Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

Upon hearing this, everyone present gasped in unison.

Even the Third Palace Master, Ye Cangming, who had been silent all along, put down his wine bowl and his gaze fell on Xia Jin like two bolts of cold lightning.

Wu Feng immediately stood up: "Junior Brother Xia! You're not joking, are you?"

Xia Jin nodded firmly.

"How do you know it won't work if you haven't tried?"

Zhou Chu stared at him blankly for a few moments, then took a deep breath and slowly nodded.

"Alright. This Taoist technique isn't exactly a particularly precious secret art. Since Junior Brother Xia wants to learn it, come with me."

Xia Jin nodded slightly, stood up and left her seat, following behind Zhou Chu.

Behind them, Li Zhan, Yang Qingxuan, and Wu Feng looked at each other, but ultimately wisely decided not to follow.

Zhan Tiangang watched the two figures disappear into the distance, remaining silent for a long time.

"That kid... I hope the outcome will really be as he wishes!" He muttered half a sentence and then stopped talking.

Soon, Zhou Chu led Xia Jin into the lobby of his residence.

The interior of the hall was simply furnished, with a statue of a deity whose face was obscured in the center.

Zhou Chu walked to the statue, lit three incense sticks, raised them high above his head, and respectfully bowed three times.

He then went around to the back of the statue and took out an old book with worn and yellowed edges from a hidden compartment.

The book's cover was blank, the pages were an old, brownish color, and the edges were curled, as if it had been read countless times.

Zhou Chu carefully turned to one of the pages and pointed to a talisman drawn with fine cinnabar.

"Junior Brother Xia, this is the talisman I just used. It's called the 'Void Realm Concealment Talisman.'" He turned to the side, showing the pages of the book to Xia Jin. "Try it out. Draw the pattern here and see how it feels."

With Xia Jin's talent, this talisman was not difficult for him. He closed his eyes and silently memorized it for a few breaths, then opened his eyes, raised his hand, and used the spiritual power at his fingertips as ink to draw in the air.

The trace of his finger left a pale golden light, and the outline of the talisman quickly took shape in the air.

It is similar in form and spirit, with every stroke almost identical to the one in the book.

However, when the final stroke of the brush fell, the talisman that had been suspended in mid-air only flashed slightly before disintegrating into specks of light like a kite with a broken string, vanishing silently.

It has form, but lacks any spiritual charm.

Zhou Chu wasn't surprised by this scene, but he moved the pages of the book closer to Xia Jin, his tone becoming more serious.

"Junior Brother Xia, the most difficult part of this talisman is not its form, but its 'intention'. You must first understand what this talisman is meant to hide, where it is meant to hide, and even your own thoughts must be concealed along with it."

He paused, "You have the skill in brushwork, but you lack the inspiration to resonate with this talisman. So what you draw is ultimately just a piece of waste paper."

"However, with your talent, I believe you will grasp it soon."

Zhou Chu, on the other hand, had complete confidence in Xia Jin.

Xia Jin nodded, his gaze remaining fixed on the talismanic patterns on the page. He didn't rush to try again, but instead extended a finger and slowly traced the vermilion lines on the page.

As his fingertips brushed past, he closed his eyes.

After a long while, Xia Jin opened her eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

"Senior Brother Zhou," he said softly, "what is the maximum area that this talisman can cover?"

Zhou Chu was taken aback upon hearing this, then gave a wry smile.

"Junior Brother Xia, the book says that if one can activate it with sufficiently powerful spiritual energy, there is theoretically no limit. With my current cultivation level, I can only cover an area of ​​a few miles at most."

"No limits?" Xia Jin's lips curled up slightly, her eyes growing brighter. "What if I used my spiritual power to activate it? Perhaps there really is hope..."

Zhou Chu looked at him with a complicated expression, and after a long while said, "Junior Brother Xia, I really can't see through your current cultivation level. But if you really want to use this talisman to cover the entire small world, the spiritual power required would be an enormous amount. Even if you have exceptional talent and have only cultivated in the Mirage Realm for three years, it is simply an impossible task."

"Yeah?"

Xia Jin suddenly smiled, her face radiating a strong sense of confidence.

"Senior Brother Zhou, I am determined to get this talisman. As for whether I have enough spiritual power, that's my problem."

Zhou Chu stared at him for a long time before finally handing over the yellowed old book in his hand.

"Take it." He patted Xia Jin on the shoulder. "But let me make this clear first: if you really mess up this little world, I won't be responsible."

Xia Jin took the book and nodded.

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Zhou, I have never failed at anything I set my mind to."

He turned and walked out of the hall, his figure disappearing into the void.

Behind him, Zhou Chu stood beside the statue, gazing at the disappearing figure, and murmured to himself:

"What exactly did this kid experience during his three years in the Mirage Realm?"

......

When Xia Jin's figure reappeared from the void, he was already standing in the starry sky outside this small world.

Beneath his feet lay the small, azure world where he had lived for many years. Around it floated hundreds of small planets of varying sizes, some no more than a mile in circumference, others hundreds of miles in size, scattered across this relatively narrow star field.

"Let's give it a try."

Xia Jin glanced around and then flashed to the nearest small planet.

That planet was only a few dozen miles in circumference, not very large.

Xia Jin raised her right hand, and a pale golden spiritual energy condensed at her fingertips.

He closed his eyes, his mind replaying the flow of Zhou Chu's talisman.

"What is concealed is the form, what is hidden is the breath, even the thoughts must be eliminated..."

He murmured to himself, his fingertips beginning to trace lines in the air.

A few breaths later, four talismans slowly took shape in the void. Xia Jin flipped her wrist, and four golden lights flew simultaneously to the four directions of the small planet, disappearing into the rock and soil.

Ripples spread out, like water spreading.

The small planet, which spanned dozens of miles in circumference, trembled violently the instant the ripples passed by, and then vanished from the starry sky!

"It's done!? Hahahaha, I really am a genius!!" Xia Jin was slightly taken aback, then the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

But his smugness didn't last long before he heard a faint "click" sound coming from the depths of the void.

The spatial folds that the small planet concealed only lasted for three breaths before shattering on their own, revealing the planet once more. The four runes burned away the instant they shattered.

"Only three breaths? That's far too short."

"But it doesn't matter. I've only just started learning this. With my abilities, I'll definitely succeed after a few more tries."

Xia Jin herself was not discouraged at all; on the contrary, her gaze became even calmer.

With a flick of his hand, four more talismans condensed at his fingertips and once again descended upon the small planet.

Once, twice, three times...

In the starry sky, the figure repeated the same actions time and time again. Golden runic light continuously lit up and faded in this desolate star field.

After an unknown amount of time, when Xia Jin cast the "Void Realm Concealment Talisman" into that small planet for the seventeenth time, the planet disappeared after the fluctuations subsided.

This time, a full incense stick's time passed, and the small planet did not reappear.

Xia Jin closed his eyes, carefully sensing the void with his mind. After a moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp glint in them.

"Is it stable? Can we consider this a success?"