Outside the Burial Soul Hall, the cold wind was like a knife.
Ling Tian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and slowly stood up. He looked around and found a raised ice crystal platform to sit cross-legged on.
His gaze fell on the tightly shut hall door, and he mused, "This Qingqiu Legacy probably won't end so quickly."
So, he simply closed his eyes and immersed his Divine Sense into the scroll of the Myriad Talisman Guide.
"Myriad Talisman Guide, Volume Seven, Spirit Refining Talisman Chapter."
Spirit Refining Talisman... these three words made Ling Tian's heart beat a little faster.
"One Moon Soul Grass. It must be calcined after midnight using three parts of Li Fire to refine its leaves—first, a gentle calcination with a slow fire to remove the Yin Evil Qi, until the leaf veins show silver patterns like a galaxy; second, a strong calcination with a fierce fire to force out the Moon Soul, until nine dew drops condense in the grass core; finally, a calcination using a combination of slow and fierce fire to melt the dew into marrow, and the leaves into Talisman paper. Be careful not to lose balance in the heat—too much fire will boil the Moon Soul, too little will solidify the Talisman patterns. You must use Divine Sense as a ruler, controlling the flame like strumming a zither string."
"Mix the grass dew with three drops of vital essence blood to make spiritual ink. When writing, you must draw the power of the Great Void into your wrist, starting from the Talisman heart, to draw the 'Three Revolutions Spirit Refining Pattern.' Each revolution requires a change of Qi; if the Qi breaks, the Talisman is destroyed."
"When the Talisman is complete, the grass will glow and the leaves will be transparent, with Talisman patterns like a silver Dragon swimming within."
"Ignite the Talisman to break through; the Moon Soul within the Talisman will transform into three thousand silver threads, penetrating the Purple Mansion and connecting the Sea of Consciousness, allowing one to form a Nascent Soul and draw upon the Heaven and Earth Law."
Ling Tian took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes.
Recalling the past few months, he had made many ordinary Talismans, but this Spirit Refining Talisman was truly the first Talisman of its kind!
He dared not be careless, so he looked around, set up three layers of barriers, and then inserted nine Formation Flags.
Formation Flags, recorded in the auxiliary chapter of the Myriad Talisman Guide, could forcibly transfer the result to the Formation Flags if Talisman refining failed.
The higher the Rank of the Talisman, the more Formation Flags were needed for the transfer.
And Formation Flags needed to be nurtured by the Talismancer's vital essence blood; nine flags were Ling Tian's current limit... Chou hour (1-3 AM).
The time had come.
Ling Tian took out the Profound Ice Jade Box from his qiankun bag and slowly opened it.
The three-inch Moon Soul Grass twinkled with starlight under the moonlight.
Ling Tian's fingers, holding the jade box, turned slightly white.
The moment the Moon Soul Grass encountered the Qi, the silver patterns on its leaves twisted, and cold Qi condensed into ice cones, stabbing straight towards his glabella!
"Flame Dragon Art!"
Crimson flames surged from his palm, and instantly the grass leaves emitted a piercing shriek like an infant's cry, disturbing his mind.
Ling Tian endured the discomfort, dividing the Flame Dragon Fire into nine strands, coiling them around the leaf veins.
Black smoke drifted like phantoms, and as the slow fire heated it, the leaf veins gradually revealed patterns like a galaxy.
The first step! It was done!
Ling Tian's heart rejoiced, and immediately the slow fire turned fierce.
During the transition, a moment of Divided Soul, and a wisp of flame suddenly thickened!
"Not good!"
Cold sweat broke out on Ling Tian's forehead, and he hastily formed a hand seal to control it.
Moon Soul Grass was extremely sensitive to heat; even a slight deviation would destroy the Moon Soul essence!
"Crack!"
Three Formation Flags snapped in response!
As the fierce fire gradually heated up, dew drops began to condense in the core of the grass.
One... two... three... when nine dew drops had condensed, Ling Tian was already drenched in sweat!
The last step!
Ling Tian formed a hand seal, and the Flame Dragon Fire transformed into twin Dragons, rotating and intertwining.
Under the scorching of the dual slow and fierce Dragons, the dew drops slowly dripped onto the silver leaf.
Now!
