Chapter 45 - 44: First Drawing of a Spirit Talisman

Chapter 45: Chapter 44: First Drawing of a Spirit Talisman

At the midnight hour, the bright moon hung high amidst a gathering of stars. Its serene light scattered across the lake’s surface, shimmering with a cold, silver gleam.

A thin mist rose from the lake, engulfing the Upturned Boat. Onboard, the candlelight swayed gently in the breeze, casting long, dancing shadows.

Chen Jianghe took out his Peach Wood Talisman Pen, Spiritual Ink, and High-Quality Yellow Paper—a complete set of tools and materials for Talisman Making.

First, he cut the large sheets of High-Quality Yellow Paper, dividing each one into four smaller sheets of talisman paper.

One sheet of High-Quality Yellow Paper could be cut into four pieces of talisman paper. He had purchased twenty sheets, giving him a total of eighty pieces to work with.

Then, he opened the Spiritual Ink box and poured a small amount into an inkstone, releasing a faint, aged fragrance.

This was Spiritual Ink made from Cinnabar and Little Cyan Fish Blood.

He picked up the Peach Wood Talisman Pen and moistened it in the damp air, causing its sparse bristles to cohere and glide more smoothly.

He then closed his eyes to focus, recalling his painting experience from his past life and the rudimentary knowledge he had gathered about Talisman Making.

The Talisman Dao was one of the few Cultivation Skills one could attempt without a formal lineage, mainly because its fundamentals were simple.

Anyone with Magical Power, the right tools, and materials could attempt it.

The process was equivalent to channeling Magical Power through a medium—the Talisman Pen and Spiritual Ink—and onto a vessel, the talisman paper, to inscribe a Magic and create a Spirit Talisman.

He had no formal training in the Talisman Dao, so he could only start by trying to inscribe a Water Element Minor Spell onto the talisman paper.

Suddenly, his eyes flashed like cold lightning. He held his breath, focusing his mind and spirit.

He picked up the Talisman Pen, his movements fluid and graceful.

Threads of Water Element Magic Power gathered at the tip of the pen and began to draw upon the talisman paper.

POOF!

The talisman paper disintegrated into dust, scattering in the air.

’The flow of Magical Power was too heavy, exceeding the paper’s limit. My wrist also trembled as I started the stroke, which prevented me from turning the Magical Power into a fine thread.’

Chen Jianghe hovered the Talisman Pen three inches above a new sheet of paper. The Magical Power he tried to gather at the tip of the Peach Wood Talisman Pen was unstable, flickering like a broken thread.

Huuu...

’What I need to do now is master control over the fine thread of Magical Power and stabilize my wrist so the flow doesn’t stutter.’

He felt that creating Spirit Talismans was much like painting. Both required absolute control over the brushwork and a steady wrist.

The slightest tremble could ruin a painting.

It was the same with Talisman Making; a slight tremor could sever the flow of Magical Power, destroying the Spirit Talisman instantly.

After composing himself for a moment, a thread of Magical Power spilled from his Shaoshang Acupoint, coiling around the Talisman Pen and dancing at its tip.

He steadied his wrist, his arm moving at his will.

The pen moved like a soaring dragon, and a picture formed with each stroke.

He casually sketched a scene of the lake at night. His painting skills from before his transmigration were still intact.

Immediately, he took out another sheet of talisman paper to try again. This time, he chose to draw the simpler Purifying Talisman.

This was a basic Spirit Talisman.

It was even simpler than the Inferior Spirit Talisman, the Water Condensation Talisman.

This time, his mind was steady, and he banished all distracting thoughts. The thread-like Magical Power at the tip of the Peach Wood Talisman Pen moved rhythmically across the talisman paper.

Halfway through, the flow of Magical Power stuttered. The thread snapped, and the talisman paper disintegrated.

’Is Talisman Making this taxing on one’s Heart and Mind?’

Fine beads of sweat dotted his hairline, and his face showed a hint of fatigue. Talisman Making required one to condense Magical Power into a fine thread, and every moment of it was an immense drain on one’s Heart and Mind.

In comparison, the consumption of Magical Power seemed almost negligible.

He suspected he was exerting too much effort to control the Magical Power, which was causing the huge drain on his Heart and Mind.

After all, he was only drawing a basic Spirit Talisman.

