Chapter 284 - 204: New Talent, First Talisman Treasure
Moreover, his Fire Control Technique had ultimately transformed into the True Intent of Fire Manipulation Divine Abilities, which was an enormous boon to his Alchemy skills.
'I wonder if this Water Control will ultimately evolve into a Demon Technique or a Divine Power True Intent?'
Lin Changheng had no way of knowing.
The bigger problem was that the Song Territory wasn't a wetland country. Great rivers existed, but they were few and far between.
Nor was there a sea nearby.
For Lin Changheng, mastering this Water Control talent seemed... of little use at the moment.
He could only file it away as a backup option.
...
As for the Water Arrow talent, Lin Changheng had tested it with the Deep Lake Spirit Clam before. It was powerful; a fully charged strike was something even a Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator wouldn't dare face head-on. The problem, however, lay in the "charging up," which was easily detected, allowing an opponent to defend or dodge.
An opponent might even use the charging time to launch a fatal strike.
It might be surprisingly effective if given the chance to launch a sneak attack.
For this reason, Lin Changheng considered it rather impractical.
After all, unless it was Magical Combat between evenly matched opponents, most fights were decided in an instant, leaving no time to charge an attack.
It was more trouble than it was worth.
Besides, if he really wanted to use such a tactic, he could just let Xiaobai out beforehand to lie in wait for an ambush. The result might even be better.
...
As for Nourishing Spirit.
Lin Changheng's first thought was that just as ordinary clams could nurture pearls, Demon Beast clams could nurture rare treasures.
He later began to wonder why the Deep Lake Spirit Clam from the Sun Family had its lifespan so drastically reduced, aging to such a degree without any obvious signs of poison or injury.
The Sun Family, on the other hand, had sold it off without a second thought, as if they knew the process was irreversible. They had sold a Tier Two Spiritual Beast just like that.
Later, he arrived at a guess: it had something to do with Nourishing Spirit.
The Sun Family had likely used the Spirit Clam as a vessel to nurture some kind of treasure, consuming—or rather, draining—its life force to accelerate the treasure's growth.
They must have succeeded in the end, and once it had served its purpose, the Deep Lake Spirit Clam was cast aside like a pair of worn-out shoes.
This naturally led Lin Changheng to think of Core Formation Cultivators.
It was said that Core Formation Cultivators no longer used Magical Artifacts or Spiritual Artifacts, but Magical Treasures!
A Magical Treasure is one with its cultivator, sharing their fate. It can be absorbed into the body and nurtured; the longer it is nurtured, the more it becomes an extension of their own arm, and the more powerful it grows.
Unlike Magical Artifacts and Spiritual Artifacts, which could only be kept in a Storage Bag.
Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment Cultivators are incapable of absorbing objects into their bodies.
...
However, there was a fundamental difference between the nurturing done by a Spirit Clam and that of a Core Formation Cultivator.
The item nurtured by a Core Formation Cultivator becomes deeply bound to them.
If the Core Formation Cultivator were to die, the Magical Treasure's power would be drastically reduced.
But the Spirit Clam was different. The items it nurtured weren't limited to Magical Treasures but encompassed many types. Moreover, anyone could take and use them after a subsequent refining.
While not as effective as personal nurturing, it could still save a significant amount of time.
Many Foundation Establishment Cultivators who are confident in reaching Core Formation, or those backed by High Tier Cultivators, will seek out rare Spiritual Materials in advance to create a Magical Treasure Embryo.
Then, they would use various methods to nurture it ahead of time.
Once they reached Core Formation, they would only need to spend a little time on the final refining. The embryo would shed its form, allowing the cultivator to inherit all the previously nurtured power and gain immense immediate combat strength.
At the same time, a Magical Treasure Embryo itself was comparable to a powerful Spiritual Artifact, just with the potential for future transformation!
And since Noble Families had access to Fake Cores... they would naturally be privy to such information.
'Was the Sun Family's exploitation of the Tier Two Spirit Clam, consuming it without a second thought, related to this?'
Perhaps no one outside the Sun Family's inner circle knew the truth.
...
Faced with these three talents, Lin Changheng was deeply conflicted.
Finally, he made a decision.
He chose Nourishing Spirit.
This meant Lin Changheng had gained the ability to absorb and nurture objects within his body ahead of schedule.
Although he didn't have a Magical Treasure Embryo to nurture right now, there were still other options.
For instance, back at the Xu Family's estate, Tantai Feiyue had told him about a type of Special Treasure Talisman. If constantly nurtured by channeling Magical Power through it, its might could be amplified many times over.
'If I could take such a Talisman into my body and constantly nurture it, its power would surely be even more immense!'
It could strengthen his protective measures.
The only issue was that Tantai Feiyue, as a Tier Two Lower Grade Talisman Master, couldn't craft one. But within the Immortal City, there were Tier Two Middle Grade and even Tier Two Upper Grade Talisman Masters.
Someone among them was bound to know how to craft it.
As long as they weren't complete loners, Lin Changheng was confident he could persuade them!
This was the confidence of a Pill Master.
As for Water Control, his backup choice, he would set it aside for now. In the future, if he ever traveled to a land of great rivers and vast marshes teeming with Water-element Demon Beasts, finding one that could provide the Water Control talent would be a simple matter.
His mind made up, Lin Changheng immediately focused his will on the Treasure Seed representing Nourishing Spirit. Instantly, the other two Treasure Seeds withered as their hazy auras and Dao-like rhythm flowed into his chosen one.
The seed immediately erupted in a brilliant, hazy blue light before plunging into Lin Changheng's Divine Soul like a meteor.
He felt a slight coolness spread through his Divine Soul, like a sip of ice-cold water on a summer day.
HUMMMM—
The cool sensation didn't vanish. Instead, like a drop of ink spreading through still water, it rapidly bloomed within his Divine Soul.
Countless profundities flowed from the blue haze, branding themselves directly into the deepest part of his being.
In an instant, Lin Changheng's understanding of the very concept of 'nurturing' was turned upside down. This wasn't a simple infusion of knowledge, but the awakening of an instinct.
Previously, he had believed nurturing was merely a matter of suffusing something with Spiritual Power and communicating with it via his Divine Soul.
But now, he understood its deeper meaning. It was a form of respiration, a profound and slow rhythm of energy exchange shared with all things. It created resonance, much like blood nourishing cells, forging a deep and intrinsic connection.