Black Seed Sprouts

Zhou Changwang spread a talisman sheet flat across the table.

This talisman sheet had long since been cut to the proper size, half a chi long and three cun wide.

Zhou Changwang held the talisman brush in one hand. After stirring the spiritual power within his body and sensing that it could flow smoothly through the brush, he moved it to the spiritual talisman blood ink at the side and dipped it in.

Only once the brush tip had absorbed enough ink and become full did he hold it suspended above the talisman sheet.

"Begin!"

Spiritual power surged as Zhou Changwang set down his brush. His spiritual power continuously flowed through the talisman brush into the talisman ink, then followed the tip of the brush as he traced patterns onto the talisman.

This placed extremely high demands on a talisman maker's control over spiritual power.

After all, it had to be transmitted through the talisman brush and applied to the talisman sheet, all while ensuring an even flow of spiritual power and an intact spell structure without mishaps... Even though the Fireball Talisman was a spell Zhou Changwang knew very well and had long since cultivated to the proficient level.

Yet the instant he drew the first rune structure.

Hiss!

The talisman sheet was abruptly pierced through.

"The spiritual power input was too great.

"Also, the rune structure I wrote was not neat enough. I didn't take the size of the talisman sheet into account. Even if I continued drawing, it would inevitably fail..."

Seeing this, Zhou Changwang took a deep breath and silently summed up his experience.

He had long known that talisman making was no simple matter. It required constant attempts and trial and error.

And practicing on ordinary paper would not do.

That was because rune structures could only take shape when constructed with spiritual power. Practicing on plain paper could capture the form but not the spirit; the difference between the two was as vast as heaven and earth.

No matter how alike they looked, they were not the same thing.

"Continue!"

After failing, Zhou Changwang did not lose heart. His mindset was excellent, and he had long known that he could not possibly succeed in a single attempt.

Not even a sect's Dao Child, no matter how gifted, could do so.

Success in one stroke could only be credited to luck.

Talent?

There was no such thing.

On the second attempt, Zhou Changwang failed before he even completed the first rune structure.

On the third attempt, he made it through one and a half.

On the fourth attempt, he failed the instant his brush touched down. His spiritual power control was insufficient, and talisman ink dripped down.

Zhou Changwang tried again and again, and failed again and again.

Even with his calm mindset, sufficient patience, and mental preparation, his mood gradually became restless.

In the end, he simply put down his brush and stopped.

He knew that he was no longer suited to continue drawing talismans today.

"No wonder there are rumors that some talisman makers burn incense and pray before beginning, even preparing all sorts of rituals.

"With failures piling up one after another like this, no one could stand it.

"They can only rely on mysticism for support."

Zhou Changwang sighed. It took him quite some time before he finally calmed the restless energy within himself.

As for so-called "mysticism," he actually knew that it was merely certain spiritual-energy-assisted methods. For instance, the incense others burned might be Calming Spirit Incense, Spirit-Recovering Incense, or even Awakening Spirit Incense, which could enhance mental activity. The one they prayed to might be some Talisman True Lord. There was aid in the unseen, while the rituals they borrowed might also be some ritual technique or ritual art...

It could not exactly be called baseless.

"I drew seventeen talismans in total, and not one succeeded.

"It seems that talisman making consumes quite a bit in the early stages too."

Zhou Changwang made a rough calculation, his heart aching slightly.

He had spent nine Low-Grade Spirit Stones on talisman brushes and talisman ink. As for talisman sheets, although the ones on him had come from the Storage Bag and amounted to two stacks, a little over a hundred sheets.

In the outside world, however, a stack of ordinary talisman sheets cost one Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

In other words, if a Rogue Cultivator wanted to become a talisman maker, without considering the value of the talisman inheritance itself, they would need at least ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones in capital.

Meanwhile, a stack of low-grade talismans—ten of them—could be bought for one Low-Grade Spirit Stone...

"No wonder they say the life of cultivating immortality is not easy.

"Trying to survive here truly isn't so simple."

Zhou Changwang shook his head.

Once he felt that his spiritual power had recovered a little more, he took out the three black seeds.

He continuously cast the Growth Technique, one after another, onto the three seeds.

Every now and then, he would use the Withered Wood Renewal Technique.

It had to be said that the Withered Wood Renewal Technique was an exceptionally practical spell.

Not only could it be used for healing, its effects were also superb when used to cultivate spirit plants.

By now, he had already felt the convenience of this spell in his spirit field. One of its most obvious benefits was that the Spirit Grain Rice in his field had gradually caught up to the Spirit Rice in Old Xu's field and had now fully ripened.

Tomorrow would be the day he harvested his spirit field.

He had no choice but to harvest it.

The price of Spirit Rice had been falling all along.

A few days ago, one Low-Grade Spirit Stone could still buy thirteen jin. That evening, he received word that the price had fallen to fourteen jin per Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

If he did not sell it soon, it would probably drop to fifteen jin...

That would be a terrible loss.

A Withered Wood Renewal Technique descended, scattering specks of rosy light over the three seeds. For a moment, it seemed as though endless spiritual radiance flickered within them.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

After the time it took to burn a stick of incense.

The spiritual light dispersed, yet the three seeds remained exactly as before, without the slightest change.

"Could these three truly be dead seeds?"

Zhou Changwang could not help but grow suspicious.

After so many Growth Techniques, even withered wood should have sprouted by now, shouldn't it?

Fortunately, he had only regarded them as tools for practicing spells from the beginning and had not placed much hope in them.

After calming himself, he continued casting.

Growth Techniques fell continuously upon the three seeds.

Ever since his cultivation had broken through to the Third Level of Qi Refining, not only had his cultivation become more robust, but the degree of refinement of his spiritual power had also improved greatly.

Thus, with his spiritual power at full capacity, the number of Growth Techniques he could cast had increased significantly as well.

Suddenly.

As another Growth Technique fell.

He felt a vast amount of cultivation experience related to the Growth Technique emerge in his mind at that instant.

It was as if, in that moment, he had practiced the Growth Technique hundreds or thousands of times.

"The Growth Technique has reached Major Mastery?"

Almost instantly, Zhou Changwang realized what had happened and hurriedly looked toward the Attribute Panel.

Sure enough, beneath the spell category, he saw the words: Growth Technique (Major Mastery 1/800).

"It really has reached Major Mastery."

Zhou Changwang was delighted.

This was the first spell he had mastered to Major Mastery.

Almost unable to wait, he wanted to test it and see what was different about the spell.

Then, with a thought.

In nearly an instant, specks of spiritual light gathered before him.

Instant cast!

Zhou Changwang was stunned.

Then he quickly came to his senses.

Perhaps this was the trait of the Growth Technique at Major Mastery.

He could cast it instantly.

He then directly scattered the spiritual light over the black seeds.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

Then he saw a tender sprout stubbornly grow from one of the black seeds that had previously shown no movement at all, breaking through its shell.

The seed had sprouted?