Chapter 715: The Vibrating Concordance Talisman
Having dealt with the Spirit Mediums, Yang Haoran felt a considerable weight lift from his mind. With their suppression, it was unlikely that any Spirit Mediums would appear in Lecheng for a short while, much less dare to proselytize and recruit followers.
However, he did not entirely relax his guard, for he still needed to be wary of these Spirit Mediums retaliating. After all, such a possibility was not out of the question.
Because of this, he specifically instructed Old Master Wu not to take things lightly, and to maintain the necessary vigilance.
Though he had been busy for a month, Yang Haoran's gains were considerable: spiritual arts, the souls of Spirit Mediums, Guardian Spirits, a small quantity of Demon Pills, and a small amount of spirit herbs containing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Besides these, there were also various miscellaneous items.
The reason for such significant gains was that, following the old town head, he had burst open two more independent spaces of Spirit Masters, combined with items seized on site, which accounted for such a large haul.
Ye Zhiqiu had not returned since his departure. Although Yang Haoran did not know where Ye Zhiqiu had gone, he knew that Ye Zhiqiu should still be safe, for the Death God Pendant he had given Ye Zhiqiu to carry showed no reaction whatsoever.
With Ye Zhiqiu absent, Yang Haoran was without a strong and capable enforcer. However, since Ye Zhiqiu had left to improve his own strength, Yang Haoran harbored no dissatisfaction; instead, he held a small hope within, anticipating that Ye Zhiqiu's return would be astounding in its display of power.
Should Ye Zhiqiu's strength see a significant improvement, it would naturally be a boon for Yang Haoran, for only with Ye Zhiqiu's increased power could he arrange for Ye Zhiqiu to undertake more tasks, thereby bringing him greater returns.
As for the spirit herbs containing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, Yang Haoran found them useless to him. Bai Xue, however, could directly consume them to absorb the spiritual energy within and boost her power.
However, Yang Haoran did not intend to do so. If he wanted Bai Xue to improve her strength, absorbing and refining Demon Pills was the quickest route. While consuming spirit herbs could also achieve the goal of enhancing power, a Demon Pill of the same grade would absolutely yield better results than a spirit herb of the same grade.
Yang Haoran felt it would be somewhat wasteful to simply let Bai Xue swallow the spirit herbs directly; it wouldn't be making the most of them. He believed that handing these spirit herbs over to Feng Xiao for processing would truly unleash their full value.
Therefore, he did not plan to give the small amount of spirit herbs obtained this time to Bai Xue, but rather to Feng Xiao.
Yang Haoran did not conceal this matter from Bai Xue; instead, he informed her of his intentions. He did so hoping she wouldn't develop any misunderstandings.
Upon learning of Yang Haoran's idea, Bai Xue not only showed no dissatisfaction but proactively brought out all the spirit herbs she had treasured, supporting Yang Haoran's concept with her actions.
Yang Haoran didn't stand on ceremony, accepting the spirit herbs Bai Xue willingly offered. He then handed them all over to Feng Xiao, for her to research or refine into medicines.
The souls of the Spirit Masters, along with some formidable ghostly entities, Yang Haoran still completely entrusted to Tang Shi. Those who could be persuaded to surrender were persuaded; those whose value could be exploited were exploited. He gave Tang Shi full authority to handle them.
As for the remaining ghostly entities, he continued to process them according to the old rules, categorizing them: those destined for the Underworld were sent to the Underworld; those to be refined into Soul Pills were refined into Soul Pills, without the slightest ambiguity.
These ghostly entities included not only the Guardian Spirits obtained from the Spirit Mediums, but also the ordinary spirits guided by the Night Watchers during this period, as well as the Evil Spirits and powerful Evil Spirits he himself had subdued. The powerful Evil Spirits were few, but the number of ordinary spirits was considerable.
On this day, Yang Haoran was drawing talismans in his study, while simultaneously allowing his body to autonomously absorb the Pure Yin Qi released from the Soul Pills within him.
Having had very few Soul Pills left previously, he had refined another batch, replenishing his supply, which was why he dared to consume them playfully.
He was completely absorbed in drawing the talisman when, for some unknown reason, his brows subtly furrowed. Yet, his talisman brush did not falter, not even for a fraction of a second, as he completed the entire talisman in one fluid stroke.
He put down his brush and gazed at the dim, lusterless talisman on the table, shaking his head with a touch of helplessness, a wry smile gracing his lips.
