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Chapter 9: Crafting Unique Talisman
"Yes, that's correct."
Lan Chang'an knew that he was a topic of discussion among the young women of the Mu family.
"You know how to draw talismans?"
"I have a basic understanding and plan to practice."
Lan Chang'an replied modestly.
However, Mu Xiuyun's brows furrowed, displeased: "As a beginner, you shouldn't aim too high and buy premium talisman paper."
Premium talisman paper is suitable for crafting first-rank superior talismans, which would be a waste for beginners.
One sheet of premium talisman paper could be equivalent to several sheets of ordinary talisman paper.
"Miss Mu is correct! I'll buy three sheets of premium paper for collection and as encouragement for myself."
Lan Chang'an remained calm and didn't argue.
Mu Xiuyun glanced at the white-clothed young man who was as indifferent as water and said no more, handing over the entire set of talisman drawing materials.
It seemed like she agreed to Lan Chang'an's bargaining.
"Many thanks, Missy."
Lan Chang'an saw Mu Xiuyun haughtily withdraw her jade hand, so he placed the spirit stones on the stone table.
She watched the two walk away.
The girl in the red dress wrinkled her nose suspiciously, looking at Mu Xiuyun.
"Sister Xiuyun, you actually made an exception to give that brat a discount?"
"I heard from Yunfei that this person was in danger under the interception of the Zheng family cultivators, and against all odds, he cut down the third level of Qi Practising, allowing the family to avoid losses."
Mu Xiuyun put away the spirit stones in a natural tone.
"In that case, he is considered to have made a merit, the family will naturally......"
The red-skirted girl pondered, her voice stopping abruptly.
If it were a young talent from the Mu family displaying such performance, there would naturally be commendations within the clan.
"Yinglan, what do you think of Lan Chang'an?"
Mu Xiuyun pursed her lips.
"Not bad looking, with a thicker skin. Perhaps, there's also some self-esteem?"
Mu Yinglan thought for a moment, giving her first impression.
There were some rumors within the clan that Lan Chang'an didn't fancy the women arranged for him by the Mu family.
"Yinglan, if the family decides to match you with Lan Chang'an, would you be willing?"
Mu Xiuyun smiled, her eyes containing a hint of amusement.
"What! me marrying him? That's impossible..."
Mu Yinglan's cheeks reddened, shaking her head vigorously.
"Sister Xiuyun, the family wouldn't think of matching me with this brat, would they?"
She reacted furiously.
Mu Xiuyun didn't deny it, murmuring: "Lan Chang'an has a medium-grade spiritual root, and marrying a mortal woman would indeed be a bit of a waste. Father is considering whether to find him a woman with a spiritual root."
"So, you've set your sights on this lovely little sister? No way! I don't fancy him."
Mu Yinglan huffed and snorted lightly.
"You don't fancy him?"
"Of course not! Isn't Lan Chang'an around twenty years old? He's just reached the second layer of Qi Refining! Even though he's said to have a medium-grade spiritual root, he's still inferior to some people low-grade spiritual roots within the family."
Mu Yinglan raised her delicate chin, speaking frankly.
In contrast, although she had a low-grade spiritual root, she had already reached the peak of the second layer of Qi Refining at the age of sixteen and would soon attempt to break through.
In the cultivation world, unless one possessed top-tier aptitude like Earth-grade Spiritual Root or Heaven-grade Spiritual Root, one's cultivation level and age were more indicative of one's prospects.
...
In the courtyard, in the underground chamber.
Lan Chang'an took out a complete set of talisman brushes, vermillion sand, and talisman paper.
After mixing the vermillion, he laid out the talisman paper.
Closing his eyes for a moment, the experiences and insights of talisman crafting from his previous two lives flooded into his mind.
Suddenly, his eyes turned sharp like cold electricity, his breath held.
Grabbing the talisman brush, he flowed like clouds and water.
The Evergreen mana subtly swirled around the tip of the brush, seamlessly sketching on the talisman paper in a single stroke.
"Water Purification Talisman."
