Before leaving, Zheng Zibu told Indra what he suspected.
Jo had done him a great favor, and Zheng Zibu felt that the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art alone was not enough to repay him.
"The Heaven Communicating Talisman Art may have a serious flaw. Calling on the power of heaven and earth has consequences. If you use it, be careful!"
"If that's what you think, stay and help me master the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art before you go."
"Uh... all right."
Zheng Zibu was stumped. He could only stay and teach Indra.
Lu Jin, meanwhile, took "Zheng Zibu" away to report back to the Lu Family.
Only when Zheng Zibu began teaching Indra did he realize the man had been hiding something!
"You don't know the first thing about talismans!" Zheng Zibu stared at Indra in despair.
Jo replied without a trace of shame, "I never said I did. I can learn first. What's the rush?"
"..."
As a member of the Maoshan Supreme Clarity Sect who had studied talismans since childhood, Zheng Zibu knew how difficult the discipline was.
Even someone exceptionally gifted would need years to grasp the basics.
With no other choice, Zheng Zibu started from scratch. He soon discovered he had worried for nothing.
Under his guidance, Indra first learned the basics of the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art.
He then used it as the foundation for studying talismans.
He skipped every tedious preliminary step and went straight to drawing them.
After just one week of Zheng Zibu's instruction, Indra had learned most of what there was to teach.
"I don't know the limits of the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art.
"In the Nine-Turn Winding Cave of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Valley, I studied the inscriptions on the cave walls, and this art came to me naturally.
"It's an Extraordinary Skill, not a path to immortality. In the end, it's only a shortcut."
Zheng Zibu sighed and brought Indra's lessons to an end.
He had taught Indra everything he knew.
Jo did not make things difficult for Zheng Zibu and let him leave.
Days earlier, the "Zheng Zibu" Indra had made from a sparrow had fallen into the hands of the various schools of practitioners through the Lu Family.
The real Zheng Zibu was no longer at risk of being hunted down.
Unable to return to the Maoshan Supreme Clarity Sect, Zheng Zibu ultimately chose to seek refuge with Lu Jin.
After Zheng Zibu left, Indra did not immediately return to the Three One Sect. Instead, he carefully examined the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art he had learned.
In The Outcast, talismans are drawn through specific rituals that connect the practitioner with heaven and earth.
The Heaven Communicating Talisman Art skips that step. Drawing talismans by hand costs almost nothing, but that isn't the best way to use it.
The best approach is to draw talismans in advance, then throw out a whole pile in battle.
Jo only had to imagine it to know how shamelessly extravagant that fighting style would be.
But then another question occurred to Jo.
The Heaven Communicating Talisman Art uses special authority to connect with heaven and earth and draw talismans. What if I can't make that connection in another world?
Jo quickly reached a conclusion: he would have to make the talismans with his own power.
He would apply the techniques of the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art to himself and draw talismans using his own strength.
The next moment, Indra channeled Chakra and traced a pattern in the air with his fingertip.
"Great Fireball Talisman!"
The talisman appeared in the air. With a thought, he activated it.
BOOM!!!
A huge, scorching fireball blasted forward and blew a massive hole in the rock wall before him.
"The power's about the same as when I cast it myself, and so is the casting speed. The only difference is that I can store a drawn talisman."
Jo took out a sheet of yellow paper and swiftly drew a Great Fireball Talisman.
"The age of scientific... talisman ninja tools is here!"
Holding the Great Fireball Talisman, Indra understood that this art could completely change the role of ninjas.
Apart from the likes of Naruto Uzumaki and Hashirama Senju, who had oceans of Chakra, most ninjas had to budget theirs carefully.
A ninjutsu talisman that used no Chakra gave its user one chance to cast a jutsu at no cost.
Used well, it could turn the tide of a battle.
But if anyone finds out and catches me, they'll exploit me without end. I absolutely can't let this get out.
Jo had no desire to spark a "Jia Shen Chaos" aimed at him in the Shinobi World.
He put away the Great Fireball Talisman, looked up at the sky, and made a request to heaven and earth.
Using the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art to make such a request might have side effects, but requests did come true. Jo was ready to give it a try.
"I want to obtain the Eight Extraordinary Skills."
Jo's request was quite simple, and he didn't add many conditions.
Now that he truly understood the power of the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art, he knew a request could not be as complicated as a contract.
If it contained too many details, heaven and earth would not respond. Nothing would happen.
Jo just wanted to see whether his wish for the Eight Extraordinary Skills could come true.
The instant he made the request, a feeling suddenly stirred within him.
I need to go that way...
Jo bent his knees, leaped into the air, and flew northwest without a clear destination.
Afraid he might fly straight past the place, he held back his speed.
After flying for two hours straight, Indra abruptly stopped and hovered high in the air.
The "premonition" that had driven him here had vanished.
He looked down over the vast land below and spotted a village with cooking smoke rising from its homes.
This is Sichuan. Is the request going to be fulfilled by leading me to the holders of the other Eight Extraordinary Skills?
As Indra considered this, he caught sight of a thundercloud gathering overhead.
"Wait, you damned heavens, your mo—"
BOOM!!!
Before Indra could finish cursing, a terrifying bolt of lightning struck him dead on.
The powerful current and impact sent Indra crashing out of the sky on the spot.
He streaked across the sky and slammed into a mountain path in the forest.
WHOOSH—BANG!!
With a heavy crash, his body smashed a human-shaped crater into the ground.
Ever since making his request, Indra had kept the Horse Talisman and Dog Talisman on him.
Just as he had feared, the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art had been saving up something big for him.
The Dog Talisman kept Indra alive, and his injuries healed at blinding speed.
Before he could get up, Indra felt something poke his cheek.
Glancing sideways, he saw a girl with long, straight black hair crouching beside him and poking him with a dead branch.
The girl had a lovely face and fair skin. Her fitted, plain-colored qipao perfectly outlined her figure.
Below her white skirt, which fell past her knees, a pair of pale feet rested in embroidered shoes.
Even crouching there, she naturally carried both the freshness of a young girl and the poise of a well-bred young lady.
But when Indra met her eyes, he found her gaze so blank it was almost vacant.
It was the clear, foolish gaze of someone fresh out of college.
"Uh..."
That distinctive look told Indra who she was at once.
That's Feng Baobao!
Before you continue