Song Miaozhu sent the underwater footage she had just recorded to Chen Yuanyuan.
[Smooth as Yuanyuan]: No way! The riverbed looks that bad? No wonder everyone only goes diving in the ocean—no one ever dives in rivers!
[Miaow Zhu]: Yuanyuan, when you last visited the Jiangcheng Museum, was the water-sealing stone rhinoceros still on display?
[Smooth as Yuanyuan]: Yep! It was huge, and a bunch of stone carving cultivators were there studying it. I heard someone from The SEIU—a master sculptor—replicated the statue and raised it into a spiritual creature. It can purify water now. Ever since it was placed in the middle of the river, the water quality through the Jiangcheng stretch has been great. Even during flood season, the river stays clear!
These days, museums had become go-to destinations for cultivators seeking inspiration. Chen Yuanyuan often visited them to study ancient paintings.
If the original stone rhinoceros was still being exhibited at the museum, it meant it hadn't absorbed spiritual energy like the one Miaozhu found at the bottom of the Xiao Li River. Otherwise, cultivators would've picked up on it by now.
That was expected.
Spiritual energy appeared more often in crowded places, but it was also consumed faster. An unclaimed stone statue couldn't compete with the draw of a cultivator actively crafting something by hand.
Right now, spiritual energy anywhere didn't last long. As soon as it appeared, cultivators rushed in to absorb it. There was no way loose motes would drift slowly down to the riverbed for that statue to take in. Even if it could someday evolve into a true spiritual creature through ambient Spiritual energy, it would have to wait until the next tide surge—when spiritual energy flooded the world again.
Satisfied with that thought, Song Miaozhu returned to her cave on Yunwu Mountain. While fulfilling the latest orders for spiritual paper mounts, she also began choosing a new secret art to study from the Secret Art of Paper Crafting.
Based on her current cultivation and crafting skill, there were three she could attempt: the Echo Paper Tower, the Shadowbind Paper Lock, and the Moon Dew Paper Lamp.
The Echo Paper Tower had been within reach for a while, but its use was situational. It allowed the user to hear random sounds that had once occurred at the location where it was activated. A nine-story tower could be used nine times, one per level. Once all were used, the tower would be destroyed.
Miaozhu hadn't felt a strong need for it before. Now that things had settled down, the Eternal Life Society was gone, and her days were calm, she figured it was worth learning—even the niche techniques might come in handy someday.
The Shadowbind Paper Lock and Moon Dew Paper Lamp were easier to make in form, though both required precise spiritual alignment to be activated. With her current cultivation, she still needed to rely on spirit stones to successfully awaken them.
The Shadowbind Paper Lock was a weapon-type artifact. After twisting rough paper into a thick rope and letting it bask long enough in sunlight, it could be thrown with spiritual power to bind a target's shadow, locking them in place.
The Moon Dew Paper Lamp was a healing-type item. Made by folding silver-foil paper into a small bowl, it would collect dewdrops formed from moonlight, which could then be used to cleanse and heal wounds.
She decided to begin with the Echo Paper Tower. The tower required framework made with bamboo splints. It couldn't be too large or it would become difficult to handle. That meant the bamboo had to be shaved into very thin strips while remaining sturdy enough to support the structure.
Luckily, her foundational skills in paper crafting were solid now. Following the diagrams step by step, she was able to handle any minor issues without trouble. Once she delivered all the commissioned flying mounts, she focused entirely on building the tower. Within a month, a delicate nine-layer paper tower was complete.
After successfully awakening it, she placed it gently in her palm. For a moment, she felt like a general from the old myths, holding a tower of power. She ended up making two towers, then tested both with a Spirit Mirror. No problems with either. She set one aside to nourish with green spiritual energy. The other she activated immediately.
Following the instructions in Secret Art of Paper Crafting, she lifted the Echo Paper Tower to her ear and channeled her spiritual power into it.
A faint rustling sound came from within, followed by a dry scraping noise.
"…Was that the sound of me folding paper and shaving bamboo while crafting earlier?"
The topmost layer of the paper tower burned away. The first echo had revealed nothing of value. But Miaozhu had been prepared for this. The ancestor who invented the Echo Paper Tower had emphasized how unpredictable the echoes could be.
Who knew how many years a place had witnessed? The tower could only capture one fragment of sound from the past at random. In the words of that same ancestor, if you hoped to hear anything useful, you'd probably need a whole basketful of Echo Towers.
So, the fact she heard any sound at all on her first try was already decent.
She activated it again.
The second level burned. This time, she heard faint footsteps.
Third level: a cat meowing.
Fourth level: rain, probably from outside the cave.
Fifth and sixth levels: just wind, nothing more.
Seventh: her own muttering from some earlier moment.
It wasn't until the eighth activation that she finally heard an unfamiliar voice.
"Why did it suddenly start raining? This place isn't bad. Let's wait till it stops before moving on."
"Alright. I'll check the cave and see if any wild animals are inside."
And then it cut off.
The ninth and final activation revealed nothing new. No more voices.
Even with her expectations in check, Song Miaozhu couldn't help feeling disappointed.
"Figures. Not rushing to make this thing was the right call after all—what a waste."
The chances of hearing something useful were worse than buying a lottery ticket. She gave up on the Echo Paper Tower and turned her attention to the Shadowbind Paper Lock. That one was straightforward to make. She twisted coarse paper into thick rope, then focused on awakening it. The crafting was easy. Awakening took a bit more effort.
Even once activated, it still needed to soak up sunlight before it could be used properly. The weather was good that day. Song Miaozhu returned to the same spot she had visited on her last outing, summoned her spiritual paper phoenix, and flew out to sun the rope.
Under the bright sunlight, the Shadowbind Lock took on a golden sheen.
Once it gleamed like a solid gold rope, it was nearly ready.
"Now I just need someone to test it on."
She looked down at the mountain forest below and had an idea. Soon after, she set off with the Shadowbind Lock in hand, heading toward an area where she had once encountered some wildlife during training.
Any random creature would do. Just a quick photo search and most of them turned out to be highly protected species—ones she'd never dare touch. But for testing the Shadowbind Lock, they were perfect. Binding a shadow wouldn't injure the creature. It would only immobilize them.
If the shadow was obscured by tree cover, she would just lure the animal out into the sun. Among all the creatures of Yunwu Mountain, she was the fastest on foot. No beast could outrun her.
The first one she spotted was a wild boar.
"You'll do just fine."