Chapter 8

Li Wan seemed to be in a state of deep meditation, half asleep and half awake, dreaming of many things.

After such a state lasted for about half an hour, the entire text of the Void Treasure Seal finally entered his mind, every word and sentence of the spell and its annotations becoming crystal clear.

Li Wan, without any hesitation, continued to practice the breathing technique described in the spell, starting to cultivate.

This cultivation lasted for a full hour, but the hard work paid off, and Li Wan succeeded at once.

He could clearly feel that the true essence within his body had undergone a significant change, transforming into a sharp, sword-shaped qi that lay dormant in his spiritual field, with faint patterns flickering within.

The Void Treasure Seal — Sword Qi Seal, was successfully cultivated.

"Fortunately, I have a foundation in making jade talismans, so I succeeded this time. Otherwise, even if I had obtained the divine consciousness jade slip, I would still have to practice diligently to familiarize myself with the patterns."

Not knowing the patterns is like not knowing how to read; one cannot appreciate poetry or prose, let alone write beautiful articles... Li Wan already had a certain foundation and knew how to make jade talismans, so it was natural for him to refine this Sword Qi Seal.

"Let's test its power."

Li Wan jumped off the bed, formed the seal, and extended his finger, activating the secret technique of the Void Treasure Seal. A beam of white light shot out from his fingertip, like a sharp blade, piercing straight into the wooden table several feet away.

With a loud crack, the entire wooden table was split in half.

The teacup and teapot on it fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.

"Amazing, it has such great power."

Li Wan examined the split, finding the cut as smooth as a mirror, showing extraordinary sharpness, and he was momentarily stunned.

Then, a sense of pleasant surprise arose.

The wooden board was at least half an inch thick, and even a person with less strength would not be able to split it with a sharp sword, but this Sword Qi Seal penetrated it in one go, demonstrating its formidable power.

Li Wan recalled for a moment: "According to the records in the Void Treasure Seal, this is to treat one's true essence as a precious material, refining it into a sword qi. Its effect is roughly equivalent to a magical treasure, so its power is also comparable to a single strike of an ordinary magical weapon."

Although it only has the power of one strike, it is still quite astonishing. After all, magical weapons in the cultivation world are not ordinary mortal weapons. Even the most common ones can sever hair and cut through iron like butter, truly being divine weapons.

Now, just starting his cultivation with no foundation, he could achieve this, which was like a Qi Condensation disciple reaching the middle stage and learning magical techniques, greatly enhancing his strength, equivalent to decades of cultivation.

"Understanding one technique clarifies the profound principles, and clarifying the profound principles leads to enlightenment. This thing is indeed a direct path to the heavens, a supreme opportunity. With this 'Great Canon of the Artisan Sect,' I can learn more than just the Void Treasure Seal. In the future, there will be much to learn. Alas, for now, I can only refine this Sword Qi Seal. I see that the Void Treasure Seal manual contains many other difficult-to-understand seals, but these will take time to master."

After the joy, Li Wan felt the shortcomings of the Void Treasure Seal.

Actually, this was not a flaw. After all, this secret technique was not a magical power but a method of refining magical weapons. Its main function was to familiarize disciples with patterns and seal drawing techniques, laying a solid foundation for refining true magical weapons.

Li Wan had no choice but to use it as a magical power.

The Void Treasure Seal is not limited to the Sword Qi Seal; it also includes many powerful and miraculous seals, such as fire techniques, lightning techniques, metal煞qi, and poison miasma... However, for now, Li Wan could not handle too many at once and could only try with his own essence qi.

If he became familiar with the breathing technique and remembered all the secrets of refining the seals, he could try to transfer them to spirit jade, just like making jade talismans.

Everything had to be done step by step, and it was impossible to build a castle in the air without a foundation.

At this moment, Li Wan suddenly felt a wave of fatigue, his energy waning as if he had been awake for several days and nights without sleep.

He knew that this secret technique consumed true essence, so he took out a spirit jade from his如意sack, held it in his hand, and sat down to slowly absorb its spiritual energy.

When his true essence was almost restored, Li Wan tried to refine and form the Sword Qi Seal again.

At this point, he could confirm that he had mastered it well enough and decided to practice this seal until he was proficient before considering others.

Not long after, a voice from outside the room called out: "Sir, it's time for dinner."

"So soon?" Li Wan put everything away and opened the door, only to realize that time had passed quickly, and it was already evening.

The waiter asked, "Sir, will you dine in the inn or go out?"

"I know, I'll go out for dinner. Please clean the room," Li Wan said calmly, taking out a piece of silver and adding, "I accidentally broke the table and teapot in the room. Please give this to the innkeeper as compensation."

