74: Chapter 74 Bottleneck in the Path of Talismans

Spring sunlight filtered through the window lattice of the Quiet Room, casting a bright patch of light onto the table before Lin Xuan.

Within the light patch, fine specks of dust floated and sank slowly, much like his somewhat irritable mood at this moment.

Scattered on the table were seven or eight charred and curled waste Talismans.

On the topmost one, a few strokes of silver thunder patterns remained in the center of the light purple Talisman paper, but most of the area had already been scorched through by the violent Thunder Spiritual Energy, forming an unsightly hole.

"Failed again."

Lin Xuan put down the Talisman brush in his hand and rubbed his throbbing temples.

The special cinnabar at the tip of the brush was mixed with thunder pattern stone powder, and it shimmered with a faint purple light in the sunlight.

This was his thirty-seventh failure in attempting to draw the "Thunder Shield Talisman".

The "Elementary Talisman True Interpretation" lay open at the corner of the table, turned to the page recording the "Thunder Shield Talisman".

On the page, the complex Talisman pattern was outlined by nearly thirty strokes, and the intersecting lines formed a closed-loop structure resembling both a tortoise shell and a shield.

The small annotated text beside it read: "First-tier Medium Grade defensive Talisman. After activation, it can form a lightning shield, possessing both defensive and counter-shock effects.

Drawing points: Spiritual Qi infusion must be uniform and continuous; spiritual energy at the Talisman pattern nodes must be compressed by thirty percent; the final stroke must carry the intent of 'circular rotation' to form a cycle..."

He understood the theory, but when it came to the brush, everything was a problem.

Lin Xuan stared at those waste Talismans, reviewing the reasons for his failures in his mind:

The thirty-second time, his spiritual energy suddenly became unstable when drawing to the eighteenth stroke. The unique violent power of the thunder attribute clashed on the Talisman paper, and the entire Talisman burned itself to ashes with a "chi" sound.

The thirty-fifth time, he carefully controlled his spiritual energy, but was too conservative. The Talisman pattern was completed, but the total amount of injected spiritual energy was insufficient. After completion, it felt light and airy, and when tested for activation, it only flashed an electric spark before dying out—this was a waste Talisman, not even meeting the standard of a First-tier Low Grade one.

The thirty-seventh failure just now was due to the Talisman pattern structure.

When drawing to the twenty-fourth stroke, a key "spiritual energy loop" node needed to be completed to constrain the violent Thunder Spiritual Energy into a stable shield-shaped structure.

Right at this turning point, his brush tip lingered slightly, the rhythm of the spiritual energy backflow was disrupted, and the entire Talisman pattern structure instantly lost balance. The Talisman paper could not bear the exploding Thunder Spiritual Energy and burned up directly.

"The First-tier Medium Grade Talisman pattern structure is far more complex than the Low Grade ones." Lin Xuan sighed and picked up an unused piece of purple Talisman paper.

This was "purple-patterned paper", First-tier Medium Grade, mixed with a small amount of purple thunder bamboo powder, which had ten percent better bearing capacity for thunder-attribute spiritual energy than ordinary Medium Grade Talisman paper. A stack of twenty sheets cost one hundred and fifty contribution points.

But now, most of this stack of precious Talisman paper had already been used up, and the success rate was zero.

He stroked the edge of the Talisman paper with a heavy heart. Every one that burned away represented contribution points, all of it hard-earned money he had saved up from mission after mission, planting Spiritual Plants, and drawing basic Talismans.

"There must be a problem with the direction." Lin Xuan frowned and pondered.

He picked up the small wooden box on the table and opened the lid. Inside, two stacks of Talismans were neatly arranged: twenty-five Golden Light Talismans on the left, and thirty lightning strike talismans on the right.

These First-tier Low Grade Talismans were accumulated stroke by stroke in his spare time from Cultivating.

"It's time to go exchange them for some contribution points." Lin Xuan stood up and put the Talismans into his Storage Pouch.

When he walked out of the small courtyard, it was already afternoon. On Emerald Bamboo Peak in spring, new bamboo shoots were sprouting, and the whole mountain was lush and green.

As the wind passed through the bamboo forest, the rustling sound carried the unique, fresh scent of bamboo leaves.

The shopkeeper of the "Fuyuan Pavilion" in the market was a middle-aged man with a round face and a slight paunch, surnamed Qian. When he smiled, his eyes narrowed into slits.

He took the Talismans handed over by Lin Xuan and examined them carefully one by one.

"Junior Brother Lin, your craftsmanship has improved." Shopkeeper Qian twirled a lightning strike talisman, held it up to the light to check the integrity of the Talisman pattern, "The lines on this lightning strike talisman are steadier than last time, and the spiritual energy is full. Same old rule: three contribution points for a Golden Light Talisman, four for a lightning strike talisman."

Fifty-five Talismans sold for a total of one hundred and ninety-five contribution points. Added to what he had left before, the balance of contribution points in Lin Xuan's identity Jade Slip became four hundred and thirteen.

"Shopkeeper Qian," Lin Xuan put away the Jade Slip and asked as if casually, "Can the price of the purple-patterned paper in our shop be negotiated further? I've been practicing Medium Grade Talismans recently, and the consumption is really too high."

Shopkeeper Qian shook his head with a bitter smile: "Junior Brother Lin, this price is already considering our old friendship.

