Breakthrough, High-grade Talisman!

Xu Fugui's face was full of panic as he wailed and begged for mercy.

"Senior, spare my life! This junior is willing to hand over all his belongings; I only beg Senior to leave this junior a life path!"

"Tut, what a spineless wretch."

The Rogue Cultivators all showed disdain.

The Rogue Cultivator leader radiated a vicious, baleful aura as he strode forward and stopped before Xu Fugui.

"Kid, raise your head. What's your name?"

At those words, Xu Fugui's entire body trembled.

He seemed even more terrified.

His teeth chattered as he stammered, "S-Senior, this junior is called..."

Before he could finish.

A flash of golden light suddenly lit up before him.

A mid-grade Talisman, the Golden Blade Talisman!

"Not good!"

The Rogue Cultivator leader's expression changed drastically. He knew he had been careless.

But it was already too late for him to react.

Terrifying golden radiance arrived in an instant, Spiritual Energy surging as it slashed into his body.

Sshk!

The Rogue Cultivator leader's body jolted.

He was cleaved in two, split into two halves that fell to the ground.

Everything had happened too quickly.

Only then.

Did the other Rogue Cultivators react.

"Not good, retreat!"

Horror filled their faces as they prepared to flee.

But in the next instant.

Several more blades of golden light flashed forth.

Like resplendent golden blades tearing through the sky, they carried an incomparably sharp force and blanketed the entire band of Rogue Cultivators in an instant.

"Ahhh—"

From within that golden light came only a few screams, followed by silence.

A moment later, the golden light faded.

There were no living people left on the spot, only a heap of shattered flesh and blood.

"Phew..."

After doing all that.

Xu Fugui collapsed to the ground as though every last bit of strength had left him.

His hands were still trembling faintly.

Even now.

He still could not believe that he had actually survived.

"As expected of mid-grade Talismans—their power is actually this great!"

He took several deep breaths and silently thanked Li Chang'an in his heart.

Beside him.

His companions had long since been so stunned that they could not speak.

They stood there as though frozen, staring blankly at the Rogue Cultivators' corpses.

After quite some time.

One of them finally spoke.

His mouth hung open as he looked at Xu Fugui in disbelief.

"Fugui, where did you get so many Spirit Stones? You could actually afford so many mid-grade Talismans?"

Just now, Xu Fugui had thrown out mid-grade Talismans as though they cost nothing.

It truly left him utterly shocked.

"What mid-grade Talismans? Weren't the ones I used Low-grade Talismans?"

At those words, Xu Fugui began playing dumb.

He knew that Li Chang'an did not want to expose himself, so he had long prepared an excuse—one more than sufficient to deal with these companions.

"You don't know?"

That person was dumbfounded.

He pointed at the bloody Corpse, his finger trembling slightly.

"The Golden Blade Talismans you released just now are among the most lethal mid-grade Talismans!"

"What?"

Xu Fugui deliberately put on a shocked expression.

His mouth fell open as he stared blankly at the bloody scene.

"The Talismans I picked up in that Cave Mansion before were actually mid-grade Talismans?"

"You picked up all these Talismans?"

His companions were all dumbstruck, hardly daring to believe it.

Clear River Market.

Inside the room.

Li Chang'an sat cross-legged before the table, completely absorbed.

Holding a Talisman Brush, he slowly drew one complex pattern after another onto the Talisman Paper.

The entire room was silent.

So silent that he could hear his own breathing.

The Profound Water Turtle and Da Huang remained utterly still, afraid of disturbing him.

Suddenly.

Li Chang'an's brows furrowed slightly, and he stopped drawing.

"Failed."

A wisp of green smoke drifted up from the Talisman Paper, and the patterns drawn upon it slowly lost their spirituality.

The Spiritual Energy dissipated.

It became a sheet of scrap paper!

This attempt had been a considerable failure. It did not even count as a half-finished product; less than twenty percent of the entire Talisman had been completed.

"This time, my Mana still couldn't hold out. Although the Profound Water Turtle can lend Mana to me, his Mana isn't deep enough either."

Li Chang'an looked at the Talisman Paper and silently reflected.

At the root of it all, it was still a problem of Mana.

In the past.

To deal with insufficient Mana, he would prepare several Recovery Pills in his mouth beforehand.

However, though the act of swallowing pills was small, it would still divide a sliver of his attention. One careless moment could lead to an error in the drawing.

Now, with the Profound Water Turtle.

Perhaps he no longer needed to do that.

"I can have the Profound Water Turtle swallow pills to restore his Mana, then have him lend it to me."

Li Chang'an pondered.

This method should work.

He had the Profound Water Turtle cancel its Borrowing Law Talent and swallow some pills that restored Mana.

The man and turtle rested for roughly half an hour.

Both recovered to their peak condition.

Afterward, Li Chang'an placed more pills and Water-element treasures before the Profound Water Turtle.

He instructed it, "Try to keep your Mana at its peak. The moment it drops even slightly, swallow pills or treasures to restore it."

The Profound Water Turtle was very intelligent. It nodded repeatedly to show that it understood.

"Good. Let's try again!"

Li Chang'an took a deep breath.

Gripping the Talisman Brush, he made another attempt.

The brush tip stained with Spirit Ink slowly moved across the Talisman Paper, leaving behind one deep pattern after another.

Gradually.

Li Chang'an's face began to pale, and fine beads of sweat appeared across his forehead.

An indescribable sense of exhaustion slowly rose in his heart, but he still gritted his teeth and persevered.

Suddenly, the hand holding the brush paused.

Sizzle...

A wisp of green smoke rose from the Talisman Paper.

He had failed again.

Li Chang'an frowned as he looked at the Talisman beneath his brush.

This attempt was more complete than the last.

It was about halfway finished.

"This time, my Mana could barely support it, and my Mental Energy was sufficient as well. Though I was somewhat exhausted, I hadn't reached my limit."

Li Chang'an pondered in secret, recalling the scene of drawing the Talisman earlier.

"The reason for the failure should be insufficient proficiency."

The Legacy within the Jade Slip concerning First-tier High-grade Talismans had long been committed to memory.

But after all, he had only tried twice.

Failure was perfectly normal.

Many geniuses looked glamorous on the surface, but who knew how many times they had failed behind the scenes?

"There's no need to rush. Take it slowly."

Li Chang'an remained calm.

"The two Mysterious Sword Talismans I drew were offensive Talismans. Perhaps I should try the escape-type Wind Shadow Talisman instead."

This Wind Shadow Talisman.

Was a higher-tier replacement for the Low-grade Talisman Wind Speed Talisman and the mid-grade Talisman Wind Escape Talisman.

Since Li Chang'an often drew Talismans for escaping with his life, he was especially proficient with these two types of Talismans.

He could draw them even with his eyes closed.

"My proficiency with this kind of life-saving Talisman far surpasses that of my other Talismans."

Li Chang'an thought it over and formed a plan.

He did not rush. He continued adjusting his condition and rested with the Profound Water Turtle for roughly two hours.

Afterward.

He entered the Borrowing Method State, held the Talisman Brush, and began drawing slowly.

This time, the drawing went extremely smoothly.

It flowed like drifting clouds and running water, every stroke free and effortless.

The patterns on the Talisman Paper became increasingly complete.

Before long.

Joy appeared on Li Chang'an's face as he set down the Talisman Brush and looked at the completed Talisman on the table.

"My Talisman Skill has finally broken through!"