Novel Full Chapter 116 - 113: Return to the Mine
Chapter 116: Chapter 113: Return to the Mine
Over the next few days, the training content expanded from the initial brushstroke to the linking of Spirit Patterns, the construction of the Talisman Core, and techniques for converting Spiritual Power of different attributes.
Everything taught each day was fundamental, but every fundamental concept held a wealth of details that could be refined.
Li Yuan attended the training during the day and returned to his quarters at night to practice.
He not only practiced the new techniques taught by the old Talisman Master but also cycled through drawing every Talisman he knew.
His overall proficiency in the Talisman Making Skill grew every day.
By switching between different types of Talismans and layering on the new techniques, his rate of improvement was much faster than it had been at the mines or with the He family.
On the evening of the third day, Li Yuan laid out a sheet of the gray paper used for Concealing Breath Talismans.
The Concealing Breath Talisman’s Concealment Pattern was drawn opposite to all conventional Talismans. The initial stroke was heavy and the final one light, with the Spiritual Power converging inward from the outside.
The new techniques from the training were also helpful for the Concealment Pattern, especially the principles of Spiritual Power distribution. The ratios for the Concealment Pattern had to be inverted, but the fundamental logic was the same.
He dipped his brush into the dark-silver Spiritual Ink and set it to the paper.
As he began the first Concealment Pattern, Spiritual Power seeped into the paper’s inner layers. He held the brush at an angle a few degrees lower than before, which created better contact with the paper’s surface and allowed the Spiritual Power to permeate more evenly.
The second, nested pattern followed, perfectly aligned.
He drew the third and fourth patterns in one fluid motion.
Then came the fifth pattern—the part where he had previously made the most mistakes. The fifth Concealment Pattern required him to simultaneously decrease the flow of Spiritual Power while reversing its direction. With two operations stacked together, the slightest error would sever the connection.
Li Yuan slowed his wrist to a crawl, keeping the decrease of Spiritual Power perfectly even.
The tip of the brush passed the point of reversal. The flow of Spiritual Power didn’t break.
Convergence.
The Spiritual Power converged at the Talisman Core. The moment the last wisp of Spiritual Power faded to nothing, a dim gray light slowly emerged from the Talisman’s surface.
Success.
Li Yuan placed the Talisman on the tabletop and touched it with his fingertip.
A panel appeared.
[Equippable Item Detected: Concealing Breath Talisman (Complete)]
[Trait Preview: Aura Obscuration (White) — Reduces the user’s aura by up to 30%. The degree of reduction can be adjusted at will.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Achieve a meticulous level of control over one’s own Spiritual Power.]
[Equipment Bar is full (3/3). Replace a currently equipped item?]
’A White trait, Aura Obscuration. It reduces my aura by up to thirty percent, and I can adjust the amount myself.’
’The permanence condition is to achieve a meticulous level of Spiritual Power control.’
’It’s not a specific number or a certain count, but a vague standard.’
’Meticulous level... those words don’t have a quantifiable metric, but taken literally, it must mean the finesse of my Spiritual Power control has to reach an extremely high threshold.’
’Talisman making itself is the best way to hone one’s Spiritual Power control.’
’Every brushstroke is an exercise in the fine control of Spiritual Power. As my Talisman Making Skill continues to advance, my control over Spiritual Power will eventually reach that level.’
Li Yuan put the Concealing Breath Talisman away and continued to draw.
On the final day of the training, the old Talisman Master gave a complete demonstration at his table.
He drew a Tier One Middle Grade Qi Gathering Talisman from start to finish in one fluid motion. The Spirit Patterns flowed across the paper, each stroke’s thickness, depth, and spacing precise to an unsettling degree. It wasn’t that it looked bad; it was just too perfect, so perfect it seemed to have been measured with a ruler.
After the training concluded, the seven of them went their separate ways.
When Li Yuan returned to his quarters, a thick booklet was already sitting on his table.
He opened it. It was a list of talisman-making tasks.
It spanned three densely-packed pages, all of them requests for Combat Talismans.
Fireball Talismans, Vajra Talismans, Rejuvenation Talismans, Ice Spike Talismans, Earth Shield Talismans—the variety was extensive, and the quantities were large. Each task specified the delivery quantity, quality requirements, and the corresponding contribution reward.
