Changsheng: My experience in patrolling the liver

Chapter 613 Annual Evaluation: The Immortal of Talismanic Arts! (Two Chapters Combined)

The territory of Fox Mountain in Yuanzhou.

Shortly after his battle with the insect kings, Song Changming foresaw the chaos he would bring to Cuibaidao, so he decided to stay at Fox Mountain for a while.

Of course, this is also so that I can have some peace and quiet and avoid being disturbed by too many irrelevant people.

At the same time, this move also has the consideration of having the human army stationed in Yuanzhou in place.

If the army's attempt to reclaim Yuanzhou's territory is thwarted, he will continue to intervene if necessary.

In his eyes now, there are really few who can fight in the demon realm. With him around, there is basically no chance of failure.

On a high peak, Song Changming sat alone on the ground, carrying a pot of sake, his posture casual and simple.

Gazing at the churning sea of ​​clouds and swirling mist before me, I felt a sense of peace and tranquility.

In the sea of ​​clouds, sometimes mountain shadows and water channels surge forth, sometimes palaces and pavilions appear, sometimes it seems as if 100,000 heavenly soldiers are roaring, and sometimes it seems as if dragons and phoenixes are circling and lions and tigers are fighting.

Gazing at the sea of ​​clouds is like watching a series of unpredictable fantasy dramas, inexplicably fascinating.

"I wonder if the primordial world beyond the Nine Provinces is also filled with bizarre and wondrous things beyond our comprehension."

Song Changming picked up the wine pot, tilted his head back, and drank the wine.

The spirit wine burned like fire as it entered my throat, and the heat of the spiritual energy surged through my body, quickly spreading to every part of my limbs.

A breath of hot air escaped from my mouth and nose, feeling incredibly comfortable.

"Now that I have reached the peak of Qi Refining, the martial arts of the human race have also come to an end. How should I continue my cultivation after this?" Song Changming muttered to himself.

This is also a problem that has been troubling him recently.

Once you reach the Grandmaster level, there's no road ahead!
Of course, he can continue to practice witchcraft, using witchcraft techniques to refine his body and witchcraft seals, thus becoming stronger and standing out from the crowd on the path outside of Qi Refining.

But he also didn't want to end his journey in martial arts.

Being stuck at the Grandmaster level forever left him with a strange sense of dissatisfaction, and he always felt that although the path of martial arts seemed to have come to an end, it was not that there was no way forward.

However, he lacked a qualified mentor to guide him and help him find that new path forward.

"If Emperor Yuan back then was only a Grandmaster, he would never have been able to unify the Nine Provinces, lead the human race to its peak, and achieve the title of Emperor of All Ages. He also would never have been able to defeat the Star-Devouring Dragon and seal it in the abyss, where it has not been able to escape to this day!"

Song Changming pondered this.

He speculated that the Yuan Emperor may have found the path of martial arts in ancient times and achieved a breakthrough in his cultivation realm!
This possibility is not small, but he consulted many ancient books and materials, and also asked old guys like Emperor Yun and even Hua Cangtian who are nearly a thousand years old, about the true strength and realm of Emperor Yuan, but he got almost nothing.

Emperor Yuan's personal strength seems to have always been a mystery, unknown to the outside world.

As so much time has passed, many of the events surrounding Emperor Yuan have become difficult to investigate.

After all, before Song Changming was elevated to godhood, Emperor Yuan had already stood on the human race's altar for tens of thousands of years.

During this period, many stories about Emperor Yuan were a mix of truth and fiction, making it impossible to distinguish between them; the distortions were too severe.

Song Changming was thus unable to ascertain from this what the path of martial arts Emperor Yuan might have sought.

Is it possible to go further beyond the Grandmaster level?
"Perhaps, in the future I can explore my own path of martial arts on my own," Song Changming pondered to himself.

If Emperor Ruoyuan forged his own path in martial arts, then so can he!

Above the Grandmaster level, he actually already had some thoughts and research directions regarding the future of martial arts.

Of course, whether it is feasible still requires further research and continuous experimentation.

The process will inevitably be arduous, just like crossing a river by feeling for stones; the road ahead is unknown, and fortune or misfortune is uncertain.

Fortunately, he has enough energy and almost unlimited time, plus multiple lives to ensure he can try and fail.

Even if things go terribly wrong and he ruins himself, he can start all over again!
This is his greatest advantage that sets him apart from ordinary people!

As he pondered, Song Changming's thoughts drifted away again.

He thought of the primordial world that the Star-Devouring Dragon had mentioned, and the existence of immortals.

