Chapter 109: Chapter 109: The Spirit Communication Talisman’s Fusion Time Has Changed

After reading the guide on the panel, a faint smile appeared on Wang Ping’s face. He had been cultivating for nearly sixty years, so focusing his mind was a fundamental skill.

"Let’s try the Water Moon Bell first!" Yu Lian urged.

"There’s no rush. I’ll refine the Spirit Gathering Array first. It’ll be safer to study the Water Moon Bell after that." Wang Ping subconsciously reached out to pat Yu Lian’s head, but she dodged him neatly. Now that she was an adult, Yu Lian didn’t like him patting her head, though she did enjoy nuzzling her head against him.

Yu Lian sensed Wang Ping’s thoughts, let go of his arm, and flew up into the scholar tree to close her eyes and sleep.

Wang Ping picked up the Array and walked over to the front of the scholar tree, sitting down cross-legged. Before refining the Array, he sent a voice transmission to the acolyte guarding the Dao Field, telling him not to let anyone in to disturb him.

After receiving a reply from the acolyte, Wang Ping formed a hand seal and summoned the Spirit Communication Talisman from his Qi Sea, using his divine soul to connect the Talisman to the Array’s core.

The moment the Spirit Communication Talisman bonded with the Array’s core, the Secret Runes connecting the Eight Phase Spiritual Objects began to flicker with an intersecting blue-green light. Wang Ping immediately knew what to do next. He needed to use the Spirit Communication Talisman to open the passageway between the runes and the Spiritual Objects, just as he had cleared his meridians back when he was practicing Qi Cultivation.

This step wasn’t difficult, just very time-consuming. It took Wang Ping a full ten days to complete.

Next, he had to use the Spirit Communication Talisman, via the connected Secret Runes, to completely refine the Spiritual Objects of the Eight Directions. This would form a self-sustaining Grand Circulation within the Array, much like the one inside his own Qi Sea.

This step wasn’t difficult either, but the process was magnificent. A band of intersecting blue and green light formed around Wang Ping’s seated figure, somewhat resembling the halos of the Buddhist Family from folklore. His "halo," however, was centered on his Qi Sea.

Yu Lian, who was playing in the water in the dense forest behind Qianmu Mountain, sensed the change in Wang Ping. She shot out of the water and flew before him, circling the scholar tree twice before landing on an outermost branch to quietly observe him.

「Another half a month passed.」

Wang Ping had finally finished refining the Spiritual Objects.

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the world through his spiritual sense. The dense Spiritual Qi within the Dao Field was being drawn toward the scholar tree by the field’s own Spirit Gathering Array. It was then compressed once more by the array at his side, gathering in a concentrated cloud around his body. This Spiritual Qi had already completed its basic transformation into that of a Wood Spirit even before he absorbed it into his Qi Sea.

This comfortable feeling spurred Wang Ping to action. He formed a hand seal for a Magic Formula and merged with the Spirit Communication Talisman as usual. After one Grand Circulation, he felt a distinct change, and the notes on the light screen before him regarding the Second Realm of the *Taiyan Talisman* had also changed:

[Taiyan Talisman Second Realm: One of the five great Mystic Sect Orthodox Techniques. Cultivates Wood Spirit Qi, one of the Five Major Origin Energies of the Cultivation World. You can use its ancient life-force ability to defy the heavens and alter fate, greatly increasing your lifespan. You can also borrow the luck of heaven and earth, but do not use this frequently, as it will shorten your lifespan.]

...

[Note 5: Get angry less, think more. This way, the Wood Spirits will like you.]

[Note 6: Luck-Borrowing Talisman: Diagram.]

[Note 7: Each time you merge with the Spirit Communication Talisman, summon your Spirit Gathering Array and circulate your True Essence in an area with abundant Spiritual Qi. The fusion time will be slightly reduced. Current time reduction: 5 years.]

’So, this means I can use external forces to speed up the fusion of the Spirit Communication Talisman,’ Wang Ping thought. ’A Wood Spirit’s Spirit Gathering Array is one method... so what if I complete the Nine Extremes Array? Or what if I find a Grotto Heaven Blessed Land where Wood Spirits naturally gather?’

