Novel Full Chapter 115 - 112: Soul-Refining Talisman
Chapter 115: Chapter 112: Soul-Refining Talisman
The next morning, Li Yuan followed the stone slab path to its end.
The Talisman Hall’s Scripture Pavilion was in the very back, a two-story stone building that was shorter but wider than the Scripture Pavilion in the marketplace. It had gray brick walls and very small windows. A stone slab was embedded to the left of the doorframe, engraved with the two words "Scripture Pavilion."
A guard Cultivator at the Qi Refining Fifth Level stood at the entrance.
Li Yuan handed over his documents and waist token.
The guard Cultivator glanced at the seal, nodded, and handed the items back.
"Browse the first floor on your own. When you’ve made your choice, come to the entrance to register it."
Li Yuan walked inside.
The first floor wasn’t large. The four walls and several rows of wooden shelves in the middle were densely packed with beast hide scrolls, bamboo slips, and thin booklets. A wooden plaque was placed in front of each item, noting its name and a brief description.
Li Yuan started browsing from the first row of shelves on the left.
The first wooden plaque: Detailed Analysis of Spirit Patterns—Seventeen variant uses for basic Tier One Spirit Patterns.
The second: Thirty-six Methods for Contracting the Talisman Core.
The third: Insights on Controlling Power When Setting Brush to Paper.
It was all talisman-crafting techniques.
Li Yuan took a few steps forward, his gaze sweeping over a series of wooden plaques.
Essentials of Stacking Fire Gathering Patterns. Advanced Spreading of Healing Patterns. Reverse Power Control for Concealment Patterns. Deepening Earth Element Armor Condensation Patterns.
No Cultivation Techniques, no Magic.
Steward Liu had said the Talisman Hall’s Scripture Pavilion stored Cultivation Techniques and skills all related to talisman crafting, and that their quality was better than the ones in the marketplace.
He indeed saw no Cultivation Techniques, but there were plenty of skills.
Li Yuan moved to the second row of shelves.
The contents of this row were different. They were no longer Spirit Pattern techniques, but rather auxiliary crafts related to talisman creation.
Advanced Method for Crafting Beast Hide Talisman Paper. Advanced Method for Crafting Herbal Talisman Paper. Method for Blending Demon Beast Blood and Herbal Juice into Spiritual Ink. Method for Temporarily Converting Spiritual Power Attributes.
The descriptions on the wooden plaques were concise.
Advanced Beast Hide Talisman Paper—Process the hide of a specific Demon Beast through twelve steps to create high-quality talisman paper.
Advanced Herbal Talisman Paper—Use Spirit Medicine fibers as the main ingredient, soaked in medicinal liquid, to create talisman paper with auxiliary properties.
Demon Beast Blood and Herbal Juice Spiritual Ink—Mix Demon Beast blood with herbal juice in specific ratios and refine it to create Spiritual Ink with stronger spiritual conductivity.
Method for Temporarily Converting Spiritual Power Attributes—Use a special energy circulation technique to temporarily convert one’s Spiritual Power Attribute before crafting a Talisman, reducing the difficulty of creating Talismans that don’t match one’s innate attribute.
Li Yuan scanned these wooden plaques without lingering for too long.
’These things are certainly useful, but they’re not why I came here today.’
He continued toward the shelves in the back.
The third row of shelves held crafting methods for various Talismans. The wooden plaques were lined up one after another—Flame Talisman, Ice Spike Talisman, Earth Shield Talisman, Wind Blade Talisman, Qi Gathering Talisman, Sound Insulation Charm. The variety was vast, ranging from Tier One Low Grade to Tier One Top Grade.
Li Yuan casually touched a few scrolls.
No reaction.
’As expected. Talisman crafting methods can’t be equipped; only the corresponding Talismans made from them can.’
He had also touched a few of the talisman-crafting technique scrolls earlier, and they hadn’t reacted either.
Li Yuan didn’t waste any more time on these shelves and walked directly to the last row.
This row of shelves was against the back wall of the stone building. It held far fewer items, which were spaced further apart, and the wooden plaques were a size larger than the others.
They were all crafting methods for Tier One Top Grade Talismans.
Li Yuan scanned them from the beginning of the row.
Array-breaking Talisman—When used, it interferes with and weakens an Array.
Bone-Eroding Talisman—Releases corrosive Spiritual Power, causing continuous damage.
Li Yuan’s gaze stopped on the third wooden plaque.
Spirit-Refining Talisman—A crafting method for a Tier One Top Grade Talisman. When used, it aids in cultivation by slightly increasing the user’s Divine Soul strength for two hours.
’Increase Divine Soul strength.’
The soul-light tempering from the Soul Mirror was already continuously strengthening his Divine Soul. If he could craft the Spirit-Refining Talisman, the combined effect would be even greater. Besides, the stronger his Divine Soul, the more refined his perception of Spiritual Power would be during talisman crafting, and his overall skill level would rise along with it.
