The Art of Talismans originally required the Bestowal of Talismans to work.
As for what the Bestowal of Talismans meant...
Simply put, it gave you credentials so the higher-ups would recognize you. Only then, when you drew talismans to borrow their power, would they bother with you.
So if you drew talismans at home on your own...
Most would just be meaningless scribbles, utterly useless.
A small number, though...
If your internal cultivation reached a certain level, you could also seal your own magical power inside talismans.
That was self-reliance.
There was another way.
Those with profound cultivation in major sects could also earn divine recognition through their talismans once they reached a high enough realm. The gods would show them some respect and lend them power.
In short...
For talismans to work...
You either needed accomplishments in internal cultivation or recognition from the gods.
Of the two...
The former was harder than the latter.
For the latter, you could rely on your sect's backing. It didn't matter if you weren't badass. Your founding patriarch was badass, your master was badass, and if you happened to join the sect and earn your elders' approval, you could tag along, freeload, and become a familiar face.
Guardian deities and the like would help you with little things, too.
But the former...
That truly required a genius among geniuses.
Of course...
This wasn't a world of immortal cultivation. It was a world of supernatural horrors.
The circles were slightly different.
Every religious sect here was sinister, and the beings you prayed to were mostly strange, unfathomable things.
In theory...
Those top factions had half-gods, too.
So members of top factions ought to be able to pray in relative safety and borrow the power of the strong, right?
Unfortunately...
Although some human half-gods followed