Starting as a Talisman Master

After saying goodbye to Tao Feng, Lu Chi returned alone to Courtyard No. 7, Jiazi, through the remaining snow.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, the two acres of spirit fields, protected by the array, were still thriving, with a faint spiritual energy lingering among the branches and leaves. Lu Chi's mind, which had been tense all day, finally relaxed completely at this moment.

Instead of rushing to tend to the spirit field, he went straight into the meditation room, sat down cross-legged, and carefully reviewed in his mind what he had seen and heard at the dojo that day and the details of the battle.

This battle with Zhao Ya gave him a clearer understanding of his current combat strength.

With the magical power of the seventh level of Qi Refining, combined with the physical body tempered to the fifth level of Body Tempering, and several high-grade and sharp magical artifacts, he could stand out among late-stage Qi Refining cultivators even without using trump cards such as formations and talismans.

As for the insights on foundation building shared by Master Yan, it gave him a more confident plan for his future cultivation path. He only needed to accumulate magical power and refine his physical body step by step, and when the time was right, he could refine the Foundation Building Pill without taking many detours.

For the next two days, Courtyard No. 7 returned to tranquility.

Lu Chishang regularly performed rituals of sending clouds and rain, removing insects and turning over the soil, and in his spare time he would set up a furnace to refine elixirs.

On the morning of the third day, Lu Chi was watering the spiritual spring in the field with a wooden bucket when a beam of fire suddenly pierced through the mist outside the courtyard and hovered in mid-air like a bird.

It is a communication talisman, unlike the Qingque Mountain where communication relies on foot. The disciples of Taiqing Palace all use communication talismans, which saves time and effort.

Lu Chi put down the wooden bucket, flicked his finger, and a wisp of magical power entered the talisman.

"You brat, you're in luck. The second-tier talisman you wanted has been found. Come to my thatched cottage quickly, don't delay."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chi's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he casually leaned the wooden bucket against the edge of the field.

He has now established himself firmly at Hundred Herbs Peak, and since the opportunity to cross the professional threshold of second-tier talismans has arrived, he naturally does not want to wait any longer.

When he arrived at the quaint thatched cottage, Old Man Gu was leaning back in a rattan chair, but instead of holding a teacup as usual, he was staring intently at Lu Chi, who had just entered.

"Greetings, Senior Uncle Gu." Lu Chi bowed respectfully.

Old Gu, however, didn't rush to mention the talismans. Instead, he quickly got up, circled Lu Chi twice, and exclaimed in amazement:

"You little rascal, you really made a splash when Master Yan gave his lectures the other two days ago. Zhao Ya spent so many years honing his skills at the eighth level of Qi Refining, and you took him down in just a few moves?"

As he spoke, Old Man Gu actually reached out and his withered fingers quickly gripped Lu Chi's shoulder like eagle claws, then kneaded down his spine.

Lu Chi's body tensed instinctively, and he held back the magical power of the "Taiyuan Xuanshui Scripture" within him, allowing the other party to probe him.

"What a formidable physique!" Old Gu withdrew his hand, his old face full of surprise. "Your qi and blood are so stable, your skin and flesh as tough as leather... your body cultivation level... has actually reached the fifth level of Body Tempering?"

No wonder Old Man Gu reacted that way. Lu Chi, with a low-grade spiritual root, had already reached the seventh level of Qi Refining at the age of twenty-one, which was considered quite impressive for Hundred Herbs Peak. But who would have thought that he would also reach the fifth level of Body Tempering while cultivating both magic and martial arts?

Old Gu's eyelids twitched, and he looked at Lu Chi with a half-smile:

"Cultivating with a low-grade spiritual root already consumes a lot of resources, and you also have to focus on refining your physical body. The spiritual herbs and demonic beast blood required for each stage of body tempering are not cheap. It seems you amassed quite a few spirit stones while you were a rogue cultivator! Could you be some kind of murderous and thieving cultivator?"

Lu Chi bowed helplessly, adopting an extremely humble posture, and said with a wry smile, "Senior Uncle, please don't tease this humble one. When I was wandering outside, I only suffered more hardships and was lucky enough to pick up some scraps that others didn't want. How could I dare to do anything like a cultivator who has undergone tribulation?"

Old Gu gave him a deep look, chuckled, and didn't ask any further questions.

He slowly turned back to the desk, his withered hand lightly brushing against the storage bag at his waist, and a faintly glowing yellow talisman was pulled out from his fingertips and casually slapped onto the wooden desk.

"This is a second-tier talisman, the 'Exploding Flame Talisman.' The talisman paper is made from the soft hide of the belly of a first-tier demon beast, the 'Ironclad Rhinoceros.' As for the spirit sand used to draw the talisman, it is mixed with the heart essence blood of a top-tier first-tier demon beast, the 'Crimson Feather Fire Crane.'"

