plumnovel Chapter 6 Yellow Maple Valley
Chapter 6 Yellow Maple Valley
Several days later, on a flying boat heading to Huangfeng Valley, a dozen newly initiated disciples and several Huangfeng Valley's own cultivators were traveling together.
The leader of them was a Foundation Establishment stage deacon from Huangfeng Valley named Wu Feng.
After the flying boat entered the territory of Huangfeng Valley, he explained the sect rules and various matters to the new disciples, and also distributed basic supplies for beginners.
Mu Chunfeng and Han Li were both among these new disciples.
Because of his astonishing reserves of talismans, Mu Chunfeng's opponents in the Yellow Maple Valley arena surrendered without a fight.
Occasionally, two stubborn individuals would try to force their way in, but he would unleash more than a dozen talismans at once, destroying their protective artifacts on the spot. Fortunately, he showed mercy and did not take their lives.
The remaining people, seeing him casually wield dozens of talismans, turned pale and retreated dejectedly.
In this way, he secured his place in the entrance exam with almost no effort.
At this moment, Mu Chunfeng took the initiative to walk to Han Li's side and said, "Junior brother, I didn't see you at the entrance arena a few days ago. May I ask how you entered the sect?"
Han Li looked up at Mu Chunfeng and immediately recognized him as the talisman stall owner he had met once before in the market of Tainan Valley. A hint of surprise appeared on his face as he cupped his hands and said, "So it's Senior Brother Mu. To be honest, I happen to have an Ascension Token, which is how I was fortunate enough to enter the Yellow Maple Valley. I'm afraid I've made a fool of myself in front of you, Senior Brother."
Now that things have come to this, the Ascension Token has already been handed over to the sect, and everyone on the same boat is a fellow disciple. Han Li no longer needs to worry about this item attracting covetousness, so he frankly told the truth.
Mu Chunfeng feigned surprise, raising an eyebrow and saying, "Ascension Token? I never expected Junior Brother to possess such a treasure. This is truly an incredible stroke of luck! I am Mu Chunfeng. From now on, we are fellow disciples. If you ever need any talismans in the future, feel free to come to me for exchange. I have some knowledge of talisman making and have quite a few suitable ones on hand."
Han Li bowed again, his tone calm: "My name is Han Li. If I need anything in the future, I will definitely come to Senior Brother Mu first."
Mu Chunfeng smiled slightly, and the two chatted casually for a few more minutes before returning to their original positions and closing their eyes to regulate their breathing.
After a while, the flying boat finally arrived outside the Hundred Machines Hall in Yellow Maple Valley.
The new disciples registered in turn, received their Foundation Establishment Pills as entry-level disciples, and were assigned their sect residences.
Several hours later, in a secluded cottage at the foot of Xuankun Mountain, Mu Chunfeng had packed his belongings. He lay on the bed, looking at this place where he would live for the next few years, and began to make plans in his heart.
He planned to go to the Hundred Machines Hall tomorrow to take on a sect task of drawing talismans—after all, Qi Refining disciples have a monthly sect quota that they must complete, and they cannot be careless in the slightest.
Immediately, a flash of light appeared in his storage pouch at his waist, and a pill the size of a longan appeared in his palm.
Looking at the Foundation Establishment Pill in his hand, Mu Chunfeng's eyes flickered slightly as he pondered to himself: With his three spiritual roots, relying on just one Foundation Establishment Pill, he would at most have a 30% chance of successfully establishing his foundation. If he could collect three pills and cultivate his cultivation to the peak of the twelfth level of Qi Refining, he would have an 80-90% chance of successfully establishing his foundation. If he could collect four pills, then establishing his foundation would be a sure thing, with no chance of failure.
Based on this calculation, it seems inevitable that we will have to go to the Crimson Forbidden Land a few years from now.
According to the sect's rules, he could only get one Foundation Establishment Pill at most during the forbidden area trip. Even if he brought out far more spiritual herbs than the quota, Li Huayuan would deduct half of them under the pretext of taking on disciples, unless he could bring out more than forty spiritual herbs at once.
However, he was not entirely confident that he could bring out so many medicinal herbs from the forbidden area. Moreover, the tallest tree in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind, and he did not want to be too conspicuous and invite unnecessary disaster.
At that time, all you need to do is try your best to find more than twenty spiritual herbs, and take this opportunity to become Li Huayuan's disciple.
As for the remaining two Foundation Establishment Pills, we can only hope that the "great philanthropist" Senior Brother Lu will provide them.
Anyway, those two Foundation Establishment Pills wouldn't be of much use to Han Li in the end. If I could get involved and get one of them, that would be the best outcome.
