Chapter 362: Under the Fusang Tree

Only stores under "Qianli Mountain" sell Polar Day Dew.

A single drop is worth thirty to forty thousand Yongquan coins.

This is because Polar Day Dew is imported from outside the region, specifically harvested from the Polar Day Lands west of Yingzhou. It is the primary ingredient for refining the Star Day Pill.

Li Weiyi settled for refining the Xihe Pill, which is significantly less potent. The main reason for this compromise was his unwillingness to pay the high price for Polar Day Dew. Additionally, his spiritual power cultivation was not high enough before.

Evidently, the sea region where the Fusang Sacred Tree is located is also one of the world's Polar Day Lands.

Driven by Tang Wanzhou's abundant Immortal Qi, the thirty-meter-long Prefecture Governor's Jade Boat flew swiftly above the sea, like a streak of light. Soon, after traversing thousands of miles—the equivalent of crossing an entire province—they arrived at a sea region sufficiently close to the Fusang Sacred Tree.

Being close enough, the Fusang Sacred Tree was no longer ethereal but appeared increasingly real.

The texture of its bark was clearly visible, and its terrifying heat could penetrate the Jade Boat's defensive light shield, making the two occupants feel as if they were immersed in boiling water.

Without the light shield's protection, even if it weren't the time of the Golden Crow's emergence, Li Weiyi's current physical strength would be absolutely insufficient to withstand it.

The sight before them was too miraculous and majestic to imagine that two such enormous trees, filled with energy capable of scorching the heavens and boiling the seas, could exist in this world. Their height was unknown in miles, extending directly into the ethereal void, with each leaf resembling a moon from beyond the cosmos.

Although the Jade Boat was still far from the tree trunk, it had already entered the range covered by the Fusang Sacred Tree's branches and leaves.

Tang Wanzhou stood at the bow, looking up, somewhat lost in thought, her eyes filled with longing for the Great Dao.

Li Weiyi also looked up.

The sky was dotted with numerous mulberry-leaf-shaped moons, bearing leaf textures and glowing with a moon-like radiance. High above, through layers of thin mist, faint reddish-gold lightning flickered into and out of existence.

This scene easily evoked a sense of "self as tiny as dust, the Great Dao vast and endless" in them. Compared to the Fusang Sacred Tree, even the Immortal Realm seemed insignificant.

The Jade Boat stopped advancing and ascended, riding the wind through the mist.

After flying twenty to thirty thousand meters above the sea, Li Weiyi saw a thin golden line falling straight down from the sky. At the bottom of the line was a tiny, resplendent golden droplet of liquid.

Polar Day Dew was falling from the leaves of the Fusang Sacred Tree, like liquid light, constantly dissipating, leaving a trail like a thread.

It couldn't reach the sea surface; it dispersed into clusters of colorful mist halfway down.

Li Weiyi unleashed his spiritual power field, enveloping and drawing in a falling drop of Polar Day Dew from a mile away, then placing it into a special container.

The drops of Polar Day Dew fell erratically.

Their descent was incredibly fast, and each drop was widely separated from the others.

Li Weiyi spent a great deal of time and only managed to collect just over forty drops.

Gradually, he sensed something was wrong.

The Jade Boat was continuously ascending, now at least a hundred thousand meters above the sea. Li Weiyi felt an intense unease; aside from other dangers, if they were to fall from this height, even a Dao Seed Realm cultivator could be killed upon impact with the sea.

Furthermore, the high-altitude winds were unusually strong, and the Jade Boat encountered unseen forces, causing it to shake violently.

Li Weiyi stumbled, shouting, "We can't fly any higher! We need to return to the sea surface quickly. This is enough for now... Tang Wanzhou... Oh no... Why is she having trouble at a time like this...?"

Li Weiyi staggered to the bow and patted her.

There was no response.

Tang Wanzhou gazed upwards at a particular leaf of the Fusang Sacred Tree, utterly absorbed, her mind fully immersed in comprehending something.

Li Weiyi shouted loudly, then covered her eyes, trying various methods.

Only her Immortal Qi could activate the Jade Boat's sufficiently strong defensive power to block the Fusang Sacred Tree's heat. Otherwise, Li Weiyi would have long since pushed her aside and piloted the Jade Boat himself.

