11: Talisman Maker

Lin Feng acquired all the basic items for Talismans crafting. He still had ten Spirit Stones in his possession, which he planned to use later to buy more Talisman paper if his initial attempts at Talismans crafting were unsuccessful.

Lin Feng returned to his dwelling with these valuable items and adjusted his daily Cultivation schedule. To maintain peak mental clarity, Lin Feng decided to change his Cultivation time. He would now dedicate one full day entirely to Cultivation, followed by a day where half was for rest and duty, and the other half for Talismans crafting.

Lin Feng had his own reasons for dedicating a full day to Cultivation. With the 'Diligence can compensate for lack of talent' entry, four hours of Cultivation would grant double the effect, and every additional two hours would add another multiplier. Cultivating for a full day would result in a six-fold increase.

With a six-fold Cultivation speed, one day of his Cultivation was equivalent to a True Spiritual Root Cultivator's day and a half of non-stop Cultivation. Not only was his Cultivation efficiency not reduced, but he also gained extra time for rest, duty, and researching Talismans crafting.

Since Lin Feng had now achieved a Breakthrough to Qi Refining Stage 3, Wen Han and Mu Qingxue, after being dealt with by Lin Feng, dared not show him any disrespect. Now, facing Lin Feng at Qi Refining Stage 3, they were even less inclined to cause trouble. Thus, under Lin Feng's arrangement, they would take turns on duty for a full day, while Lin Feng would take a step back and perform his duty alone for one day. They agreed without any objection.

During the first month, Lin Feng did not rush to attempt Talismans crafting. Instead, he memorized the contents of the “Basic Talismans” Jade Slip, then continuously practiced drawing Talismans on the ground, and tried to control the application of Spiritual Qi during the drawing process, constantly pondering and rehearsing in his mind.

Lin Feng did not have many Spirit Stones and dared not waste them. So, he continuously researched and practiced until he had rehearsed all the details in his mind countless times, in addition to simulating and practicing on the ground countless times. He made sure there were no problems whatsoever, and Lin Feng maintained this for a full month.

A month later, Lin Feng returned the “Basic Talismans” Jade Slip to Senior Sister Chen. Due to their previous transaction and his punctual return of the Jade Slip, this delicate Senior Sister Chen had become somewhat familiar with Lin Feng, establishing a basic level of trust.

Lin Feng then learned that Senior Sister Chen was not an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple. Her Family was a Foundation Establishment Family within the Sect, with Foundation Establishment elders. The reason she set up a stall was partly to supplement her need for Spirit Stones for Cultivation, and partly because her Family was skilled in business within the Sect, so her Family had her start by running a stall to train herself.

Upon learning this news, Lin Feng couldn't help but sigh, thinking that having a powerful Family was one thing, but for them to Cultivate their younger generations this way made it incredibly difficult for Sect Cultivators without background to rise. These second and third-generation Cultivators were so diligent, he silently admonished himself, what reason did he have not to work hard in Cultivation.

After returning the Jade Slip to Senior Sister Chen Lingling, Lin Feng did not venture anywhere else and began to attempt Talismans crafting. For his first attempt, Lin Feng felt a mix of apprehension and excitement. Although he had rehearsed countless times in his mind and practiced drawing countless times on the ground, Lin Feng was still nervous during his first actual Talismans crafting, his hand gripping the Talisman brush even sweating slightly.

Lin Feng could not craft other Talismans, as he only knew how to craft Swift Steps Technique and Fireball Technique. Talismans crafting required the Cultivator to have studied the corresponding techniques, and Lin Feng had thoroughly mastered these two techniques over the past year, so he could only craft Swift Steps Technique and Fireball Technique Talismans.

The first Talismans crafting attempt went smoothly, but Lin Feng did not succeed. This was because during the final stroke, due to his excitement, the Spiritual Qi control was unstable as his magic power was transmitted through the Talisman brush to the Talisman paper, resulting in the failure of the Talismans crafting.

