Chapter 79 - 78: Spiritual Power Resurgence
Chapter 79: Chapter 78: Spiritual Power Resurgence
Learning that he would be departing in two or three days, Li Yuan wasted no time.
The next morning, Li Yuan first went to Yu Talisman Master’s residence, but found he wasn’t there.
Li Yuan didn’t wait around. He turned and headed for Talisman Master Lu’s place.
The door to Talisman Master Lu’s home was open.
Li Yuan knocked twice on the doorframe, and a voice from inside said to come in.
Pushing the door open, he saw Talisman Master Lu sitting behind a desk, cutting talisman paper. Several small, freshly sealed porcelain bottles sat beside his hands. When he saw Li Yuan, he put down his knife and gestured with his chin.
"What is it."
"I’m going on a trip in a couple of days." Li Yuan walked up to the desk and stopped. "Do you have any Combat Talismans for protection?"
Talisman Master Lu grunted in acknowledgment. He bent down, rummaged through a wooden box under the desk, and pulled out several Talismans, placing them on the table.
"Two Fire Snake Talismans, three Golden Saber Talismans... They’re all Tier One Middle-Lower Grade."
Li Yuan picked up a Fire Snake Talisman to inspect it, then looked through the Golden Saber Talismans.
’The quality is decent, but their power is limited. They’re only Tier One Middle-Lower Grade. My current cultivation is at the Qi Refining Sixth Level, and with bonuses from traits like condensed Spiritual Power, the only real advantage these Talismans offer is their casting speed.’
"Do you have any Tier One Top Grade ones?"
Talisman Master Lu shook his head.
"I can’t make Tier One Top Grade. My Talisman Dao skills and cultivation level are a bit lacking."
He paused, then tapped a finger on the table.
"However, I do have a few special types of Tier One Middle Grade Combat Talismans. Their power is much greater than ordinary Middle Grade ones, approaching the level of Tier One Top Grade."
Li Yuan glanced at him.
"In what way?"
"The Spirit Pattern structure is more complex than an ordinary Middle Grade Talisman’s, and the pathing of the runes is different." Talisman Master Lu once again dug deep into the wooden box, pulled out a thin booklet, and flipped to a page to show Li Yuan.
It showed a diagram of a Spirit Pattern’s path. The pattern was nearly twice as dense as that of a regular Fire Snake Talisman, and several key nodes were marked with special convergence techniques.
"The problem is that this type of Talisman places extremely high demands on the paper’s capacity." Talisman Master Lu closed the booklet. "Ordinary Tier One Middle Grade talisman paper can’t handle it. The moment you infuse it with Spiritual Power, the paper explodes. To guarantee a decent success rate, you have to use Tier One Top Grade talisman paper to draw it."
"Tier One Top Grade talisman paper?"
"That’s right." Talisman Master Lu nodded. "Among plant-based talisman papers, the price for Tier One Top Grade is not low. If you want me to make them, it’ll cost a good number of Spirit Stones."
Li Yuan was silent for a couple of breaths, then took a roll of beast hide from his sleeve, placed it on the table, and unrolled it.
It was the grayish-cyan belly hide of a Split-horned Lizard, supple in texture and finely grained.
"Will this do?"
Talisman Master Lu reached out to press the surface of the hide, then lifted a corner to the light to check its thickness.
"Split-horned Lizard belly hide, Tier One Top Grade." Talisman Master Lu put down the beast hide and thought for a moment. "It’ll work. Beast hide talisman paper and plant-based paper are different schools of thought, but the hide’s capacity is actually stronger. There’s no problem using it to draw this kind of Talisman."
Talisman Master Lu’s tone then shifted.
"It’s just that my skill in making talisman paper from beast hide is only at the novice level, so the success rate won’t be high. Furthermore, this hide isn’t very large, so the amount of paper that can be cut from it will be limited."
"I’ll first process the hide into talisman paper, and then I’ll draw the Talismans. Combining those two steps, it’s hard to say how many finished products I’ll end up with."
"That’s fine." Li Yuan pushed the beast hide forward a little. "I’ll take whatever you can make."
Talisman Master Lu nodded, no longer declining.
"We’ll follow the standard fee structure. The cost for processing the hide, drawing the Talismans, and the materials will all be calculated separately. You’re providing the beast hide; I’ll provide the Spiritual Ink and other components. We’ll value the hide at the market rate of twelve Spirit Stones to offset some of the cost, and you’ll pay the remainder."
Talisman Master Lu counted on his fingers.
Li Yuan thought it over for a moment, then nodded.
"Deal."
Talisman Master Lu collected the beast hide, rolled it up, and placed it on a shelf behind him.
"When are you leaving?"
"In three days at the latest."
"I’ll get right on it, then."
By the time he returned to his residence, the sun was already dipping westward.
Li Yuan bolted the door and sat cross-legged on the edge of his bed.
He didn’t rush to craft Talismans. Instead, he first began circulating the Microelement Meridian Introduction Skill.
