12: The wonderful uses of cleansing talismans

Early morning, Courtyard Jia 16, Cuizhu Lane.

Zhou Wannian stood before the small patch of spirit fields in the courtyard, taking a deep breath of the bamboo-scented air.

Third Layer of Qi Refining.

Although it was only a Breakthrough of a minor Realm, he felt the entire world had become much clearer. The spiritual energy within his body flowed through his Meridians like a stream, twice as thick as it was during the Qi Refining Second Layer.

“This is the benefit of the outer district.”

Zhou Wannian sighed with emotion. If he were in the Shantytown, this single Breakthrough would likely have taken him another three to five months of slow, painstaking effort.

He was in no rush to head out, instead first performing a newly learned “Breath Concealment Art.”

This was a common item bought from the Ghost Market. Though crude, it was enough to fool Cultivators of the same rank, suppressing the fluctuations of his recent Breakthrough to display his cultivation as still being at the “Qi Refining Second Layer Peak.”

Gu Dao Principle: Never let others see your trump cards clearly.

*Bang!*

Just as Zhou Wannian was preparing to loosen the soil of the spirit field, a dull explosion suddenly came from the neighboring Courtyard Jia 15, followed by a plume of black smoke rising into the air.

“Cough, cough, cough! Dammit! Failed again!”

The exasperated voice of his neighbor, Gu Fan, drifted over through the Formation light screen.

Zhou Wannian's brows twitched slightly.

This was already the third explosion this morning.

This Formation Master Gu seemed to have run into some big trouble.

Zhou Wannian put down his hoe, thought for a moment, walked to the courtyard wall, and called out across the Restriction, “Fellow Daoist Gu? Are you alright? Do you need help?”

The neighbor's side was silent for a moment before the Restriction light screen flickered, revealing Gu Fan's face, which was scorched pitch-black by smoke.

He no longer had the elegance from their first meeting; his hair was a messy bird's nest, and his eyes were bloodshot.

“I've made a fool of myself before Fellow Daoist Zhou.”

Gu Fan gave a bitter smile, looking utterly dejected.

“I took on a job to repair a ‘Spirit Gathering Array Plate.’ I thought it would be a simple task, but the patterns on this array plate are quite strange. I've tried several times but couldn't fuse them; instead, I've blown up several of my Formation Flags.”

“Spirit Gathering Array Plate?”

Zhou Wannian's heart stirred.

A Spirit Gathering Array was a good thing, capable of gathering surrounding Spiritual Qi to aid in cultivation.

A finished set of First-Tier Low Grade Spirit Gathering Arrays on the market would sell for at least eighty Spirit Stones.

“Since Fellow Daoist Zhou is a Talisman Master, you must have some research into spiritual energy patterns.”

Gu Fan seemed to be turning to anyone in desperation, sighing, “If you don't mind, could you come in and help me examine it? If I fail this order, I'll have to put in half a year's rent.”

Zhou Wannian pondered for a moment and nodded: “Then I shall trouble you.”

This was the perfect opportunity to get closer and secretly learn Formations...

Walking into the neighboring courtyard, Zhou Wannian realized just how “impoverished” this Formation Master Gu lived.

The courtyard was piled with all sorts of messy Ores, wood, and discarded Formation Flags, leaving nowhere even to step.

Only the stone table in the center was cleared clean, with a cracked black disk placed upon it.

“This is the thing.”

Gu Fan pointed at the disk with a look of helplessness. “This is a ‘Kanshui Spirit Gathering Array.’ The array patterns should have been as smooth as water. But every time I repair it to the core node, the spiritual energy mysteriously stagnates, then triggers a conflicting explosion.”

Zhou Wannian leaned in to take a look.

The patterns on that Formation Plate were indeed complex, several times more intricate than the lines of a Talisman. Although he didn't understand the principles of Formations, he had drawn the “Spiral Ascension Talisman” for so long that he was extremely sensitive to the flow of spiritual energy.

As his Divine Sense swept over it, he vaguely felt that within the material of the core node, there seemed to be a trace of extremely discordant impurity.

“Fellow Daoist Gu, this material...” Zhou Wannian was about to speak.

Gu Fan shook his head: “The material is fine. I've checked it three times; it's all high-quality ‘Water Cloud Iron’.”

Zhou Wannian said no more.

He was a layman after all, and it wouldn't be right to show off in front of a professional.

But he kept it in mind... Night fell as he returned to his own courtyard.

The midnight had arrived.

