Folk customs begin with the entire funeral procession

Chapter 215 Combined Wooden Plaque Ghost Pattern Scorpion Iron-Blooded Eight Extremes - Killing Edition (Two-in-One)

Chen Miao copied the Soul-Suppressing Scripture onto a piece of paper, took out the book, and sensed the diameter of the century-old cypress wood that could be exchanged within.

"Only fifteen centimeters?"

Chen Miao then thought of the century-old peach wood.

Logically, neither a hundred-year-old peach tree nor a hundred-year-old cypress tree should have such a small diameter, but the diameter of the wood given in the book is not large.

But none of that matters now.

Fifteen centimeters is fine too!
Chen Miao took out a ruler and began to trace the Soul-Suppressing Scripture, then wrote a few more pages with slightly larger characters.

After struggling for half an hour, Chen Miao finally divided the scripture into three parts.

Because it was redesigned, the font is slightly larger than what Chen Miao wrote on the memorial tablet before.

If written on wood, the vertical height would be 20 centimeters, and three parts together would be 60 centimeters.

In this way, a century-old cypress tree can still have 40 centimeters left.

However, the century-old cypress wood obtained through the exchange is cylindrical, and only the core portion, about one centimeter thick, can be used.

Therefore, if it were to be actually produced, Chen Miao would have very little room for error.

Because the wooden boards must be assembled together and all the scriptures written on them in one piece before they can be separated.
Therefore, if Chen Miao makes a mistake while writing the first two wooden boards, he will have one or two more chances to replace the boards.

If a mistake is made when writing on the third plank, Chen Miao will have to exchange for cypress wood again.

A century-old cypress tree costs two qian of Yin virtue, and Chen Miao currently has three liang of Yin virtue left.

It seems like there's plenty of material, but the problem is that if the Ghost Scorpion wants to advance in the future, the materials needed for its training will also involve exchanging for them.

If Chen Miao wants to cultivate his skills in the best possible way, then exchanging materials is unavoidable.

Chen Miao is currently unaware of the material consumption of the Ghost Pattern Scorpion, so he cannot afford to waste his good karma.

I glanced at the time; it was 3 PM. There was still enough time.

Chen Miao drove out for a while, and when he came back, there were ten cypress logs, each one meter long, that had been shaved to a diameter of fifteen centimeters by a machine in his trunk.

And dozens of pre-cut wooden planks.

In addition to this, Chen Miao also ordered a woodworking cutting workbench online.

When making the peach wood sword, Chen Miao used a handheld cutting machine to first roughly cut it out, and then finely shave it.

This time, when he visited someone else's place, he saw a carpenter's workbench and asked the other person to operate it for him.

It was simpler than he had imagined, and the cost was not high.

Chen Miao will then be able to use the peach wood to make peach wood swords, peach wood talismans, and soul-suppressing wooden boards.

As for where the workbench is placed, it will naturally be in the basement of the dormitory building.

Chen Miao had only cleaned one room before, but now it seems he'll have to continue cleaning.

Busy as he worked, it wasn't until 8 p.m. that Chen Miao gave up on finishing the basement in one go and decided to continue tomorrow.

Back in his room, after washing up, Chen Miao took out the wooden boards that had been cut according to the instructions and began to practice.

After practicing from eight to nine o'clock and getting the hang of it, Chen Miao took out three wooden boards.

Then he exchanged his money for a bowl of chicken blood and a coin of cinnabar, and began his practical training.

For the wooden boards Chen Miao ordered this time, the carpenter used a machine to create a mortise and tenon structure on both sides of each board.

In this way, Chen Miao no longer needs to use any other tools to put the three wooden boards together.

Chen Miao specifically asked the craftsman to make this mortise and tenon structure on both sides of the wooden board. In this way, if one piece is damaged, it can be seamlessly connected to the other piece of wood without having to redo it on site.

Chen Miao could even make two sets. If a plank in one set broke, he could take out a plank from the other set to replace it.

Doing this will waste some space on the wooden planks, but it's still within Chen Miao's control.

(PS: The image below is for illustrative purposes only; in reality, each wooden board has a convex and concave structure on both sides.)

Before splicing the wooden boards, Chen Miao had one more thing to do: apply cinnabar to the areas where the boards would meet. This was a necessary step.

After completing the preparations, Chen Miao activated his Ice Heart state and began drawing the Soul-Suppressing Scripture.

Despite having practiced for an hour, Chen Miao still encountered problems when drawing the second wooden board.

Helpless, he removed the second plank and re-inserted a new one.

Throughout the process, the yin energy remained enveloping the first wooden board.

After the new wooden board was installed, Chen Miao started drawing again.

This time it went very smoothly, and Chen Miao didn't have any problems until the very last word.

Feeling the yin energy being absorbed by the scriptures, Chen Miao breathed a sigh of relief.

"We can only say we've succeeded halfway so far."

After the scriptures had completely dried, Chen Miao held the wooden board and slowly pulled out the first wooden board.

