Chapter 54: Making Talismans

Li Zhen chose the Diamond Talisman for his first attempt at drawing a talisman. This talisman would seal the Metal-type magic spell known as the Vajra Technique.

In terms of his mastery of the Vajra Technique, Li Zhen’s understanding was already on par with the ‘Understanding Magic’ stage, providing him with an immensely solid foundation for crafting the Diamond Talisman.

In fact, the most challenging aspect of creating talismans was grasping the specific magic spell involved. Even the best talisman makers couldn’t possibly craft every type of talisman. For instance, if a talisman maker lacked a metal spirit root and attempted to forcibly learn the metal-based Vajra Technique, they would never achieve more than a superficial understanding of it.

This would result in an exceedingly high failure rate when trying to create a Diamond Talisman. As for aspiring to produce higher-grade Diamond Talismans, that would require an even deeper mastery of the Vajra Technique.

Thus, talisman makers generally specialized in one or a few specific elemental types of talismans. Only with a sufficiently high success rate could they survive as a professional.

Li Zhen was unique. Having already acquired spirit roots for all five elements, along with lightning, he was confident that given time, he could possess all characteristic spirit roots.

Dipping the talisman brush into the specially formulated talisman ink for the Diamond Talisman, Li Zhen began his first-ever attempt at drawing a talisman.

According to the introductory text on talismans written by Wang Yibin, a mid-grade talisman maker, beginners must draw talismans in a single stroke without any breaks.

This was because handling breaks was several times more difficult than the ordinary drawing of talismans.

Li Zhen activated the ‘Vajra Technique Rune’ from his Dragon Heart Space, and his spiritual energy began to deplete. The tip of the talisman brush flashed with a golden spiritual glow.

The brush tip began to draw the Vajra Technique Rune on the blank talisman paper. Based on his understanding of the Vajra Technique, he laid down an exceptionally solid theoretical foundation for creating an inferior-grade Diamond Talisman.

As he drew the Vajra Technique Rune, he felt as if he were casting the Vajra Technique itself, only this process was infinitely slowed down.

When the Diamond Talisman was about halfway completed, the talisman paper suddenly began to tremble.

With a flick of his wrist, he sent the talisman paper flying, and it exploded in mid-air.

Li Zhen closed his eyes, and the process of drawing the talisman appeared on his retina. This was the playback function of his identity bracelet.

He then compared it with the correct Vajra Technique Rune he had set aside. Quickly, he identified the mistake.

It was merely a hesitation at a corner that led to the collapse of the talisman.

Moments later, he switched to a new blank talisman and began a second attempt at drawing.

This time, he had improved from his first attempt, but he still failed.

What followed were repeated failures and summaries of those failures.

With the help of his identity bracelet, he could easily identify his mistakes and avoid them in subsequent drawings.

Combined with his far superior understanding of the Vajra Technique compared to ordinary cultivators, he finally succeeded in drawing a complete Diamond Talisman on his tenth attempt.

He watched as the runes on the talisman before him shimmered with spiritual light. After a few breaths, the light stabilized and locked itself within the talisman paper, successfully creating an inferior-grade Diamond Talisman.

Even Li Zhen himself hadn’t expected to draw a Diamond Talisman so quickly.

By mastering three types of first-rank inferior talismans, he could call himself a first-rank inferior-grade talisman maker.

At his current practice speed, it would take him at most a few days to become a first-rank inferior-grade talisman maker.

For him, the greatest difficulty in making talismans wasn’t the drawing itself, but replenishing the spiritual energy consumed with each attempt.

During the ten attempts to draw the Diamond Talisman, he had spent an hour recovering his spiritual energy. His total reserve couldn’t sustain ten consecutive uses of the Diamond Talisman’s draw.

Just as he was about to activate the “Seventeenth Foundation Qi Refinement” technique to recover his spiritual energy, he sensed a spiritual object approaching outside. The strongest presence was that of a first-rank superior-grade spiritual object, which made his scalp tingle involuntarily.

His heart skipped a beat—could it be a late-stage qi refining cultivator attempting to break in?

Considering the ongoing conflict between two factions in the market, it was understandable that management might not have complete control. It wouldn’t be surprising if some cultivators took advantage of the chaos. But why would a late-stage qi refining cultivator target him, a mere second-layer qi refiner?

Li Zhen deactivated the small Inverted Five Elements Array and drew his Xingrui E07 longsword, holding it at the ready.