Ling Tian formed a hand seal with his right hand, summoned his vital Talisman brush, bit his tongue, and three drops of vital essence blood merged into the brush tip!
As the brush tip absorbed the moon marrow, mixed with the vital essence blood spiritual ink, Ling Tian felt as if he was holding an entire river, incredibly heavy.
As soon as he began drawing the first revolution of the Spirit Refining Pattern, his wrist bones emitted a crisp sound, unable to bear the weight.
"First revolution! Body Refining!"
As the incantation fell, the brush stroke passed, and the Moon Soul Grass leaf emitted a hum like a taut zither string.
"Second revolution! Heart Refining!"
Faint cracks appeared in the lower left corner of the leaf. Ling Tian gritted his teeth, increasing his true Qi output by thirty percent.
"Third revolution! Soul Refining!!"
As Ling Tian was about to engrave the final revolution of the Talisman pattern, ice flowers suddenly condensed on the brush handle.
The uncontrolled moon marrow surged backward along his Meridians, instantly freezing his right arm into an ice pillar!
"Succeed for me!"
Blood seeped from Ling Tian's throat. He forcibly shattered the ice crystals on his arm.
Splintered ice shards cut his cheeks, leaving shocking blood marks!
"Crack! Crack!"
Behind him, five more Formation Flags snapped!
The darkness before dawn was suffocatingly thick.
Ling Tian could no longer distinguish whether the liquid on his face was blood or sweat.
The third revolution of the Talisman pattern was about to close, and above the Burial Soul Hall, thunderclouds rolled!
A purple lightning bolt, as thick as a bowl, struck the edge of the formation platform, and the last Formation Flag collapsed with a roar!
"Just one last stroke!"
He tightly gripped the Talisman brush with his right hand, and with his left hand, he firmly pressed down on his trembling right wrist.
Vital essence blood flowed backward along the brush handle into the Talisman patterns. The moon marrow and vital essence blood melted into liquid silver in the firelight.
The morning light pierced through the clouds.
The Moon Soul Grass leaf swallowed the last wisp of moonlight.
The entire Talisman burst forth with a brilliant light, as if the sun and moon shone together!
The Spirit Refining Talisman was complete!
The Talisman floated in mid-air, its entire body shimmering with silver light condensed from the Moon Soul.
The Talisman leaf, as thin as a cicada's wing, became transparent ice silk, embedded with seven stardust grains, slowly spinning in an enigmatic trajectory.
Ling Tian collapsed onto the charred formation platform, panting heavily.
Fine frost crystals condensed on the edges of the Talisman paper, reflecting a seven-colored halo as Spiritual Qi was inhaled and exhaled.
At the Talisman heart, circles of moonlight ripples pulsed as if alive... After a brief tidying, Ling Tian sat upright again and began to meditate and recuperate.
The newly refined Talisman had optimal efficacy; he could not miss this opportunity to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage!
Two hours passed in a flash.
"Hoo..."
As the last breath of turbid Qi was exhaled, Ling Tian felt his state had returned to Peak.
The Spirit Gathering Formation was set up, and a High-Grade Spirit Stone was embedded in the formation's eye.
Moonlight fell, and the patterns of the Spirit Refining Talisman glowed with white light.
Ling Tian swallowed three meridian-protecting pills and drew a guiding formation diagram on his chest with his vital essence blood.
The Spirit Refining Talisman was placed on his glabella, and the seven stardust grains lit up simultaneously!
Threads of moonlight condensed and pierced into his Purple Mansion, completely enveloping his Golden Core, like a silver cocoon.
"Boom!"
Net-like cracks appeared on the surface of the Golden Core, and the overflowing spiritual power surged like a river.
Ling Tian clearly "saw" a human-shaped Nascent Soul prototype stretching its limbs within the cocoon, its entire body flowing with the silver brilliance of the Moon Soul.
The first few hours were exceptionally smooth.
The efficiency of spiritual power conversion was more than seven times faster than recorded in ancient texts!
However, an unforeseen change occurred!
At the transition of midnight, a foul wind suddenly blew outside the hall.
The trajectory of the stardust on the Spirit Refining Talisman twisted strangely into a vortex.
Ling Tian felt something pulling on the left arm of the Nascent Soul prototype!
