Chapter 64: Crimson Sheath Fan (Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly ticket!)

Low-grade spiritual artifact—Crimson Sheath Fan!

The fan handle was forged from part of the Qian Xu Yin's body and its skin pouch, while the fan blades were made by condensing and refining the feathers, sharp beak, and talons of the red-backed arrow-winged falcon, then supplemented with a large amount of spiritual materials, finally forging this spiritual artifact.

Wei Quan skillfully combined the respective traits and abilities of the two different demonic beasts, then, according to Yunhe's needs, performed the fusion.

"Only Foundation Establishment cultivators can use spiritual artifacts, right?"

Yunhe gripped the Crimson Sheath Fan, unable to contain his excitement as he poured spiritual power into it.

Soon, his face showed signs of strain, while the Crimson Sheath Fan only faintly glowed, and then it emitted a powerful spiritual power fluctuation.

Swish—

Then came a crisp sound from the air, and a fiery red feather shot out from the fan, like a flying sword, circling around his side.

The feather moved with his thought.

More precisely, it moved with his divine sense.

It appeared extremely agile and effortless.

"'With just this single feather, its power should not be inferior to that of an ordinary high-grade magical artifact flying sword.'"

Regarding this, Yunhe made a simple judgment.

Immediately after, as he increased the infused spiritual power and his thought moved again, two more feathers flew up from the fan.

And the three feathers burst into flames with a 'poof', fluttering up and down beside him.

"'The more feathers activated, the greater the power. Three feathers are about the limit of flexible control, right?'"

Yunhe furrowed his brows, his face darkening.

Swish—Swish—

Then two more feathers flew up.

However, after flying somewhat steadily for a while, the five feathers began to wobble and could no longer fly freely.

"'If one really pushes, they could probably force out seven feathers, but it would consume too much mana.'"

Yunhe smiled helplessly, withdrawing his spiritual power and divine sense.

All the feathers then fluttered back, steadily inserting into the fan handle.

The Crimson Sheath Fan has a total of twelve feathers, taken from the twelve most precious feathers of the red-backed arrow-winged falcon, while the remaining feathers were also incorporated as much as possible to enhance its hardness, destructive power, and might.

"'However, to freely control all twelve feathers at once, one likely needs to wait until Foundation Establishment.'"

Qi Refining cultivators use magical artifacts, while Foundation Establishment cultivators use spiritual artifacts—this is almost common knowledge in the cultivation world.

"'Indeed, it consumes a lot, especially mana. If one's cultivation base could advance further, even reaching Great Perfection of Qi Refining, it would be much better.'"

Yunhe had heard that Foundation Establishment cultivators condense liquid mana within their bodies, which is completely different from the gaseous mana of Qi Refining cultivators.

Even a single drop, when used to cast low-level spells, yields power far surpassing that of Qi Refining cultivators.

This is a qualitative gap, not something that can be easily compared by quantity.

In his heart, his longing for Foundation Establishment grew even stronger.

He gently shook the fan.

"'Still, good thing my design is unique.'"

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.

Wei Quan regarded him as a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator, but he knew his own limits well, so when forging this spiritual artifact, he proposed the requirement that it become stronger as the infused spiritual power increased.

At the same time, using divine sense to control the feathers further lowered the requirements for him to use this spiritual artifact.

Although this raised the difficulty of forging, it was ultimately successfully forged.

Precisely for this reason, Wei Quan felt he had gained a considerable harvest from this forging.

"'After breaking through the eighth layer of Qi Refining, my divine sense range has increased again, now reaching two zhang six chi.'"

With that thought, Yunhe released his divine sense once again.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, his expression shifted.

The fan in his hand swayed lightly.

Swish—

A feather shot out at a speed nearly impossible to catch with the naked eye, vanishing into the soil in an instant.

Squeak!!

With a 'squeak' call, the feather that flew back from the soil had a rodent demonic beast the size of a wild cat strung upon it.

At the same time.

Yunhe's monster beast token on his chest captured a trace of extremely faint rodent demonic beast energy.

"'Has the rat plague already spread here?'"

He is still on the eastern side of Tianwu City, and even before entering the western side of the Qingyu Domain, he encountered rodent demonic beasts, showing how severe this rat plague is.

