91: Tattoo Secrets

The Lu Family secret room.

Lu Xuan sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, flipping through the newly acquired book.

He felt some regret at not finding Liang Yang's Secret Manual of cultivation; after all, that scene of sweeping Sword Qi was truly exaggerated, and he wanted to learn it!

However, since he hadn't found it, he let it be.

【Tattoo Secret Art】

He opened the volume; it was a thin book with not many pages.

The preface was only a few hundred words long, explaining the function of this secret technique.

Practitioners all know of Talismans, which contain the ultimate principles of Heaven and Earth and are the simplest and most direct way for Cultivators to communicate with the world.

Talismans are drawn on Talisman paper and activated with Spiritual Qi to cast Spells and release the corresponding magic.

This Tattoo Secret Art, however, is a secret technique for inscribing Talismans onto human skin.

Using the spirit blood of Yao Beasts or the juices of Heaven And Earth Treasures as ink, one draws the corresponding patterns on the recipient's skin. As long as Spiritual Qi is used to connect with those tattoos, Spells can be cast.

“Interesting!”

In his past life, he also knew of tattooing as an art, but it was mostly for aesthetics and was permanent.

The tattoos formed by this Tattoo Secret Art are determined by the quality of the Materials used and the proficiency of the tattooist.

The initial text consisted of basic descriptions, while the following ten-odd pages contained five tattoo patterns.

Rapid Speed Tattoo, Great Strength Tattoo, Fireball Tattoo, and Golden Bell Tattoo.

These four tattoos were complete patterns.

The final one was a Storage Tattoo, but only half of this tattoo remained, and it was uncertain if it could still be used.

The Rapid Speed Tattoo is inscribed on the lower leg, with a pattern resembling a whirlwind; driven by spiritual power, the user can increase their speed by thirty percent.

The Great Strength Tattoo is inscribed on the back, with the pattern of a fierce tiger; driven by spiritual power, the user can increase their physical strength by fifty percent. However, the secret method noted that driving it with full force might cause injury to one's body.

The Fireball Tattoo pattern resembles a mass of flames and is inscribed on the back of the hand or the arm; after being driven by spiritual power, the user can fire a fireball, the power of which depends on the spiritual power transmitted by the user.

The Golden Bell Tattoo takes the form of a bronze bell; once activated, the body's defense is greatly increased, but movement is also restricted.

The effects of these tattoos are powerful, but the number of uses is limited, and they are only useful for Cultivators below the Foundation Establishment Stage.

“This tattoo technique is indeed miraculous, and the potential it contains is likely similar to that of Talismans.

After all, the flesh and blood of Advanced Cultivators are themselves Advanced Materials.

I just don't know to what stage this Dao of Tattoos has developed.”

Lu Xuan began his study of the Tattoo Secret Art.

He personally went to Mount Qianfeng to search for mutated beasts.

Though they couldn't yet be considered Yao Beasts, there was still a small amount of Spiritual Qi hidden within their bodies.

Next were various spiritual items; he even ground a Spirit Stone into powder to add to the mixture.

This was an important material for communicating with Heaven and Earth.

Time passed day by day during Lu Xuan's research.

In the county town, the noble families who had originally expected Wang Yuanhua to return from the commandery capital and come to blows with Lu Xuan gradually lost their anticipation.

It was as if Wang Yuanhua was unaware of the news that the Wang Family had been destroyed.

Instead, Wang Weifeng became the new head of the Wang Family, continuing to manage the Family's shops and fields.

But everyone knew the underlying relationship.

The imperial court also seemed to have forgotten about the matter, showing not a hint of targeting them.

The final end of the once-prominent Wang Family was actually worse than that of the original Zhao Family.

Time passed like a white horse glimpsed through a crack, gone in an instant.

Snow melted, turning into trickling streams that merged into the rivers.

The men, women, young, and old of West Mountain Village also began the year's spring plowing; time had taken away the initial grief, and everyone looked forward.

“It's rained a few times this year; I'm afraid it'll be another harvest year.”

“Indeed, spring rain is as precious as oil, and it's already rained several times this year.”

“Speaking of which, the village elders from several neighboring villages have come to find our village chief again, wanting to merge into our village!”

“They come every once in a while; I wonder if the Family Head will agree this year.”

“Who knows the Family Head's decision? But it would be good to accept them; when the territory is larger, no one will be able to bully us in the future.”

“That's right!

As it is now, who in the entire Pingze County would still dare to bully our Lu Family.”

“By the way, I heard your boy was selected for the Martial Guards at the beginning of the year. When are you going to treat us to drinks?”

“Hahaha, that boy is still in preliminary training; if he can't pass, he'll only be able to become a local militiaman!”

“Militia isn't bad either; my husband has a niece in the neighboring village, I'll introduce her to your boy sometime.”

“Sure...”

Expectation for the future and loyalty to the Lu Family were reflected on everyone's faces... “Father, you were looking for me?”

Since the Lu Family's affairs had returned to the right track, Lu Xuan had handed over Family matters to Lu Jingan to manage, while he himself cultivated in seclusion in the back mountains.

Under the effect of the spirit gathering grass, the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the back mountains was increasing daily; now that he was the only one practicing there, it was quite abundant.

Furthermore, the spirit fields had begun to take shape, and the spiritual plants in the fields had been harvested; the Lu Family's current food was mixed with these spiritual items.

Once the scale increased, they would be able to achieve complete Spiritual Rice freedom.

As for the Tattoo Secret Art he had obtained earlier, he had already begun testing it on some animals, and the results were quite good.

After a Golden Bell Tattoo was inscribed on an ordinary rat, with Lu Xuan's activation, it could withstand a single slash from an adult using an ordinary knife.

After testing it dozens of times, he decided to find a few Martial Artists for testing.

He had studied it and found that even a Martial Artist's True Qi could activate these tattoos, though the power was much smaller.

But it was still a decent buff.

However, when testing on animals before, it was always him who channeled the True Qi; while feasible, he didn't know if others could do it.

After all, there was Spiritual Qi present in his body, so he wasn't the only variable.

Lu Jingan looked at his father, who was resting with his eyes closed, and bowed respectfully.

After he had exposed his cultivation that day, he thought it would spread throughout the surrounding counties.

But in the end, he found that the people present at the time didn't seem to have spread the word.

Of course, it was certain that the Prince of Zhennan must have intelligence on him on his desk.

As for his future father-in-law, once he saw his cultivation, the matter between him and Shen Qingyan would be much simpler.

“An'er, now that the Lu Family's affairs are back on track, your marriage should be put on the agenda.

Consider it a way to bring some joy to the Lu Family!”

Lu Jingan's face lit up with joy. Previously, when the Lu Family suffered the attack and the household had heavy casualties, he thought he wouldn't have to think about marriage for the rest of the year. But he hadn't expected that when the mountains and rivers seemed to end, a path would open up; his father had taken the initiative to bring up the matter.

“Father, I...”

“Now!”

Lu Xuan waved his hand and said.

“Your marriage is also for the development of the Family; this is also your mother's expectation!”

“Then Father, when shall I go to propose?”

“Hahaha, the command of parents and the words of a matchmaker—proposing marriage is not for you to bring up. You only need to first agree on a date with Qing Yan, and ensure that Grandmaster Shen is not away from home on the day we visit.

Also, regarding Zhao Ya, do not mistreat her; start having people make preparations these days.”

“Yes, Father, I will go and arrange it immediately.”

“Be more calm and collected; you're about to be a married man. The Lu Family will be handed over to your hands sooner or later.”