Chapter 28: Keen Eyes
"Evil Eye, what material is this parchment made of? It's been sealed for tens of millions of years, yet it can still retain spiritual energy—and you even refined it into the core formation of the ancient tomb." Lu You took out the original parchment and examined it carefully. Having handled countless high-grade talisman papers, Lu You could tell just by touch that the base material of this parchment was even more advanced than top-tier talisman paper.
Evil Eye said, "I've lived this long, and this is the first time I've seen someone throw away a pearl to buy a fish. Boss, you just destroyed the translated copy of the Blood Shadow technique, and now you're here studying the material of the parchment?"
Evil Eye was stunned by Lu You's outrageous move. After a moment, it said sincerely,
"Boss, when it comes to the art of staying low and surviving, I'm no match for you."
Seeing that Lu You was genuinely curious about the parchment, Evil Eye recalled what it knew. "Don't be disgusted when I say this, Master. It's only because I was born in hell and have seen the corpses of countless great powers that I can judge this. If I'm not mistaken, the material of this parchment should be the skin of a great cultivator. And not just any cultivator—a body cultivator who practiced the Jade Toad Swallows the Moon Technique. Their cultivation level must have been at least the Tribulation Transcendence realm."
The material of the parchment was actually the skin of a Tribulation Transcendence realm powerhouse!
After learning the origin of the material, Lu You became even more determined not to learn the technique. The trap was too obvious. It probably involved collecting the bodies of powerful cultivators. If you wanted to learn the cultivation technique, the so-called "senior" behind it might actually be planning resurrection or possession.
But then...
Lu You first put the parchment into the small cauldron, then took out a copy of it.
"I wonder if this can be used as talisman paper?"
Top-grade talisman paper could boost the power of basic talismans by two to three times. If he used the skin of a Tribulation Transcendence realm body cultivator as talisman paper, wouldn't the effect be even stronger than top-grade talisman paper?
Thinking of it, he did it. Lu You took out top-grade spiritual ink and a talisman brush, spread the parchment on the table, and began to draw the Golden Light Talisman stroke by stroke.
Originally, Lu You wanted to test the Thunder Technique Talisman, but with the Verdant Cloud Sect likely on high alert because of the ancient tomb, if the enhanced Thunder Talisman caused too much commotion, it might attract unnecessary attention. The Golden Light Talisman was easier to test.
Evil Eye: Boss, you're actually using the skin of a Tribulation Transcendence realm cultivator to draw talismans?! Heaven above— even if it succeeds, you only get one talisman. What's the point? If you're not planning to learn the cultivation technique, you could wait until you refine artifacts and temper this skin into a magical treasure. The skin of a Tribulation Transcendence realm body cultivator can already block one lightning tribulation! Why turn it into a Golden Light Talisman?!
The eerie pupil of Evil Eye looked like it was about to bleed from heartbreak. Its master was good in every way, except that his cultivation level was too low, too young, and too short-sighted. And now, just like that, he had lost a life-saving treasure.
Lu You ignored Evil Eye's cries in his mind and focused on handling the map and cultivation technique drawn on the skin. Fortunately, the content etched on the skin was merely hard to erase and did not contain any spiritual energy embedded within the cultivation technique or the map. Lu You only needed to cover it with the talisman he was drawing—there was no real impact.
Very soon, a Golden Light Talisman refined from the skin of a Tribulation Transcendence realm body cultivator was successfully completed.
He placed the new Golden Light Talisman into the small cauldron, took a copy out, then went to his courtyard and applied the Golden Light Talisman to the large tree he had always used for experiments.
Taking out a Thunder Technique Talisman, Lu You activated one and struck the Golden Light Talisman with it.
A Thunder Technique Talisman redrawn with top-grade materials was already comparable to an attack from a ninth level Qi Refining realm cultivator. Previously, even a top-grade Golden Light Talisman could only withstand a full-force strike from a seventh level Qi Refining cultivator.
