Chapter 22: Insufficient Talent, Mr. Eng Comes to the Rescue
The old fortune teller had more connections than Zhang Kai had initially thought. That very evening, he delivered high-quality materials to Zhang Kai, including rooster blood, cinnabar, and yellow paper. He even procured a brush rumored to have been passed down for hundreds of years, which had once been used to draw spiritual symbols.
The breadth of his connections made Zhang Kai hold the old fortune teller in even higher regard. Despite his mediocre cultivation, he had quite the network. It was worth building a long-term friendship.
However, Zhang Kai overestimated his own abilities. The Maoshan Sect's symbol dao had three levels: law symbols, spirit symbols, and god symbols. For instance, the exorcism symbol, when crafted with precision using true qi as a guide, gathered spiritual resonance, resulting in a law symbol. It had moderate effectiveness and could handle malevolent spirits and wandering ghosts at best. With deeper symbol dao knowledge and sufficient true qi, it could be upgraded to a spirit symbol, significantly enhancing its power. Beyond that, creating higher-level god symbols was impossible on yellow paper; it required a practitioner to reach a level above a mortal and use high-quality spirit jade as a base, with a true divine model, combined with auspicious timing and favorable conditions.
Symbol dao was the most widely practiced and disseminated method in the cultivation world due to its affordability, simplicity, and effectiveness. It was far more popular than more powerful but challenging cultivation methods. Despite this, symbol dao had declined over the years, primarily due to the difficulty of drawing symbols.
Zhang Kai, initially confident, soon realized he had miscalculated. Over a thousand sheets of yellow paper provided by the old fortune teller, along with the rooster blood, had been depleted, and he hadn't managed to create a single law symbol. This left Zhang Kai utterly frustrated. He had overestimated himself.
He reluctantly put aside the symbol brush, took out his phone, and opened a film by Lin Zhengying, the zombie movie director. Since he couldn't create the symbols himself, he decided to borrow some from the movies, making it easier and more efficient.
Lin Zhengying had directed numerous films, and many of them featured various symbols. These included talisman symbols for suppressing zombies, exorcism symbols, evil-warding symbols, rooster symbols, Tai Chi symbols, soul-binding symbols, ghost-killing symbols, home-warding symbols, and weapon symbols, among others. He had also showcased various magical implements, such as peach wood swords, heavenly rulers, Three Clear Bells, evil-suppressing jade pendants, and even a peculiar book Zhang Kai noticed during "Mr. Zombie," titled "Universal Methods." This book contained various methods and techniques to deal with demons, monsters, and supernatural entities, expanding Zhang Kai's horizons.
After a thorough plundering of the movies, Zhang Kai's phone was filled with over a hundred different types of symbols, along with magical implements such as peach wood swords, copper coin swords, Three Clear Bells, evil-suppressing jade pendants, and more. Among them was a gigantic zombie suppression symbol drawn by Lin Zhengying on yellow cloth, which excited Zhang Kai the most because it was undoubtedly a spirit symbol. In the film, Lin Zhengying used this symbol to capture dozens of zombies directly, and the symbol on the yellow cloth exuded a strong aura of spirituality.
After careful study, Zhang Kai grasped some of its essence. With continued research, he believed he could eventually create his own symbols. This bountiful harvest left him satisfied, yet also somewhat regretful. He realized that having only one phone was insufficient.
After this cooperation with the old fortune teller, he planned to establish a base of operations. He would then acquire hundreds of phones to create his own cultivation site.
With such great gains, Zhang Kai didn't hurry to inform the old fortune teller. Creating so many symbols in such a short time would raise suspicions. He continued his daily routine of practicing martial arts, converting true qi, and experimenting with various magical implements.
A couple of days later, while immersed in his cultivation, Zhang Kai received a call from the old fortune teller, urging him to come over. He calmly gathered his things, left his room, and arrived at the old fortune teller's rundown courtyard.
There, he found several strangers waiting—two men and one woman, all of them young. The woman seemed to be the leader, and she and the old fortune teller sat side by side, while the two men in suits stood nearby.
Zhang Kai observed the three carefully. The two men appeared to have some martial arts training, but it seemed limited to basic skills. They didn't show any signs of cultivation. The woman, on the other hand, exuded an air of elegance and wore a professional black skirt with short hair. She appeared sophisticated and emanated an aura of nobility.
Zhang Kai had his suspicions but kept his emotions in check. The old fortune teller rose to greet him with a welcoming smile. "Zhang Dao-you, please have a seat."
Zhang Kai smiled and extended his hand. "Hello, Miss Gu."
Gu Mingyu shook his hand. "Grandfather and Mr. Zhou have been friends for decades. He highly respects you, so you must be incredibly talented. Your involvement in our cooperation will undoubtedly be a great asset."
Zhang Kai gave the old fortune teller a glance and thought to himself, "Old man, so your surname is Zhou, and you never told me. You even dared to claim that you highly respect me? Shameless."
"Oh, no, it's just a bit of knowledge, nothing more," Zhang Kai modestly replied.
"Haha, please, have a seat, and let's enjoy some tea," the old fortune teller interjected with a chuckle.
Once they were seated, Gu Mingyu asked, "Mr. Zhou, we've been discussing this cooperation for quite some time now, and we've prepared everything you requested. When do you think we can proceed?"
The old fortune teller sighed, "Mingyu, patience is essential, especially considering the place we're going is nothing like the Wudang tourist area. We can't just enter anytime we please. We must carefully choose the date and time; otherwise, we may find ourselves in a deadly situation."
Gu Mingyu looked at the old fortune teller earnestly. "I understand the reasoning, but my grandfather has placed great hopes on this endeavor. You know his situation, and we can't afford to wait too long. I hope Mr. Zhou can empathize."
The old fortune teller smiled, "Mingyu, you are indeed a good child. In that case, I'll be straightforward. After divining the celestial signs and assessing the auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, I've determined that August 2nd is the best time for our expedition."
"That's only four days away. Considering travel time and preparations, I believe the sooner we depart, the better," Gu Mingyu decisively suggested.
"Very well. If everything is in order on your end, we can set off the day after tomorrow," the old fortune teller agreed.
Gu Mingyu smiled. "That's excellent. Once you provide the coordinates, I will arrange all the travel details."
The old fortune teller nodded and said, "We are headed to the Changling Snow Peak Mountain."