What's that noise? Has the Spirit Fish successfully returned to its ancestry?

Jia Ren sensed something and looked towards the distant pond. He could faintly see the light of flames burning around the fishpond. How could there be flames burning underwater?

He rushed to the fishpond immediately. At the bottom of the pond, a Spirit Fish was swimming with its tail aflame in red, flickering beautifully behind it. The flames had no temperature, were unaffected by the water, and did not evaporate any steam. Though they looked like flames, they were more ornamental...

Jia Ren carefully examined the Spirit Fish, recalling its previous appearance. Three-tailed Phoenix Carp? A fish species raised as an ornamental Spirit Fish? Its flesh quality is poor, its Spiritual Power insufficient, lacking high value.

Jia Ren did not have high expectations; it was just to make up the numbers. Before the Three-tailed Phoenix Carp underwent its ancestral return, it was indeed a worthless Spirit Fish, but after its ancestral return... It emitted an aura close to that of a Second Order, surpassing the Black Dragon Fish in all aspects. Where it swam, other Spirit Fish gave way; this Spirit Fish was extraordinary. A worthless Spirit Fish turned into a supreme grade one after its ancestral return?! The change was even greater than that of the Black Dragon Loach returning to its ancestry as a Black Dragon Fish. This was a kind of Spirit Fish never seen before, likely one that had long been extinct.

"Let's call it Phoenix Tail Flame Fish!"

The other Spirit Fish that were fed Spirit Attracting Bait also succeeded in their ancestral return. The First-Order Middle-Grade Jade Herring Fish returned to its ancestry to become the First-Order Superior Grade White Jade Herring Fish. The First-Order Middle-Grade Lanjiang Porpoise Fish returned to its ancestry to become the First-Order Superior Grade Black Lanjiang Porpoise Bone Fish.

...

Each Spirit Fish that had undergone an ancestral return experienced significant changes. Jia Ren's gaze swept over the Spirit Fish and rested on the king among them, the Phoenix Tail Flame Fish. I wonder how the Phoenix Tail Flame Fish turned out?

"Come out!"

He took out a piece of Spirit Attracting Bait and effortlessly lured the Phoenix Tail Flame Fish to the surface; the golden light flickering from his fingertips pierced through its head.

Should I test it for poison first? The situation was unknown after the Spirit Fish's ancestral return. Jia Ren did not want to accidentally eat a poisonous Spirit Fish and die from poisoning. He used the poison-testing methods from the Hundred Poisons Scripture and only after repeatedly confirming there was no poison did he relax.

The Phoenix Tail Flame Fish was cooked, and even its fiery tail was preserved. He had a feeling that this part was likely the most valuable component of the Phoenix Tail Flame Fish.

Next, he tested the White Jade Herring Fish and the Black Lanjiang Porpoise Bone Fish. The former was fine—non-toxic and harmless. When testing the Black Lanjiang Porpoise Bone Fish, his caution proved justified. The Lanjiang Porpoise Fish indeed contained poison; only a few parts were edible, and if well prepared, it could be a rare delicacy. After its ancestral return, it had completely transformed into a poisonous creature, every part of it toxic. Since its successful ancestral return, it constantly emitted a special toxic liquid, contaminating the fishpond. Luckily, it was discovered in time. Many Spirit Fish in the pond had been affected and died on the spot.

"I could test its toxicity; perhaps it can be used to create a new Poison."

As his strength increased, the effects of the Hundred Poisons Scripture were diminishing. Poisonous herbs and Demonic Beast Materials were difficult to find, and he had always struggled to gather them, only able to refine a few Poisons with easily collected materials. After reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, Cultivators' physiques became much more robust, and ordinary Poisons became less threatening, greatly reducing their practical value. The Black Lanjiang Porpoise Bone Fish was good; it could serve as a new source of Poison.

He drained the toxic water from the fishpond and used the Gather Water Spell to replace it with fresh water. Not many Spirit Fish died, so the loss was acceptable. After confirming that the Spirit Fish which had undergone ancestral return, like the Phoenix Tail Flame Fish and the White Jade Herring Fish, were non-toxic and harmless, he processed them in different ways.

