Improving Talisman Making

Three days later, as spiritual light flowed from Song Qingming's brush tip, strange-looking runes gradually appeared upon a yellow talisman. The symbols were arranged neatly across the talisman according to some pattern, glimmering with a layer of flashing golden light.

As time passed, the spiritual light on the talisman paper slowly faded, finally branding itself firmly onto the spirit talisman.

Song Qingming picked up the Golden Light Talisman and examined it carefully. Then, pinching the newly made spirit talisman between his fingers, he gave it a gentle squeeze. As spiritual power surged from his body into the talisman, the talisman in his hand instantly blazed with golden light again. With a flick of his finger, it transformed into a streak of golden spiritual radiance and shot forward, exploding against a stone bench inside the room.

Bang!! With a deafening blast, white smoke drifted through the air. Song Qingming narrowed his eyes and looked down. The hundred-pound stone bench had instantly become a heap of rubble.

"Its power is already equivalent to the full-force strike of a Fourth Level of Qi Refining cultivator. This Golden Light Talisman has finally succeeded." Song Qingming muttered to himself.

Over the past few days, he had used dozens of sets of talisman-making materials. After more than ten consecutive tests of finished spirit talismans, Song Qingming had finally successfully drawn this qualified Mid-grade Talisman, the Golden Light Talisman.

The Golden Light Talisman was a relatively common mid-tier attack spirit talisman of the five elements found in the Marketplace. After the test just now, Song Qingming was finally satisfied with its effects. He could now be considered to have successfully advanced to a Mid-grade Talisman Master.

Half a month later, relying on a talisman-making speed four or five times faster than that of ordinary people, Song Qingming had finally raised his success rate in making Golden Light Talismans to twenty percent, barely becoming a qualified Mid-grade Talisman Master.

In the end, he had produced over a dozen finished spirit talismans, but he had also used up more than two hundred sets of mid-tier talisman-making materials. All in all, he had lost nearly thirty Spirit Stones.

But there was no helping it. If he wanted to improve his talisman-making skills, such investment was necessary. Only after becoming a true Mid-grade Talisman Master could he gradually earn back every Spirit Stone he had invested.

A mid-tier spirit talisman like the Golden Light Talisman could sell for around three Spirit Stones on the market. As long as he could raise his talisman-making success rate above thirty percent, each talisman would yield at least one Spirit Stone in profit. Given sufficient materials, he could draw three or four talismans a day, bringing in over a hundred Spirit Stones a month. The profit was quite considerable.

Compared to making low-tier spirit talismans, even with a fifty to sixty percent success rate, he could earn at most twenty or thirty Spirit Stones per month. The contrast made it clear that the Spirit Stones he needed to invest in improving his talisman-making skills were absolutely worth every coin.

What he lacked most now was still talisman-making materials. The several hundred sets of mid-tier materials he had brought from Guiyun Marketplace had more or less all been used up. As long as he could gather another batch of mid-tier talisman-making materials, he was confident he could raise the Golden Light Talisman's success rate above thirty percent. Touching the spot over his chest, Song Qingming thought that day should not be far away.

With most of his talisman-making materials used up, Song Qingming could only pause his talisman making. It was time to go out and obtain some materials.

Counting the days, it was time once more for Caolu Mountain's monthly gathering. He had not gone to Caolu Mountain for several months either, so he could first make a trip there to dispose of the Golden Light Talismans he had made, exchange them for Spirit Stones, and then head to Qinghe Market to purchase some mid-tier talisman-making materials.

Since the incident several years ago, when Huang Family cultivators had been ambushed and killed, Qinghe Market had been much more peaceful these past few years. The family no longer stopped their younger members from going out on training journeys. Now that his cultivation had reached the Fifth Level of Qi Refining, making a trip to Qinghe Market naturally posed no problem.

He wondered whether Gao Yuyao had come to Caolu Mountain looking for him during these past few months. Whenever Song Qingming encountered this woman with whom he had a secret deal, he never dared to slight her, afraid that he might cut off a source of medicinal pills.

