Chapter 129: Innate Talent Rank Division, Heir of Jiu Qiu!

"So skills can actually be stacked after all!"

Xiao Zhangqing first tried the Sky‑blue Talisman Pen's "Talisman Path innate talent boost."

When he equipped this new second‑tier Talisman Pen, a familiar feeling instantly surged in his mind.

In addition to countless advanced Talisman Path techniques flooding his mind, as if decades of diligent practice had at this moment been converted into experience, his talisman technique proficiency rose from second‑tier lower grade to second‑tier upper grade.

Moreover, his understanding of the Talisman Script line underwent a fundamental change!

The feeling was like having the Ren and Du meridians opened in a wuxia novel, an instant enlightenment pouring down.

Simply put, boosting the Talisman Path innate talent is equivalent to improving one's spiritual root aptitude in cultivation. If the skill carried by the Twin‑winged Tiger Hair Pen that Symbol Master Lu Qiu gave him previously corresponded to raising his Talisman Path innate talent to the "Upper‑grade Spiritual Root" level.

Then the buff of the Sky‑blue Talisman Pen raises his aptitude to the "Earth Spiritual Root"! So.

With the Sky‑blue Talisman Pen, Xiao Zhangqing is far more than just having his Talisman Path proficiency lifted to second‑tier upper grade.

Even if his talisman techniques didn't improve this time, with his current talent he can soon break through to second‑tier middle grade, and in a decade or so, second‑tier upper grade will be no problem.

Moreover, reaching third‑tier Symbol Master like the former owner of the Sky‑blue Talisman Pen is not impossible!

"Indeed, the Twin‑winged Tiger Hair Pen's skill has changed…"

As Xiao Zhangqing had a sudden insight, he opened the system interface for the Twin‑winged Tiger Hair Pen and found that perhaps the appearance of the Sky‑blue Talisman Pen refreshed the system's unknown area, unveiling new functions.

Previously, the second skill of the Twin‑winged Tiger Hair Pen simply displayed "Talisman Path innate talent increase."

Now this skill has an added "white" label.

Xiao Zhangqing immediately also summoned the "Enlightenment Mat" and "Thousand Illusion Mask" to examine them.

The "Comprehension boost" carried by these two items also now bears a white label.

"It seems that skills concerning comprehension and innate talent have tiers. The lowest is white, the next tier is green, and perhaps later there will be blue and purple?"

Xiao Zhangqing speculated silently in his mind.

Comprehension and innate talent indeed work similarly to spiritual root aptitude.

However, spiritual root aptitude has a clear division: lower, middle, upper, Earth Spiritual Root, and Heavenly Spiritual Root—five levels.

While comprehension and innate talent are more subtle and cannot be precisely categorized.

Only his inventory system provides such grades.

"So it's not skill stacking, but skill tiering…"

Xiao Zhangqing thought for a moment, unequipped the Twin‑winged Tiger Hair Pen, and the skill was stripped away.

Yet he did not feel any decline in his Talisman Path innate talent; his thoughts remained fluid, just as normal.

Clearly, this means Xiao Zhangqing now directly possesses a blue‑level Talisman Path innate talent, rendering the Twin‑winged Tiger Hair Pen's white talent useless to him.

"Tongzi, when will the skill synthesis function evolve?"

Xiao Zhangqing thought unsatisfiedly in his heart.

When skills can be combined, even if not a straight 1+1=2, a magical tweak would do!

Then the system's capabilities would truly be unbeatable.

Of course, it's not bad now either.

"Second‑tier upper‑grade Symbol Master…"

"Tsk tsk, what a pity. If I let the world know my current talisman techniques, even in Character: Liyang Immortal City, just regarding talisman techniques, I could barely be considered a top figure, right?"

Although Xiao Zhangqing hasn't inquired specifically, he reckons that those in Character: Liyang Immortal City whose talisman techniques have reached second‑tier upper grade are few enough to count on one hand.

Second‑tier lower‑grade Symbol Masters are merely acceptable to the ten great families, worth courting, but not scarce.

Yet second‑tier upper‑grade Symbol Masters are worth the ten great families spending fortunes to recruit! Continuously producing second‑tier upper‑grade Talisman Scripts has huge strategic value.

After all, in Character: Liyang Immortal City, there are only about twenty people who are Golden Core Real Persons or pseudo‑Golden Core cultivators, not many.

Foundation Establishment Realm late‑stage cultivators already count as top talents and are sought after by all parties.