The fish was cooked, and the rich aroma of meat filled the air. A full table of delicious dishes was ready, with braised, steamed, fried, and boiled Spirit Fish prepared in a wide variety of ways. The first to be tasted was the braised Phoenix Tail Flame Fish. The taste was ordinary, and the concentration of Spiritual Energy was quite good, but beyond that, there were no other changes. The second tasted was the boiled White Jade Herring Fish, which was fragrant, fresh, and delightful. Jia Ren had tasted the Boneless Silverfish, considered a delicacy among delicacies, yet the White Jade Herring Fish, despite being nice, still fell short. The remaining Spirit Fish had nothing remarkable about them: their taste was lacking, their Spiritual Energy weak, and they possessed none of the special powers of the Black Dragon Fish or Boneless Silverfish.

The Black Dragon Fish and Boneless Silverfish were already rare species, and such special Spirit Fish were naturally scarce. It was already lucky to encounter such Spirit Fish; one couldn't be too demanding. The most disappointing was the Phoenix Tail Flame Fish; he had thought it was a king among them, but it fell far short of expectations.

Could it be I have yet to discover its true value?

Jia Ren took out the Phoenix Tail Flame Fish's tail from his Storage Bag, which he had previously preserved. The tail was still burning, but the flames had no temperature and posed no harm to humans. Aside from being ornamental, he could not sense much Spiritual Power. Truly a useless addition, unworthy of its status as king among fish.

Just as Jia Ren was about to put it away, he suddenly thought of something. He took out the Xuan Ming Stone, which he had bought for eight thousand Spirit Stones. His skill in the Formation Path was insufficient, so Jia Ren had been reluctant to set up the Seal-Demon Formation, fearing he would waste the hard-won rare material. This material seemed ordinary but was, in fact, a rare evil-warding material. Could the Phoenix Tail Flame Fish be similar, a special type of Demonic Beast Material for Warding Off Evil?

To verify his guess was not difficult. Jia Ren took out the Gathering of Tricks Array, embedded a Spirit Stone into it, and activated it. Soon after, an invisible and bizarre aura began to gather. Without any hesitation, Jia Ren held the Phoenix Tail Flame Fish's tail and brought it close. Everywhere the red flame passed, the bizarre aura was purified, completely eradicated without a trace.

Success?! Jia Ren's face erupted in ecstasy, and his eyes became incredibly fervent as he looked at the fish tail in his hand. Evil-warding material! It was indeed an evil-warding material. This was precisely the treasure I had longed for in my dreams!

Unlike the Rhinoceros Horn, Xuan Yang Gem, and Xuan Ming Stone—evil-warding materials that were difficult to procure. He had only managed to acquire such items because he had broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, and the Yuding Sect had sold them to him to curry favor. Such treasures might be sold once or twice at most, but the transactions wouldn't continue indefinitely. Want to buy again? You'd have to join the Sect! They were like bait used for fishing; once you tasted it the first time and desired a second, it meant you were hooked. The ultimate result would be joining the Sect and falling under its control. Everything proceeded just as the Sect had anticipated.

The newly acquired Phoenix Tail Flame Fish finally gave Jia Ren a glimpse of new hope. No need to rely on the Sect; I can continuously obtain evil-warding materials on my own! Jia Ren decisively interrupted the Gathering of Tricks Array to prevent any unnecessary accidents. After everything was done, he scrutinized the brand-new evil-warding material. Unlike other known evil-warding materials, whose effects were already documented by predecessors, this new material required personal verification to understand its properties.

How should it be used? Craft evil-warding Talismans, Elixirs, Magic Artifacts, and set up Formations?

The intrinsic effect of evil-warding materials against Bizarre Demons was relatively weak; they couldn't fully exert their true power on their own. Using the Rhinoceros Horn to craft Evil Warding Talismans and refining Magic Artifacts was one of the ways to maximize their effect. Jia Ren thought the best way to make use of the Phoenix Tail Flame Fish's tail was to do the same, forging it into a suitable treasure. The first things that came to his mind were Talismans and Magic Artifacts. He had no clue about Elixirs and Formations and no solutions for the time being. Talismans and Magic Artifacts were relatively simple. He had references to look at. The lessons of the past can guide future actions.

