Heaven-Mixing Talisman

Zhu Ying laughed. "That's right, my whole family is a nest of dragons. Be careful, or I might get up in the middle of the night, reveal my true form, and swallow you in one bite."

Little Bug shook his head. "Brother Zhu is a refined man. He cannot even finish a bowl of plain noodles—how could he eat something as large as me?"

Seeing how seriously he spoke, Zhu Ying could not help laughing.

The two left the academy arm in arm. Zhu Ying knew Egret City well and found an old establishment that had been open for decades. As soon as they entered, he called out, "Set half a table of dishes. Keep them light."

He seemed to be a regular. The proprietor and waiter attended them with great eagerness, first wiping the table, then wiping the stools before inviting them to sit. Then the waiter hurried to the kitchen to press for their food.

They chatted about their studies and discussed poetry and essays. In public, neither mentioned Master Xiao or matters of gods and monsters.

Before long, the dishes were brought out. Zhu Ying still ate lightly, picking only at boiled cabbage and steamed beans.

Little Bug had little appetite for food from outside either. After eating until he was six or seven-tenths full, he laid down his chopsticks.

They sat idly for a while longer. Seeing that dusk was approaching and the academy gates were about to close, they headed back side by side.

Once they returned to the storeroom and went upstairs to the loft, Little Bug was about to review his lessons when Zhu Ying said with a smile, "No studying today. I'll explain the Primordial Sword Formula to you."

Little Bug immediately set down the book in his hands. Zhu Ying saw this and felt a trace of admiration. Had it been anyone else, upon learning there was such an immortal sword formula, they would have been unable to contain themselves, impatient beyond measure. Yet he could still go and study. He truly has some character.

Zhu Ying called Little Bug over to his bed and said, "The Primordial Sword Formula was created by Grandmaster Bai Yue of the Five-Terrace Sect, who was also Master Xiao's master. We must address him as Patriarch Master."

"A superior sword scripture requires a sword formula, sword qi, and sword forms. Only when all three are united is it complete."

"The sword formula is used to control the sword. It is the foundation of superior sword arts, governing flying swords as a whole and changing without fixed form. Sword qi is a qi-refining method, the source of control. Without sword qi to support it, a flying sword has no power. Sword forms illuminate all transformations, slaying demons and eliminating devils—their wonders are beyond words."

So Master Xiao is a sword immortal of the Five-Terrace Sect, Wang Chong thought.

Zhu Ying extended a finger as white as jade and traced through the air, drawing twenty-eight strange characters. Their strokes, like hidden hooks and iron slashes, congealed in midair and drifted uncertainly, wondrous beyond measure. One resembled a character on the stone stele, except the stele bore a full one hundred and eight characters, more than three or four times as many.

Little Bug was inwardly stunned. That stone stele was from the Five-Terrace Sect?

Seeing him stare blankly, Zhu Ying said, "The Daoist arts of the world each have their own origins. The loftiest wonder among them is the Heaven-Mixing Talisman."

"The Primordial Sword Formula belongs to the Heaven-Mixing Talisman lineage. Each of these twenty-eight Heaven-Mixing Talismans possesses boundless wondrous uses. Together, they can unleash sword light and kill a man from a thousand li away. They are the essence of a sword scripture. Because it possesses this secret-transmitted sword formula, although the Primordial Sword Art cannot compare with the foremost direct inheritances of famous orthodox sects, it is still a first-rate sword art."

Little Bug had been raised under strict discipline. Since Zhu Ying was explaining the Primordial Sword Formula, he treated him with the courtesy due a teacher. Though he was dumbfounded, he did not interrupt or disturb him, listening patiently as Zhu Ying continued. "The Heaven-Mixing Talismans contain endless marvels. Every talisman has its uses, and there are methods for concentrating the spirit and preserving intent, along with countless hidden mysteries of cultivation. Without guidance from a sword immortal like Master Xiao, ordinary people would gain nothing even if they obtained them."

Zhu Ying formed a hand seal. Twenty-seven Heaven-Mixing Talismans vanished at once, leaving only one floating in the air. He continued, "This Heaven-Mixing Talisman bears the meaning of gathering and drawing in. It is read as Hook Tone. If you can concentrate your divine sense, visualize it, and trace it into form, you will be able to draw objects through empty space."

