After lunch, Liu Changxu first went to the lineage's Scripture Repository.
The Scripture Repository housed the vast majority of the cultivation texts the lineage had acquired through various channels over more than a century, making it one of the lineage's most important sites. To protect it, the lineage had installed an upper-grade first-tier formation, the Golden Light Array.
The Golden Light Array remained inactive under normal circumstances and would only activate when the repository came under attack from outside.
The Scripture Repository was a three-story stone building, constructed primarily from gold crystal stone, a middle-grade first-tier spiritual material. Golden yellow in appearance, gold crystal stone was harder than Blue Steel Stone and offered excellent resistance to spell attacks, though it was more expensive.
Viewed from a distance, the Scripture Repository shone with golden radiance in the sunlight, a truly beautiful sight.
When he reached the Scripture Repository, he found that Second Elder Liu Qiushui was guarding it.
"Hello, Great-Great-Grandfather! I'd like to find a Body-Refining Technique today," Liu Changxu hurriedly said.
"What cultivation art are you looking for?" Second Elder Liu Qiushui asked.
"The Primordial Unity Body-Tempering Art!" Liu Changxu replied.
"That's an excellent Body-Refining Technique, but it's easy to learn and hard to master, and it requires a great deal of cultivation resources! Try the second bookshelf on the second floor," Second Elder Liu Qiushui said.
"Thank you, Great-Great-Grandfather!" Liu Changxu said.
With that, he quickly went up to the second floor and found the beast-hide book containing the Primordial Unity Body-Tempering Art. It was an Upper-Grade Yellow-Tier Body-Refining Technique, and the best Body-Refining Technique the lineage currently possessed.
Cultivation arts were recorded on jade slips, in beast-hide books, and in paper books.
Jade slips required a cultivator's spiritual sense to inscribe and read. Although convenient, they were costly because the jade used to make them had to be exceptionally pure.
Materials used to make books, such as paper and beast hide, were relatively inexpensive, so Qi Refinement cultivation arts were mostly recorded in books.
After he obtained the Primordial Unity Body-Tempering Art, Second Elder Liu Qiushui registered the loan and required Liu Changxu to return the book within three months. He also deducted 300 lineage contribution points from Liu Changxu's lineage token, leaving Liu Changxu aching at the expense.
Of course, that was the price within the lineage. Outside, this cultivation art would cost at least 2,000 spirit stones and would be difficult to find. This was the advantage of belonging to a cultivation lineage.
Leaving the Scripture Repository, Liu Changxu headed straight for the lineage's General Affairs Hall, intending to buy some talisman paper and talisman ink for crafting talismans.
The lineage's General Affairs Hall was a towering five-story stone building.
The General Affairs Hall managed the Family Treasury, issued lineage missions, and purchased and sold spiritual items to lineage members.
Lineage members sold spiritual items they did not need to the General Affairs Hall, which awarded contribution points according to the items' value.
If lineage members needed spiritual items, they could exchange contribution points for what they needed from the Family Treasury. Generally, any spiritual item stocked in the Family Treasury could be obtained this way.
Upon arriving at the General Affairs Hall, he found that his Third Aunt, née Lin, was on duty that day.
"Hello, Third Aunt!" Liu Changxu said.
"What do you need, Changxu?" his Third Aunt asked with a smile.
Although his Third Aunt was forty-five that year, her Five-Spirit Root had limited her cultivation to the fifth level of Qi Refinement. Yet thanks to her cultivation, her face was still as lovely as peach blossoms and her figure as graceful as a willow, without the slightest trace of the passing years.
Both his Third Aunt and Liu Changxu's mother came from the Blackfield Valley Lin Lineage, a cultivation lineage.
The Blackfield Valley Lin Lineage took its name from its home in Blackfield Valley. It lay more than seven hundred li from the Peach Blossom Mountain Liu Lineage. Since the two lineages' founding ancestors had been fellow disciples of the same master, the lineages had maintained friendly relations and intermarried for generations.
Liu Changxu said, "Third Aunt, please give me three hundred sheets of talisman paper for lower-grade first-tier Fireball Talismans and three bottles of talisman ink."
"All right!" his Third Aunt replied.
As she spoke, she went to the Family Treasury, retrieved three hundred sheets of talisman paper and three bottles of talisman ink, and handed them to Liu Changxu. He then gave her his lineage token, and she deducted 130 lineage contribution points from it.
After receiving the talisman paper and spiritual ink, Liu Changxu said goodbye to his Third Aunt and headed home.
Upon returning home, he immediately went to find his mother, Lin Yulian. She was also crafting talismans at the time and was delighted when her son came to learn from her. She immediately demonstrated how to make a lower-grade first-tier Fireball Talisman.
After dipping her talisman brush in spiritual ink, Lin Yulian moved it across a sheet of lower-grade first-tier talisman paper, drawing runes as smoothly as drifting clouds and flowing water. When she lifted her brush, a flame-shaped rune sprang vividly from the paper. A lower-grade first-tier Fireball Talisman was complete.
"Did you watch closely?" his mother, Lin Yulian, asked.
"Yes! But please demonstrate it two more times, Mother!" Liu Changxu said.
"All right! I'll demonstrate it twice more!" As she demonstrated, Lin Yulian explained the key points of talisman crafting.
After demonstrating it twice more, his mother, Lin Yulian, said:
"Try making one yourself first!"
After his mother finished speaking and reiterated the key points of crafting a Fireball Talisman, Liu Changxu embarked on his path of talisman crafting.
Unsurprisingly, his first attempt failed. He had only drawn half the design when the talisman paper caught fire and turned to ash.
Lin Yulian told Liu Changxu, "When crafting talismans, you must first clear your mind of all distractions. You mustn't rush! Of course, the main problem is that your technique is unfamiliar and your brushwork lacks strength. You need diligent practice! I have something to attend to this afternoon, so take your time practicing on your own!" With that, his mother, Lin Yulian, went out to take care of her business.
Liu Changxu spent the entire afternoon crafting talismans, using more than thirty sheets of talisman paper in succession, all of which ended in failure.
Eventually, Liu Changxu's impatient state of mind instead settled into calm. After each failure, he quieted his mind and reviewed what he had learned, while also recovering the spiritual sense and magical power he had expended. As he made more attempts, his rune-drawing technique grew increasingly practiced and fluid.
Finally, just before dinner, he completed a Fireball Talisman.
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