Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 271 Demon-Slaying Talisman
With the influx of independent cultivators, the Taiping Sect began to develop rapidly in Qingyuan County, quickly establishing itself as a dominant force in the region.

This is normal, though. Ordinary forces develop gradually through accumulation, while the Taiping Sect first established its framework and then filled in the gaps. Without any constraints, it naturally develops much faster.

Of course, Fu Ling Sanren also deserves much credit. He was a rogue cultivator and ran the Yan Hui Island market. He had considerable connections in Qingyuan County. With his guidance, many things naturally went much more smoothly.

On Muyu Island, in the Spirit Cave, Jiang Chen silently inhaled and exhaled spiritual energy, interacting with Tao Yao's true energy to refine his own. The storms and turmoil outside were irrelevant to him.

"The principles of flourishing and decay are truly profound and infinite."

At a certain moment, having achieved perfect mastery, Jiang Chen withdrew his true energy, exhaling a long stream of white vapor that lingered for a long time.

He has now completely handed over the development of the Taiping Sect to his subordinates. Most affairs are handled by a few trusted confidants such as Wang Yuan. If there is anything that cannot be resolved, he will seek help from Fu Ling Sanren. Although Fu Ling Sanren has only recently joined the Taiping Sect, Jiang Chen still trusts him quite a bit.

Or perhaps he doesn't care too much about it. With the current development model of the Taiping Sect, internal problems are actually very likely to arise. However, with absolute strength, he can completely suppress them. If the Taiping Sect fails to meet his expectations and provide assistance to his cultivation, he will naturally take drastic measures to clean it up.

"What exactly is above the highest level of true qi? Neither the Lesser Formless Scripture nor the Mist Sea Ascending Cloud Scripture clearly records it, which shows how rare it is. However, I can confirm that if I can really take this step, it will definitely be of great benefit to my future cultivation."

Looking inward at himself and seeing the changes in his true energy, Jiang Chen smiled.

As Tao Yao gained control of the spiritual veins, her cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, achieving the Qi Refining Perfection in a very short time, which greatly benefited him.

After this period of refinement, the quality of his Formless True Qi has improved considerably. Although it is still at the level of high-grade True Qi, he has finally seen the possibility of further advancement.

"Refining one's true qi is truly a painstaking process; it cannot be rushed."

Calming his inner energy, Jiang Chen withdrew his thoughts.

Without suitable spiritual treasures, he has reached the threshold of the Dao Foundation but is unable to break through. Under such circumstances, honing his true qi is the only thing he can do.

From this perspective, he is much better than those cultivators who are trapped at the Qi Refining Perfection stage because of spiritual treasures and can never make any progress. At least he still has a direction to strive for and can see his own progress.

"Forging the foundation of the Dao requires spiritual treasures, and opening the Purple Mansion requires earthly treasures. Cultivation in this world has a great demand for external things. Without spiritual treasures and earthly treasures, no matter how talented you are, you can only stop progressing."

A thought suddenly occurred to him, recalling the records in the "Cloud Ascension Scripture of the Misty Sea," and Jiang Chen couldn't help but shake his head.

Cultivation is inherently difficult, and the need for external resources at higher realms creates an insurmountable barrier, trapping and killing countless people. Spiritual treasures are already hard to find, not to mention earthly treasures. In this respect, even the Mist Dragon has no advantage.

The bloodline of a pure-blooded dragon is already enough to free it from the worries of spiritual treasures. Once it reaches the Dao Foundation Perfection stage, it will need to find a suitable local treasure to support its Purple Mansion if it wants to advance to the Purple Mansion stage. Otherwise, it will be stuck at the Dao Foundation stage for the rest of its life.

"I want to build a foundation for my Dao. On the one hand, I need to find a treasure similar to the Fish-Dragon Pearl, and even find a way to cultivate another Fish-Dragon Pearl. On the other hand, I need to wait for the Impermanence Sect to appear. After all, I cultivate the Lesser Formless Scripture, and the most suitable spiritual treasure for me is still the Impermanence Flower."

As his thoughts collided, Jiang Chen once again lamented the difficulty of cultivation.

His intention to expand the Taiping Sect was to try his luck through its influence. After all, with greater power and more territory, one's reach would extend to all aspects of society, increasing the chances of finding spiritual treasures. If he remained a simple independent cultivator, he could only rely on chance, and one's energy is truly limited. Of course, he would also avoid many entanglements and troubles. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages; it depends on one's own choice.

"We need to find rare treasures, and we also need to hone our true energy."

Without further thought, Jiang Chen took out a Taoist book, which was the inheritance given to him by Fu Ling Sanren.

"A second-tier talismanic inheritance, but I don't know what its wonders are."

With his divine sense spreading out, Jiang Chen began to carefully peruse the Daoist texts.

"Demon-Locking Talisman, Vajra Talisman, Divine Power Talisman, Armor Talisman, this second-tier inheritance is truly quite interesting."

Drawing inferences from similar cases, Jiang Chen was quite surprised after initially flipping through the Taoist book in his hand.

The inheritance presented by Fu Ling Sanren is called the Demon-Slaying Talisman Book. Many of the talismans inside are related to demons and are mainly for killing. Although they are not particularly unique on their own, they form a relatively complete system that can be used in combination.

"Talismans and talismanic weapons, to some extent, this inheritance is not a one-way inheritance of talismanic arts. It also contains the mysteries of weapon crafting. The fundamental purpose of this inheritance is not to teach people how to draw talismans, but to teach them how to refine talismanic weapons."

With these thoughts colliding, Jiang Chen gained a relatively clear understanding of the inheritance of the Demon-Slaying Talisman Book.

When this lineage is fully cultivated, one will master all the talismans and be able to refine talisman soldiers using four types of second-tier talismans as the core. These are the so-called demon-slaying generals, which are also a type of Dao soldier. Once refined, they will have the strength of a second-tier soldier.

Although they lack a true Dao foundation and cannot compare to orthodox Dao foundation cultivators in terms of profound mystery, they are still usable. Most importantly, due to the characteristics of talismans, demon-slaying generals can often exert greater power when dealing with demons.

"Fu Ling Sanren is limited by his own strength and cannot forge this talisman weapon. I can learn from him. If I can really forge this talisman weapon, it will be an additional means of combat."

Realizing the mystery of the Demon-Slaying General, Jiang Chen became interested.

He has only been cultivating for a short time, and his cultivation skills have only included weapon crafting, which he has achieved to some extent. This demon-slaying talisman contains some of the profound mysteries of weapon crafting, which is not difficult for him to comprehend.

"Try it out first and see if you have the talent. If you can really get the hang of it in a short time, then you can try to delve deeper into it and also communicate more with Fu Ling Sanren."

"Compared to me, his skill in talismanic arts is much higher. Although he hasn't reached the second level, he shouldn't be far off."

Having made up his mind, Jiang Chen calmed down once again.

The path of cultivation is interconnected; true cultivators, in addition to cultivating their own spiritual power, also study unorthodox practices such as alchemy, artifact crafting, and talisman making. These unorthodox practices also contain principles of cultivation, but whether one can truly achieve great success depends on one's own talent and opportunities.

(End of this chapter)