A procession moved between strata, and as time passed, the battle for the "Hunting Ground" between two True Immortals finally drew to a close, with no force exerted for a considerable duration. Bereft of a clear objective, the peril for Zhai Que'er and her companions actually escalated.

The group was largely unfamiliar with the surroundings of Yin Cave City, navigating solely by the guidance of the Cursed Demon Crystal, or rather, the eyeball belonging to Boss fifth He. Regardless of direction, they marched towards the indicated former Stationing Place of the black-robed figure. Mastery of Escape Technique made them adept at cleaving earth and piercing stone, rendering the journey through well-established tunnels rather brief.

However, as the conversation between Zhai Que'er and Yu Ci shifted towards substantive matters, Boss third He and Xia Shuanghe felt that the initial patrol and exploration could be discontinued. After a brief discussion, they chose a relatively clean and open area for the two to continue their discourse.

Seeing Yu Ci acknowledge his understanding of the "Layered Orifice Combination," Zhai Que'er's face broke into a contented, beaming smile. But quickly, her eyes darted, and with a flip of her hand, she produced an object: "Then I shall test you. To what extent can you simplify this Talisman?"

The female cultivator presented a Scroll, which upon unfurling, revealed a dense array of Talisman Fractal Structures. Yu Ci glanced over it and recognized that these Fractal Structures were assembled in the most primitive fashion, devoid of any optimization and voraciously consuming Primordial Qi. Should someone attempt to activate this contraption, they'd be cursed for generations!

"Miss Que'er means to say..."

"Let's see how much you can simplify this thing."

Zhai Que'er maintained her smile, yet a subtle nuance infused it, diluting the pure mirth and rendering it inscrutable. This enigma involuntarily compelled one to speculate and guess. Generally, under such an atmosphere, thoughts tend to slide towards the more unfavorable possibilities.

Yu Ci's first thought was that Zhai Que'er was exerting pressure on him, but then the female cultivator paid him no further attention, turning instead to the other two companions. With a delicate hand gently adjusting her small hat, she chuckled, "It's not too far to the place where the man in the black robe paused, shall we go and take a look?"

Eh? Boss Third He and Xia Shuanghe exchanged glances, surprised that after her lengthy discourse at the Talisman Battle, the young mistress still remembered the "serious business." And there wasn't a hint of perfunctoriness, which made the two, who had resolved to lay low for the time being, grow cautious.

Regardless of what Boss Third He and Mr. Xia were thinking, Yu Ci couldn't help but admire from the sidelines. Such a woman, beneath her pure and beautiful exterior, seemed to possess a mature ability to advance and retreat with ease. Such a leader wasn't always overtly oppressive, yet she inspired a wariness that discouraged deceit. On further reflection, he found her even more imposing.

With this in mind, he looked again, only to find that Zhai Que'er had already concealed that peculiar aura, now smiling sweetly, "In that case, Soul Chaser can stay here a while longer to watch, so we don't waste time, how about it?"

Neither He nor Xia had the nerve to refuse, and could only nod in agreement.

As he watched the trio walk away, with Zhai Que'er even turning back to wink at him, Yu Ci was enveloped by a profound sense of absurdity. It was then he remembered Shadow Ghost: "Hey, talking to you now doesn't make me a fool, right?"

"Those who still haven't figured it out aren't just fools; they're practically dead."

Shadow Ghost finally responded, taking his usual jab before getting to the point, "Be careful, this woman's sensitivity to mental and spiritual perceptions far exceeds yours, and she's adept in secret arts. Keep your emotions steady, or if she detects them, it won't take much effort for her to mislead you... hey, maybe even bewitch your Divine Soul?"

Yu Ci chose to ignore his crass teasing and asked, "Can she even detect our conversation?"

"It's hard to say if she could directly detect it, but if you're distracted, she'll certainly sense something. If she follows the thread..."

Yu Ci finally realized the extent of Shadow Ghost's wariness towards Zhai Que'er—it had reached a point that necessitated caution. The method that targeted the fluctuations of the mind was the signature trick of the Outer Realm Sky Demon and the most orthodox supreme demonic technique of the Northern Demonic Sect. It was a technique that could never be overestimated.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

After a moment of contemplation, Yu Ci opened the reflective Divine Chart within the void of his mind. Under these circumstances, it was impossible to activate the full panoramic mode, but through Mr. Xia's perspective, he could still catch glimpses of the situation. However, at this time, there was no conversation between the three of them, rendering his effort somewhat in vain.

