed to sleep.

When he woke up, it was already the afternoon of the next day.

However, after a thorough rest, Chen Mobai felt better than ever, not only in his mental energy but also in his cultivation at the seventh level of Qi.

He reached under his pillow and pulled out his backpack. Inside, 25 luminous spirit stones shone, making him smile broadly.

During the seven days he spent practicing the Ice Spell, Chen Mobai had also sold most of the low- to mid-level talismans he had purchased from Deyuan Star. The gold he earned was exchanged for these spirit stones at the silver shop set up by the Shenmu Sect on Qingguang Island.

In addition to the 25 spirit stones, his backpack also contained 30 low- to mid-level talismans he had kept for himself. After all, he was about to leave Qingguang Island to find beasts to practice his combat skills, and he couldn't afford to use high-level talismans in every battle, as that would be too extravagant.

After checking his equipment again, Chen Mobai sat cross-legged on the bed for the entire night. When dawn came, he got up, left his wooden house, and went to the dock.

Since it was his first time fighting beasts, he had no experience, so he wisely joined a group.

While selling talismans, he had also been gathering information about Qingguang Island and discovered that the Shenmu Sect had a sect mission to help new disciples adapt to the Yunmeng Marsh. The senior disciples who took on this mission, to maximize their benefits, would also take in some new independent cultivators.

Chen Mobai, always cautious, carefully compared the senior disciples of the Shenmu Sect who specialized in such missions and ultimately chose one with a moderate reputation.

"Brother Qihou, I'm late."

Chen Mobai thought he had arrived early, but the Shenmu Sect disciple was even earlier.

"Hmm, not late."

Qihou was a man of few words. He was tall and thin, with sharp eyes, and wore a black robe, standing on a spirit boat.

This was also a magical tool. Using one spirit stone, it could travel a hundred miles, and its speed was not slow, allowing Qi cultivators to save their spiritual energy while traveling.

In addition to Chen Mobai, there was a young, refined-looking Shenmu Sect disciple on the spirit boat, who was looking down at a scroll, likely one of the new disciples Qihou was to lead.

After greeting Qihou, Chen Mobai paid two spirit stones, which Qihou quickly accepted. He then pointed to a seat on the left side of the spirit boat and gave Chen Mobai a similar scroll.

"These are the black-armored turtles we will hunt today. These beasts are primarily defensive, with few offensive abilities, making them suitable for new independent cultivators and disciples like you."

Chen Mobai nodded in agreement and began to read the carefully prepared scroll.

After a while, two more independent cultivators arrived, seemingly siblings. The male cultivator was called Ba Jiang, and the female cultivator was called Ba Xing. After paying their spirit stones, the group was complete.

Qihou immediately activated the spirit boat, which shot away from the dock like an arrow.

"Two fellow cultivators, please take care of us."

Ba Jiang was a seemingly honest young man, and his sister Ba Xing came from a cultivation family in the Ba Kingdom, which was somewhat well-known locally. At a young age, they had already reached the sixth level of Qi, considered to be exceptionally talented.

This time, they came together to seek opportunities to break through to the later stages of Qi cultivation and to gain experience in the Yunmeng Marsh.

The refined-looking Shenmu Sect disciple seemed uninterested in socializing, keeping his head down and reading the scroll without a word.

Chen Mobai quickly took over the conversation, exchanging a few polite words to avoid making Ba Jiang feel awkward. However, he himself was not a talkative person, and Qihou, as the leader, did not speak, so the spirit boat quickly fell silent.

Thus, they arrived at the island where the black-armored turtles lived.

"There are seven in total. I will deal with the two strongest. Disciple Xi, you can practice on one, and the remaining four, the three of you can handle together. I will intervene if there is any danger."

Qihou put away the spirit boat, and the five of them landed on the shore, where they saw two large turtles on the beach, their heads poking out, their red eyes coldly staring at them.

"The five smaller ones are in the water. Go ahead."

As Qihou spoke, he reached into his waist bag, pulled out a talisman, infused it with spiritual energy, and instantly two large fireballs appeared, smashing into the two large turtles.

The refined-looking Shenmu Sect disciple, though quiet, acted quickly. He slapped his waist bag, and a green wooden sword flew out, slicing toward a black-armored turtle that had just emerged from the water.

Chen Mobai noticed that this young man, surnamed Xi, seemed to have a lower cultivation level than himself.

However, he immediately focused all his attention on the four black-armored turtles that emerged from the water. Ba Jiang and Ba Xing cleverly each took on one, leaving Chen Mobai to face two alone.

He cursed under his breath, but since he had come to hone his combat skills, he did not immediately call for Qihou's help.

He first took out a stack of talismans, then activated his mental energy, opened the bottle of black water at his sleeve, and the Water Element Shield was already in place. Spiritual energy surged from his dantian to the twelve-story tower, and the Ice Spell was ready to be cast...

In the evening, after returning to Qingguang Island, Chen Mobai bid farewell to the group as they disembarked from the spirit boat.

The young man surnamed Xi kept his head down, not even acknowledging them, and left with Qihou, carrying the seven dead black-armored turtles tied with a wooden magical tool. The spoils of the hunt belonged to the two of them, as part of a Shenmu Sect mission.

Qihou had a profitable trip, earning plenty of spirit stones and sect contributions.

Ba Jiang wanted to invite Chen Mobai for a drink, seemingly interested in forming a connection, but Chen Mobai, eager to find the next group led by a Shenmu Sect disciple, politely declined.

Over the next ten days, Chen Mobai alternated between resting and joining groups.

Gradually, he became more adept, moving from the initial chaos of using talismans haphazardly and casting spells slowly to handling everything with ease.