The talisman before him was no ordinary talisman; it was the Lock Yin Talisman, a lost art of the Talisman Order!
The Lock Yin Talisman could seal the Yin Qi on ghostly entities, and likewise could seal the Yin Spirit Power within an Underworld Official. Naturally, the Communication Power within a Spirit Master was no exception either.
To be precise, regardless of the power, as long as it originated from Yin Qi, the Lock Yin Talisman's ability could act upon it, including but not limited to Yin Spirit Power and Communication Power.
The Lock Yin Talisman, like the Ground-Escaping Talisman, was a lost talisman of the Talisman Order. However, the Lock Yin Talisman was far more complex than the Ground-Escaping Talisman, making it considerably more difficult to draw.
In Yang Haoran's view, the greatest threat to him currently came from Spirit Mediums. And the groups he most frequently encountered were also Spirit Mediums and ghostly entities. Therefore, to acquire another means of dealing with such groups, he thought of the Lock Yin Talisman.
If he had the Lock Yin Talisman in hand, it would undoubtedly be a potent weapon against ghostly entities or Spirit Mediums, capable of playing a tremendous role in life-or-death struggles.
Yang Haoran had long intended to draw some Lock Yin Talismans to keep on hand as spares, but the Lock Yin Talisman was not something he could simply draw on a whim. Even drawing the Ground-Escaping Talisman was an extreme struggle for him, so he was utterly incapable of drawing the far more complex Lock Yin Talisman.
Although he had previously tried, holding onto a sliver of hope, the final outcome was precisely as he expected: complete failure in every attempt.
As he continuously practiced drawing talismans, and his proficiency with the Ground-Escaping Talisman improved, along with a significant increase in its success rate, only then did he dare to attempt drawing the Lock Yin Talisman once more. The result, however, remained the same: continuous failure.
This time, naturally, was no exception; it still ended in failure, not only wasting a considerable amount of materials but also a fair bit of his time.
Time was secondary; as an Underworld Official, he had plenty of it. However, obtaining talisman materials was somewhat more difficult than before the world fell into chaos. Although the materials for drawing Yellow Talismans were just ordinary ingredients, not particularly precious, there were few merchants open for business now, so he couldn't always buy what he wanted, sometimes having to resort to other methods.
Of course, his expenditure of materials and time was not without any reward; at the very least, he gained experience—experience in drawing talismans, particularly in drawing the Lock Yin Talisman.
These experiences were invaluable, summarized by him from repeated failures. Those who had never experienced failure, while not entirely lacking such experience, certainly wouldn't have impressions as profound as those gained after failure.
Gazing at the failed Lock Yin Talisman before him, Yang Haoran couldn't help but sigh with emotion. The difficulty of drawing this Lock Yin Talisman was utterly beyond anyone else's imagination; only he, a Talisman Master, truly understood it.
“It seems even if I hadn't been disturbed just now, with my current ability, I likely wouldn't be able to draw the Lock Yin Talisman,”
Yang Haoran said with a chuckle, then shifted the power within his body. The Talisman Spirit Power emanating from him vanished, replaced by a chilling Yin Spirit Power, and a concurrent wave of Yin Qi emanated from his being.
Yin Qi surged in his hand, and a talisman appeared above his palm. Yang Haoran did not activate this talisman, yet it began to vibrate faintly on its own.
However, the vibration lasted only a few seconds before the talisman spontaneously combusted above Yang Haoran's palm, turning into ashes.
This talisman was precisely the Concordance Talisman that Zhang Changchun of the Ancheng Zhang Family had given him.
The higher the grade of a Concordance Talisman, the longer its vibration would last. The reason Yang Haoran's brows furrowed earlier while drawing the talisman was that he had sensed a reaction from the Concordance Talisman within his independent space.
However, at that moment, he was at a crucial point in drawing the talisman, so he did not stop. Instead, he continued drawing as if nothing had happened.
It was only now, after finishing the talisman drawing and confirming that the Lock Yin Talisman had not succeeded, that he retrieved the Concordance Talisman from his independent space.
Since the Concordance Talisman had already been vibrating for some time, when he took it out now, its power was depleted after only a few seconds of vibration, and the talisman also turned into ashes.
According to his original agreement with Zhang Changchun, when this Concordance Talisman vibrated, it meant that the Zhang Family had encountered trouble and required their assistance.
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