One divination a day, a trainee celestial master

Jiang Shou stared at the four lines of eerie writing on the Suihan Order for a long time before letting out a long sigh.

It was hard to tell whether that sigh was filled with disappointment or a deep sense of relief and relief.

"Alright, what's meant to be will be. Since the founder insists I wade into these muddy waters, then let's do it!"

Jiang Shou was a man of action; once he made up his mind, he stopped wasting time internally. He quickly put away the Winter Solstice Decree, turned around, and sat down at the old mahogany desk in the side room.

"This [Summoning Talisman] requires true essence to enhance the brushstrokes, but I only have a lemon-sized amount of true essence in my dantian right now. Who knows how much it will consume to draw it once?"

Jiang Shou pondered in his heart, "I absolutely cannot use my true essence to draw right away. If I make a mistake in the middle, not only will my true essence be forcibly interrupted and suffer a backlash, but my resources cannot withstand the depletion from a few failures."

Not only can he not afford to consume his true essence, but he also can't afford to consume the top-grade yellow paper and pure cinnabar that he bought yesterday for 1,580 yuan!

Jiang Shou thought for a moment and pulled out the cheap yellow paper and ordinary cinnabar he had bought on his first trip down the mountain from the bottom of the drawer.

"Let's practice with these cheap items first, and memorize these complex runes first!"

Jiang Shou held his breath and picked up an ordinary brush. Referring to the intricate and labyrinthine diagrams of the "Soul Summoning Talisman" in "Shouyi Temple: Introduction to the Three Arts," he began the tedious task of copying each stroke.

This soul-summoning talisman is more than ten times more difficult than the previous soul-soothing talisman. It contains too many subtle twists and hidden talismanic elements, and it is easy to draw it wrong if you are not careful.

The first one was ruined. The second one was ruined. ...

Three hours later.

The wastebasket next to the desk was already overflowing with crumpled yellow paper.

Jiang Shou finally stopped writhing in his aching wrist and let out a long breath. On the table, two [Soul Summoning Talismans], though not imbued with true essence and devoid of any spiritual energy, lay there quietly, their lines perfectly aligned.

Jiang Shou put down his brush, rubbed his throbbing temples, and a strange light flashed in his eyes.

"If this were me two weeks ago, even if I had three days and three nights, I absolutely could not have drawn such a complex pattern perfectly in one stroke!"

He felt the terrifying transformation of his body and mind more and more clearly. Whether it was the extreme focus of his consciousness, the precise control of his arms and wrists like a mechanical arm, or the coordination between his brain and hands, Jiang Shou at this moment was completely different from the delivery guy he had just returned to Cuiwei Mountain.

"Comrade Jiang, Comrade Jiang, that joke we made at the dinner table seems to have come true..." Jiang Shou looked at his hands and muttered to himself, "It seems that this abbot... has really embarked on a path of cultivation that is different from that of ordinary people."

Once you've mastered the draft, it's time to get serious!

Jiang Shou swept all the cheap goods on the table into the trash can. He took out the top-quality yellow paper he had bought at great expense yesterday, dissolved the box of fine cinnabar ground from natural minerals, and finally, solemnly took out the pure handmade purple-haired brush.

Everything is ready.

Jiang Shou didn't rush to write. Instead, he pushed open the door and went into the courtyard. Under the midday sun, he closed his eyes and, following the mantra of the "Guardian of Oneness" method, practiced breathing exercises with utmost seriousness, completing a full cycle of the Great Heavenly Circuit.

Until you feel that your physical condition, energy and spirit have all reached a perfect state of relaxation and peak focus.

Jiang Shou returned to his desk and sat down.

He picked up the expensive mixed-hair brush and dipped it fully into the bright red cinnabar dish.

"Hoo—" Jiang Shou closed his eyes, his mind sinking instantly.

Consciousness arrived at the ethereal dantian in the lower abdomen, accurately capturing the slowly rotating ball of warm true essence.

"rise!"

Jiang Shou gave a low shout in his heart. Under his mental control, the solidified true essence was like being peeled back from a cocoon, separating out a wisp of pure energy.

This wisp of energy, like a warm thread invisible to the naked eye, quickly ascended along Jiang Shou's meridians to his right shoulder, traveled to his arm, and finally emerged from his palm, pouring into the mixed-hair brush he held in his hand without any obstruction!

"It's a success!"

Jiang Shou suddenly opened his eyes. At the very instant his true energy connected with the brush tip, a miraculous scene unfolded!

