Chapter 98: Departure

Under He Song's verbal threats and the murderous intent in his eyes, the flower thief, who had been pretending to be a maid, instantly felt a chill in his heart, realizing that He Song had seen through his disguise.

However, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand why a cultivator like He Song would target a mere flower thief like himself.

Could it be that the cultivator wanted to learn his "craft"? Though countless thoughts raced through his mind, he dared not defy He Song.

"Yes, yes, I can speak normally. Please, Immortal, calm your anger, calm your anger," the thief stammered, his voice shifting back to a masculine tone.

As his voice changed, his body also transformed with a series of crisp bone-cracking sounds. The once petite maid quickly turned into a burly man.

Though he lacked a beard, the sheer size of the burly man made it impossible for He Song to associate him with the delicate maid from before.

The difference in physique was too great.

If it weren't for the fact that certain things were hard to hide when transforming from male to female, He Song might not have seen through the disguise.

Seeing this, a flicker of interest appeared in He Song's eyes.

The martial skill the flower thief had learned seemed to have its unique aspects—it wasn't some common, run-of-the-mill technique.

"Recite the martial skill you use to change your appearance and physique," He Song commanded.

Seeing how obedient the thief was, He Song casually waved his hand, and a thin sheet of paper appeared before him.

At the same time, spiritual energy flowed from his fingers, ready to inscribe words onto the paper.

Although He Song had already retrieved the "Tendon Transformation and Bone Manipulation" manual from the thief, he still needed to verify its authenticity.

Soon, under He Song's interrogation, the flower thief recited the entire manual from memory.

He Song quickly noted it down and compared it with the manual, finding no discrepancies.

Then, without hesitation, he severed one of the thief's hands.

Ignoring the thief's renewed screams, He Song ordered him to recite it again.

After three recitations, the flower thief had been reduced to a limbless stump.

He Song then asked about the location of the cave where the thief had obtained the "Tendon Transformation and Bone Manipulation" and the "Earth Essence Art."

Once he received the location, He Song nodded, conjured a fireball, and reduced the thief to ashes.

He collected the ashes into his storage bag, cleaned up the surrounding traces, and then left the area.

This man was a flower thief. In He Song's eyes, once his identity was revealed, death was inevitable.

Moreover, He Song wouldn't let him die too easily. In this ancient-like mortal world, the existence of flower thieves could ruin countless families.

Facing such a person, He Song had no qualms about killing him without hesitation.

Furthermore, after obtaining the "Tendon Transformation and Bone Manipulation" from the thief, He Song needed to ensure secrecy. Who could keep a secret forever? The answer was obvious—only the dead could keep secrets eternally.

After obtaining the manual, He Song didn't head to the location the thief had mentioned to search for opportunities.

Instead, he hurried back to the cultivator's market without delay.

Though He Song had treated mortal martial artists as insignificant in Xian City, killing two villains in a single day, as a cultivator, he was well aware of his own limitations.

While he could handle mortal martial artists with ease, if he encountered a malevolent cultivator, his current level of cultivation would leave him praying that the opponent hadn't learned the Earth Shaking Technique, forcing him to rely on his Earth Escape Technique to flee.

Therefore, after achieving his goal, leaving the mortal world and returning to the safety of the cultivator's market was of utmost importance.

Several days later, He Song stood in his quiet room, practicing the Tendon Transformation and Bone Manipulation technique, using the secret method to manipulate his muscles and bones.

Soon, his originally handsome appearance underwent a significant transformation. His height also decreased by half a head.

Apart from his aura, which remained at the sixth level of Qi Refining, He Song now looked like a completely different person. Walking over to a bronze mirror, He Song glanced at his reflection.

In the mirror appeared a simple, honest-looking youth. The youth wasn't tall, but his muscles were firm.

His honest face, combined with his build, gave the impression of someone inexperienced in the ways of the world.

Next, He Song once again activated the Tendon Transformation and Bone Manipulation technique, manipulating his muscles and bones with the secret method.

His honest appearance quickly changed again.

Soon, a handsome young nobleman appeared in the bronze mirror.

Though he lacked a white robe and a folding fan, the young nobleman's appearance was enough to catch anyone's eye.

"Not bad, not bad. With this secret technique and the Breath Concealment Art, even those closest to me wouldn't be able to recognize me," He Song murmured to himself, standing before the mirror and transforming into several different appearances before finally reverting to his original handsome face.

A hint of pride flashed in his eyes as he felt a sense of satisfaction.

Now, he was a well-known talisman master.

If he suddenly came into a large amount of spirit stones, it wouldn't raise any suspicions.

Moreover, as a talisman master with formidable combat strength, he wouldn't attract unnecessary envy.

With the ability to change his appearance and physique, altering his looks and selling spirit rice became He Song's top priority.

Although he had already increased his success rate for crafting low-grade Earth Talismans to over 50%, and his spirit stones were no longer in short supply, who would complain about having too many spirit stones?

After receiving his annual stipend the previous year and using the over one hundred spirit stones to purchase talisman-making materials, He Song's success rate for crafting low-grade Earth Talismans had surpassed 50%.

As for low-grade Golden Light Talismans and low-grade Swift Movement Talismans, his success rates were still low.

To quickly raise the success rates of these two talismans to over 50%, a significant amount of spirit stones would be required.

While most talisman masters relied on one type of talisman with a high success rate to earn spirit stones, then used those stones to improve their success rates with the other two talismans, He Song had a different plan.

A true talisman master needed to achieve a success rate of over 50% for all three low-grade talismans.

Since He Song had already grown a sufficient amount of spirit rice and could sell it without drawing attention, selling the rice to quickly amass a large number of spirit stones and then using those stones to enhance his abilities and improve his talisman success rates became his optimal strategy.

With this approach, he could rapidly achieve significant progress!

Thinking it through, He Song immediately put his plan into action. Activating the Tendon Transformation and Bone Manipulation technique, he manipulated his muscles and bones with the secret method.

Soon, a tall, slender youth with a cold and indifferent expression appeared in the bronze mirror before He Song.

After carefully observing himself and using the Spirit Eye Technique to ensure there were no flaws, He Song nodded in satisfaction.

(End of Chapter)