Additionally, his rune dart stood by; with a thought, it could appear in his hand from the Dragon Heart Space.

Of course, against a true late-stage qi refining cultivator, these tactics would likely be ineffective. His strategy was to avoid confrontation if possible; if not, he’d activate his spatial divine ability to leave.

However, using that ability to escape now would significantly increase the risk of returning later.

Ten breaths passed, each feeling like a year to Li Zhen. He wondered why the cultivator outside hadn’t made a move.

“Could they be dead?” Li Zhen considered this possibility.

He attempted to use the Dragon Heart’s power to target a first-grade high-quality spirit object. With a single thought, the object was drawn into the Dragon Heart Space.

It was a first-grade high-quality sword-type magical artifact. Typically, first-grade high-quality sword-type artifacts were short swords. This was because by the middle to late stages of qi refining, cultivators could employ flying swords as effective weapons against their enemies.

On the other hand, short swords were lighter and more agile, requiring less energy to control, and used less material compared to long swords.

Of course, a first echelon high-grade long sword magic relic wasn’t without its advantages. In cultivator battles, especially among Qi Refining stage cultivators, close combat was inevitable. A first echelon high-grade long sword excelled in such situations while also serving well as a flying sword at range, making it a versatile magic tool.

Its main drawback was the price. Among first echelon high-grade magic tools, a long sword cost more than double that of a standard flying sword.

Holding the first echelon high-grade long sword, Li Zhen felt the spiritual imprint within and concluded that its owner must have perished.

Instead of opening the door, he used his Dragon Heart ability to confiscate all the spiritual items on the person outside.

Just after he had done so, two breaths later, another spiritual item approached - indicating the arrival of a new cultivator.

This new cultivator paused briefly at the door before leaving. Following closely, three or four more cultivators arrived, each pausing briefly before departing as well.

“Hao’er!” An enraged voice boomed from outside, accompanied by an enveloping aura of terror.

“Could he be a Foundation Establishment cultivator?” Li Zhen felt this terrifying presence but couldn’t make a definitive judgment.

He had only seen one Foundation Establishment cultivator before: County Chief Zhao, and even then, it was from a significant distance.

By his perception, the one shouting outside had a weaker aura than County Chief Zhao, but he was still the strongest cultivator he’d seen outside of County Chief Zhao.

Outside, a burly man stood nearly two meters tall, clad in a black magical robe. He stared at the corpse on the ground, his eyes brimming with disbelief.

His subordinates had already inspected the scene and contacted the market’s formation for an analysis.

“Boss, the young master was poisoned by the Lin Family’s Golden Ring Three-line Snake venom!” one of his subordinates reported.

“A fine plan by the Lin Family indeed,” the burly man growled, “they want to annihilate the Iron Sword Gang’s legacy!” Rage blazed in his eyes, his teeth grinding together.

The competition between the Lin Family and the Iron Sword Gang had ended in a stalemate, with no clear winner.

No one could have anticipated that during the battle between the young master of the Iron Sword Gang and a cultivator from the Lin Family, the latter had used Golden Ring Three-line Snake venom on his magical weapon, leading to the young master’s death.

“Find out who took anything from Hao’er!” the Iron Sword Gang boss commanded immediately.

Hao’er was gone, but the spiritual items on his body had been carefully chosen by his father.

“The young master’s body still carries the scents of five people!” one subordinate reported after summoning a spirit mouse, which quickly reached a conclusion.

“Go find all of them, now!” the Iron Sword Gang leader commanded loudly.

Guided by the spirit mouse, the Iron Sword Gang cultivators began searching for those who had come into contact with the young master’s body.

Li Zhen, having acquired the spiritual objects through the Dragon Heart Space and stored them inside, left no trace of their presence. As a result, the spirit mouse remained unaware of his involvement.

However, he could clearly hear the conversation outside.

This is hopeless. The market is becoming increasingly unstable! Li Zhen lamented inwardly.

He had chosen the market precisely because he wanted a safe haven, but now it seemed that with the Iron Sword Gang’s young master dead, the conflict with the Lin Family was bound to escalate.

The Iron Sword Gang members carried away the young master’s corpse, and silence descended upon the streets. But the market as a whole remained far from quiet, as the actions of the Iron Sword Gang continued to intensify.

While the gang had previously been cautious not to involve ordinary cultivators, they could no longer concern themselves with such restraint. Seeking revenge for their young master had become their sole priority.