The spirit stone mentioned by Xu Lingxin was hardly indistinguishable from other stones from its physical characteristics. Although the stone held in An Fei’s hand was made of jade, the temple maiden had witnessed numerous types of spirit stones, in various forms and sizes amongst each other.
Spirit stones, in essence, were simple objects inundated with a sufficient amount of spiritual qi. The object could be a river stone, a wooden branch or scrap of loose paper, or even… the dead remains of a cultivator – the last of which mortal cultivators did not need to know.
When Xu Lingxin focused her gaze onto the smooth chunk of nephrite jade clenched in the young girl’s hand, the main question revolving around the depths of her heart was not the origins of a spirit stone with such luxurious appearance, but rather how a mortal girl had obtained it… questions of her origin.
“Little Sister, this spirit stone…” Xu Lingxin muttered in thought and narrowed her eyes.
“It’s only the size of your palm, but it contains such a horrifying density of spiritual qi…”
When she stared at the dull green surface, the temple maiden felt a reflexive prick in the back of her eyes. Should she extend her perception, it wasn’t improbable to assume that the spiritual qi locked inside the stone would assume the form of a terrible being capable of wreaking much havoc onto her soul.
From the sheer density of spiritual qi that not even she, an adept of the Spirit Building Realm of cultivation, couldn’t handle, it wasn’t impossible for a mortal girl to create a talisman of high quality…
But where did she obtain such knowledge and technique?
“Elder Sister, are you alright?”
An Fei gently fluttered her fingers before the stunned temple maiden, and released a sigh when she received no response. The young girl slipped the stone back into the pocket in her dress, and strove to clean up the scattered papers and decorations that previously lay on the desk’s surface.
As for the accessories and decorations that were wasted and disintegrated from the gust of wind…
“Ah… would they send a request for reimbursement?”
She didn’t understand the intricacies of the concepts of talismans and arrays, much less how they actually functioned. Since she could only follow Xilong’s instructions to the letter when she had drawn the ‘feng’ talisman, she was rendered an observer when it came to the subsequent effects rendered by the scrap of paper slathered in ink.
“I understand that <Calligraphy> triggers its miracles when the recipient comprehends the inscribed meaning and subconsciously triggers the phenomenon by their spiritual essence, but talismans can’t work of the same fashion since they can operate without such conditions,” An Fei grumbled to the silent dragon.
“Then is it the world? The world is an observer, but observers cannot interact by nature. Then what – myself?”
“What’s wrong with that concept?” Xilong blinked its eyes with confusion.
“Provide spiritual essence to the talisman, and envisioning the conceptual phenomenon within your perception. Envision into reality – is it not a simple concept?”
“The concept is simple, and I understand that point. Then what about these spirit stones? The role of providing spiritual essence is deferred to the spirit stone, so who envisions the phenomenon manifested? A stone?”
“You would, ah!” the heavenly dragon rolled its eyes in defeat.
“The spirit stone provides spiritual essence or spiritual qi, and your body serves as the conduit transferring it to the talisman. Naturally, the authority of envisioning phenomena is deferred to you; if it were a direct connection to the spirit stone, would it not be an array rather than a talisman?”
An Fei pursed her lips in disagreement, and scratched out a failed inscription with her brush. The young girl leaned against the back of her chair and gazed towards the plainly decorated ceiling with a bored expression.
“The books in the Archive of Time mentioned that talismans are formed entirely of a mortal cultivator’s impulse and prerogative,” she recited in a soft voice.
“The role of providing spiritual essence, directing the will of the projected manifestation – all fall onto the cultivator, regardless of whether there is a spirit stone present. But how come there isn’t a concept of these… arrays that you mention?”
The heavenly dragon coiled its body and rested against the drawing table, and leered lazily towards the young girl. Xilong released sigh after sigh of exasperation, and couldn’t help but roll its eyes to the cold skies above.
“Talismans are created, facilitated, and operated by the cultivator’s will alone. Arrays are independent creations that rely entirely on materials derived from nature, and are operated without the influence of the cultivator. It is a mortal concept!”
