Hui cleared his throat pointedly. “Putting that aside…”

“It’s a lot to put aside,” Bai Xue protested.

“…I reached out to you to ask about the forest, and the talisman is burning down. There isn’t much time left, is there? If you can’t remember anything, best to save the rest for later,” Hui asked, looking at his own leaf. Already, only a quarter of the leaf remained. As far away as this voice transmittal spell is working, I’m not surprised it burns up quickly.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I showed it to my father, and he made a few copies for me. Is it a two-way spell, by the way, Xiao Hui? It might be more convenient for me to reach out to you.”

Ah, that’s right, his father is a talisman master. Since I, too, can make any number of copies, we’ve essentially got a walkie-talkie. Hmm, I wonder if I could connect it to the tree-net, somehow? Hui considered for a moment, then waved his hand. Later, later. “You can reach me as well, but… I am somewhat hiding that I’m a cultivator, and currently, only this clone… er, the others call me Mortal—has created any talismans. I can spread the information amongst the clones, but if you activate the spell, I… can’t be sure which clone’s talisman it would activate, and that’s if any of the clones held talismans on their body.”

“Mmm. Well, in that case, contact me during the morning, if at all possible?” Bai Xue requested. There was a pause. “Late morning.”

“I understand, Elder Brother. No need to say any more,” Hui replied, bowing at nothing.

“In any case, ask me tomorrow. I can do some research in the clan’s library and get back to you,” Bai Xue said.

Hui nodded. “I won’t have long tomorrow morning. I may have to contact you in the early hours.”

Bai Xue purred, low in his throat. “Hmm. Then you may have to put up with a few… extraneous noises.”

Bai Xue, you damn furnace! Hui pursed his lips, annoyed. He sighed. But he does have much more knowledge than me, and the ability to openly search in other clan’s libraries, which I currently lack. Even the me posing as a righteous cultivator is only a rogue cultivator, unable to get into those libraries. “Thank you, Elder Brother. I’ll contact you tomorrow.”

There was a pause. Hui moved to snuff the talisman, but before he could, Bai Xue spoke, unusually serious. “Xiao Hui… are you alright?”

Hui frowned. He rubbed his arms, uncomfortable. Hearing Bai Xue talk seriously is… it’s not right. “Eh? I’m fine, Elder Brother.”

“I was joking earlier, but… part of you just died. Are you able to accept that?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” Hui assured him. “We’re all clones, after all. We’re prepared to die.”

Bai Xue hummed quietly. “If you’re sure. Xiao Hui, remember that you can always speak with me.”

Hui nodded at the talisman. “I… I can handle it. I’m still alive, after all.”

The talisman burned out before Bai Xue could reply. Hui sighed and stared up at the sky, somehow completely lost. I just feel… empty. I can’t do anything. I’m not…

Wait. Hold on. I just talked to Bai Xue. I feel many things after talking to Bai Xue, but never empty. This isn’t right. Hui circulated his qi, searching it for abnormalities. Almost instantly, he noticed traces of the strange rot energy clinging to his qi.

Hui’s eyes widened. He stimulated the death ducks and sent them charging through his qi. They quickly gobbled up the rot qi, and the empty sensation abated. Instantly, Hui felt energized, and he hopped to his feet and backed away from the forest, frowning.

Even the death ducks didn’t automatically react to the rot energy. I have to keep an eye on it! At least they’re happy to eat it, but… if Ying Lin gets infected with it, or the All-Heavens cultivators…

Well, they use life qi. They probably have a method to counteract it. Probably. And anyways, they’d kill me if they knew who I was. There’s no need to worry about them.

Glancing at the forest one last time, Hui ran a hand over the back of his neck and hurried back to the inn. He shivered, just once. That forest is no good. Maybe I should just avoid it. What’s the chance benefactor is on the other side, anyways? She’s only a mortal.

Then again, if she was born on the other side of the forest… maybe it’s this side that’s mostly set apart from mortal civilization. I don’t know enough about how the mortal world operates!

He glanced around. Seeing no one around, he leaped into the air and drew Gu Tian’s sword, stepping atop it to soar into the sky. From on high, the forest stretched in all directions. Over hills and through valleys, it climbed and dipped. As far as his eyes could see, trees grew, blocking out the horizon. Between the bamboo and the forest, the inn stood in the lone patch of open ground, a single island of civilization amidst the wilderness.

