Chapter 25
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Chapter 25: Rescuing Lian Luosha
The next day, a figure moved along the winding mountain path.
This figure was not slow; in fact, it moved faster than most fine steeds. Once it left the mountain trail and stepped onto the official road, its speed increased even more.
Li Hui felt quite pleased, patting the rattan saddle beneath him, feeling impressive and mighty.
Beneath him was a massive tiger, specifically a mechanical tiger made of wood. It looked remarkably lifelike, with only its joints made of lighter metal. Normally, it would creak with noise while moving, but thanks to a soundproof talisman, this issue was resolved.
The soundproof talisman was Li Hui’s first successful talisman creation. Although it used Blood Ink and a fine talisman brush, he still had to use over a dozen ordinary talisman papers to achieve success.
Fortunately, his success rate improved thereafter, averaging one successful talisman for every eight papers used. Even though all he created was a single pattern, Li Hui was thrilled; he could now manipulate spiritual energy to a limited extent, something he had desperately desired for the past four years. The low success rate simply indicated he did not possess a natural talent for talisman-making.
Yesterday, upon learning that Sun Zhengyang had a passion for mechanical art in his later years but had been unable to solve the noise issue, Li Hui had used all of his ordinary talisman papers in one go to create a hundred soundproof talismans as gifts. He also diligently copied two miscellaneous books on mechanical art, making Old Sun overjoyed upon seeing them.
As the mechanical tiger galloped along, the surrounding wilderness grew increasingly desolate, with scattered bones appearing from time to time. The sun blasted its heat forcefully, turning the lakes into small puddles.
The mud at the lakebed had dried and cracked, with edges curling upwards. The ground looked just as terrifying, devoid of any green, provoking a deep-seated anxiety within him.
The more ground Li Hui covered, the more he appreciated the hardships faced by Shanghe Village. Thankfully, not all of the Daling Dynasty was like this. Otherwise, the common people would truly have no hope left.
While traveling, Li Hui studied the Dragon Claw pattern, occasionally practicing the Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique. He noticed that whenever he circulated his spiritual energy, his arms would respond, creating a force with his hands.
As he attempted the technique multiple times, he gradually understood why it was not called the Penetrating Cloud Dragon Claw Technique but rather the Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique.
The character "brush" relates to the wind, allowing him to harness the strength of the wind to increase the power of the Dragon Claw Technique. Furthermore, the "cloud" in "Cloud-Brush" suggests an ethereal quality, making the technique difficult to counter.
After practicing the Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique, Li Hui moved on to throwing concealed weapons.
The golden money darts were his most familiar method, and testing revealed that his hands’ strength had increased at least fivefold. Once he launched the golden money darts, they zipped through the air, becoming a faint line, making them nearly impossible to dodge within twenty zhang.
The enhancement from the Dragon Claw pattern primarily affected his arms, yet being a part of the upper tier of Spirit Motion marks benefited his physical constitution significantly, giving him strength comparable to a three-inch Dragon Scale pattern, roughly equivalent to an ordinary cultivator with four activated Spirit Motion marks. This is the precious aspect of elite Spirit Motion marks; they allow one to leap through levels from the very beginning. Once he activates nine patterns and enters the Concentrating Spirit stage, the true strength of the upper tier Spirit Motion marks will become apparent!
Li Hui planned to avoid revealing the Dragon Claw pattern before entering the Concentrating Spirit stage. If he stood out too much, it might attract undue attention from the Jade Symbol Sect, which would be disastrous; he might not even last three years.
The sun finally shifted, no longer flaunting its heat overhead, but the weather didn’t feel any cooler. Li Hui pulled out a map, realizing that, given the speed of the mechanical tiger, he wouldn’t make it to the next town for lodging today.
At that moment, as he recognized the monotonous scenery changing, he saw a person lying on the official road, a figure he found very familiar. It was none other than Senior Sister Lian Luosha.
Li Hui quickly scanned the surroundings, not sensing any enemies, and thought, "This is the road to Baisha; it makes sense for Senior Sister to be injured and faint on the way."
After a brief moment of contemplation, he dismounted the mechanical tiger and cautiously approached her. The secular world was perilous, let alone the cultivation world; being extra cautious is never a mistake. Factors like lifespan are beyond control, but if he inadvertently got himself in trouble, who would he turn to for justice?
As he got closer to Lian Luosha, the area remained quiet, and he encountered no danger.
Not wanting to linger, Li Hui used his arms to lift Lian Luosha, feeling her form was soft and delicate, and he secretly thought, "No wonder she practices charm skills; she’s enchanting to the core. Just holding her makes my heart race. Thankfully, my willpower is strong; even if you naturally enchant me, I’ll just treat it as… such a pleasant feeling!"
After a moment, Li Hui settled Lian Luosha on the rattan saddle of the mechanical tiger and kicked the mechanism under the saddle. Before the mechanical tiger even began to move, he sensed an ill wind approaching from behind.
"Not good!" Li Hui reacted instinctively, his fingers bending at odd angles to unleash three faint lines backward.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
After three loud sounds, Li Hui slightly turned his upper body, catching the sight of something reflective from the corner of his eye.
It was a white eagle that refracted special colors with its feathers. Each time it fluttered its wings, its body flickered in and out of view as if it might vanish at any moment.
Li Hui reacted with lightning speed, not caring how unusual this white eagle was; it was still a living creature. Using Zheng Tianxiang’s poison talisman, he blasted it with a dull green talisman light.
With a loud cry, the white eagle squawked, its lower body turning green, causing it to flap its wings in panic to gain altitude. Yet the poison light unleashed by the talisman was exceptionally fierce, relentlessly seeping into the white eagle’s body.
Li Hui noticed this time, using the talisman felt completely different than before. While forming the hand seals, he instinctively channeled a small amount of spiritual energy, and when his gaze locked onto the enemy, it felt as though he placed a sort of seal, not shooting the talisman like an arrow but stamping it down like a seal.
This sensation was quite wonderful; he wondered if other cultivators felt something similar while using talismans.
Although it seemed like a lengthy time, it actually only took a few breaths. The mechanical tiger had already activated, taking large strides forward.
Before long, two figures flew across the northern sky. From a distance, they were already shouting angrily, "Little thief, how dare you harm my Yun’er? Prepare to die!"
As they approached, two beams of cold light shot toward the ground.
"Go faster!" Li Hui kicked the mechanical tiger’s belly with his heel, causing black smoke to rise beneath its paws. Almost immediately, flames erupted from the rear, accelerating its speed. Even the soundproof talismans could not muffle the noise it generated, as it thundered away, barely slower than the incoming beams of cold light.
"Eh?" Li Hui’s eyes brightened when he spotted an opportunity.
The two beams of cold light resembled crane beaks, appearing exquisitely sharp, and could clearly launch from such a distance, indicating they must be formidable weapons.
"Closer! If I don’t take advantage of this opportunity, I’m a fool. Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique, grab!" Li Hui raised his right hand toward the crane beak.
The two pursuers sneered, but to their astonishment, there were two loud boom sounds, and the crane beak not only got seized by the little thief but shattered in his bare hands, leaving them dumbfounded and forgetting to pursue.
