Chapter 5: Drawing Talismans
After killing the bandit cultivator and looting the corpse, they found thirty spirit stones on him.
Afterward, the two of them returned safely to the Verdant Cloud Sect's spiritual fields.
"Junior Brother, I'm returning this Golden Light Talisman to you."
After confirming that there was no longer any danger, Zeng Yan took out the remaining Golden Light Talisman.
Lu You didn't take it and said with a sigh, "Senior Sister, you saved my life today. What you taught me is far more valuable than a Golden Light Talisman."
Seeing that Lu You didn't want it, Zeng Yan didn't stand on ceremony and put the Golden Light Talisman away.
"You're not good at fighting. Keeping a Golden Light Talisman on you right now wouldn't be much use anyway. I'll hold on to it. If you still dare to go down the mountain, you can come find me and we'll go together."
The two parted ways in the Verdant Cloud Sect's spiritual fields, and Lu You returned alone to his wooden hut.
Only after placing the Thunder Technique Talisman from his sleeve onto the table did Lu You truly let out a breath of relief.
When Zeng Yan had been fighting, Lu You had already taken out the Thunder Technique Talisman.
The moment Zeng Yan fell into a disadvantage, without waiting for her to tell him to steel his killing intent, Lu You would have activated the talisman and blown the bandit cultivator to pieces.
Having lived two lives, Lu You was no soft-hearted fool.
"That clerk at the Myriad Talisman Pavilion is truly detestable."
He made a mental note of it. For the time being, Lu You had no intention of going down the mountain for revenge. Instead, he eagerly took out the talisman materials he had purchased.
Then Lu You manifested the small cauldron once more, emptied out the spirit stones and talismans inside it, and put all the materials for drawing talismans into it.
The next second, Lu You obtained an inexhaustible supply of talisman paper, talisman brushes, and spiritual ink.
Setting everything else aside, high-grade materials really were different from ordinary ones.
The talisman brush made from tree demon roots felt just like an extension of his own fingers when held in his hand. The flow of spiritual energy had not the slightest hint of stagnation—it was incomparably smooth.
High-grade spiritual ink was even rarer. When applied to high-grade talisman paper, even if the talisman drawing failed, the entire piece would still be crystalline and translucent, filled with artistic beauty.
"Damn it—using such good stuff to draw the simplest talisman, and it still failed."
Lu You cursed under his breath and began grinding away relentlessly.
The spiritual fields had just been harvested and wouldn't be sown again until next spring, so the entire winter was Lu You's vacation.
During this period, inner disciples would absolutely not come by.
As for the other menial disciples, they were either cultivating or had gone down the mountain to visit family. No one would disturb him at all.
Lu You had only just reached the early stage of the third level of Qi Refinement.
The spiritual energy in his body was only enough to practice drawing five talismans at a time.
But none of this was a problem for Lu You.
Aside from eating a few extra bowls of spiritual rice, whenever his spiritual energy ran low, he would simply pick up a low-grade spirit stone and absorb the spiritual energy within it.
The spiritual energy contained in spirit stones was not easy to absorb, a single low-grade spirit stone could only restore one-tenth of the spiritual energy currently within Lu You's body.
Moreover, spirit stones were called spirit stones precisely because they contained spiritual energy. Once a cultivator extracted that energy—no matter how much—the internal spiritual structure of the stone would be disrupted, and it would instantly crumble into dust.
But with the Cauldron of Cornucopia, how could Lu You possibly care about wasting spirit stones?
Every time he practiced drawing five talismans, Lu You would absorb ten spirit stones to refill his spiritual energy to full.
And practicing five talismans only took half an hour.
Because he regularly consumed spiritual rice, Lu You's physique had strengthened. Even if he went without sleep for an entire day, he wouldn't feel tired.
He ground away relentlessly for a full twenty-four hours.
By then, Lu You's total consumption had already reached several thousand low-grade spirit stones.
"Not bad. It feels like I'm starting to get the hang of it."
The first talisman Lu You chose to study was the unranked basic talisman, the Rain-Calling Talisman.