Hui clicked his tongue. Looks like it won’t be so easy to get around. From what I can see alone, it would be at least a week’s journey to get around the forest, even if I used my fifth-stage speed and threw caution to the winds. It’s enormous.

He dropped back to earth, sending Gu Tian’s sword back into the tree-net. His ordinary mortal sword remained on his hip, little more than a decoration. At this hour, most of the laborers had retreated into the inn. The sun dipped low, the shadow of the forest looming large over the inn. Hui wandered over to Ying Lin’s side. For a few moments, he stood beside her, quietly watching her meditate. Careful not to disturb her, he lifted his hand and scanned her qi for abnormalities.

I don’t sense any of the rot energy on her. She must have stayed far enough from the forest that it couldn’t infect her. Hui breathed out quietly, relieved.

Ying Lin’s eyes opened. She peered up at him. “Greetings, Master.”

Hui nodded. “The sun is setting. Shall we go to our room?”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Ying Lin nodded. She stood, brushing down her robes.

“I only got one room. You can take it. I’ll meditate in the hallway outside,” Hui said. Actually, I might take to the roof. I need to keep an eye on those All-Heavens cultivators.

“Shouldn’t the disciple take the hallway?” Ying Lin asked.

Hui shook his head. “You question your Master?”

“Is that not allowed?” Ying Lin asked.

“Naturally, it’s allowed. Questioning your master is a requirement, even. In any case, I want to take the hallway, so you can use the room,” Hui said.

Ying Lin nodded. “Then I won’t protest.”

Hui led the way, showing Ying Lin to their room. On the second floor, it had a good lock and a solid set of walls. Hui looked around the room for a moment before giving it a nod of approval. Good, good. It’s even better than her old hut.

“So spacious!” Ying Lin exclaimed, looking around. She dropped to her knees and knocked on the floor. “And the floor is wood… it’s like I’m sleeping in the manor!”

“Call me if you need any pointers. I’ll be right outside,” Hui replied. He walked to the window and hopped out, quickly ascending to the roof.

“Master… that’s not the hallway,” Ying Lin muttered, shaking her head at his back.

Hui perched atop the roof and settled into the lotus pose, extending his senses outward. On my part, I’ll use the night’s rest to expand my mental senses and attempt to adapt the Lightning Palm to use Bai Xue’s talisman formula.

As he sat there quietly, the node buzzed. The miracle healer asked, First, making any progress with the new array we captured?

It has a different purpose than Chen Wuya’s array, naturally, but it is a soul-based array at heart. It’s meant to… I think, I think it’s meant to call in an outside soul and bind it into a body, forcing that soul to predate upon the existing soul as a kind of parasitic bond. However, I believe we can adapt it into a technique that returns the sect members’ souls into their own bodies. There isn’t an existing soul in their body for their soul to devour and use to empower its takeover, which is a problem, but if we supply life qi instead, it ought to fill the gap in the array where it originally took in the soul’s energy to sustain it. Besides, it ought to take less energy than devouring a new body’s soul, since they’re simply returning to their original body.

The rogue cultivator stood, excited. That’s a huge step! Now we just need to—

Before you get too excited, I still have some ways to go before I can fully decode this array and adapt it to our purposes. And don’t forget that we caught the attention of a terrifying being far beyond our power to get our hands on this array. We can’t grow complacent, the first clone lectured.

Naturally not, one of the searchers replied. He rested in a tree, his back against the trunk, legs dangling over a thick branch. But you can’t deny that this is a great boon for us.

First nodded. I’ll continue my studies.

With that, the node fell silent.

Hui grew a leaf and drew out Bai Xue’s talisman formula. There was a gap in the middle of the formula where the element would go. Hui licked his lips. But what does the Lightning Palm’s talisman formula look like? I only know how to circulate the qi.

Hmm, if I adapt the qi circulation into a series of shapes… would that work? Combining them into the fifth-stage elemental talisman… will that make this low-tier attack a fifth-stage attack? Surely not. Not unless… I adapt the Lightning Palm to become a high-tier attack. But how?