Under normal circumstances, the Thunder Technique Talisman should have easily pierced through the Golden Light Talisman.
But this time, when the purple lightning touched the golden light, it was directly swallowed by the glow. Not only did it fail to break through the Golden Light Talisman's defense, it barely even caused any noticeable consumption of its energy.
"Nice. Improving the quality really does enhance the power of talismans."
Lu You was delighted. To test the upper limit of the Golden Light Talisman, he activated Thunder Technique Talismans one after another. After a barrage of purple lightning, he ended up using dozens of Thunder Technique Talismans before finally exhausting the energy of the new Golden Light Talisman.
As the golden light shattered, the skin used to make the Golden Light Talisman was also completely destroyed due to changes in its spiritual energy structure, turning into drifting ash.
"What a sin!" Evil Eye wailed in Lu You's mind in heartbreak. "The skin of a Tribulation Transcendence realm body cultivator, refined into a first-grade talisman, could withstand the attacks of dozens of ninth level Qi Refining cultivators. Instead of using it to save your life, you actually wasted it like this! Oh, boss, I'm going to cry—I haven't cried in tens of millions of years! What kind of tragedy is this? You didn't just lose a magical treasure, you even lost the talisman itself..."
"Stop whining."
Lu You laughed and scolded, then pulled out a brand-new parchment from his robe.
This time, he spread it on the table and began drawing a Thunder Technique Talisman.
Evil Eye: ?!
At that moment, Evil Eye realized something and no longer dared to make a sound, holding its breath as it watched Lu You draw the talisman.
Offensive talismans were harder to draw than defensive ones. Lu You actually failed on the first attempt. As he watched the parchment be damaged and dissipate, he took out another fresh sheet.
Evil Eye: !!
This time, Lu You succeeded. However, he didn't test it. Instead, he directly placed the new Thunder Technique Talisman into the small cauldron.
"Boss, no wonder you look down on that body-refining cultivation technique... You must be some true immortal reincarnated to cultivate again, right?" Evil Eye's tone was both excited and reverent. It had lived for countless ages and seen the strongest great powers, yet they were still merely cultivators. What Lu You was displaying now was already the bearing of an immortal who could create worlds.
"Boss, to be honest, from the very first time you appeared on the back mountain, I knew you were different, so I tested you a little. Once you entered the ancient tomb, I became even more convinced of your astonishing talent, and I was completely won over by your aura. Now that I think about it, I shouldn't be called Eye of Hell anymore—I should change my name to Eye of Wisdom! Hahaha! Who would've thought that someone hunted down by the cultivation world like me would end up following an immortal!" Evil Eye got completely carried away inside Lu You's mind.
"Quiet. In the future, I will surely guide you to immortality as well."
As a transmigrator, Lu You was very practiced at dangling a grand promise in front of Evil Eye. He then emptied all the high-grade talismans from the small cauldron and remade them using the parchments as materials.
Aside from the Teleportation Talisman, which he still hadn't fully comprehended, Lu You upgraded all the other talismans. He didn't have the chance to test them yet, but judging by the boost to the Golden Light Talisman, Lu You estimated that the Thunder Technique Talisman should now have lethality on par with a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment realm. If he went back to the auction house, a mere few Foundation Establishment cultivators could be blown to death with a casual wave of his hand.
Of course, that was only if Lu You had prepared in advance and could unleash a barrage beforehand. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator launched a sneak attack, with Lu You's current realm, he might not even have time to react.
After tidying up his hut, Lu You enjoyed a comfortable night's rest. At dawn the next day, he prepared to head to Senior Sister Zeng Yan's residence to check on her.
But before Lu You could even step out the door, Senior Sister Zeng Yan pushed open the gate to his courtyard and rushed straight toward him, pulling him into a tight hug.
"Junior brother, thank goodness you didn't go to the ancient tomb. I almost died in there. And thanks to your talismans, I managed to hold on until the end—otherwise, I would've been killed long ago by the demonic beasts and traps inside the tomb."
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