Eternal Life Begins with Learning

’Such an injury...’

After assessing the injury to his Divine Soul again, Chu Mu mused for a moment before finally suppressing his concerns. He focused his gaze on the spoils of war laid out before him.

The spoils weren’t numerous: two Storage Talismans, a shield, three Flying Swords, and some miscellaneous items.

The most valuable item seemed to be the round shield Zhao Tang had wielded.

It was a Top Grade Magical Artifact. He had felt its power clearly when he’d turned back for that surprise attack and his saber had struck it.

In fact, it was because of this Top Grade Magical Artifact shield that he had decisively used his Divine Soul Saber in a life-or-death gamble, rather than getting bogged down in a prolonged fight.

After all, with his current abilities, breaking through this Top Grade Magical Artifact shield would have been far too difficult.

If the fight had dragged on, reinforcements might have arrived, and he likely wouldn’t have been able to escape.

Chu Mu handled the shield fondly, unable to put it down for a moment, before turning his attention to the other three Flying Swords.

One Top Grade Magical Artifact and two Upper Grade Magical Artifacts.

The Top Grade Magical Artifact had naturally belonged to Zhao Tang, while the two Upper Grade ones had belonged to the other two Longevity Sect disciples.

In terms of value, just from these four Magical Artifacts alone, he had undoubtedly profited immensely from this battle.

And that wasn’t even counting the three Storage Talismans.

Two were from Zhao Tang, and one was from the Longevity Sect disciple he had beheaded right as he began his counterattack.

As for the first two Cultivators he had ambushed with his Formless Needle, there had obviously been no time to collect any loot under the circumstances.

And as for the guy hiding behind the ’turtle shell’, he had been blasted to smithereens, so besides a single Flying Sword, there was clearly no other loot to be had from him.

He sent his Divine Sense into one of the Storage Talismans. An image appeared in his mind: roughly four to five hundred Lower Spirit stones, several Talismans, some bottles and jars containing Elixirs, a Jade Scroll, and a few books.

After taking a quick inventory, Chu Mu turned his gaze to Zhao Tang’s two Storage Talismans.

He probed them with his Divine Sense for a moment, and a pile of items materialized before him.

Over two thousand Lower Spirit stones, ten or so Jade Bottles, five Jade Scrolls, ten or so books, and...

a Talisman, which he now held in his hand.

Chu Mu examined the Talisman in his hand, slightly puzzled.

He didn’t know much about the art of making Talismans, but he had certainly used his fair share of them.

A normal Talisman used Spirit Paper as a medium, with Runes drawn upon it to form the complete item.

As for this ’Spirit Paper,’ it came in many varieties.

It was generally categorized by Grade. For example, there was Talisman Paper made from Spirit Wood and Spirit Grass, as well as ’Talisman Hide’ made from the pelts of Spirit Beasts or Demon Beasts.

It was a simple principle: the stronger the power of the Runes, the higher the quality of the Talisman Paper or Hide required to contain it.

The Talisman before him was obviously made from some kind of Beast Hide.

This aspect was consistent with the characteristics of a normal Talisman.

But this Beast Skin Talisman had no... Runes!

Upon the Beast Skin Talisman, only a small, three-inch-long golden sword shimmered in and out of view.

And around the small golden sword, there were no Runes to be seen at all.

This was, without a doubt, illogical.

After all, every Talisman, Magical Artifact, Array—indeed, all of the Hundred Skills of Cultivation—operated within the system of Spiritual Power.

It was like refining a Magical Artifact by only inscribing an Array Prohibition, without carving the channels to supply it with Spiritual Power. What would be the point of that Array Prohibition?

It would be completely pointless!

Unless...

Gritting his teeth against the searing pain, Chu Mu sent a wisp of his Divine Sense to probe the Beast Skin Talisman.

The instant his Divine Sense made contact, he clearly perceived an immense pressure transmitted through that wisp of consciousness.

’This ripple of power...’

