Inuyasha’s Journey to Immortal

What does a recovery speed boost of several dozen times mean?

The most intuitive data point is this:

What originally took one or two hours to recover now fully takes only a minute or two.

Once fully recovered, naturally, he could resume drawing talismans.

As a result, Li's efficiency in talisman drawing had indirectly increased several dozen times. In the future, his efficiency in cultivating all sorts of spells could similarly increase by several dozen times. This wasn't something those so-called core family geniuses could achieve just by relying on their natural talent.

Previously, those with excellent cultivation aptitude practiced spells at nearly ten times his speed! They were able to get twice the result with half the effort, and their mastery accumulated extremely fast.

But starting today, the situation has reversed.

He was going to surpass those so-called geniuses many times over.

"The Four Soul Shards can enhance the talisman brush and the cinnabar ink required for talisman crafting, helping me improve the quality of the final product right from the raw materials. They can also boost the effectiveness of spiritual liquid, indirectly increasing the speed of both talisman crafting and spell cultivation…"

Li Xia murmured, visibly gratified and uplifted.

But that was about it.

After all, the seven Four Soul Shards only enhanced the spiritual liquid's effects. They merely improved external factors, not his inherent talent to the point of instantly making him a peerless prodigy. So in terms of enhancing his mana growth, the help was still limited.

If he wanted to truly enhance his cultivation aptitude, he still had to play the long game.

That said, the fact that he could embark on the path of cultivation during the waning age of magic already implied that his natural talent wasn't bad. If placed five hundred years ago during the peak of cultivation civilization, his aptitude would at least be considered above average. Those with below-average aptitude wouldn't even qualify to begin cultivating in this current age of declining spiritual energy.

"How should I resolve this issue of cultivation aptitude?"

"What a headache…"

Aptitude is innate. Without some extraordinary stroke of fortune, a person's natural talent generally sets their ceiling.

Take, for example, the female lead A Li, the reincarnation of Kikyo. Or Kikyo herself.

Both girls were essentially born in "Rome"—already at the top.

The former, simply by her priestess talent, was enough to make the Shikon Jewel wary and cause it to secretly seal her power. Even so, A Li at fifteen still had the confidence to face powerful yokai head-on.

The latter, even in a weakened state and relying on a shikigami puppet, could easily use a sacred arrow to destroy Byakudan's high-level barrier—a barrier even the red Tessaiga, designed specifically to break such wards, couldn't pierce.

They were born winners at the starting line!

Or more accurately, the starting point for these monstrous talents was already a finish line that countless people could never even dream of reaching in their lifetime.

"Aside from the aptitude issue, there's another urgent problem…"

"I'm running low on spiritual liquid."

Li Xia furrowed his brows slightly.

He was just a collateral descendant of the Li family on the peninsula, with very limited access to spiritual liquid.

Previously, his slow mana recovery rate meant he could only draw a few talismans per day—incidentally helping him conserve his limited supply of spiritual liquid. But now, thanks to the high-quality spiritual liquid and boosted recovery speed, he could draw up to four or five hundred talismans a day.

That would normally be a good thing.

However, a small cup of high-quality spiritual liquid could only restore him three to five times at most.

As a result, his daily consumption of spiritual liquid skyrocketed—from just three small cups per day to nearly a hundred.

Yet, he had only a bit more than one jug left.

The next family supply delivery was still half a month away.

A two-liter jug of spiritual liquid might only last him through a single afternoon at this rate.

Once it was gone, he'd be back to square one.

After all, even a clever housewife can't cook without rice.

"If only I had a spirit spring of my own! Then I could produce as much spiritual liquid as I needed."

Li Xia sighed.

In the next moment, he thought of the parallel world on the other side of the Bone-Eating Well. His breathing stopped, and his mouth slightly opened.

In the modern world, nearly every spirit spring was already claimed.

Guarding these springs were often one or two powerful cultivation families.

Trying to snatch a spring from such families was practically suicidal.

But in the Warring States Era on the other side of the Bone-Eating Well, many spirit springs were likely still unclaimed. Moreover, those that had lasted into modern times without drying up probably hadn't yet been affected by the spiritual decline over there. That meant their quality was naturally very high.

And if these already high-quality spirit springs were further enhanced by multiple Four Soul Shards, what kind of astonishing transformation could they undergo?

If he could take control of such a top-grade spirit spring…

At that thought, he could hardly resist the urge to sprout wings and fly straight into the yokai world of the Warring States Era.

He needed to prepare plenty of firearms...