The main ingredient of the purple-patterned paper is three-year-old purple thunder bamboo. This year, the Sect is confronting the Xuanyin Sect at the border, and many resources are being controlled. The supply of purple thunder bamboo has dropped by thirty percent, so the price has naturally risen."

He lowered his voice: "However, I do have a piece of news—Talisman Master Xu from Thousand Talisman Peak will be holding a lecture on the fifth of this month to explain Talisman making, specifically focusing on 'Talisman pattern stable structures' and 'attribute balance'.

Talisman Master Xu is at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment, a proper Second-tier Talisman Master!

It costs fifty contribution points to attend one lecture. Although it is expensive, you can really learn something. Many Talisman apprentices stuck at a Bottleneck are scrambling to go."

"The fifth... that's the day after tomorrow?" Lin Xuan's heart stirred.

"Yes, the day after tomorrow at the third quarter of the Chen hour, at the 'Talisman Listening Hall' on Thousand Talisman Peak. You need to go early, or there won't be any seats left." Shopkeeper Qian reminded, "Talisman Master Xu's lectures are always popular. I heard that this time she will also demonstrate the drawing process of the First-tier Medium Grade 'Water Shield Talisman' on the spot."

Fifty contribution points... Lin Xuan touched the identity Jade Slip in his pocket. This was almost half of the profit from selling this batch of Talismans.

Is it worth it?

He thought of the stack of purple-patterned paper that was almost used up, and the frustration of having made no progress after more than a month of working behind closed doors.

"Thank you for letting me know, Shopkeeper." Lin Xuan cupped his hands and turned to leave.

Walking out of the Fuyuan Pavilion, the spring sunshine shone warmly on his body.

On the market street, people were coming and going. Many Disciples were hurrying, and the Magical Artifacts hanging from their waists and the sword cases carried on their backs all exuded a unique tension of preparing for war.

Occasionally, he could hear sporadic conversations:

"...The front line is urging for another batch of 'Armor-Piercing Talisman'..."

"...Flame Peak took a big order, wanting five hundred 'Fire Rain Talisman's, and the price is high..."

"...I heard that a Ghost Dao Genius has appeared in the Xuanyin Sect, capable of controlling three Late Stage Qi Refining iron corpses simultaneously..."

Lin Xuan walked past silently, keeping this information in his mind.

In troubled times, strength is the hard truth. And Talisman making is not only a craft for making money, but also an indispensable auxiliary means in battle.

Fifty contribution points to exchange for a chance to potentially break through a Bottleneck.

He no longer hesitated.

Two days later in the early morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Lin Xuan left his home.

He took the Sect's public spirit crane to Thousand Talisman Peak, costing three contribution points.

The spirit crane flapped its wings, skimming over the continuous mountain ranges. Looking down from high altitude, Thousand Talisman Peak had a layout quite different from Emerald Bamboo Peak, Flame Peak, and others—the peak had been flattened into a huge platform, on which sat dozens of pavilions and halls of varying heights.

The outer walls of these buildings were mostly painted in cyan and white, and wind chime-like Talisman plates hung under the eaves. When the wind blew, they made crisp tinkling sounds, and faint fluctuations of spiritual energy rippled along with them.

The Talisman Listening Hall was located on the east side of the platform and was a large octagonal building.

When Lin Xuan arrived, it was just past the Chen hour, and a long queue had already formed outside the hall.

At a rough glance, there were no fewer than a hundred people, and most of their cultivation aura was in the Middle or Late Stage of Qi Refining. There were very few at the third level of Qi Refining like Lin Xuan.

He paid fifty contribution points, received a wooden number plate engraved with "Jia-Wei Twenty-Seven", and stepped into the Talisman Listening Hall.

The space inside the hall was open and extended downward in a stepped manner, and at the lowest center point was a waist-high stone platform.

At this moment, the stone platform was empty, but the surface was carved with complex gathering and sound-amplifying array patterns.

Hundreds of meditation cushions were arranged along the steps, and they were already seven or eight-tenths full.

The air was filled with a faint scent of ink and the mixed fragrance of various spiritual materials.

Lin Xuan found the "Jia-Wei Twenty-Seven" cushion and sat down—the position was towards the back, but the viewing angle was acceptable.

He looked around and saw many Disciples with notebooks or blank Jade Slips spread out in front of them, and some even brought their own simple Talisman brushes and cinnabar, ready to record and practice at any time.

At exactly the third quarter of the Chen hour, a cyan streak of light flew in from outside the hall and landed lightly on the central stone platform.

The brilliance faded, revealing a woman who looked to be about thirty years old, dressed in a moon-white Talisman master robe.

She had delicate features, gentle eyebrows, and her long hair was simply tied up with a wooden hairpin, with a few stray hairs hanging by her cheeks.

But when she raised her eyes to scan the audience, the calmness and sharpness revealed beneath that gentleness made the originally somewhat noisy lecture hall instantly quiet down.

"Today, I will talk about two issues: the principle of stability in Talisman pattern structures, and the compatibility and balance of different attributes of spiritual energy within Talisman paper." The woman spoke, her voice not loud, yet clearly transmitted to every corner.

There was no further introduction, but everyone below the platform was filled with awe—this was Talisman Master Xu, a Second-tier Talisman Master at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment from Thousand Talisman Peak.