The pale blue runes on the talisman radiated a gentle light, and the spiritual ink quickly solidified.
The Water Purification Talisman was an entry-level basic talisman, not even considered a first-rank talisman.
"It feels a bit dry."
Lan Chang'an wasn't entirely satisfied and proceeded to draw a Fire Ignition Talisman and a Dwelling Protection Talisman.
In the mortal world, knowing a few basic talismans could make one appear as a so-called master of the way.
After drawing three basic talismans.
Lan Chang'an found his rhythm, and the feeling in his hand became smoother.
Next, he began to draw first-rank talismans corresponding to the Qi-Refining stage.
First, he drew two Frostwind Talismans.
Frostwind Talisman: First-rank medium-grade, with a certain range of damage and a decent slowing effect.
Among first-rank talismans, it was rare to have mass damage.
This talisman wasn't commonly seen because of its limited power, high difficulty in crafting, and low success rate, so few talisman masters practiced it.
Phew!
After drawing two first-rank medium-grade talismans, Lan Chang'an's mana was depleted by more than half.
Limited by cultivation level, each talisman master could only draw a limited number of talismans per day.
To draw talismans, not only did it consume mana, it was also extremely draining on the spirit. It wasn't as simple as replenishing with spirit stones and continuing like a perpetual motion machine.
Luckily, Lan Chang'an had a long lifespan.
After recovering half an incense stick worth of time.
He then drew two Water Curtain Talismans which were defensive first-rank medium-grade talismans.
Considering that during the Qi-Refining stage, most commonly used spells were of the fire element and had great power, he chose to craft this talisman.
Lastly, he drew three Wind Speed Talismans, also first-rank medium-grade talismans.
As a third-rank talisman master, Lan Chang'an's crafted talismans were of high quality and had greater power than others of the same rank.
Frostwind Talisman, Water Curtain Talisman, Wind Speed Talisman.
A total of seven first-rank talismans were crafted.
Lan Chang'an's energy was completely drained, especially his mental power.
This was only due to his powerful soul and Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique's vigorous mana that he was able to draw that many talismans in one sitting. If it was any other early stage Qi-Refining cultivator, it would be difficult to draw a single mid-grade talisman.
...
After a night's rest, he was full of energy the next day.
Lan Chang'an still had ten first-rank talisman papers and three first-rank premium talisman papers.
The former he planned to keep to earn spirit stones and observe the market.
As for the three premium talisman papers, he intended to craft a powerful superior-grade talisman.
This talisman was called the Golden Blade Talisman.
It was a unique talisman that he had improved in his previous two lives.
"The Golden Blade Talisman has strong penetrating power, almost equivalent to a superior-grade magical weapon. Ordinary late-stage Qi-Refining cultivators would find it difficult to resist it. However, the requirements for refining this talisman is quiet high."
Lan Chang'an's expression turned solemn.
Normally, without a cultivation level of at least the seventh level of Qi-Refining, it would be impossible to craft the Golden Blade Talisman, and the success rate would be very low.
Just in case there was a lack of mana, he ate a bowl of spirit rice before getting to crafting.
He concentrated deeply.
The tip of the brush wandered on the premium talisman paper for a few minutes. Gradually, the brush strokes we no longer as smooth and became a bit arduous...
Beads of sweat seeped out from Lan Chang'an's forehead and his face turned pale.
Sizzle!
The golden patterns on the talisman paper flickered a few times, and a puff of green smoke rose.
"Too bad, just a little short." Lan Chang'an felt somewhat regretful.
In his previous life, even when he reached the seventh layer of Qi-Refining, the success rate of the Golden Blade Talisman wasn't very high.
If he had succeeded, this talisman would have become one of his trump cards.
Lan Chang'an didn't lose heart.
After three days of cultivation, he bathed and changed his clothes.
He attempted once again.
This time, he finally succeeded in drawing the Golden Blade Talisman, with a bit of luck involved.
After another three days.
The third attempt to craft the Golden Blade Talisman ended in failure.
