59: Draw a talisman

Not long after, Xie Wanling, who had finished her Cultivation, left directly, and then the Talisman pens, Talisman paper, and other items Gu Chang needed were quickly sent over by her.

“When drawing Talismans, first imitate them, then gradually understand the function of each part, as well as the techniques truly required to draw a Spiritual Talisman.”

After making preparations, Gu Chang immediately began to try, but this matter was obviously not easy.

The drawing of Talismans emphasizes being completed in one go, and requires continuously injecting magical power into the Talisman pen, ultimately allowing the Spiritual Ink to form a complete and effective Talisman on the Talisman paper.

Just the first requirement alone needs years of practice, until one can finally draw the desired Talisman at will.

Gu Chang's first day of attempts undoubtedly failed; even imitating, drawing too much would gradually distort the image and make one increasingly agitated.

Left with no choice, Gu Chang had to stop and instead Cultivate Mixed Origin Skill, and only after night fell did he enter the Reincarnation World again.

This time, Gu Chang still maintained his previous Cultivation mode, but after finishing his Cultivation, he added an additional practice of drawing Talismans.

Thus, after about two months of practice over one night, Gu Chang finally felt himself entering a state of flow.

The three Talismans became smoother and simpler in his hands.

The next day, after Gu Chang woke up, he immediately began to redraw the Talismans, and this time he basically managed to draw all three Talismans in one go.

“It's still a bit off; my proficiency with these three Talismans is basically sufficient, but my understanding is not thorough enough. The specific functions of the Talisman head, Talisman gall, Talisman foot, and other parts still need to be pondered.”

“Then comes the stable transmission of magical power into the Talisman pen. Only by thoroughly mastering these things can I begin to truly draw Talismans.”

“However, preparing Spiritual Ink and making Talisman paper can begin now.”

Two months of practice was also a considerable improvement for Gu Chang. According to his estimation, he would only need a few more months of practice to be able to draw identical Talismans with his eyes closed.

Everything comes with practice; doing it more will naturally lead to a thorough understanding.

After adjusting his mood, Gu Chang immediately began to prepare the Spiritual Ink, which was not particularly complicated.

As long as one has the Materials and mixes them according to a specific formula, it's fine. After Gu Chang prepared the relevant Materials and added the blood of a black fiend tiger, a large bottle of Spiritual Ink was considered prepared.

Slightly more troublesome was the production of Talisman paper. If Gu Chang were to make it himself, it would take at least several months to complete.

So he chose to find a paper mill and have them make pulp according to his requirements. He only needed to add the powder of spiritual wood Materials after the pulp was finished.

After all, he was only using it to draw the lowest-grade Talismans, so the Talisman paper didn't need to be too good. Talisman paper produced in this way was already sufficient for use.

After spending a few days, Gu Chang obtained a large bottle of Spiritual Ink and several stacks of cut Talisman paper.

“Phew ~ These things are enough for me to attempt drawing thousands of times. Plus, I've been continuously practicing in the Reincarnation World these past few nights, so now the drawing of Talismans is deeply ingrained in my mind!”

“Next, I need to stably transmit magical power into the Talisman pen!”

Looking at the prepared Spiritual Ink and Talisman paper, Gu Chang immediately felt a sense of satisfaction.

But even so, he did not rashly begin to try. As the saying goes, sharpening the knife does not delay chopping wood; under limited resources, it is always right to do all basic practice well.

So he immediately began to hold the Talisman pen and slowly transmit his magical power into it, constantly seeking that stable, gentle feeling.

After exhausting his magical power, Gu Chang immediately sat down to Cultivate. Repeating this cycle for several days of practice, he found that not only was his control over magical power more stable and precise, but his Cultivation speed also seemed to have improved!

“Finally, I'm almost ready!”

A few days later, Gu Chang adjusted his mindset, then spread out the Talisman paper, picked up the Talisman pen, dipped it in Spiritual Ink, and began to truly draw the Talismans.

As the Talisman pen descended, the Talisman quickly took shape in his hand, and then the entire Talisman suddenly spontaneously combusted and quickly burned to ashes.

“Hiss ~ As expected, drawing Talismans is not easy!”

Although he had prepared himself mentally, seeing such a result for the first time, Gu Chang was still a bit depressed.

However, fortunately, resources were still abundant, and his long-term practice also allowed him to maintain a stable mindset.

So he began to draw one Talisman after another, constantly summarizing the reasons for failure. After exhausting his magical power, he would immediately sit down to Cultivate, absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, and restore his magical power.

Just like that, a few more days passed. After consuming hundreds of Talisman papers, Gu Chang finally successfully drew his first Vajra Talisman!

“Hahaha! Good!”