But it was then that Yu Ci had an epiphany, deciding to attempt to truly lodge his Divine consciousness starlight within Mr. Xia's Divine Soul, establishing a long-term source of information. It was merely an experiment, after all. An Advanced golden Elixir Cultivator's Vital essence and spirit had already condensed into a Golden Elixir, embraced in unity, nearly flawless. Just like his previous attempt on the Ethereal Rhinoceros Hermit, which had not been successful, Yu Ci was only acting on a whim.

Unexpectedly, the endeavor proved to be astonishingly smooth. The Divine consciousness starlight met almost no resistance as it rooted deeply within the Divine Soul, beginning to receive a richer array of sensory information. It could even discern the basic emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, albeit faintly.

"This is..."

"Don't ask me," Shadow Ghost replied irritably. "Look, either leave now and offend someone to death or get busy and finish what you're here to do. If you screw this up, do you think that pretty lady will ever look at you the same way?"

To stay or to leave? The former choice would surely result in dire offense, while the latter seemed to promise more to uncover—a choice that presented no difficulty. With a slight smile, Yu Ci once again unfurled the Scroll in his hands, his gaze fixed upon the densely packed Fractal Structure. Years of disciplined cultivation had endowed him with intense concentration, allowing him to immerse himself in the world of the Talisman, oblivious to the passage of time.

"Hmm, relatively speaking, it's quite straightforward. Most of it is comprised of dragon phoenix scripts. It appears to be a kind of Simulated Talisman, imitating the divine ability of some Auspicious Beast?" Yu Ci, following the myriad principles taught by Old Master Zhu, sought out the core runes and gradually deduced a logical structure, slowly unraveling the pattern.

However, once he began, he realized he was out of practice. Although his Talismanic Cultivation Level had soared over the past two years, with most of his effort focused on condensing the Seed True Talisman, and making pleasing progress in grasping the True Meaning of the Talisman and invoking its efficacy, he found himself somewhat lacking when it came to the combination of Talisman structures, a highly technical aspect that required more theoretical support.

Now, Yu Ci had to diligently recall the basic theories taught by Old Master Zhu and deconstruct the Talismanic skills that had become instinctual, reversing the process to infer the theory from practical examples, and then applying it to the Fractal Structure combinations.

This was a troublesome project, but engrossed and oblivious to time pressure, he found joy in the challenge, not particularly concerned about the immediate outcome.

In fact, there was a much simpler method at his disposal—employing his Lifebound Divine Ability, the art of "Deciphering," which would undoubtedly increase his speed by tens or hundreds of times, but at the cost of consuming Life's Primordial Energy. Since the Marrow-Burning Curse struck him two years ago, Yu Ci's Cultivation Level had been advancing steadily, but his Life's Primordial Energy was being slowly and steadily depleted at a rate twice that of an ordinary person. The "Layered Orifice Combination" was intriguing, but Yu Ci was not so generous as to trade his own lifespan for it.

※※※

"A full two hours!"

Boss third He muttered under his breath, but with his volume, it could be heard clearly from ten zhang away: "This guy is still not up to par. During a Talisman Battle, the 'Layered Orifice Combination' phase has a limit of just one hour. At his pace, he'd be driven off the stage long before, what's the point of even competing in a Talisman duel?"

In a moment of excitement, he blurted out a curse and immediately felt a twinge of nervousness. However, when he glanced over, Zhai Que'er was still leaning against the rock wall, one leg stretched out, the other bent, sitting with the casual ease of a man, her purple lips lightly pursed, exuding a rebellious charm, yet she made no other gesture.

The trio had returned more than half an hour ago, thinking that by all means, Soul Chaser should have finished his "assignment." Yet, to their dismay, he remained in deep meditation, seemingly without end. As time slipped by, Boss third He's patience was gradually worn away to nothing.

Xia Shuanghe cleared his throat, about to offer some words of persuasion, when Yu Ci, in front, opened his eyes. Surprised to see his three companions, he asked, "What time is it?"

"Why not ask what day it is?"

Boss third He rarely made such a snide remark, prompting Xia Shuanghe to laugh and smoothly intervene, "How do you feel, Daoist Soul Chaser?"

"Uh, with just those two or three experiences, it's quite challenging. It's barely satisfactory."

As Yu Ci spoke, he took out a jade talisman, furrowed his brow, and the divine light flickered intermittently more than a dozen times. It took nearly half a quarter of an hour to finally craft the talisman:

"Ninety-two key points..." Yu Ci gave a wry smile. The theory he had hastily deduced was still full of imperfections. If Old Master Zhu were to see this result, a caning on the palm of his hand would be guaranteed!

Hearing the tone of his voice, Boss third He could only scoff coldly. However, Zhai Que'er, who had been looking down all along, suddenly opened her eyes, and together with Xia Shuanghe, their gaze pierced sharply towards him.

*******

I have also posted the following more chapters [All free]: https://www.readgates.com/article/74a39e