’Besides, self-made Talismans can trigger the equipment panel.’
Li Yuan took the beast hide scroll from the shelf, unrolled it, and glanced inside.
The Spirit Pattern layout was several times more complex than that of a Tier One Low Grade talisman. It used a special Spirit Pattern called the Concentration Pattern, and the flow of Spiritual Power formed a precise spiral circuit on the talisman paper.
The crafting difficulty far exceeded that of any Talisman he currently knew how to make.
’But that doesn’t stop me from getting my hands on it now.’
’I’ll study it first and only start crafting it when my skill level is high enough.’
Li Yuan closed the beast hide scroll and turned to walk toward the entrance.
"Made your choice?"
"The Spirit-Refining Talisman crafting method."
The guard Cultivator opened the register and made a note, then called out toward the back. After a moment, another Cultivator came from behind the stone building and handed over a copied scroll.
"You can’t take the original. This is a copy."
Li Yuan took it, confirmed the contents were correct, tucked it into his sleeve, and left the Scripture Pavilion.
Back in his residence, Li Yuan placed the Spirit-Refining Talisman crafting method on the corner of his table and didn’t begin studying it immediately.
’Can’t rush something that’s Tier One Top Grade.’
He then sat cross-legged on his bed and began circulating the Spirit-Introducing Skill.
Spiritual Qi surged into his body. His [Pure Spiritual Power] trait filtered out the impurities beforehand, and the clean Spiritual Power sank into his Dantian.
After completing several cycles, Li Yuan switched to the Microelement Meridian Introduction Skill to continue honing his meridians.
It was very quiet outside the stone house. The occasional sound of footsteps would pass by in the corridor, only to quickly fade into the distance.
From far away, the faint call of a night bird or two could be heard, echoing briefly among the eaves of the Talisman Hall’s courtyard before dissipating.
...
Early the next morning, the steward sent someone to deliver a batch of supplies.
In addition to the materials for the Concealing Breath Talisman that had been promised, there was also an extra batch of general-purpose Cyan Pattern Paper and Spiritual Ink. The quantity wasn’t large, but it would be enough for a while.
Along with the supplies came a notice.
The Talisman Hall would be holding a five-day talisman-crafting training session for new members, starting tomorrow.
Li Yuan put away the supplies and didn’t think much of it.
The next day, Li Yuan went to the training location at the time specified in the notice.
In a spacious stone house on the west side of the Talisman Hall, about a dozen tables were set up. The tabletops were covered with thick felt, with talisman paper, Spiritual Ink, and talisman brushes arranged on either side.
Not many people showed up.
Including Li Yuan, there were seven people in total. Their Cultivation levels were uneven, with the highest at the Qi Refining Sixth Level and the lowest at only the Qi Refining Third Level. Their ages also varied, ranging from their early twenties to their late forties.
The one in charge of the training was an old Talisman Master at the Late-stage Qi Refining realm, around fifty years old with graying hair and long, slender fingers.
The training content started from the very basics.
The starting angle for Spirit Patterns, the distribution ratio of Spiritual Power when putting brush to paper, the gradual decrease in force when contracting the Talisman Core. Li Yuan had figured all of these things out on his own while teaching himself talisman crafting, and for the most part, he had already formed his own habits.
But what the old Talisman Master taught wasn’t exactly the same as what he had figured out for himself.
The differences weren’t in the broad strokes, but in the details.
Take the starting angle, for example. Li Yuan was used to a wider starting angle, which allowed for a faster output of Spiritual Power from the brush, suitable for Spirit Patterns like the one for the Fireball Talisman that needed to be spread quickly. However, the standard starting angle the old Talisman Master demonstrated was just over thirty degrees. The Spiritual Power came out a bit slower, but it adhered better to the paper, resulting in neater edges for the Spirit Pattern.
Another example was Spiritual Power distribution. Li Yuan used to rely on feel, developing muscle memory after drawing so many. The old Talisman Master, however, provided a set of more refined details.
This ratio was close to what Li Yuan had discovered through experience, but it was more precise.
Li Yuan didn’t rush to change his habits. Instead, he committed every detail the old Talisman Master mentioned to memory, planning to compare them one by one with his own techniques back at his residence.
After the first day of training ended, Li Yuan returned to his residence, spread out a sheet of talisman paper, and drew a few Fireball Talismans using the standard starting angle taught by the old Talisman Master.
’The feel is definitely different.’
The edges of the Spirit Pattern were neater than before. Although the brush moved a little slower, the overall quality of the talisman’s surface had visibly improved by a notch.
[Fireball Talisman: Proficient (127/800)]
His proficiency had increased.
Li Yuan then switched to the Cleaning Talisman and the Exorcism Talisman, drawing a few of each with the new starting angle. The Spirit Patterns for these two basic Talismans were simple to begin with, so the improvement after adjusting the angle wasn’t as obvious as with the Fireball Talisman, but it was there nonetheless.