57: Chapter 57 Attempting to Make Talismans

By the time he returned to his small courtyard on Emerald Bamboo Peak, dusk was already falling.

Lin Xuan did not Cultivate his new Spells immediately; instead, he first entered the Spirit-Taming Tower Space.

As expected, the area of the space had expanded slightly, now spanning nearly seven li across.

The thunder-attracting vine grew more and more lush, its vines climbing over three zhang high. The pale gold flower bud at its tip had grown another size larger, showing faint signs of blooming.

The Thunder-Light Bug rested on the tip of the thunder-attracting vine, the purple color on its wings growing deeper.

It periodically released Thunder Spiritual Energy to nourish the soil below, and the cultivation area of the "thunder-patterned soil" had expanded to five zhang across, with the fine silver patterns in the soil becoming increasingly distinct.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse was sleeping at the edge of the thunder-patterned soil. Sensing Lin Xuan's entry, it immediately leaped up and presented, like offering a treasure, a few newly grown leaves of electric glow grass—these grass seeds had been planted for a month and had already grown to three inches high, with tiny electric sparks flickering along the edges of the leaves.

The Pangolin was lying obediently at the root of the thunder-attracting vine. Sensing Lin Xuan's gaze, it raised its head and transmitted an emotion of longing—it was still about that Black Iron rock layer in the back mountain.

"Soon," Lin Xuan said, patting the Pangolin's head. "Once I improve my cultivation level a bit more, I'll think of a way."

He exited the space and sat down in the Quiet Room.

First, he pressed the Jade Slip of the Elementary Talisman True Interpretation against his forehead. A massive amount of information flooded in, ranging from Talisman paper-making and cinnabar preparation, to basic Talisman rune analysis and spiritual energy infusion techniques, and finally to the key points of drawing common Tier 1 Talismans...

It took Lin Xuan a full half-hour to digest the basic portion.

"So that's how it is." He opened his eyes, lost in thought. "The essence of a Talisman is to solidify a Spell onto Talisman paper. There are three keys: the Talisman runes must be precise, the spiritual energy must be stable, and the attribute must be pure."

He took out the Talisman paper and cinnabar he had just purchased, prepared the Talisman ink according to the method in the Legacy, and spread out a sheet of Talisman paper.

For his first attempt, he tried to draw the simplest "Golden Light Talisman."

Raising the brush, dipping it in ink, and infusing spiritual energy into the brush tip...

*Sizzle—*

The Talisman paper suddenly combusted spontaneously, turning into ashes.

Lin Xuan shook his head. The spiritual energy infusion was too hasty; before the Talisman runes were even finished, the spiritual energy went out of control.

On his second attempt, he slowed down, lightly touching the brush tip to the Talisman paper, slowly sketching the Talisman runes.

This time, the Talisman paper did not spontaneously combust, but after he finished drawing, the spiritual light on the Talisman was extremely weak, failing to even meet the standard of a Tier 1 Low Grade—the spiritual energy infusion had been too conservative.

A third time, a fourth time, a fifth time...

After failing more than a dozen times in a row and consuming over twenty sheets of Talisman paper, Lin Xuan stopped his brush.

Talisman making was harder than he had imagined. The requirement for precision in spiritual energy control was even higher than that for casting Spells.

But he was not discouraged. The patience he had developed from Cultivating the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art and the Thunder Body Refining Technique came in handy at this moment.

He put away the Talisman paper and decided to Cultivate the new Spells first.

He pressed the Jade Slips of the Thunder Net Technique and the Thunder Spear Technique to his forehead one after another.

Once again, a large amount of information flooded in: the key Cultivation points of the two Spells, the routes for spiritual energy circulation, the hand seals for casting, and the precautions...

By the time he had completely memorized them, it was already late at night.

Lin Xuan walked out of the Quiet Room and into the courtyard.

First, he attempted the Thunder Net Technique. Forming hand seals, Thunder Spiritual Energy surged from his Dantian and intertwined in his palms. At first, it was just a tangled mess of electrical light, but after several failures, he was gradually able to weave it into a palm-sized electric net.

"Go!"

