The book was already incomplete, with only a few pages left after the sword techniques, recording two spells.
One was called the Blood Light Shield, and the other the Blood Light Escape.
However, the Blood Light Escape was missing too much, with only a few words, making it impossible to practice.
On the other hand, the Blood Light Shield was recorded in great detail, precisely the spell Meng Tianyi used to fend off his talisman attack.
After reading it, Su Shi'er memorized the contents thoroughly.
He didn't meet the basic cultivation requirements for the sword techniques, so he couldn't practice them. However, the Blood Light Shield was quite suitable for him.
After taking stock of his gains, Su Shi'er continued his arduous cultivation.
This time, he didn't focus on improving his cultivation level but rather on practicing spells.
Including the spellbook he bought from the trading plaza, he now had four spells to practice.
Blood Light Shield, Rain Summoning, Object Control, and Heavenly Eye.
In fact, among these four spells, aside from the Blood Light Shield, the other three were only moderately effective in combat.
Rain Summoning merely conjured a light rain, typically used by servant disciples for cultivating spirit fields.
Object Control used True Essence to manipulate objects, with the True Essence consumption varying based on the object's weight and material. This spell wasn't particularly damaging and was mainly used for picking things up.
As for Heavenly Eye, it allowed one to observe the flow of spiritual energy in the world, with the ability to see through invisibility and concealment.
The latter three spells were clearly more functional, and few people would waste time practicing them.
However, Su Shi'er had different ideas. Not to mention, he felt that the Heavenly Eye could be useful in the trial.
He treated all the spells seriously, and although he didn't master them to perfection, he practiced them to a high level of proficiency.
Two months later, there were less than four months left until the newcomer trial.
Feeling that there was little room for further improvement in the spells, Su Shi'er took out the two talisman-making books he had bought and began studying them.
Talismans were a magical existence, sealing spells onto small pieces of paper, allowing for instant casting with minimal True Essence, making them extremely convenient.
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For Su Shi'er, with his low cultivation level and insufficient True Essence, having enough talismans would provide more means of survival.
However, talismans were consumables, and although he could afford them, he didn't dare to spend recklessly.
Two months ago, he was almost killed just for a top-grade level one defensive talisman.
This experience made Su Shi'er more determined to learn talisman-making, to master the skill himself.
There were mainly two methods for making talismans. One used cinnabar and talisman paper as materials. The other used beast blood and beast skin. But regardless of the method, one indispensable item was the talisman brush.
The talisman brush was an important medium connecting the cultivator and the materials. A good talisman brush could greatly increase the success rate of talisman-making.
Fortunately, the book detailed the method for making talisman brushes, and making level one talismans only required an ordinary talisman brush.
Over the past four years, Su Shi'er had hunted countless demonic beasts. Now, to practice talisman-making, beast skins and blood naturally became his practice materials.
In the days that followed, Su Shi'er devoted himself entirely to practicing and making talismans.
In four months, Su Shi'er went through twenty talisman brushes and damaged countless materials.
From repeated failures at the beginning to occasionally succeeding in making one or two talismans in the end.
The success rate wasn't high, but his diligence allowed him to accumulate quite a few usable talismans.
One morning.
"Dong, dong, dong..."
Early in the morning, a resounding bell echoed throughout the Cloud Song Sect.
The bell was loud and deafening, stirring the entire sect into activity.
Hearing the commotion, Su Shi'er jumped out of bed and rushed towards Luofu Peak.
At the top of Luofu Peak, there was a plaza in front of a majestic hall.
The plaza was crowded, with nearly a hundred people. Surprisingly, they were all servant disciples with cultivation levels below the sixth stage of Qi Refining.
The age range was also quite broad, with young ones like him at sixteen or seventeen, and older ones, some with wrinkled faces and hunched backs, in their sixties or seventies.
"The sect is really going all out to explore this ancient restricted area!"
"But I never expected that Luofu Peak, which usually seems deserted, would have so many servant disciples!"
Seeing this scene upon reaching the peak, Su Shi'er felt relieved.
In just five years, he had cultivated to the fourth stage of Qi Refining with his mixed spirit root talent. He was initially worried about explaining this to the Peak Lord, but with so many people, the chance of the Peak Lord noticing him was quite low.
Taking a deep breath, he mingled into the crowd, found an inconspicuous spot, and tried to conceal his presence as much as possible while using the Heavenly Eye to silently observe the others.
In his eyes, many of the older disciples had greatly restrained their presence.
Among the younger disciples, only a few had intentionally concealed their presence.
"Senior Brother Shi'er, I finally found you!" At this moment, a voice called out.
Startled, Su Shi'er quickly turned around.
He saw a chubby man of medium height smiling as he approached. It was none other than Little Chubby, Zhu Hanwei, who had grown quite a bit.
"You're looking for me... for something?" Su Shi'er frowned slightly, quickly scanning him. At this point, Zhu Hanwei was already a Qi Refining cultivator at the second stage, which surprised him a little.
It seemed that after taking the Foundation Pills, he had awakened his spirit root.
Zhu Hanwei nodded with a smile, his eyes darting around quickly before he whispered, "There are so many servant disciples participating in this newcomer trial."
"We've only been in the sect for five years, and whether in cultivation or strength, we can't compare to them!"
"Although I don't know why, I have a feeling that this newcomer trial will be quite dangerous. I think we need to team up, so if something happens, we can handle it better."
Hearing this, Su Shi'er remained expressionless, but he couldn't help but look at Little Chubby with newfound respect. He had obtained more complete information about the newcomer trial from Meng Tianyi.
But Little Chubby, just by noticing the increase in servant disciples, sensed danger. His intuition was indeed sharp.
As for why he approached him, it wasn't hard to guess. With Zhu Hanwei's cultivation level, it was almost impossible to recruit those who had entered the sect earlier.
Among those who joined at the same time and had similarly mediocre spirit root qualifications, he was undoubtedly the best choice.
Seeing Su Shi'er remain silent, Zhu Hanwei grew a bit anxious. After thinking for a moment, he quickly added with a smile:
"Senior Brother, if you're worried that just the two of us aren't enough, there's no need!"
"This time, I also called Chen Tie and Li Jingjing."
As he spoke, he waved to a group not far away.
Only then did Su Shi'er notice three figures standing nearby. Two of them were the ones who had joined the sect with him four years ago.
The three stood together, not paying much attention to Zhu Hanwei's greeting, with slightly upturned eyes and a somewhat arrogant demeanor.
Their cultivation levels were one at the third stage of Qi Refining and two at the second stage, which wasn't bad for newcomers.
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