Chapter 274

Chapter 274: Personal Artifact

Two sections of the Green Emperor Yuanhong Vine had just separated from the Mysterious Pearl when a surge of azure energy shot upwards, forming a canopy. The ground was woven with intricate patterns, resembling miniature rivers flowing endlessly, and the spiritual energy produced strange fluctuations.

Li Hui was very pleased, carefully examining the vine in his hand.

“Thus, this can bear a massive flow of spiritual and elemental energy, equivalent to two sets of external meridians. As long as there is enough spiritual energy, I can use spiritual pressure to create whirlpools, similar to acupoints.”

“Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!”

“It’s incredible! No wonder the texts say the Green Emperor Yuanhong Vine is the best carrier for artifacts. Once integrated with one’s own vitality, even a tiny fragment the size of a fingernail can gradually recover.”

“Let me think about how to arrange this!” Li Hui, brimming with youthful talent, began to contemplate. Every time he thought of a design, he immediately rejected it.

“No, this talisman formation is too complicated to control. Too many changes would hinder amplification; I should focus on wood-based spiritual talismans. Hmm, simplifying the wood-based talismans might be more effective!”

After much thought, Li Hui slapped his forehead, determined: “Let’s go with this! Why complicate things? I’ll use just the Wood Jiao Talisman and the Green Scale Talisman. As long as I can perform the hand seals quickly enough, I can continually increase their power while easily restoring their talisman strength.”

Setting his target, he began preparing the blood merging talisman and the Exotic Blood Talisman.

At other times, merging with a Personal Artifact would be extremely difficult and come at a considerable cost. However, this time was different; with the overwhelming power of the silver snake bracelet amplifying each talisman, they could exhibit unimaginable effects, allowing for many things that would have otherwise been impossible. After all, why would Li Hui dare to take the risk to steal the Grand Xuan national treasure?

“Command!”

With just a few blood merging and Exotic Blood Talismans, the Green Emperor Yuanhong Vine began to writhe. Li Hui positioned them near the acupuncture points along his spine and used the Golden Sword Talisman to open two blood ports.

The Green Emperor Yuanhong Vine was drawn in, probing the blood ports to take root. Thanks to the blood merging talisman catalyzing the process, this integration was not slow as it intertwined with the meridians.

Spiritual energy surged within him, like finding two outlets, rushing toward the two vines. Li Hui sat cross-legged, activating the spirit marks to transform the spiritual energy.

With the treasure cabinet backing him, he could transform as much spiritual energy as he desired!

After about a quarter of an hour, Li Hui opened his eyes and muttered, “Even if I increase the flow of time, expanding the number of spiritual pressure whirlpools cannot be done in a single morning or evening. I just need to dedicate a little mind to this task; now I’ll begin drawing the Wood Jiao Talisman and Green Scale Talisman. There are actually many differences between the same type of talismans, depending on the talisman paper and mediums used, so those differences must be considered.”

As the winds swirled, the talismans became Nine Patterns Three Exotics.

Creating treasure talismans required great focus; Li Hui couldn’t afford to waste time. However, drawing spiritual talismans was different; he could produce them in batches with a simple wave of his hand. As long as the talisman paper and ink were sufficient, given the current state of the silver snake bracelet, the success rate was nearly one hundred percent, and a thread of the extraordinary was birthed.

As he flipped through the spiritual talismans, he noticed that the nine lines on the back of the talismans began to thicken, changing colors. The back of the Wood Jiao Talisman resembled rampaging Jiao dragons, with heads sporting horns, wings sprouting from their ribs, or eyes wide open, exuding majesty, resonating with thousands of dragons!

The back of the Green Scale Talisman featured leaf vein and annual ring patterns. After the three exotics, the leaf vein patterns crackled like thunder, embodying an indescribable ferocity. The annual ring patterns crisscrossed, morphing into trunks resembling elephant tusks.

Li Hui furiously exhausted the accumulated supplies of talisman paper and ink in his possession, occasionally tossing in electrifying wood, high cliff cypress, golden fire vine, and other materials to create wood powder and sawdust, resulting in talismans with multiple attributes due to the different mediums used.

