Slaying Demons: Starting with Upgrading my Calligraphy

"Oh right, there's one more thing I hope your sect can assist with as well," the Wrathful Killing Arhat's single eye half-closed as the sharp tip of his finger lifted.

A fierce light flashed forth, instantly causing the demon mist to surge, morphing into an elliptical mirror of light in mid-air.

At this moment, within this mirror of light, a vibrant burst of color occupied the entire frame.

Amidst its brilliant, shimmering glow, like neon lights, a vague silhouette of a human figure could be faintly seen.

It wasn't clear, but it could be vaguely made out to be a young man.

"Not long ago, a blood edict arrived from my ancestral land. It stated that the bloodlines of three Ancient Demons had disappeared in Dianchuan. Their prospects are likely grim.

This divine spirit image is the likeness of the murderer.

However, Dianchuan is too far from our ancestral home, enabling us only to capture this blurry outline of the person.

But the colorful Escape Light is quite noticeable.

If your sect comes across any traces or whereabouts of this person, I hope you will inform me promptly. There will be a generous reward."

Gazing at the hazy outline of the young man in the colorful light, the Golden Flower Sect's Holy Maiden slowly nodded, "Understood. Once I return, I will issue orders to all the sub-sects. If there is any news of this person, I will inform the Arhat without delay."

"Then it's settled."

「The small pavilion in the courtyard.」

The red stove brewed tea, wafting mist softly into the air.

The heavy snow had stopped, leaving piles upon piles in the yard.

Clad in a flowing, ink-hued long robe, Qi Xiu, who looked like a scholarly young master, was silently writing on a piece of silk.

Beside him, a small figure half a meter tall, resembling a cloth doll, stared with its bean-sized eyes, intently watching the firewood in the stove, occasionally picking up a piece of wood and tossing it into the fire.

With the final stroke completed, his proficiency reached perfection.

Qi Xiu slowly put down his brush and adjusted his robe before settling on the stool.

It was done.

On the proficiency panel, the details of Third Realm calligraphy were gradually replaced with those from the Fourth Realm.

His mind was a fog of chaos.

A Divine Marvel Power emerged from the depths.

That was a new form of divine script.

It had to be a [Spell Talisman].

The palms resting on his knees clenched involuntarily; the feeling, like opening a mystery box, filled Qi Xiu's eyes with a hint of tension and anticipation.

The martial and mystical arts were the tangible representation of his combat strength.

If this time's divine script was indeed a spell talisman, then his combat strength would take another substantial leap forward.

And among the skills he currently possessed, aside from spell talismans, only painting remained.

A fifty percent chance wasn't low.

Watching the clouds in his mind gradually disperse, revealing the new divine script, Qi Xiu couldn't help but sit up straight. After a long while, he let out a long sigh.

"Fate loves to play tricks on us."

[Painting]

The leisurely floating divine script merged into the depths of his soul; this time, upon entering the Fourth Realm through calligraphy, the divine script he comprehended was born from the Divine Marvel of painting.

With a fifty percent chance, it had still come to naught.

Shaking his head with a light chuckle, Qi Xiu leaned down to tap on the small cloth doll's head, "It's all your fault."

The facial features formed from ink and brushstrokes showed a bewildered and innocent expression. The cloth doll looked up at Qi Xiu, covering its head, clueless.

"To gain is my fate; to lose is my fortune. Becoming too obsessed makes it easy to succumb to madness."

Consoling himself with a few words, Qi Xiu didn't dwell too much on the new divine script but turned his attention to the qualitative change brought on by his advancement to calligraphy's Fourth Realm.

With closed eyes and a concentrated mind, Qi Xiu entered a state of deep meditation.

By this time, the tea on the red stove had boiled.

Glancing at Qi Xiu in meditation, the cloth doll laboriously hopped up onto the stool and, trembling, picked up the teapot, righted a teacup on the table, and poured the tea.

From early morning to afternoon, then to dusk, the cloth doll repeatedly emptied the cooled tea and diligently brewed a fresh pot.

For the whole day, the busy figure of the cloth doll bustled back and forth throughout the courtyard.

As the sky began to darken, the cloth doll, resting its cheek in hand, looked at Qi Xiu who was still in meditation; the tea on the table had lost its steam.

Without a hint of boredom, it got up once again and dutifully repeated the action it had done dozens of times that day.

When the steaming cup of tea was carefully placed in front of Qi Xiu, the cloth doll suddenly stumbled.

Its legs became blurred and faint, and its whole body started to fade from view.

Looking down at its gradually disappearing legs, the cloth doll showed a resigned expression and slumped to the floor.

At this moment, Qi Xiu, who had been meditating all day, slowly opened his eyes.

He raised his right hand, and a dot of golden light appeared at his fingertip.

With a swipe through the empty air, in an instant, he materialized a talisman out of nothingness.

No need for ink or a medium. To draw talismans in the void, and even faster than writing them by hand. This is no small feat...

Before he finished speaking, Qi Xiu noticed the nearly completely faded cloth doll beside him, and then he saw the cup of tea still releasing steam before him.

"You've had a hard day," he said. With a casual wave of his hand, the talisman floating in the air turned into a golden light and merged into the cloth doll's body, which was about to disappear.

The blurred figure regained its solidity once again.

The cloth doll, surprised and delighted, raised its hands and feet, then happily jumped and bounded around the small pavilion, as if celebrating its revival.

"Calligraphy and painting are of the same essence, not divided. Having stepped into the Fourth Realm with my calligraphy, I have extended this Divine Marvel of forming talismans in the void, and with the newly understood [Painting Talisman]. It might be time to consider developing a new strategy for dealing with enemies."

