Hun Han's first Character Sign-in had been on Qin Lan, and he had obtained the mid-Xuan-rank movement technique—Netherworld Ghost Shadow.
His second Character Sign-in had been on Hun Tiandi, and he had obtained the divine artifact—Teleportation Star Disk.
His third Character Sign-in had been on Xiao Xun'er, and he had obtained the growth-type close-combat fighting technique—Overlord Fist.
His fourth Character Sign-in had been on Ya Fei, and he had obtained a hundred rare, out-of-print books on commerce.
Now, his fifth Character Sign-in was about to begin. What good thing would he get this time? Hun Han's eyes gleamed as excitement surged through him.
"Ding-dong!"
As Hun Han's palm lightly touched Zi Yan's, the system's voice finally rang out.
"Congratulations. You have made physical contact with Zi Yan. Sign-in successful. Item obtained: one bottle of Dragon Clan Essence Blood!"
Dragon Clan Essence Blood: Originating from the Ancient Void Dragon clan, it contained exceptionally pure energy and had remarkable effects in tempering the body.
After shaking Zi Yan's hand, Hun Han entered the main hall and impatiently pulled out a reddish medicine cauldron nearly half a meter tall from his storage ring.
The cauldron was dark red throughout, speckled with faint glimmers of light. Two ferocious snake heads were carved beneath it. Their wide-open mouths formed connected fire channels.
The two openings indicated that it was a two-vent cauldron, probably only second grade. Medicine cauldrons also had grades: the more fire vents a cauldron had, the higher its grade. Even such an ordinary cauldron had cost the Exploding Heaven Gang's leader one hundred thousand Gold Coins.
Hun Han was not particularly curious about the Exploding Heaven Gang leader's identity, since he could casually produce one hundred thousand Gold Coins. After all, for a Dou Emperor, a mere one hundred thousand Gold Coins was nothing.
Hun Han's cultivation was still low. Without Heavenly Flames, he could not turn Dou Qi into fire. Thus, if he wanted to refine medicinal ingredients, he still had to rely on an alchemist's medicine cauldron.
Hun Han sat cross-legged and took a deep breath. Though he had no mentor to guide him, he possessed a god's-eye view and knew quite a lot about alchemists.
With his eyes closed, his exceptional soul perception played a major role at this moment. Before long, Hun Han found the power of wood within his body.
Then Hun Han opened his eyes, extended a finger, and lightly tapped one of the fire vents, sending in a stream of red and green energy. Under the effect of that energy, Hun Han could keenly sense that the violent factors within the flames had been neutralized by the power of wood. A highly stable flame now burned inside the cauldron.
I'm a genius! Hun Han was overjoyed. On his first attempt at familiarizing himself with a medicine cauldron, he had already formed a stable flame within it.
"Now for the second step!"
Drawing talismans required a talisman brush. High-level Talisman Masters could draw talismans barehanded, but Hun Han could not yet do that.
The Talisman Secret Codex that Hun Han had obtained through sign-in also contained detailed instructions on making talisman brushes. In the current Dou Qi Continent, Talisman Masters had practically vanished, and talisman brushes were extremely rare on the market. Left with no alternative, Hun Han could only make one himself.
A talisman brush required only two materials: a sturdy brush shaft and hairs capable of withstanding the energy of refined medicinal droplets.
The facts prove that I'm indeed a genius! Hun Han shamelessly praised himself inwardly.
An hour later, a fairly decent talisman brush lay before Hun Han. A small formation was inscribed at the top of the brush, runes were carved inside its shaft, and its bristles were made from Flame Rhinoceros hair.
The talisman brush looked somewhat crude, but it was usable, at least. Its grade could not yet be assessed. Still, it was enough to make the lowest first-grade talismans.
"Time to refine the medicinal droplets! Blood Spirit Ganoderma, Flame Grass, and a first-tier Fire Attribute Magic Core!" With a flick of his finger, Hun Han tossed the three ingredients in sequence into the snake head coiled atop the medicine cauldron.
The moment the Blood Spirit Ganoderma, Flame Grass, and first-tier Fire Attribute Magic Core entered the cauldron, Hun Han immediately used his soul perception to tightly control the flame's temperature.
Under Hun Han's control, the Blood Spirit Ganoderma was first gradually stripped of its outer skin, and the juice contained within was roasted out. Then the Flame Grass and Fire Attribute Magic Core were successively refined into glowing droplets.
"Hahaha! I succeeded on my first try! I'm definitely an alchemy prodigy—even Xiao Yan can't compare to me!"
With his god's-eye view, Hun Han knew that Xiao Yan had failed several times just refining ingredients during his first attempt at alchemy. Yet Hun Han had succeeded in one go. He had no idea whose talent for alchemy he had inherited.
At the very least, it was definitely not from his worthless father, Hun Tiandi.
"Next comes drawing the talisman!" Hun Han took several deep breaths, calming himself and bringing himself into peak condition.
Drawing talismans was actually quite simple. Using a talisman brush, one drew the refined medicinal droplets onto leather in specific patterns. Different patterns granted talismans different miraculous effects.
Medicinal ingredients, talisman brushes, and leather were the three essential elements of drawing talismans. If the brush and leather were not resilient enough to withstand the energy of the medicinal droplets, there was a risk of the brush exploding or the talisman detonating, just like an alchemist's pill furnace explosion. Generally speaking, a first-grade talisman required at least a first-grade talisman brush and the hide of a first-tier magical beast.
Hun Han closed his eyes and pondered for a while, recalling the key points in his mind. He picked up the brush and placed the three refined droplets into the space inside its shaft. His soul perception spread out, controlling the droplets within. Then he moved his hand and began drawing on the leather.
The difficulty should not be underestimated. Like pill refinement, talisman drawing was meticulous work; even the smallest details could determine success or failure. Furthermore, the direction and width of every stroke could seriously affect a talisman's quality.
"Hoo... It worked!"
Hun Han's eyes filled with delight. His first attempt at drawing a talisman had actually succeeded. The leather before him was no longer an ordinary piece of leather. A hazy blood-red glow radiated from it. The strokes upon it were obviously still rather unskilled, but for a first attempt, it had at least succeeded.
"So this is a talisman?" the Exploding Heaven Gang's leader asked curiously.
"Mm."
Hun Han nodded, pride filling his gaze. His talent had far exceeded even his own expectations. Being able to successfully draw a first-grade talisman meant that he was now a first-grade Talisman Master.
"Can you eat it?" Zi Yan asked expectantly.
"No." Hun Han shook his head slightly.
"Hurry, try using it!" urged the Exploding Heaven Gang's leader. He had never seen a talisman before.
"Mm."
Hun Han nodded slightly. The method of using a talisman was very simple. One only needed to seep a trace of soul power into it.
As a trace of Hun Han's soul power entered the talisman, it immediately bloomed with fiery red light and began burning on its own. Then, as if controlled by invisible threads, a rune descended onto Hun Han's body. A fiery red glow formed around him, along with those mysterious runes.
The fiery red light not only clung to Hun Han's body; it even flickered within his bloodline.
This was merely a first-grade defensive talisman—the Blood Rock Talisman. It would be an important treasure for Hun Han when approaching Exotic Water!
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