Chapter 78: The Tree Immortal Lady’s Paper Figurine

Li Lin returned to Shangtikou Village.

He first fed the Tree Immortal Lady until she was satisfied, then returned home.

At this moment, the house was spotless.

And beside it, a paper version of the Tree Immortal Lady was splitting firewood in the yard.

A pile of chopped firewood as tall as a small hill had already accumulated nearby.

Li Lin was stunned.

Without him supplying yin energy, how could this paper figurine remain active for so long?

Logically speaking, after three or four shichen it should have lost its vitality on its own.

But he quickly understood why.

Because he sensed the Tree Immortal Lady’s gui energy within the paper figurine.

So the Tree Immortal Lady had been maintaining the paper figurine’s vitality all this time.

Upon seeing Li Lin, this Tree Immortal Lady version of the paper figurine immediately put down its axe and walked over.

It gave him a slight bow, then moved behind him and gently kneaded his shoulders with its two paper hands.

A massage?

It even lightly rubbed its face against Li Lin’s own.

It appeared exceptionally affectionate.

Li Lin froze.

Objects reflected their creators.

If this paper figurine was so gentle, could it be that the Tree Immortal Lady’s true nature... was equally gentle?

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly felt a chill.

Turning his head, he discovered the real Tree Immortal Lady floating in midair, staring at him coldly.

Li Lin instinctively retreated, moving away from the paper figurine.

A gigantic snake tail swept down.

It almost grazed Li Lin’s body as it smashed the paper figurine into pieces.

Hmph!

The Tree Immortal Lady turned around and slithered away with her long tail trailing behind her.

Looking at the Tree Immortal Lady’s graceful back, Li Lin could not help smiling.

He returned to the house and made two more paper figurines.

He had them cook a meal for him.

Then, while drinking bitter tea, he leisurely opened Detailed Explanations of the Daoist Ritual Master once again.

This trip to Bobai Military Town had made Li Lin even more aware of the Falling Lightning Incantation’s obvious weakness.

It required too much time.

Even with rapid hand seals, it still took several breaths to cast.

If he could reduce that to a single breath, then even if the power were somewhat weaker, he could still destroy an altar quickly.

The enemy would not have had the opportunity to aim a bow at him.

He would not have been in danger.

How could he shorten the casting time of the Falling Lightning Incantation?

He had been pondering this question ever since leaving Bobai Military Town.

Then he came up with an idea.

Combine talisman arts with the Falling Lightning Incantation.

He already understood the flow principles behind the Falling Lightning Incantation.

If he could inscribe the incantation’s runes onto a talisman, then he could prepare the talisman paper beforehand.

When needed, he would only have to inject yin energy and throw the talisman.

That would allow him to unleash the Falling Lightning Incantation within a single breath.

The idea was excellent.

But implementing it was extremely difficult.

How to represent the effects of the hand seals through lines and symbols was a major challenge.

He tried many times at home.

He exhausted all his materials without making any progress whatsoever.

However, he was not discouraged.

He planned to visit the county market tomorrow, buy a large quantity of materials, and continue experimenting slowly.

Although the idea of combining talisman arts and the Falling Lightning Incantation had made no progress at all, he had not come away entirely empty-handed.

At the very least, he had gained a considerable amount of talisman art proficiency while drawing talismans.

He directed the Soul-Guiding Paper Figurines to gather a large amount of herbs from the mountains.

He then refined one furnace batch of Shengxi Pills and one furnace batch of Beauty Preservation Pills.

After obtaining the pill furnace, not only were the pills of better quality, but the number of failed pills had also decreased significantly.

His efficiency had increased dramatically.

Sure enough, as the saying went, one must first sharpen one’s tools to do a job well.

He filled three bottles with Shengxi Pills and headed to the county city.

Rather than immediately going to the market to buy materials, he first paid a visit to Zhao Hao’s residence.

A grand mansion with five successive courtyards.

As expected of Young Master Zhao.

After knocking on the door and explaining his purpose to the gatekeeper, Zhao Hao emerged not long afterward.

“Brother Li, I didn’t expect it would be you. Come in, quickly.”

