Starting as a Talisman Master

With the transaction settled, Old Man Gu carefully tucked the two jade boxes into his sleeve.

Lu Chi was about to bow and take his leave when he was called back.

"Wait a minute."

Old Gu picked up the leftover tea from the table, his amiable expression vanishing, replaced by a deep and scrutinizing gaze:

"Although you have only been a disciple for a little over half a year, your pure magical power and the strength of your fifth-level body tempering at the training ground a few days ago truly impressed me. With such a foundation, there are some things that should be planned for soon."

Lu Chi stopped, his expression turning serious: "Please instruct me, Senior Uncle."

"Every five years, my Taiqing Palace holds a grand competition for the outer disciples of the seven peaks," Old Man Gu said slowly. "Judging by the time, the next competition will be held when you have been a disciple for three years."

The outer gate competition.

Lu Chi's heart stirred slightly.

In the past, in the market town of Qingque Mountain, he once peeled away the patterns from a broken, flaming short blade and accidentally glimpsed a remnant of the Taiqing era.

The two outer disciples in the illusion were hastily refining their weapons, disregarding the timing and intensity, all in order to rush to the grand competition to compete for the elixir.

At that time, he was still a mortal looking up to the immortal sect, never imagining that he would be truly in the midst of it today.

Unaware of Lu Chi's thoughts, Old Man Gu continued, "This is where the outer disciples of the Seven Peaks compete and prove their Dao. Anyone who has been a disciple for three years can enter the arena. If one can outdo the others and secure a place in the top three, the sect will bestow upon them a Foundation Establishment Pill."

Upon hearing the words "Foundation Building Pill," Lu Chi remained unmoved, his heart completely at ease.

For ordinary Qi Refining cultivators, this pill is a treasure they would fight for even at the cost of their lives.

However, he possesses the ancient formula and has personally cultivated auxiliary medicines in the spiritual field, which he can refine in the future.

A tree that stands out in the forest will surely be felled by the wind. To fight to the death with the elite of the Seven Peaks in front of everyone for a pill that can be refined at any time, and to needlessly expose all one's trump cards, is truly putting the cart before the horse.

Upon thinking of this, Lu Chi pondered for a moment, then cupped his hands and asked, "May I ask, Senior Uncle, is it mandatory for all disciples to participate in the outer sect competition?"

"That's not true." Old Gu shook his head and said calmly, "Whether or not one goes on stage is entirely voluntary; the sect does not force anyone."

After speaking, he glanced around and saw that Lu Chi's expression had relaxed slightly, showing no sign of excitement or anticipation. He narrowed his eyes and asked curiously:

"Ordinary disciples, upon hearing of the Foundation Establishment Pill, would all have their eyes light up with greed, eager to jump into the fray and fight immediately. You, with your body tempered to the fifth level, could easily suppress even Zhao Ya, so why are you completely uninterested in such a fortuitous opportunity?"

Lu Chi lowered his head and composed himself, his tone extremely sincere and respectful:

"Senior Uncle, you flatter me. Taiqing Palace is full of hidden talents. My meager skills were only achieved by luck thanks to the advantage of my magic weapon. If I were to actually go up to the Seven Peaks Arena and encounter the elites of each peak who have cultivated for many years, I'm afraid I would be outmatched and would only bring shame to the prestige of our Hundred Herbs Peak."

Old Gu gave him a deep look, snorted coldly, as if he had seen through his excuse of hiding his true strength, but he was too lazy to point it out.

"You can certainly avoid the arena," Old Man Gu's tone suddenly changed, his face becoming even more stern, "but what happens after the competition is something you can't avoid."

"According to the laws of Taiqing, once a newly recruited disciple has completed his three-year confinement period, he will be considered to have completely cleared himself of any suspicion of being a spy. At the end of the Grand Competition, all those who have completed three years must accept the sect's decree to descend the mountain for training and carry out the mission of eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path. This is an ironclad rule that allows no excuses whatsoever."

"Exterminate demons and protect the righteous path..." Upon hearing this, Lu Chi lowered his eyelids slightly, his heart filled with trepidation.

