86: Chapter 86 Hundred Talisman Hall

The scenery of Thousand Talisman Peak is vastly different from that of Emerald Bamboo Peak.

Emerald Bamboo Peak is filled with bamboo, stretching out in a lush, verdant, and tranquil landscape.

Thousand Talisman Peak, however, has had its summit leveled to create a large bluestone plaza, with dozens of halls and pavilions standing tall. Talisman placards hang beneath the eaves, clinking in the wind, giving the whole place an air of rigor and order.

When Lin Xuan landed at the edge of the plaza using his Wind Control Technique, it was just past the hour of the dragon.

The plaza was already bustling with people.

There were no fewer than several hundred Disciples mobilized for Talisman-making, ranging from Qi Refining Level 3 to Qi Refining Level 9, all walking with hurried expressions toward the magnificent grand hall on the north side of the plaza.

Lin Xuan looked up.

"Hundred Talisman Hall."

Three ancient seal-script characters hung high above the hall entrance, written with powerful strokes, with faint spiritual light flowing within them.

The hall was five stories high with eight-cornered eaves. The overall color scheme was cyan and white. The corners of the eaves were hung with wind-chime-shaped Talismans. When the wind blew, the sound was not noisy but instead had a strange rhythm that unconsciously calmed one's mind.

It was truly worthy of being the main hall of Thousand Talisman Peak, which specialized in the Dao of Talismans.

Lin Xuan followed the flow of people toward the hall entrance.

At the entrance, four Deacon Disciples were verifying identities; two were registering, and two were issuing tokens, with high efficiency.

"Name, peak affiliation, and cultivation level." The registering Deacon Disciple did not even look up.

"Lin Xuan, Emerald Bamboo Peak, Qi Refining Level 3."

The Deacon Disciple tapped on a jade tablet, confirmed the information, and handed over a wooden token: "Cubicle Ding-Wei 73. Find your seat by the number after you go in; do not trespass into others' cubicles. The assessment will begin promptly at the third quarter of the hour of the dragon."

"Understood."

Lin Xuan took the token; it felt slightly heavy in his hand. The front was engraved with "Ding-Wei 73," and the back bore the cloud-pattern emblem of Thousand Talisman Peak.

Stepping into the hall, the view suddenly opened up.

The interior space of the Hundred Talisman Hall was far larger than it appeared from the outside; it was clearly using a space-expansion Formation.

The grand hall was circular, with a dome about ten zhang high, painted with a massive spiritual mural of the sun, moon, stars, wind, clouds, thunder, and lightning, which faintly formed a massive Spirit-Gathering Formation.

What was most eye-catching was the layout inside the hall—

Thousands of transparent light curtains divided the space into dense squares, each about one zhang square, independent of each other.

One could clearly see the movements of people inside the cubicles from the outside, but sounds and fluctuations in Divine Sense were all blocked by the light curtains.

Each cubicle was equipped with a Talisman-making table, a meditation cushion, and a jade tablet embedded in the wall displaying tasks.

At this moment, nearly half of the cubicles were occupied; most were organizing tools or adjusting their breathing with eyes closed.

The atmosphere in the hall was solemn.

The Deacon Disciples walking back and forth had serious expressions, and no one was talking. Occasionally, a Disciple would walk out of a cubicle, moving quickly to the Material exchange point or the Talisman submission point.

Lin Xuan followed the cubicle numbers to search.

The Ding-Wei area was in the southeast corner. He walked to the front of cubicle 73, and when his token touched the light curtain, the light curtain rippled open into a door-shaped gap.

Stepping into the cubicle, the noise from the outside was instantly cut off.

Sure enough, there was a sound-insulating Restriction, and the effect was excellent.

Lin Xuan put down his wooden box and looked around.

The four walls of the cubicle were made of that transparent light curtain; looking out from the inside, the scene was slightly blurred and distorted.

But he could roughly see the situation in the neighboring cubicles—to the left was a female cultivator at Qi Refining Level 4, who was carefully organizing Talisman paper.

To the right was a burly man at Qi Refining Stage 5, who had already set up his Formation and had five or six different types of cinnabar spread out in front of him.

The Talisman-making table was made of blue jade, with basic Formation patterns carved into the surface to stabilize Spiritual Qi. Beside it was a small Spirit-Gathering Formation, which could provide a gentle supply of Spiritual Qi once activated.

The jade tablet on the wall had already lit up:

[Today's Task: ...]