Spiritual Power rose from his Dantian. After it circulated once along his main meridians, Li Yuan began to split off strands of Spirit Silk.
An extremely fine wisp of Spiritual Power peeled away from the edge of a main meridian, probing toward a barely perceptible minor meridian beneath his left ribs.
When he had first learned the skill yesterday, he had only managed to open a small section near his shoulder blade. Today, he was trying a different direction, aiming for the one beneath his ribs.
As soon as the Spirit Silk touched the entrance to the minor meridian, he felt resistance.
It wasn’t a hard blockage, but more like a thin membrane was in the way. When his Spiritual Power pushed against it, the membrane would yield, but it wouldn’t break.
Li Yuan didn’t try to force it. Following the method described in the Spell, he compressed the tip of the Spirit Silk until it was even finer, grinding it forward bit by bit.
Time seemed to pass very slowly.
The Spirit Silk ground against the membrane again and again, pushing forward millimeter by millimeter. A faint, aching soreness spread from beneath his ribs. It wasn’t painful, but he could clearly feel something being stretched open.
After what felt like an eternity, the membrane suddenly softened.
The Spirit Silk pushed through.
It only penetrated a short distance, narrower than a fingernail, but a connection had definitely been made.
Li Yuan didn’t stop. Seizing the moment the minor meridian was opened, he split off a second strand of Spirit Silk and directed it toward another, even finer branch meridian nearby.
This one was even more difficult than the last.
The Spirit Silk failed to enter after several attempts. Finally, Li Yuan compressed his Spiritual Power to its absolute limit, until the strand was so fine it felt almost incorporeal. Only then did he barely manage to touch the inner wall of the minor meridian.
After grinding away for a while longer, the second and third meridians also opened.
Li Yuan slowly withdrew his power, letting out a long, turbid breath.
A thin layer of sweat beaded on his temples, and his fingertips were slightly numb.
He closed his eyes, sensing the changes within him for a moment.
The flow of Spiritual Power within his body was indeed a trace stronger than before—truly, just a trace, almost negligible.
The two newly opened minor meridians were extremely fine, and the amount of Spiritual Power they could carry was pitifully small. However, they were now connected to his overall Spiritual Power circuit. When the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill circulated, the Spiritual Power passing through those two minor meridians would bring with it a faint wisp of warmth before flowing into his Dantian.
The increase was almost negligible.
But the path was now open.
’As long as I keep grinding away, opening them one by one, the small gains will accumulate. Eventually, I can open all my meridians and make the expansion permanent.’
’Moreover, my total Spiritual Power will also increase during this process. It won’t be much, but every little bit counts.’
Li Yuan opened his eyes, flexed his fingers, then rose from the edge of the bed and walked to his desk.
The talisman paper and Spiritual Ink were still laid out. A stack of failed Talismans from the previous day sat on the corner of the desk.
Li Yuan sat down, smoothed out a sheet of Cyan Pattern Paper, picked up his talisman brush, dipped it in ink, and began drawing a Replenishing Talisman.
The Replenishing Talisman was more delicate than the Golden Armor Talisman. Yu Talisman Master’s instruction page had stated it clearly: the key to this Talisman was all in its Talisman Core. The final swirl of Spiritual Power had to be contained with absolute precision, without the slightest overflow, or the replenishing effect would be greatly diminished.
Li Yuan put brush to paper.
The first few Spirit Patterns went down smoothly enough, but they began to narrow in the middle section. The tip of his brush traced a series of inward-spiraling patterns on the paper. The transfer of Spiritual Power from his fingertips to the brush demanded ever-increasing control, each coil tighter than the last.
He reached the position for the Talisman Core.
With a slight turn of his wrist, Li Yuan drew the Spiritual Power inward.
The brush tip paused in the center of the paper. This time, the surge of Spiritual Power didn’t dissipate as it had before. Instead, it was steadily pressed into the Talisman Core.
The Spirit Patterns on the paper lit up simultaneously. The light converged from the outside in, gathering at the Talisman Core before vanishing in a single flash.
Li Yuan lifted his brush and looked at the Talisman.
The Talisman’s surface was quiescent, its Spirit Patterns contained. No smoke, no tearing paper.
’Success.’
A panel promptly appeared before him.
[Equippable Item Detected: Replenishing Talisman (Complete)]
[Trait Preview: Spiritual Power Ebb and Flow (White)—Increases Spiritual Power recovery speed by 20%]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Maintain a full Spiritual Power state for forty-eight hours]
[Current equipment slots are full (3/3). Replace an existing item?]
Li Yuan held the Replenishing Talisman between his fingers. After studying it for a couple of breaths, he set it down on the side of the table.
’Spiritual Power Ebb and Flow, a twenty percent increase to Spiritual Power recovery speed.’
’The condition for permanence isn’t difficult, but I don’t have time for it right now.’
Li Yuan put the Replenishing Talisman away, stacking it with the other Talismans he had made previously.
Outside the window, the sky had grown completely dark.