Furthermore, the likes of Duobao Nu and Feng Yue within the Crimson Forbidden Land are all elite disciples of the Seven Sects. Most of them already possess Foundation Establishment Pills. They enter the Forbidden Land either to acquire another pill as a foundation, or for the rare and precious materials within. Some even come specifically to kill cultivators from other sects—after all, killing is not prohibited within the Forbidden Land, and the fact that disciples of the Seven Sects kill each other to seize treasures is an open secret among the Seven Sects.
His only concern was whether he would happen to encounter these people in the forbidden area. As for whether he could defeat them, Mu Chunfeng, who possessed double pupils, had absolute confidence and an overwhelming advantage in one-on-one duels with the same level.
After careful consideration, Mu Chunfeng put away the Foundation Establishment Pill, got up and sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, calmed his mind, and began his daily cultivation.
Early the next morning, Mu Chunfeng stepped on the green leaf magic artifact and rode the wind to the Hundred Machines Hall in Huangfeng Valley.
Upon entering the main hall, one sees a disciple at the late stage of Qi Refining sitting behind the counter; he is the steward disciple on duty here.
Mu Chunfeng stepped forward slowly, cupped his hands, and bowed respectfully: "Disciple Mu Chunfeng, may I ask, Senior Brother, are there any talisman-drawing quests available here?"
The steward glanced at him, casually flipping through the ledger in his hand, and said indifferently, "There are no private commissions, but there are long-term missions assigned by the sect. Ten qualified mid-level talismans must be submitted each month. Are you confident you can take on this, Junior Brother?"
Before he could finish speaking, he seemed to suddenly remember something and added, "Oh, right. Let me make this clear first. Several disciples have taken on this task before, but most of them failed to meet their monthly quota due to their low success rate in creating talismans, and were severely reprimanded by Uncle Wang. I also got into trouble because of it."
Upon hearing this, Mu Chunfeng remained calm. He patted his storage bag, took out two high-quality low-to-mid-grade talismans, and handed them over with both hands: "Senior brother, please take a look. These are talismans that I personally hand-drew. I wonder if they meet the standards for the mission?"
The steward took the talisman, examined it carefully for a few moments, then rubbed it between his fingertips before nodding slightly: "Not bad, the level is acceptable. If you are truly confident in completing your monthly quota, you can accept this task."
After saying that, he casually put the two talismans into his pocket and handed Mu Chunfeng a wooden token engraved with talismans, "Take this token and go to Thousand Talisman Pavilion to find Uncle Wang, and you can receive the mission materials and details."
Mu Chunfeng was already used to such petty theft, so he accepted the token with clasped hands and solemnly thanked him.
He then turned and left the main hall of Baiji Hall, heading straight to Qianfu Pavilion to find his Uncle Wang.
After a simple talisman-making test, he successfully received the materials for the month's task: fifty blank talisman papers and a dish of prepared beast blood ink.
"From now on, we won't even need the raw materials for making talismans. With my 50% success rate, this mission is practically a sure-fire way to make money." Mu Chunfeng was secretly delighted, but he remained outwardly calm and bowed to take his leave.
For the next three years, Mu Chunfeng relied on this talisman-making task to earn cultivation resources. Every month, he would just meet the sect's quota, and the extra talismans he drew were all exchanged for spirit stones and various pills and materials needed for cultivation.
Due to the sect's rules, Qi Refining disciples can only leave the valley once a year. Mu Chunfeng went to Wanbaolou in Huangfeng Valley Market to purchase enough pills for the whole year from Manager Wan.
After three years of arduous training, his cultivation level steadily improved, and he has reached the peak of the twelfth level of Qi Refining.
To advance further and break through to the thirteenth level of Qi Refining, it is no longer possible to achieve this through mere hard work. Only by failing to establish one's foundation after consuming a Foundation Establishment Pill can one use the residual medicinal power of the pill to break through to the perfect realm of the thirteenth level of Qi Refining.
Since his cultivation could not advance any further for the time being, Mu Chunfeng devoted most of his attention to practicing various low-level spells.
He often went to the Transmission Hall to ask Wu Feng, the Foundation Establishment Steward who had led them into the sect, about magic cultivation. During this time, he also often encountered Han Li, who had come to learn magic. The two gradually became acquainted and had some interactions.
Han Li had bought talismans from Mu Chunfeng several times, but he mostly had spirit herbs that he cultivated himself, and spirit stones were always scarce, so he could only buy a few suitable low-level talismans each time.
Mu Chunfeng naturally understood that Han Li wanted to learn how to draw talismans, so she didn't point it out. Instead, she often used the occasion of their interactions to ask Han Li for advice on the identification of various herbs, the combination of medicinal properties, and his exquisite mortal martial arts. After all, he would need to use alchemy sooner or later, and Han Li's Luo Yan Step was especially effective in low-level combat during the Qi Refining stage.