Chapter 112 - 109: Talisman Dao Mastery
Chapter 112: Chapter 109: Talisman Dao Mastery
That night, Li Yuan opened the first jar of Body Refining medicinal liquid in his humble house.
Iron Bone Liquid.
As soon as the wax seal on the jar was broken, a pungent medicinal odor immediately rushed out, so thick it was choking.
The liquid was dark brown and viscous. When poured into the wooden basin, it clung noticeably to the sides, flowing very slowly.
Li Yuan poured the liquid in, added some water, then took off his clothes and sat down inside.
The medicinal liquid came up to his waist. It wasn’t warm; in fact, it felt a little cool as he got in.
But after about three breaths, the coolness vanished.
The medicinal liquid began to seep into his skin.
It wasn’t the sensation of water during a normal bath, but a permeation that felt forceful, oppressive.
The medicinal power drilled through the pores on his skin’s surface, passed through the subcutaneous fat, and acted directly on his muscles.
Li Yuan’s forearms were the first to react. His muscles tensed, and a layer of fine red dots appeared on the surface of his skin, as if something were pushing them out from within. His chest, abdomen, and back followed, with similar red dots appearing in patches.
It wasn’t painful, but there was an intense aching and swelling sensation, as if all his muscles were being kneaded forcefully at once.
The permanent entry for "Refined Medicinal Efficacy" was working in the background. The active ingredients in the liquid were absorbed more efficiently, while impurities and dregs were pushed to the surface of his skin, precipitating out as a layer of grayish-black filth.
Four hours later, the liquid’s color had faded from dark brown to light yellow, its medicinal power almost completely absorbed. Li Yuan stood up from the basin. A quick sweep of the Cleaning Skill cleared away the layer of grayish-black filth on his skin.
His muscles had indeed become a bit firmer.
It wasn’t the dull, compressive feeling from Body Tempering with Evil Qi, but a more uniform sense of density, as if the gaps between his muscle fibers had been filled in with a layer of medicinal power.
He used the Xuanjia Decoction on the second day and the Red Marrow Juice on the third.
The experience with each of the three medicinal liquids was different. The Xuanjia Decoction was hot; soaking in it felt like his whole body was being roasted over a fire, turning his skin beet-red. Its medicinal power primarily targeted the bones and joints. The Red Marrow Juice was the mildest of the three, causing no obvious discomfort, but it penetrated the deepest, its power drilling into his bone marrow along the seams of his bones.
The condition to make the Iron Wall Body Refining Skill permanent required completing one full Body Tempering cycle with each of the three different formulas.
One soak was just the beginning; a full cycle required continuous soaking, followed by channeling energy to digest the effects and allowing the body to adapt.
But at the very least, the first round for all three formulas had begun.
In the following days, after re-equipping the Soul Mirror, Li Yuan shifted most of his focus back to Talisman making.
His Fireball Talisman was steadily accumulating progress in the Proficient stage, with a success rate maintained at around seventy percent.
His other types of Talismans were quickly catching up.
He drew Rejuvenation Talismans the most, and his progress with the Vajra Talisman was also increasing. The Spirit Patterns for this type of Talisman were more complex than those of the Fireball Talisman, so the success rate rose more slowly, but each one provided significantly more Talisman Making Skill experience than a basic Talisman.
[Rejuvenation Talisman: Skilled (7/400)]
[Vajra Talisman: Skilled (3/400)]
Mastering each type of Talisman brought a surge in his overall proficiency, and switching between different types increased it faster than specializing in just one. By rotating through the six types of Talismans, the progress bar for his Talisman Making Skill advanced at a visible pace.
「On the night of the sixth day.」
Li Yuan spread out a sheet of Cyan Pattern Paper, dipped his brush in Spiritual Ink, and began to draw a Fireball Talisman.
From the very first stroke, this Talisman felt different.
It wasn’t that a specific part had improved; the entire feeling had changed.
Previously, when drawing Talismans, there was always a brief "confirmation" process between each Spirit Pattern—after finishing one pattern, he would quickly review the position and force needed for the next one in his mind before putting the brush to paper. The process was so short it was almost unnoticeable, but it was definitely there.
Now, that process was gone.
The instant he finished one pattern, his wrist had already automatically moved to the starting position for the next. The flow of Spiritual Power adjusted in sync, without any conscious thought.
It was like going from drawing stroke by stroke to writing in a single, fluid motion.
The six Spirit Patterns were completed in one go. When the Talisman Core converged, the Spiritual Power was restrained, and the crimson glow that surfaced on the Talisman was steadier than any he had ever drawn before.
