Cultivating immortality in the seas, I created an immortal island of eternal life.

"No, don't call me 'Senior Sister,' it feels really awkward." Ye Zi paused for a moment, then lowered her head, her voice even softer.

"We've all joined the sect, so we should address each other this way. Although we're of the same generation, the one who has achieved the most should come first." Gao Yao smiled and sat down opposite him on the stone platform.

Ye Zi didn't reply, but just lowered her head and continued drawing talismans. The tip of her brush moved across the spirit skin, and the spiritual power was output evenly. The talisman was completed in one go. When she finished drawing, a layer of light shone on the spirit skin and then disappeared.

She could easily create first-grade high-level talismans.

Gao Yao watched with some emotion. This girl's talisman-making skills were top-notch in the outer sect, but she was still so timid and couldn't even speak properly to people.

"Senior Sister Ye," Gao Yao spoke again, "I can never quite get the rhythm of the spiritual power output of this Earth Flow Wall Talisman right. Sometimes it's too fast, sometimes it's too slow, and I can't increase the success rate."

Ye Zi looked up at him, then lowered her head again: "Draw one, let me see."

Gao Yao took out the spirit-patterned brush and spirit leather from his bosom, and untied the prepared spirit ink from his waist. He took a deep breath and picked up the brush to write.

The first stroke went smoothly, but starting with the second stroke, the spiritual energy output became unstable, and the runes became sometimes dark and sometimes light. By the fourth stroke, a wisp of green smoke rose from the spirit skin, and the entire skin was ruined.

Gao Yao sighed and pushed the scrap leather aside.

Ye Zi looked at him, her lips moved as if she was carefully choosing her words.

"You're in too much of a rush." ​​Her voice was soft. "The patterns on the Earth Flow Wall Talisman are more complex than those on the Wooden Sword Talisman, and the rhythm of spiritual energy output is also slower. If you're always trying to be fast, you're more likely to make mistakes."

She paused, then added, "Also, your pen grip is incorrect. You're using too much force, and your wrist is stiff, so the spiritual energy doesn't flow smoothly to the pen tip."

If the other party hadn't pointed it out, Gao Yao wouldn't have noticed that his hand was trembling slightly from unconsciously exerting force.

"Watch me draw." Ye Zi picked up her spirit-patterned pen.

Although her movements were slow, she was confident and composed, and the talisman patterns flowed smoothly from the first stroke to the last, completed in one go.

As Gao Yao watched, he suddenly realized where he was lacking.

It's not about technique, it's about mindset.

Although he always warned himself not to be impatient, he could not control his subconscious eagerness to succeed, and thus lost the composure he should have when making talismans.

Ye Zi was different. When she made talismans, she was like a different person. She was calm and composed, and every stroke was steady and deliberate.

"Try again." Ye Zi pushed the spirit skin over.

Gao Yao took a deep breath, and this time he completely emptied his mind. His hand holding the pen loosened a bit, and spiritual energy slowly flowed out from the tip of the pen. He drew the runes stroke by stroke, unhurriedly.

Halfway through the drawing, my wrist trembled, a wisp of smoke rose from the surface of my brush, and it was ruined again.

But it was better than last time; at least we made a few more transactions.

"There's been progress," Ye Zi said softly.

Gao Yao nodded and continued.

One, two, three.

The discarded spirit skins were piled up on the table. Ye Zi was very patient. He drew one and she handed it to him, occasionally offering a few pointers.

On the seventh one, it finally came together.

The moment the brush touched the paper, a faint light shone on the spirit skin. The runes were clear and the spiritual power was contained, making it a qualified Earth Flow Wall Rune.

Gao Yao let out a long breath and leaned back in his chair.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Ye."

Ye Zi shook her head, lowered her head and continued drawing her talisman, but the tips of her ears turned red.

Looking at her, Gao Yao recalled that when they first met, the girl was just as shy, yet incredibly efficient when making talismans.

"Senior Sister Ye," Gao Yao began, "who taught you your talisman-making skills?"

Ye Zi paused for a moment, then said softly after a long pause, "With my father."

"Is your father also a talisman master?"

Ye Zi didn't answer, but simply nodded and continued drawing talismans.