Leaning back in the chair and watching the lively cloth doll, Qi Xiu's gaze deepened.

Over the past month, he had been practicing not only the "Formless Sword Skill" but also calligraphy, Alchemy, and painting—these three skills he had been earnestly honing.

It seemed that because both calligraphy and painting originate from ink, they complemented each other and were mutually reinforcing.

With the high realm of his calligraphy, his proficiency in painting had improved significantly faster than when he had been improving his calligraphy.

Five days ago, his painting had officially stepped into the Second Realm.

The range in which he could turn paintings into reality had expanded from the size of a fist to a circular area with a diameter of half a meter.

The living creatures or anthropomorphic figures he painted could not only be controlled but also possessed a certain degree of Spirit Essence.

The cloth doll was an example of this. Though it lacked destructive power, it could perform trivial tasks such as serving tea and boiling water.

"The greatest advantage of calligraphy's Divine Marvel is the ability to condense many of my skills and methods into talismans. It directly eliminates the prerequisites needed to use these skills and methods, such as herbs, ink, and the like. The essence of power is concentrated in the talismans. Although their might will decrease, a sufficient quantity can compensate for this gap. If the realm of painting is high enough, when combined with calligraphy, does it mean... I can create things out of thin air!"

A gleam of sharpness appeared in his eyes, and Qi Xiu's fingertips turned white as he stroked the Flood Dragon Pool Ring. Creating out of thin air was a privilege only a creator possessed. And now, he had the chance to grasp it in his hands.

After the inner turmoil subsided, Qi Xiu calmed his emotions.

Theoretically, he indeed had the chance to master the power of creation out of thin air. But that would be far in the future.

The consumption of painting's Divine Marvel was enormous, surpassing all other abilities. And the more complex and powerful the entity, the more terrifying the consumption when turning the painted into the real.

Just painting this simple working cloth doll was already quite difficult.

It was hard to imagine reaching the level of a true creator. He probably needed to strive for thousands of years to achieve it.

Regardless, I now have an additional path... With a flick of his fingers, talismans sprang into existence from thin air, turning into streaks of golden light revolving around Qi Xiu.

[Suppression Talisman], [Martial Talisman], [Medicine Talisman].

Unencumbered by the limitations of ink and paper as mediums. No longer would he have to worry about running out of talismans when they're most needed.

And furthermore...

With a subtle motion of his eyes, Qi Xiu snapped his fingers, and numerous [Suppression Talismans] swirling around him swiftly flew under the eaves.

Layers of [Suppression Talismans] spread across the void, then slowly vanished. It was akin to an invisible wall.

"Without the limitations of physical materials like paper, Talisman Scripts can be directly imprinted into the void. In this way, they can create effects similar to 'barriers' or 'restrictions.' Or to put it another way, this hand-free talisman creation uses the Void Yu Bi as the carrier for the Talisman Scripts. This certainly adds more uses and variety to Talisman Scripts."

Standing up, Qi Xiu swept his sleeve. Countless golden lights burst from his fingertips; talismans formed instantly, streaking like meteors toward various locations in the manor.

A dense array of [Suppression Talismans] enveloped the entire manor.

Following the [Suppression Talismans], there was an even denser layer of [Fish-Fragrance Soft Tendon Talisman].

With such an immense and impenetrable talisman barrier, should anyone try to enter the manor through illegitimate means, they would trigger these [Suppression Talismans] and [Medicine Talismans] hidden in the void.

Even if they could withstand the onslaught of this talisman barrier, the noise would be enough to awaken Qi Xiu.

Having assimilated the many gains from the recent breakthrough in calligraphy, Qi Xiu patted the cloth doll's head and had it light the candles in the courtyard.

With his current realm, even on the darkest night when one could not see their hand in front of their face, he could perceive everything as if it were broad daylight.

But having light all around was invariably more comfortable.

Qi Xiu went outside the manor and opened a paulownia wood mailbox mounted beside the gate.

Inside the mailbox was a white paper, blank and empty, without a single word.

He retrieved the blank paper.

Qi Xiu fetched a ladle of clear water and poured it on the paper, instantly revealing a dense array of words that had been previously invisible.

Listening Wind Teahouse.

Like Shen's Myriad Goods Pavilion, it's a professional intelligence dealer in the Cultivation Realm.

Located in the midst of Qingliu County, a vortex where many competing forces converged, Qi Xiu knew the importance of the latest firsthand information.

Therefore, he didn't hesitate to spend the newly acquired ninety-nine Dao coins. He also gave ten Dao-Entering Realm Suppression Talismans to Shen's Myriad Goods Pavilion as an advance, subscribing in advance for one hundred Dao coins to the [Early Knowledge of Major Events] service.

[1. The Crimson Dawn Sword Sect was attacked by demons on the twelfth day of the first month. Their Mountain-protecting Formation was broken, and all four hundred and sixteen disciples were devoured, along with nearly half of the population of two counties under their jurisdiction carried off by demons.]

[2. The Righteous Path's major sect, the Shenxiao Sect, has announced the opening of its sect entrance examination. Those who can reach the Shenxiao Sect Gate before the fifteenth day of the sixth month this year are eligible to participate.]

[3. The entire Lingzhu Temple has turned traitor, collaborating with the sixteen demonic factions of the Nu River. Qingzhou Prefecture has completely fallen.]

[4. Shengzhou County was enveloped by dense fog five days ago. The local sect, Fire Spirit Sect, has successively dispatched four teams to investigate the cause, but all have currently lost contact.]

...