Looking at the Vajra Talisman, which was almost identical to the ready-made Talismans, Gu Chang finally laughed with satisfaction.

He then immediately took advantage of the feeling and continued to draw Vajra Talismans, striving to raise the success rate of this Talisman to an acceptable level.

However, due to his limited magical power, he couldn't sustain it for too long, so after drawing a few, he had to stop and sit down to restore his magical power.

“A Cultivation of Qi Refining first level can only continuously draw five low-level Talismans at most. The current Realm of Cultivation is still too low after all.”

Gu Chang couldn't help but sigh in his heart at this result, realizing that mortal Cultivation was indeed incredibly difficult!

That night, Gu Chang returned to the Reincarnation World again.

“Big Brother!”

Li Ergou, who looked significantly more mature, came before Gu Chang and brought him stewed barbarian beef.

Although only a few months had passed in the real world, almost ten years had passed in the Reincarnation World.

The once skinny child soldier had now settled down and become a steady middle-aged man.

“What is the situation outside recently?”

Seeing him approach, Gu Chang took the barbarian beef and asked him.

Because he had spent most of his time on Cultivation and drawing Talismans during this period, he was no longer very clear about the changes in the outside situation.

“Xuan King has basically occupied the southeast of Yu State. In addition, there are two other rebel kings, King Li and King Ming. King Li occupies a large part of the northern territory, and King Ming occupies the southwest. Now the three sides present a situation of mutual checks and balances.”

More than ten years had passed since the beginning of the chaotic times, and after fierce competition, only three forces remained.

“So, King Li has a great chance of winning?”

Gu Chang asked him while eating the barbarian beef.

“In terms of strength, that is indeed the case. However, Xuan King's Colonial Farm Soldiers (túntiánbīng - military colonists) have provided him with a large amount of grain and soldiers over the years. Now, he can also be described as having strong soldiers and horses. Although his strength is not as good as King Li in the north, it is stronger than King Ming in the southwest.”

Li Ergou nodded and continued to add to Gu Chang's information.

“How many Marrow Refining generals does he have under his command now? How many elite troops?”

Gu Chang continued to press him, as this matter concerned their future fate.

“We currently know of seventeen Marrow Refining generals. The number of elite troops is considerable; after so many years of accumulation and development, there are a total of eight units, with a total of over forty thousand soldiers! In addition, the Auxiliary Army numbers around two hundred thousand.”

Li Ergou was extremely familiar with this intelligence. He hadn't been idle all these years. Although his strength had barely reached the Refining Bone stage, he had truly grown in other aspects.

“Hmm, this military strength is still within my expectations.”

After hearing these figures, Gu Chang had a general impression of Xuan King's current strength.

“How many soldiers do we have under our command now? What is our overall strength?”

He then asked Li Ergou about their own situation. He only knew a general overview now and was not clear about the specific numbers.

“Currently, we have four thousand elite soldiers under our command, all of whom have reached the Flesh Refining stage. They are divided into four large armies, with each army having five Refining Bone lieutenants and one Marrow Refining general in command.”

“The remaining Auxiliary Army numbers ten thousand, most of whom are only at the Vigorous Blood level, led by one Marrow Refining general and ten Refining Bone lieutenants.”

“The total population in Da Wu Mountain is only over a hundred thousand, and forming these two armies is already the limit.”

Li Ergou was, of course, very clear about their own strength and immediately gave Gu Chang a string of numbers.

“The number of Marrow Refining generals is still too small after all.”

Although he was pursuing an elite soldier strategy, Gu Chang was still somewhat dissatisfied. He had guided many martial artists over the years and consumed a lot of various resources.

But talent is something that cannot be forced. Under normal circumstances, only one Refining Bone master can appear among a thousand martial artists, and only one among dozens of Refining Bone masters can Breakthrough to the Marrow Refining Realm.

That he now had five Marrow Refining masters and thirty Refining Bone lieutenants under his command was already something he had achieved at a huge cost.

Of course, even if these masters were added together, they wouldn't be as strong as his current single hand. The truly powerful one was never these armies or martial artists, but himself!

Through years of continuous martial arts practice, Gu Chang's current strength had completely reached the Peak of Spirit Refining, and Divine Statue Skill had long since reached Perfection.

Now there were only two paths before him: either he himself would try his best to continuously attempt to Breakthrough further, or he would resolve this chaotic world and then concentrate the entire nation's resources and wisdom to continue developing the Dao of martial arts.

Gu Chang had no confidence in the former, as he was not a person of exceptional talent by nature.

The latter required him to resolve various forces, then unify the world, completely grasp this mortal power, and then establish martial arts academies, concentrating millions and tens of millions of manpower and material resources to continue developing the Dao of martial arts.