Chapter 12: Nian Ju and the Magical Instrument

  "Wang Bo, I want to ask you something!" Early in the morning, Shi Sheng ran to Wang Bo's house, but didn't let Lin Wan'er go out to work, after all, that way of making money was slow and tiring.

  "Go ahead, I've told you before, ask me if you have any questions!" Wang Bo smiled and stroked his beard with one hand.

  "Last night I met a cultivator!" Shi Sheng said with a serious expression.

  "Oh? How did you know he's a cultivator? Did he show off his special abilities in front of people?" Wang Bo asked, puzzled.

  "He wielded a purple sandalwood dagger and nearly injured me. Is this what you call showing off?" Shi Sheng recounted the general situation of the matter.

  "Oh?" Wang Bo's eyes flashed with insight: "That's probably a disciple of some sect who has come down the mountain to gain experience, but generally they won't easily reveal their identity in front of people."

  "Wang Bo, I feel that my mental strength is about the same as his. The embroidery needle I controlled couldn't hurt him, and he couldn't take it away either. But in the end, that little guy ran off with a burst of energy. Why did I suddenly feel dizzy? It felt like my mental strength was depleted all at once." Shi Sheng asked the question that concerned him most.

  Wang Bo picked up his teacup, took a light sip, and said slowly: "Shi Sheng, you're a special case. Normally speaking, ordinary people who can sense spiritual energy are considered to have some talent.

  If selected by any sect, after being cultivated to a certain extent, the 'Kai Nian Dan' can be bestowed. After taking this dan, the mind will open up in the sea of consciousness, storing mental power. However, mental power is just a vague vortex, which is the 'Wu Ling Realm'.

  As the cultivation continues, the intensity of the mind is strengthened, the realm of thought expands, and the vortex of thought turns into a state of foggy sea. Moreover, it can be controlled outside the body to manipulate external objects, which is the 'Ascension Realm'!

  Since he can control the purple sandalwood rosary, he is at least a cultivator in the Ascension Realm, while you can only control external objects and are not even considered to be in the Enlightenment Realm.

  You don't have a spiritual realm, you can't store your spiritual energy. Relying on the little bit of spiritual energy that you've accumulated through your own efforts in your daily life, how can you compare with someone from the Ascension Realm who has a spiritual realm? In comparison, your spiritual energy will definitely be depleted very quickly."

  "So that's it! Right, Wang Bo, what is a Zi Tan wooden rosary?" Shi Sheng was like a primary school student now, when it came to Buddhist scriptures, he was a complete newbie, curious about everything and wanting to ask for clarification.

  "Ordinary iron and steel forged into weapons are ordinary artifacts. Those made from refined metal and minerals, then infused with a hint of spiritual energy by a master craftsman above the 'Sea of Transformation' realm, giving the treasure a spiritual nature, are known as spiritual artifacts."

  The spiritual tool often used by cultivators, combined with special control techniques, will resonate with it, making it easy to control and light in weight, reducing the consumption of spiritual energy, which is extremely beneficial.

  The spiritual tool itself has spirituality, and when fighting against humans, even if the opponent's spiritual power is stronger than oneself, they cannot seize control of the spiritual tool. Of course, very powerful old monsters can still find a way.

  For ordinary disciples of the Spiritual Realm, the sect would not provide them with 'Spiritual Instruments', but instead use ordinary knives and swords. During practice, it was easy to injure others, and when competing with others, if the opponent's spiritual power exceeded their own, they could easily be disarmed and lose control of their weapon, which would be extremely dangerous.

  After all, ordinary artifacts have no spirituality and can be controlled by anyone. In the case where spiritual artifacts cannot be obtained, there is another type of training tool in the ascension realm called "thought objects". The best ones are made from purple sandalwood or peach wood that is over 100 years old, with practicality far surpassing ordinary iron swords.

  "After long-term use by a cultivator, the Nianju can absorb some of the user's spiritual energy and possess a faint, weak spirituality. In general, it can reduce the risk of being seized and controlled by others, and also restrain some filthy energies!" Wang Bo explained.

  As soon as he heard the evil spirit's aura, Shi Jian thought of the peach wood sword that Taoist priests often used. He didn't expect that purple sandalwood could also ward off evil spirits. It was just that this kind of wood was rare in ordinary times, no wonder some Taoist priests held peach wood swords in their hands. It seemed that there were no more spiritual instruments on earth.

  "Wang Bo, do you have any purple sandalwood or peach wood that's over a hundred years old?" Shi Sheng asked, planning to make a rosary for himself, otherwise he would be in danger of being robbed of control of the embroidered needle like last time.

  "Haha, of course!" Wang Bo restored a harmonious smile on his face, narrowed his eyes, and stroked his beard with his rough palm.