The Soul-Suppressing Field only lost its effect after half of the wooden plank was removed.

This situation gave Chen Miao a bright idea. It meant that in an emergency, Chen Miao could activate the Soul-Suppressing Field without having to fit the wooden planks perfectly!

Soon, Chen Miao completely disassembled the three wooden boards.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Miao resumed the assembly.

When the third plank was halfway inserted, the Soul-Suppressing Field reappeared.

Chen Miao breathed a sigh of relief.

After that, Chen Miao conducted another test.

For example, scrambling the order of the wooden planks won't activate the Soul-Suppressing Field.

Therefore, the assembly method still needs to follow the order in which it was initially written. As for why, Chen Miao didn't understand.

"Although this method of splicing wooden boards is more discreet than before, it also has its drawbacks."

Chen Miao looked at the wooden board.

"First of all, there is the issue of speed. If you encounter something suspicious in an emergency, you won't be able to react quickly. Even if you get used to the assembly process later, it will still take about three to five seconds."

"Secondly, there will be friction at the joints between the wooden boards. Over time, the cinnabar will be worn away and needs to be reapplied, so regular maintenance is required."

"Also, in order to fit better, there will be relatively strong friction during installation, so you have to use force. Therefore, when assembling and disassembling, you must avoid touching the areas with writing with your fingers to prevent erasing the writing when you use force."

"Finally, due to the font size, it consumed more spirit tablets than before."

“Previously, making a soul-suppressing memorial tablet only required about one qian of merit, but now making a combination of soul-suppressing wood like this costs nearly two qian.”

"If we add the century-old cypress wood we exchanged, it would be four qian, which would significantly increase the cost."

“Aside from its concealment, it is completely inferior to the previous Soul-Suppressing Spirit Tablet in every other aspect. However, the problem is that this concealment issue cannot be ignored, otherwise, if I make a mistake just once, I will have no chance.”

"That's all for now. We'll think about other better combinations later. By the way, we can ask Zhao Gongzi. He's very knowledgeable and might have some better ideas."

After weighing the pros and cons, Chen Miao put the things away.

Once the carpentry workbench arrives, he will use century-old cypress wood to create a composite soul-suppressing wood that can be included in the book.

Only what's included in books is truly safe.

Moreover, Chen Miao can keep the Soul-Suppressing Wooden Board in its combined state for a long time, even though it is included in the book.

After finishing, Chen Miao, still in good spirits, drew some more talismans.

It wasn't until the early hours of the morning that he took the talisman pen and other items and headed towards the basement of the dormitory building.

Once in the room, Chen Miao opened the jar with some anticipation.

The scorpion that came into view was no longer unchanged; this second-stage scorpion had grown to ten centimeters in size.

None of the scorpions Chen Miao bought before were ten centimeters long.

Looking at the scorpion, Chen Miao applied medicinal powder to his hands and then took it out.

It doesn't feel cold to the touch, but rather somewhat warm.

"Because it just shed its skin?"

After examining the scorpion with curiosity, Chen Miao put it down.

"let's start."

Chen Miao pricked his finger and dripped a drop of his own blood into the remaining chicken-blood cinnabar ink in the inkstone beside him. After stirring, he picked up the talisman brush in one hand and the scorpion in the other.

The final step to successfully transform a scorpion into a ghost scorpion is to draw a talisman.

The runes on the Ghost Scorpion were very simple, resembling a vertical line with a few extra strokes on either side. Chen Miao drew them without any difficulty.

When the yin energy was absorbed into the rune, it was like being burned onto pigskin, causing the scorpion's carapace to suddenly wrinkle slightly.

After it was over, the rune had shrunk into a gray line.

At the same time, Chen Miao felt a strange connection between himself and the scorpion in his hand.

This connection is far less significant than Chen Miao's previous connection with the ghost baby.

After putting the scorpion down, Chen Miao tried to communicate with it.

The "Ghost Scorpion Breeding Manual" describes two methods for controlling scorpions.

One method is to utilize this mysterious connection to transmit instructions to the Ghost Scorpion using thought and mental power.

This method is convenient and discreet, but it has one drawback.

That is, when the master's mental strength is not strong enough, the instructions sent will be very vague when they reach the scorpion, causing the scorpion to be unable to execute the instructions well.

Another method is to combine the first method with some special syllables to convey commands to the scorpion.

In this way, as long as the sound can be transmitted, the scorpion will execute the command well.

Looking at the Ghost Scorpion on the table, which was moving in an "S" shaped snake-like pattern according to his instructions, Chen Miao was even more satisfied with Bing Xin's condition.

"So, in the Ice Heart state, my entire spirit is actually strengthened."

Only in this way can one communicate with the Ghost Scorpion so easily, and only in this way can the range of perception be enhanced when the eyes are closed.

Thinking of sensing with his eyes closed, Chen Miao suddenly closed his eyes.

In his sensory state, Chen Miao saw the ghost scorpion on the table, which was made of light blue particles.