Grenades, rockets, and other explosives—he might as well try equipping some.

High-tech gear had to be ready in abundance. Even if it couldn't handle powerful yokai, it would still be useful for dealing with lesser ones.

"Wait, maybe I can plan something bigger!"

As more ideas struck him, Li Xia grew even more excited and energized:

"Since both worlds are interconnected parallel realms, and excluding a few variables, the spirit springs that still exist in the modern world must have mostly existed back in the Warring States period 500 years ago. If I can pinpoint the exact locations of the surviving modern-day spirit springs and dig into their historical backgrounds, then travel to the yokai world on the other side of the Bone-Eating Well to search for them—it'll be twice the result with half the effort."

"Sure, many of these springs are probably already occupied by yokai or human cultivators, but surely there are some that slipped through the cracks."

"And once I know their locations, I can make targeted visits to investigate."

"When my strength reaches a certain level, I can seize a large portion of them—either to nurture subordinates or expand and strengthen my lineage using those cultivation resources… Everything is possible."

Originally, crossing into another world without a "cheat system" had left him frustrated and weary.

For fifteen years, he had called out day and night for a system, a sign-in panel, a supreme god, or even a master like Yao Lao—yet received no response whatsoever.

But now, armed with the advantage of foresight and insight, he was confident that even without some unreasonable cheat, he could still go far and climb high.

Later—

Li Xia requested two days off from the state of Shuishan.

He poured himself wholeheartedly into crafting talismans.

The talismans he was working on were Sealing Talismans.

These were low-grade talismans rarely used by rookie cultivators.

But they could help mages suppress yokai or seal the remains of monsters and cursed demon blades.

Unlike the Ward Talisman, which only offered temporary repulsion, the Sealing Talisman was meant for long-term suppression.

In the past, he hadn't bothered to study Sealing Talismans since he basically had no use for them. As someone whose combat power was on par with Grandpa A Li (i.e., pathetic), he had no delusions about his strength. His biggest advantage was simply being young and full of energy. So he focused his efforts on five commonly used low-level talismans:

Strength Talisman – boosts physical strength.

Agility Talisman – enhances reflexes and attack speed.

Ward Talisman – resists yokai energy attacks.

Wind God Talisman – improves movement ability.

Light Body Talisman – reduces body weight and synergizes with Wind God Talisman for efficient escapes.

With these, he covered offense, defense, and retreat.

As for Sealing Talismans?

They were for use after defeating a yokai or subduing a cursed demon blade.

Li Xia was self-aware—he might handle one or two minor yokai, but fighting cursed, master-killing demon swords or powerful vengeful spirits? Forget it.

However—

The appearance of the Flesh-Faced Mask changed everything.

In its weakest state, the Flesh-Faced Mask wasn't much stronger than a small fry yokai. Grandpa A Li had already proven that. And by sheer luck, Li Xia had stumbled upon it mid-robbery and captured it.

But the Flesh-Faced Mask wasn't truly dead.

Yokai were unpredictable creatures—remember the Centipede Witch who kept coming back to life?

The Flesh-Faced Mask was similar—like the Centipede Witch, it had only gone dormant.

It could revive.

"If I can control the Flesh-Faced Mask and fully unlock its potential, I might be able to achieve a godlike transformation unconventionally."

"Come to think of it, the family does have a tradition of using yokai as familiars…"

He only had enough spiritual liquid for one day, but had taken two days off.

Why?

To make a trip back to the peninsula—home to his family—to seek their knowledge.

One day to craft talismans. One day to "harvest resources" from the clan.

After a full day of work, he finally managed to produce three Sealing Talismans by sheer luck.

For these three talismans, he took the following precautions:

He placed one directly onto the Flesh-Faced Mask itself.

Then he sealed it inside a metal alloy box.

He stuck the second talisman onto the outside of the metal box—for an extra layer of security.

The third talisman he placed on a separate metal box containing Four Soul Shards, to serve as a warning system.

Naturally, these talismans were useless against the shards themselves.

If the Four Soul Shards activated, the talisman would be shredded instantly. But that's exactly the point—if the talisman burns away, that's a warning signal that the shards are acting up and there's danger nearby.

"Xia, here's your plane ticket for tomorrow morning."

"By the way, did something happen?"

"Why the sudden rush to head back…"

At dinner, a middle-aged man handed him a brand-new ticket.

Li Xia took it with a nod:

"Thank you, Fourth Uncle."

As for why he was in such a hurry to return?

He didn't elaborate.