Looking closely, it was three wisps of gray, murky Evil Qi!
That was... the Yin Evil Qi that had been forced out of the Moon Soul Grass earlier!
Because the Burial Soul Hall was built in an extremely Yin location, the Yin Evil Qi had not dissipated!
"Mere evil thoughts..."
Ling Tian sneered, about to activate the Flame Dragon Fire.
But he found that the Evil Qi had already contaminated his true Qi circulation through the moonlight threads!
The originally clear Moon Soul was stained with black spots, and black viscous liquid seeped from the cracks on the surface of the Golden Core.
Ling Tian bit his tongue, forcing himself to stay awake.
"Flame Dragon! Burning Body!"
The supreme yang Flame Dragon Fire collided with the Moon Soul, erupting in purple-black thunderfire, burning half of his Meridians to charcoal!
Intense pain struck!
He heard the Golden Core emit a crisp sound like shattering porcelain.
The Evil Qi took the opportunity to transform into chains, tightly binding the Nascent Soul prototype!
"You want to form a Nascent Soul? You are not worthy!"
A black-robed Ling Tian, an illusion created by evil thoughts, emerged from the thunderfire, his fingertips entwined with turbid true Qi.
"You are so weak! You can't protect anyone!"
The black-robed Ling Tian pressed closer, his voice echoing like a curse.
A real stinging pain came from his Dantian.
Ling Tian looked down; the Heart Demon's hand had already plunged into his Purple Mansion, firmly clutching the neck of the Nascent Soul morphology!
The Spirit Refining Talisman vibrated violently, and pale cold flames ignited along the edges of the Talisman paper.
A moment of life and death!
Ling Tian's eyes flashed with determination, and he unhesitatingly unleashed his trump card—the Weapon Devourer assists its master!
He closed his eyes, chanting continuously, and all the Flame Dragon Power in his body surged into the jade dragon sword like a tide!
He fiercely gritted his teeth and plunged the jade dragon sword into his Dantian!
"Jade Dragon, help me!"
In an instant, dazzling white light erupted from the Spirit Refining Talisman, like a bright moon, suspended in the air!
A powerful force surged out, merging with the Flame Dragon Fire on Ling Tian's body.
Azure-gray flames burned fiercely!
It flowed backward along the moonlight threads, pouring into the Purple Mansion!
The evil thoughts originally hidden deep in the Purple Mansion let out a terrified shriek, released their grip on the Nascent Soul, and desperately retreated.
However, the azure fire instantly ignited the hem of its robe, and the flames spread rapidly!
"My Dao, how dare you interfere!"
Amidst a furious roar, within the Purple Mansion, a phantom identical to Ling Tian slowly rose from the raging fire!
The phantom, bare-handed, walked towards the Nascent Soul that was being contaminated by evil thoughts.
Every step made the surrounding space tremble!
He mercilessly stretched out his hands and tore open the layer of black viscous liquid.
"Crack!"
"Crack!"
The already contaminated black outer shell of the Nascent Soul shattered in response!
Innumerable tiny fragments of the Golden Core shot out, shimmering with golden light within the Purple Mansion.
Ling Tian mobilized the remaining true Qi in his body, injecting all the remaining energy from the Spirit Refining Talisman into his spiritual platform!
"Rumble!"
Around the Burial Soul Hall, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi suddenly became violent!
With Ling Tian at the center, a true Qi vortex with a diameter of a hundred meters formed!
The Spirit Refining Talisman turned to ashes in the firelight, and its Talisman patterns were deeply imprinted into the newly formed Nascent Soul!
The morning light pierced through the dark clouds.
The entirely silver-white Nascent Soul slowly opened its eyes.
In its pupils, the trajectory of the stardust, identical to that of the Spirit Refining Talisman, flowed!
"Pfft!"
Ling Tian could no longer suppress it, and he spat out three large mouthfuls of black blood, laughing heartily!
He felt the little Nascent Soul within him autonomously breathing in the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, as if an endless supply of true Qi was being delivered throughout his body.
He slowly raised his hand and lightly swiped his palm.
The ice rock a hundred meters away was instantly cut into a smooth mirror surface by the compressed true Qi!
Transforming spiritual power into a blade!
Nascent Soul Stage, achieved!