Chapter 23: Bewildering Incense and Awakening Incense

  So-called spiritual artifacts are essentially a type of magical artifact. The difference is that ordinary magical artifacts are generally driven by the practitioner's magic, while the source of the spiritual artifact's power mainly comes from the spirit stone inlaid within it.

  Ling stone contains the primordial energy of heaven and earth, can provide spiritual power for spiritual instruments, and make spiritual instruments exert extraordinary power.

  However, the manufacturing technique of spiritual instruments is much more complicated than that of magic instruments of the same rank, and the refining cost is also several times higher, so the price is also high. More importantly, each use of a spiritual instrument consumes spirit stones, making the usage cost equally expensive.

  As a result, after a long time, the spiritual instruments were gradually eliminated by the law instruments. The law instruments of the Xianjie could be seen everywhere, and there were many different types of law instruments in the Pingnan Valley market, but the spiritual instruments were rarely seen.

  Li Muran judged: "This thing is inlaid with three spiritual stones, it should be a spiritual instrument. And from its shape, it's probably one of the arrow crossbow-like hidden weapons mentioned in 'The Thieving Scripture'."

  The arrow-throwing type of hidden weapon is a stealthy device that thieves and bandits hide on their arms, legs or sleeves in inconspicuous places. For example, this wrist guard-like hidden crossbow can be worn on the arm, and while bowing to other cultivators, it can suddenly shoot out several sharp arrows, taking lives silently!

  "Dark Moon!" Li Muran saw that the inside of the "bracelet" was engraved with the words "Dark Moon", this spiritual device, is probably called "Dark Moon Crossbow".

  "This Dark Moon Crossbow has three spirit stones and three arrow slots, allowing it to fire up to three sharp arrows at once. But why isn't there a set of matching arrows in the jade box?"

  Li Muran couldn't help but feel puzzled - there was only this dark moon crossbow, but no arrows; what use was that?

  Similarly, the jade pendant is also half a piece and has no effect at all.

  The two treasures left by Xiao Shusheng seem to have a remarkable origin, but they are both incomplete and useless to Li Muran.

  Li Muran let out a wry smile and put the jade pendant and Dark Moon Crossbow into his storage bag, then buried the iron box with the jade box back in its original place.

  After doing all this, when he returned to the library, it was already midnight. Li Muran wiped away the marks on the iron shovel and then went to sleep.

  On the second day in the morning, the library received an unexpected guest.

  "Master Mo wants to take over the Book Pavilion?" Li Muran said in surprise, his eyes sizing up the newcomer.

  The other party was a young man in his twenties, about the same age as Xiao Shusheng, who claimed to be Xiao Shusheng's senior fellow apprentice, with the surname Mo.

  This is Mo Shixiong, who left the sect with Xiao Shusheng but returned alone and injured more than a month later. At this time, his face was as white as paper, without any blood color, and the aura emitted from his body was also chaotic, all of which showed that he was still seriously injured.

  A young man with the surname Mo said, "That's right. Before he died, my younger martial brother Xiao specifically instructed me to take good care of the Cangshu Pavilion; my younger martial brother Xiao and I are like brothers, his last wish, Mo will definitely do his best to fulfill."

  "Did Master Xiao really meet with disaster?" Li Muran asked gloomily, his last shred of hope also shattered.

  "Alas!" The young man with the surname Mo sighed, nodding his head: "At that time, we two encountered a ferocious demon beast...... As for the specific details, Mo certain person is unwilling to mention again!"

  Li Muran saw the other's painful expression and hesitated for a moment before stopping his questioning.

  Li Muran said, "However, Master Mo is still severely injured. Why not wait until his injuries have healed before coming to take care of the library? I am willing to stay in the library for a while longer and hand it over to Master Mo after he has recovered."

  The young man with the surname Mo shook his head and said, "Since Mo has promised Xiao Shidi, he must do his best to fulfill it. Besides, helping out at the Cangshu Pavilion is a minor task and won't delay Mo's recovery from injury."

  "This... " Li Muran was worried that there were still a few dozen books in the library that he hadn't finished reading, so he didn't immediately agree.

  "This matter, I'm afraid Brother Zhao cannot oppose!" The young man with the surname Mo frowned and said: "Someone surnamed Mo has already reported this matter to the elder brother in charge of the affairs office, and this is his appointment order based on the rules of the sect. From today on, the Cangshu Pavilion will be taken over by someone surnamed Mo!"

  As he spoke, the young man with the surname Mo took out a paper order from his bosom, and the words on it were indeed what he had just said.

  "Also, please cooperate with us, Zhao!" The young man with the surname Mo added coldly.

  "Of course!" Li Muran smiled slightly: "I just advised Master Mo to rest more. Since Master Mo is determined, I will immediately hand over the relevant matters of the Cangshu Pavilion to him."

  Then, Li Muran handed over the town's guardian bookcase, and briefly explained some rules for hitting the bookcase. However, the young man with the surname Mo looked somewhat impatient, only listened to a few sentences, and said that he was very clear.

  "By the way, Zhao Shidi, which of these things are Xiao Shidi's personal belongings? No other meaning, Mo certain person just wants to see the object and think of the person, just a memento." The young man with the surname Mo suddenly asked.

  Li Muran replied: "A cultivator's sleeves are as clean as the wind, those miscellaneous items like bowls and bedding were all left behind by Xiao Shixiong, apart from that, there's nothing else."

  "What books does Xiao Shidi usually like to read? Does Zhao Shidi know?" asked the young man with the surname Mo.

