The next day, Xu Qingtong rose early and went to the shop, where he swept the floor, wiped the tables, and tidied up. He had wanted to buy steamed buns at the north end of the street, but his purse was painfully thin, so he could only wait for Wu Zheng to arrive.
When Wu Zheng got up and came to the shop, he was delighted to find that Xu Qingtong had already put everything in order. "Morning, Brother Qingtong!" he said.
"Big Brother Wu, I was going to buy steamed buns at the north end of the street, but... but..." Xu Qingtong said sheepishly.
Knowing he had no money, Wu Zheng said, "No matter. I'll go buy them. The shopkeeper covers all our living expenses; we don't have to pay out of our own pockets." With that, he went out to buy steamed buns.
After breakfast, Xu Qingtong's first day of work officially began. Throughout the morning, the shop had few visitors, only twenty or thirty, most of whom bought elixirs, talismans, and the like. Two or three came to look at magical artifacts, but none made a purchase.
As Xu Qingtong watched Wu Zheng haggle with the customers, he also paid attention to the goods in the shop. Whenever there were no customers, he asked Wu Zheng about anything he did not understand.
Among those twenty or thirty customers, one caught Xu Qingtong's attention. Wearing a bamboo hat and a short tunic, the man entered without a word, walked straight to the counter, and took out a stack of talisman paper. Wu Zheng counted it, then handed him twenty spirit stones. The man took them, turned, and left.
After the man had gone, Xu Qingtong asked, "Big Brother Wu, what does that man do?"
Wu Zheng replied, "He's a regular customer here. He comes to sell talismans."
Xu Qingtong asked again, "We sell that talisman paper at ten sheets for one spirit stone, yet we buy his at three sheets for one spirit stone. Aren't we taking a huge loss?"
Wu Zheng burst out laughing. "Brother Qingtong, we sell talisman paper, but what we buy back are talismans. Only one word is different, but the meaning is quite another matter. Talisman Makers draw on talisman paper according to the requirements for making talismans, giving them specific effects. Take this Fireball Talisman, for instance. Inject just a little magic power, and it can launch a fireball just like casting the Fireball Technique." As he spoke, he handed Xu Qingtong a talisman.
Xu Qingtong took it and looked. Sure enough, some strange symbols had been drawn on the paper. He calculated inwardly, One spirit stone buys ten sheets of talisman paper. Once they're made into talismans, they can sell for three spirit stones. What a profitable business! If I could learn to make talismans, wouldn't I have found a path to making my fortune?
Before his beautiful dream had even finished unfolding, however, Wu Zheng doused it with a bucket of cold water. "Talisman making looks simple, but it isn't. First, you must understand the Talisman-Making Method. That part isn't difficult. The difficult part is having enough magic power and a strong divine sense. Without sufficient magic power, the talismans you draw will have little strength, or may not even activate at all. Without a strong divine sense, you cannot make talismans in the first place."
"Making talismans isn't like writing. You have to complete one in a single unbroken effort, without stopping midway. If you stop halfway, at best the Talisman Paper is ruined. At worst, the Spiritual Power runs wild and explodes, possibly even injuring the maker," Wu Zheng said unhurriedly.
Xu Qingtong thought, I may not have much magic power, but my divine sense certainly won't lose to that of any cultivator at my level. I have two primordial spirits, and the True Origin Scripture to temper my divine sense. He was therefore quite confident in his divine sense. He said to Wu Zheng, "Big Brother Wu, I'd like to learn talisman making. Do you think I could?"
Wu Zheng looked troubled. "Brother Qingtong, it isn't that I object, but practicing talisman making burns through money. Everything in the shop is registered in the accounts, and all our daily purchases and sales are recorded."
At this point, Wu Zheng stopped and said no more. His meaning was clear: This costs too much money. I can't make the decision!
Xu Qingtong pretended not to understand his meaning and stood there silently.
Seeing no response from Xu Qingtong, Wu Zheng could only continue, "Brother Qingtong, we have some jade slips about talisman making in the shop. Why don't you take them and study them first? Once you've mastered their contents, I'll report it to the shopkeeper. After he gives his approval, you can practice with talisman paper. How does that sound?"
Xu Qingtong thought, Brother Wu Zheng looks honest and simple, but he's actually quite shrewd. With just a few words, he's cleared himself of any responsibility. Still, Xu Qingtong had never intended to put Wu Zheng in a difficult position. Getting a jade slip on talisman making was already enough to satisfy him.
When evening finally came, Xu Qingtong could not spare a thought for dinner. He picked up the jade slip Wu Zheng had given him and began studying the Talisman-Making Method. As it turned out, making talismans meant using special materials and methods to lock Spiritual Power onto talisman paper along specific paths. When using one, only a little Spiritual Power needed to be injected to break the balance of the Spiritual Power (the equivalent of unlocking it), allowing it to flow along the preset paths and thus transfer a spell onto talisman paper.
According to the materials used and the difficulty of their creation, talismans were divided into three tiers: elementary, intermediate, and advanced. Differences in crafting techniques and workmanship further divided each type of talisman into upper, middle, and lower grades.
Having understood the basic principles of talisman making, Xu Qingtong began studying the methods for making some of the most basic talismans.
The first he studied was the Fireball Talisman. In less than an hour, he thoroughly grasped the techniques for drawing it; all that remained was to make one himself. Unfortunately, he had no talisman paper, talisman brush, or other materials. Xu Qingtong was so anxious that he scratched his ears and cheeks.
Suddenly, he thought of a solution. I can give form to my divine sense. Why not use that method in my Niwang Palace to create talisman paper and a talisman brush, then simulate drawing a Fireball Talisman?
With that thought, Xu Qingtong set to work. He kept one primordial spirit studying the jade slip on talisman making while the other practiced drawing Fireball Talismans through simulations in his Niwang Palace.
At first, the simulations did not go smoothly. Often, before he had finished even half the drawing, the talisman paper formed from his divine sense disappeared. Fortunately, none of the explosions Wu Zheng had mentioned occurred.
Xu Qingtong studied the jade slip while reviewing the lessons of his failures and analyzing their causes.
Before he knew it, six hours had passed. Xu Qingtong finally made a breakthrough in his talisman-making skills and successfully created a Fireball Talisman in his Niwang Palace.
Looking at the freshly made Fireball Talisman, he could not help marveling, Learning talisman making really does burn through money! I failed at least two hundred times in these six hours. If I'd been practicing in reality, I'd probably have gone bankrupt long ago. Two hundred sheets of talisman paper cost twenty spirit stones!
After making this Fireball Talisman, Xu Qingtong felt utterly drained, exhausted in both body and mind.
It seemed Brother Wu Zheng had spoken the truth: without a strong divine sense, making talismans really was impossible. This was only the simplest Fireball Talisman, yet it had already left him struggling to keep up. Those more powerful intermediate- and advanced-tier talismans would probably demand even more spiritual energy and divine sense, likely beyond what he could currently withstand.
Still, successfully making a single Fireball Talisman left him thoroughly satisfied.
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