Chapter 6

It took a long time for Wu Tao to recover from his failure, his spirits slightly lifted.

Failure is the mother of success.

Failure is also a form of experience; one must learn to find areas for improvement from it, to increase the chances of success in the next attempt.

Wu Tao changed into a new set of clothes and sat by the earthen platform. The starfire stones had burned out. He had already prepared himself mentally for the first attempt to fail, and he felt he could face this outcome.

However, he was too poor.

The cost of failure was too high, and it still made him feel heartache.

"Although the difference between practicing spirit board engraving and engraving during the refining process is negligible, there is still a slight difference. Engraving during the refining process requires more delicate work and more precise control of spiritual energy."

"No wonder they say that the four great arts of cultivation masters are all cultivated with resources."

"Only through repeated trial and error can one succeed. Without resources, it's hard to go far."

"I have a talent bonus as a refining master, but I can't rely solely on that. I need to work harder and ponder more to reduce the cost of trial and error."

"Only four starfire stones and one pound of demon silk remain. There is only one chance left. It must succeed, no failure allowed."

"Today, my essence, energy, and spirit were overexerted. I can only refine tomorrow."

After summarizing, Wu Tao rubbed his slightly swollen forehead and muttered to himself, "Last night's sleep was terrible, and my mental state was poor. If the neighbors weren't noisy tonight, my spirit would be better, and I might be closer to success."

"Should I ask Zhang Li for help..."

The thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly extinguished it, shaking his head. "She runs a business, and I'm just a neighbor with a shallow relationship. What reason do I have to ask her to close for a day?"

"Don't think she's easy to talk to. What if..."

Wu Tao was afraid of rejection. Without spirit stones, living in this area with poor infrastructure, he could only endure these troubles.

"In the end, it's all about being poor."

He couldn't help but sigh deeply.

It was already morning, and his stomach began to signal hunger. Wu Tao got up to cook, ate, and then sat on the bed, practicing the Three Yang Technique to absorb the sparse spiritual energy in the air, restoring his condition.

After sitting in meditation for two hours, he finally recovered his essence, energy, and spirit.

At this moment, he couldn't help but miss the days before the original owner was possessed. Back then, he was a miner, and although life was hard, he could sometimes use spirit stones to cultivate.

If he used spirit stones, it would only take half an hour to recover.

"If you miss the past, it means you're not doing well now."

Wu Tao sighed again, saying, "I heard that the disciples of Qingling Sect on Wushan Mountain all cultivate using elixirs, and the higher-ups directly embrace the spirit vein. I wonder when I can embrace the spirit vein too?"

Wu Tao's mindset was like a poor person speculating whether the emperor plows the fields with a golden or silver hoe.

It was already dusk.

The morning was spent refining the robe, and the afternoon was spent recovering. The day passed.

Eat!

After eating, Wu Tao took out the book "First-Class Robe Refining Method and Five Seals" and read it by candlelight for half an hour, even though he had already memorized it thoroughly.

It was time to sleep. Wu Tao lay down but then sat up halfway, his face twisted in a strange way.

"Should I ask Zhang Li for help..."

"I only have one chance to refine tomorrow. If I fail, I won't survive this crisis. It's a matter of life and death. Even if I face rejection, what does it matter? If I succeed, a good night's sleep and better spirits might just save my life."

Struggling internally, after a moment, Wu Tao got up, put on his shoes, and opened the door, thinking, "Maybe I can do this..."

He went to Zhang Li's door, where a faint candlelight shone inside. It was still early, and Zhang Li hadn't started her business. Taking a deep breath, Wu Tao raised his hand to knock.

Soon, footsteps sounded inside, and the door opened. Zhang Li saw Wu Tao, her face slightly shocked. She knew that Wu Tao, in his possessed state, wouldn't come to her business.

Even if he did, she wouldn't dare to accept him!

So, Zhang Li asked, "Daoist Li, is there something you need?"

Wu Tao looked at Zhang Li, who was dressed in casual clothes, and stammered for a while before saying, "Daoist Zhang, do you still remember the promise you made?"

"Promise, what promise?" Zhang Li couldn't recall it immediately.

Wu Tao said directly, "You said that after I dispel the evil, you would let me have one free session. Since a good day is better than a bad one, why not tonight?"

After saying this, he clearly felt relieved.

Zhang Li's eyes widened, and after a while, she scolded him angrily, "Do you want me to die? You're still possessed, and you want to do it tonight? I think the evil has entered your brain, and you're not thinking clearly. Get lost, get lost, get lost!"

She tried to push Wu Tao away.

Wu Tao realized he hadn't explained himself clearly and said, "Daoist Zhang, you misunderstood. That's not what I meant."

"If that's not what you meant, what do you mean?" Zhang Li stopped pushing him, crossed her arms, and rolled her eyes at him.

"I mean, don't open your door to customers tonight, and count tonight as serving me. Of course, I won't really do anything with you. In short, the promise will be considered fulfilled by you." Wu Tao explained with effort.

Zhang Li understood, staring at Wu Tao for a long time. Seeing the dark circles under his eyes, she laughed, "Why didn't you explain it clearly earlier? You scared me to death. Fine, fine, I understand. Go back!"

Wu Tao bowed in gratitude, "Thank you, Daoist Zhang. I owe you a great favor."

Zhang Li was a trustworthy person. That night, she hung a sign saying she was closed for the night, allowing Wu Tao to sleep well and wake up refreshed, with his dark circles gone.

When he returned from emptying the night soil, he thanked Zhang Li again.

Wu Tao took a bath in the washroom, washing away all the bad luck, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and sat by the earthen platform.

All preparations were ready.

"Guanyin Bodhisattva, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Buddha, Yuanshi Tianzun, Laozi, Tongtian Jiaozhu, Satan, Odin, Zeus... please bless me with success!"

"Let's begin!"

After praying to all the known deities, Wu Tao threw two starfire stones into the earthen platform, ignited the Three Yang Technique's spiritual energy, and took the remaining pound of demon silk cocoon, starting to extract the silk.

He had successfully completed the first and second steps yesterday, but Wu Tao still didn't dare to be careless, carefully controlling the spiritual energy and the fire.

Time quietly passed as he worked on the refining. The spiritual energy flowed like a shuttle, and the shape of the robe appeared before Wu Tao's eyes.

'The final step, engraving the seal. I failed at this step yesterday. I must stay steady this time.'

Wu Tao adjusted his mindset, not thinking about failure to avoid mental pressure. The spiritual energy acted like a knife, engraving the seal on the robe, gradually completing the running seal.

"You have triggered the Refining Master's Lucky Skill. Luck bonus: 50%!"

'Heaven is helping me!'

Wu Tao was overjoyed, his essence, energy, and spirit not slackening. His hands became even steadier. As the last stroke of the seal fell, a complete running seal instantly appeared on the robe.

"Fuse!"

"Refine!"

"Combine!"

With three light shouts, the running seal merged with the robe, the two becoming one. A flash of spiritual light quickly subsided.

Wu Tao was overjoyed, taking the robe and laughing, "Finally, a First-Class Level Two Running Robe."

"Thank myself, thank the Refining Master profession, thank Zhang Li!"

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