After greeting Ninth Uncle, Song Qingming arrived at Caolu Mountain again after nearly three months away. Looking at the familiar grass and trees on the mountain, the experiences of these past three months, when he had brushed against life and death, made it feel as though a lifetime had passed.

The immortal path stretched endlessly before him. He had only just taken his first step. Even if danger lurked on every side ahead, whether minor figures like himself scattered throughout every corner of the Cultivation World or mighty cultivators who commanded a region, none of them had any path of retreat.

He tossed out a token, and the mist over Caolu Mountain slowly parted. Song Qingming took a firm step forward.

Though he had not come for several months, Caolu Mountain's twice-monthly gatherings remained as lively as ever. He had barely reached the entrance to the courtyard when he encountered an acquaintance.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Song. We have not met for several months, yet I never expected your cultivation to have broken through. Hehe, I was wondering why I had not seen you here these past two months. So you had gone into seclusion to cultivate."

This man was Qin Zhen, the rogue cultivator who had once helped Song Qingming purchase medicinal pills.

After several months apart, Qin Zhen had not expected Song Qingming's cultivation to have broken through to the Fifth Level of Qi Refining and nearly caught up to his own. It took him somewhat by surprise.

This kid is barely over twenty, yet his cultivation has already caught up to that of a cultivator like me, who has cultivated for over forty years. It really makes one envious.

As Qin Zhen looked at Song Qingming, he thought that if this man was not a genius with Three Spirit Roots, then he must be a direct descendant whose family did not lack cultivation resources. He had to build better relations with such a promising young cultivator in Qinghe County.

"Fellow Daoist Song, your absence these past few months has truly made us miss the spirit talismans made by your family. The talismans I bought elsewhere these past months have truly felt somewhat unsatisfactory to use. In the end, I still think your family's spirit talismans are of better quality. Now that you are here this time, I must buy more later, lest I have nowhere to buy them when you are absent."

"Not at all, not at all. It is only thanks to my family's support that my cultivation has improved. Qingming will have to rely on Brother Qin for much care in the future."

Song Qingming made his way familiarly into the courtyard. Not long after setting up his stall, Qin Zhen came over with a smile.

Seeing the extra pile of mid-tier spirit talismans on Song Qingming's stall, Qin Zhen asked curiously.

"Fellow Daoist Song has brought out so many mid-tier spirit talismans at once. Could it be that your talisman-making skill has already broken through to the mid-grade? To become a Mid-grade Talisman Master at such a young age—Fellow Daoist Song is truly exceptionally gifted."

"Brother Qin flatters me. Most of the spirit talismans here were entrusted to me by elders of my clan to sell on their behalf. My talisman-making skill is still lacking. However, my family has indeed studied the path of talisman making somewhat, and there are several high-grade talisman masters in the family. These spirit talismans all came from their hands, so Brother Qin may rest assured regarding their quality."

Although the vast majority of these mid-tier spirit talismans had been made by Song Qingming himself, ever since he began learning talisman making, he had claimed that most of the spirit talismans at his stall were made by family elders, in order to avoid the trouble that selling talismans on Caolu Mountain might bring him. Otherwise, given the quantity of spirit talismans he sold at Caolu Mountain each time, he would inevitably have drawn others' suspicions long ago.

Even though Song Qingming was now a Mid-grade Talisman Master, he still did not wish to reveal too much of his talisman-making skill before others. After all, if someone asked why his talisman-making skill had improved so quickly, explaining it would be troublesome. Attributing it directly to his family elders made it easier for others to understand and saved him much worry.

After hearing Song Qingming's explanation, Qin Zhen thought it made sense and did not give it much more thought. In his view, even if Song Qingming could become a Mid-grade Talisman Master at his age, the spirit talismans on his stall could not all have been drawn by him alone.

Without affecting their cultivation, a talisman master could only draw seven or eight mid-tier spirit talismans in a month. Song Qingming brought out a large quantity of spirit talismans every time he set up his stall here, so it was obvious they could not all have been drawn by him alone.

However, Qin Zhen could never have imagined that Song Qingming possessed such a rare treasure as an Incomplete Map. With the Incomplete Map accelerating his mana recovery severalfold, his talisman-making speed was likewise four or five times that of an ordinary cultivator.