novelaction #165 - Nine-bend Yellow River Talisman Array
#165 - Nine-bend Yellow River Talisman Array
The Great自在Heavenly Demon earnestly advised, feeling the young man before him was getting ahead of himself. It had only been a short time, and he already wanted to learn a second talisman?
Did he really think he was a congenital divine being?
Even if a true congenital divine being were here, it would be impossible to learn a talisman in such a short time!
Talismans weren't so easy to learn!
"Don't worry about so much, just teach me," Zhang Chen interrupted the Great自在Heavenly Demon.
The Great自在Heavenly Demon glared at Zhang Chen, but didn't retort. Since Zhang Chen insisted on learning a second talisman, he was only wasting his own precious time. What did it matter to him? He secretly hoped Zhang Chen would waste his years and amount to nothing. In his eyes, Zhang Chen wouldn't learn all the talismans in less than ten or eight years.
He wished Zhang Chen would waste time, achieve nothing, and live to a useless old age.
He even decided to invest a little to encourage Zhang Chen to continue wasting time researching talismans, and impart something to him.
"Let me tell you, there are thousands upon thousands of talismans in the world. No one can possibly recognize them all, because even the most highly cultivated monks will encounter talismans they've never seen before. But I have a clever method that allows you to deduce the function and stroke order of a new talisman when you encounter it, and have the means to research talismans yourself. Do you want to learn it?" The Great自在Heavenly Demon looked at Zhang Chen, his voice full of temptation.
"What do you want?" Zhang Chen asked. He knew there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. The Great自在Heavenly Demon would never be so kind as to impart the incantation without some request.
"How about you do me a favor in the future? Of course, it will never be harmful to you," the Great自在Heavenly Demon vowed, "Nor will it harm the people around you."
He was afraid that if he didn't mention conditions, the kid would become suspicious.
"Helping you is not impossible, but I can't do anything that is utterly devoid of conscience," Zhang Chen added.
The Great自在Heavenly Demon nodded, casually agreeing, and then said to Zhang Chen, "Actually, identifying the stroke order of a talisman is simple. The key lies in the control of magic power. Listen carefully, I'll pass on a few lines of incantation to you."
Then, the Great自在Heavenly Demon began to recite the incantation. It wasn't long, only seven lines, but it stunned Zhang Chen, not because the incantation was too difficult, but because it was too simple.
"Do you think the incantation is very simple? But if no one opened this key point for you, you wouldn't be able to comprehend it, so you don't lose out," said the Great自在Heavenly Demon.
"All the talismans in the world have traces to follow. As long as you comprehend them according to my incantation, there will be no more secrets in this world's talismans for you," the Great自在Heavenly Demon said.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen pondered the incantation for a while, then looked at the Shangqing Handbook, and after some deduction according to the incantation given by the Great自在Heavenly Demon, Zhang Chen picked up a small wooden stick and outlined a talisman on the yellow sand. The process of outlining the talisman was completed in one go, without the slightest hesitation, smooth and pleasing to the eye.
"It really works," Zhang Chen looked at the talisman he had outlined, a look of joy in his eyes. This Great自在Heavenly Demon had some useful things.
Then, Zhang Chen repeatedly practiced on the yellow sand more than thirty times. The next moment, the golden finger interface popped up:
[New skill discovered, do you want to include it?]
"Include it," Zhang Chen said without hesitation.
[12 Skill (Entry): Fire Repelling Talisman (0/100)]
[Note 1: Can reduce the burning sensation of flames]
Zhang Chen looked at the newly acquired talisman, a look of surprise in his eyes: "It's actually a Fire Repelling Talisman?"
"Not very useful, better than nothing," Zhang Chen muttered.
He didn't add points rashly, but turned over the Fire Repelling Talisman to look at the next new talisman. There were many more talismans behind, and he had to save his experience points, otherwise it would be tragic if he encountered useful talismans later and didn't have points to upgrade.
An hour later, Zhang Chen acquired another talisman:
[13 Skill (Entry): Wind Fixing Talisman (0/100)]
[Note 1: The strong wind can only slightly blow your hair]
"Also useless!" Zhang Chen shook his head and continued to look at the fourth talisman.
Another hour later, Zhang Chen acquired another talisman:
[14 Skill (Entry): Water Fixing Talisman (0/100)]
[Note 1: The flow rate of water around you becomes twice as slow]
"This is even more useless. I have already mastered water control, what do I need a Water Fixing Talisman for? Water Fixing Talisman is useless." Zhang Chen directly turned the page to look at the fifth talisman, and then after an hour, Zhang Chen shook his head again:
"Also a useless talisman, not very useful to me."
[15 Skill (Entry): Hard Earth Talisman (0/100)]
[Note 1: After casting it, the ground under your feet becomes slightly harder, like a compacted foundation]
"Earth, water, wind, and fire are all gathered." Zhang Chen glanced at the fifth talisman, did not choose to add points, but directly turned the page.
