88: Chapter 88 Preparations

Friday night, 10:00 PM, Secret Base.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the Eight-Talisman Chain Array, with three simplified Celestial Star Arrays pasted on the walls and six pots of spiritual plants surrounding him.

But he was not Cultivating; instead, he was staring at the jade plaque in front of him.

The jade plaque given by Yun Xi was milky white, palm-sized, and engraved with complex Talismans on its surface.

In the [Talisman Eye], those Talismans faintly emitted a dark blue light, exactly the same as the aura of the star core fragment.

He picked up the jade plaque and slowly injected his spiritual power into it.

The jade plaque lit up instantly, the light condensing into a single point of light that floated above his palm.

The point of light flickered three times, then dissipated.

[Contact signal sent]

He put down the jade plaque and waited.

Three minutes later, the jade plaque lit up again.

Yun Xi's voice came from the light, very soft, but every word was as clear as if it were right in his ear: "Have you decided?"

Chen Zhen spoke: "I have decided."

"Cooperate?"

"Cooperate."

There was a silence of two seconds.

"Tomorrow night, meet at the old place."

The light dissipated.

Chen Zhen put away the jade plaque and closed his eyes.

The spiritual bead in his Dantian rotated slowly, and Stellar Energy flowed through his body.

Cooperate.

To deal with that out-of-control fragment holder.

A monster that had killed three people.

He opened his eyes and looked at the Talismans on the wall.

More than a hundred Talismans—would that be enough?

He did not know.

But he knew that before tomorrow, he had to make more preparations.

He stood up, walked to the workbench, and took out the stack of blank Talisman paper.

Tonight's goal—two hundred.

All made with Talisman ink mixed with anshen flower powder, all injected with Stellar Energy.

One after another, purple light flickered in the Secret Base.

At 3:00 AM, Chen Zhen stopped his brush.

Two hundred Talismans, all completed.

Adding the previous one hundred, that made three hundred in total.

One hundred Attack Talismans, eighty Defense Talismans, sixty Protective Talismans, thirty Invisibility Talismans, and thirty Thunder Fire Talismans.

He sorted the Talismans, pasting some on the walls of the Secret Base and storing the others in his Storage Space.

Then he walked over to the few pots of spiritual plants.

The six pots of spiritual plants, under the support of the Eight-Talisman Chain Array and the Celestial Star Array, were growing amazingly well.

The four soul-calming grasses had sprouted eight more flower buds.

The Mint had grown three times larger, its leaves dense and thick.

That wild soul-calming grass transplanted back from Dongshan had already bloomed its fourth flower.

[calming flower × 4 (newly bloomed)]

[Mint leaf × 120]

[Second batch expected to be harvested in three days]

He picked those four flowers, ground them into powder, and obtained another ten grams of flower powder.

Enough.

The Materials for drawing Talismans were enough.

He walked back to the center of the array and sat down cross-legged.

Activated [Fragment Perception].

Seventeen points of light.

That middle-aged man at Qi Refining Level 7 to the northeast was still in the same place.

The old man to the due north was still in seclusion.

The Young Woman to the southeast—Yun Xi—was now three hundred kilometers away, motionless.

That chaotic and violent thing to the southwest still made one's heart palpitate.

And there was that small fragment of Shen Mo's, flickering nearby.

He withdrew his perception and took a deep breath.

Soon.

Saturday morning, 6:00 AM, Chen Zhen opened his eyes.

He hadn't slept all night, but he was in high spirits.

The spiritual bead in his Dantian operated automatically, and his Cultivation had increased by another 10 points. Qi Refining Level 4 588/1800.

He stood up and walked out of the Secret Base.

It was already bright outside, and the morning light spilled over the roofs of the city.

He took a deep breath and walked home.

Halfway there, his phone vibrated.

Shen Mo's message: "I saw the scene again last night."

Chen Zhen replied: "What scene?"

Shen Mo replied instantly: "That cave. But this time there were three people inside. An old man, a woman, and another man. They were fighting."

Chen Zhen looked at this message and was silent for a few seconds.