The electric net flew out, enveloping a stone three zhang away. Electrical light crackled, and blue smoke rose from the stone, its surface scorched black by the electricity.

The power was decent, but the range was too small, and the weaving speed was too slow.

Lin Xuan continued to practice. From the size of a palm to the size of a washbasin, and from a washbasin to a millstone... By the time the horizon turned the color of a fish's belly, he was already able to weave a thunder net five feet in diameter, which could barely be used in actual combat.

Next was the Thunder Spear Technique.

This Spell was even more difficult. It required compressing Thunder Spiritual Energy to the extreme to condense it into a solid-like spear, while also maintaining stability so it wouldn't explode.

On his first attempt, the thunder spear went out of control and exploded just as the tip was forming, leaving Lin Xuan's arm numb from the shock.

On his second attempt, the spear shaft was only half-condensed when the spiritual energy became unstable, causing it to dissipate on its own.

A third time, a fourth time...

By the time the morning light completely illuminated the small courtyard, Lin Xuan finally condensed a thunder spear three feet long and as thick as a thumb. Purple electricity coiled around the spear's body, emitting a low hum.

He aimed at a withered tree twenty zhang away.

"Go!"

The thunder spear shot out, moving so fast it left only a purple afterimage!

*Pfft—Boom!*

The withered tree was pierced through, and a large hole exploded in the trunk, completely hollowed out from front to back!

Lin Xuan panted, his face pale. This single strike consumed nearly thirty percent of his spiritual energy, but its power was indeed astonishing. He estimated that even the defensive Magical Artifact of a Qi Refining Level 4 Cultivator might not be able to completely block it.

He withdrew his Spell and returned to the Quiet Room to sit in meditation and recover.

Outside the window, the autumn sunlight spilled through the gaps in the bamboo leaves, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow on the floor.

The depression of the market, the tension at the front lines, the skyrocketing prices... everything in the outside world foreshadowed that a chaotic situation was imminent.

Yet, Lin Xuan felt a sense of peace in his heart instead.

Having reached Qi Refining Level 3, with his new Spells newly mastered, the Talisman Legacy in hand, the Spirit-Taming Tower Space improving day by day, and a stable monthly income of thunder-patterned soil...

The more chaotic the outside world became, the more precious his little world appeared.

Having fully restored his spiritual energy, he once again spread out a sheet of Talisman paper and dipped his brush in ink.

This time, his brush tip was steady, and the spiritual energy flowed evenly.

A complete "Golden Light Talisman" slowly took shape in the morning light.

...

In the late autumn Qinglin Valley herb garden, the air was filled with the distinct, bitter fragrance of plants and trees.

Lin Xuan squatted by the edge of the thunder-pattern grass experimental field, his fingertip lightly touching a grass leaf marked with silver patterns. The leaf trembled slightly, and tiny electric sparks flickered along its edges—this was a sign that the thunder-pattern grass was about to mature.

According to the records in the introduction to hundreds of herbs, it took at least eight months from germination to maturity. However, in this specially designated lightning-attribute spiritual field, aided by a small amount of thunder-patterned soil taken from beneath the thunder-attracting vine, it took only five months.

"Record: Row 3 of Section Wu, seventeen stalks of thunder-pattern grass, three of which have already shown mature electric patterns, expected to be harvested within seven days."

He wrote down this line in his book, and just as he was about to stand up, he heard a commotion coming from the entrance of the herb garden.

Looking up, he saw two Deacon Disciples from the General Affairs Hall standing at the entrance, talking to Deacon Wu.

One of them held a scroll of documents emitting a faint spiritual light, while the other had a stiff face, looking completely businesslike.

The surrounding herb garden Disciples all stopped their work, watching from a distance.

Lin Xuan stood up, patted the dirt off his hands, and walked over as well.

"What's going on?" Lin Xuan walked up to Liu Qingyan's side and asked.

Liu Qingyan lowered her voice, "People from the General Affairs Hall. They say they're here to deliver a new directive from the Sect."

As they spoke, Deacon Wu took the document over there. As his Divine Sense swept over it, his brow immediately furrowed.

His already serious face darkened so much at this moment that it looked like it could drip water.