The three premium talisman papers were all used up.
"With my current cultivation level, I only have a success rate of about twenty to thirty percent when crafting the Golden Blade Talisman."
Lan Chang'an could accept the final result.
If it weren't for the special attributes of the Evergreen Technique and his equivalent spiritual perception to the seventh layer of Qi-Refining, Lan Chang'an wouldn't have even thought of attempting it.
...
In the next half year.
Lan Chang'an focused on cultivation, and the longevity effects of the Evergreen Technique had begun to show.
In the training room, Lan Chang'an opened his pitch-black pupils.
A trace of the subtle aura of the changing of the ages flickered as he circulated his cultivation technique.
Whether it was an illusion or not was unknown.
He felt that the mediocre power of the Evergreen Technique seemed to have strengthened slightly, although It was very subtle.
If it weren't for him being a reincarnator with lifetimes of cultivation and his soul surpassing the norm, it would be difficult to notice.
"Could it be that the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique can increase in power as time passes?"
"The longer you live, the stronger your mana?"
Lan Chang'an produced an absurd thought.
'I'm afraid that this guess would take a long time to verify.'
After all, that hint of enhanced mana was so negligible it could be ignored and could be considered a normal fluctuation.
"Big brother Lan."
Outside the courtyard, Li Ergou brought two spirited spiritual horses. fr𝚎𝗲𝐰ebnov𝐞𝐥.𝐜o𝗺
It had nearly been three years since he came to the Mu family.
Li Ergou's face was plump, with a greasy sheen, and his body had grown by more than half a foot.
His physique had become robust, clad in dark blue Daoist robes, his eyes bright and sharp, such that people dare not look down upon him.
Lan Chang'an, on the other hand, remained the same in appearance, with a calm and gentle demeanor.
"Not bad, you've borrowed the spirit horses?"
Lan Chang'an jumped on the horse and set off with Li Ergou.
These spirit horses were not first-rank spirit beasts but were a product of the family through crossbreeding, considered semi-spirit beasts.
They were prepared to fulfill the three-year appointment at the Immortal Gathering Building in the Hengshui Prefecture and visit relatives in the mortal world.
Before departing, the duo had reported to the Mu family.
The Mu family didn't restrict them and granted them half a year of leave.
This smooth process surprised Lan Chang'an a bit at first.
But on thought, he realized that Li Ergou had settled down in the Mu family, married, and had two children. He was content and harmonious with his family.
The Mu family is surely at ease with Li Ergou.
As for Lan Chang'an, due to his lack of marriage and children, the Mu family's investment in him, aside from providing a cultivation site and a little of low-grade spirit rice each month, could be considered minimal.
Not to mention, the Mu family knew about his connections in the mortal world.
Even if he wanted to run away, It would be hard for Lan Chang'an to find a cultivation site to freeload in.
"Big brother Lan, do you really not intend to marry and have children? It would be a waste of your medium-grade spiritual root!"
As they left Feiyue Manor, Li Ergou couldn't help but ask.
At present, Lan Chang'an's cultivation was lagging behind him.
Li Ergou had ample supply of pills and spirit rice, although his cultivation technique was average in power, he progressed relatively fast.
In three years, he had reached the peak of the second level of Qi Refining, opening up a gap of one year between him and Lan Chang'an.
"If Big Brother Lan doesn't fancy a mortal women, how about I have my wife introduce you to a family woman with spiritual roots?"
Li Ergou's eyes flickered as he tested the waters.
"You, ah, so quick to consider yourself as a member of the Mu family?"
Lu Chang'an was dumbfounded, seeing his little thoughts.
He couldn't help but feel that in just three years, that simple Li Ergou had changed so much.
"There is no need to mention this."
Lan Chang'an waved his hand, sighing, "In the cultivation world is ever-changing and the Qi-Refining stage is but a cannon fodder. At least one must build a solid foundation at the Foundation Establishment stage to have a preliminary foothold. Otherwise, if you can't keep your head above water, how can you dare to marry and have children?"