Dual Cultivation of Talismans and Martial Arts

Lu Chen did not reach for the money pouch. He merely looked at Foreman Wang with a flat gaze, at his face twisted by fear. After a moment, a cold, mocking curve tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Steward Wang, you're too kind."

He stepped past Foreman Wang and walked straight into his own small courtyard, his voice drifting back from behind the door.

"I appreciate the thought. Keep the money for yourself..."

"Bang!"

The courtyard door slammed shut with force.

Foreman Wang stood frozen in place. The money pouch slipped from his hand with a clatter, scattering gold and silver across the ground.

His face shifted from deathly pale to ashen gray, and then a shadow of gloom settled over his features.

He knew now that between himself and this youth, there was no room left for reconciliation.

It was either him or me.

Inside the courtyard, Lu Chen dismissed his subordinates and entered the meditation chamber alone.

He did not rush to tally his gains from this trip. Instead, he first took out the two pitch-black [Annihilation Demon Eyes].

The beads were icy to the touch. The eerie power that specialized in corrupting the soul had already gone dormant, but it still exuded a disquieting chill.

Lu Chen pushed the newly acquired trait, [Eye of Delusion Breaking], to its limit.

A faint, clear light seemed to swirl within his eyes.

When he looked again, the internal structure of the demon eyes became sharply clear.

He saw countless twisted spiritual imprints, layered like chains wrapped around the core of the demon eyes, forming an extremely intricate and vicious curse.

This thing could not be absorbed directly, nor could it be easily refined.

"What a treacherous demon," Lu Chen sneered inwardly, putting the demon eyes away carefully.

This item needed someone knowledgeable to handle it, and he already had the perfect candidate in mind.

Without delay, he changed into a set of ordinary servant's clothes, quietly slipped out of the Imperial Guard Camp's grounds, and headed straight for the most remote and neglected corner of the bureau—the storeroom.

It was the same counter, the same old clerk dozing with his head down.

Lu Chen placed a square box wrapped in thick oilcloth gently on the counter.

"Clerk Chen, I've come to turn in some... special materials."

Clerk Chen lazily lifted his eyelids. When his gaze landed on the square box, his murky pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

He did not open it immediately. Instead, he slowly stood up, walked to the door, pushed the old wooden door shut with a creak, and slid the bolt into place from the inside.

Only after doing all this did he return to the counter, extend a hand as withered as a chicken claw, and slowly peel back the oilcloth.

When the two pitch-black [Annihilation Demon Eyes], radiating an aura of deathly stillness, were exposed to the dim lamplight, an invisible spiritual shockwave—enough to instantly shatter an ordinary person's mind—exploded outward!

Yet that force struck Clerk Chen like a gentle breeze brushing against a mountain ridge, stirring not even a ripple.

For the first time, a grave expression appeared on Clerk Chen's face.

He did not touch them with his hands. Instead, he leaned in close, using those cloudy old eyes to examine them meticulously, as if admiring a rare treasure.

"The lifebound demon eyes of a Stone-Skinned Soul-Peering Demon... and still living pupils, their spiritual nature intact."

After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice hoarse but carrying a hint of strange emotion. "Kid, your luck this time is better than your grandmother's."

Lu Chen stood to the side, silent.

Clerk Chen raised his head and gave him a deep look. "This thing is both great danger and great nourishment. What do you want to trade it for?"

"This junior does not know the value of this item, but right now, I lack a true method for drawing talismans and a proper set of talisman-making tools," Lu Chen said, neither humble nor arrogant.

He knew that before an expert like Clerk Chen, any concealment or scheming was futile.

"Talismans?" Clerk Chen's eyes flickered with surprise, then shifted to understanding. "No wonder... no wonder you were able to break the illusion array on Ghost Face Slope. So you've taken the path of Dual Cultivation of Talismans and Martial Arts."

He pondered for a moment, as if weighing something.

"Very well." He nodded. "Dual Cultivation of Talismans and Martial Arts is a rugged, perilous road, nine deaths for one life. But you, kid, have a hard fate. Maybe you really can carve out a path."

With that, he carefully put away the two demon eyes, turned, and walked into the deepest darkness of the storeroom.

This time, he was gone for a long while.

When he emerged again, he was holding an antique rosewood box in his hands.

He placed the box on the counter and pushed it toward Lu Chen.

"This pair of demon eyes is worth a fortune. Trading them for these items means you've gotten an outrageous bargain."

Lu Chen opened the box.

Inside lay three things, resting quietly.

A talisman brush, its body made of some unknown warm jade, with a faint golden tip.

A piece of premium Fire-Washed Vermilion, its color as red as blood, as if molten lava flowed within it.

...and a book whose cover was woven from silver threads, smooth and warm to the touch, its pages utterly blank—a Wordless Heavenly Tome?

"This is...?" Lu Chen looked at the last book in confusion.

"That is a rubbing of the Divine Firmament Induction Chapter," Clerk Chen said, settling back into his chair. He picked up his wine flask, took a sip, and only then explained unhurriedly, "True talisman arts don't draw talismans—they draw the Dao and its principles woven into heaven and earth. This Induction Chapter contains not a single word; it cultivates not technique, but the heart."

"You must use your own spiritual power as a guide to merge with it. Only then can you sense the spiritual imprints left within the pages by ancient talisman grandmasters. How much you comprehend depends entirely on your own insight and fortune."

"As for this Golden Bristle Jade Brush and this piece of Earthfire Cinnabar, they count as rare treasures too—good enough to see you through to the Initiate Grade."

Lu Chen's heart pounded wildly in that moment.

This wasn't just getting a good deal—this was a heaven-sent windfall!

The value of these three items alone could probably buy ten of Foreman Wang!

"Thank you, Clerk Chen, for your generosity!" Lu Chen suppressed the ecstasy surging within him and bowed to Clerk Chen with the utmost solemnity.

"Don't thank me." Clerk Chen waved a hand, a flicker of something complicated passing through his murky eyes. "I'm just an old man minding the storeroom. I just... don't want to see promising sprouts nipped off before they've even grown."