Talisman Room Lv. 1

When Ji Yuan saw Lu Wan, she was sitting inside a Talisman Room, dressed in a light green gown and holding an ancient book. Her distant-mountain brows were slightly furrowed, and a fine layer of sweat covered her forehead.

"Junior Sister Lu, your younger brother is here to see you."

The white-robed man's soft call interrupted Lu Wan's thoughts.

Lu Wan looked up, and the moment she saw Ji Yuan, her eyes lit up.

"What brought you here?"

Seeing Lu Wan's reaction, the white-robed man instinctively panicked, only relaxing after Ji Yuan's retort.

"What? Can't I come see Sister Lu if nothing's wrong?"

"Of course you can, of course you can."

Lu Wan rose with a smile, then bowed to the white-robed man who had led him here. "Thank you, Senior Brother Zhou."

Her tone was neither warm nor cold, with a faint trace of distance.

"It's nothing. You two siblings chat first. I have matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving."

"Sorry for the trouble, Fellow Daoist Zhou."

Ji Yuan offered his thanks. Lu Wan had already brought him a cup of tea. "Go on, what is it? Hmph, if there weren't something wrong, I doubt you'd have remembered me."

Ever since she had moved to Zengtou City, the number of times Ji Yuan had come looking for her could be described as... none.

Only when Ji Qingyun came in previous years would Ji Yuan tag along.

Later, as the two gradually grew older, Ji Yuan had stopped coming altogether.

"There is indeed a small matter..."

Before Ji Yuan could speak, footsteps sounded outside again. A young man dressed in white entered immediately after. His appearance... could indeed be called handsome and refined.

In any case, he looked far better than the earlier man surnamed Zhou.

Moreover, the aura around him gave Ji Yuan a faint sense of pressure. He was probably already at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining?

"Senior Brother."

Lu Wan, who had just sat down, rose again. Ji Yuan could only cup his hands toward the man as well.

"Junior Sister Lu, no need for such courtesy." The newcomer returned the salute with a smile, then turned to Ji Yuan. Smiling pleasantly, he said, "I heard that a guest had come to the Wu Residence, and that he was Junior Sister Lu's relative, so I came over to take a look."

A relative?

Lu Wan was somewhat startled.

But Ji Yuan now knew who this man was. Wu Yan, Wu Wenbin's legitimate son, was fairly well-known in Zengtou City.

He had talent in drawing Talismans, along with a powerful father.

Thus, though he was only around thirty, he had already reached the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining.

It was said that joining the Water Dragon Sect was already a certainty for him, merely a matter of time.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Wu."

Ji Yuan greeted him with a smile. "I came in a hurry and did not prepare any gift. I can only make it up next time. I hope Fellow Daoist Wu will not take offense."

"Fellow Daoist Lu is too polite."

After speaking, Wu Yan naturally walked over and sat down nearby. Then, with a smile, he gestured to them. "Sit, both of you. Just carry on with your conversation."

The territory belonged to the Wu Family, so Ji Yuan naturally could not say much. Besides, he had come to see Lu Wan over matters concerning Talismans... it was even better that Wu Yan was here.

It would save anyone from claiming later that he had stolen a master's teachings.

"It's like this..."

Ji Yuan then explained the problem he had encountered. Lu Wan listened attentively, and Wu Yan listened just as seriously.

"I don't know whether this involves your master's teachings. If it does, then I apologize for disturbing you."

Ji Yuan cupped his hands toward the two before sitting back down.

After hearing him out, Lu Wan cast Ji Yuan a suspicious glance, her expression... rather strange.

Wu Yan smiled and asked, "Does Fellow Daoist Lu have an unawakened Calming Talisman on him?"

"I do."

Ji Yuan reached into his sleeve, though in truth he took one from his Storage Bag, then offered it to Wu Yan with both hands.

Wu Yan accepted it. Water-blue spiritual energy flashed over his hand. Not only did the Talisman fail to burn, but the runes on the Talisman Paper even glimmered with a faint blue radiance.

