Making Talismans

For the time being, though, he had no grand ambitions, and his goals were still unclear.

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

"First, I'll observe and experiment with the Destiny Panel for a while, and try to master all of its functions and discover all sorts of clever uses for it."

Shen Mo mused, "In the meantime, I'll start working on a side business and learn Alchemy and Talisman Making, building up skills that'll help me find new sources of cultivation resources in the future."

From what he understood of the world of cultivation, the path of cultivation was one of devouring the heavens and consuming the earth.

Countless spirit medicines and resources had to be consumed to raise one's cultivation.

So making money and learning how to make it—to balance income and expenses—was of paramount importance to cultivators.

The sun gradually sank below the horizon, and Shen Mo and Cao Ren finished their shift.

The two outer disciples assigned to guard the mountain gate at night came to relieve them.

After leaving the mountain gate, they headed straight for the square. He urged Cao Ren to go fetch the pill formulas and talisman scrolls.

As for himself, he waited for Cao Ren in front of the square.

Before long, Cao Ren arrived as promised, carrying a few thick booklets he had rummaged up from his father's residence.

"Got the stuff. Here, take a look!"

Shen Mo accepted the pill formulas and talisman scrolls Cao Ren handed him and flipped through them briefly.

Cao Ren had found four booklets in total.

Two contained pill formulas, and two contained talisman scrolls.

The pill formulas were for Qi Recovery Pills and Vitality Strengthening Powder.

Shen Mo knew a little about both medicines.

Qi Recovery Pills could quickly replenish the vital energy cultivators had expended. They were the pills most commonly taken by cultivators in the Qi Gathering Realm.

Five pills were worth roughly one low-grade Spirit Stone on the market.

The main ingredient for refining them was Orchid Heart Grass.

Vitality Strengthening Powder, meanwhile, helped strengthen one's foundation and nourish one's essence. It was specifically used by cultivators in the Body Tempering Realm to aid their cultivation and temper their qi and blood.

The main ingredient for Vitality Strengthening Powder was Blood Tiger Grass, a fairly common and inexpensive medicinal herb.

So its market value was low, too. Ten packets of Vitality Strengthening Powder were worth roughly one low-grade Spirit Stone.

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

As the name suggested, Lightness Talismans made the user light as a swallow, allowing them to travel faster.

Focus Talismans, meanwhile, were specifically used by cultivators troubled by restless thoughts. They had a calming effect.

In the cultivation world, pills and talismans were divided into grades from one to nine.

Grade one was the lowest, and grade nine the highest.

Neither these pill formulas nor these talismans were even grade one. They were merely basic little things.

Still, they were just right for Shen Mo, who was only beginning to learn about them.

"Here, I'll take these." After confirming everything was in order, Shen Mo pulled a jade bottle from his robes and carefully tipped out a Qi Gathering Pill. "I'll trade you the pill."

"Thanks."

Cao Ren took the Qi Gathering Pill with a delighted smile and cupped his fists toward him.

The two soon parted ways. Shen Mo hurried back to his quarters along the stone steps.

Once he was home, Shen Mo began rummaging through every nook and cranny, bringing out all his belongings.

After carefully taking stock, he found that the original owner had left him six low-grade Spirit Stones, fifteen jin of spirit rice, two bundles of sealed first-tier demonic beast meat weighing about twenty jin in total, forty taels of gold, twenty-four taels of silver, and a long sword that was ungraded but quite sharp.

Besides those, there was a fine brush for making talismans, over a hundred jin of beast blood, nearly eighty jin of Sandalwood Ink, and a stack of yellow talisman paper almost half a person's height.

The fine brush, beast blood, and Sandalwood Ink—the tools and materials for making talismans—hadn't belonged to the original owner. They had been left behind by his parents.

You could say they were an inheritance.

After taking stock of his belongings, Shen Mo thought for a moment. "I don't have any ingredients for Alchemy, so I'd better start with Talisman Making."

In truth, the medicinal ingredients required for Qi Recovery Pills and Vitality Strengthening Powder were both extremely cheap. He could go to the market with two Spirit Stones and buy a huge pile.

What had truly made Shen Mo give up on learning Alchemy first wasn't the lack of ingredients, but the fact that he had no pill cauldron!

Orchid Heart Grass and Blood Tiger Grass were easy enough to obtain, but pill cauldrons were quite expensive.

Even the most basic pill cauldron, just barely good enough for refining pills, cost at least thirty low-grade Spirit Stones.

Everything Shen Mo owned wasn't enough to buy one.

So compared with Talisman Making, Alchemy had a much higher barrier to entry.

Of course, not every cultivator who practiced Alchemy bought their own pill cauldron.

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

There was an Alchemy Pavilion there, set up specifically for those short on cash and unable to afford a pill cauldron.

All they had to do was pay the rental fee to use the pill cauldron in the Alchemy Pavilion.

"Making Lightness Talismans."

Shen Mo laid the Lightness Talisman scroll out on his desk and leaned over it, reading it carefully several times.

Only after memorizing it inside and out did he begin to try making one.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

He picked up the fine brush, dipped it into a suitable amount of Sandalwood Ink, and began by drawing the base pattern on the yellow paper.

He had to be extremely careful at this stage. Any mistake would ruin the talisman and rob it of its effect.

Shen Mo drew slowly, taking a full half hour to finish the base pattern.

Then he began to dip the brush in demonic beast blood and imbue the Lightness Talisman with spiritual power. Only after this was done would the talisman possess its wondrous effect.

"Buzz!"

As the beast blood dripped onto the talisman paper and traced out one rune after another, a buzzing sound began to emanate from the talisman.

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

[You attempted to make a talisman: Lightness Talisman, but failed.]

"It didn't work." Shen Mo set down the fine brush, unable to keep the frustration from showing.

Half an hour of effort had gone to waste.

But soon, another message appeared.

[Your Talisman Dao experience +2]

[Your Lightness Talisman proficiency +3]

"Talisman Dao experience, Lightness Talisman proficiency?"

Shen Mo was startled and hurriedly opened the Destiny Panel to take a closer look.

Sure enough!

He discovered two new entries in his stats: [Talisman Dao] and [Lightness Talisman].

His progress was now clear to see.

[Talisman Dao (Unranked) 2/500]

[Lightness Talisman (Unpracticed) 3/100]

"Talisman Dao should refer to my ability to draw all kinds of talismans. Improving this stat will greatly help me inscribe any talisman!"

"And my Lightness Talisman proficiency should improve my success rate and speed when making Lightness Talismans."

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

His frustration vanished in an instant, replaced by an abundance of motivation!

Who could turn down a life with a progress bar?

In truth, most people didn't give up because they were lazy.

They gave up because they couldn't see any results.

With the progress bar spurring him on, Shen Mo certainly wouldn't slack off.

Before long, he began drawing the next one!