The cultivation world is vast, and the so-called demonic path is not merely about those who act eccentrically, but about those who are utterly irrational and plundering.

Demonic cultivators disregard heavenly principles, neglect rigorous cultivation, and specialize in extracting and refining souls. A sinister shortcut to blood-drinking.

In order to break through to a higher realm, they would often sacrifice blood to mortal cities or ambush fellow cultivators to replenish their resources.

Their methods are ruthless and treacherous, like a venomous snake lurking in a dark abyss. Once they clash, it is a life-or-death battle where they will stop at nothing and there is absolutely no room for maneuver.

"Disciple understands. I will definitely stay behind closed doors for the next three years to cultivate diligently and hone my skills in protecting the Dao, and I will never fail my master's guidance."

Lu Chi responded respectfully.

There are still three years until the time to descend the mountain.

With the support of the second-tier spiritual field in Courtyard No. 7 of the Jia-class, and by refining pills on his own, three years would be enough for him to hone his water-attribute magic power to a higher level. It would be a natural progression for him to steadily advance his cultivation to the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Today, he has acquired this second-tier Explosive Flame Talisman. If he can use [Burning Thought] to decipher the profound mysteries of the Spirit Chapter and join the ranks of second-tier talisman masters, then the trump cards he holds to defeat enemies and save his life will surely increase several times over. Therefore, he still has confidence in his heart.

……

……

Back at Courtyard No. 7, Lu Chi skillfully activated the multiple layers of isolation formations inside and outside the courtyard, and went straight into the meditation room, where he sat cross-legged on the futon.

With a flick of his sleeve, the second-tier low-grade "Explosive Flame Talisman" that he had obtained from Old Man Gu landed steadily on the bluestone table.

Immediately afterwards, a faint light flashed in Lu Chi's palm, and a translucent talisman brush, exuding a faint chilling aura, appeared in his hand. It was the "Cold Cicada Brush," a top-grade magic weapon that he had commissioned at great expense.

Then, he took out a stack of blank talisman papers gleaming with a dark red glow from his storage bag, along with a white jade cauldron filled with viscous red talisman sand. (The author "Xian Guan Wan Shui Yan" recommends reading "Starting Cultivation from a Talisman Master" using the "Renren Bookstore" APP, which can be downloaded and installed.)

With everything prepared, Lu Chi took a deep breath, clearing his mind of all distracting thoughts about going down the mountain to train with the sect, and his mind returned to a state of tranquility.

His eyes were slightly closed, and the nascent divine consciousness between his brows quietly surged, like thousands of invisible spider silks, slowly probing into the Explosive Flame Talisman on the table.

As his divine sense seeped into the texture of the armored rhinoceros hide, the "spiritual inscription" that was originally just a complex ink mark to the naked eye suddenly magnified infinitely in his mind.

Hundreds and thousands of tiny spiritual energy nodes, like stars in the night sky, are interconnected by hundreds of hidden spiritual energy threads, forming a precise and violent miniature killing array.

"Truly profound..."

Lu Chi felt a slight tremor in his heart.

Such intricate array patterns are impossible to replicate with the naked eye and ordinary understanding, even if one spends a lifetime trying to imitate them.

But he did not back down. With a determined thought, he quietly activated the [Burning Thought] talent deep within his professional panel.

In an instant, a violent feeling of mental exhaustion surged into my mind, as if an unnamed fire had been ignited in my sea of ​​consciousness.

However, through this miraculous power of "capturing the essence and returning to the brush," the originally obscure and tangled spiritual structure within the Explosive Flame Talisman began to unravel in his deductions.

Which node needs to be established with divine sense first? Which thread of spiritual energy needs to be carefully outlined? Which pivot point needs to be carefully controlled and transformed?

All sorts of extremely hidden second-tier talismanic key points, under the forceful breaking of the situation by [Burning Thought], transformed into incredibly clear trajectories, which were firmly imprinted deep in his memory.

Lu Chi closed his eyes and deduced, and the complex second-order spiritual chapters, as intricate as a starry sea, appeared in his sea of ​​consciousness in every detail.

