Chapter 31: Creating a New Talisman

If successful, with the improvement speed of the first-tier talisman completion, he would only need a few days of practice to draw it. Though the effect would certainly be far inferior, the second-tier Gathering Qi Talisman was originally meant for Foundation Establishment cultivators, so reducing it to the first-tier version should still be applicable for Qi Refining cultivators.

Lu An seemed to have discovered a new continent and was excitedly pondering it.

With more and more spiritual insights in his mind, the idea of improving the second-tier Gathering Qi Talisman became clearer.

"This stroke is too complicated and requires too high a level of spiritual power. The first-tier materials may not be able to support it. It needs to be revised."

"This part won't work either; though it can enhance spiritual power, the material consumption is too high."

"This stroke is meant to prevent spiritual energy from leaking. With less spiritual energy in the first-tier version, it's unnecessary to make such an effort."

...

Lu An relied on the spiritual insights in his mind and continuously tried drawing in his sea of consciousness.

Changing materials, simplifying strokes…

Until he resolved the final issue, the information prompt in front of him finally changed.

[You have created a first-tier talisman. Effect: Increases the speed at which cultivators absorb spiritual energy. Please name it.]

Lu An was overjoyed. Initially, he was just trying it out, but he hadn't expected to actually succeed.

"Since this is the first-tier version of the Gathering Qi Talisman, I'll call it the Minor Gathering Qi Talisman."

[First-tier talisman: Minor Gathering Qi Talisman, has been recorded.]

The sea of consciousness suddenly vibrated violently, and then an ancient book appeared abruptly, with the words "True Method of Talisman" written on it.

The ancient book was placed on the desk, with the original writing tools giving way as if it had always existed there.

Lu An focused his mind, and the ancient book slowly opened, revealing a directory.

First-tier talismans, second-tier talismans... all the way to the ninth tier, the directory ended.

After the ninth tier, the contents were obscured like clouds and mist.

Among these directories, only the first and second-tier talismans emitted a faint light, while the rest were dark.

Lu An's gaze fixed on the first-tier talismans. The contents before him suddenly changed, and the talismans he had drawn appeared one by one.

[First-tier talismans] [Calming Heart Talisman, Completion: 100%, Perfect] [Breath-Holding Talisman, Completion: 93%, Superior] [Avoid Water Talisman, Completion: 76%, Medium] [Lightning Flash Talisman, Completion: 75%, Medium] ... [Minor Gathering Qi Talisman, Completion: 0%, Not yet a talisman]

Lu An was slightly surprised. The book recorded the completion of all the talismans he had created, including the newly named Minor Gathering Qi Talisman.

He then looked at the second-tier talismans, which had simpler content, showing only a lone talisman.

[Second-tier talismans] [Gathering Qi Talisman, Completion: 3%, Not yet a talisman, Remaining Spiritual Insights: 2]

Seeing the first part, Lu An nodded. The completion was only 3%, which was the highest he had achieved when drawing the Gathering Qi Talisman. It was expected that the second-tier talisman had only one talisman listed.

He guessed that as he created more second-tier talismans in the future, the content here would become richer.

However, he did not immediately understand what the remaining spiritual insights meant.

Could it be the spiritual insights accumulated in his mind?

After pondering for a moment, to confirm, he started drawing the Gathering Qi Talisman again.

[You have drawn a Gathering Qi Talisman. Completion: 3%, failure, mental energy refunded.]

[Due to the cross-tier drawing of the talisman, your understanding of talisman path has deepened.]

Seeing this information, he went back to the ancient book and checked the second-tier directory, showing a look of realization.

In the second-tier directory, the remaining spiritual insights for the Gathering Qi Talisman had decreased to one.

In other words, after drawing once more, there would be no further increase in spiritual insights.

Although this discovery made him a bit dejected, he quickly adjusted. He had long known that the spiritual insights gained would decrease over time, and disappearance was only a matter of time.

This ancient book just provided a more intuitive display of this data.

He used up the final spiritual insight, and indeed, no more increased.

Lu An nodded slowly and closed the ancient book.

He had some guesses about why this book appeared. It was likely because he created the first talisman, meeting certain conditions, which activated the book.

But aside from recording the completion of the talismans he created, the book seemed to have no other functions.

Lu An shook his head, not thinking further. The immediate priority was to increase the completion of the Minor Gathering Qi Talisman and see the results.

If his assumptions were correct, his cultivation would advance rapidly in the near future.

He focused his mind and continued drawing in his sea of consciousness.

[You have drawn the Minor Gathering Qi Talisman. Completion: 0%, failure, mental energy refunded.]

[You have drawn the Minor Gathering Qi Talisman. Completion: 1%, failure, mental energy refunded.]

[You have drawn the Minor Gathering Qi Talisman. Completion: 0%, failure, mental energy refunded.]

...

As days passed, Li Ziyou had not come to inform him, but the Yingchang couple had returned.

They brought back the sea beast saliva needed for the Gathering Qi Talisman, and Fang Ling was severely injured as a result.

Lu An had not yet had the chance to inquire about the situation when an unexpected visitor arrived at the Spirit Talisman Residence.

"Is Daoist Lu here?"

Bai Sheng glanced at the visitor, noting his white beard and hair, dressed in a white robe with a talisman embroidered on his chest, identical to the one worn by Shen Mi on that day.

"Senior, are you from the Divine Talisman Pavilion? May I ask what you need from my master?"

Bai Sheng did not dare to be negligent and quickly asked.

The Second Elder stroked his beard and said with an inscrutable expression, "Naturally, it's something good. Quickly call Lu Xiaoyou out."

Bai Sheng frowned, hesitated for a moment, and did not move.

"Senior, my master has instructed that he is in seclusion for a few days and will not see anyone. Please return."

Lu An's instructions were that only the Li family members and the Yingchang couple could be notified. However, he would not directly tell the old man this but only said that Lu An was in seclusion and would not see anyone.

The Second Elder was infuriated and coldly said, "If I ask you to notify him, then notify him. Why all this nonsense?"

In his view, Bai Sheng was merely a servant and dared to oppose him. This was truly unwise.

Bai Sheng's face changed, but he still did not move.

The Second Elder sneered internally, releasing a burst of Foundation Establishment pressure towards Bai Sheng, waiting for him to back down.

To his surprise, despite Bai Sheng's pale face, he did not retreat a step, braving the pressure.

This left him in a difficult situation. He had not intended to escalate matters but only wanted to teach Bai Sheng a slight lesson, so he had not used much of his strength.

How could this servant be so unyielding!

He narrowed his eyes, increasing the pressure from his body.

Bai Sheng was struggling even more, but he gritted his teeth and stood his ground.

Just as the Second Elder was about to take more drastic measures, a voice came from inside the room:

"The esteemed Second Elder of the Divine Talisman Pavilion, bullying a Qi Refining servant at my Spirit Talisman Residence. Wouldn't this make people laugh at us?"

Upon hearing Lu An's voice, the Second Elder withdrew his pressure, giving a dismissive smile:

"A clueless servant just needs a bit of lesson. Lu An, I'm here with a huge piece of good news for you."

To his surprise, Lu An ignored him completely and stared at him with a cold expression.