Gao Yao could tell that she didn't want to say more, so he didn't press her further, but he was still puzzled about her past before her memories were erased.

The two sat there, each drawing their own talisman.

They exchanged a few words occasionally, mostly with Gao Yao asking questions and Ye Zi answering.

As the sun moved from east to west, the light outside the window dimmed.

Gao Yao stood up and stretched his stiff neck.

Today I drew about twenty first-grade mid-level talismans and succeeded in drawing four of them. The success rate was a bit higher than before, but it's still far behind Ye Zi's.

"Senior Sister Ye, I'll head back now."

Ye Zi nodded without looking up.

Gao Yao stopped at the door and turned to look at her.

I'll come again tomorrow.

Ye Zi paused slightly at the tip of her pen, then responded softly.

Gao Yao smiled, pushed open the door, and went out.

It was already dark when we got back to Turtle Reef Island.

Wu Ling surfaced from the bottom of the pond and glanced at him.

"Sage, are you in a good mood today?"

"Not bad."

Gao Yao squatted by the fishpond, watching the fish swimming in it. Several new batches of fry had been brought in recently, and three of them had already advanced to become spirit fish. They were of good quality and could fetch a good price.

He quickly realized that the upgrade materials for the fishpond and chicken coop were almost ready.

A second-tier fishpond requires a hundred years of lifespan, one hundred and twenty low-grade spirit stones, thirty green bamboo stalks, and the carving of a spirit-gathering array.

He had long since saved enough for a hundred years of lifespan, and he was not short of spirit stones either. Qing Kezhu had bought a batch of them from the market.

A second-tier chicken coop requires a hundred years of lifespan, sixty low-grade spirit stones, thirty rotten spirit grasses, and also the carving of a spirit-gathering array.

The Rotten Spirit Grass was hard to find. He asked Old Man Ma to inquire in the market for several days before finally getting some from an old fisherman. The quality was a bit poor, but it was barely enough.

As for the most difficult one, the Spirit Gathering Array, with Di Yin's guidance and the enhancement of the Enlightenment Chamber, I have already grasped the basics.

Gao Yao stood up, walked into the Enlightenment Room, took out the book "Array Collection" from his pocket, and turned to the page on the Spirit Gathering Array.

With his previous learning and the added benefit of the Enlightenment Chamber, he now has a general understanding of these formation diagrams.

But theoretical discussions and actual deployment are two different things.

He plans to find a place on the island to practice first, and then carve on the fishpond and chicken coop once he is skilled.

Gao Yao walked around the island and finally chose a shady open space.

It wasn't large, about two zhang square, with reefs blocking it on three sides, and only the east side facing the sea.

He took out several low-grade spirit stones from his storage bag and, following the instructions in the "Array Formation Collection," first determined the location of the array base.

The concept of formations may seem mysterious, but it's essentially about harnessing the power of heaven and earth.

The core of the Spirit Gathering Array is to guide spiritual energy from all directions to converge at the center of the array.

Gao Yao squatted on the ground and carved an array diagram on the ground with stones, then tried to place the spirit stones.

The array was activated, and the spirit stone lit up briefly before going dark.

It didn't work out.

Gao Yao frowned and checked the array diagram, finding that two nodes were misaligned.

He readjusted and tried again.

This time the flow of spiritual energy was smoother, but it was still intermittent, like a blocked river.

He checked again and found that the connection order of several nodes was wrong.

The spiritual energy of the Spirit Gathering Array does not flow from the base of the array to the nodes, but rather converges from the nodes to the base.

Gao Yao remembered what Di Yin had said and reversed the direction of the spiritual energy guidance at those nodes.

Try again.

The spirit stones lit up, and spiritual energy flowed from the nodes to the array base, and then from the array base to each node, forming a complete cycle. On the ground at the center of the array, a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy could be felt.

It became.

Although it was just a very simple spirit-gathering array, with a range of less than ten feet and a negligible increase in spiritual energy concentration, it at least proved that he had grasped the basics.

Gao Yao squatted in the center of the formation, feeling the fluctuations of spiritual energy, and his anxious heart finally felt a little more at ease.

......