What makes a high tier attack? More qi, for one. The complexity of the formula, which adds extra effects, draws in more qi, or simply empowers the spell. However, adding to the complexity requires commensurate comprehension. To increase the power of the spell, I need to understand it as a fifth-stage spell. But… what does that even mean?

Hui bit his lip, frustrated. Master did it. He could comprehend it at whatever tier he wanted, and empower it, as simply as that. I know I don’t have Master’s comprehension, but surely…

Let’s look closer at the new talisman formula. I can use it as an example of what a fifth-stage spell formula looks like. Maybe I can use that to adapt the Lightning Palm.

Hui set the talisman on the roof beside him. He grew another leaf and drew the circulation pattern of the Lightning Palm onto its surface with his green blood. The two sat side by side. The talisman lent by Bai Xue’s father stood empty in its center, a gap where the elemental formula was meant to be. Hui put his hand on his chin.

Looking at them like this, mine is clearly the work of an amateur. Look at those shaky lines! And those extra strokes. I don’t even need half the radicals, and let’s not talk about the bottom half or that weird spiral in the middle. In contrast, the elegant simplicity of Bai Xue’s father’s talisman, those smooth talisman marks and the clear gap in the center to slot in an elemental formula without losing any of the power or precision regardless of the element chosen—

Wait, wait, wait, we aren’t counting style points or talisman elegance. Look at the power, at the formula’s complexity! Come on, focus, focus!

He injected a bit of qi into the any-elemental talisman. It passed through the characters, the marks directing the flow of qi into the first steps of a spell. However, when the qi reached the center, it fizzled out, with nowhere left to go.

Hmm, I think I get it. He looked at the Lightning Palm formula he’d sketched, then grew another few leaves. A few more iterations, and the formula slimmed down to a few marks, only a little too large to fit in the gap in the talisman. Hui twisted his lips, then shrugged. I’ll make the gap a bit bigger. From what I understand about the any-elemental formula, making the gap a bit larger shouldn’t hurt, as long as the spell is large enough to fill in the gap.

Growing another leaf, he snapped it off, though he winced a little as it broke free. Growing so many leaves in a row… it gets sore. Like scratching the same place over and over again until it gets raw. Not too bad, but it’s annoying. Mmm, I guess in the end it doesn’t feel good to rip off a part of my body over and over again, even if they’re leaves.

He scribbled down the full formula, both the original all-elemental formula and the Lightning Palm adaptation. He raised his hand and pushed a scrap of qi into the talisman, not enough to activate it, just enough to confirm it worked. The talisman glowed faintly. Lightning flickered around it, ready to burst out.

Hui deactivated the talisman and tucked it into his robes. Happily, he set about creating a full set, ignoring the pain of plucking leaves. When he had enough of the lightning palm, he swapped to his fire talisman, then wood, then ice, stepping through the entire set of elements he had available. Quietly, he hummed to himself, fully satisfied. I love talismans! Hmm, I really ought to sell them, but… can I sell Bai Xue’s father’s hard work with a clear conscience? Argh. I shouldn’t.

Oh well, it’s still incredibly useful for making a set of fifth-stage talismans!

He stacked the talismans in his robes, then closed his eyes and called out to the other clones. When they connected, he projected his thoughts into the node. The other clones jolted as the insights he’d gained synced into their own heads.

Hui nodded, proud of himself. Aha, so it can be used to transmit data, too! I thought so. It’s magical internet, after all.

The other clones instantly leaped on it, excited. A breakthrough!

Ah, I regret not spending time on it, now. What a wonderful technique!

I was busy healing patients, but now I wish I hadn’t decided to get a job. Talisman studying for life!

Thank goodness. You’re a lifesaver, Mortal. You have no idea how rough being a rogue cultivator is! The damn All-Heavens Sect is working us poor rogue cultivators to the bone. It isn’t worth it. I’m giving up!

Keep going, Rogue! They haven’t picked up on this small miracle healer yet. Come on, idiots, take the bait! I’m a miracle healer, dammit! Aren’t you the life qi sect?

As the others babbled, Hui retreated from the node, pleased with having contributed to the clones’ advancement as a whole. I can’t do much for the others, given my objective, but at the very least, I have the free time to study talismans.

He turned, looking at the forest. What happened to the All-Heavens cultivators? Hasn’t it been long enough to scout out the forest? They should have returned by now.