However, the price for forcibly breaking through the Foundation Establishment talisman by using [Burning Thought] is terrifying.

He looked inward and felt that his sea of ​​consciousness was almost dry. A deep sense of dizziness and weakness surged over him like a tide, and he almost fainted.

Even though his cultivation has now reached the seventh level of Qi Refining and he has even nurtured the rudimentary form of divine consciousness, trying to forcefully unravel a second-tier spiritual chapter across a major realm is still like an ant trying to shake a tree, almost draining his entire foundation.

Lu Chi dared not be presumptuous, so he immediately calmed his mind, closed his eyes, and fell asleep on the spot.

This period of rest lasted for three days and three nights.

Once his mind was clear again and his energy was full, he sat down and grasped the superior magic weapon, the Cold Cicada Brush.

The cool, refreshing air seeped into my meridians through my fingertips, cleansing my mind and spirit.

Lu Chi held his breath and focused his mind, slowly channeling the long-lasting water-elemental magic power in his dantian into the brush. His divine consciousness between his brows transformed into an invisible needle, all converging at the tip of the brush.

"Use divine sense as the needle, and spiritual power as the thread."

He silently chanted in his heart, and the brushstrokes, as heavy as a thousand pounds, fell heavily onto the talisman paper.

In the art of alchemy, among the innate talents and attributes bestowed upon him by the panel, [Mysterious Fire] is used to control temperature, and [Formula Understanding] is used to understand principles; both are auxiliary abilities and cannot guarantee the successful formation of the elixir.

Therefore, when he was refining top-grade elixirs, he repeatedly failed and had to spend a lot of spiritual materials to try and improve repeatedly.

The way of talismans is completely different.

Once the thought of burning is activated, the intention is drawn back to the brush, as if guided by divine inspiration.

Those obscure spiritual energy nodes and hidden wisps of magical power, under the forceful pull of their innate talents, directly transformed into primal instincts. As long as their minds remained focused, this talent for forcibly breaking through the impasse would provide a solid foundation, allowing absolutely no deviation.

However, creating talismans beyond one's rank is not something that can be accomplished in a day.

His divine sense, like a needle, pierced the tough hide of the beast, forcibly imprinting the frenzied fire-elemental essence within. Each stroke was like extracting bone and marrow.

Thousands of tiny nodes intertwine within a small space, connecting end to end.

Lu Chi sat motionless at his desk, without sleep or rest. When his mental energy and magical power began to wane, he would forcefully swallow pills to prolong his life.

After enduring ten days of such arduous work, a violent miniature killing array was finally constructed inside the talisman.

With the final stroke, the brush suddenly lifts away, as if lifting a cicada.

"Buzz—"

The talisman on the table shone brightly with crimson light, which then completely receded. Deep within the talisman, a perfectly formed second-tier spirit seal lay dormant, its terrifying spiritual pressure identical to the original manuscript given by Old Man Gu.

[Profession "Charm Master" Experience +10]

Once completed.

Drawing talismans across vast realms grants an abundance of experience points, comparable to drawing several top-tier talismans.

Lu Chi put down the talisman brush, his body swayed suddenly, and he exhaled a long breath of dry, turbid air.

A tearing pain shot through the depths of his brow, and all his magical energy was gone.

Not only that, but even the meridians in my body were experiencing tingling and stinging pains.

"To create a rune beyond one's level has resulted in such a severe backlash. If one were to force another stroke, it would surely damage the very foundation of the rune."

Lu Chi secretly calmed the turbulent blood and qi within his body, and had already made up his mind.

"Very well, with these two second-tier talismans as trump cards, it's enough to defend myself. As for the rest, we can deal with them when my cultivation reaches the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining."

The losses were enormous, nearly destroying the foundation of his cultivation, but the goal was finally achieved. The threshold of becoming a second-tier talisman master has now been completely crossed.

Author Xian Guan Wan Shuiyan's "Starting Cultivation from a Talisman Master" awaits you on Cola Novels.