The Talisman... had worked?!

Ji Yuan froze for a moment. Recalling what Wu Yan had just done, he seemed to understand something.

He took out another finished Calming Talisman and tried channeling a thread of spiritual energy into the Talisman Paper.

Unlike last night, when the Talisman Paper had burned, this time it remained perfectly intact after the spiritual energy was infused into it. Instead, it succeeded.

For a moment, Ji Yuan finally understood where he had failed.

Damn it, the final step, Spirit Awakening, was not done with a talisman brush at all. All he had needed to do was directly infuse spiritual energy with his hand... Ji Yuan could not help but blush in embarrassment.

"Ahem."

"This Elementary Guide to Talismans really is something else. It didn't even mention that Spirit Awakening wasn't done with a talisman brush."

Wu Yan spread his hands and laughed. "Most people would probably find it hard to think of using a talisman brush for Spirit Awakening in the first place."

Lu Wan grew even more suspicious. She did not believe Ji Yuan could have failed to understand such a simple point.

It seemed more like he had deliberately found an excuse to get close to her.

Still, she thoughtfully explained, "The spiritual power released by a talisman brush only concentrates on one point. It is difficult to awaken an entire sheet of Talisman Paper at once, so using your hand is best."

Ji Yuan understood. At once, he revealed an excited and expectant expression, saying impatiently:

"Thank you both for clearing up my doubts. I'll head back and try again."

"Very well, do as you please," Wu Yan said with a smile and a nod. "If you encounter any other difficulties on the path of drawing Talismans, feel free to come ask."

He was a good man... but Ji Yuan also knew that the main reason Wu Yan was being so kind was because he believed Ji Yuan truly was Lu Wan's relative.

Ji Yuan had seen that look in Wu Yan's eyes toward Lu Wan plenty of times in his previous life.

It was entirely the gaze one used for looking at a possession.

Fortunately, Ji Yuan had no feelings for Lu Wan whatsoever. Having lived a second life and stepped onto the great path of immortality, he had only one thought: to see what scenery lay beyond the Great Dao!

Ji Yuan had come, and Ji Yuan had left.

Of course, the main reason he was in such a rush to return was that the panel had refreshed. The [Talisman Room] could finally be upgraded!

After he left, Wu Yan's gaze toward Lu Wan became even gentler.

Indeed, he did have those sorts of feelings for Lu Wan. And he was not the only one—even both their families were trying to bring them together.

First, Lu Wan was quite pretty to begin with, enough to be called a little beauty.

Second, it was because of her talent.

Lu Wan possessed great talent in the path of Talismans. Joining the Water Dragon Sect was basically no problem for her.

So long as he could win Lu Wan over and they later joined the Water Dragon Sect together, they would surely become the immortal couple everyone envied.

Moreover, it would bring tremendous benefits to his own cultivation path.

Especially the second point—that was the main reason Wu Yan valued Lu Wan.

After all, looks were worthless. If Wu Yan wanted to, he could easily find young female cultivators prettier than Lu Wan, with even better figures.

"Junior Sister Lu, that Junior Brother Lu from earlier was...?"

"Lu? His surname isn't Lu. His name is Ji Yuan."

Lu Wan hurriedly explained on Ji Yuan's behalf.

Wu Yan's smile did not fade. "Then he isn't your paternal cousin. He is your maternal cousin?"

"He isn't a maternal cousin either."

Now Wu Yan was somewhat surprised. "Then why did he say he was your younger brother and call you sister? If he is neither your paternal cousin nor maternal cousin, what sort of younger brother can he be?"

Lu Wan thought about the question as well. What sort of younger brother could he be?

After pondering for a moment, she tentatively said:

"A boy from next door?"

Wu Yan's smile froze on his face.

"Talisman Room, upgrade for me!"

After returning home, Ji Yuan impatiently activated the panel in his mind. With a thought, the 0 on it became a 1.

[Talisman Room] had risen to Level 1.

The panel refreshed accordingly, informing him of the requirements to upgrade the Level 2 Talisman Room.