The origins of the talisman Dao were far from simple. Like the array Dao, it arose from the Great Dao of heaven and earth and its associated laws at the dawn of creation. They could almost be called two fruits on one tree, twin lotuses on a single stem.
Its foundation, like that of the array Dao, lay in Dao patterns. But along the path toward restrictions, it took a turn and headed toward "talismanic spells."
"Back when I was developing 'rune script,' I collected information and studied these things, but I always had to rely on the records in the Complete Book of the Puppet Master Order. Only now have I finally seen the real thing!"
A sharp gleam suddenly flashed through Li Chen's eyes as he recalled its description in the Complete Book of the Puppet Master Order.
Any discussion of the talisman Dao inevitably involved Dao patterns and curse arts, which in turn originated from the shamanic script of ancient shamans and the primitive writing that came afterward. The ancient cultivation world had been widely enthralled by them, revering them as divine.
Yet times had progressed, and Daoist arts had flourished. Not only the antiquated methods of the Shamanic Practitioners, but even the immortal Dao had all but been driven into a corner of history by cultivation, becoming gravestones of a bygone age. Cultivators of the various paths had also come to broadly understand the Dao patterns they wielded.
So-called Dao patterns were special imprints originating from the laws of heaven and earth and the source of the Great Dao.
The growth rings of trees, the claw prints of wild geese, the textures of rock strata, the shapes of lightning, and so forth-imbued with divine transformation, these became naturally occurring Dao patterns.
All things grew and moved