[Time Limit: Five hours]

[Material Exchange Point: Gui-character Area (East side of the hall)]

[Talisman Submission Point: Geng-character Area (West side of the hall)]

[Note: Acquisition Price:

· Armor-Piercing Talisman: 25 Contribution Points/sheet

· Fire Rain Talisman: 23 Contribution Points/sheet

· Gold Light Shield Talisman: 21 Contribution Points/sheet

· God-Speed Talisman: 20 Contribution Points/sheet

· Thunder Shield Talisman: 22 Contribution Points/sheet

· Other First-Grade Talismans: Priced according to quality]

Lin Xuan's gaze paused on the price of the "Thunder Shield Talisman."

22 points per sheet, the same as what he sold to Fuyuan Pavilion. Essentially, he was still using his own contribution points to exchange for Materials and then making them into Talismans to sell; it was just that the buyer had changed to the Sect, and the time for making Talismans was forcibly extended.

However, in a wartime state, the Sect provided a stable production environment and Material channels, so he didn't have to run around to purchase them himself, which was also worry-free.

He checked the Materials he brought.

He still had three stacks of purple-patterned paper (twenty sheets per stack) and five cans of thunder-pattern cinnabar, enough for a while.

Talisman brush...

Lin Xuan took out that commonly used purple bamboo wolf-hair brush. The shaft was made of thirty-year-old purple thunder bamboo, and the tip was mixed with the neck hair of a first-grade Yao Beast, the Shadow Wolf.

It was flexible and had good Spiritual Qi conductivity. He had spent 120 contribution points to buy it back then and had been using it for almost two years; it was very handy.

"The third quarter of the hour of the dragon has arrived! The assessment begins!"

A deep voice sounded in the hall, passing through the sound-insulating light curtain into every cubicle.

"All Disciples, draw one First-Grade Medium Grade Talisman you are most proficient in on the spot. The Deacon Disciple will determine your daily quota based on the time of completion, quality, and stability of technique."

"Now, begin!"

As soon as the voice fell, Lin Xuan felt several Divine Senses sweep over the cubicle—that was the assessment Deacon Disciple monitoring hundreds of Disciples at the same time.

He did not hesitate.

He spread out a sheet of purple-patterned paper, opened the cinnabar can, and soaked the Talisman brush.

He closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing.

After three breaths, he opened his eyes and put the pen to paper.

Thunder Spiritual Energy flowed down his arm, through the brush shaft, and merged into the cinnabar, outlining the first arc on the Talisman paper.

Steady, smooth, and with a unique elasticity.

He had already drawn the Thunder Shield Talisman more than a thousand times.

Every turn of the brush, every compression of the Spiritual Qi node, and every time he hooked back into a circle had become muscle memory.

Twenty-seven complex Talisman patterns were completed in one go.

When the last stroke was retracted, a silver-purple light flowed on the surface of the Talisman paper, then immediately restrained—a high-quality Thunder Shield Talisman was finished.

From starting to finish, it took less than half a cup of tea.

Lin Xuan put down the Talisman brush and placed the Talisman on the table.

Almost at the same time, the cubicle light curtain rippled open, and a Deacon Disciple who looked to be in his thirties with a serious face walked in.

The Deacon Disciple picked up the Thunder Shield Talisman, a faint light flashed on his fingertips to probe the internal structure.

"Twenty-seven-stroke Thunder Shield Talisman, complete and flawless, Spiritual Qi circulation is stable, quality is top-notch." The Deacon Disciple took an extra look at Lin Xuan, "Qi Refining Level 3, to have this level, it is rare."

"The Deacon Disciple is too kind."

"The daily quota is four First-Grade Medium Grade Talismans, any type. Can you finish within five hours?"

"No problem."

"Good." The Deacon Disciple recorded on the jade tablet in his hand, "Your cubicle number has been registered. The time for making Talismans is from the third quarter of the hour of the dragon to the third quarter of the hour of the rooster. During this time, you can freely enter and exit the cubicle to exchange Materials, submit Talismans, and rest, but you must not leave the Hundred Talisman Hall area. Excess Talismans can be submitted at any time, and contribution points will be settled on the same day."

"Understood."

The Deacon Disciple nodded and exited the cubicle.

The light curtain closed.

Lin Xuan exhaled softly.

A quota of four was slightly lower than his usual output when Cultivating—when he was in a good state, he could occasionally draw five or six a day. It seemed that the quota set by the Sect had some leeway.