The panel popped up.
[Tier One Talisman Making Skill: Proficient (0/800)]
Li Yuan picked up the Fireball Talisman and examined it.
The arrangement of the Spirit Patterns was nearly flawless; the thickness, depth, and spacing of each stroke were just right. This wasn’t the result of a conscious effort but a natural outcome of his hand reaching this level of skill.
Proficient.
The threshold Yu Talisman Master had spoken of.
Li Yuan placed the Talisman on the corner of the desk, set down his brush, and stood up.
The sky was just beginning to brighten as he walked out of his humble house.
Steward Liu was squatting under a wooden shed, boiling water. An iron kettle sat on a scorched black stone, white steam puffing from its spout.
Li Yuan sat down on a stone block across from him.
"I have something to tell you."
Steward Liu poked at the coals under the fire with a branch and glanced up at him.
"Speak."
"I’m going to the Talisman Hall to take the assessment."
The branch in Steward Liu’s hand paused.
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he tapped the branch on the ground twice, knocking off the ash from its tip, before speaking slowly.
"If you leave, it’ll just be me, Old Zhou, and Sun Liang left at the mine."
He gestured around the mine with the branch.
"Three people watching over a place this big... if a couple of Tier One Middle Grade beasts show up, the three of us won’t even be able to run away properly."
"But if you go, the higher-ups will most likely send a couple of people to replace you. A place like a mine can’t be left unguarded, even if its output isn’t high."
Steward Liu picked up the iron kettle and poured a bowl of water for each of them.
"Besides, even if you get into the Talisman Hall, it doesn’t mean you’ll get to sit peacefully in the rear drawing Talismans."
Steward Liu pushed the bowl of water toward Li Yuan.
"With the current situation, most Talisman Masters have been sent to garrison the middle territories, making Talismans while fending off Demon Beasts and people from the Li family."
He took a sip of water and pointed at Li Yuan with the rim of his bowl.
"Especially a fighter like you. The higher-ups aren’t going to stick you in the rear and let you go to waste. They might even send you right back here."
Li Yuan picked up his bowl and took a sip.
The water was a little hot.
"Then I’ll be going."
Steward Liu waved his hand dismissively.
"Go on, go on. If you’re going to go, then go. Don’t dawdle."
Though his words were impatient, his hand rummaged through a nearby wooden box and pulled out a cloth pouch, holding it out.
"The mine’s Spirit Stone settlement, plus your daily pay for guarding this place and the rewards for killing Demon Beasts, it’s all in here."
Li Yuan took it. He didn’t count it on the spot, but put it directly into his storage pouch.
"What about Old Zhou and Sun Liang?"
"Old Zhou’s mining in the caves, and Sun Liang is out on patrol." Steward Liu leaned back. "If you want to say goodbye, wait for them to come back."
"No need."
Li Yuan stood up.
"Just tell them for me."
Steward Liu grunted in acknowledgment and took another sip of water from his bowl.
"Go on."
Early the next morning, Li Yuan packed up all his belongings and left the mine.
He followed the gravel path toward the Wang family’s main compound. Steward Liu had given him the general location of the Talisman Hall: an area north of the Wang family’s compound, in a different direction from the Treasure Pavilion.
After walking for the better part of a day, the number of Cultivators on the road gradually increased.
After passing through several guard posts, a fork in the road appeared ahead. The left path led toward the Wang family’s main compound and the Treasure Pavilion, while the right turned toward an area Li Yuan had never been to before.
A stone stele stood at the intersection, engraved with two words: Talisman Hall.
Li Yuan followed the path to the right.
Less than a li down the road, a person was squatting under an old tree, looking through a roll of beast hide.
He wore a gray-blue cloth robe, his fingers stained with cinnabar.
Yu Talisman Master.
Hearing footsteps, Yu Talisman Master looked up. After recognizing Li Yuan, he stood up.
"What are you doing heading this way?"
"Going to the Talisman Hall."
Yu Talisman Master paused, taken aback.
"What are you going to the Talisman Hall for?"
"To take the assessment."
Yu Talisman Master’s gaze lingered on Li Yuan for a few breaths. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just nodded.
"Then go on."
He bent down, rolled up the beast hide from the ground, and patted the dust off his clothes. The two parted ways at the intersection, and Yu Talisman Master headed off in another direction.
Li Yuan continued along the road.
The trees ahead gradually grew denser, and the stone-paved road became smoother. He could vaguely make out the silhouettes of several courtyards, hidden amongst the woods.