"Tang Wanzhou... if you don't wake up, I'm going to have to take action..."

Li Weiyi said this urgently, his palm covering her eyes.

Tang Wanzhou raised her arm, pushed his hand away, and calmly glanced at him, "How do you plan to 'take action'?"

*Whoosh!*

The Jade Boat dived downwards, carrying them both back.

Li Weiyi breathed a sigh of relief, stepped back a few paces, and sat by the gunwale, "What was wrong with you just now? You looked like you were possessed."

Tang Wanzhou stood proudly with her hands behind her back, the Fusang Sacred Tree a backdrop to her figure, her body shimmering with colorful light, like an empress beneath the sacred tree. "If cultivators aren't somewhat 'possessed,' how can they reach the pinnacle of martial arts? Just now, I simply had an epiphany and entered a state of extreme concentration. In that state, my comprehension of the Dao can increase severalfold."

Li Weiyi asked what that state was like.

After hearing her description, Li Weiyi instantly understood; it was very similar to the Clear Wisdom Divine State he entered after performing the Jade Void Breathing Technique.

Evidently, prodigies of the Young Emperor class all possess extraordinary talents, not merely superior combat prowess within their realm.

Li Weiyi looked back at the sea region beneath the Fusang Sacred Tree. It was not intensely bright; instead, it was dark red, shrouded in an unknown, mysterious, and profound aura.

With Li Weiyi's current spiritual power level, he was unable to actively lock onto spatial coordinates.

The Jade Boat had to rush back to the sea region thousands of miles away, the one initially locked onto by the Shaoyang Star.

Tang Wanzhou gazed at the shimmering, golden-scaled sea, and suddenly said, "I truly wish we could keep sailing like this, to the other side of the ocean, to see what kind of place it is. Is there also an ancient continent, with different customs and landscapes?"

Li Weiyi had once traveled through Tanggu Sea on an ancient bronze ship, but the ship was very peculiar, seeming to constantly warp through space. At that time, he was too weak to perceive the ancient bronze ship's navigation patterns.

Briefly lost in thought, he said, "Legend has it that Tanggu Sea is millions of miles wide. Even with the Jade Boat, crossing it safely would be incredibly difficult. Who knows if the waters far from the Fusang Sacred Tree contain Immortal Realm or Transcendence-level aquatic monsters? And besides..."

A chill ran down Li Weiyi's spine as he thought of the boundless Sea of Souls.

Compared to the unknown dangers of the ocean, remaining in the Lingxiao Living Realm offered a sense of security.

Tang Wanzhou fully propelled the Jade Boat, finally returning to their starting sea region before the Golden Crow emerged from the sea.

They returned to the Blood Mud Space.

Li Weiyi finally had time to meticulously examine the forty-six drops of Polar Day Dew he had collected. He was delighted to find that each drop contained several times more energy than the Polar Day Dew he had previously obtained from Yin Er.

Its heat was incredibly high, capable of burning through ordinary magical artifacts.

He found himself in a dilemma.

Given his current spiritual power level and alchemy attainments, the success rate for refining even a normal Star Day Pill was extremely low.

Refining pills with Polar Day Dew that was several times more potent meant the success rate would be even lower, as could be imagined.

While they could go collect more and weren't afraid of the consumption, the round trip would take considerable time, and Tang Wanzhou's unstable state posed significant risks for further collection.

Moreover, the fourteen auxiliary ingredients required for refining the Star Day Pill were also very expensive.

Previously, Zen Sea Viewing Mist had taken hundreds of thousands of Yongquan coins but only managed to buy thirty sets of auxiliary ingredients.

Li Weiyi suppressed the urge to immediately try refining pills, deciding instead to study more alchemy texts before proceeding.

He re-formed the Cocoon of Time.

Li Weiyi sat on the ground, consumed a piece of four-colored immortal moss to refine his body, and focused his energy on talisman crafting.

Runes are categorized into "storable runes" and "non-storable runes."

Over ninety percent of runes are non-storable. In other words, a spiritualist can only temporarily draw them with spiritual power radiance, and as the radiance dissipates, the power of the rune also vanishes.

The speed of talisman activation depends entirely on the drawing speed.

