Making Talisman Paper

"The core process of making talisman paper from spirit beast hide is divided into four steps: selecting materials, preliminary treatment, spiritual tanning, and setting the shape.

"Every step must be handled with the utmost care to keep the spirituality contained within the hide from leaking away. Only then can you make talisman paper truly capable of bearing the spiritual power of talismans."

Inside a room whose four walls were hung with all manner of beast pelts, Miao Ruolan explained to Jiang Fu'an beside her:

"For the first step, selecting materials, you must choose 'live hide' from beasts that were killed not long ago, before their spiritual energy has fully dispersed.

"Anything damaged or left sitting for too long cannot be used."

Jiang Fu'an listened intently, nodding from time to time.

This time, he had specifically invited people from the Miao Family to teach him how to make talisman paper.

He wanted to learn this craft himself while he had the chance.

That way, if some unforeseen change occurred in the future and the Miao Family left, there would still be someone who knew how to make talisman paper.

Miao Ruolan bent down and carefully examined the boar hide Jiang Fu'an had personally skinned earlier.

The hide was whole, the knife cuts smooth, without a single hole or tear.

Approval showed in her eyes. She looked up at Jiang Fu'an and smiled.

"Not bad. Master, you skinned this hide beautifully. You didn't damage the surface in the slightest. It seems you have quite a talent for working leather."

"Heh, it's only because my hands are used to it. I always handle the pelts of the game I hunt myself."

Jiang Fu'an smiled faintly, then asked:

"So what comes next in the second step?"

Miao Ruolan spread the hide flat across the table and continued her explanation:

"The second step is cleaning and degreasing the hide. It isn't difficult, but it requires meticulous work.

"First, you need to remove the hair. Use a small knife to scrape gently in the direction of the hair roots. Be careful not to cut the hide, or the spiritual energy will leak out through the wounds.

"If you encounter hair that is particularly difficult to remove, you will need to apply a little Hair-Eroding Powder."

The hide in Jiang Fu'an's hands was merely ordinary boar hide, meant for practice.

He was not afraid of making mistakes. He immediately took the small knife and, following Miao Ruolan's instructions, pressed its tip against the hide and began scraping with steady, gentle movements of his wrist.

Without stopping his hands, he asked:

"Can this Hair-Eroding Powder be bought with gold or silver?"

Miao Ruolan shook her head.

"No. Apothecaries make it by blending several kinds of spirit herbs; ordinary shops do not sell it.

"You must go to a market frequented by cultivators and exchange Spirit Stones for it.

"But it isn't expensive, so Master need not worry."

Over the past few days of conversation, Jiang Fu'an had learned that apothecary was one of the many arts of cultivation.

They specialized in preparing all kinds of medicinal liquids: some healed wounds and prolonged life, while others killed without a trace.

Seeing that his technique was gradually becoming more practiced, Miao Ruolan continued:

"Once the hair has been removed, it is time to clean the hide.

"If it is only the hide of an ordinary beast or a Half-Spirit Beast, soaking it in clean water will suffice. Once the hide softens, scrape away the fat, fascia, and remaining flesh.

"If it is the hide of a true spirit beast, then you must soak it in medicinal liquid such as Pure Spirit Dew.

"The final step is to place the treated hide somewhere cool and well-ventilated to dry slowly.

"You must never expose it to the sun or roast it over fire. Otherwise, the spiritual energy will disperse, and the hide will become brittle."

Jiang Fu'an listened while his hands never stopped moving.

He suddenly realized that the entire process required several kinds of medicinal liquid.

It seemed that if he wanted to produce talisman paper on a large scale in the future, he would have to train an apothecary as well.

Half an hour later, Jiang Fu'an finally finished removing all the hair from the entire hide.

While waiting for the hide to soak, he asked again:

"What about the third step?"

To his surprise, Miao Ruolan shook her head.

"You cannot learn the third step yet. That process is only used to make Premium Talisman Paper.

"Once you finish the second step, simply cut the hide into strips three cun long and one cun wide."

