novelhk Chapter 22 The 34-Year-Old Boy
Chapter 22 The 34-Year-Old Boy
In addition to testing the talismans, Cai Fei would also help the old Taoist priest make some talismans.
Using surplus materials to make high-value talismans not only hones his talisman-making skills but also earns him some money. After deducting material costs, he splits the profits with the old Taoist priest on a 30/70 basis, earning him more than the talisman-testing fee.
Today, the old Taoist priest stared blankly at the prepared thunder-patterned sand, the sand grains gleaming with an eerie blue light under the fluorite lamp.
"Cesium salt crystals," the word inexplicably popped into Cai Fei's mind. He knew that the similarity in appearance between the two things had triggered a memory.
"Did you do what I asked you to do last time, buying more lightning-attribute spirit stones to absorb?" the old Taoist asked a seemingly unrelated question.
Cai Fei helplessly shrugged at the old Taoist priest: "I did try. But Thunder Spirit Stones are so expensive, I can't afford many."
The spiritual energy in the world is most commonly found in the five elements. The other four types—wind, thunder, darkness, and spirit—are rare, and the corresponding spirit stones are several times or even dozens of times more expensive than other five-element spirit stones of the same grade.
The old Taoist priest beckoned Cai Fei over, placed his right palm on Cai Fei's lower abdomen (dantian), and released a wisp of spiritual energy that circulated around Cai Fei's dantian.
"My lightning spiritual power is indeed a bit low. It's my fault; I thought I wouldn't need it for several more months..."
The old Taoist priest muttered a few words of self-reproach, then paced around inside the cave, seemingly troubled by something.
Was it moved up at the last minute?
Cai Fei glanced at the crescent-shaped stone door. The two Chen cultivators were still guarding outside the secret chamber. If nothing unexpected happened, it should be that Chen Xuanbiao needed some special talisman.
The Chen family is the largest village in Sushanfang. If they urgently need it, there should be plenty of money to be made.
Cai Fei then laughed and said, "Not enough Thunder Spirit? Go get a few pieces of Spirit Jade, and I'll make up for it, okay?"
A single piece of Thunder Spirit Jade costs over a thousand, and given the old Taoist's stinginess, he would naturally never buy it, so Cai Fei was just joking.
But to his surprise, the old Taoist priest actually nodded.
"At this point, there's no other way." The old Taoist glanced sideways at Cai Fei, as if testing his resolve. "The Disintegration Talisman, dare you use it?"
Dissociation symbol?
A disintegration talisman to break low-level seals?
This talisman is both difficult to obtain and expensive!
But Cai Fei's first reaction wasn't to the difficulty or price of the talisman; his immediate question was: "Who will use it? Chen Xuanbiao?"
"Spending tens of thousands to seal one's cultivation, and then another tens of thousands to unseal it, who else but him would be worth it?" The old Taoist replied calmly. "Let's go, I'll take you to see the situation first. The little one should have had a good soak."
Chen Xuanbiao is currently at the seventh level of cultivation. If this is still sealed, then his actual cultivation level should be the ninth level, or even the tenth level—the Great Perfection of Qi Refining!
But what surprised Cai Fei even more was the seasoned use of language—
"kid"?
"Little friend" is what the old Taoist calls Cai Fei. All three members of the Chen family are young adults over thirty. Who is the "little friend"?
Recalling the loud laughter of the three Chen family members in the air just now, Cai Fei had a vague guess.
The old Taoist priest led Cai Fei through the crescent-shaped gate and straight to the central secret chamber.
The two gatekeepers were both elders of the Cai Feishu generation. The one on the left was an elder of the Chen family, and the one on the right was Chen Jinghu, the highest combat power of the Chen family at the ninth level of Qi Refining. They were all core figures of Chen Family Village.
The fact that these two were standing here guarding the gate shows how much importance Chen Shi attached to this matter.
The elder looked at Cai Fei with a puzzled expression. The old Taoist priest did not explain, but simply said, "You've soaked long enough, you can all go in now."
Chen Jinghu pointed at Cai Fei and said, "What's this kid doing here when the Chen family is handling matters?"
"Insolence!" the old Taoist priest rebuked without any politeness. "This is Kong family territory; I can bring whomever I want!"
The old Taoist priest pushed the door open and entered. Cai Fei and the other man grinned and entered leisurely. The two members of the Chen family looked at each other, but in the end, they did not dare to stop them and could only follow Cai Fei into the room.