If immortals truly exist, can the land of Kyushu, where I live, also become immortals?
Is it possible to cultivate a path to immortality through martial arts?

Song Changming felt that he was becoming increasingly fanciful.

As midnight approached, the stars twinkled in the sky, and the bright moon hung high in the air.

Song Changming narrowed his eyes slightly. Even though the two witch general seals on his body, 'Star Mark' and 'Moon Wheel', were not activated, they resonated with the energy of the starry sky.

The shamanic alchemy was operating semi-automatically within his body, drawing in the cosmic energy.

As a result, under the cover of night, a faint, shimmering white light appeared on Song Changming's body, as if he himself had become a star.

He thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being bathed in the energy of the stars.

He knew very well that even though his Grandmaster cultivation had reached its limit, he was still getting stronger every moment, and his strength growth had not stagnated!
This made him even more grateful for the Wu Clan inheritance he had obtained back then; otherwise, he would at most be just an ordinary Grandmaster among the human race, not the unique Human King!
Tick
As the clock struck midnight, the information on the panel was updated precisely on time.

[Today's evaluation: A slightly meaningful day. Lifespan +3, gained the limited-time status 'Focus']

Having not cultivated much today, it was no surprise that he failed to trigger the "Heaven Rewards Diligence" status reward again.

That's not the point.

Song Changming continued looking down.

[Annual Assessment: Martial Arts Perfection!]

[Cultivation Achievements: Qi Refining Perfection, reaching the Grandmaster realm at less than two hundred years old, ascending to the pinnacle of martial arts]

[Battle record: He single-handedly annihilated the insectoid race, slew the great demon king, was invincible, and his fame shook the nine provinces]

[Power and Reputation: From six-year-old children to ancient cultivators, all know the illustrious name of Immortal Song; from ants in the earth to great demon kings of all realms, none are unmoved by the name of the Human King. You are a god-like figure in the Nine Provinces!]

[Events Involved: 1. Insect Extermination! 2. Recapture of Yuanzhou! 3. Demon King Slayer! 4. Martial Arts Ultimate!]

Please select your annual reward.

[1. Lifespan +20000]

[2. Lifespan -8000, triggered by the blue physique 'Talisman Master', granting the related orange physique 'Talisman Immortal']

[3. Lifespan -8000, triggered by the blue physique 'Flying Shuttle Eye', granting the related orange physique 'Eye of Space']

[4. Lifespan -5000, can upgrade the quality of one spirit weapon.]

[5. Lifespan -5000, Grandmaster cultivation level increased.]

[6. Lifespan Consumption -2000, Attribute Points +20]

[Note: Based on the evaluation results, four out of the six items can be selected as rewards.]

"A year of perfect martial arts..."

Song Changming was quite satisfied with the extremely high praise the panel had given him this year.

He had accomplished little in the first half of the year, but recently his successful extermination of insects has significantly improved his reputation. In addition, his Grandmaster cultivation also reached perfection this year, a great achievement that spans nearly two hundred years of his martial arts journey.

Naturally, the annual evaluation for this year cannot be low.

What pleased him even more was the reward.

For the first time in history, two orange-level physical traits have been obtained in the same year.

Moreover, one of the orange-level traits is the very physical trait related to the Dao of Talismans that he most desires to obtain!
"Talisman Master..." Song Changming accepted the reward without hesitation.

Back when he was at the seventh level of the Talisman Master, he already felt that it was becoming increasingly difficult to improve his Talisman Dao.

A blue-grade talisman talent can basically only take him to this level.

Later, he gained the orange-level trait of a Divine Thinker, which gave him the ability to make infinite deductions, and his spirit attribute value increased significantly.

They forcibly elevated him to the eighth level of the Talisman Dao.

Now, sixty years later, his mastery of talismanic arts remains at the eighth level.

This is pretty much his true limit.

To break through to the ninth level of the Talisman Dao, he was almost certain that he needed an orange-level Talisman Dao talent!
And now, he has finally unlocked this orange-level talent in the year he achieved martial arts perfection!
Talent is an elusive thing, invisible and intangible, but it exists within everyone and almost determines the ultimate height and achievement that each person can reach.

Unlike other orange-level talents, this talent did not cause him to feel much change in himself after he received it.

But as he tried to recall some of the unsolved problems he had encountered in his past studies of talismanic arts, a change occurred.

A flash of inspiration struck him, and the problem was quickly solved in his mind.

His face showed surprise.

"That solves it..."