An Fei quickly opened her mouth to retort, but ultimately fell silent after a brief second of thought. The young girl sank into her chair and spread her arms to her sides, allowing a prolonged sigh to escape her lungs.
“Array or talisman, neither method will work, correct?”
“Of course not. Talismans will quickly drain whatever meagre reserve of spiritual essence the mortal world allows you to possess, and arrays would lose most of their effects from the world’s suppression,” Xilong assented with a dull gleam restrained within its eyes.
“A single ‘feng’ talisman consumes enough spiritual essence to crumble away a third of your reserves, and provides less than five seconds of protection against the night rain if and only if you were to completely control the direction of the wind. The parasol can help block most of the rain, but what are you going to do when it floods – construct a boat? This idea is completely pointless and dangerous from the start – don’t try to fight a mortal world on your own, not when you are a mortal!”
The young girl’s eyes closed shut with irritation and frustration, but contained a final glimmer of hope. An Fei quickly retrieved the smooth jade stone from within the pocket of her dress, and held it before her chest.
“What if I used spirit stones to provide the spiritual essence? This… array – as you call it – might not be effective, but surely it should be sufficient for a night? Didn’t you say that the Sanctum possesses as many spirit stones as I desire?”
The young girl’s mood was alight after the heavenly dragon released a sound of assent, although she felt perplexed as she detected a faint undertone of hesitation. Then, perplexed morphed into horror and despair as Xilong raised her hopes high towards the heavens, and allowed it to drop.
“The idea is certainly feasible, but I don’t know how to make it work. Not even a single clue!”
Duang!
An Fei’s head instantly crashed onto the drawing table, and her eyes scrunched from the dull pain. And yet, physical pain couldn’t stop the hammering words of the heavenly dragon who began preaching his innocence.
“Xiao Fei, I am the Envoy of Death, not the Envoy of Talismans, Craftsmanship, or Arrays!”
“This isn’t my field of expertise. I can only provide a layman’s perspective, and nothing more!”
“I can kill whichever mortal stands in your path, but surely I can’t bring death to a raindrop, can I? I’m only a heavenly dragon!”
That was to say, everything you said, conjectured, and asserted with such confidence and pride were all assumptions!?
Everything from the start!?!?
The young girl’s eyes rolled to the back of her head as the words smashed into her heart, and the thin fingers tightly latched onto the wooden brush and caused the fine hairs to distort. An Fei clamped down onto her throat, but couldn’t suppress the frustrated wail.
“Ah!! You useless, useless thing!”
“Little Sister, are you alright!?”
Xu Lingxin raced forwards to comfort the fuming young girl, her beautiful countenance displaying an expression of concern. The temple maiden’s brows furrowed when she observed the numerous crumpled pieces of paper with various slashes and marring inscriptions of ink.
“Little Sister, take a deep breath, and calm yourself down!” she splayed her fingers across An Fei’s back, stroking up and down in soothing, circular patterns.
The inscriptions of violet ink appeared particularly menacing to her eyes – especially when the rivulets of still-wet ink dripped down the crumpled ridges of the paper to form a sinister pool at the lowermost crevice…
This young little girl… couldn’t be suffering from mental corruption after exposing herself to highly concentrated spiritual qi?
For her to accomplish a feat cultivators dared not attempt without sufficient mental preparation and delicate care, there had to be subsequent damage to her mind…
Having noticed that the young girl didn’t seem to be cursing in her mind anymore, Xu Lingxin shifted the movement of her fingers into a more subdued, relaxing pattern focusing along the former’s delicate spine. The temple maiden gently leaned in and coaxed the young girl with a soft voice.
“It won’t rain for a few more hours,” she whispered.
“There is a rather decadent pastry shop nearby. Little Sister, let’s go buy some and take a break outside, alright?”
The young girl abruptly paused her intermittent shivering, and craned her body around to stare directly into Xu Lingxin’s eyes. At the same time, her words threw the temple maiden’s heart into an awkward twist.
“These pastries, how much do they cost? Elder Sister, will you treat?”
