Talisman Crafting

Zhang Tie's grand plan to make money was naturally the Dao of talisman crafting. Having made up his mind, he immediately set to work.

He solemnly took out the Compendium of Low-Grade Talismans he had bought at the market last time, gently opened it, and fixed his gaze on the first talisman— the Minor Fireball Talisman.

This was a Tier 1 Low-Grade Talisman, and one of the simplest varieties. Zhang Tie decided to begin his path of talisman crafting with it.

Zhang Tie methodically prepared the cinnabar ink, laid the talisman paper flat on the table, then carefully picked up the talisman brush and cautiously dipped it into the ink.

Next, he took a deep breath, focused his mind, slowly circulated the Spiritual Qi within his body, and steadily channeled it into the talisman brush.

At that moment, his attention was entirely fixed on the brush and talisman paper as he began drawing according to the Minor Fireball Talisman pattern in the Compendium of Low-Grade Talismans.

The pattern was not particularly complicated, but it was his first attempt after all. Every stroke Zhang Tie made was exceptionally careful, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead from nervousness.

Finally, though he was slow, Zhang Tie completed the Minor Fireball Talisman in one go. The instant he finished, the entire talisman flashed with a bright, shimmering white light. According to the Compendium of Low-Grade Talismans, this was a sign of success.

"It worked?" Zhang Tie's mind went blank for a moment. The book had said that when beginners first practiced, fewer than one out of a hundred talismans succeeded. Even after gradually becoming familiar with the process, the average success rate was only around twenty percent, and that was for those with exceptional talent.

Yet Zhang Tie had succeeded on his very first talisman.

Unable to believe it, he picked up the Minor Fireball Talisman, hurriedly opened the door, and stepped outside. Standing at the entrance, he circulated his Spiritual Qi and poured it into the talisman before flicking it toward the ground several yards away.

The Minor Fireball Talisman instantly transformed into a fist-sized fireball and exploded against the ground with a bang.

"It really worked?!" Zhang Tie froze, unable to stop himself from muttering.

Zhang Tie turned and went back inside. Without even taking the time to close the door, he quickly walked to the table.

He dipped his brush in ink again, circulated his spiritual power, and swiftly drew another Minor Fireball Talisman on a fresh sheet of talisman paper.

This time, it took less than half the time before. The moment he finished drawing, the talisman paper flashed with shimmering white light again.

Zhang Tie did not stop. He drew another five talismans in succession before finally setting down his brush. These five were exactly like the previous ones—every single one had succeeded. Zhang Tie finally put down the talisman brush and sat quietly in his chair.

"Could I be a Talisman Dao genius seen only once in a century?!" Zhang Tie muttered to himself, but he still did not dare be certain. He truly had no idea how to explain something so strange.

After sitting quietly for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Zhang Tie finally let out a long breath. His gaze became incomparably resolute as he muttered, "If I can't figure it out, then I won't think about it. It's not as if it's a bad thing.

"But I must keep a low profile from now on. I absolutely cannot let anyone learn about this, or I'll surely be imprisoned and controlled, reduced to someone else's talisman-crafting puppet."

Having figured this out, Zhang Tie hurriedly shut the door and continued throwing himself into talisman crafting. He drew several Minor Fireball Talismans, Wind Riding Talismans, Ice Spike Talismans, Ground Trap Talismans, Wood Prison Talismans, and more.

Next, he began attempting Tier 1 Mid-Grade Talismans, including Major Fireball Talismans, Divine Movement Talismans, Ice Needle Talismans, Golden Light Talismans, and others. The result left him astonished—his success rate was still one hundred percent.

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Zhang Tie gritted his teeth and decided to try crafting Tier 1 High-Grade Talismans.

For the first one, he chose the Firebird Talisman. The moment he finished drawing it, the talisman burst into flames with a puff. Seeing this, Zhang Tie finally breathed a sigh of relief. According to the book, this was caused by uneven spiritual power input.