The wisp of Divine Sense shattered. When Chu Mu looked at the Talisman again, his eyes were filled with shock and doubt.

The pressure radiating from it was even more terrifying than that of the Tier Two Lower Grade Talisman he owned!

Chu Mu’s heart began to hammer in his chest. ’More terrifying than a Tier Two Lower Grade Talisman... That means it’s higher than Tier Two Lower Grade!’

’It means that this Talisman could even inflict a fatal wound on a Foundation Establishment Realm expert...’

’A treasure!’

The two words surfaced in his mind instinctively.

Then, as if remembering something, Chu Mu’s gaze snapped towards the pile of looted books. He rummaged through them for a moment until he was holding a volume titled *A Detailed Guide to Talismans*.

Chu Mu took a deep breath and opened the book. An introduction to Talismans appeared before him.

The book’s content was straightforward: an introduction to Talismans, their Grades, composition, and the underlying system...

Although it didn’t delve into the specifics of Talisman creation, its explanation of the overall system was very clear.

After about a quarter of an hour, the turning pages suddenly stopped.

Chu Mu’s gaze was fixed on the contents of that page.

The page contained both an illustration and text.

The illustration depicted a Beast Skin Talisman. However, instead of a small golden sword, this one featured a small black cauldron.

Beside it, the description was equally clear.

’A Talisman Treasure...’

His heart pounded in his chest. When he looked at the Beast Skin Talisman again, his gaze burned with fervor!

’What was a Talisman Treasure?’

According to the book’s description, it was a type of treasure that only the legendary Golden Core True Masters could create.

This was because the power of a Talisman Treasure originated from Magical Treasures—items that only Golden Core True Masters could refine and possess!

A Talisman Treasure was formed when a Golden Core Cultivator used talismanic arts to transfer a portion of a Magical Treasure’s power into a talisman medium.

Only High Tier Cultivators of the Golden Core Realm could wield Magical Treasures and unleash their true Mighty Power.

But a Talisman Treasure, which contained a portion of a Magical Treasure’s Mighty Power, could be used even by someone at the Qi Cultivation First Layer. The only difference was how much of the Talisman Treasure’s power they could actually unleash.

Furthermore, Talisman Treasures were typically single-use items.

Of course, that was assuming one could release all of the Magical Treasure’s sealed power at once.

According to the book’s records, the power a Talisman Treasure could unleash mainly depended on the user’s Cultivation.

For instance, if an ordinary Cultivator at the Qi Cultivation First or Second Layers were to use a Talisman Treasure, their Divine Sense and Magical Power would only be able to unleash a might barely greater than that of a common Magic.

However, if a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator were to use it, their Divine Sense and Magical Power could unleash nearly the full Mighty Power of the Talisman Treasure!

A portion of the Mighty Power of a Golden Core True Master’s Magical Treasure!

’What did that even mean?’

Every Grand Realm advancement on the Immortal Path was a difference between heaven and earth!

A gap that was fundamentally impossible to cross!

A portion of the Mighty Power of a Golden Core True Master’s Magical Treasure was enough to easily kill most Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators!

’With my current Magical Cultivation, if I were to use this Talisman Treasure, how many Qi Cultivation Realm Cultivators could possibly withstand it?’

However, according to the book, while the Talisman Treasure’s Mighty Power was terrifying, the conditions for its use were extremely strict.

Magical Treasures were, after all, items only Golden Core True Masters could possess. While a Talisman Treasure containing a portion of its power had no Cultivation level restriction, a Cultivator below the Golden Core Realm would still need a significant amount of time to activate it.

The lower the Cultivation, the longer the time needed to activate the Talisman Treasure.

In the heat of battle, where every second and every instant could mean the difference between life and death, who would have enough time to activate such an item?

Instinctively, Chu Mu glanced at the Top Grade Magical Artifact shield.

’If someone were defending with all their might using a Top Grade Magical Artifact shield, it seems I truly wouldn’t be able to break through it or pose any threat to them.’