Zhou Wannian sat cross-legged on the bed and summoned the Heavenly Secret Dao Disk.

Since he wanted to learn Formations but didn't want to spend a fortune on a Legacy, the destitute Formation Master Gu before him was the best Breakthrough point.

“I ask the Heavenly Secret: what is the true reason Gu Fan failed to repair the Formation Plate? And how should I use this matter to exchange for introductory knowledge of Formations from him?”

*Buzz—*

The bronze tortoise shell slowly rotated, and this time the divination results were displayed extremely clearly.

【Today's Divination: Minor Luck】

【The Crux: The ‘Water Cloud Iron’ used for the Formation Plate core, though of high quality, was once soaked in the ‘Corrosive Poison Swamp’ for a long time, and a trace of hard-to-detect ‘Earth Evil Qi’ has seeped deep into it. Earth overcomes water, thus the array patterns cannot fuse and will explode upon contact.】

【Solution: Ordinary means are difficult to remove deep-seated Evil Qi. Only the ‘Enhanced Version Cleaning Talisman’ (the Earthworm Version) drawn by the host, due to its unique spiral spiritual energy structure, possesses extremely strong deep cleaning and stripping capabilities. Applying this Talisman to the Formation Plate core can draw out the Evil Qi.】

【Reward: By helping him out of his predicament with this method, you can exchange for his family's Formation insights, The Gu Family's Explanation of Formations: Introductory Chapter.】

Seeing the divination, Zhou Wannian was stunned for a moment, then his expression turned peculiar.

“Cleaning Talisman?”

“My Cleaning Talisman... can even repair Formations?”

He had always thought his “Spiral Version Cleaning Talisman” was a failure, besides being able to wash through clothes and rub skin raw.

He hadn't expected that this “miracle through sheer force” cleaning ability would perfectly counter that kind of deep-seated Evil Qi!

“This is probably... mastering one skill leads to mastering a hundred.”

Zhou Wannian couldn't help but laugh... The next morning.

Gu Fan was staring blankly at the ruined Formation Plate, his eyes full of despair. Today was the final deadline for delivery; if he couldn't deliver, not only would he have to pay double the penalty, but his reputation in the market would be ruined.

“Fellow Daoist Gu?”

Zhou Wannian's voice came from outside the courtyard gate.

Gu Fan weakly opened the Restriction: “Fellow Daoist Zhou, is something the matter?”

Zhou Wannian walked in, holding a crumpled piece of yellow paper drawn with what looked like ghost scribbles.

“I went back and thought about it last night. I think the problem with Fellow Daoist Gu's Formation Plate might not be the array patterns, but the material.”

“Material?” Gu Fan gave a bitter smile. “Fellow Daoist Zhou, I told you, it's Water Cloud Iron, there's no problem with it.”

“Sometimes, what the eyes see may not be true.”

Zhou Wannian didn't explain either, directly walking to the stone table and slapping that “Earthworm Version Cleaning Talisman” onto the core node of the Formation Plate.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

Gu Fan was startled. “This is... a Cleaning Talisman? You're using a Cleaning Talisman to repair a Formation Plate? Isn't this nonsense!”

He was about to reach out and peel it off, but Zhou Wannian stopped him.

“Fellow Daoist Gu, let's treat a dead horse as if it were alive. You can't fix it anyway, so why not let me try.”

Zhou Wannian infused a trace of spiritual energy and shouted: “Activate!”

*Buzz!*

That ugly Talisman instantly lit up, and the spiral lines inside began to spin frantically, making a “whooshing” sound like a vacuum cleaner.

Immediately after, Gu Fan's eyes widened.

He saw that from the surface of the hard Water Cloud Iron, traces of grayish-brown mist began to seep out—Impurities being forcibly sucked out!

“This... this is Earth Evil Qi?!”

Gu Fan cried out in shock. As a Formation Master, he instantly understood the crux of the problem. “Heavens! This Water Cloud Iron actually contained Earth Evil? No wonder it exploded no matter how I drew! Earth overcomes water!”

But what shocked him even more was that Talisman.

“What kind of Cleaning Talisman is this? To actually be able to forcibly suck out Evil Qi buried deep within spiritual Materials? This suction... is simply too domineering!”

After half a cup of tea's time.

The Talisman burned out, turning into a pile of black ash.

And that piece of Water Cloud Iron, which had been somewhat dull, now became crystal clear, emitting pure water spiritual energy fluctuations.

“Done.”