Zhu Ying reached out and grabbed. An inkstone flew up and landed in his hand.

This was Little Bug's first time learning that the strange characters on the stone stele carried so many intricacies. Remembering that more than half the characters on the stele contained this very character, he was filled with sudden understanding. So that is how it is. No wonder both characters that controlled the bronze ring and drove the black cloud contained this one—they all carried the meaning of gathering and drawing in.

After explaining this Heaven-Mixing Talisman, Zhu Ying went on to explain how to concentrate the spirit and preserve intent. As for tracing characters through empty space, that required qi-refining cultivation, so he passed over it for now.

Zhu Ying had explained only one, yet Little Bug felt as if clouds had parted to reveal the sun. Reflecting carefully upon the two characters that controlled the bronze ring and drove the black cloud, he gained much insight.

Zhu Ying said, "To practice a sword formula, you must brand the Heaven-Mixing Talisman upon your heart. You must feel it suspended before your eyes, majestic and radiant, like a candle burning day after day, never extinguished. Only then can it be considered accomplished. The Heaven-Mixing Talismans are wondrous besides. Ordinary people may visualize one for months without managing to imprint even a single one upon their minds. Your memory is peerless under heaven, so you should learn this sword formula faster than others. Follow the method I taught you and visualize this Heaven-Mixing Talisman."

One talisman takes several months? Little Bug wondered.

He closed his eyes slightly, and three Heaven-Mixing Talismans hung suspended before him.

One was grand and majestic, its clear radiance like daylight, its hidden transformations without constancy. One was deep and shadowed, surging and unbroken, vast and boundless, like a dragon startled from its winter sleep, carrying an irresistible force no power could withstand. One was sharp as a heavenly blade, blazing and resplendent, like a newly honed edge, its brilliance fierce, carrying the intent to cleave across the eight desolations.

Yet the third Heaven-Mixing Talisman was neither the one that "bore the meaning of gathering and drawing in, read as Hook Tone," nor one of the twenty-eight from the Primordial Sword Formula. It contained one hundred and eight characters, its imposing grandeur pressing down even the other two sets of characters.

Little Bug opened his eyes. This is not difficult at all. It is far easier than when I was on Little Cold Mountain and forcibly memorized the entire inscription on that stele.

Seeing that he had opened his eyes after only a moment, Zhu Ying sighed. "Don't tell me you have already succeeded in visualizing it."

He knew Little Bug's memory was unmatched and that he would certainly have an advantage in visualizing sword-formula talismans, but he never believed Wang Chong could successfully visualize a Heaven-Mixing Talisman in such a short time.

After thinking for a moment, Little Bug beckoned toward Zhu Ying's inkstone as well.

Having just used it for his demonstration, Zhu Ying had placed the inkstone by his feet. Now, stirred by the talisman's power, it immediately rose into the air, startling Zhu Ying.

Thinking he had frightened his friend, Little Bug hurriedly withdrew his magic power. The inkstone drifted gently back down. "I was rash. Did I startle you, Brother Zhu?"

When Zhu Ying looked at Wang Chong again, his expression had become somewhat strange. Shaking his head, he said, "I was indeed startled, but not in the way you imagine."

Zhu Ying lightly bit his red lips, revealing fine teeth like shells. "If Master Xiao knew that your talent for learning the Dao was so astonishing, he would surely insist on taking you into his school and never let you slip away again."

Little Bug's mind wavered slightly. Brother Zhu is truly beautiful.

That expression even makes him look a little like a girl...

The moment Little Bug thought this, he hurriedly scattered the thought and dared not dwell on it further. Since childhood, he had been taught to be a gentleman of utmost sincerity. He treated even the little maid who attended him closely with courtesy. To have such a thought about Zhu Ying carried a hint of wanton disrespect, and he felt it deeply improper.

Had Little Bug been two or three years older, he certainly would not have thought this way. But he was still too young, and could not escape the saying: "A young gentleman may be deceived by what is proper."