Scent Technique: Discerning people and objects through scent. (1/200 Master)
Gao Xian looked at the description in the Wind and Moon Treasure Mirror and was quite satisfied.
The Scent Technique was a minor spell, and investing one hundred and one points elevated it to the level of a Master.
After Lan Jie's demonstration, Gao Xian immediately mastered the Scent Technique.
With his powerful divine sense now, he could easily activate the Scent Technique with just a single thought.
On the surface, the Scent Technique did not show any abnormalities, it just made his sense of smell exceptionally sharp.
Gao Xian didn't know how dogs discerned scents, but after using the Scent Technique, he could perceive a wealth of scent information.
From the residual scent on the bedding, the scent of the cotton itself, the scent of the cat, the woody scent of the wooden bed board, to even the bricks and stones on the ground, each emitted a unique and wonderful scent.
Most remarkably, amidst these scents, he also caught a hint of fragrant body odor.
Gao Xian immediately remembered that it was the scent of Qing Ping from yesterday.
Despite the room being enclosed, this scent had somehow lingered until now.
Through comparing these scents, Gao Xian could quickly differentiate between these items using his nose.
Through the walls, Gao Xian could clearly smell the lingering strong scent of medicinal herbs in the pill furnace, the scent of charcoal, and even the scent of Da Niu.
Most things in the world have their own scent, especially living beings, which inevitably have their own unique scent.
The effect of the Scent Technique lasted for about an hour, and Gao Xian felt that the Scent Technique was not simply enhancing his sense of smell, but rather indirectly enhancing his divine sense, allowing him to discern and differentiate among countless scents so clearly.
Gao Xian tried to track Qing Ping's scent, but the scent dissipated once he reached the courtyard.
The blowing cold wind was too strong, making it difficult for personal scents to linger.
Gao Xian made many attempts and found that the Scent Technique did not conflict with the Shadowless Garment.
As long as he used the Scent Technique first, it would not disrupt the Shadowless Garment.
Even minor spells like the Feather Flight Technique, as long as the spiritual power did not leak outward, would not affect the Shadowless Garment.
By using the Scent Technique, Gao Xian also made an unexpected discovery that he could better distinguish medicinal herbs.
Some herbs had internal decay or changes that were hard to detect with the naked eye.
Through the Scent Technique, he could easily discern the quality of the herbs.
When refining pills, using the Scent Technique could also improve his control over the heat.
In the past, Gao Xian relied solely on his powerful pill refining techniques to control the heat, but it was ultimately not as intuitive and clear as the Scent Technique.
By smelling the different states of the medicinal herbs, he could easily make accurate judgments.
The Scent Technique was a minor spell, and with his current spiritual power, he could easily use it ten times in a row.
With the Scent Technique, Gao Xian clearly felt that pill refining became easier, and the quality of the pills had slightly improved.
Due to the rampant presence of demonic beasts, the entire Feima Sect was in a state of panic.
Gao Xian also did not dare to slack off and spent his days refining pills diligently.
From the first day to the fifteenth, Gao Xian refined pills every day, sometimes even refining two furnaces in a day, consuming most of the accumulated medicinal herbs.
On the fifteenth night, after Gao Xian, Zhu Qiuniang, and Da Niu had dinner together, Zhu Qiuniang said, "Today is the fifteenth, we need to be extra careful."
These days, Zhu Qiuniang had been staying at Gao Xian's place at night, mainly to look out for each other.
In such dangerous times, Zhu Qiuniang trusted Gao Xian more and believed in his combat abilities.
Although there were many people in Changsheng Hall, none of them were trustworthy.
Zhu Qiuniang did not want to face demonic beasts with that group of people.
Gao Xian was a bit puzzled, "What's different today?"
"The full moon will agitate some demonic beasts, making them extremely frenzied."
Zhu Qiuniang sighed softly, "Li Shuanglin is so disorganized. The demonic beasts have been invading Feima Sect for so long, and he still hasn't solved the problem. He's truly useless."
Gao Xian knew Li Shuanglin, this Foundation Establishment cultivator was a disciple of Lianyun Sect and the actual manager of Feima Sect.