If Xiao Zhangqing arrived in Character: Liyang Immortal City already possessing second‑tier upper‑grade talisman techniques and registered upon entry, the City Lord's Office would send someone beyond Yue Feng's rank—at least Gu Zongyuan behind Zhu Xiaochuan, or even a member of the Character: Liyang Seven Heroes! If Xiao Zhangqing doesn't want to bind a thirty‑year contract, the City Lord's Office might make concessions! "Joining the City Lord's Office holds little meaning for me, so there's no real loss…",

Xiao Zhangqing smiled.

He then began studying the second equipment, the Jiu Qiu Xiao!

"Divine Perception increased 1.5 times, my current Soul Transformation strength…"

Xiao Zhangqing's Soul Transformation unfurled completely, spreading in all directions, quickly surpassing his own cave residence and extending toward the neighboring cave residences.

The cave residences in Jinxiu Fang are all second‑tier upper‑grade spiritual vein caves, expensive in rent, with solid formations and strong defenses, thus capable of masking Divine Perception probing at the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Yet Xiao Zhangqing's prior Divine Perception strength already surpassed the Foundation Establishment Realm, making him a strong practitioner even among early Golden Core Real Persons.

Now he has almost reached the mid Golden Core level! So if Xiao Zhangqing wishes to eavesdrop on nearby neighbors' lives, such as Zhu Xiaochuan who lives next door, he can do so.

The concealment formation of Jinxiu Fang's caves cannot block his powerful Divine Perception.

Unless the other party possesses a third‑tier Soul Dao Magic Treasure, they might detect Xiao Zhangqing's probing.

However, Xiao Zhangqing has no habit of spying and fears that if any of these neighbors actually have a third‑tier Soul Dao Magic Treasure, it would cause trouble.

So his Divine Perception spread in all directions, avoiding formations it encountered, merely testing its limits.

"One hundred zhang, one hundred ten zhang, one hundred twenty… one hundred thirty‑five zhang!"

Feeling the limit of his Divine Perception and unable to extend further, Xiao Zhangqing withdrew it and opened his eyes.

His current outward Divine Perception reaches a maximum of fifty‑four zhang, already nearly the strength of a typical late‑stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Slightly increased compared to when he left Nanshan Fang half a year ago.

With the Dragon Prison Bracelet's aid, he can reach one hundred eight zhang, almost the top tier of early Golden Core Real Persons. Now, with the Jiu Qiu Xiao's aid, it increases by another fifty percent, extending his Divine Perception outward to one hundred thirty‑five zhang! "This is the Divine Perception strength only senior mid Golden Core Real Persons possess!"

"Centuries ago, Jiu Qiu Real Person traversed the Da Yu Cultivation World with this Jiu Qiu Xiao; his fame may not match today's Character: Liyang Real Persons, but he could still spar with many late Golden Core Real Persons. I estimate his Divine Perception strength then, even if a bit stronger than mine, wouldn't be vastly higher."

"Moreover, I now inherit not only the Jiu Qiu Xiao and Jiu Qiu Divine Perception secret art, but also the Dragon Chant Technique!"

Xiao Zhangqing couldn't help but have his eyes shine.

The Jiu Qiu Divine Perception secret art is quite powerful; at the Golden Core Real Person level, it is definitely top‑tier.

Compared to the Dragon Chant Technique, it is still somewhat weaker.

The Dragon Chant Technique is a sword that takes an off‑center edge, and is not a conventional Divine Insight secret art.

Its power system is also clearly annotated, reaching up to the fourth tier!

Once fully unleashed, Xiao Zhangqing will enter a fatigue period after using it.

So in terms of deterrence, Xiao Zhangqing's Divine Insight now may no longer be weaker than the former Jiuqiu Zhenren!

"Even if I'm still not as strong as Jiuqiu Zhenren and can't spar with a late‑stage Golden Core True Person, at least among mid‑stage Golden Core cultivators who can block my Dragon Chant Technique, there aren't many!"

Xiao Zhangqing silently evaluates in his heart.

"Unwittingly, have I already been able to intimidate the vast majority of mid‑stage Golden Core cultivators?"

"If the intel is correct, Character: Liyang Immortal City, though it has several Golden Core cultivators, also has Character: Liyang Zhenren—the Da Yu, the top Scattered Cultivator of the Cultivation World—seated there…"

"However, aside from Character: Liyang Zhenren himself, the other few Golden Core True Persons are only at the early‑stage Golden Core level, right?"