"What is the difference between Premium Talisman Paper and ordinary talisman paper?"

Jiang Fu'an pressed.

After spending time with Miao Ruolan, he had discovered that this young woman knew quite a bit about many common matters in the cultivation world. This was the perfect chance to learn more.

There was no impatience on Miao Ruolan's face.

After all, her whole family was now living under Jiang Fu'an's roof, relying on this master for food, clothing, and daily necessities.

She tucked back the hair by her ear and patiently explained:

"Ordinary talisman paper is used to draw low-grade and mid-grade talismans, while Premium Talisman Paper is used for high-grade talismans."

At that, she looked at Jiang Fu'an.

"Master, do you perhaps not know the difference between the high, middle, and low grades of talismans?"

Jiang Fu'an nodded honestly.

He truly did not know that.

"But you have at least heard of the early, middle, and late stages of the Qi Refining Period, haven't you?"

Miao Ruolan asked again.

"I have."

Even ordinary people had heard something about the divisions of cultivator realms.

What was more, Jiang Fu'an had read quite a few xianxia novels in his previous life—Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul...

He knew these major realms like the back of his hand, and each major realm was further divided into early, middle, and late stages.

Miao Ruolan nodded.

"Then it will be easy to explain. First-rank, second-rank, third-rank talismans, and so on correspond to cultivators' major realms.

"And the high, middle, and low grades within first-rank talismans correspond to the early, middle, and late minor realms of the Qi Refining Period.

"The power of a first-rank low-grade talisman is roughly equivalent to a spell cast by a cultivator at Qi Refining Early-Stage."

"Thank you, Miss Ruolan, for clearing that up."

Jiang Fu'an cupped his hands, his tone sincere.

As they spoke, a burst of laughter and noisy play suddenly came from outside the door.

Yue'er and the Miao Family's two children ran past the doorway like a gust of wind, though who knew what they were playing so wildly.

Yue'er had always been alone before, but now she finally had two playmates close to her age.

As for Stone, the boy buried himself in martial training all day and rarely played with his older sister.

Fortunately, he possessed the Devouring Physique. Though cultivation consumed much, he ate much and replenished himself quickly.

Stone was no longer satisfied with practicing only the Cloud-Soaring Steps and the Wind-Thunder Saber Technique.

He had even begged Jiang Fu'an to teach him a concealed-weapon technique recorded on the beast-hide scroll, called Heaven-and-Earth Toss.

This technique could use spiritual power or pure physical strength to propel small objects such as broken stones, copper coins, and throwing knives to injure enemies.

Stone was already strong, so this art suited him perfectly.

Watching Yue'er's retreating figure, Miao Ruolan suddenly asked:

"Master, has Yue'er... had her Spiritual Root tested?"

"Not yet. She only turned seven this year and has not yet caught the annual Spiritual Root test held by the imperial court."

By the rules, Yue'er would be able to attend the test next spring.

But Jiang Fu'an felt somewhat hesitant.

There was already Seedling cultivating in a sect. He did not want to send all the children there.

Even if Yue'er had no Spiritual Root, he still feared that her Beast Spirit Physique would be exposed during the test.

Miao Ruolan then earnestly urged:

"Master, then you must send Yue'er to be tested next year.

"I have heard that those capable of producing children with exceptional Spiritual Roots are all blessed with fortune.

"The chances of them producing descendants with Spiritual Roots increase greatly as well."

Since she had brought it up, Jiang Fu'an asked along the same line:

"I have heard of fortune as well, but does it also increase the chances of one's descendants possessing special physiques?"

"Of course it does!"

Miao Ruolan nodded.

Jiang Fu'an asked again:

"When testing Spiritual Roots, can they also detect whether someone possesses a special physique?"

"That... probably not."

After thinking for a moment, Miao Ruolan answered uncertainly:

"The methods for testing Spiritual Roots and testing physiques seem to be different. The latter is far more complicated.

"Generally speaking, only after confirming that someone has a Spiritual Root will they specifically test their physique—after all, a Spiritual Root is the foundation of cultivation."