Zhou Wannian clapped his hands, looking indifferent. “Fellow Daoist Gu, why don't you try drawing the array patterns again?”

Gu Fan's hands were trembling with excitement. Without another word, he picked up his Formation pen, dipped it in spiritual ink, and began writing with fluid grace.

This time, there was no stagnation, no conflict.

As the final stroke fell, the entire Formation Plate glowed with a brilliant blue light, and a moist water Spiritual Qi instantly filled the air.

It's done!

“Miraculous... simply miraculous!”

Gu Fan held the Formation Plate, looking at Zhou Wannian as if he were looking at a hidden expert.

“Fellow Daoist Zhou, what rank is this Cleaning Talisman of yours? To actually have such a divine effect?”

“Ahem, a secret recipe of mine, not worth mentioning.”

Zhou Wannian waved his hand, hiding his merit and fame. “Now that the problem is solved, I shall take my leave.”

“Wait!”

Gu Fan hurriedly pulled him back, his face full of shame and gratitude. “Fellow Daoist Zhou has helped me so much and saved my reputation. If I just let you go like this, what kind of person would I, Gu Fan, be?”

He thought for a bit and took out a few Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch, but then felt it was too vulgar.

Finally, he gritted his teeth, turned and ran into the house, and brought out a yellowed, thread-bound book.

“I see that Fellow Daoist Zhou is quite interested in Formations. This is my Gu family's ancestral ‘Introductory Insights into Formations.’ Although it's not some profound Legacy, it records three generations of my Gu family's understanding and breakdown of basic array patterns.

If Fellow Daoist Zhou doesn't mind, please accept it as a gift of thanks!”

Zhou Wannian was ecstatic in his heart, but on the surface, he feigned a bit of refusal before finally “reluctantly” accepting it.

“Then many thanks to Fellow Daoist Gu.”

...Returning to his own courtyard, Zhou Wannian felt the Introductory Insights into Formations in his breast pocket, and the corners of his mouth couldn't stop rising.

A Formation book that not only had theory but also the practical experience of three generations was worth at least fifty Spirit Stones!

Most importantly, this thing couldn't be bought in bookstores; it was “hard currency” that was difficult to obtain even with money.

“This way, I can not only maintain the courtyard's Cloud Mist Formation myself, but I can even try to set up more powerful killing and trapping Formations in the courtyard.”

“Gu Dao base, defense upgrades are just around the corner!”

Zhou Wannian was in a great mood.

In the following days, Zhou Wannian's life became even more regular and fulfilling.

During the day, he would do some farming in the spirit field (for show) or stroll through the shops in the outer district of the market to understand the market conditions.

Occasionally, he would also discuss Formations with Gu Fan (actually, it was more like one-sidedly asking for advice).

At night, he would unfailingly do three things: draw Talismans (stockpiling “Spiral Ascension Talismans” and “Earthworm Cleaning Talismans”), study the 《Introductory Formations》, and Cultivate.

Time flowed like water, and in the blink of an eye, another half-month passed.

One day, Zhou Wannian was inside his room researching how to bury the “Spiral Ascension Talisman” underground to use as a “landmine.”

Gu Fan suddenly came knocking on the door with an excited face.

“Fellow Daoist Zhou! Good news!”

“Hmm?” Zhou Wannian opened the Restriction. “What good news?”

“The market is going to hold a ‘Low-Rank Talisman Master Exchange Meet’!”

Gu Fan waved an invitation. “It's in three days at the Drunken Immortal Tower. I heard that not only will the shopkeepers of various major stores be there to collect Talismans, but a big figure is also coming—the Genius Talisman Master who was accepted as a Named Disciple by Hundred Herbs Hall, Zhao Feng!”

“It's said he will publicly demonstrate the drawing method of a ‘Top Grade Cleaning Talisman’ at the meet!”

“Fellow Daoist Zhou, you're also a Talisman Master; you can't miss such a grand event! I happen to have a friend who got an extra entry ticket, so why don't we go together to see the world?”

Hearing the name “Zhao Feng,” Zhou Wannian's eyes flickered.

That Genius living in the spotlight?

He instinctively wanted to refuse, as crowded places like that were prone to trouble.

But on second thought, he had already moved to the outer district; being too antisocial would instead arouse suspicion. Moreover, going to see the level of his peers would allow him to better evaluate his own strength.

Most importantly, he wanted to see what the Luck of that highly praised Zhao Feng... was like now.

“Alright.”

Zhou Wannian took the invitation with a smile. “Then I'll go join the fun.”