I Outworked the Entire Cultivation World

Testing the sixty-four variations of the Great Array, everything operated normally. Jiang Yuebai noted all the advantages and drawbacks and listed the parts that needed improvement.

Jiang Yuebai marveled at the resilience of those two rats, especially the lean one, who was a Talismanic Cultivator with several Instant Runes on his body, making it tricky to deal with, much like using three techniques simultaneously with a wave.

After making full use of them, Jiang Yuebai invoked the power of the Black Tortoise of Four Symbols, giving them a swift end.

During the final soul capture, she almost stumbled, only then discovering that the soul of a Golden Core Cultivator was powerful; even outside the body, it could survive, escaping like a lightning bolt and difficult to intercept.

Fortunately, it was within her array; if it were outside, it surely would have escaped.

Jiang Yuebai made a mental note of this, carefully collecting the bodies and souls separately, allowing the Crane Feather Avatar to continue patrolling while the Sword Sky Puppet returned to the mountain’s Cold Pond with the two individuals’ belongings.

The Sword Sky Puppet differed from the Crane Feather Avatar, unable to speak and requiring a Faceless Mask to mimic the aura of a normal person.

After modification, its body strength was comparable to an Early-Stage Golden Core Cultivator, with the remaining parts still at a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment level, waiting for her Core Formation to further refine various Talisman Arrays.

From the two, Jiang Yuebai found two Storage Belts, a Spiritual Beast Bag, and a Storage Ring with an invisibility feature, none of which escaped her attention.

She was not one to let even Corpse Boots go, searching thoroughly and finding an Invisibility Ring on the lean one’s hand, which, under the light, reflected a flowing aurora—a valuable item.

The Storage Belts contained commonly used Elixirs and Talismans, along with several Magic Artifacts. Their main combat tools, however, were Lifebound Magic Treasures, which became useless upon their death.

However, their Golden Cores remained in their bodies, possibly useful for refining Primordial Essence.

On second thought, this seemed ruthless, but poverty was even more so!

"It seems all important items are in this ring," Jiang Yuebai mused.

She projected a Divine Thought to break the Primordial Spirit Mark on the ring. Although they were dead, it was still a Golden Core Cultivator’s mark, requiring some time to dismantle.

Jiang Yuebai picked up the Spiritual Beast Bag, turned it over, and shook it. A white-haired furball tumbled out.

With black-bean eyes, it glanced at Jiang Yuebai before stiffly flipping over, playing dead as if rigor mortis had set in.

This reminded Jiang Yuebai of the Treasure Hunting Rat Yun Shang once lent her, which would also play dead when encountering danger.

Holding it by the tail, Jiang Yuebai observed it closely, noticing three different traits of Mouse Demons on it.

Overall, it resembled a Treasure Hunting Rat, with a red bean-like nose sensitive to Spiritual Energy. Its large, round ears like a Broad-Eared Rat could hear sounds ordinary cultivators couldn’t, such as the flow of Spiritual Energy.

The golden line on its back, along with its golden claws and teeth, are traits of the Gold-Devouring Rat, each line representing a level. At this level, tearing apart arrays and Magic Treasures at the Golden Core Stage was child’s play.

The Gold-Devouring Rat had a penchant for theft, often burrowing into cultivators’ abodes to secretly consume highly spiritual items.

Especially Magic Treasures, biting through them with one chomp. Its saliva naturally contained a toxin that restrained Spiritual Energy, making these rats often captured or bred for toxin extraction.

Jiang Yuebai recalled Yun Shang mentioning that Spiritual Beast Trainers sometimes trained Spirit-Devouring Rats for array breaking.

However, the Spirit-Devouring Rat wasn’t as smart as the Treasure Hunting Rat and was more timid, only capable of breaking simple and low-risk arrays.

But this one was different, having the Bloodline of a Treasure Hunting Rat and a Broad-Eared Rat, alongside training. It easily penetrated the surface arrays on her island.

"Do you like Golden Spiritual Energy?"

Jiang Yuebai pondered, extending a finger in front of the rat.

The moment Golden Spiritual Energy infused with Green Cicada Flying Coin Aura trickled out, the rat flipped over, trying to get closer to Jiang Yuebai’s finger while being held by its tail, its nose twitching and claws waving, eager for a taste.