"Isn't it red? I wonder if the Ghost-Faced Scorpion will turn red after it eats a ghost."

Then, Chen Miao sent the command with his eyes closed.

Chen Miao smiled as he watched the scorpion move according to his commands.

This makes it even more concealed.

"If my range of perception is wider when I close my eyes in the future, I will be able to do more things."

Opening his eyes, Chen Miao had the scorpion return and then took out the half bowl of chicken blood that was left over from when he drew the Soul-Suppressing Scripture in the book.

There are several ways to train a Ghost Scorpion, but the first three stages are naturally the most important.

Once it becomes a Ghost Scorpion, the training method will be different.

First of all, the scorpion needs yin energy.

They can only grow by eating in an environment where the concentration of yin energy is sufficient; otherwise, eating is only enough to maintain their survival.

Secondly, the ghost scorpion needs the blood of its owner, one drop every day.

You can refuse to give it, but when it comes time for promotion, if your connection with Ghost Scorpion hasn't reached a certain level, you won't be able to control it to advance.

Then there's chicken blood.

The chicken blood wasn't used for feeding the scorpions, but rather for soaking them.

After absorbing Yin energy, the Ghost Scorpion's body becomes a Yin energy environment.

Chicken blood is of the Yang nature. When it is used to water a ghost scorpion, it reacts with the Yin energy within the scorpion's body, causing a magical change in the scorpion's body and promoting its growth.

At the same time, the interaction between Yin and Yang will temper the Ghost Scorpion's shell, strengthening its defenses.

However, the amount of Yin energy in a Ghost Scorpion of the Ghost Pattern level is not much, so the tempering effect is weak.

The real boost to defense comes when you reach the Ghost Scorpion stage.

This is similar to Chen Miao's Extreme Yin Body Refining Technique, except one is applied to a human body and the other to a scorpion.

Finally, the ghost scorpion feeds on its own kind of scorpions.

Eating their own kind not only sustains their survival but also enhances their physical attributes.

The better the quality of the same kind of food consumed, the higher the level of improvement in one's qualifications.

Generally, to improve their quality, scorpions are fed to those that have been trained to the first or second stage. Only those who have plenty of money and time will feed scorpions to the third stage.

However, this kind of improvement in aptitude is very slow and consumes a lot of resources, which is far less effective than cultivating a scorpion to the third stage from the very beginning.

Originally, Chen Miao didn't have many thoughts about this, but after discovering the effects of the Stone of Gold, he began to have some ideas about it.

Looking at the scorpion, Chen Miao gathered Yin energy around the Ghost Scorpion. When Chen Miao sensed a faint fluctuation of Yin energy, he used his talisman brush to dip a little chicken blood and brushed it onto the Ghost Scorpion.

At first, nothing changed, but soon Chen Miao heard a hissing sound.

The chicken blood brushed onto the scorpion disappeared into its body in just over ten seconds.

Chen Miao picked up the Ghost Scorpion and glanced at it, but there was nothing unusual about it.

"It seems we'll need to nurture it for a while before we see results. I wonder when it will advance to the Ghost-Faced Scorpion level."

Chen Miao threw the ghost scorpion into a jar, and then threw the remaining four scorpions into the jar as well.

After the four scorpions entered, they spontaneously moved away from the ghost scorpion.

But the Ghost Scorpion won't let them go just because they left.

Ten minutes later, only two ordinary scorpions remained in the jar.

"If they only eat two at a time, they're easy to feed."

Chen Miao murmured to himself, then, carrying the jar containing the ghost-patterned scorpion, left the basement.

……

The next morning, Chen Miao got up to practice his body-strengthening exercises, and then fed the Ghost-Patterned Scorpion a drop of its blood.

After doing all that, he went straight to the cold storage.

When they arrived, Li Fu was already waiting there.

"Uncle Li, you're up really early."

Li Fu smiled.

"I'm too old to fall asleep."

"are you ready?"

Chen Miao's body trembled instantly, and he nodded solemnly!
"Ready!"

After Chen Miao finished speaking, he heard Li Fu say, "Then why don't you take out your phone?"

Chen Miao was confused.

"Uncle Li, what do you need my phone for?"

Li Fu shook his head.

"You think you can memorize it in one go? Or do you want me to call it out for you several times? Record it on my phone!"

Li Fu's words startled Chen Miao.

When hermits and masters pass on their skills, don't they always test the intelligence of the successor?
Chen Miao also planned to try using the "ice heart" state to see if he could memorize it all at once.

Who would have thought Li Fu would say that?

Times have truly changed.

Just as Chen Miao turned on his phone's recording function, Li Fu had already started recording.

"This set of boxing originated from Bajiquan, and was later adapted by people in the military into this set called 'Iron-Blooded Bajiquan'."

"Iron-Blooded Eight Extremes has two versions: Morning Training Version and Killing Version. I'm playing the Killing Version now."

"Alright!"

"First move, City-Destroying Spear!"

……

(End of this chapter)