Chapter 130 - 126: Qi Gathering Talisman
Chapter 130: Chapter 126: Qi Gathering Talisman
The next morning, a series of footsteps approached from outside the courtyard gate.
Captain Wang was back.
Following behind him were two cultivators from the guard team, one of whom carried two bulging storage bags on his back.
Captain Wang paused for a moment as he stepped into the courtyard.
His gaze swept over the collapsed section of the eastern wall, then over the half-demolished southern wall, before finally landing on the several unfilled cracks in the center of the courtyard. The rubble from the two destroyed wooden sheds had been cleared, but their warped frames remained, untouched.
His face darkened.
His lips tightened into a thin line, the muscles on his cheekbones taut. Without a word, he waved over the cultivator who had remained on duty.
The cultivator hurried over and reported last night’s events from beginning to end. Six assailants, led by a Qi Refining Seventh Level expert. Two men were seriously injured. The attackers targeted the walls and buildings, then immediately retreated once reinforcements arrived.
After listening, Captain Wang was silent for a few breaths.
"What about the two who were injured?"
"They were sent to the market’s apothecary. We used a Heart-lock Talisman on them, so their condition hasn’t worsened."
Captain Wang grunted in acknowledgment and turned to look at Li Yuan.
Li Yuan was just walking out of the stone house.
"Did you make a move?"
"I shot two Fireballs, but I couldn’t stop them."
Captain Wang didn’t press for details. He nodded, then turned and jutted his chin at the two guards.
"Put the things down."
Two large wooden chests suddenly appeared on the patch of flat ground beneath the ruined shed, and the storage bags were placed beside them.
Captain Wang walked over and opened the first wooden chest.
Inside was a thick stack of Cyan Pattern Paper, with Spirit Ink Bottles and cinnabar boxes tucked to the side. The gray Concealing Breath Talisman paper and dark silver Spiritual Ink were wrapped separately in Oil Paper.
The second wooden chest contained more Cyan Pattern Paper and supplementary materials.
The quantity was twenty percent more than what Li Yuan had requested.
Captain Wang then opened one of the storage bags, pulled out a beast-hide scroll, and tossed it to Li Yuan.
"The Talisman Hall added this. It’s the method for a new type of Talisman, the Qi Gathering Talisman."
Li Yuan caught the scroll.
Captain Wang tied the storage bag shut and leaned against the wooden chest. "Make as many as you can. Prioritize the Fireball Talismans and Heart-lock Talismans for now. Once you’ve learned how to make the Qi Gathering Talisman, get those out as soon as possible too."
With that, he turned and left to inspect the damage to the wall.
Li Yuan returned to the stone house, carrying the scroll and supplies.
He closed the door and sorted the talisman-making materials. The newly arrived Cyan Pattern Paper was stacked on the corner of his desk, with the Spiritual Ink and cinnabar placed beside it.
Then, he unrolled the beast-hide scroll.
Qi Gathering Talisman.
The first few lines of the method described its function. The Qi Gathering Talisman was a support-type Talisman. When used, it could rapidly compress a large amount of surrounding Spiritual Qi and pour it into the user’s body, acting as a temporary, explosive replenishment of Spiritual Power.
Not a recovery, but a forceful infusion.
Unlike the slow recovery path of the Replenishing Talisman, the Qi Gathering Talisman took a more violent approach. Spiritual Qi was forcibly compressed and funneled into the Dantian, instantly pulling one’s Spiritual Power from a low point back to a full state. The price was a temporary aching sensation in the meridians after use, and the infused Spiritual Power was not very pure, requiring time to refine it afterward.
For a cultivator whose Spiritual Power was depleted in battle, this thing could be a lifesaver.
Li Yuan read on, looking at the arrangement of Spirit Patterns.
The Qi Gathering Talisman used a combination of a Spirit Gathering Pattern and a Compression Pattern. The Spirit Gathering Pattern was responsible for attracting surrounding Spiritual Qi, while the Compression Pattern squeezed the Spiritual Qi into a high-density mass of Spiritual Power. Finally, a release pattern would infuse it into the user’s body all at once.