Upon hearing Zhu Qiuniang criticize Li Shuanglin, Gao Xian wholeheartedly agreed.
As the manager of Feima Sect, such a major incident like the invasion of demonic beasts had thrown the entire sect into chaos.
Li Shuanglin's inability to resolve the situation despite the prolonged period was truly unacceptable.
Gao Xian asked, "Are you saying that the demonic beasts might break into our place?"
These days, the demonic beasts had been active on the outskirts, reportedly killing hundreds of cultivators.
Gao Xian was not aware of the specific details.
"In fact, Li Shuanglin did kill a second-rank demonic beast. However, he is unable to set up the formation and cannot find the mastermind behind it. As a result, more and more demonic beasts are being attracted. At this rate, Feima Sect might not be able to hold on..."
Zhu Qiuniang was somewhat pessimistic about the future.
With so much time passed and Li Shuanglin unable to control the situation, and with no reinforcements from the sect, the situation was only getting worse.
Gao Xian was also powerless in this situation, he could only sigh along with her.
He wanted to peacefully refine pills, but with the unstable environment, he couldn't just focus on himself.
Gao Xian asked, "Isn't Lianyun Sect going to intervene?"
He was a bit puzzled.
With such a major incident that could potentially destroy Feima Sect, why hadn't Lianyun Sect sent reinforcements?
"In the eyes of the elders of the sect, Feima Sect is insignificant. A few cultivators being killed by demonic beasts is not a big deal. Besides, there may be people who are not pleased with Li Shuanglin and are taking advantage of the situation to make things difficult for him..."
Zhu Qiuniang was not very clear about the situation in Lianyun Sect, but she knew that in such a large sect, there were bound to be complex power struggles.
To those high-ranking elders of the sect, the survival of Feima Sect was not a major concern.
After some thought, Gao Xian said to Zhu Qiuniang, "Buildings and such are not worth much, if the demonic beasts come, we can use Beast Repelling Talismans to hide."
Zhu Qiuniang nodded.
Da Niu obediently listened to the conversation between the two, knowing that he had no say in such matters and simply followed the arrangements of the two sisters.
On the fifteenth day of the first month, the Lantern Festival, the moon tonight was exceptionally large and round.
The cold moonlight reflected on the accumulated snow, illuminating the earth brightly.
At midnight, the cries of demonic beasts echoed in all directions of Feima Sect.
Zhu Qiuniang and Gao Xian, with their powerful divine senses, discerned that at least two second-rank demonic beasts were charging into Feima Sect from different directions.
Both of them had grim expressions, as second-rank demonic beasts were equivalent to Foundation Establishment cultivators and possessed formidable strength.
The methods of ordinary cultivators posed almost no threat to second-rank demonic beasts.
With two second-rank demonic beasts arriving at once, even if Li Shuanglin took action, he would be unable to stop them.
"Evil beasts, meet your doom!"
A stern shout suddenly came from the northwest, the voice was deep and powerful, suppressing the roars of the demonic beasts.
Zhu Qiuniang glanced at Gao Xian, "It's Li Shuanglin."
Gao Xian sighed softly, "At least he took action, he managed to stop one of them."
"What about the other one?"
Before Zhu Qiuniang could finish speaking, her expression suddenly changed, "It's heading towards our direction."
"Quick, use the Beast Repelling Talisman." Gao Xian said as he slapped a talisman on Da Niu, and also used one on himself.
The talisman flashed with spiritual light and instantly turned into ashes.
However, the spell on the talisman fell on Gao Xian and Da Niu.
Zhu Qiuniang also used a Beast Repelling Talisman on herself.
Gao Xian also activated the Scent Technique.
He found that the Beast Repelling Talisman was indeed effective, almost completely masking the human scent.
However, at such a close distance, he could still easily smell the scents of Da Niu and Zhu Qiuniang using the Scent Technique.
"No, it seems to be coming straight for me!"
Zhu Qiuniang realized something was wrong and after a moment of thought, she said to Gao Xian, "It would be too dangerous if the demonic beast breaks in here. I'll lead it away..."
(End of Chapter)