For an ordinary Lower-Grade Talisman Master, this process shouldn’t be very taxing.

He put down the Talisman Pen, sat cross-legged, and began to meditate to restore his Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

「Six hours later.」

He snapped his eyes open, as bright as cold stars. He picked up the Talisman Pen, channeled his Magical Power, and let the brush fly like a dragon.

A faint light imbued with Spiritual Charm flowed across the talisman paper, transforming it into a Spirit Talisman.

"Success!"

Chen Jianghe was stunned.

The result was both unexpected and yet, somehow, expected. He had dared to attempt the Talisman Dao precisely because of his strong foundation in painting.

But to succeed on only his third try was something he truly hadn’t anticipated.

’My Talent for the Talisman Dao must be pretty good.’

Chen Jianghe thought to himself. He immediately used the Purifying Talisman to see the effects of his own handiwork.

He filled a bowl with the brackish lake water. After he used the Purifying Talisman, the water became clear, and its pungent, salty odor vanished.

He took a tentative sip.

It tasted like fresh water, with even a hint of sweetness.

His spirits lifted instantly. He picked up his Talisman Pen and continued to draw Purifying Talismans, his movements clearly more practiced than before.

「Seven days passed in a flash.」

Chen Jianghe finished his stroke, completing another Talisman.

This was the tenth Purifying Talisman he had made. Both its effectiveness and his proficiency in creating them had noticeably improved.

His success rate had reached ninety percent.

Before, his Purifying Talismans could only cleanse a single bowl of water. Now, one Talisman could purify an entire basin.

The drain on his Heart and Mind during Talisman Making had also decreased significantly.

At first, he would feel exhausted after making just two Purifying Talismans. Now, he could make three and still feel energetic.

However, creating basic Spirit Talismans was not of much use to a Cultivator.

Of course, in the Mortal World, such an ability would make him seem like an enlightened master.

Afterward, Chen Jianghe meditated to restore his spirit. Once his Essence, Qi, and Spirit had returned to their peak, he resumed his Talisman Making.

This time, he prepared to increase the difficulty.

He would draw the Water Condensation Talisman.

Although it was also an Inferior Spirit Talisman, its difficulty and value were significantly higher.

A Purifying Talisman was worth ten taels of silver.

A Water Condensation Talisman, however, was worth ten grains of Spiritual Sand.

At the harbor, one grain of Spiritual Sand could be exchanged for one hundred taels of silver, but it was impossible to buy a grain of Spiritual Sand for a hundred taels of silver.

The purpose of the Water Condensation Talisman was also clear: when used, it would gather water vapor and Water Element Spiritual Energy from the air, condensing them into a ball of fresh water the size of a washbasin.

It was not of great use to Cultivators, but it was quite impressive in the Mortal World, which was why its value was higher.

With higher value came greater difficulty.

Chen Jianghe wasted six sheets of talisman paper over two days before finally succeeding in creating a single Water Condensation Talisman.

He tested its effect.

While it didn’t quite match the effect of a standard Water Condensation Talisman, it wasn’t far off.

His second successful attempt reached the standard level.

For the next half a month, he focused solely on creating Water Condensation Talismans, determined to achieve a success rate of over eighty percent.

Then, he could start attempting to create Lower-Grade Spirit Talismans.

’Thirty-six sheets of talisman paper for seventeen successful Spirit Talismans. Now my success rate for the Water Condensation Talisman has also reached ninety percent. It’s time to try creating a Lower-Grade Spirit Talisman.’

Ten Purifying Talismans and seven Water Condensation Talismans.

He now had forty-four sheets of talisman paper remaining. As for Spiritual Ink... he had already bought a new, unopened box.

Since he was a self-taught beginner, he had wasted a great deal of Spiritual Ink.

Normally, one box of Spiritual Ink was enough to create fifty Lower-Grade Spirit Talismans. He, however, had used up most of a box on just thirty-six attempts at making Inferior Spirit Talismans.

As for the Peach Wood Talisman Pen, it had begun to shed its bristles much more severely over the past month.

The side effects of using the Fairy’s Talisman Pen were gradually becoming apparent. It must have been handled violently by her, causing the ferrule binding the bristles to loosen. He could see that the part of the peach wood handle wrapped by the bristles was dark and cracked—obvious signs of rough use.