The tip of that ordinary mixed-hair brush now faintly shimmered with a subtle yet real glow! And the fine cinnabar on the tip, stimulated by true energy, turned an even more vibrant red, as if it were about to drip blood, and even possessed a bewitching allure that was unsettling!

Without further hesitation, Jiang Shou's eyes shone brightly, and with a sudden jerk of his wrist, the tip of his pen landed heavily on the fine yellow paper!

"Whoosh—"

This time, the drawing of the talisman was different from any other time before.

Jiang Shou not only had to maintain extreme concentration to copy the intricate runes, but also had to divert the other half of his mind to maintain the stable transmission of the "true essence thread" from his dantian to the tip of his brush!

Trying to do two things at once is extremely mentally taxing.

Time ticked by. Jiang Shou's wrist moved swiftly across the yellow paper, but beads of sweat began to uncontrollably appear on his forehead. His face gradually turned pale.

"Stay calm... Don't let it break..." Jiang Shou gritted his teeth, feeling his true energy being frantically drained away by the calligraphy brush in his hand.

Almost a full quarter of an hour had passed!

As Jiang Shou's right hand trembled slightly, he finished outlining the last obscure talisman core of the [Soul Summoning Talisman], and then lifted it upwards to complete the final stroke.

"Buzz—!!!"

A powerful surge of energy erupted from the tabletop!

On the newly drawn "Soul Summoning Talisman," all the intricate and complex vermilion lines suddenly burst forth with a dazzling light, as if they had been connected to a high-voltage power line!

The blinding white light made Jiang Shou instinctively squint.

The light lasted for less than two seconds before abruptly receding and disappearing completely. The talisman on the table also returned to its calm state.

"Phew...phew...it's done!"

Jiang Shou collapsed onto the armchair, completely exhausted, panting heavily, his clothes almost soaked with sweat.

He forced himself to endure the extreme exhaustion from the depletion of his soul, straightened up, and carefully picked up the [Soul Summoning Talisman] with two fingers, examining it closely.

This talisman has been completely transformed. Looking at it through the window in the sunlight, the cinnabar runes on the yellow paper are no longer just on the surface, but seem to be deeply imprinted into the texture of the paper. Through the light shining through the yellow paper, one can even see that within those cinnabar lines, there seems to be a layer of constantly flowing, mysterious light, radiating a powerful suction force!

"No wonder it took me so much mana to create this masterpiece..."

While marveling at the extraordinary nature of the talisman, Jiang Shou quickly closed his eyes and examined his dantian internally.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Shou's heart bled.

"Holy crap!" The original round and full true essence, the size of a lemon, has now shrunk by more than half, and is only half the size of a lemon!

"He just drew a talisman, and it drained half of my mana bar?!"

Jiang Shou looked at the soul-summoning talisman in his hand, feeling like crying but having no tears.

"Sigh..." Jiang Shou sighed helplessly. "I saw it at the hospital yesterday too. Chen Sancan's wife is a poor woman with a leg disability. The family of four relies on his meager salary as a security guard. This family doesn't look like they can afford to give much incense money. This deal is destined to be a loss."

"Consider it accumulating good karma, doing free work for the ancestors."

Jiang Shou shook his head, carefully folded the extremely precious [Soul Summoning Talisman], which he had obtained at the cost of half his life, and put it close to his body into his inner pocket.

There's no time to lose; now that the talisman has been drawn, we must act quickly.

Yesterday, outside the hospital's ICU, he had it all figured out: he absolutely couldn't force his way into the ICU to burn talismans and summon spirits! He had to go to Chen Sancan's house first, explain the situation, and get his wife's consent and cooperation. With his family's protection, he wouldn't be taken to a mental hospital by the doctors and security guards while performing his rituals in the ward.

"The old lady yesterday said that Chen Sancan is the third son of the Chen family in the eastern suburbs of the county. With this information, it shouldn't be difficult to find him if we ask around in the villages in the eastern suburbs."

Jiang Shou opened the wardrobe and took out the expensive, high-quality cyan Taoist robe. "Luckily, the old man left behind this robe, which is made of excellent material. It doesn't wrinkle easily no matter how much I rub it, otherwise its prestige would be greatly diminished."

To make it easier to gather information, Jiang Shou didn't wear the Taoist robe directly. He still wore his ordinary T-shirt and jeans, stuffing the Taoist robe and the old wooden compass into his backpack.

It was 2:30 PM. Jiang Shou mounted the brand-new blue three-wheeled motorcycle, twisted the throttle, and roared down Cuiwei Mountain, heading straight for the eastern suburbs of Qiyun County.