So Zhang Tie tried again, but this time, the talisman dimmed as soon as he finished. This was caused by insufficient spiritual power. Zhang Tie was not discouraged and continued trying. After five consecutive attempts, he finally succeeded once.

However, by then, his spiritual power had been almost completely depleted.

Zhang Tie put down the talisman brush in his hand, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began circulating his cultivation to restore his spiritual power. At the same time, he began planning how to sell these talismans tomorrow in exchange for Spirit Stones.

After roughly three hours, Zhang Tie's spiritual power had recovered by more than half, so he continued crafting high-grade talismans. Besides the Firebird Talisman, he also drew Fire Rain Talismans, Spring Return Talismans, and Adamantine Talismans.

After mastering the techniques for crafting high-grade talismans, he maintained an astonishingly stable success rate of one successful talisman for every four he drew. According to the book, among cultivators of the same realm, the success rate for such high-grade talismans absolutely did not exceed one in ten.

Zhang Tie put away the talisman brush and cinnabar, then began sorting through the abundant gains from that night. Twenty Tier 1 Low-Grade Talismans, twenty Tier 1 Mid-Grade Talismans, and thirteen Tier 1 High-Grade Talismans. This was undoubtedly an enormous fortune.

After some thought, Zhang Tie decided to keep ten mid-grade talismans for himself, as well as two Fire Rain Talismans, two Spring Return Talismans, and two Adamantine Talismans. He would sell all the rest.

Before long, dawn began to break. Zhang Tie left his residence and headed straight for the market.

Once he arrived at the market, Zhang Tie acted cautiously. He first visited two shops and sold his Tier 1 Low-Grade Talismans, mid-grade talismans, and some of the high-grade talismans. Finally, carrying four Tier 1 Mid-Grade Talismans and three Tier 1 High-Grade Talismans, he arrived at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

The moment he entered, the white-haired old man spotted Zhang Tie and quickly rose to greet him. "Fellow Daoist, you're here quite early. What do you plan to purchase today?"

"Do you buy talismans?" Zhang Tie asked directly.

"We do, of course. We pay seventy percent of the selling price," the old man answered.

Zhang Tie nodded. Without wasting words, he directly took the talismans out of his Storage Pouch and placed them on the counter. The old man's eyes lit up when he saw that they were Tier 1 Mid-Grade and High-Grade Talismans.

"So Fellow Daoist is a Tier 1 High-Grade Talisman Master. This old man was blind," the old man continued. "Four Tier 1 Mid-Grade Talismans are worth six Low-grade Spirit Stones, while three Tier 1 High-Grade Talismans are worth twenty-one Low-grade Spirit Stones, for a total of twenty-seven Low-grade Spirit Stones."

"Fine, but I also want to buy two hundred sheets of talisman paper and two bottles of cinnabar," Zhang Tie said.

"I can give Fellow Daoist the talisman paper and cinnabar for free, but I would like to discuss something with you. If Fellow Daoist sells more than ten Tier 1 High-Grade Talismans at once through our Hundred Treasures Pavilion in the future, we can offer eighty percent of the selling price," the old man replied.

"Fine." Zhang Tie agreed without hesitation.

Very quickly, Zhang Tie put the Spirit Stones and the other items into his Storage Pouch, then turned and left the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

After returning to his room, Zhang Tie began sorting through his gains. He had obtained a total of sixty-one Low-grade Spirit Stones, though he had also spent two Spirit Stones at other shops to purchase talisman paper and cinnabar. In total, he had bought six hundred sheets of talisman paper and six bottles of cinnabar.

From then on, he planned to craft only Tier 1 High-Grade Talismans. They could be used in battle and to protect his life, while also being sold for Spirit Stones. He simply could not sell them too frequently.

This time, Zhang Tie planned to exchange his talismans directly for Spirit Beast blood after drawing some more Tier 1 High-Grade Talismans. The Spirit Beast Garden would surely buy them as well. Though he might lose out somewhat on the price, it would be much safer.

If you enjoy this book, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you do not lose it next time.