"Sure thing." The waiter peeked in, saw the table split in half, and couldn't help but be intimidated, responding nervously.

Li Wan waved his hand, "Alright, you can go."

The waiter, seeing Li Wan dismiss him, bowed and retreated, then went to notify other guests.

Li Wan touched the如意sack in his chest, closed the door, and went downstairs and out of the inn.

He planned to find a restaurant to eat and drink, and prepare for his journey the next day.

If he were still at the training ground, he could ignore everything and focus on cultivation, but now that he was on the run, he had to prioritize his safety and survival.

While thinking, Li Wan stepped out of the inn's door, heading for the best restaurant in town.

But at that moment, he suddenly caught sight of a figure.

It was a young man in a blue robe, carrying a long sword, walking from the street corner against the sunset.

"This person... is Fang Ming?"

Li Wan's pupils constricted as he recognized him.

This person was the outer court disciple who had fought with him in the Zhengqi Sect training ground. His name was Fang Ming.

Fang Ming was an outer court disciple, already in the Qi Condensation stage, and likely at the middle stage. His cultivation was far beyond Li Wan's. On that day, he was ordered by the steward Qiu to "test" Li Wan's martial arts, which left a deep impression on Li Wan. He recognized him from across the street.

"Bad, how did he catch up so quickly? I can't stay here; I need to leave immediately."

Li Wan was surprised that he had caught up so quickly and quickly retreated back into the inn.

Fortunately, he had been prepared for this, anticipating that the Yin family might send people to capture him. If there was no other way, he would have to flee.

With this in mind, Li Wan didn't hesitate and ran to the back of the inn.

A few moments later, he crossed the corridor, reached the inn's backyard, and without hesitation, climbed over the wall and ran away, quickly disappearing from sight.

He had all his belongings in the如意sack, so he had no cumbersome luggage and immediately decided to flee far away.

Not long after Li Wan left, Fang Ming arrived at the inn from the street corner, looking puzzled, "Strange, the aura trail ends here."

On that day, Fang Ming and Shi Buyi were ordered to pursue Li Wan, using the千里追踪technique to lock onto his general direction. However, at the turning point of the wilderness, they found the aura trail split into two, one heading over the mountain to the east and the other continuing along the path to the north.

Fang Ming and Shi Buyi discussed and decided to split up, but around the fourth watch of the night, Fang Ming suddenly felt the aura trail ahead dim, and the nearly found clue seemed to be cut off.

By this point, he had little hope of finding Li Wan. It was just an extra task assigned by Steward Qiu, not a mission from the sect, so he didn't need to be too diligent.

With a bit of laziness and helplessness, Fang Ming's journey inevitably slowed down. Moreover, he and Li Wan had only met once and were not very familiar, so he almost didn't recognize him even when they were across the street.

But at that moment, Fang Ming saw the sky darken and a inn in front of him, and his expression changed slightly, thinking of staying for the night. He walked towards the inn.

The waiter, seeing his impressive demeanor, approached and asked, "Sir, are you here for a meal or to stay?"

"Host, I have a question," Fang Ming said lazily.

The waiter nodded and bowed, "Sir, what is it?"

"Have you seen this person staying in your inn in the past few days?" Fang Ming took out a silk painting from his pocket, a vivid portrait drawn with colored threads.

It was a portrait of Li Wan, not exactly the same but with a striking resemblance.

Although he didn't expect to find Li Wan, he still had to go through the motions.

The waiter looked at it in surprise and unexpectedly said, "Isn't this the guest in Room 3 of the Heavenly Character section? I just cleaned his room."

Fang Ming's face changed, "Where is Room 3 of the Heavenly Character section?"

The waiter replied, "The second floor, the second room from the west end..." He then regretted speaking, fearing that he might get into trouble with this mysterious guest.

Fang Ming, hearing this, rushed in, climbed the stairs, and headed upstairs.

The waiter hurriedly shouted, "Sir, you..."

Fang Ming didn't look back, sternly saying, "Shut up, or don't blame me for being ruthless with my sword."

The waiter shrank back, not daring to speak anymore.

Fang Ming quickly arrived at Room 3 of the Heavenly Character section, drew his long sword, and kicked open the door, rushing in. But by then, Li Wan had already escaped over the wall, and no one was there.

Fang Ming's face changed, and he quickly took out a yellow, old paper talisman from his pocket, threw it into the air, and it silently burned to ashes.

The ashes, carrying a spark, flew out the window and headed in the direction Li Wan had escaped.

Seeing this, Fang Ming didn't hesitate, climbed out the window, and followed the direction of the ashes, chasing after Li Wan.