Chapter Thirty-Four: Boundless Virtue

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Five o’clock in the morning, the courtyard of the village chief’s house.

After hours of meditation, Li Yunfei’s spiritual energy was fully restored. He set up a table and, in one breath, drew over three hundred exorcism talismans, imbuing each with a ghost warding spell.

Exorcism talismans are the fundamental charms of Maoshan Taoists. By themselves, they offer only basic exorcising and dispelling effects. Depending on the incantation added, they manifest a variety of powers.

These talismans are much like guns using standard ammunition—their ultimate power and effect is determined not by the weapon itself, but by the type of bullet loaded. Armor-piercing rounds increase penetration; explosive rounds cause devastation.

With the ghost warding spell, the talisman wards off spirits; with the ghost killing spell, it destroys them. There are also binding, subduing, and repelling spells, each bestowing different abilities depending on the incantation.

Had Li Yunfei mastered the ghost killing spell last night, there would have been no need to confront that vicious spirit directly; he could have dispatched it from a distance with talismans alone, overwhelming it to death.

Among all the spells for dealing with spirits, the ghost warding incantation is undoubtedly the least consuming and most enduring. Its function is simple: bar spirits from homes and people, minimizing energy expenditure.

In contrast, the ghost killing spell is the most demanding, unleashing all the talisman’s spiritual power in a single, devastating burst to annihilate the spirit.

Villagers only need to keep spirits at bay, not destroy them, making the ghost warding spell the most suitable choice.

Once the talismans were ready, Li Yunfei packed them into bags prepared by the village chief and handed them to his son, saying, “Consider these talismans my gift to Daping Village; I won’t charge for them.”

“But the talisman paper was provided by Master Chen and the others, so there are still costs involved. You can arrange payment amongst yourselves.”

The village chief clasped Li Yunfei’s hands, eyes brimming with gratitude. “I understand. No problem. Truly, Brother Da Fei, you are a man of boundless virtue!”

Li Yunfei smiled gently and patted the chief’s hand. Nowadays, he earned tens of thousands daily and cared little for money.

He once took such matters lightly, but times had changed; he now believed in accumulating merit. As the chief said, he had done a great service for Daping Village—protecting the villagers, keeping them safe from ghostly harm, and asking for nothing in return. Even if not boundless, some merit would inevitably accrue.

Having embarked upon the path of cultivation, merit was something he could never have too much of.

Merit may seem intangible, but given that demons and spirits now roamed the earth, it was hardly difficult to believe in its existence.

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“I have other matters to attend to, so I must go. Chief, there’s something you must tell the villagers: do not, under any circumstance, go up the mountain to the northwest after seven in the evening.”

“Most likely, the origin of the vicious spirit lies there. The provisions you delivered to it are probably still on that mountain.”

“Retrieve them after eleven at noon, lay them out in the sunlight, and they’ll be fine.”

The chief nodded in awe. “Brother Da Fei, you truly possess real skill. That mountain to the northwest was once the stronghold of bandits. When the Liberation Army attacked, most were wiped out on the spot. I suppose the vicious spirit is the bandit leader slain back then.”

Li Yunfei nodded slowly. “The village’s troubles aren’t solely from the bandits. Those who starved to death during the great famine may also have become hungry ghosts.”

“Hungry ghosts are a type of vengeful spirit, and among the most terrifying.”

“So you must warn the villagers: after seven at night, do not go out if it can be helped.”

“These talismans, imbued with the ghost warding spell, will last three to five months under normal circumstances—plenty of time to make arrangements. But frequent nighttime travel could shorten their efficacy.”

The resentment of hungry ghosts stems from unending hunger—their greatest obsession is to be sated.

Yet, hungry ghosts can never be satisfied.

In other words, their resentment cannot be resolved; once they appear, they are always malevolent spirits and must be destroyed.

Seeing Li Yunfei speak so seriously, the chief dared not neglect his warning and promised to inform the villagers thoroughly.

After briefing the chief, Li Yunfei chatted briefly with Master Chen and Master Yang, exchanged phone numbers, packed his belongings, and drove out of the village.

…

Li Yunfei returned to the hydroelectric station by seven thirty in the morning. Though he had cultivated for about five hours the previous night without sleep, he felt no fatigue, remaining alert and vigorous.

During his cultivation, he noticed that once his spiritual energy was full, continued practice not only increased his cultivation but also slowly accumulated experience, much like idling in a game.

Thus, his cultivation was tied to his level: as his level rose, so did his cultivation, and vice versa.

However, the rate of cultivation was much slower than clearing dungeons.

One hour’s training yielded only 0.7 to 0.8 percent experience—about five or six days to level up.

Clearly, the higher the level, the slower the cultivation.

To reach level twenty, the next realm, would take two or three months.

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If he cleared dungeons, however, he could level up at least once per day—a speed nearly ten times faster.

Self-cultivation was the normal pace, similar to other Maoshan disciples, perhaps slightly faster.

Dungeon grinding was akin to having a cheat.

The system itself was a colossal cheat.

…

At this hour, Fourth Great-Uncle was likely already out working, so Li Yunfei didn’t visit but crossed the river, released the little fox, and headed toward Qingyuan Village.

Li Yunfei was already level eleven, and should have begun clearing dungeons above level ten, but he was still thinking about the Paralyzing Antlion Mandible from the Earth Ox.

After breakfast at the old house, he took the little fox into the level six Earth Ox dungeon.

Monsters below level nine no longer dropped items, and their experience rewards were negligible.

The greatest advantage of the Earth Ox dungeon was that there was no need to clear all the minor monsters before tackling the boss.

Thanks to the Earth Ox’s habits, he could bypass the mobs and go straight for the boss.

He went through the level six, eight, nine, and ten Earth Ox dungeons, heading directly for the bosses in level six and eight. After defeating them, his experience reached 76.5 percent, and the little fox advanced to level eleven.

Since the little fox had remained in the pet space during the battle with the vicious spirit last night, it didn’t gain any experience from that, trailing Li Yunfei by sixty-five percent in experience.

Besides experience, Li Yunfei harvested two Paralyzing Antlion Mandibles, twenty packs each of potent antlion powder and powerful knockout powder.

In the level nine dungeon, he didn’t go straight for the boss, as monsters there still dropped loot he could sell.

Sure enough, upon reaching level twelve, having defeated most of the dungeon monsters, he acquired three ordinary Antlion Mandibles, selling them for thirty thousand.

The antlion powder and knockout powder he kept, as they were cheap but useful.

He fully cleared the level ten dungeon, earning five Antlion Mandibles—another fifty thousand.

His experience surged by over half, and the little fox reached level twelve.

With five Paralyzing Antlion Mandibles finally in hand, Li Yunfei, satisfied, went off in search of dungeons above level ten.