Chapter 10: Condensing the Divine Sense

"Brother Lu is also going? That's great; we can go together then."

The next day, Lu An visited Uncle Zhao's home. The door was opened by Yao Yao, who blushed upon seeing Lu An.

Noticing her flushed face, Lu An reached out to touch her forehead.

"Yao Yao, why is your face so red? Are you running a fever?"

"You're the one with a fever."

Hearing this, Zhao Wenyue gave him a reproachful look before running off.

Lu An was puzzled and shook his head. The little girl's moods changed faster than turning a page in a book.

He went inside and greeted Uncle Zhao and his wife.

"Where's Wenliang?"

"Your Brother Wenliang has gone to the Talisman Pavilion for study. He's been staying there for several days now."

Uncle Zhao wiped his hands and pulled Lu An to a quiet spot before continuing:

"Lei Er's people just delivered eight hundred spirit stones. I declined them, but they left them behind and walked off. Do you know what's going on?"

Lu An smiled slightly and said:

"The spirit stones were sent on my request. Uncle Zhao, please accept them."

"However, I actually came here for these spirit stones. I hope Uncle Zhao can lend me some. I'll repay you once I have the funds."

Uncle Zhao's brows lifted in delight. It seemed Lu An had really achieved something if even Lei Er was coming to curry favor.

But he pretended to be annoyed and said:

"These spirit stones are yours to begin with. Why talk about lending? Just take them."

"The stall in the market has just been rented, and we need spirit stones now. No need to be so formal."

Lu An felt a touch of warmth in his heart. He had no family in this world, and his parents had long passed away in his previous life. He hadn't felt the warmth of family for a long time.

However, he now had a way to earn spirit stones. He couldn't accept these eight hundred spirit stones meant for Uncle Zhao's and his wife's retirement.

Seeing Lu An's firm stance, Uncle Zhao didn't insist any further and handed the spirit stones to him.

"Take them. You can return them whenever. I'll keep them for you, and when you find a partner, they can be used as betrothal gifts."

At this moment, Zhao Wenyue suddenly appeared from somewhere, looking suspicious.

"Betrothal gifts? Is Brother Lu getting married? Who is the person?"

Lu An and Uncle Zhao exchanged a glance and both burst out laughing.

Zhao Wenyue was left bewildered and stamped her foot before ignoring them.

After dinner, Lu An returned home and focused on his cultivation.

Cultivation was fundamental. He was close to reaching the fourth level of Qi Refining and needed to work harder.

As for the top-grade Clear Heart Talisman that Gu Chuanfei had asked for, he would practice it after breaking through. By then, with increased divine sense, practicing would likely be faster.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, Lu An brought the spirit stones to the market.

"Brother Ying, here are the five hundred spirit stones. Please count them."

He handed over a single-use storage bag.

Unlike ordinary storage bags, this one could only be used once. Once items were taken out, it would be destroyed, making it much cheaper.

Ying Chang didn't check it but directly put it away.

"I trust Brother Lu to handle things. Ling'er, you…"

Fang Ling, hearing this, took out a bamboo slip from her bosom.

"This is the drawing method for the Gathering Qi Talisman. Brother Lu, keep it safe. Remember, do not let others see it, or it might endanger your life."

The bamboo slip was a copy she made herself. In fact, jade slips were more convenient, needing only divine sense to record, and were smaller.

But jade slips were quite expensive, and as scattered cultivators, they preferred to save wherever they could.

Lu An carefully stored the slip and returned to his stall. He couldn't wait to check it.

"Hiss—"

Upon seeing the contents, he gasped in surprise.

As expected of the famous Gathering Qi Talisman, the complexity of its structure was evident from the first glance, far surpassing the Clear Heart Talisman.

Even among first-grade talismans, the difficult-to-make Concealment Talisman could not compare.

"Second-grade blue-pattern paper, powder from middle-grade spirit stones, beast saliva from the Qi Sea Beast…"

The materials for making the talisman were quite rare. Second-grade blue-pattern paper alone cost one low-grade spirit stone per sheet.

Middle-grade spirit stone powder was even more expensive, equivalent to one hundred low-grade spirit stones.

As for the Qi Sea Beast's saliva, Lu An had never even heard of it.

Suddenly, he thought of something. Ying Chang had been hunting monsters for years and might know about this.

"Brother Ying, do you know about the Qi Sea Beast?"

Ying Chang, surprised, replied:

"Why do you ask about this? It's not something you should mess with."

"The Qi Sea Beast is a second-grade monster. An adult Qi Sea Beast can even reach the late stage of Foundation Establishment."

"Its saliva can absorb spiritual energy. If sprayed by it, all your spiritual energy will be sucked away, leaving you at its mercy."

Fang Ling appeared thoughtful. As the creator of the talisman True Method, she knew the required materials.

"Could it be that Brother Lu can now draw it?"

She shook her head. It was impossible. With Lu An's Qi Refining third level, his divine sense was insufficient.

Hearing Ying Chang's words, Lu An's expression changed slightly. He hadn't expected the Qi Sea Beast to be so troublesome.

He had planned to wait until reaching the later stage of Qi Refining when his divine sense would be adequate to buy some materials and try making the talisman.

Now, it seemed the materials from a Foundation Establishment stage monster would be very expensive, and he would need to accumulate time to gather them.

However, he wasn't too worried. He could practice in his mind first and improve his proficiency. When he had enough materials, he could start drawing directly.

Without further ado, Lu An's divine sense sank into his sea of consciousness, eager to practice.

With his current divine sense, he couldn't draw a complete Gathering Qi Talisman.

However, the scholarly tools in his sea of consciousness could return the consumed divine sense, making practice feasible.

Lu An followed the bamboo slip's instructions, slowly sketching each stroke.

His divine sense was drawn out like a river flowing into the sea, continuously depleting.

After only a few strokes, it was nearly exhausted, falling into depletion.

Lu An's body suddenly felt lifeless, as if he were a walking corpse, unable to sense any vitality.

Ying Chang and Fang Ling noticed his energy had disappeared and looked at him in confusion.

At this moment, a flash of light appeared in Lu An's dry sea of consciousness, and the scholarly tools returned all the divine sense that had been depleted.

"Eh?"

Just a moment ago, he had no aura. How did he recover so quickly? Was it an illusion?

The two were puzzled and didn't know what had happened.

"Phew—"

Lu An sighed deeply. The moment his divine sense ran dry, he experienced an unprecedented fear.

His thoughts seemed to freeze, and his body felt as if it had perished.

Fortunately, the scholarly tools returned his divine sense in time, allowing him to recover.

"My divine sense seems to have condensed a bit more than before."

He quickly gathered all his focus in his sea of consciousness and began examining it.

After a while, a look of excitement appeared on his face.

His own discovery was not wrong; his spiritual consciousness had indeed become more refined.

"I didn't expect the Four Treasures of the Study to have such an effect. If I practice every day, won't my spiritual consciousness become stronger and stronger?"

"From this perspective, it seems that drawing a Qi Gathering Talisman in the later stage of Qi Refining is not impossible!"

"Should I give it another try?"