A daily divination, from family tortoise shells to immortal clans.

This incantation is essential for anyone practicing the art of talismans. It is the inner cultivation method of the talismanic path, containing the principle of the unity of heaven and man.

Whether one can comprehend it depends entirely on the cultivator themselves.

Chen Qingmo did not immediately draw the talisman; instead, he began to softly recite the incantation for the talisman.

For him, reciting this mantra could calm his mind and make drawing talismans easier.

A quarter of an hour later, Chen Qingmo cleared his mind of distractions and chose the Wind Control Talisman to break through to the second rank of Talisman Dao.

On the stone table in front of them were spirit ink made from a mixture of sable blood and cinnabar, and a purple brush that had been exchanged at the Treasure Pavilion.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Qingmo dipped his brush in spiritual ink and slowly channeled spiritual energy to the tip of the brush.

The runes began, the strokes were fairly smooth, and the vermilion ink shimmered with light.

When he had drawn one-third of the way through, a resistance suddenly appeared. He increased his spiritual power output, and the talisman paper made a hissing sound and was burned.

Failed.

Chen Qingmo's face paled slightly, not because he was discouraged by the failed drawing, but because his mental energy had been greatly depleted due to his intense concentration.

"At this rate, it can only be drawn a dozen or so times before the divine consciousness can no longer sustain it."

Chen Qingmo pondered why the drawing had been interrupted, but couldn't find the key reason.

"Let's keep trying and find the problems in practice."

He picked up his pen again, focusing on the spiritual energy fluctuations in the talisman paper and the handwriting.

After nearly ten attempts, Chen Qingmo was finally able to continue drawing the talismans.

But at this point, his spiritual consciousness had already reached its limit, so he began to meditate to recover.

Two days later.

Chen Qingmo's palms, holding the purple brush, were damp with fine beads of sweat; only one more stroke of the Wind Control Talisman was needed to complete the task.

Carefully controlling the spiritual energy, the vermilion spiritual ink flowed slowly.

Chen Qingmo breathed heavily as he finished the last stroke.

The talisman suddenly burst into light for a moment, then slowly receded, leaving behind a faint blue glow.

Become!

Chen Qingmo was overjoyed. He had entered the second-grade talisman master realm and would be able to draw more after becoming more proficient.

After eating a bowl of spirit rice to fill his stomach, he continued to devote himself to studying the art of talismans.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Qingjie, has Lao Liu not come out of seclusion yet?"

A woman dressed in a light blue ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) with delicate features asked Chen Qingjie. She was Chen Qingru, the third in the Qing generation of the clan, and the sixth person she mentioned was Chen Qingmo.

"Sister Xiaoru, Brother Mo only activated the soundproofing array this time, so we can't force our way in. It wouldn't be good if we disturbed him."

Chen Qingjie was somewhat helpless. Ten days had passed since Chen Qingmo went into seclusion and had not come out once. He had only heard from the Eighth Elder that Chen Qingmo had borrowed several books on array formations.

"The Fifth Elder said he still needs his help to set up the formation, and it's not like he's breaking through a cultivation level, so why has he been in seclusion for so long?"

Chen Qingru was originally stationed in Xinghe Village, but this month, other members of her generation took over, so she returned to Taixuan Mountain.

Upon arriving at the Law Enforcement Hall today, the Fifth Elder urged him to come to Chen Qingmo's cave to see if he had emerged from seclusion.

"That brat didn't even leave a message, leaving us all anxious."

Chen Qingru complained, but then she heard the stone door of the cave creak, and Chen Qingmo walked out looking haggard.

"Haaah~~~!"

Unable to resist yawning, Chen Qingmo looked at the two people in front of his cave with some confusion.

"Brother Mo, why don't you take care of yourself?"

Chen Qingjie noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes and a light stubble on his face, making him look unkempt.

Chen Qingmo casually cast a Water Mirror spell and was startled when he saw his own appearance.

He secluded himself for ten days, spending all his time except for eating and meditating, constantly refining talismans, and paying no attention to himself.

However, to his delight, in addition to the Wind Control Talisman, he also successfully crafted two other types of talismans.

There is a talisman called the Vajra Talisman, which, when affixed to a cultivator's body, can withstand an attack from a cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Another type is the Fire Separation Talisman, which is similar to the Fire Separation Technique in the Small Five Elements Array. Both of them unleash a fire python and are offensive talismans. This is Chen Qingmo's strongest killing move.

