Chapter 52: The Invitation from the Talisman Hall

At the Spirit Talisman Residence, Elder Zhang paced back and forth, looking at the various talismans on display, growing increasingly anxious. After the young master competition yesterday, he had invited the master of the Divine Talisman Pavilion to discuss talismans. Through the pavilion master, he learned something that left him dumbfounded.

He found out that Lu An, who had missed the Talisman Hall's assessment, was able to draw a first-level perfected talisman. How could this be possible at such a young age?

Suspicious, he came to the Spirit Talisman Residence to verify the matter. After seeing the talismans on display, he had to believe it and thought of visiting Lu An.

They have annual performance assessments in the Talisman Hall. If they could recommend a talented rogue talisman master, his status would rise significantly. However, in this small Gu County, there was no talented individual to recommend. The few with some skill came from the Divine Talisman Pavilion, and had nothing to do with the Talisman Hall.

Lu An's sudden emergence gave him hope. Unfortunately, he had missed Lu An the other day and had been entirely focused on persuading the Su family to arrange for a transfer to Yongning County. The Su family took advantage of him and then refused to assist him.

Given the massive influence of the Su family, he could not afford to offend them and had to swallow his frustration. Seeing a new opportunity now, he would not let it slip away.

After a while, Lu An walked in from outside and cupped his fists in greeting.

"Elder Zhang, what brings you here today?"

Elder Zhang showed a hint of a smile and said, "I've heard that the Spirit Talisman Residence has a complete range of talismans, and their quality is also quite good. Seeing them today, it's indeed impressive."

Lu An noticed that he had not stated his purpose, so he was not in a hurry. He continued drinking his tea and replied casually, "Just a small path, nothing much."

Elder Zhang was at a loss for words. Seeing that Lu An was not speaking, he awkwardly laughed and said, "Young friend Lu, the assessment date for our Talisman Hall next year has been set. Will you be participating?"

Lu An's heart moved. So Elder Zhang was here for this matter. But why was he in such a hurry about participation? Lu An was not aware that the elders of the Talisman Hall also had performance metrics, so he did not immediately understand the urgency.

"Let me think about it. I haven't made a decision yet."

Elder Zhang grew anxious and quickly said, "Don't put it off. If you plan to participate, just let me know, and I'll reserve a spot for you."

"Moreover, the assessment content has already been decided. I can disclose it to you in advance so you can prepare."

Lu An looked at him in surprise and said, "Isn't this against the rules?"

Elder Zhang waved his hand and continued, "Rules are set by people. In the Talisman Hall of Gu County, if I say it's permissible, then it is."

Lu An smiled inwardly. He had once begged to participate in the assessment mid-way and couldn't get in, but now this Elder Zhang was coming to extend an invitation. It was truly a different time.

However, he did not want to make things difficult for Elder Zhang and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Elder. How about this: let me consider it for a while and then give you a response?"

"Besides, there's still a lot of time before the next assessment, so there's no need to rush."

This was not an excuse but rather because he no longer needed the talisman master's certificate. Its presence or absence would not make much of a difference.

Elder Zhang, seeing the situation, did not press further and said he would ask again before the assessment started. After Elder Zhang left, Li Zi You arrived at the Spirit Talisman Residence.

He was there to deliver the promised reward to Lu An.

"Brother Lu, here are ten medium-grade spirit stones. Please accept them."

"In addition, since I can't give you those two visualization charts, I found a Foundation Establishment method to replace them. Please take a look."

He took out several crystal-clear spirit stones and a jade slip from his bosom, handing them to Lu An.

Lu An's eyes lit up. This was the first time he had seen medium-grade spirit stones, and indeed their purity was much higher compared to low-grade ones.

As for the cultivation method, he skimmed through a couple of pages and decided not to study it further. The method was called "Haoran Righteous Qi Skill," a Confucian Daoist technique, which was not very suitable for him. Moreover, with his current practice of the Wood Spirit Formula, he barely had enough time, so learning another method was impractical.

However, the power of this method was considerable. It was much better than ordinary methods and could be cultivated up to the later stages of Foundation Establishment. It was clear that Li Zi You had put in some thought.

"Thank you, Brother Li."

Lu An gave a slight bow. Li Zi You, seeing that he had accepted the reward, was quite pleased. After chatting for a while, he took his leave.

After Li Zi You left, Lu An pondered for a moment and then summoned Bai Sheng and the others, saying, "Bai Sheng, Xue Liang, take this method and practice it diligently. It is much better than what you are currently practicing."

Bai Sheng and Zhao Xue Liang were startled when they saw it was a Foundation Establishment method, something they hadn't even considered given their strength and status. They quickly expressed their thanks, their joy evident.

Lu An nodded and then turned to Xiao Qian, saying, "Xiao Qian, I don't know if you have a spiritual root, but you should also try cultivating. If you can generate true qi, that would be wonderful."

Testing for spiritual roots requires special instruments, or those who have reached the Core Formation stage can sense it through qi perception. Lu An did not meet either condition, so he could only let her try cultivating.

Xiao Qian was momentarily taken aback, a hint of a meaningful expression flashing in her eyes. Since she arrived, both Lu An and the others had treated her with great care. Especially Fang Ling, who treated her like a younger sister.

If possible, she would rather not see this group harmed. However, there was no turning back. For the position of the Saint Son, Lu An had to die.

She took the jade slip, thanked him, and said no more.

After dismissing everyone, Lu An immersed himself in his cultivation. Now that things were mostly settled, he had planned to go out and train with Ying Chang. However, having obtained the Wood Spirit Formula, he decided to focus on mastering it first to enhance his strength and be better prepared for future challenges.

A week passed in the blink of an eye, and Lu An had become increasingly skilled in operating the technique. Previously, frequent errors meant that running one cycle of the Great Circulation took at least two hours. Now, he had managed to stabilize this time within two hours.

One night, Lu An suddenly felt a jolt, and a white mist emerged from his mouth.

"Whew—"

He opened his eyes, a gleam of light flashed, then quickly disappeared.

"Finally entered the first level of Qi Refining."

Although it took more days than expected, it was a bit surprising. He had thought that entering the first level of Qi Refining, which he had already experienced once, would only take a few days.

It turned out to take a whole week, which gave him a deeper understanding of the difficulty of this method.

However, after entering this stage, the seed in his dantian had completely solidified, with a small bulge on top, as if tender shoots were about to break through.

Lu An's soul also underwent some changes; though the total amount had only slightly increased, the speed of his thoughts had significantly improved. Even his ability to multitask became more adept.

As he was preparing to continue comprehending the Wood Spirit Formula, he suddenly heard Ying Chang shout.

"Enemy attack!"