  Li Muran looked at the other person deeply and said, "Shao Shixiong is a book lover. The books in this library, he has almost read every single one of them. I don't know which ones he likes the most."

  "Oh, I see." The young man with the surname Mo seemed somewhat disappointed and said to Li Muran: "There's nothing else, Zhao can leave now."

  "Yes. Farewell, Master Mo!" Li Muran bowed and left the library.

  After leaving the Cangshu Pavilion, Li Muran had more free time. Every day during the daytime, he had enough time to cultivate. He would refine two Yuan Gathering Pills every day and then use the yuanqi in his body to impact the key points of various meridians.

  It wasn't long before the Gathering Origin Pills were all used up, and those talismans had all been made into Flame Burst Talismans and Origin Energy Talismans. For his future cultivation, Li Muran had no choice but to make a trip to the market town.

  Although the scene of being ambushed by Qing Yuansu more than a month ago is still vivid in his mind, Li Muran has become a different person from what he was more than a month ago. His vision, experience, cultivation and methods have all made great progress compared to more than a month ago.

  If he were to encounter another Qingyuanzi, even in broad daylight, Li Muran would still have the confidence to escape safely, and could even counterattack.

  Juyuan Dan is one of the most common dan pills, many shops in the market sell it, and some disciples of Dan Xin Zong also set up stalls to sell this thing, the price is almost the same.

  Li Muran purchased three to five unevenly-sized聚元丹 at different shops and stalls, totaling over thirty.

  Someone like Li Muran, a beginner in the Qi Refining stage, is among the most inconspicuous in the market. Occasionally buying a few Gathering Yuan Pills wouldn't attract attention; of course, if he didn't know how to make scattered purchases and instead spent lavishly, buying dozens at once, it would definitely cause a stir and draw the attention of many "concerned individuals".

  It is mentioned in "Theft Scripture" that thieves often hide in the city, looking for targets. Those who are alone, have ordinary cultivation, but have a certain family background, are the objects of theft that thieves like to "hunt and kill". He, who is familiar with "Theft Scripture", will not make this fatal mistake.

  Li Muran also sold dozens of one-star yuanqi symbols, which were also scattered for sale. However, he didn't sell all the yuanqi symbols and kept some for himself. His Vajra symbol was used several times, consuming some yuanqi, and needed to be replenished with yuanqi symbols in order to continue using it.

  It was still early, so Li Muran strolled around the market for a while. When he passed by a store run by Buddhist disciples, he suddenly caught a whiff of faint sandalwood incense, and his mind cleared up instantly, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

  "What is this?" Li Muran walked into the store and curiously asked the shopkeeper.

  The person in charge was an old monk in his forties or fifties, whose cassock seemed to be made of golden silk threads, looking quite luxurious and wealthy, but also somewhat vulgar.

  The shopkeeper smiled all over his face: "Hehe, little donor, this is a refreshing incense. It's a kind of spiritual incense that the disciples of my Da Ming Temple often use to refresh their minds and wake up their brains, made with many precious materials. Little brother, do you want to buy some to try?"

  Li Muran nodded and said, "Wake-up incense is that kind of spiritual incense that smells refreshing and invigorating, but after it's burned out, it makes people feel extremely tired. Its effect isn't very big."

  The shopkeeper was taken aback and said: "So young master knows this scent! I didn't expect that at such a young age, you would have such profound knowledge."

  Li Muran smiled slightly and changed the subject: "Excuse me, shopkeeper, do you have any Mind-Confusing Incense for sale?"

  "What's 'Mystic Fragrance'?" The shopkeeper was taken aback again and couldn't help but size up Li Muran from head to toe several times.

  Li Muran said with a smile: "Don't misunderstand, I'm not using it for any evil purposes. The Anesthesia Incense can indeed make people fall into a deep sleep, but once the incense is burned out, they will wake up naturally and feel refreshed, as if they had a good sleep. To be honest, I've been having trouble sleeping lately, so I wanted to try this Anesthesia Incense. Besides, its effect is a gradual influence on one's mind, if it were used to harm someone, the other party would likely discover it before falling asleep, which wouldn't work."

  "I see! The young donor indeed has a good understanding of incense." The shopkeeper couldn't help but look at Li Muran with a few more points of admiration.

  These studies were all seen by Li Muran in the classics, although they are common methods used by Buddhist monks, but also useful to him.

  The shopkeeper bent down and took out a jade box from a certain cabinet, saying: "We also have the Enchanting God Incense here, one bundle of twelve sticks, ten spirit stones per bundle. How many bundles does Young Master want to buy?"

  The shopkeeper thought Li Muran was an insider and didn't quote a high price.

  "In that case, I can only afford two bundles, so I'll just buy two." Li Muran took out the spirit stones and carefully put the Mystic Incense handed over by the shopkeeper into his storage bag.

  Li Muran thought to himself, "With this Mystic Fragrance, every night I only need to rest for half a time period and I can get as much rest as if I had slept for four or five time periods. This will give me more time to cultivate and make talismans."

  Moreover, the classics also say that frequent use of Mind-Calming Incense can gradually enhance a cultivator's mental strength. Enhanced mental strength is extremely important for cultivators in the Spirit Travel period; laying a good foundation now will make things much easier later on.

  "Finding Immortals" latest chapter is released by Yunqi Book House, the fastest and most popular online release site! (This site provides: traditional pagination, waterfall two modes, can be selected in settings)