It's no wonder the Qingzong Sect dispatched many disciples to exterminate the rats, even taking out three Foundation Establishment Pills as rewards.

For a sect, what is most important?

First and foremost, it's top-tier cultivators.

For example, Golden Core great experts, Foundation Establishment great perfection, late Foundation Establishment, etc.

What comes next?

It is a numerous mortal foundation!

Only with enough mortals can more cultivators with spiritual roots and cultivation ability be born, allowing the sect to recruit more talents and thus have a more distant future.

And if this rat plague is not controlled well, it will thoroughly spread from the western side of the Qingyu Domain to the southern side where mortals are numerous—that would be real trouble.

It could possibly shake the very foundation of the entire Qingzong Sect!

"First go to Tianwu City; the sect should have a relay station set up, and there are probably disciples specifically responsible for gathering intelligence."

"Immediately, Yunhe lightly patted his storage bag, and a black boat flew out."

"He retracted the Red Sheath Fan, lightly tapped his foot onto the Ink Cloud Boat, and flew toward the direction of Tianwu City."

"The Ink Cloud Boat's speed is still a bit slow; it's sufficient for usual travel, but if escaping, I'm afraid it would become a burden."

"With the Red Sheath Fan plus a talisman treasure, and the Black Scorpion Shield, offense and defense are basically covered; adding talismans and the Red Pattern Spirit Bee swarm, with all trump cards played, I don't know if I can beat a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator."

"Seven days later."

"On a forested slope north of Tianwu City."

"Yunhe, wearing brown hemp clothes, sat cross-legged on a smooth, sturdy tree trunk, eyes tightly closed, appearing to have entered a meditative state."

"Buzz—"

"A Red Pattern Spirit Bee flew out from the thicket and slowly landed on his shoulder."

"Seeming to sense the movement, Yunhe's eyelids twitched slightly before slowly opening."

"There was a hint of helplessness in his eyes."

"Still not enough; cultivation requires entering deep meditation, it's not simple multitasking, wanting to maintain cultivation state on both sides simultaneously is far harder than imagined."

"Even though he had already broken through to the eighth layer of Qi Refining and his divine sense had made considerable progress, he still couldn't cultivate both his Cultivator Body and Demon Beast Body at the same time."

"However, there is one thing he can do."

"That is, while controlling the Demon Beast Body's cultivation, let the Cultivator Body remain somewhat awake, able to sense changes around the body."

"Although he can't perceive every rustle of wind and grass as clearly as usual, with three hundred Red Pattern Spirit Bees hovering around, it's still quite safe."

"After all, the Cultivator Body is currently outside Qingshan City, where spiritual energy is scarce, so cultivation speed is questionable; whereas the Demon Beast Body is in a place with abundant spiritual energy, plus the Gathering Spirit Pearl gathers spirit, obviously making its cultivation speed somewhat faster than that of a Cultivator Body out in the wild."

"Pursuing maximum efficiency."

"He withdrew his thought, his gaze falling on the Vast Pattern Spirit Bee."

"He nodded slightly."

"He rose, lightly tapped the treetop, and his whole body flew downward."

"He clenched his hands, forming seals, and spiritual power surged within his body."

"The next second."

"Beside him, countless fine needles as thin as cow hair appeared out of thin air, like rain, shooting toward a patch of thicket."

"First-tier middle-grade spell, Needle Rain Technique!"

"Yunhe learned this at the Scripture Transmission Pavilion of the Qingzong Sect, spending some contribution points."

"Thud—thud—thud—"

"All the fine needles sank completely into the soil."

"A familiar cry of rodent demon beasts then followed."

"\"Go. \""

"Yunhe waved his hand, and immediately a large number of Red Pattern Spirit Bees flew from the surrounding thicket; in the blink of an eye, the bushes vanished completely, along with the soil layer, revealing three stout rats beneath."

"On the other side."

"Another small swarm of Red Pattern Spirit Bees flew in, surrounding the queen bee while the swarm also brought back several rodent demon beasts."

"After throwing several rat demons together and letting the demon beast token capture their demonic energy, Yunhe waved his hand."

"Instantly, the Red Pattern Spirit Bees that could no longer be restrained surged forward."

"Seeing this, Yunhe let out a light chuckle."