His Proficiency Level with the Evil Warding Talisman had reached the Extraordinary Saint Level, far surpassing its creator. It wouldn't be difficult to modify the blueprint to create corresponding Talismans. For Magic Artifacts, he could refer to the Xuan Yang Fire Spirit Pendant, using it as a blueprint to craft an Evil Warding Artifact. His Artifact Refining level was not high enough, which meant more time would be required. Improving the Evil Warding Talisman based on the blueprint was relatively simple. But "simple" did not mean copying directly; the creation of new Talismans required more than that.

Making Evil-warding Spirit Ink didn't mean simply substituting the main component, Rhinoceros Horn Powder, with the Phoenix Tail Flame Fish's tail. The other auxiliary materials in Evil-warding Spirit Ink served to bolster the effect, aiming to maximize the potential of the Rhinoceros Horn. They might work with the Rhinoceros Horn, but not necessarily with the Phoenix Tail Flame Fish's tail. The Talisman Crafting for Evil Warding Talismans followed the same logic, yet significant differences existed. The first thing to do was to understand the properties of the material. In Alchemy, one must first comprehend pharmacology, grasp the essence of medicinal properties, and use the principles of 'ruler, minister, assistant, and envoy,' along with 'civil and military partnership,' to maximize effects.

The Phoenix Tail Flame Fish's characteristic was its continuously burning flame—stable and long-lasting, it did not affect anything other than the demonic qi of Bizarre Demons. This was an extremely peculiar type of evil-warding flame, and what he needed to do was to bring its potential to the extreme. Jia Ren began arduous tests and experiments – burning with fire, encasing in ice, testing with lightning... Understanding the properties of evil-warding materials allowed for a rational combination, maximizing their power.

After numerous experiments, the materials were quickly depleted. The Three-tailed Phoenix Carp ran out, and he used a Sound Transmission Talisman to instruct Wang Mingyan to purchase more. The other materials intended for experimentation were treated the same. Acquiring Three-tailed Phoenix Carp was easy. For other materials, he chose common commodities to reduce the difficulty of making Spirit Ink.

"Senior Shi, I just received a message – the Utensil Sect has been destroyed by the Heart-devouring Illusion Bizarre..."

The Utensil Sect destroyed? Heart-devouring Illusion Bizarre? Although the Utensil Sect had no Golden Core Cultivators, with at least a dozen Foundation Establishment Cultivators and centuries of heritage, how could they be annihilated by the Heart-devouring Illusion Bizarre? This was not good news! Moreover, I myself am targeted by the Heart-devouring Illusion Bizarre. What about the Heavenly Feather Gate? Weren't they notified that they would send experts to deal with the Bizarre Demons? I can't place my hopes on others; I must hurry to craft Evil-Warding Treasures!ŸŸŸ

「For three consecutive days.」

Jia Ren's eyes were bloodshot. To research new Talismans, he had to stop practicing Xuan Shui Escape and the Xuan Yuan Heavy Water Technique. The hard work wasn't in vain, as the results were satisfying. Once familiar with the material characteristics, the rest was smooth sailing. Thanks to his Grandmaster Level proficiency in Evil-warding Spirit Ink, he had a commanding perspective, and a brand-new Evil-warding Spirit Ink was born. The Spirit Ink exhibited a blackish-red color, with crimson flames dancing within it. The effects of the new Spirit Ink still needed experimentation; the initial creation was far from perfect and had much room for improvement.

A method for creating the new evil-warding Talisman gradually took shape in his mind, coupled with his fresh understanding, constantly being refined and improved. With strokes as dynamic as dragons and snakes, he seamlessly crafted a Talisman on the Blank Talisman Paper. A new Talisman came into being. Clutching the newly created Talisman, Jia Ren attempted to activate it, but to no effect. The Talisman Crafting failed.

Jia Ren pondered the root of the problem; a direct reference to the Evil Warding Talisman wouldn't work. The properties of the two evil-warding materials were different. The Rhinoceros Horn's characteristic was primarily Warding Off Evil; whether it was combined with Spirit Ink or crafted into a Talisman, that was the case. This new Talisman carried a burning trait, focused on offense; it should be converted into an offensive, Demon-slaying Talisman. Other attack-oriented Talismans, such as the Fire Bullet Talisman, came to mind, forming a new Talisman structure. Jia Ren had a premonition that a new Talisman for combating Bizarre Demons was about to emerge.

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