The Path to Immortality: Starting with an Analysis of Basic Concepts

Fifteen minutes later.

Zhu Yu felt a sharp pain surge in his mind.

The ten corpse beetles, which had been cut into several pieces, lit up for a moment, but instead of turning into spiritual energy and coalescing as before, they exploded and scattered into specks of spiritual light.

A blur streaked past, extinguishing more than a dozen spiritual lights, before landing on a branch of a corpse taro and transforming into a black and red mantis, as if meticulously carved from jade.

It tilted its head, looking at the faint, disappearing points of light in mid-air. Its sickle-shaped forelimbs rubbed against the light, and the pale red light flowing around its blades was noticeably brighter than before.

The mantis demon turned its head, its sesame-seed-sized pupils looking at Zhu Yu. Its sickle-shaped forelimbs rose slightly, its wings trembled, and its body vanished in an instant.

next moment.

boom…

Zhu Yu was startled by the ripples spreading across the spiritual energy shield. He endured the stinging pain in his head and channeled his spiritual energy into the shield.

Immediately following, heavy impacts resounded from all directions, and the spiritual energy shield rippled violently, like a reef in the water, looking as if it was about to shatter, but fortunately it never broke.

After a dozen or so breaths.

Seeing that it couldn't break through the protective barrier, and seemingly bored, the mantis demon paused for a moment, then transformed into a faint stream of light and disappeared into the distant darkness.

"call…"

Zhu Yu looked around and, seeing no sign of the demonic insects, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, then muttered to himself:

"Where did this outrageous monster come from?!"

He probed with his divine sense and found that the mantis demon was only a low-grade first-level demon, which was equivalent to the early stage of Qi Refining. Normally, cultivators would be stronger than demons at the same level, given their size.

But this monster is clearly out of the ordinary!

It's unknown what kind of innate technique it awakened, but it actually managed to annihilate the divine consciousness hidden within the corpse beetle, directly breaking the technique!

It will take at least a day for it to reappear.

"You just wait..."

Zhu Yu gritted his teeth inwardly. This was the first time he had suffered a loss since he began cultivating. Annoyed, his previously relaxed mind tensed up again.

"Even the sect's sacred grounds are not absolutely safe; we cannot let our guard down..."

Zhu Yu frowned and fell into deep thought.

The appearance of the mantis demon insect reminded him that he currently lacked effective means of fighting it. If he had a way to fight it through cultivation, even if he couldn't defeat the demon insect, he wouldn't be forced to defend in a sorry state and wait for it to leave on its own.

Previously, he had been developing steadily and peacefully, and after reaching the late stage of Qi Refining, he replaced the "Demon Raising Record" with an advanced cultivation method that suited him, and then cultivated smoothly.

In hindsight, he was overly optimistic!

No one knows if an accident will happen. Even if there were no demonic insects today, what if a demonic beast or a malicious cultivator appears in the future?

Being prepared is the right thing to do.

Otherwise, it will be too late to regret it when disaster strikes.

"Let's go tomorrow!"

Zhu Yu looked up at the eleven crescent moon emerging from the dim clouds, then turned and went back to the wooden house. As he reached the door, he half-squatted down.

Xiao Hei had just made a move as well.

The result wasn't very good.

The little black carapace was slashed with hideous cuts by the demon insect's sickle-shaped forelimbs, with green blood seeping from some places. A piece of its originally shiny big incisor was chipped off, but luckily it had blocked the blow, otherwise it would have been its head that was broken off instead of its teeth.

Sensing the listlessness and fear emanating from Xiao Hei, Zhu Yu gently stroked its head, soothing its turbulent emotions, and sighed, "Fighting isn't for you. From now on, you'll just be a mount..."

Once it calmed down a bit, it stepped into the room.

……

The next day.

One of the most enviable advantages of insect-beasts is their powerful regenerative and self-healing abilities.

In just one night, Xiao Hei's injuries were almost completely healed. The scars left on its carapace, the broken pieces, and its jagged front teeth added to its fierce appearance.