The two General Affairs Hall Disciples finished their explanation and turned to leave. Deacon Wu stood in place, staring at the document in his hand, silent for a long time.

The entire herb garden was dead silent.

"Everyone, come over," Deacon Wu finally spoke. His voice was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

All the Disciples and utility workers in the herb garden, over twenty people in total, quickly gathered in the central open space.

Deacon Wu raised the document in his hand. "We have just received a directive from the General Affairs Hall. The Sect requires that the yield of all spiritual plants for the next quarter be increased by twenty percent."

"Twenty percent?!"

"How is that possible!"

"Spiritual plants have their own growth cycles. Forcing them to mature will damage their Foundation!"

The crowd instantly erupted in an uproar. Zhao Ming was the first to cry out, "Deacon Wu, isn't this absurd? It takes at least four months from sowing to harvesting red sun grass. To increase the yield by twenty percent, we'd have to pull up all the immature ones!"

Qian Xiaohu also rubbed his hands in anxiety. "We could harvest more vines from the Ironwire Vines, but that relies on overdrawing their life force. The yield next quarter will definitely plummet..."

Sun Yun said in a low voice, "The Silverleaf Chrysanthemums I'm responsible for are currently in bloom. Forcing them to mature will affect their medicinal efficacy."

Liu Qingyan pursed her lips and looked at Deacon Wu. "Deacon Wu, did the Sect state the reason?"

"The front lines are hard-pressed, and the consumption of Medicinal Pills has increased dramatically," Deacon Wu said in a heavy voice. "The alchemy chambers are short on raw materials, so the pressure has fallen onto the herb garden."

He looked around at everyone, taking in their indignant, worried, or bewildered faces, and said slowly, "The directive has been issued, so complaining is useless. But there is a proper way to accomplish it."

Deacon Wu put away the document. "I am heading to the General Affairs Hall now. Before I return, everyone perform your respective duties and care for the plants according to normal procedures. If anyone takes it upon themselves to force the spiritual plants to mature and destroys the Foundation of my herb garden, do not blame me for turning hostile."

With that, he strode out of the herb garden, his back straight and upright.

Leaving everyone looking at each other in dismay.

"Deacon Wu is..." Zhao Ming scratched his head.

"He's going to advocate for us," Lin Xuan said softly.

He saw through it clearly. Deacon Wu had not assigned tasks on the spot or forced pressure on them; instead, he chose to go negotiate with the higher-ups.

This deacon, who was usually so strict as to seem heartless, was truly looking out for the herb garden and for Disciples like them at this critical moment.

"Let's disperse, everyone go back to your work," an older Utility Disciple spoke up. "Trust Deacon Wu."

The crowd gradually dispersed, but the atmosphere was clearly much more oppressive.

Lin Xuan returned to his own thunder-pattern grass experimental field to continue recording data, but his mind was no longer on it.

"The front lines are hard-pressed..." Behind these few words, how many Cultivators were risking their lives? He thought of the empty stalls in the market, the rising prices of Medicinal Pills, and those fellow Disciples who had been conscripted.

But on second thought, he found it somewhat subtle.

As far as he knew, the conflict between the Sanyang Sect and the Xuanyin Sect this time was triggered by a dispute over an ancient cultivator's residence.

The forces deployed by both sides were mainly Late Stage Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment Stage Disciples, while not a single one of the Golden Core Stage big shots had shown their faces.

This scale, rather than a war between two Sects, seemed more like... a large-scale trial?

The higher-ups perhaps had other considerations. It was both for the resources of the ancient residence and to screen and temper the Disciples in actual combat.

However, this process of "tempering," to the Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators caught in the middle of it, was a life-and-death struggle.

Lin Xuan shook his head and stopped thinking about it. No matter what the higher-ups planned, for a low-level Disciple like him, raising his strength and preserving his own life was the fundamental goal.

Fortunately, he was not at the Late Stage of Qi Refining, so there was no way it would be his turn to go to the front lines.

For the next three days, the atmosphere in the herb garden remained oppressive.

Everyone buried themselves in work, speaking much less. Even Zhao Ming, who usually loved to chat the most, was quiet and taciturn, merely staring at his patch of red sun grass every day with a deeply furrowed brow.