Huo Qiniang received the order to clear out all local inventories.

Even so, it still felt insufficient. In the end, they prepared three hundred thirty-three thousand Wood Jiao Talismans and three hundred thousand Green Scale Talismans, exhausting all the stockpiles of blank talisman paper within the Thousand Islands.

This was pure investment with no returns. All the spiritual shells previously scavenged from the disciples of various sects had been spent, leaving nearly half of the Five-Color Fortune Coins scraped from the fat and skinny monks gone as well.

Seizing the remaining power of the silver snake bracelet, Li Hui began cultivating his Ideal Body. After merging the Celestial Meteor God Iron, he cautiously tried to integrate it with Qian Yuan Black Gold.

He had to be careful; every attempt caused immense heat, and a moment’s inattention could burn through his meridians. Fortunately, the treasure cabinet provided a solid foundation, helping him overcome numerous obstacles. He fused the blood merging talisman and the Fire Body Talisman together for further opportunities of success.

It was just an opportunity and not a guaranteed success!

This step was too challenging. Li Hui furrowed his brow as metallic clanking sounds echoed behind him, slowly revealing a crimson Ideal Body.

However, the Ideal Body was unstable, collapsing with a thunderous sound.

“Another failure! That’s the fifteenth time! I wanted to advance to the Gathering Spirit stage simultaneously, but I didn’t expect to exhaust so much potential. For now, I’ll settle for less and focus on refining this Ideal Body first.”

After a stick of incense’s time, the crimson Ideal Body reemerged.

This Ideal Body stood about ten feet tall, shrouded in mist, with a scale claw barely visible. Unfortunately, the dragon’s form could not fully emerge.

Li Hui activated his profound skills, using the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays to push his spiritual energy, exhausting all his potential to form the Ideal Body. Suddenly, he noticed the Green Emperor Yuanhong Vine stirring behind him.

“Ah? So that’s why I’ve failed fifteen times! You two little brats have been meddling, consuming potential and hastening the merging process. It seems you can now accept the adjustments from the treasure cabinet! But even without you two, this hurdle is no easy feat!”

“Boom, boom, boom…”

With each sound, the crimson Ideal Body vibrated constantly, beginning to transform into a golden Ideal Body. The surge of spiritual energy consumption was indescribable, especially the electromagnetic gold fire-related energies, which felt like encountering an all-consuming maw. If it weren’t for the current generous resources, he would definitely be pained to see it wasted at a different time.

The absorption range of the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays was returning to normal!

Li Hui felt somewhat downcast. After exhausting all his potential, the golden Ideal Body finally stabilized, but his cultivation still remained at the Spirit Motion stage.

Just as sorrow washed over him, a huge draw manifested behind him. The Green Emperor Yuanhong Vine sensed the presence of the treasure cabinet and displayed extreme thirst for wood spiritual energy.

Yao’er shouted, “Father! The Mysterious Pearl and Mysterious Water Pearl need corresponding spiritual energies for cultivation, especially that wind and cloud attribute demon embryo, which has a particularly high demand for spiritual energy.”

“Ha! Well done, you’re clever, worried I’d give all the energy to my Personal Artifact,” Li Hui chuckled, gesturing to disperse thirty-six thousand purple crystals from his brow.

Originally six thousand four hundred, it now reached thirty-six thousand. He wondered just how large the Enamel Dragon Crystals could ultimately split.

The two Ice Butterflies, Ao Chongguang, Ao Chonglin, the embroidered ball, Guang Jin, and the demon embryo from the Refining Demon Pot each occupied a Mysterious Water Pearl, while Yao’er dominated twenty-seven, synthesizing a Mysterious Pearl with the most input.

The Mysterious Water Pearl has a unique trait: once its properties are set, it can absorb matching spiritual materials and naturally absorb spiritual energy.

Soon, spiritual energy whirlpools formed around these Mysterious Water Pearls. Li Hui focused on the two vines behind him, feeling the Personal Artifact begin to open its acupoints. With such a dramatic drain, it was overcoming several bottlenecks and taking shape.