Chapter 354: Time to Slap Some Faces
This talisman seal was writhing in resistance, struggling even as Yun Zhonghe mobilized all his spiritual pearls. It remained difficult to subdue.
The strength of the third-grade talisman seal was much greater than he had anticipated.
Just now, obtaining the second-grade talisman seal was rather easy. He assumed that although the third-grade talisman seal might be more challenging, it wouldn’t be too big of a deal.
But now, things were not just harder; they were exponentially tougher.
Each one of Yun Zhonghe’s spiritual pearls had reached the late Initial Understanding stage. With all of them working together, it was equivalent to forty-five people trying to capture this talisman seal simultaneously.
No wonder everyone says you need to reach the Nurturing Nature stage before you have any chance at capturing a third-grade talisman seal.
The talisman seal struggled strongly; it shook violently and broke free from ten of Yun Zhonghe’s spiritual pearls.
The remaining spiritual pearls felt like fishing lines on the brink of breaking—strained to their limits.
If this went on, the big fish would eventually break free completely from Yun Zhonghe’s grasp.
Yun Zhonghe narrowed his eyes in concentration.
He couldn’t help but activate Spiritual Spike!
If spiritual energy can capture a talisman seal, then Spiritual Spike should work too, right?
Since this talisman seal wasn’t cooperating, Yun Zhonghe was determined to pummel it into submission!
Using spiritual energy, Yun Zhonghe formed a spiritual spike and shot it along the spiritual thread direction with all his might!
It felt… like it hit! The talisman seal stopped trembling for a while after the blow.
Looks promising!
Yun Zhonghe continued to blast out his spiritual spikes!
“Who’s in charge here!?”
His consciousness asked. Of course, the talisman seal couldn’t respond, but under the relentless assault, it gradually weakened its resistance.
Yun Zhonghe pulled on the spiritual threads, dragging it toward himself…
But next moment, the talisman seal seemed to rebel again. It started shaking once more.
Yun Zhonghe increased the intensity of his spiritual spikes, pushing hard.
No idea how long it took, but suddenly, the talisman seal stopped moving again.
Yun Zhonghe pulled it out…
BOOM!
It started fighting back again!
After yet another beating, the talisman seal stopped moving once again.
Pulling it out a bit more made it start causing trouble again…
This went on endlessly. Yun Zhonghe started feeling a pounding headache, until finally, the talisman seal seemed utterly spent and stopped moving!
…
In the stone tower, Qing Luan and others were waiting patiently.
Yun Zhonghe had been capturing the talisman seal for an unusually long time. His spiritual energy surprised Qing Luan—imagine a common newbie reaching Initial Understanding and exhausting all their energy.
“Wow… what on earth is going on? Could he have actually reached Late Initial Understanding?!”
Qing Luan was genuinely shocked.
She had already been surprised when hearing Yun Zhonghe achieved Initial Understanding during Foundation Establishment. Now she realized he might have reached Late Initial Understanding instead!
If so, when he achieves Golden Core, he may be able to break through directly to Nurturing Nature!
Entering Golden Core while achieving Nurturing Nature at the same time!
Holy cow! That guy would definitely become the most valuable asset for Beast Tamer Peak!
In some ways, Beast Manipulators value spiritual energy more than spellcasters.
Spellcasters only require basic spiritual energy to cast spells, prioritizing cultivation level instead. Without enough spiritual energy, higher-level spells cannot be activated.
But Beast Manipulators are the opposite. They need only meet basic cultivation levels while providing sufficient energy for their spirit pets. What matters most is spiritual energy because the higher the spiritual energy level, the better the potential to capture powerful spirit pets or higher-grade talisman seals.
For battle, all you need is your spirit pet.
At the same level, spirit pets surpass human cultivators.
Of course, raising a spirit pet can be expensive.
But if both individual cultivation level and spiritual energy are high, combining them would make an excellent combo, just like the peak master of Beast Tamer Peak does.
“Qing Luan, do you think there could be something wrong since Cloud Brother hasn’t woken up?” Xia Linglong tugged anxiously at Qing Luan’s sleeve.
Yun Zhonghe was focused solely on capturing his spiritual seal and was sitting cross-legged motionlessly.
Time was passing, and even Chen Leling was getting impatient. She wanted Tao Jiuer to play with her. So Tao Jiuer played a game of cat’s cradle with Chen Leling, winning her over completely, even inspiring Chen Leling to view Tao Jiuer as the boss.
Nobody could play with kids better than Tao Jiuer!
Qing Luan felt relieved addressing Xia Linglong’s concern, “He’s likely trying to capture a third-grade talisman seal, which explains why he’s taking so long.”
Qing Luan being familiar with the area didn’t need spiritual perception to know what Yun Zhonghe was doing.
Most late-stage Initial Understanding cultivators try to capture third-grade talisman seals, but it’s no easy feat. One needs to reach Nurturing Nature to have a good chance.
Many newbies thought they’d easily capture a third-grade talisman seal when they reached late stages in spiritual cultivation, but none succeeded—the talisman seals always countered their attempts, sending them into unconsciousness.
Even though Yun Zhonghe reached Late Initial Understanding at the foundational stage, it’s still astonishing. But trying to capture a third-grade talisman seal remains a tall order.
Several people waited patiently for him.
Eventually, Yun Zhonghe woke up.
Not being knocked out by the talisman seal was a pleasant surprise to Qing Luan.
Before Yun Zhonghe could speak, Qing Luan asked, “How much did you get?”
“Huh?”
Yun Zhonghe was confused.
With a smile, Qing Luan said, “Capturing a third-grade talisman seal is rarely successful on the first attempt, even for those at the Nurturing Nature stage. Most of the time, fragments are obtained, requiring integration later.”
Given Yun Zhonghe had only reached Late Initial Understanding, getting the full third-grade talisman was certainly unlikely.
But since he didn’t pass out, he must have caught something significant.
Qing Luan mused that this talented disciple, appreciated by Xia Linglong, indeed had some skills.
Yun Zhonghe was still processing what Qing Luan had asked.
Uncertain, was it a trick of the mind or had he simply failed?
Because he felt he had successfully captured a complete talisman.
Not knowing what Yun Zhonghe was worried about, Qing Luan continued, “Don’t feel bad, Yun Brothers. You’re only at the late Initial Understanding stage. It’s perfectly normal to not catch anything. Even someone at my level of Nurturing Nature might only catch fragments each time.”
Qing Luan added, “A lot of spirit custodians might have pets at Foundation Establishment stage, but still use only second-grade talismans seals. Having a third-grade seal could take your power to the next level!”
Laughing, Qing Luan admired Yun Zhonghe. She didn’t mind elaborating further.
And at this very moment, the third-grade talisman seal in Yun Zhonghe’s Sea of Consciousness was released!
