57: An increase of 40%!

"Alright, Senior, please wait a moment."

Seeing that Su Ling really intended to buy the Talisman brush and ink, the shop assistant was overjoyed and hurriedly took out the sable hair brush, packing it in a brocade box.

He then took out ten pieces of Second-Grade Talisman Ink from the other side and carefully placed them in another brocade box.

Seeing him busy, Su Ling paced with his hands behind his back, using his Immortal Eye of Treasure Appraisal to search around.

Unfortunately, aside from that ink abyss brush, he didn't find any other good items worth picking up.

Instead, he found quite a few Talisman brushes whose quality didn't quite match their prices.

"Senior, thank you for your patronage. The total comes to one thousand three hundred and fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

The shop assistant placed several brocade boxes on the counter and opened them one by one for Su Ling to verify. "Please confirm them."

Su Ling nodded and, with a casual wave of his hand, stacks of Spirit Stones piled up on the counter.

After the shop assistant confirmed the amount was correct, Su Ling finally put the purchased items into his Storage Pouch.

After walking a few steps, Su Ling suddenly turned back and looked at that ink abyss brush, saying with some interest, "That ink jade brush has gone unnoticed for many years. I'm actually a bit interested. If it's sold for four hundred Spirit Stones, I'll take it to study."

"Senior..."

The shop assistant smiled bitterly and said, "It's not that our shop is unwilling to sell it, but that descendant of the fallen family said the ink jade brush is an heirloom of his ancestors. If it's less than five hundred Spirit Stones, he would rather take it back and enshrine it."

"This..."

Su Ling rubbed his chin, appearing somewhat hesitant.

"Senior, if I may be blunt, even if you take this ink jade brush back, you won't be able to use it. Why waste your Spirit Stones?"

The shop assistant advised in a low voice.

From this single order of Su Ling's today, he could receive a commission of ten Spirit Stones.

Moreover, he could see that Su Ling had likely already entered the threshold of the Dao of Talisman Making.

In the future, there was a high probability he would return to Precious Talisman Pavilion to purchase Talisman-making supplies.

For such a potential long-term customer, the shop assistant didn't want to annoy him over a useless Talisman brush.

"It's only five hundred Spirit Stones, nothing much."

Su Ling feigned hesitation before saying nonchalantly, "Bring it out. I'll just consider it a toy."

"This..."

The shop assistant was helpless but still gave a kind reminder, "This Disciple will speak out of turn: Senior, please don't have too high expectations. This ink jade brush is truly just a decoration."

"It's fine. If you feel bad about it, you can throw in a copy of 'Detailed Explanation of Second-Grade Talismans' as a bonus."

Su Ling naturally understood where the other's concerns lay and laughed immediately, "Next time I have a need, I'll come to Precious Talisman Pavilion to find you again."

"This... Senior, please wait a moment. May I ask the Manager for instructions?"

"You may."

The shop assistant bowed and quickly ran to the main hall to whisper with a Core Formation Deacon.

The items sold in the hall all had corresponding warning Restrictions, so there was no fear of theft.

After Su Ling waited for a while, the shop assistant returned to the exhibition hall with a classic book.

"Senior, the Manager has agreed. I thank Senior for your patronage."

Placing the ink jade brush into a brocade box, the shop assistant respectfully handed it to Su Ling along with the book. "This Disciple is named Li Cheng. Next time you visit, Senior, just call for me."

"Alright."

Su Ling nodded and placed five hundred Spirit Stones on the counter.

Li Cheng hurriedly collected the Spirit Stones and respectfully saw Su Ling out of Precious Talisman Pavilion... After buying the Talisman-making supplies, Su Ling still had over three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

He bought fifty Medium Grade spirit gathering pills and fifty Medium Grade Qi Condensing Pills at Pill Cauldron Pavilion, and spent another three hundred Spirit Stones to rent a temporary Immortal Cave for a month.

At this point, only seven hundred remained of the Spirit Stones he had earned on this trip.

According to the prompt from the Immortal Eye of Treasure Appraisal, the entire process would take ten days.

Not sleeping was fine, but doing it for ten days straight still made Su Ling a bit unsure.

After adjusting his state, Su Ling attempted to pour magic power into the ink abyss brush.

After an hour, the ink abyss brush still showed no reaction.

Su Ling frowned slightly. If he hadn't trusted the Immortal Eye of Treasure Appraisal, he would have considered giving up.

Three hours later, a speck of starlight suddenly flashed on the pitch-black barrel of the ink abyss brush.