"There are still three hundred and sixty talismans left. Could it be that the next three hundred and sixty talismans are all so useless?" Zhang Chen continued to flip through the pages, staring at the book in his hand. After more than half an hour, Zhang Chen moved his gaze away from the book, then picked up the wooden stick and constantly outlined on the yellow sand. After practicing more than thirty times, the golden finger in front of Zhang Chen finally had a new change:
[New skill discovered, do you want to include it?]
"Include it."
Zhang Chen said.
[16 Skill (Fragmented): Unknown Talisman (1/3590000)]
"What the hell?" Zhang Chen looked at the golden finger interface in front of him, and was completely dumbfounded. Unknown talisman? And it's still fragmented? It actually requires 3.59 million points to complete it.
"Are you kidding me? What kind of talisman is this? It actually requires 3.59 million points to complete and upgrade?" Zhang Chen's eyes were a little unbelievable. Did he know what 3.59 million points meant? It could raise Zhang Chen's skills countless times and upgrade them countless times.
"This talisman is a bit interesting. Even my golden finger can't identify the name." Zhang Chen looked at the fragmented talisman in front of him, a look of surprise in his eyes. This was the first time he had seen the golden finger perform like this.
But this fragmented talisman made Zhang Chen even more curious. After all, he had never seen such a unique talisman before.
"Hey, you, come and take a look at this strange talisman. Can you see anything?" Zhang Chen was curious about the talisman, and turned his head to ask the Great自在Heavenly Demon standing in front of the door.
"What you have in your hand are just some garbage runes, which do not involve the supreme true teachings, what's so strange about them?" The Great自在Heavenly Demon casually complained, but he was now living in Zhang Chen's hands, and upon hearing Zhang Chen's question, he had no choice but to come to Zhang Chen, and casually looked at the book. The next moment, the Great自在Heavenly Demon's pupils shrank, as if he had seen a ghost, his eyes full of disbelief: "What the hell is this? How could this thing appear here?"
"Have you seen the origin of this talisman?" Zhang Chen asked.
The Great自在Heavenly Demon pondered in silence, staring at the talisman for a long time, and then raised his head and looked at Zhang Chen with a pair of eyes: "Where did you get this handbook from?"
"This rune came from the same great tomb as you, didn't it?" Zhang Chen asked.
"I have lost many of my previous memories," the Great自在Heavenly Demon said.
Hearing the Great自在Heavenly Demon's words, Zhang Chen pondered, then continued to ask, "What's strange about this rune?"
"Don't try to comprehend it. This rune is simply not something you can comprehend. Even if you really comprehend it, you won't be able to use it," the Great自在Heavenly Demon said.
He changed his mind. This rune must not be learned by Zhang Chen! Absolutely not!
"Why?" Zhang Chen asked in disbelief.
"Because even if you comprehend the key to this rune, you still need a legendary divine object to make it work. Logically speaking, this rune should never appear in written records. How could it appear on paper?" The Great自在Heavenly Demon's eyes were full of shock.
"Don't tell me whether I can use it or not. First, tell me about the origin of this rune," Zhang Chen said, realizing that the rune in front of him was extraordinary, and kept questioning the Great自在Heavenly Demon.
The Great自在Heavenly Demon hesitated upon hearing this, and after a long time, he said, "It's okay to tell you, anyway, you won't be able to find the legendary Yellow Springs. Even if you master the key, it will be difficult to reproduce its divine power."
"Yellow Springs?" Zhang Chen's heart stirred upon hearing this.
He has Yellow Springs!
There is Yellow Springs in the first heaven of his spiritual world.
The Great自在Heavenly Demon nodded: "That's right, to activate the power of this rune array, you need a special divine object: Yellow Springs."
Zhang Chen heard another new word: rune array.
"What is a rune array?" Zhang Chen asked.
The Great自在Heavenly Demon did not hide anything, after all, these are not secrets, it is better to sell favors to Zhang Chen in exchange for trust: "The unique formation formed by combining runes together is called a rune array. The strength of the rune array is determined by the number of runes required. The most powerful rune arrays are composed of three hundred and sixty-five runes. They can kill gods and Buddhas, no matter what kind of expert you are, falling into it is just cannon fodder."
Zhang Chen was moved upon hearing this, and his eyes looked at the unknown runes on the book:
"This is a rune array?"
"In my fragmented memory, this rune is just a fragment of the entire rune array. This rune array is called: Nine曲Yellow River Rune Array. In my memory, whenever I mention this array, my soul can't help but feel a tremor." The Great自在Heavenly Demon's voice was full of solemnity, but then he gloated: "But you only have a fragment of the entire rune array, you only have one rune. This rune is useless even if you learn it, unless you get the complete three hundred and sixty runes."