"Including the most outstanding Golden Core True Person among the Seven Heroes of Character: Liyang, as well as Zhu Dan Shi's enemy 'Xue Ya Zhenren', according to the publicly announced cultivation, they are all still early‑stage Golden Core."

Thinking of this, Xiao Zhangqing couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth lift slightly.

In other words,

As long as he doesn't flaunt himself and acts cautiously, in this vast Character: Liyang Immortal City, the only one who can threaten him is Character: Liyang Zhenren.

"Low‑key, low‑key…"

Xiao Zhangqing steadied his inner emotions, making himself a bit calmer.

With Character: Liyang Zhenren, a great deity, seated above, he still cannot be too arrogant.

Moreover, the entire Immortal City is shrouded by a massive third‑tier pinnacle formation, let alone a 'fake' Golden Core cultivator like him who takes an off‑center sword path.

Even if truly senior mid‑stage Golden Core cultivators arrive, once encircled they have no escape.

"After the Dragon Chant Technique, I will keep it as a last‑resort trump card. Normally, when trouble or danger arises, I'll use this 'Jiuqiu Divine Insight Secret Art' instead."

His Divine Insight now reaches the level of a mid‑stage Golden Core True Person, fully capable of unleashing the true power of the Jiuqiu Xiao.

Under normal circumstances, it is more than enough in Character: Liyang Immortal City.

"After several hundred years, does the true successor of Jiuqiu Zhenren reappear in the world?"

"I don't know whether Jiuqiu Zhenren left a legacy… regardless, from now on I am the legitimate one!"

"I also wonder if the shopkeeper of Duobao Pavilion will regret getting this news later."

Xiao Zhangqing couldn't help but laugh.

If the other side learns he possesses the Jiuqiu Divine Insight Secret Art and can fully activate the Jiuqiu Xiao, the next time he visits Duobao Pavilion, the shopkeeper's expression will be quite a sight.

"Cheating feels great. Two pieces of equipment instantly boost my strength by a huge margin! It's even more growth than six years of hard cultivation after foundation establishment in Nanshan Fang!"

"I hope that three months later at the auction, I can still buy two exquisite pieces of equipment!"

"Ideally… to acquire a treasure that can raise my spiritual root qualification to the Heavenly Spiritual Root level!"

Xiao Zhangqing couldn't help but daydream in his heart.

Raising the spiritual root to Heavenly Spiritual Root speeds up his cultivation progress, making his grasp of the Golden Core stage much more certain.

However, to attend the auction, he must be fully prepared.

His strength is sufficient now; even if he buys the most expensive items at the auction, he won't fear anyone cheating him.

But he's afraid his Spirit Stones aren't enough! He originally had 90,000 Low‑grade Spirit Stones, and after buying two Magic Treasures today, he has less than 70,000 left.

Seventy thousand Low‑grade Spirit Stones isn't a small amount; even an average Fake Core True Person might not have that many.

Yet Xiao Zhangqing plans to make a massive purchase at the auction; seventy thousand Spirit Stones isn't much, and might even be insufficient!

For example, if at the auction a top‑grade third‑tier Magic Treasure appears that is very useful to him.

Perhaps a single item's price could reach seventy thousand Low‑grade Spirit Stones! A normal third‑tier Magic Treasure doesn't cost as much as the Jiuqiu Xiao.

"I have to sell some of the Pill and Magic Treasures I don't need."

Currently, he possesses the loot from killing that white‑haired Evil Cultivator in Nanshan Fang, as well as the treasures obtained in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range during the 'Uphold Heaven's Way' from the bandits Tu Jiu, Yue Lao Mo, and others.

These treasures together have a considerable total value; even if sold cheaply, they'd still fetch several tens of thousands of Low‑grade Spirit Stones.

"To be safe, during these three months I can work hard drawing more Talisman Scripts to sell. My Talisman Technique has just risen to second‑tier superior, and the price of second‑tier superior Talisman Scripts isn't low…"

Xiao Zhangqing calculated.

Character: Liyang Immortal City is so prosperous; unlike the remote Nanshan Fang, acquiring materials for second‑tier Talisman Scripts there is difficult and takes several months to gather a batch.

When he was in Nanshan Fang, Xiao Zhangqing had an empty Talisman Technique and couldn't use it; even with Evil Cultivators besieging the city, he couldn't continuously provide second‑tier Talisman Scripts.

In Character: Liyang Immortal City, second‑tier materials are abundant.

(End of Chapter)