Among these, combat-style runes are particularly difficult to store; most can only be drawn temporarily during battle.

It can be said that every storable combat-style rune is a secret of a major power, a type of foundational asset that is never disseminated externally.

Being storable means they can be crafted into talismans and stockpiled in large quantities. In combat, they can be deployed instantly, and if enough talismans are prepared, even high-level martial cultivators would have to retreat.

Li Weiyi's "Divine Movement Talisman" and "Immobilization Talisman" were learned from his Spirit Rank master; they are auxiliary, storable talismans.

To bear powerful runes, the talisman paper itself is extremely particular.

Previously, the talisman paper Li Weiyi used for his Divine Movement Talismans and Immobilization Talismans was refined from the Divine Stove Wood left by Zen Sea Viewing Mist.

Spending a fortune, he bought a large piece of Transcendence Hide, which he cut into seventy-four pieces, each six inches long and one inch wide.

Using spirit-light flames, he carefully refined them, making them as thin as paper.

To craft an Immobilization Talisman, auxiliary materials like "Spirit Stabilizing Sand" and "Soul Wood" must be added to increase the talisman's power and improve the success rate of drawing the rune.

He took out one of the talisman papers and placed it before him.

He regulated his breathing, entered the Clear Wisdom Divine State, and became incredibly focused.

*Chihua!*

Li Weiyi extended his right index finger as a brush, a wisp of spiritual light flew from his glabella, merging with the pre-prepared talisman ink beside him, flowing in circles around his index finger.

Immobilization Talismans have grades; the higher the grade, the more complex the runes, with difficulty accumulating layer by layer.

As a five-star spiritualist, Li Weiyi naturally sought to challenge himself by drawing an Immobilization Talisman capable of restraining a martial cultivator at the fifth level of the Dao Seed Realm.

Such an Immobilization Talisman required five layers to be drawn on the paper, with no mistakes allowed in any layer.

*Bang!*

While drawing the second layer, the talisman paper burst.

Li Weiyi was accustomed to this; he immediately took another sheet and began drawing from scratch.

*Bang!*

*Bang!*

On the fourth attempt, he finally succeeded.

Li Weiyi immediately released Golden Crow flames to temper it, stabilizing the rune on the paper.

The rune flowed smoothly, appearing and disappearing on the paper, profound and unfathomable.

Looking at the masterpiece in his hand, Li Weiyi smiled faintly: "Long Xiangcen should be at the peak of the fifth level of the Dao Seed Realm, plus her inheritor's physique. Once this Immobilization Talisman affects her, it might not permanently restrain her, but holding her still for one or two breaths should be no problem. One or two breaths can already decide life or death."

"However, getting the talisman to hit her won't be easy."

"And she might also have protective treasures... I need to refine two more."

Most of the spiritual power in Li Weiyi's spiritual world was consumed, sealed within the runes, requiring meditation to recover.

Subsequently, he spent a lot of time refining two more Immobilization Talismans and one Divine Movement Talisman.

Li Weiyi began researching how to integrate the secret texts from the "Six Jia Secret Incantations" into the Immobilization Talisman to enhance its power.

He held the Yellow Dragon Sword and activated it with his Qi.

*Whoosh!*

On the sword's body, nine ancient Daoist characters emerged.

"'Zhe' character: Clears the mind and breaks evil."

"'Lin' character: Similar to puppet techniques."

"'Qian' character: Flash displacement and rapid escape."

"'Xing' character: Can be integrated into the Divine Movement Talisman."

"'Zhen' character: Can increase the power of the Sun, Moon, and Star Formation."

"'Dou' character: Can forge a spirit-light armor, transforming me from a spiritualist into a martial apprentice. Even if I haven't cultivated martial arts or physical body, I can engage in close combat with others."

"The remaining three Daoist secret texts are 'Bing,' 'Jie,' and 'Lie'."

Li Weiyi believed that the nine characters of the Six Jia Secret Incantations on the Yellow Dragon Sword were likely inscribed within it by the ancient sages of the Elucidated Sect. The uses he had currently uncovered were probably just the tip of the iceberg.

For example, the "Xing" character couldn't possibly be used *only* to enhance the power of the Divine Movement Talisman.

These nine characters seemed more like the origins of nine different spell arts.