The old man, the woman, and the man.

Shen Mo's grandfather, Yun Xi, and another one—that out-of-control one?

"Anything else?"

Shen Mo: "That man was also holding something glowing in his hand. But his light was red, not blue."

Red.

Abnormal.

Out of control.

"Don't tell anyone."

Shen Mo replied: "Understood."

Chen Zhen put away his phone and quickened his pace.

9:00 AM, Chen Zhen arrived at the Old House.

Pushing the door open, the room was still the same.

The curtains were drawn, the light was dim, and it was piled high with books everywhere.

But those eight Talismans on the wall were still there, emitting a stable, pale purple halo.

He walked to the study and pulled the book notes of past talisman masters》—the one from the Republic of China era—off the bookshelf.

He flipped to the page recording the "Seven-Star Talisman."

It recorded the method, Materials, and time for drawing the Talisman in detail.

He read through it once, then flipped to another notebook—the one from the Qing Dynasty.

This one recorded the "Thunder Fire Talisman," saying it could invoke heavenly thunder to burn away evil spirits.

He read it carefully and memorized it.

Then he stood up and walked to the blackboard.

The Dongshan Rune and Spirit Gathering Talisman he had drawn last time were still on the blackboard.

He picked up the eraser and wiped the blackboard clean.

Then he took out a piece of chalk and began to draw a new Talisman—the Thunder Fire Talisman.

Not the full version, but a simplified version.

Thirty-six strokes, thirty-six lines.

After drawing it, he stared at the blackboard for a few seconds.

In the [Talisman Eye], this simplified Thunder Fire Talisman faintly glowed with red light, completely different from the normal blue light.

Red.

Just like the light of the man Shen Mo described.

He was silent for a few seconds, then took out the Talisman ink and drew a real Thunder Fire Talisman directly on the blackboard.

When the last stroke fell, the whole room shook.

A burst of blinding red light exploded on the blackboard, lasting for five seconds before slowly fading away.

[Thunder Fire Talisman (simplified version)]

[Effect: Invoke heavenly thunder, burn away evil spirits]

[Power: Full-force strike of Qi Refining Level 5]

[Quality: Fine]

Chen Zhen looked at the Talisman and nodded with satisfaction.

Tomorrow night, if that out-of-control one really comes, this thing can be used.

3:00 PM, Chen Zhen left the Old House.

Walking to the entrance of the residential compound, he saw Shen Mo standing there.

Shen Mo was leaning against the wall, holding a bottle of water. Seeing him come out, he handed it to him.

"I saw that scene again."

Chen Zhen took the water and took a sip.

"What?"

Shen Mo lowered his voice: "That man, he is coming this way."

Chen Zhen's heart shook.

"How do you know?"

Shen Mo took the small fragment out of his pocket.

The dark blue light was flashing, but the frequency was very fast, twice as fast as usual.

"It is warning me," Shen Mo said, "Very dangerous, very dangerous."

Chen Zhen stared at the fragment for a few seconds.

Then he patted Shen Mo on the shoulder.

"Don't go out tonight. No matter what happens, don't come out."

Shen Mo looked at him.

"What about you?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer.

He turned and left.

8:00 PM, Secret Base.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the Eight-Talisman Chain Array, with three hundred Talismans pasted on the walls and six pots of spiritual plants surrounding him.

He activated [Fragment Perception].

Seventeen points of light.

That middle-aged man to the northeast was still in the same place.

The old man to the due north was still in seclusion.

The Young Woman to the southeast—Yun Xi—was one hundred kilometers away, moving.

That chaotic and violent thing to the southwest—

Closer.

Three hundred kilometers closer than yesterday.

Now, it was fifteen hundred kilometers away.

At this speed, it would arrive the day after tomorrow.

He withdrew his perception and took a deep breath.

He closed his eyes and began to Cultivate.

The spiritual bead in his Dantian rotated slowly, and Stellar Energy surged into his meridians.

[Cultivation progress: Qi Refining Level 4 608/1800]

It had increased by 20 points since the morning.