But its little eyes, which kept turning and glancing warily to the side, and the unease that was creeping in, betrayed it!

"When you return and encounter that demonic insect again, your master will avenge you..."

Zhu Yu patted the little black head, whispered a few words of comfort, then leaped onto its carapace, sat cross-legged, and gave the instructions:

"Little Black is gone."

Squeak…

With a hiss, as if chased by a demonic insect, Little Black darted away faster than ever before, disappearing down the mound in a flash.

On the way, seeing Xiao Hei casting the "Lightness" spell on itself and running all the way, forgetting its owner, Zhu Yu, jolted and tossed about, said helplessly:

"No rush, slow down..."

Squeak…

Only then did Xiao Hei remember him. With a neigh, a gentle force supported him, finally easing the jolt, but Xiao Hei's speed did not decrease in the slightest.

Seeing this, Zhu Yu let it go, closed his eyes and focused his mind to recover the spiritual energy he had consumed overnight.

.....

I don't know how long it has been.

A commotion startled Zhu Yu awake. He opened his eyes and saw a huge archway. He rubbed his temples, rolled over, landed, and strode toward the market.

At this moment, five full moons are hanging from the dome.

There are not many street stalls, and very few pedestrians.

Zhu Yu arrived a little early, not rushing to the classroom or wandering around, but heading straight to Zhongjie Street with a purpose.

Not long after.

He arrived at a two-story shop with the words "Mi Family Talisman Pavilion" written on it, glanced at it, and stepped inside.

The shop was small, with only a counter and two shelves displaying numerous talismans imbued with spiritual energy. These talismans were made of various materials, including different colored paper, animal hides, jade, and cloth.

Perhaps it was too early, as there were only two or three people in the shop.

As Zhu Yu looked around, a servant boy approached with a beaming smile, bowed respectfully, and asked, "Greetings, Immortal Master. Do you wish to buy or sell talismans?"

"Buy a talisman."

Zhu Yu nodded slightly and, without wasting words, said, "I want to buy talismans for offense..." He suddenly changed his mind, "...for defense and imprisonment, of medium grade is fine."

"Yes, sir, please come with me."

Seeing that he had a clear purpose, the servant's smile widened. He stepped forward and led him to a shelf, from which he took down three talismans.

One gold, one green, and one blue.

Two of the materials are paper, and one is animal hide.

"My lord, please look..."

The servant handed the talisman to Zhu Yu, then introduced it, saying, "This talisman is a mid-grade first-tier 'Vajra Talisman.' After activation, it can withstand an attack from a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining."

"This is a mid-grade Tier 1 'Thousand Vine Talisman,' which, when used, summons a thousand vines as hard as metal, making it difficult for even a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator to break through. This is a mid-grade Tier 1 'Ice Arrow Talisman,' which, when used, condenses into an icy arrow that can both inflict damage and trap the enemy..."

After the introduction, he lowered his head slightly and remained silent.

Sensing the powerful energy contained within the talisman, Zhu Yu nodded in satisfaction and asked directly, "How many spirit stones?"

The servant hurriedly replied, "A Vajra Talisman costs forty-five low-grade spirit stones, while the Thousand Vine Talisman and Ice Arrow Talisman cost forty and thirty-five low-grade spirit stones respectively."

"hiss…"

Although he knew a little about it, Zhu Yu's eyelids twitched when he learned the price. The price of three talismans was almost as much as the spirit stones he earned from teaching for a day.

In short, it's really expensive!

But thinking of that demonic insect, he still decided to buy it.

"These three will do!"

"It is the Immortal Master. There are a total of one hundred and twenty low-grade spirit stones," the servant said respectfully.

Zhu Yu took out the spirit stones and handed them to the servant, carefully put away the talisman, and without lingering, stepped out of the shop, turned around to look in the direction of the underworld, and sneered:

"You just wait, you little bug..."