Lin Feng's emotions were not greatly affected by the first failure. He simply took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and entered a peaceful state before starting to craft again. Lin Feng crafted twenty Swift Steps Talismans in a row, all of which failed.

Just as he was on the verge of a mental breakdown, he finally succeeded with one. Successfully crafting a Swift Steps Talisman thrilled Lin Feng immensely. Being able to successfully craft one Swift Steps Talisman meant that as long as Lin Feng crafted diligently from now on, his success rate would definitely not be lower than thirty percent.

A thirty percent success rate might only be considered average for an experienced Talisman Maker, but Lin Feng was a complete novice, and for him to start with thirty percent meant he had a lot of room for future improvement.

With the successful crafting of the first Talisman, Lin Feng's subsequent Talismans crafting success rate remained slightly above thirty percent. Lin Feng spent ten days crafting all two stacks of Talisman paper. Because his success rate remained slightly above thirty percent, from the two hundred sheets of Talisman paper in two stacks, Lin Feng crafted a total of fifty-six Swift Steps Talismans in ten days.

Some shops bought Swift Steps Talismans at a price of four for one Spirit Stone, so fifty-six Talismans amounted to fourteen Spirit Stones. In just ten days of starting Talismans crafting, Lin Feng earned more than a Utility Disciple's annual salary, with two extra Spirit Stones. Lin Feng couldn't help but grin, as if he saw a broad road to counting Spirit Stones in the future. He couldn't help but burst into laughter in his small room, drawing the attention of his Junior Brothers in the same row of wooden houses.

Lin Feng realized his gaffe and quickly stifled his laughter, but the excitement in his eyes was hard to conceal. He secretly calculated that if he continued to craft Talismans at this speed, his earning of Spirit Stones would be very considerable. Moreover, as he became more proficient in Talismans crafting, his success rate was expected to increase further, and his crafting speed could also greatly improve. At that time, he would earn even more Spirit Stones.

Thinking of this, Lin Feng decided to redouble his efforts and continue Talismans crafting. However, he also knew that prolonged crafting would consume a lot of energy and Spiritual Qi, so he decided to take a day off to adjust his state before fully dedicating himself to Talismans crafting again.

On his day off, Lin Feng did not Cultivate or craft Talismans as usual. Instead, he chose to stroll around the Spiritual Plant Garden within the Sect. The Spiritual Plant Garden was filled with various rare Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicine, and the air was permeated with a faint Spiritual Qi and medicinal fragrance, which made Lin Feng feel refreshed.

Looking at the various rare Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicine growing in the Spiritual Plant Garden, Lin Feng thought how wonderful it would be if he could craft Medicinal Pills. Thinking of Alchemy, Lin Feng shook his head with a bitter smile. Alchemy required a huge consumption of resources, something not all Cultivators could afford. Just one batch of Qi Gathering Pills for an ordinary Qi Refining Cultivator would cost one to two dozen Spirit Stones, and to become an Alchemist, one would have to go through countless failures, and that was with a master's guidance.

Lin Feng didn't have that many Spirit Stones to buy Medicinal Pills and Pill Formulas, nor did he have the Spirit Stones to cover the initial expenses of becoming an Alchemist. In a good mood, Lin Feng thought that he shouldn't be considering these things right now. Having already become a Talisman Maker, his speed of earning Spirit Stones would only greatly increase from now on, and his speed of accumulating resources would also accelerate. Becoming an Alchemist was not out of the question once his Cultivation became powerful.

Lin Feng walked around the Spiritual Plant Garden, considering his future plans. Lin Feng currently did not plan to return the Spirit Stones to those Junior Brothers. Lin Feng intended to earn more Spirit Stones and take the time to learn a few more techniques, on one hand to strengthen his own power, and on the other hand to be able to craft more types of Talismans. This way, Lin Feng could broaden the market for his Talismans, and also quickly accumulate resources. Once his power increased and his speed of earning Spirit Stones went up, he would then return the Spirit Stones to his Junior Brothers.