Hearing the Great自在Heavenly Demon's gloating words, Zhang Chen's eyes looked at the rune book, with a strange look on his face, and he secretly said in his heart: "If I remember correctly, this book records a total of three hundred and sixty-five runes, right? Excluding the invisibility rune, the wind-fixing rune, the water-fixing rune, the hardening rune, and the fire-avoiding rune, there are exactly three hundred and sixty runes left. And the Great自在Heavenly Demon said that the Nine曲Yellow River Rune Array requires three hundred and sixty runes..."
Thinking of this, Zhang Chen's heart couldn't help but beat wildly. He has the complete set of runes for the Nine曲Yellow River Rune Array, and even the Yellow Springs. Heaven is really helping me.
"What are the wonderful uses of this Nine曲Yellow River Rune Array?" Zhang Chen asked calmly.
The Great自在Heavenly Demon's eyes revealed a trace of reminiscence: "It can lose the spirit of immortals, eliminate the soul of immortals, trap the form of immortals, damage the qi of immortals, lose the original form of gods and immortals, and damage the limbs of gods and immortals. Gods and immortals enter this and become mortals, and mortals enter this and die immediately."
Zhang Chen's pupils shrank and his heart shook upon hearing this. He thought of the Nine曲Yellow River Array in the myths and legends of his previous life. The power seems to be the same as the rune array in front of him.
"Boy, listen to my advice, this rune array is not something you can grasp. Your cultivation is too low, and this inheritance is already incomplete. The water of the Yellow Springs is even more legendary, and it is impossible to find it. You should not waste your time, lest you waste your years, and then die when the deadline arrives," the Great自在Heavenly Demon said, looking at Zhang Chen with his eyes, and advised him.
"You would be so kind to advise me?" Zhang Chen picked up the rune book and glanced at the Great自在Heavenly Demon.
"Because you have cultivated magic power. After seeing you, I seem to see an old friend, and a sense of closeness arises in my heart," the Great自在Heavenly Demon said.
Zhang Chen was amused when he heard the Great自在Heavenly Demon talking nonsense there: "According to you, you immediately came to kill me after taking over Xie Lingyun. Is that how you get close to old friends?"
The Great自在Heavenly Demon's smile froze, and there was some annoyance in his eyes: "You kid are too ungrateful. I kindly advised you, but you keep holding on to my past. You are really not a son of man."
After the Great自在Heavenly Demon finished speaking, he walked to the door in annoyance to look at the sun, leaving Zhang Chen sitting in the house to continue studying the runes in his hand.
Half an hour later, another rune was comprehended. At this time, Zhang Chen's golden finger panel changed:
[16 skills (incomplete): Unknown Rune (2/3580000)]
"Sure enough, I comprehended a rune, and I completed one point of the rune array, so the experience value required for upgrading is naturally reduced by one point."
Zhang Chen was relieved to see this. When he comprehends the complete rune array, then the three million six hundred thousand experience points will also be reduced to zero. Then he can successfully upgrade without consuming experience points.
"Rune array, since the Great自在Heavenly Demon values it so much, this Nine曲Yellow River Rune Array must be extraordinary."
Zhang Chen had energy in his heart and continued to work hard on the runes.
The Great自在Heavenly Demon stood at the threshold and turned his head from time to time to look at Zhang Chen, who was studying the runes. Seeing Zhang Chen turning the pages of the book, the corner of his mouth raised a mocking smile: "This kid is just stubborn. He said he would continue to study the Nine曲Yellow River Array, but he is actually going to continue to comprehend other runes?"
Time flies, another seven days.
Xie Lingyun arrived again. In order to prevent the Great自在Heavenly Demon from causing trouble, Zhang Chen directly drove the Great自在Heavenly Demon back into the jar. Amidst the Great自在Heavenly Demon's dissatisfied muttering, he pasted the suppressing rune.
In the jar.
The Great自在Heavenly Demon sat in the darkness, his eyes full of stuffiness: "Damn it, what the hell skills does this kid master? I have been by this kid's side for some days, but I just can't understand his methods. This grandson's methods are born to overcome me. He is my great enemy."
Kill or keep?
Be an enemy or be an ally?
The Great自在Heavenly Demon was extremely entangled in his heart.
Abbot Liu Feng came to Zhang Chen's hut one step ahead of Xie Lingyun and instructed Zhang Chen: "News came from the foot of the mountain today that the noble lady is coming to the mountain to see you. You must seize the opportunity and be sure to find a way to get the noble lady to take you down the mountain."
Zhang Chen did not argue, but obediently said: "Abbot, don't worry, this disciple will definitely try his best to persuade the noble lady."
Liu Feng nodded in satisfaction when he saw this, and then gave some more instructions before turning around and leaving.