Chapter 100: Return to the Spirit Talisman Residence

The Palace Master was filled with countless doubts upon hearing this.

"Can you still analyze it despite never having seen it before? Do you even hear the grandiose claims you're making?"

In her mind, she was skeptical. With her level of expertise, she could only recognize about twenty of the talisman symbols given by the Grand Palace Master. Yet Lu An had nearly a hundred symbols.

Could it be that your mastery of talisman arts surpasses mine?

What she didn't know was that this problem was unrelated to the mastery of talismans. It purely tested one's understanding of the world's primordial energy, using the unique aura of these talismans to make distinctions. Those who started by breaking down the strokes had already gone down the wrong path. Only by having a deep understanding of the world's primordial energy and the talisman aura could one hope to enter the realm of talisman laws. This was the purpose of the current assessment.

The Palace Master took Lu An's answer and the more she looked, the more astonished she became. She already knew the answer to this assessment, and Lu An's response was almost word-for-word correct. Except for a few talismans he claimed not to recognize, he had accurately written out all the remaining symbols.

She found it hard to believe and suddenly had a humorous thought.

"Could it be that the esteemed senior wanted Lu An to pass the assessment and thus revealed the questions in advance?"

Upon thinking of this, she shook her head vigorously.

"Impossible. With that esteemed senior's influence, if they wanted Lu An to participate in the Shui Tian Law Conference, there would be no need for such trouble."

"Moreover, the senior is not the kind of person to act in this manner."

With this possibility ruled out, only one possibility seemed to remain.

Lu An had answered the question through his own skill.

Understanding this, the Palace Master's gaze toward Lu An changed.

"Indeed, as someone valued by that esteemed senior, he is truly a prodigious talent."

The others also expressed their admiration. They could barely recognize a few talismans, and the gap between them and Lu An was immense. They understood why Lu An was chosen as a disciple by the Nascent Soul Elder rather than them.

"Congratulations, Senior Lu, on obtaining a spot in the Shui Tian Law Conference."

"Senior Lu, I am thoroughly impressed with your mastery of talismans!"

…

Lu An shook his head and remained modest.

He had merely a deeper understanding of talisman arts, while the others were still fixated on the surface of the talismans, naturally unable to solve the problem. However, this question seemed to have pointed him toward the direction of the talisman path. Combining this with his earlier guesses about the Grand Palace Master's identity, Lu An felt even more certain.

"According to previous Shui Tian Law Conference questions, such a difficult problem would not have been asked. It must have been changed at the last minute."

"Could it really be the case that it was arranged by my master's wife?"

"But what could be her purpose? To prevent me from participating in the Shui Tian Law Conference or to assist me in seeing the direction of the talisman world?"

Though they had never met, he had learned from his master and Senior Brother Ji that his master's wife's mastery of talismans was no less than his master's.

But how did she know I was going to the Shui Tian Law Conference? Did Senior Brother Ji accidentally let it slip?

He shook his head. There were too many questions about this matter, and without any clues, it was meaningless to speculate. He could only take things one step at a time.

With the spot settled, all that remained was to wait for the departure date.

According to the Palace Master, as they needed to wait for the other halls to finalize their spots and depart together, the exact time was not yet decided.

The Dan Hall and Qi Hall had more time-consuming and labor-intensive assessments, which would likely take a while.

But there was no need to worry. When the time came, the Talisman Hall would send someone to notify him.

Under these circumstances, Lu An had to return to his residence to wait.

A few days later, the teleportation array in his residence was finally completed.

A large crowd gathered there, all with excited expressions.

Lu An had not returned to the Spirit Talisman Residence for a long time and had been missing it. How could he miss this opportunity now? Moreover, there was still plenty of time before the Talisman Hall's departure day, so he could return and take a look.

He stepped into the teleportation array first, and Old Beggar also arrived at this time.

"Master, are you going back too?"

"Yes, as a Nascent Soul Elder, how can I stay at the branch?"

Lu An smiled slightly, knowing he was joking. With his master's nature, he would not care about the branch or headquarters; clearly, he was concerned about Lu An.

After all, the remnants of the Fang family were still outside. While others were not worth worrying about, the Core Formation elder of the Fang family could not be ignored. The Prefect had already sent people to exterminate them, but it was unclear how it was going.

Lu An pondered for a moment and said, "It's just as well that Master is going back. Uncle Gu and Senior Mo have entered the Extreme Secret Realm, leaving the Three Talismans Sect headquarters vacant. Master is needed to oversee it."

Old Beggar nodded and stepped into the teleportation array. The two of them vanished in a flash of light.

At the Spirit Talisman Residence, Bai Sheng was in the secret room practicing. Since Lu An left, he had become the acting manager of the Spirit Talisman Residence.

Fortunately, his mastery of talismans was good, and with the help of Shen Mi, Zhao Wenliang, and others, he managed to keep the business of the Spirit Talisman Residence afloat.

Now, they had come to regard this place as their home, spending their days here, either drawing talismans or cultivating. Under such circumstances, their progress was also significant.

The sales work in the main hall was handled by a group of disciples from the Three Talismans Sect. They were responsible for it, and their wages were settled with sect contribution points, making it a desirable task in the sect.

After all, this task was not dangerous, the rewards were substantial, and most importantly, it allowed them to interact with "important figures" of the Three Talismans Sect.

Everyone in the Three Talismans Sect knew that the Spirit Talisman Residence was founded by Lu An, Bai Sheng was Lu An's disciple, and now there was also a Nascent Soul ancestor, so their status naturally rose.

"Knock, knock, knock…"

The sound of knocking on the door came, and Bai Sheng frowned slightly and opened his eyes.

"Didn't I already say that when practicing, not to disturb me unless it's important?"

He opened the door with a creak, and a familiar figure appeared before him.

Seeing Lu An, he was instantly startled and exclaimed, "Master, you're back!"

"Ancestor, you're here too!"

Lu An nodded and smiled, "You've been quite temperamental in a few months."

Bai Sheng awkwardly scratched his head. However, his shout had woken others in the secret rooms, who all came out to see what was happening.

"Lu An."

"Lu An, when did you return?"

"Mr. Lu."

Zhao Wenliang, Gu Yuer, Shen Mi, Lu Xuan…

Looking at these familiar faces, Lu An's lips curled up slightly. It was only at this moment that he realized what the branch of the Three Talismans Sect had been missing.

It was this feeling of having friends and family gathered together, without any reservations—a sense of home.

Over there, he was the revered "Senior Lu," but here, he was simply Lu An.

After chatting with everyone for a while, Lu An had a large feast prepared with mountain delicacies and seafood. Once they were full and satisfied, he asked Bai Sheng to stay behind.

"You've reached the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, very good. It shows that you haven't wasted your time while I was away."

"I've heard from others about the Spirit Talisman Residence. You've shouldered the responsibility of drawing talismans and have managed things on your own."

Bai Sheng, pleased with Lu An's praise, scratched his head, feeling very gratified. He had been very busy lately, almost taking on all of Lu An's previous tasks.

It's worth noting that Lu An, as the master of the Spirit Talisman Residence, would keep all the spirit stones earned, while Bai Sheng only received a small amount of wages. According to what should have been, Bai Sheng did not need to work to such an extent.

But Bai Sheng didn't dwell on it; he took on all the responsibilities of the Spirit Talisman Residence without a word of complaint.

Lu An approached him, patted his shoulder, and said, "Earlier, I mentioned that I would accept you as a registered disciple for now and would consider it further based on your performance."

"Now the time has come. I ask you, are you willing to become my first true disciple?"