The demand for Fireball Talismans was the highest, and the quality requirements were relatively relaxed.
The demand for Vajra Talismans and Rejuvenation Talismans was the next highest, but the quality requirement was one grade higher.
Li Yuan scanned the task list from top to bottom, roughly calculating the ratio of output to contribution points.
It was just as Talisman Master Wei had said; the return for the effort wasn’t particularly high. But the volume was large, so as long as he kept producing, he could steadily accumulate contribution points.
As he was looking, there were two knocks at the door.
Li Yuan got up to open the door.
Standing in the doorway was the Cultivator who had guided him the day before at the steward’s office.
"Li Yuan, the steward sent me to inform you."
"You’re being sent to stand guard at the mining outpost—the same one as before."
The Cultivator took a thin set of transfer orders from his sleeve and handed it over.
"The mining outpost is short-staffed, and since you’ve been stationed there before, you’re familiar with the situation. Considering your Cultivation and your talisman-making abilities, the higher-ups decided you were the best fit. Once you’re there, you’ll stand guard and complete your talisman-making tasks. Someone will come by regularly to collect the finished products."
Li Yuan took the orders and glanced at them. They bore the seal of the Talisman Hall.
"When do I leave?"
"The sooner the better. You set out tomorrow morning."
With that, the Cultivator turned and left.
Li Yuan put the orders away and closed the door.
’Steward Liu was right, after all. A Talisman Master who can fight won’t be stuck behind the lines.’
’Still, I’m familiar with the environment there, and I can continue using the Evil Qi in the mine tunnels for my Body Refining. It’s not a bad thing.’
Li Yuan didn’t delay. That same afternoon, he went to the Talisman Hall’s supply depot to redeem some items.
The supply depot was in the central courtyard of the Talisman Hall, a storeroom piled high with wooden crates. An assistant to the steward sat behind a desk at the entrance, a thick ledger spread open before him.
Li Yuan gave his name and listed the items he needed to redeem.
First were the general materials required for his tasks: Cyan Pattern Paper, Spiritual Ink, and cinnabar. He estimated the amount he would need based on his assignments and redeemed a large batch.
Next, he restocked on the specialized materials for the Concealing Breath Talisman: more gray paper and dark-silver Spiritual Ink.
Finally, Li Yuan named one last item.
"Materials for a Spirit Refining Talisman."
The assistant flipped through the ledger and glanced up at him.
"The Tier One Top Grade ones?"
"Yes."
"How many sets?"
"I’ll start with twenty sets."
The assistant made a note in the ledger, then went into the storeroom and brought out several wooden boxes.
He opened them. The materials inside were in a completely different league from their Tier One Low Grade counterparts.
The talisman paper was a thin, golden sheet that gave off a faint glimmer. Its texture was extremely fine, and it felt surprisingly heavy in his hand. The Spiritual Ink was a dark gold color, stored in a sealed jade bottle. The bottle itself was slightly warm—the ink liquid carried its own Spiritual Power, unlike ordinary Spiritual Ink which was merely a conductive medium.
The accompanying supplementary materials also included an extremely fine mineral powder and a few fragments of some unknown Spirit Medicine, all wrapped in wax paper.
"Tier One Top Grade materials are many times more expensive than Low Grade," the assistant said, pushing the boxes over. "Twenty sets of these, plus the other materials, comes to a total of one hundred and sixty contribution points. You don’t have enough right now, so it will be an advance."
Li Yuan nodded.
’My credit limit was enough to cover it. I’ll just have to pay it back slowly with the talisman-making tasks.’
After storing all the materials in his storage bag, Li Yuan left the supply depot and returned to his quarters.
That night, Li Yuan organized all his belongings, packing what he needed to take and leaving behind what he did not.
The storage bag was stuffed to the brim. Talisman-making materials took up most of the space, while elixirs, Spirit Stones, the Body Refining solution, and the Cultivation Technique beast hide were squeezed into a corner.
Before dawn the next day, Li Yuan left the Talisman Hall and followed the path he had come on, heading back toward the mining outpost.
The gravel slope crunched under his feet, just as it had before. The bushes on either side had grown a little in the past few days, with some branches stretching out over the path, beaded with dew.
From the direction of a distant mountain hollow, the faint, intermittent roars of a Demon Beast or two could be heard.
Li Yuan quickened his pace.