Chapter 25: Crossing the Talisman Levels

Lu An frowned slightly. Accepting a disciple? He had never considered it. With his current cultivation at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, although he had gained some fame through his talisman skills, his fundamental cultivation was still the core.

In a world plagued by demonic beasts, without sufficient skill, it was difficult to even leave the county, let alone the nation. In such a situation, he had no intention of taking on a disciple.

He helped Bai Sheng up and said calmly, "My cultivation is still low. I am not considering taking on disciples at this time. If you wish to learn talisman making, this person is a disciple of the Divine Talisman Pavilion. You can ask him."

He pointed to Shen Mi, signaling that it was up to him.

To his surprise, Bai Sheng ignored Shen Mi and seemed to be resolute. "If you don't wish to take me as a disciple, I will be a mere assistant selling talismans."

Lu An glanced at him, a bit surprised, but nodded. "Alright. For the next few days, you can oversee the work here. I will give you a blueprint later, and you can have the laborers arrange things according to it."

Bai Sheng agreed and then stepped aside, appearing to have already considered himself Lu An's student.

"Everyone, my talismans are depleted. I need to go back and make some more. I will take my leave for today."

The store might take a few more days to be finished, which was a good opportunity to accumulate more talismans. He had just received the complete text of the Thirty-Six First-Tier Talisman True Method and it was time to study it.

He also needed to hurry with the perfect Clear Mind Talisman promised to Gu Chuanfei. This period would be dedicated to improving the talisman's completion.

If he could reach 100% completion and produce purple patterns, the effects would likely improve significantly. He also needed to make some lower-grade Clear Mind Talismans for daily use to enhance efficiency.

If ordinary cultivators knew of his plans, they might scold him as a spendthrift. Clear Mind Talismans are generally used for breaking through realms, and while there is some effect when used daily, it is not as cost-effective as the former.

Fortunately, Lu An could create them himself, saving on the high purchase costs. Otherwise, even with his financial resources, it would be hard to sustain.

Thinking of this, Lu An shook his head. His spiritual stones were still too few. If he could directly use them for cultivation, it would be much quicker. To rapidly improve his cultivation, he would need to focus more on creating second-tier Qi Gathering Talismans. If he could produce them, his cultivation speed would definitely increase.

Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, more than a month had gone by. By multitasking, Lu An both cultivated and created various talismans. Before each cultivation session, he would activate a lower-grade Clear Mind Talisman, and after calming his mind, he would begin his cultivation practice.

Under these conditions, his cultivation improved steadily, though not rapidly. Notably, since obtaining the Withered Tree Blossoms Diagram, his spiritual soul advanced quickly. Every time he practiced talisman making and expended his spiritual consciousness, he would gain a few more drops.

The spiritual consciousness returned from the Four Treasures of the Study was further refined, greatly enhancing its strength and allowing Lu An to project his consciousness outward. Although the range was only three meters, Lu An was extremely excited.

It is known that such a spiritual ability is usually achievable only at the Foundation Establishment stage, while he was currently at the mid Qi Refinement stage. However, this did not mean that his spiritual consciousness was comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Their spiritual consciousness could cover several miles, while his only extended to three meters, which was not comparable.

The reason he could achieve this now was entirely due to the refinement of his consciousness by the Four Treasures of the Study in his sea of consciousness. According to Lu An's estimation, although his total amount of spiritual consciousness was far from that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the refinement level was not too far off. Therefore, it met the requirements for projection, though the range was limited.

In addition, the completion rate of various talismans was also rapidly improving. He had mastered more than half of the thirty-six talismans. The remaining small portion was being practiced daily, and it would not be long before he mastered them all.

Of course, most of these were only practiced to the lower-grade level, with only a few important talismans reaching the middle-grade level.

The store was already set up according to Lu An's plan. There was a sales room with three display tables, each showcasing lower-grade, middle-grade, and upper-grade talismans respectively.

Lu An did not sell the perfect talismans to the public; only a few friends had access to purchase them for their families. The rest of the space, including the rest areas and secret rooms, was reserved for the use of the Chang couple when they returned for cultivation.

During this period, Bai Sheng visited him several times, each time leaving with newly created talismans. Having witnessed Lu An's skills in talisman making, Bai Sheng was already completely convinced. Although his request to become a disciple failed, he still followed Lu An's instructions as if he were his disciple.

One day, Lu An practiced drawing the Qi Gathering Talisman in his sea of consciousness. With the improvement in his spiritual consciousness, drawing this talisman had become somewhat easier. Only the final stroke remained to complete the drawing.

Of course, completing the drawing did not mean the talisman was finished. It simply meant that his spiritual consciousness was sufficient to fully draw the talisman. To actually complete the talisman, he needed to continue practicing and improve the completion rate.

"Will I be able to complete this final stroke today?"

Lu An focused his mind and began drawing. He had drawn this talisman many times and was very skilled at it. However, each stroke drained a large amount of his spiritual consciousness, making him feel as though his body was being emptied.

Soon, he reached the final stroke, and his spiritual consciousness was nearly depleted.

"It's a bit better than yesterday. I wonder if the remaining spiritual consciousness is enough."

He held his breath and concentrated, placing the final stroke on the talisman paper. He felt a tremendous suction from the paper, and his remaining spiritual consciousness was completely drained.

A sense of dizziness overcame him, and then the Withered Tree Blossoms Diagram emitted a soft glow, replenishing a few drops of spiritual consciousness in his sea of consciousness. Once his spiritual consciousness was returned, the dizziness completely disappeared.

"Ahh—"

"Although I failed, it was definitely better than yesterday. Let's try again!"

He calmed his emotions and picked up the brush once more.

...

After repeating this process until evening, he made the final stroke. Although his spiritual consciousness was still drained, a message appeared before him.

[You have drawn the Qi Gathering Talisman with a completion rate of 1%. Failure, spiritual consciousness consumed and returned.]

Lu An was pleased. It was done!

After such a long time, he had finally completed the drawing of the Qi Gathering Talisman. Although it was still far from a completed talisman, he finally saw a glimmer of hope.

Before he could fully rejoice, another message appeared.

[Due to drawing a talisman across tiers, your understanding of talisman making has deepened.]

Next, Lu An felt a vague sense of enlightenment in his mind. Many of the doubts he had while drawing talismans were suddenly dispelled. He even had some new thoughts about the eighth stroke of the Restrained Breath Talisman.

Lu An was astonished. Drawing a talisman across tiers could deepen his understanding of talisman making? He quickly picked up the brush to confirm.

[You have drawn the Qi Gathering Talisman with a completion rate of 1%. Failure, spiritual consciousness consumed and returned.]

[Due to drawing a talisman across tiers, your understanding of talisman making has deepened.]

[You have drawn the Qi Gathering Talisman with a completion rate of 2%. Failure, spiritual consciousness consumed and returned.]

[Due to drawing a talisman across tiers, your understanding of talisman making has deepened.]

...

Seeing this, Lu An's lips curled up slightly, but as time went on, his brow furrowed. While drawing across tiers did enhance his insights, the enlightenment was gradually decreasing with each attempt. He feared that after a few more days, there would be no further insight.

Nevertheless, it was still incredibly valuable.

"It seems I need to find a way to acquire more second-tier talismans in the future."

Second-tier talismans were hard to find, and even if available, they were treasured by various families and not easily shared.

Although this matter was crucial, it would have to be considered carefully and addressed gradually.

"This Qi Gathering Talisman was created by Sister Fang. Perhaps she still has some. I wonder if she has emerged from seclusion and advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage?"

Lu An shook his head. He hadn't visited the market for a long time. He decided to go and check it out the next day.