Some of the problems that had been troubling him soon ceased to be problems.

He even seemed quite at ease during the problem-solving and analysis process, and was even a little puzzled as to why he had been stumped by these 'simple' questions before.

So he simply focused his mind and concentrated on solving the problem in his mind.

Sunrise and sunset, and several days passed in the blink of an eye.

On the hilltop where Song Changming was located, no one disturbed him, and no fox demons could get close to him.

In the midst of the calm, Song Changming suddenly opened his eyes.

He raised his finger and quickly sketched in the air.

One after another, tangible, semi-transparent rune marks materialized from his fingertips, causing violent energy fluctuations that intensified the churning of the nearby sea of ​​clouds.

Even the swirling clouds rendered the runes drawn by Song Changming into pure white!

Song Changming focused his gaze and expression, completely ignoring the changes in his surroundings, fixated only on the individual runes in front of him.

Because of the presence of the Witch God's Soul, Song Changming's spiritual power was vast enough that he didn't need to worry about its consumption.

Soon, he had inscribed over a hundred high-level runes in mid-air, which showed no signs of dissipating despite the onslaught of the gale.

Suddenly, Song Changming waved his hand, and the hundreds of high-level runes vanished in an instant.

His face showed a hint of eagerness, as if he had solved a difficult academic problem and was about to write down his calculated answer with confidence.

He showed no intention of resting and continued to inscribe his next rune in the air without stopping.

This time, Song Changming's inscription became visibly more difficult and extremely slow.

The time it took to inscribe ten high-level runes before was less than the time it took to inscribe this one.

By the time he finished engraving the last stroke of this incredibly intricate and profound rune, a full day had passed!

Even with Song Changming's immense spiritual power, he still felt somewhat exhausted when completing this rune.

Song Changming knew that this was because it was his first time inscribing a ninth-order rune, and the consumption would inevitably be great.

In the past, when I listened to the old rune masters in those major sects talk about their experiences when breaking through to the ninth rank, they all frankly admitted that the moment they first inscribed the ninth-rank rune, they all fell into a coma due to overdrawing their divine soul.

It was already quite remarkable that Song Changming was able to inscribe it relatively calmly without showing any signs of exhaustion or falling into a coma.

He didn't pay much attention to his own energy expenditure at this time.

His gaze remained fixed on the ninth-tier rune he had inscribed before him.

Until it exuded a sense of perfection, and as he exited the inscription state, the rune remained stable and did not dissipate.

Seeing this, Song Changming knew very well that he had succeeded!

A smile appeared on his face, which then rose uncontrollably into a hearty laugh.

Unlike the natural progression of martial arts cultivation, the path of runes was much more difficult for him.

The feeling of being firmly restricted by a bottleneck, stuck and unable to make any progress, was something he had never experienced in martial arts cultivation.

Therefore, his successful breakthrough and advancement in the Dao of Talismans was all the more precious and made him feel even more delighted and accomplished.

As if he had conquered a great mountain, he had finally reached the vicinity of the summit in the realm of talismanic arts.

Without a doubt, the ninth level of the Talisman Dao is the pinnacle for talisman masters today!
"go with!"

Song Changming pointed to the sky, and the ninth-order rune in front of him immediately obeyed and soared into the sky.

Then the rune mark rapidly expanded in the wind, transforming into a huge character hundreds of feet long and wide, covering the sky!

Ninth-tier rune - Imprisoning Heaven!

In an instant, the sky darkened.

It was the immense power of those ninth-tier runes that blotted out the sky!
Like a black net, it descends upon you, leaving you feeling nowhere to hide and unable to muster any will to resist.

In the world of talisman masters, the number of highest-level runes is actually quite small, and they are basically only in the hands of a very few veteran talisman masters.

The ninth-order rune that Song Changming inscribed came from one of the Star-Sealing Arrays in the abyss.

After being deconstructed and transported by Song Changming, and repeatedly studied by other human veteran rune masters, it was finally mastered and designated as a ninth-order rune.

This rune was chosen by Song Changming as one of the important runes for his advancement to the ninth-level rune master.

He had already mastered it, but he was only able to use it successfully today.

On Fox Mountain, Xi Yanxue, who was nearby, was the first to hear the sound and came over, only to see the darkness above Song Changming's head.

"Such powerful rune power!" Xi Yanxue could tell at a glance that the power of this rune was extraordinary, probably far exceeding the level of an eighth-order rune!

"Madam, could you please try this rune on me?" Song Changming's voice came at this moment.

(End of this chapter)