Chapter Seventeen: An Introduction to the Art of Inscriptions

The four spheres of light—pink, orange, red, and white—each possessed their own unique strengths. The orange sphere absorbed energy and returned it to the host, enhancing cultivation and realms; the red sphere stored energy and unleashed it in a burst of power; the white sphere, most remarkable, allowed the user to observe the future state of things within a certain range.

At this thought, Tu Lu's eyes shone with a fierce brilliance.

At that moment, only the orange and red spheres remained in his dantian, while the most peculiar white sphere had entered his mind-sea, quietly suspended at its center. Even his consciousness had grown stronger beneath its radiance. The instant the white sphere entered his mind-sea, the abilities of these three spheres were suddenly revealed in his mind.

As for the pink sphere...

The pink sphere...

He glanced at the young girl beside him, his expression complicated.

He had already tested the powers of the orange, red, and white spheres, but the largest pink sphere had entered the girl's body, its effects unknown.

Moreover, beyond the pink sphere, there were many things that weighed on his mind. For instance, why had the girl vanished so suddenly in Tianlong Lane? During the refinement of the black stone, why had she insisted he continue...

He had not asked, but that did not mean he was unconcerned. In truth, had it not been for the girl's words prompting him to persist, he might never have discovered the black stone's secret.

In this regard, he owed her thanks.

Though she soon reverted to her usual self, that voice... surely it was not a figment of his imagination; it was pleasant to hear...

"You can speak, can't you?"

After much deliberation, Tu Lu still did not know where to begin. He sighed and asked softly.

But the girl, as always, neither answered nor denied it, simply nodded slightly and remained silent.

Seeing this, Tu Lu hesitated, shook his head, and abandoned further questioning.

He had never expected the girl to respond, merely tried on the off chance.

Now that the three spheres of light had entered his body, the most pressing task was to master their abilities as quickly as possible.

He considered this and took the girl with him to the southern part of the city.

After all, the eastern district—including Tianlong Lane—lay adjacent to Thunderclap Mountain and separated from Obsidian Mountain by only a ridge, dangerously close to the battlefield.

Though the City Lord's Mansion had organized cultivators ahead to hold back the beast tide with a grand formation, and the fighting was not yet dire, everyone knew this was only a temporary measure.

The city lord had not emerged from seclusion; never mind primal beasts—once those two ancient monsters took action, the defensive line would inevitably collapse again. If war reached Divine Wind City, the eastern district would bear the brunt. If he stayed there, he would be forced to join the battle whether he wished to or not.

...

That night, in a guesthouse in the southern district.

Tu Lu looked down at the pile of Thunder Stones in his hand, now dulled and lifeless, his expression grim.

He had been far too optimistic!

These three spheres were not nearly as easy to use as he had imagined.

The red sphere was manageable; though it could only store energy equivalent to a third-grade Thunder Stone and unleash a single strike, this limitation was due to his current level. Even if it were stronger, he could not withstand it! The explosive power was already formidable, and with the protection of the Tianlong Token, he felt that mountain-moving cultivators no longer posed a threat.

But the white sphere was troubling. While it could observe the future state of things within a certain period, its energy consumption was terrifying!

In his earlier attempts, merely one breath consumed an entire second-grade Thunder Stone, and with each prolonged moment, the drain increased tenfold. In only a second breath, his pouch of Thunder Stones shrank noticeably; after several breaths, even a fourth-grade stone had dimmed considerably.

At this, the corners of his mouth twitched.

He had thought himself wealthy, but now saw he had far too little—it was wholly insufficient!

"And the orange sphere, though it absorbs energy and returns it to the host, it only brings quantitative change, not qualitative! It's like pouring water into a barrel—the sphere quickly fills it, but cannot expand the barrel itself."

After consuming several Thunder Stones, he had pushed his cultivation to the peak of the first stage of Body Tempering, the early peak of the Mountain-Moving realm, but could go no further, no matter how much energy he absorbed.

"Seven stages of Body Tempering, three stages of Mountain-Moving, four stages of Sea-Filling—I am now at the peak of the first stage of Mountain-Moving. If I wish to use the orange sphere to advance, I must first break through to the second stage of Body Tempering. But before that, I must resolve the hidden dangers left by Bone-Washing with Broken Weapons. This cannot be rushed. The key now is to practice inscription arts; with one breath of observation, I'll have to leave the outcome to fate."

With that, he took out the introductory manual on inscription arts.

He spent the entire night reading, even when he encountered passages he could not understand. He made conjectures, forcing the content into memory.

Not until the morning sun rose did he exhale deeply and set the manual aside.

Most of the manual was clear to him—it was, after all, only a beginner's guide. Even if some parts were obscure, practical testing would suffice to grasp them.

Yet he knew that understanding was one thing; truly mastering the introductory inscription arts would take much more. He needed to conduct countless experiments, as did every apprentice inscriber.

Unfortunately, though he had a heap of resources on hand, he lacked any of the materials needed for experimentation.

"According to this manual, different inscription schools use different techniques, but broadly they fall into two categories: external refinement and internal refinement, each with its merits.

External refinement uses materials such as beast pelts as carriers. The inscription is first carved onto the pelt, then transferred to the weapon through proprietary methods. This preserves the weapon, but the pelt is less stable than the weapon itself, leading to high failure rates and heavy consumption.

Internal refinement is the method Zhao Yuyang used that day—direct inscription on the weapon. This method is more stable and reliable, but if it fails, the consequences are dire: the weapon may be damaged or destroyed outright, and as happened to Zhao Yuyang, explosions are not impossible."

Tu Lu pondered for a while and ultimately chose internal refinement.

Normally, only masters dared attempt internal refinement, since failure meant losing not just materials but the weapon itself. Few inscribers dared use this method for others, lest they be left without a favored weapon and nowhere to complain.

Tu Lu, however, had two reasons for choosing internal refinement. First, he could observe the next moment of the future—so long as he had enough Thunder Stones, in theory, he would not fail. Of course, he was less confident now, as he had once believed that mastering foresight made inscription arts foolproof, but who could have known how costly it was in Thunder Stones?

The second reason...

He was broke. The consumption of external refinement was too great for him to bear.

It was a bitter truth.

"However, internal refinement requires direct inscription on the weapon, relying on mental strength to sense its internal structure. This demands high spiritual power. I still have over three hundred Marrow-Washing Pills, which can be used for experimentation...

Though skipping the beast pelt saves materials, I still lack Clear Morning Dew, Spirit-Attracting Snow, Zenwood, Ice Silkworm Thread, and the blood of more than a dozen low-tier beasts..."

Listing these, Tu Lu felt dizzy. They all sounded expensive, and he was already strapped for cash—just sustaining the white sphere's consumption was a major expense!

And this was only for the basic inscription methods described in the introductory manual, the most common techniques. Thinking about the materials needed for more advanced runes, he realized for the first time... inscribers were truly wealthy!