  "Cough, cough, speak up, how much silver!" Shi Sheng also didn't bother with idle chatter, knowing that this old man wouldn't give it to him for free.

  "Sixty taels!" Wang Bo said with a smile.

  "Go and grab it!" Shi Sheng was speechless.

  "More than 500 years old paulownia! You can ask elsewhere, at this price you can't even buy it, let alone account for it!" Wang Bo shrugged.

  "Alright!" Shi Sheng reluctantly nodded, but seeing the ready-made peach wood dagger that Wang Bo took out, his mood improved a lot.

  "Haha, you won't regret this. This peach wood dagger was something I was planning to sell outside, not only is the craftsmanship exquisite, but it's also just the right size for carrying around. Moreover, I chose the hardest part of the peach wood, and its volume is even bigger than usual by a circle. When fighting against others, you can easily cut off their natal instruments." Wang Bo seemed to be reluctant to let go.

  "I don't know if it's as good as you say!" Shi Sheng curled his lip.

  Whoosh!

  The peach wood sword shot out from Wang Bo's hand, with a "pu" sound, and cut into the wall, more than two inches deep. It shook slightly, then flew back out and fell in front of Shi Sheng, the wooden hilt tip undamaged.

  "This...!" Shi's eyes gleamed with a fierce light, it seemed that this peach wood sword was even more terrifying than an ordinary steel sword, to the point where taking lives wouldn't be a problem.

  "Haha, you think wooden nunchucks are just a toy? Not only must the wood be hard, but when driven by one's inner energy, it also forms a protective aura that makes the nunchucks sharper than ever!" Wang Bo seemed to have noticed Shi Sheng's astonishment and said with a smile.

  "Good stuff!" Shi Sheng hastily put away the peach wood dagger in his sleeve, lest Wang Bo change his mind.

  "When nothing's happening, study the Way of Symbols more. These tools are only for self-defense, don't have any intention to harm others." Wang Bo's face turned serious, looking somewhat stern.

  "King Bo, rest assured, Shi Sheng will remember!" After a pause, Shi Sheng spoke up and said: "King Bo, what if that person comes to bother me again?"

  "Just defend yourself properly and try not to offend the disciples of the sect, that's not something you can afford to provoke, otherwise there will be trouble." Wang Bo warned.

  Shi Sheng felt a bit helpless, he didn't want to cause trouble himself, but the other party came looking for trouble, and he had no choice. However, saying that he was defending himself now was also somewhat difficult, as the other party was a cultivator in the Ascension Realm, so how could he compare with them? Shi Sheng was thinking about how to get his hands on the Open Mind Dan.

  "Wang Bo, do you have any Kai Nian Dan here? Whatever price you name will be fine!" Shi Sheng asked solemnly.

  "Haha, it's easy to think about, but the Open Mind Dan not only has no formula outside, but also requires extremely precious materials. Don't mention buying them, even I couldn't find a way to get them. And even if we had the materials, we wouldn't know how to refine them!" Wang Bo took a sip of clear tea.

  "Alright!" Shi Sheng reluctantly agreed and, under Wang Bo's guidance, began to practice drawing some talismans in his home, using ordinary pen and paper.

  In the morning, Shi Sheng had almost mastered most of the rune symbols, but drawing each type of talisman required different combinations of runes, and Shi Sheng still needed to memorize some common sense about these combinations.

  Of course, the matching method can also be changed. Generally, look at what kind of illness the other person has, and then draw one or two different talismans on a piece of paper.

  Only when Shi Sheng has a good grasp of the basics can he start to create his own talismans and learn how to use them effectively, just like a doctor prescribing the right medicine for an illness.

  "Something's wrong, Big Brother!" Just then, a urgent voice came from outside the door. Wang Bo and Shi Sheng looked towards the entrance.

  Bai Ming's nose was blue and his face was swollen, he panted heavily as he rushed into the house, hastily telling Shi Sheng: "Boss, Lin Wan'er was bullied by a few young men, I went to help her, but those people even beat me up."

  "What?" Shi Sheng's face turned cold: "You went to my house?" Shi Sheng remembered telling Lin Wan'er to stay at home and not go out to work, and Lin Wan'er had agreed at the time.

  "How could we go to your home? This morning she came to Aunt Wu's house to look for something, we met there, helping others to weave grass shoes, just doing well, suddenly Li Chu and a few of them came, then they started making moves on Lin Wan'er."

  "Damn it!" Shi Sheng's face was filled with anger, and he gave Wang Bo a nod before running towards Wu Yiniang's house with Bai Ming. Wang Bo sighed and shook his head slightly. (End of this chapter, the next one will be even more exciting!)

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