’Unless I had an endless supply of Tier Two Talismans...’

’And with an unbreakable defense ensuring one’s safety, one could then divide their attention to activate the Talisman Treasure...’

As his thoughts raced, Chu Mu couldn’t help but shudder. ’If I hadn’t risked everything to end the fight quickly, if I had actually let Zhao Tang use this Talisman Treasure...’

’...given the Mighty Power described in the book, I would have been the one blasted to smithereens!’

’How fortunate...’

Chu Mu shook his head, and his gaze shifted, finally settling on the pile of books and Jade Scrolls.

The treasure was nice, but what he coveted even more was the legacy of knowledge.

After taking inventory, Chu Mu couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Most of the books were just common knowledge texts, with a few manuals on Magic Skills of various Attributes and several Basic Cultivation Techniques for the Qi Cultivation Realm.

And the six Jade Scrolls...

Clinging to a final shred of hope, Chu Mu picked up one of the Jade Scrolls. His Divine Sense probed it, and the details of a Cultivation Technique flooded his mind.

Ming Yu Skill.

’A Gold Attribute advanced Cultivation Technique...’

After a moment, Chu Mu put down the Jade Scroll, his brow slightly furrowed.

The technique was named Ming Yu Skill. It was a Gold Attribute advanced Cultivation Technique, and according to the Jade Scroll’s description, one could cultivate with it to the Peak of Foundation Establishment.

The technique was extraordinary. Despite being a Gold Attribute Technique, the Magical Power it produced was mellow and focused on extending one’s lifespan.

From the description, it seemed to have sacrificed all of a technique’s typical combat characteristics purely for the sake of... extending one’s life!

Chu Mu casually tossed the Jade Scroll aside. ’Never mind that the Attribute doesn’t match; even if it did, I would never practice this technique.’

He picked up and put down the Jade Scrolls, one after another.

In the end, he had examined all six Jade Scrolls.

Including the Ming Yu Skill, there were five Cultivation Techniques in total.

The techniques varied in quality, but all of them were Cultivation Techniques for the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Among them was an Earth Attribute Body Refining Technique named Thick Earth True Body Skill. According to the technique’s description, one could even cultivate it all the way to the Golden Core Realm!

The technique was incredibly precious, but it held little meaning for him.

Because... all five techniques were either Gold or Earth Attribute.

The final Jade Scroll, however, offered a minor but welcome discovery.

The Jade Scroll recorded a type of Body Tempering Elixir called the Vajra Pill.

Clearly, this Elixir was meant to support the Body Refining Cultivation of the Thick Earth True Body Skill.

Both of these Jade Scrolls had come from Zhao Tang’s Storage Talisman.

’He hadn’t started cultivating it?’

Chu Mu recalled the scene of their fight. From what he had felt, Zhao Tang clearly did not possess Body Refining Cultivation.

If he had, given this Thick Earth True Body Skill, Chu Mu might very well have suffered a disastrous and unexpected defeat.

After all, his final saber strike had been a move that injured them both.

But he had relied on his own Body Refining Cultivation to forcefully stomp Zhao Tang to death.

Gazing at the spoils of war before him, Chu Mu couldn’t help but sigh with a mix of emotions.

He had never actively killed someone for their treasures.

But he had plenty of experience with killing in self-defense and taking the spoils.

But compared to his current haul, the loot from all his previous encounters seemed laughably pathetic.

Take this Thick Earth True Body Skill, for example, a technique that could be cultivated all the way to the Golden Core Realm.

Could he ever have obtained something like this through normal channels?

It would have been completely impossible.

Even if one had appeared, it would have been far beyond his reach.

Yet such a precious Cultivation Technique had been sitting in the Storage Talisman of a mere Qi Cultivation Realm Cultivator like Zhao Tang.

The difference between having a powerful backer and having none was truly the difference between heaven and earth.

’Murder and arson bring wealth...’

’Does that make me... an Evil Cultivator now?’

’It seems I really have become an Evil Cultivator...’