Seeing a reaction, Su Ling was overjoyed.

He hurriedly swallowed a Qi Condensing Pill to assist in recovering magic power.

A day later, that speck of starlight on the ink abyss brush's barrel had completely emerged.

Furthermore, eight more specks of starlight were faintly appearing on the entire barrel.

This change gave Su Ling great confidence... [ink abyss brush, Fifth-Grade Talisman Brush, possesses functions of calming the heart, focusing the mind, and gathering Qi. Can increase the success rate of Talisman making by 40%.]

Ten days later, the appearance of the ink abyss brush had changed drastically.

A hint of purple peeked through the pitch-black, and nine specks of starlight shone brightly under the light of the Immortal Cave's lighting artifact.

"Forty percent!"

Su Ling looked at the ink abyss brush floating in the air, slowly rotating around him, and was very satisfied.

The third-grade Talisman brushes Li Cheng had introduced earlier, which were said to have a 30% success rate, were actually 20% at most.

Second-grade ones were even lower, with most not even reaching 10%.

Su Ling had also scanned other fourth and fifth-grade Talisman brushes with his Immortal Eye of Treasure Appraisal. A fifth-grade Talisman brush kept separately with a price exceeding one hundred thousand only had a 30% success rate.

The ink abyss brush could increase the success rate by 40%, showing just how precious it was.

Through the nourishment of magic power, a trace of connection had formed between the ink jade brush and himself.

When held in his hand, there was a sense of ease, as if it were an extension of his own arm.

Su Ling immediately took out a sheet of first-grade Talisman paper and dissolved the remaining Talisman ink.

Calming his mind and focusing his spirit, he circulated his magic power and lifted the brush to write.

With fluid movements, a Vajra Talisman shimmering with spiritual light was already drawn.

"Not bad, not bad. The Vajra Talisman is one of the Talismans I'm more proficient in. Usually, drawing one requires wasting at least three sheets of paper. Now, finishing it in one go gives an indescribable sense of satisfaction."

Su Ling looked at the ink abyss brush in his hand, liking it more and more.

The power of a Talisman mainly depended on the drawer's proficiency, the quality of the Talisman ink, and the spiritual power contained within the Talisman.

The Vajra Talisman was a pure spiritual power shield, regardless of attribute.

It was also the Talisman Su Ling was most proficient in.

Although he used the most common Talisman paper and ink this time, just looking at the power of this Talisman, it was almost comparable to a Medium Grade Vajra Talisman drawn with third-grade Golden Bone Beast blood.

Over the past ten days, in order to continuously nourish the ink abyss brush, he had consumed over twenty Medium Grade Qi Condensing Pills to recover magic power.

The result was surprising.

With the help of the ink abyss brush, Su Ling gained more confidence in his upcoming Talisman-selling business... The Dao of Talismans has its own mysteries.

It's not that once one learns a certain Spell, they can draw it as a Talisman.

The patterns on a Talisman are its core, composed of specific lines, designs, and symbols according to strict rules; each pattern has its own unique meaning and function.

Trying to create a new Talisman is as difficult as reaching the heavens.

When drawing a Talisman, a cultivator injects their own spiritual power into the paper and ink, giving the Talisman its initial power.

For drawing attack Talismans, one needs to infuse vigorous spiritual power to accumulate energy for the Talisman's subsequent burst.

High-grade Talismans can also have Spirit-Gathering Patterns drawn on them according to different Spells to gather surrounding heaven and earth spiritual power, increasing the Spell's power or duration.

After a Talisman is activated, there are two ways it operates.

One is the instant burst type, like the 'explosive flame talisman'; after activation, the patterns release the stored spiritual power all at once in a short time, forming an explosive flame attack, after which the Talisman becomes useless.

The second is the continuous operation type, like the 'Flying Heaven Talisman'; after activation, the patterns consume spiritual power at a steady rate to maintain the effect, only stopping when the spiritual power is exhausted.

To extend the duration of continuous-type Talismans, special circular structures can be added to the pattern design, allowing the user to continuously inject spiritual power into the Talisman to maintain its operation.

After confirming the ink abyss brush could be used, Su Ling began to study the 'Detailed Explanation of Second-Grade Talismans' he had received for free.

This classic book was a common item, mainly describing second-grade Foundation Establishment Talismans like the Flying Heaven Talisman, spirit concealment talisman, Fire Bird Talisman, and Ice Armor Talisman.

Thousand Star City had many Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and what Su Ling wanted to draw were precisely the second-grade Talismans suitable for them.