The moment that second-tier talisman appeared, Lu Chi's gaze was drawn to it and he could no longer look away.

He used to live in Luo's talisman shop, and all the talismans he cultivated and saw were first-tier talismans; he had never actually seen a second-tier one.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the talisman paper and talisman sand used in the second-tier talisman were actually similar to those used in the first-tier top-grade talisman, both being refined from the hides and blood essence of demonic beasts.

The only difference is that the patterns on the rune are deep and complex, far beyond what a first-tier rune can compare to.

Lu Chi stared intently at it for a long time, but could only grasp its form, unable to fathom its meaning. Even with his top-grade talisman master's eyesight, he was still like this. A thought suddenly struck him, and he remembered the second-tier talisman he had obtained earlier, the Xuanzhuan Scripture Talisman.

He still hasn't been able to decipher the profound mystery of that talisman.

Seeing Lu Chi's gaze fixed intently on the extremely intricate pattern, Old Man Gu assumed he was simply looking at something curious and didn't realize he was secretly deducing something. So he casually explained:

He still hasn't been able to decipher the profound mystery of that talisman.

Seeing Lu Chi's gaze fixed intently on the extremely intricate pattern, Old Man Gu assumed he was simply looking at something curious and didn't realize he was secretly deducing something. So he casually explained:

"Stop looking, those aren't ordinary runes, but 'spiritual inscriptions' that only second-tier runes possess. First-tier runes draw on the skin, floating on the surface of the paper; but at the second tier, these strokes become spiritual inscriptions, requiring the divine sense of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator to guide the spiritual power into the texture of the animal hide."

"I am not an expert in this field, and I only know a little bit about it. You, a mere Qi Refining cultivator, should not expect to see through its intricacies."

Lu Chi nodded thoughtfully, immediately withdrawing his gaze from the attempt to force an analysis, and instead cupped his hands in greeting, asking, "Thank you for your explanation, Senior Uncle. May I ask how much this Blazing Flame Talisman is worth?"

Old Gu clicked his tongue, picked up the Exploding Flame Talisman again, and shook his head, saying, "This item was something I shamelessly found for you from another senior brother on our Hundred Herbs Peak. That senior brother is a strange alchemy fanatic who doesn't need your few low-grade spirit stones at all."

"He brought out this talisman, with very strict rules: it has to be a 'barter,' and he specifically requested that it preferably be a second-tier spiritual item. You may be wealthy, but spirit stones are easy to come by. This rare second-tier item... can you actually produce it?"

"A second-tier spirit creature?"

Lu Chi pondered for a moment. He might not be able to provide high-level magical artifacts or rare minerals, but when it came to herbs and spiritual plants, it wasn't difficult.

With a calm expression, he swept his hand across the storage bag, took out two cold jade boxes, and gently placed them on the wooden table.

With a light flick of the fingertip, the lid of the box opened with a click.

Inside the box on the left, a section of Crimson Blood Vine, about an inch long, lay quietly, its color dark red and brimming with vital energy; in the box on the right, three Ice Abyss Snow Lotus Seeds, translucent and exuding a chilling aura. The interplay of these two spiritual energies, one of ice and one of fire, added a touch of coolness and slight dryness to the room.

Old Gu's gaze swept over the two jade boxes. His withered fingers picked up the piece of Crimson Blood Vine and examined it for a moment before putting it down and nodding slightly.

"Crimson Blood Vine segments, Ice Abyss Snow Lotus seeds." Old Gu's tone was calm, yet revealed a hint of satisfaction. "They are of good age, with a restrained medicinal aroma, and the harvesting and preservation methods are quite appropriate."

For a Foundation Establishment cultivator like him, second-tier spiritual items were nothing rare, and were commonplace on Hundred Herbs Peak. However, these two medicinal herbs, one icy and one fiery, were of excellent quality, which just happened to suit that senior brother's taste for unorthodox pill formulas.

Old Gu didn't bother to find out how a rogue cultivator obtained such a spiritual object; he simply waved his sleeve and pocketed the jade box.

"You've managed to accumulate some valuable items while you've been wandering around."

Having said that, he gently pushed with his knuckles, steadily delivering the second-tier low-grade 'Exploding Flame Talisman' to Lu Chi, and calmly said:

"These two spiritual items are more than enough to exchange for this talisman. Although that senior brother has an eccentric temper, he wouldn't take advantage of a junior like you who has only reached the Qi Refining stage. I will accept this deal on his behalf."

Lu Chi carefully put the Blazing Flame Talisman into his bosom, stood up and bowed deeply: "Thank you for your kindness, Senior Uncle."

With this second-tier talisman as the reference for the [Burning Thought] deduction, he finally completed the last piece of the puzzle to break through to the second-tier talisman master level.