Crafting Talismans

However, he currently lacked any grand ambitions, and his goals remained ill-defined.

He was still in a state of relative bewilderment, taking things one step at a time.

I should observe and explore the Destiny Panel for a while, striving to fully grasp all its functions and uncover its various marvelous uses, Shen Mo mused. During this period, I can also start a side hustle, learning the arts of alchemy and talisman-making to accumulate resources for my future cultivation.

Based on his understanding of the cultivation world, the path of cultivation was a gluttonous road that devoured the heavens and the earth.

It required the consumption of countless spiritual herbs and resources just to have a chance at piling up one's cultivation base.

Therefore, making money and mastering the methods to make money—achieving a balance between income and expenditure—was the top priority of cultivation.

As the sun gradually dipped below the mountains, Shen Mo and Cao Ren finished their shift.

Two outer-sect disciples who guarded the mountain gate at night came to relieve them.

After the two left the mountain gate, they headed straight for the plaza, where he urged Cao Ren to retrieve the alchemy recipes and talisman scrolls.

He stood in front of the plaza waiting for him.

Before long, Cao Ren arrived as promised, having searched for several thick booklets from his father's residence.

"I brought the stuff. Here, take a look!"

Shen Mo took the alchemy recipes and talisman scrolls from Cao Ren and glanced through them.

Cao Ren had found four booklets in total.

Two were for alchemy recipes, and two were for talisman scrolls.

The alchemy recipes were for Qi Recovery Pills and Vitality Strengthening Powder.

Shen Mo knew a thing or two about these two types of pills.

The Qi Recovery Pill was effective for quickly replenishing a cultivator's depleted vital energy and was the most commonly consumed pill for those in the Qi Gathering Realm.

On the market, five of them were worth roughly one low-grade spirit stone.

The main ingredient for refining them was Orchid Heart Grass.

As for the Vitality Strengthening Powder, it had the effect of consolidating one's foundation and nourishing the primordial essence, specifically used by Body Tempering Realm cultivators to assist their training and temper their blood and qi.

The main ingredient for the Vitality Strengthening Powder was Blood Tiger Grass; this medicinal herb was quite common and cheap.

Therefore, its value in the market was not high, with ten portions of Vitality Strengthening Powder roughly equaling one low-grade spirit stone.

As for the talismans, they were for crafting Lightness Talismans and Focus Talismans.

The Lightness Talisman, as the name suggested, could make the user as light as a swallow, increasing their travel speed.

The Focus Talisman was specifically for cultivators who were feeling restless during their practice, providing a calming effect.

According to the classification of the cultivation world, pills and talismans were each divided into nine grades.

The first grade was the lowest, and the ninth grade was the highest.

Neither of these alchemy recipes nor the talisman scrolls were graded; they could only be described as quite basic trinkets.

However, for Shen Mo, who was just coming into contact with these things, they were just right.

"Alright, I'll take them." After confirming everything was correct, Shen Mo took a jade bottle from his bosom and carefully poured out one Qi Gathering Pill. "Here is the pill in exchange."

"Many thanks."

Cao Ren took the Qi Gathering Pill, his face beaming with joy, and cupped his fists toward him.

The two soon parted ways, and Shen Mo hurried back to his residence along the stone steps without a moment's rest.

Upon returning to his residence, Shen Mo began rummaging through boxes and cabinets, digging out all his worldly possessions.

After a careful inventory, he discovered that the original owner had left him six low-grade spirit stones, fifteen catties of spiritual rice, two bundles of preserved first-grade demonic beast meat weighing about twenty catties, forty taels of gold, twenty-four taels of silver, and a long sword that was ungraded but quite sharp.

Besides these, there was a brush for crafting talismans, a full hundred catties of beast blood, nearly eighty catties of sandalwood ink, and a stack of yellow talisman paper half a person's height.

The brush, beast blood, and sandalwood ink—these tools for crafting talismans—did not belong to the original owner, but were left behind by his parents.

They could be considered an inheritance.

After finishing the inventory, Shen Mo thought to himself, "As for alchemy, I lack the raw materials, so I'd better start with talisman-making."

In fact, the raw materials needed for both Qi Recovery Pills and Vitality Strengthening Powder were extremely cheap; one could buy a whole pile of them at the market with just two spirit stones.

What truly made Shen Mo abandon the idea of learning alchemy first wasn't the lack of herbs, but rather—he didn't have an alchemy cauldron!

Although herbs like Orchid Heart Grass and Blood Tiger Grass were easy to obtain, an alchemy cauldron was not cheap at all.

Even one with just barely acceptable quality for refining pills would cost at least thirty low-grade spirit stones.

All the possessions in Shen Mo's hands weren't enough to buy a single alchemy cauldron.

Therefore, compared to talisman-making, the barrier to entry for alchemy was much higher.

Of course, not all alchemy-practicing cultivators purchased their own cauldrons.

Some small-time cultivators who couldn't afford one often went to the market at the foot of the mountain.

There, an Alchemy Pavilion had been opened specifically for those who were strapped for cash and could not afford their own cauldrons.

By simply paying the rental fee, one could borrow the cauldrons in the Alchemy Pavilion to refine pills.

"Crafting Lightness Talisman."

Shen Mo placed the talisman-making scroll for the Lightness Talisman on the desk and leaned over, reading it through carefully several times.

Only after he had memorized it by heart did he begin his attempt at crafting.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

He picked up a fine-tipped brush, dipped it in an appropriate amount of sandalwood ink, and began by sketching the base pattern onto the yellow paper.

This process required extreme caution; any mistake would cause the talisman to be ruined in an instant, rendering it useless.

Shen Mo traced very slowly, taking a full hour to complete the base pattern.

Following that, he began dipping his brush into the blood of a demonic beast to awaken the spirit of this Lightness Talisman; only after the spirit-awakening was complete would the talisman possess its miraculous effects.

"Hum!"

As the beast blood dripped down, tracing inscriptions onto the talisman paper, a humming sound began to emanate from the talisman itself.

Soon, a message flashed before Shen Mo's eyes.

[You attempted to craft a talisman: Lightness Talisman, and failed.]

"No success, then." Shen Mo dropped his brush, unable to suppress a flicker of annoyance.

A full hour of effort had been wasted just like that.

But soon, new information arrived.

[Your Talisman Dao experience +2]

[Your Lightness Talisman proficiency +3]

"Talisman Dao experience, Lightness Talisman proficiency?"

Shen Mo was slightly stunned, then hurriedly opened his Destiny Panel to take a closer look.

Indeed!

He discovered that his data now included two new entries: [Talisman Dao] and [Lightness Talisman].

At this moment, under the display of data, Shen Mo's progress was laid bare.

[Talisman Dao (Unranked) 2/500]

[Lightness Talisman (Unfamiliar) 3/100]

"Talisman Dao must refer to the ability to draw all types of talismans; an increase in this data will provide a massive boost to my ability to engrave any talisman!"

"And this Lightness Talisman proficiency should allow me to improve the success rate and speed of drawing Lightness Talismans."

Shen Mo quickly reached his conclusion, a smile appearing on his face.

The annoyance he had felt moments ago vanished, replaced by a surge of motivation!

Who could refuse a life equipped with a progress bar?

In truth, many people fail to persevere not because they are lazy, but because they see no feedback for their efforts.

But with the encouragement of the progress bar, Shen Mo would naturally never slack off.

Without delay, he began his next attempt!