After shaving off his stubble, Chen Qingmo looked much cleaner, but the dark circles under his eyes wouldn't go away, a result of physical exhaustion.

"Third Sister, Qingjie, why are you both in front of my cave?"

"You brat, you've been in seclusion for so long. The Fifth Elder is anxiously looking for you. He said so on the way."

Chen Qingru said irritably and turned to head towards the Hall of Law Enforcement.

Chen Qingmo quickly followed and learned the whole story after meeting the Fifth Elder.

It turns out that we need his help to set up a small trapping formation in front of the mountain gate.

The clan's spirit rice has been harvested and all milled into spirit rice for storage.

The elders have already interrogated the Wu family member a few days ago and found out that the Wu family wanted to seize the Chen family's spiritual rice and that they might attack at any time.

The clan has few formations, and those that can defend against enemies are even rarer; this trapping formation is used for this purpose.

Chen Qingmo spent the whole morning working with the Fifth Elder to set up four small trapping formations in front of the mountain gate.

After completing the formation, he did not stay in the mountain, but instead used the Wind Control Talisman to head towards the Stone Forest.

Chen Qingmo wanted to test the power of the talisman, so he needed to find a mid-level first-tier demon beast.

Hiding quietly in the tree, Chen Qingmo spotted a golden thread rat foraging for food.

Activating the Vajra Talisman, Chen Qingmo jumped down from the tree and landed in front of the Golden Thread Rat.

Upon seeing a tall figure suddenly appear, the golden-threaded rat was on high alert.

Sensing that the other party's aura was similar to its own, the golden-threaded rat stretched out its somewhat timid body, its two incisors flashing with golden light, and bit straight at Chen Qingmo.

"Click!"

A crisp sound rang out, and the golden-striped rat squeaked and howled, a small piece of one of its incisors breaking off.

Although this golden thread rat is only equivalent to the fourth level of Qi Refining cultivation, its incisors are the hardest part of its body.

Seeing that the effect was good, Chen Qingmo activated the Fire Separation Talisman to release two fire pythons.

Upon seeing this, the golden thread mouse immediately ran away.

These kinds of monsters are naturally afraid of fire and their natural enemy, snakes. Now that they have seen two fire pythons, they no longer dare to launch an attack.

The fire python relentlessly pursued him, even spitting out small fireballs from its mouth.

A wave of heat hit, and the golden-striped mouse felt a burning pain on its back; its skin was already torn and bleeding. Not daring to delay any longer, it darted into its underground burrow.

The fire python was quite large, hovering above the cave before disappearing after a short while.

Chen Qingmo was somewhat surprised, not expecting the golden thread rat to be so fast.

Combined with its yellowish fur, it really does look like a golden thread running through it.

After gaining a general understanding of the talismans, Chen Qingmo set off back to Mount Taixuan.

His tireless research was worthwhile; he will be able to put up a fight against those at the fifth level of Qi Refining.

The time I faced Jie Xiu was purely due to the Golden Spirit Talisman, which was a surprise attack and didn't count as real combat power. Only talismans that can be mass-produced by oneself can give people peace of mind.

Upon entering the cave, a wave of exhaustion washed over Chen Qingmo, who could no longer hold on and lay down on the bed to sleep until dawn.

He felt refreshed when he woke up the next day.

After quickly tidying up, he headed to where Chen Qingru was refining pills.

As they approached the alchemy room, a medicinal fragrance wafted over, instantly dispelling any lingering discomfort Chen Qingmo might have felt.

After hearing that it was quiet inside, Chen Qingmo gently knocked on the door.

"Come in."

After pushing open the door, Chen Qingmo saw Chen Qingru putting a few pills into a small porcelain bottle.

"Third sister, what kind of pill is this? It seems to have a better calming effect than the Mind-Clearing Talisman."

"The Tranquilizing Pill is, after all, a mid-grade first-level pill, so it is definitely stronger than the first-grade Clear Mind Talisman."

Chen Qingru broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refining about a month earlier than Chen Qingmo. Previously, in Xinghe Village, the spiritual energy was relatively thin, and her cultivation was not completely stable.

"Seeing how haggard you looked in your seclusion, I was afraid I would follow in your footsteps, so I refined a few pills in case of emergency."

She also plans to go into seclusion for a few days to hone her skills.

Chen Qingmo chuckled and scratched his head somewhat sheepishly:

"Third sister, could I have one of these pills?"