Following Zhao Hao into the estate, Li Lin discovered that this enormous residence felt surprisingly deserted.

There were not many servants.

Even the stone pathways were covered with thick layers of fallen leaves that nobody had swept away.

Zhao Hao led Li Lin into a side room on the left side of the third courtyard and said with a smile,

“My apologies. Everyone in the family has gone out. Only two or three old servants remain, so there’s no one available to prepare tea for you.”

“No need. I only came by for a short visit anyway.”

Li Lin took out three bottles of pills.

“Last time, you saved my life. I’m rather poor and don’t have anything particularly valuable. This is the only thing I can barely offer.”

“What kind of pills are these?”

Li Lin thought for a moment.

“Vitality Pills.”

Zhao Hao subconsciously leaned back slightly.

“Vitality Pills?”

He immediately pulled out a stopper and took a sniff.

A cool current entered his dantian through his nose and throat.

“It really is vitality essence.”

Zhao Hao drew a deep breath, replaced the stopper, and pushed all three bottles back toward Li Lin.

“These are far too precious. I can’t accept them.”

Li Lin pushed the bottles back.

“No matter how precious they are, they’re not worth more than my life. I’m very afraid of dying.”

He had thought this gift through carefully before bringing it.

Leaving aside the fact that Zhao Hao had saved his life, which alone warranted a sufficiently valuable gift.

The matter of the “agreement among four men” had also revealed Zhao Hao’s character.

It was genuinely reliable.

Although Zhao Hao sometimes liked saying grandiose things and making impressive speeches, that was also a kind of mask he used to protect himself.

Zhao Hao hesitated for a while before finally saying with difficulty,

“Patrol Hunter Li, I’ll accept these three bottles of pills. In the future, if you ever need anything, just say the word. I will go through fire and water without hesitation.”

“There actually is something I need your help with.”

Li Lin smiled at Zhao Hao’s puzzled expression.

“This matter must not be known to a third person.”

Zhao Hao nodded heavily.

Half a shichen later, Li Lin emerged from the Zhao residence.

He went to the market and purchased a large quantity of talisman-making materials, preparing to return to the village.

But at that moment, Li Lin suddenly spotted a Daoist priest.

A faint trace of yin energy lingered around the man.

A Spirit Hunter?

A Daoist priest?

Li Lin suddenly remembered an incident from not long ago during his traveling work.

The woman who had given birth to the infant gui had claimed that she had been deceived by a Daoist priest.

Could it be this man?

Even though County Magistrate Huang Yan had already issued notices warning the people of Yulin County about fraudulent Daoist priests, this fellow had still come to Yulin County.

He truly had a lot of nerve.

Li Lin immediately followed him in secret.

Thanks to both his virgin body and the Falling Lightning Incantation, although Li Lin also cultivated yin energy techniques, his yang energy remained exceptionally abundant.

He had achieved a balance between yin and yang.

On the surface, he appeared little different from an ordinary person and did not leak yin energy as obviously as other Spirit Hunters.

This made stealth and tracking extremely convenient.

The Daoist priest wandered through the streets.

Before long, he began following behind a woman.

The woman looked entirely ordinary, with quite average features.

When she reached a less crowded area, the Daoist priest stepped in front of her.

“Please stop for a moment, benefactress.”

The priest possessed the bearing of an immortal sage and seemed rather charismatic.

Upon seeing him, the woman became somewhat nervous and her face reddened slightly.

“Daoist Master, why have you stopped me?”

“You possess an affinity with the Dao.”

“Huh?”

The woman stared at him blankly.

The Daoist priest took out a piece of yellow-brown hide-like material and handed it over.

“This item is called Immortal Beauty Skin. Soak it in water and drink it. You’ll become more beautiful day by day. After drinking it for fifteen days, you’ll be as beautiful as a celestial maiden.”

Suspicion appeared in the woman’s eyes.

She felt the man might be a swindler.

The Daoist priest continued smiling.

“Since this is destiny, naturally it is a gift for you. It won’t cost you a single coin. After you’ve drunk it for five days and seen results, I will come find you again.”

The woman was quite tempted.

She accepted the piece of “brown hide.”