Once successfully drawn, each activation could summon rainfall lasting ten minutes over an area of one mu.
This talisman was very popular in the mortal world and was often used for farming during droughts.
Among the Verdant Cloud Sect's menial disciples, it was also useful for irrigating spiritual fields.
Although it seemed unimpressive at first glance, this talisman was the foundation for drawing other talismans.
It involved fundamental strokes and the input of spiritual energy.
No talisman master could skip this step.
Moreover, the stronger the talisman master, the more solid their foundation.
Only by mastering unranked basic talismans could one hope to draw other, more powerful talismans.
Spending several thousand low-grade spirit stones in exchange for just a sliver of insight into the Rain-Calling Talisman—for other small clans, such a cost would be unbearable.
But Lu You felt very satisfied.
Days like these—where he could clearly feel himself improving step by step—were incredibly exhilarating.
After cultivating the Minor Five Elements Qi-Nourishing Technique for a while longer, Lu You took a comfortable bath and went to sleep.
The road ahead was still long. Simply reaching the third level of Qi Refinement was enough to live easily to a hundred years.
Lu You was only twenty years old—there was no rush at all.
For a full half month, Lu You consumed over a thousand low-grade spirit stones every single day just to practice.
Finally, even with his eyes closed, Lu You could draw the Rain-Calling Talisman flawlessly.
"It seems my talent in cultivation isn't anything special."
"And even my talent in talisman arts is fairly ordinary."
Lu You looked at the talisman in his hand and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
But in the blink of an eye, he cast aside those thoughts.
Instead, he excitedly took the Rain-Calling Talisman to the spiritual field he was responsible for.
After activating the talisman—perhaps due to the materials used—what should have been a light rain lasting ten minutes over one mu instead turned into a heavy downpour lasting half an hour and covering three mu.
"The effect of a talisman I drew myself... actually tripled?"
Lu You was very satisfied with this result. After glancing at the thoroughly soaked spiritual field, he happily trotted back to his cabin and began researching the remaining unranked basic talismans.
Unranked beginner Flame Talisman: upon activation, releases a burst of flames capable of burning away weeds over an area of one mu.
This one was used for weeding.
Unranked beginner Wind Talisman: upon activation, releases a burst of strong wind that can disperse fog or dark clouds within a certain area.
This one was used to alter the weather.
Unranked Sharp Metal Talisman: upon activation, enhances the sharpness of metal.
This one was used for harvesting.
Together with the Rain-Calling Talisman, there were a total of four unranked basic talismans.
Lu You had seen through it now—the so-called basic talismans were all meant for farming.
Having already mastered the Rain-Calling Talisman, and with all the materials being high-grade, Lu You needed only three days to grasp the other talismans.
Because he could practice drawing without worrying about consumption, in just eighteen days, Lu You had effectively put in a year's worth of practice compared to others.
After all, not everyone could use spirit stones to rapidly restore their spiritual energy.
Most cultivators could only draw a few talismans each day before having to sit down and meditate to recover.
In comparison, although Lu You's talent was fairly ordinary, over time, even geniuses would probably be unable to match Lu You's sheer grind.
Standing before his own spiritual field, Lu You first activated a beginner Flame Talisman.
The enhanced flames instantly ignited all the weeds in the spiritual field under his care.
After the fire burned for a while, Lu You activated the Rain-Calling Talisman.
A torrential downpour immediately extinguished the flames across the field.
Next, Lu You took out a beginner Wind Talisman.
A sudden gale swept away the ash and dust in the spiritual field.
What had once been a mess of weeds, withered branches, and fallen leaves after the harvest, was now completely clean and orderly.
"Choosing talismans really was the right call. If I had tended it by hand, it would've taken at least a week to clean this thoroughly."
With that, Lu You's workload was reduced again, leaving him even more time to devote to talisman study.
"It's about time I went to see Senior Sister."
Lu You didn't continue cultivating. Instead, he headed toward Zeng Yan's spiritual field.
After all, the way he had first built a good relationship with Senior Sister was by farming her fields well for her.