Jiang Yuebai withdrew her finger, "I know you can understand me. I don’t usually keep Spiritual Pets, because I don’t have time for my own needs, let alone yours. If not for your usefulness, I’d have roasted you by now."

"So, if you want to stay with me, be sensible. I’ll feed you when I remember, otherwise, fend for yourself. I won’t often confine you to the Spiritual Beast Bag. I’ll keep you only if you’re useful. If you trick or harm me, it’s cumin and chili on your way out, understand?"

The rat blinked its black-bean eyes and suddenly clutched its head with its paws, squeaking before pretending to be dead again.

Interpreting this, Jiang Yuebai asked, "You mean you had a Soul Contract with your previous owner? If he perishes, so do you?"

The rat nodded vigorously.

"That’s simple enough, a mere trifle," Jiang Yuebai assured.

Squeak, squeak!

The rat extended a paw, and Jiang Yuebai tapped it with her finger, reaching a temporary agreement. Generously, she fed it a wisp of Golden Spiritual Energy.

"I don’t know your previous name, but with me, your name can be... Fortunate, or Treasure, or just Jixiang."

With just a trace of Golden Spiritual Energy, Jixiang absorbed it greedily, the golden lines on its back brightening, before falling over in a drunken stupor, feet skyward in sleep.

Jiang Yuebai shook her head; as her spiritual pet, it needed to learn self-sufficiency. Look at Little Green, it thrived without food or water, just like the Ice Amor Beetle King, quietly cultivating in the Cold Pond.

In time, the Ice Amor Beetle King should guide Jixiang. With its abilities, it would be invaluable in future Secret Realm treasure hunts.

Once clearing the mark on the ring, Jiang Yuebai’s Divine Sense penetrated its contents, her eyes glittering with excitement.

She’d struck it rich!

Inside, a dazzling array of Top-Grade Spiritual Stones nearly blinded her. Roughly counting, there were over ten thousand.

There were also over ten thousand Mid-Grade Spiritual Stones, but only around three thousand Low-Grade Spiritual Stones.

A penniless Jiang Yuebai exhaled in relief, as this wealth meant she could buy a hundred Demon Cores, consume half, and refine Primordial Essence with the rest to earn more Spiritual Stones.

With such a substantial starting fund, she needn’t accept the scattered Alchemy and Talisman Painting commissions from the Heavenly Gang Peak disciples, instead focusing on advancing her cultivation.

"Considering Li Huli once saved me, this business is his reward. I’ll spend one day a month helping him with Alchemy and Talisman Painting," Jiang Yuebai resolved, stashing all the Spirit Stones into her bracelet.

Aside from the Spirit Stones, the ring contained eight fresh Demon Cores, a dozen Mistaking Smoke Pills, three bottles of Golden Returning Elixirs for Golden Core Cultivators to enhance cultivation, numerous refining materials, and related Jade Scrolls.

The lean Golden Core Cultivator must have been an Artifact Refiner, though not particularly skilled, as the artifacts in those Storage Belts were of average Seventh-Grade quality, not Magic Treasure level.

Jiang Yuebai checked the contents, finding nothing mentioned by True Monarch Fuyi, like the Star Meteorite Iron, though some materials could benefit the Sword Sky Puppet.

After organizing the materials, Jiang Yuebai retrieved an old-fashioned dagger, a palm-sized turtle shell, a roll of beast skin, and a yellowed Jade Scroll.

"So this dagger, along with the beast skin’s ’Divine Concealment Talisman Technique’ and the turtle shell’s ’Turtle Breath Talisman Method’, are what enabled you to break through my array," she mused.

At the Wind and Cloud Meeting’s end on the Xuanming Battlefield, she once used Tang Weimian’s Divine Concealment Talisman to sneak under the Ice Pillar and fight alongside Lu Nanzhi.

This dagger closely resembled the one-time Array-Breaking Dagger Tang Weimian had given her, but this one was a Magic Treasure.

She first encountered the Turtle Breath Talisman at Ge Yuchan’s, in the Land of Azure Flame, where Ge Yuchan gifted her three of them, capable of concealing most of one’s presence.

The yellowed Jade Scroll contained the escape technique the pair used to flee from her.

"No wonder you were thieves; all your skills were honed for stealing," she concluded.