This was Cai Fei's first time entering this secret room. The room was actually very simple, even a little too simple—the so-called secret room was actually just a small cave, dry and clean. Against the wall was a large desk for making talismans, and in the center was a large bucket of water that had been soaking people. Apart from that, the whole place was an empty snow cave.
The only difference from the outside is that there are more than a dozen fluorite lamps on the cave ceiling and walls, which illuminate from all angles and provide excellent visibility.
The person inside the large water bucket was naturally Chen Xuanbiao.
The large bucket, which required three people to hug, was filled with dark liquid, with various medicinal herbs floating on the surface.
Cai Fei glanced at the tub and recognized less than half of them. Chen Xuanbiao was completely submerged in the water, and only his eyes were vaguely visible as he sat cross-legged at the bottom of the tub.
As if by magic, the old Taoist priest took out an object from his Qiankun bag. It was a copper frame with an ancient and simple design. Three copper lamps were mounted on a copper rod as thick as an arm. Runes were engraved on the outside of the lamps. At the top was an iron ball with an eagle's beak that was neither copper nor iron attached to the edge. It looked like a bird's head. The entire ball was covered with runes, which were very fine.
The old Taoist priest placed the copper stand beside the bucket, lit the three oil lamps on the stand, and then tapped on the side of the bucket, saying, "Come out, it should be ready now."
With a "splash," a wet head emerged from the water, revealing a striking full beard, deep wrinkles on his forehead, and a yellowish-brown tinge on his face from excessive practice of some kind of body-tempering technique. It was none other than Su Shan Yi Biao—Chen Xuan Biao!
Upon opening his eyes and seeing Cai Fei, Chen Xuanbiao was slightly puzzled, but he didn't ask anything. He simply looked up at the old Taoist priest and smiled, "Sixth Master, just go ahead and do it. Crying is not the mark of a hero!"
"You really can't cry, and you can't laugh!" The old Taoist priest laughed too. "Don't blame me if you get disfigured."
This is to remove Chen Xuanbiao's disguise!
Kong Fande is one of the managers of the Aolai Fengyulou. Fengyulou mainly operates casinos and brothels. Among them are a few female cultivators who are used as cauldrons. When they are young, they are all stunningly beautiful, but their faces will suddenly collapse after they reach a certain age.
There have long been rumors that the Wind and Rain Pavilion possesses the secret art of disguise, and judging from this, the rumors seem to be true.
Chen Xuanbiao knelt in the large barrel. The flickering candlelight on the bronze lamp stand suddenly froze, and the rising medicinal mist wafted out from the eagle's beak, weaving a semi-transparent spider web on his face.
The old Taoist priest stood by the bronze frame with his hands outstretched, his ten fingers moving in a circular motion, as if playing a zither in the void.
As the experienced man flexed his fingers, the blood vessels on Chen Xuanbiao's neck suddenly bulged, as if something alive was crawling under his skin, and a faint, grating sound came from his forehead—that was the disguise decomposing.
The beard crumbled and fell off first, and even the jawbone was narrowing at a visible speed. Chen Xuanbiao's knuckles were cracking as he gripped the edge of the bucket. The mask he was using to disguise himself was dissolving in the large bucket along with the dripping brown medicine.
When the last wrinkle disappeared at his temples, Chen Xuanbiao's true face was revealed to the public.
Because of the long-term disguise, her skin was somewhat tender, with a pale, cold plaster-like appearance, as if the blood vessels beneath her flesh were about to burst through this fragile shell at any moment.
The faint red marks of the disguise still lingered on his cheeks, like unhealed wounds from a knife cut, and a fine layer of sweat even floated on the bridge of his nose—the sticky sheen left by the freshly peeled fake skin.
His face was rugged and angular, with a jawline as steep as if cleaved by an axe, exuding a fierce, beast-like aura.
He wasn't exactly handsome, but he was certainly young. Judging from his appearance, he was probably only in his early twenties at most!
Chen Xuanbiao, a 34-year-old Qi Refining Level 7 cultivator, a Chen family fighter who has stormed Baizijian for ten years with his fierce demeanor, a genius cultivator who has always been favored by the Baizijian region for his youth and combat power, and regarded by everyone as the next generation's leader...
He even overstated his age by more than ten years and concealed several layers of cultivation!
No wonder he wanted to compete with me for the title of "Son of Aolai"!
In his shock, Cai Fei heard the old Taoist priest call out, "Young Fei, come here and take a look at his seal."