"\"Looks like it's become your feast. \""

"He raised his head, looked around silently, and nodded slightly."

"\"Although this place is remote, there aren't many demon beasts passing through, but the advantage is that no one comes here, and relatively speaking it's much safer than going deep into the western side. I have the Red Pattern Spirit Bee swarm; any rat demon beast that passes through here cannot escape, and my hunting speed should not be slower than theirs. \""

"After repeated consideration, Yunhe still decided to try accepting the mission; on one hand he considered the \"Foundation Establishment Pill, \" on the other hand he felt that with the Red Pattern Spirit Bee swarm he should have an advantage over others."

"Boom—rumble—rumble—"

"Suddenly."

"The ground beneath his feet shook."

"He was slightly startled, and his divine sense left his body."

"He smacked his lips."

"\"Come on, a big guy. \""

"Without hesitation, he pulled out a talisman from his storage bag."

"He infused it with spiritual power."

"Sizzle!!"

"In an instant, the talisman glowed faintly, then transformed into a ball of flame that rose up."

"\"Earth-Shaking Talisman! \""

"Crack!"

"As he slapped the talisman onto the ground, starting from the talisman, a huge crack accompanied by a roar suddenly appeared, the ground trembling even more violently than before."

"\"Squeak!!! \""

"A painful roar filled the air, coming from underground."

The next moment.

Bang!!

The ground exploded, and immediately a huge rat, its body covered in hair like steel needles, gray-black in color, and as big as a cow, burst out.

However, faint traces of blood seeped through its fur.

From the mouth bearing four extremely sharp teeth, he also coughed up a considerable amount of fresh blood.

Quite evident.

The damage inflicted by the First Stage Top-grade Spirit Talisman "Shock Earth Talisman" was not small.

Although the "Shock Earth Talisman" can attack creatures above ground, its greatest effect is actually aimed underground.

Yunhe himself had repeatedly relied on the Earth Escape Technique to survive, prompting him to wonder: if he later encountered a similar opponent who was more familiar with the Earth Escape Technique, how should he face them when they fled?

Thus the "Shock Earth Talisman" became one of his prepared methods.

He hadn't expected to first use it on this First Stage Late Earth-avoiding Rat, and it seemed to work remarkably well.

Squeak!!

The Earth-avoiding Rat's eyes filled with feral light, both red, it locked onto Yunhe, the culprit, and despite the intense pain in its body, it lunged straight at him.

Its sharp teeth glimmered with a cold light.

Thud!!

But before the Earth-avoiding Rat could pounce on Yunhe, it was blocked by a suddenly enlarged Black Scorpion Shield; the loud thud sent it reeling, its insides scrambled.

A bright cold light flashed, and the Azure Scale Sword shot out with a swish, mingling with scattering sparks, carving a deep gash on its body.

Yunhe drew a slight breath, his gaze sharpening.

Holding the Black Scorpion Shield, he advanced instead of retreating, fingers together forming a sword; simultaneously, a mass of warm water silently slipped into the rat's wound while its attention was wholly captured by the Azure Scale Sword.

Hiss—

Only then did Yunhe step back two paces, coldly observing the Earth-avoiding Rat thrashing violently on the ground, kicking up clouds of dust and dead leaves.

Soon, its struggles weakened, and its vitality gradually faded.

'Ten breaths.'

Yunhe thought to himself.

He thought: 'With my Cultivator Body's current Three Yang Heavy Water, bypassing the monster's strongest defensive shell to directly corrode its organs until it loses all vitality likely takes about ten breaths.'

Could only say, not bad.

After all, for a cultivator, ten breaths is enough for too much to happen.

This is assuming the opponent had first been heavily wounded by the Shock Earth Talisman.

Hum—

The monster token on his chest trembled slightly, drawing in the demonic power of this First Stage Late demon beast.

Huh?

Yunhe suddenly raised his eyebrows; from the spiritual sense enveloping his surroundings, he felt

He reached out and grasped.

A strand of extremely feeble spiritual power fell into his hand and quickly dissipated.

Yunhe abruptly turned his head, looking at the Earth-avoiding Rat lying on the ground, already devoid of vitality.

He exclaimed: 'It's actually a cultivator's spirit beast?!'

(End of Chapter)