Three types of Spirit Patterns, one more layer than the Heart-lock Talisman.
He had seen the Spirit Gathering Pattern before; his permanent "Spiritual Qi Convergence" trait came from a Gathering Spirit Ring, and its principle was similar to the Spirit Gathering Pattern. The Compression Pattern was somewhat similar to the Spiritual Power condensation of the Origin Condensation Skill, as both involved compressing Spiritual Power to a higher density. This was his first time encountering a release pattern, but its principle wasn’t complex—it just released the energy accumulated in the first two steps all at once.
Li Yuan read the method from beginning to end twice, committing it to memory.
He spread out a sheet of Cyan Pattern Paper, dipped his brush in Spiritual Ink, and began to draw.
On the third attempt, he succeeded.
With his mastery in the Talisman Making Skill and the bonus from "Adept Brushwork," his speed at learning a new Talisman was much faster than before.
Although the Qi Gathering Talisman’s Spirit Patterns were nested in three layers, each individual layer wasn’t complex. The main difficulty lay in connecting them during the nesting process. He had already honed this kind of connection technique while drawing Heart-lock Talismans, so he could apply that experience directly.
Li Yuan placed the completed Qi Gathering Talisman on the desk and touched it with his fingertip.
[Equippable Item Detected: Qi Gathering Talisman (Complete)]
[Trait Preview: Spiritual Essence Expansion (White) — Increases Spiritual Power limit by 10%.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Cultivate for one hundred cycles within thirty-six shichen (0/100).]
[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace a current item?]
’A white-grade trait. Spiritual Essence Expansion, a ten percent increase to my Spiritual Power limit.’
’The condition for permanence is to cultivate one hundred cycles within thirty-six shichen.’
Thirty-six shichen, one hundred cycles.
After reaching Minor Achievement in the Microelement Meridian Introduction Skill, his meridians were all clear. Combined with his mastery of the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill and the buffs from Pure Spiritual Power, Spiritual Power condensation, and accelerated cycles, his current cycle speed was much faster than before. He roughly estimated that he could complete nearly four cycles in one shichen.
One hundred cycles would require more than twenty-five shichen of pure cultivation time.
Within the thirty-six-shichen limit, after subtracting time for eating, necessary rest, and moving around, twenty-odd shichen of cultivation was not an impossible amount.
But there was a problem.
If he cultivated, he couldn’t make talismans.
Not drawing talismans for thirty-six shichen meant three days with no output. The guard team’s Talisman consumption was increasing daily, and the deficit had grown even larger after last night’s attack. If he didn’t produce any talismans for three days, their stock would be completely depleted.
Li Yuan put the Qi Gathering Talisman into his storage bag.
’Don’t equip it, don’t work on it. I’ll just set it aside for now.’
’I’ll deal with it when I have a continuous block of free time.’
He cleared his desk and spread out another sheet of Cyan Pattern Paper.
He continued drawing Qi Gathering Talismans.
The new materials would last for a while. His output couldn’t stop.
[Talisman: Qi Gathering Talisman - Novice (0/200)]
After reaching the novice level with the Qi Gathering Talisman, Li Yuan moved on to drawing other talismans.
He drew a few Heart-lock Talismans and two Rejuvenation Talismans.
By evening, a thick stack of finished products had piled up on the corner of his desk.
Li Yuan separated the Fireball Talismans and Heart-lock Talismans, then stacked the rest by type.
He Shou should be back from his patrol soon. He would hand them over together then.
He stood up and stretched his wrists, then took out a piece of Demon Beast Flesh from his storage bag and cooked it with the Fire Control Skill. A warm current spread through his meridians, the Qi and Blood nourishing his muscles and bones. The residual Demonic Power was converted into Evil Qi and merged into his body.
After eating, he sat down cross-legged and activated the Spirit-Introducing Skill.
Spiritual Qi surged into his body. The Pure Spiritual Power expelled impurities, and the condensed Spiritual Power sank into his Dantian.
"Spiritual Power Tide" was continuously working in the background, restoring the Spiritual Power he had consumed making talismans during the day.
The sounds of cultivators moving stone came from outside the window. The wall was still being repaired.