Just as Wang Ping’s imagination was running wild, Yu Lian landed on his shoulder and asked, "Can we look at the Water Moon Bell now?"

She was still thinking about the bell’s wondrous properties.

"We can!"

Wang Ping stood up. He formed a hand seal for a Magic Formula to retract the Spirit Gathering Array, holding it in his hand to observe. In its normal form, it looked like a beaded bracelet. On closer inspection, however, he saw that there was nothing physically connecting the individual "beads"—only a faint cyan light.

After observing it for a while, Wang Ping actually did treat it like a bracelet and slipped it onto his left wrist.

"Put it on your other wrist," Yu Lian protested.

"Alright!"

Wang Ping did as she said, moving the Spirit Gathering Array to his other wrist. He then formed another hand seal, using the Spirit Communication Talisman to activate the Spirit Gathering Array. Instantly, the beads on his wrist began to spin, shining with a blue-green light. They quickly flew to encircle his Qi Sea, forming an intersecting blue-green halo around him. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

After experiencing the wonders of the Spirit Gathering Array for a while longer, Wang Ping finally took out the Water Moon Bell. Shaking it normally produced no sound; it required one to use their divine soul to channel True Essence to activate it. But the first step was still to refine it and let it acclimate to Wang Ping’s divine soul.

"It’s full of spiritual awareness. If we’re going to refine it, we have to do it together," Wang Ping said, looking at Yu Lian.

"Okay, I’m fine with that," Yu Lian agreed.

"By the way, how is the refinement of those two swords coming along?" Wang Ping asked, his gaze shifting to the two golden longswords beside the scholar tree.

"What swords?"

"..."

"I’m just teasing you. I finished refining them a long time ago. Here, I’ll show you if you don’t believe me..." As she spoke, Yu Lian stirred her True Essence. The two golden longswords beside the scholar tree immediately let out a low hum. They then shot into the air as the sounds of scraping metal and sonic booms rang out one after another...

A flash of gold streaked through Wang Ping’s vision. By the time he looked again, the two longswords had already shot high into the sky. He couldn’t help but praise, "They’re even faster than that Gold Cultivator!"

"Of course they are! He just used his Gold Spirit Vein to power them. He didn’t understand how to use the swords’ spiritual awareness at all!" Yu Lian was immensely proud. As she spoke, she recalled the two golden longswords, then looked at Wang Ping with eager eyes.

Wang Ping smiled faintly. Their minds were connected. The next moment, their divine souls and Qi Seas linked together, and they poured their consciousness and True Essence into the Water Moon Bell. Wang Ping felt his divine soul blur for an instant, and then he found that the garden and sky within his sight seemed to have flipped upside down.

’Interesting...’

At this moment, Wang Ping felt his emotions become incredibly full, so full that he felt like a child who wanted to jump around and play games. The scene before his eyes instantly changed, transforming into the rural courtyard from the depths of his memory.

"Where is this?" Yu Lian asked.

"In a world of my own imagination." The rural courtyard before Wang Ping’s eyes was the one from his childhood in his previous life. It had rammed-earth walls, roof tiles covered in moss, and a floor of uneven, packed dirt. The most valuable pieces of furniture were the Eight Immortals Table in the main hall and the winnowing fan in front of the main house.

Like a child, Wang Ping walked forward and turned the handle of the winnowing fan.

"Your thoughts are too active. You need to calm yourself. Otherwise, your state of mind will be unstable even after you break free from this," Yu Lian reminded him sternly.

"Alright!"

Wang Ping was actually unwilling to let go of this feeling. The emotions of childhood were truly comforting, like a return to nature. But he suppressed his reluctance and, under the guidance of Yu Lian’s divine soul, calmed his mind.

The scene from his memory instantly shattered, and everything returned to the Spiritual Qi-rich Mountain Peak Dojo...

Wang Ping let out a breath and began to refine the bell.