Jade Talisman

As the night waned, Lin Yun walked back toward the Wu Family residence. Recalling the reluctance on his parents' faces when they parted, his heart grew heavy. After all, before he had awakened the memories of his previous life, the years spent under the care of this body's parents had been warm and happy ones.

Such is the path of immortal cultivation. Cultivators transcend the mundane in pursuit of immortality; a single period of seclusion can span a mortal's entire lifetime. Mortals live and die between dawn and dusk, like morning mushrooms that know nothing of the moon's waxing and waning, or summer cicadas that know nothing of spring and autumn.

When I left home, my parents were still young. Now, less than thirty years later, their hair has begun to turn white, while my youth remains unchanged. Such is the divide between immortals and mortals. The immortal path stretches into the mist, and eternal life lies far beyond. In this life, I will walk that path...

Lin Yun sighed softly, yet it felt as though a shackle had fallen away from his heart. His resolve to pursue the Dao grew stronger, and his steps grew lighter.

Seeing his parents one last time on this journey had settled the karmic ties of their kinship. From now on, he would have no lingering attachments to the mortal Lin Family.

To settle those worldly ties, he had left the Lin Family two things. One was a martial arts cultivation method that led into the Dao. If any of their descendants possessed spiritual roots, they could use it to cultivate magical power and embark on the immortal path. Even without spiritual roots, they could still become accomplished martial artists and keep their family safe in the mortal world.

The other was a Restriction Token granting passage into the Lin Family's valley. If their descendants managed to embark on the immortal path, they would naturally discover the token's wonders, enter the valley, and inherit the Lin Family's Herb Garden. If they had no affinity with immortality, it would simply serve as a keepsake.

These two things were his final gifts to the mortal branch of the Lin Family.

That night, in the Wu Family's old residence.

Following Wu Ping's urgent summons, several of his sons and grandsons had gathered in the modest old residence.

"Father, what are you doing? Why summon us back in such a hurry? Do you know I was just about to attend the commandery governor's birthday banquet?"

Wu Ping's eldest son, a stout middle-aged man dressed in fine clothes, sat just below him, grumbling under his breath.

Bang!

Wu Ping's brows were tightly knitted. Hearing his son's complaints, he slammed his palm on the table and barked, "Shut up!"

The stout man jumped in fright. Seeing his father's furrowed brows, his lips trembled, but he did not dare say another word.

Sweeping his gaze over the sons and grandsons in the room, Wu Ping said, "Starting today, all of you will stay here. Unless absolutely necessary, do not leave the old residence."

At these words, his eldest son immediately protested, "Father, we can't do that! What will happen to our businesses if we don't go out?"

"That's right, Father. Elder Brother has a point. I still have to go to Yitang Prefecture tomorrow to negotiate the price of a batch of jade!" Wu Ping's second son added.

Bang!

Before his grandsons could join in the complaints, Wu Ping slammed the table again. "We're giving up all our businesses. Tell your subordinates to sell them off as soon as possible. The sooner, the better!"

His eldest son instantly realized something was wrong. "Father, what happened?" he asked hurriedly.

Although Wu Ping's descendants had a rough idea that their family had an immortal backing them, they knew nothing about the cultivation world, and thus had no idea what was happening among the Yue Kingdom's cultivators.

Wu Ping sighed softly and explained the situation facing the Wu Family to the sons and grandsons present.

"In short, our family must be ready to conceal our identities and leave the Yue Kingdom at any moment," Wu Ping concluded with a sigh.

After sending his descendants off to prepare for their departure, Wu Ping carried a rather weighty wooden box to the room where Lin Yun was staying.

Bowing toward Lin Yun inside, he said, "Immortal Master, Wu Ping requests an audience."

"Come in." The tightly shut door opened on its own, and Lin Yun's voice sounded beside Wu Ping's ear.

Since returning from the Lin Family's medical clinic, Lin Yun had remained in his room, studying the essentials of qi refinement in the He Sha Marvelous Book and the Inner Elixir Cultivation Method in the Pure Yang Alchemy Book. He also considered the mortal world's method of core formation as he pondered the next step in his cultivation. Too little time had passed, however, and he had yet to find a clear direction.

When he heard Wu Ping's request, Lin Yun simply let him in.

Wu Ping entered carrying the wooden box and placed it on the table. With great courtesy, he said, "Thank you for taking the trouble to protect our Wu Family, Immortal Master. This old man has nothing with which to repay you, save this jade as a token of gratitude. I hope you will forgive its inadequacy."

"Patriarch Wu, there's no need to stand on ceremony. Since I accepted Senior Brother Wu's request, I will naturally do my utmost to keep the Wu Family safe. There's no need for a gift," Lin Yun replied politely.

Apart from certain varieties of spirit jade, ordinary jade could only be used to make containers, such as jade boxes for medicinal ingredients or bottles for pills. This was the sort of raw material the Wu Family supplied to Yellow Maple Valley. When they were lucky, they could occasionally provide top-grade jade suitable for making jade slips.

Thus, Lin Yun paid little attention to the jade Wu Ping had brought.

"Please, you must accept it. Even using it as an ornament would be fine, Immortal Master. I won't disturb your cultivation any further. I'll take my leave." Wu Ping pushed the wooden box toward Lin Yun and prepared to depart.

He paused, then added with great courtesy, "Oh, Immortal Master, our Wu Family is preparing to leave the Yue Kingdom. If it won't interfere with your affairs, we hope you might escort us part of the way. Of course, you need only see us beyond the Yue Kingdom's border."

Lin Yun agreed to the request. It would not take much effort anyway.

After Wu Ping left, Lin Yun casually opened the wooden box, intending to turn the jade into bottles for storing pills.

But when he saw the lustrous jade inside, he gave a soft exclamation. A gleam passed through his eyes, and he changed his mind.

"It's actually a batch of top-grade jade suitable for making jade slips."

After pondering for a moment, Lin Yun murmured, "I'm not short of jade slips. I could try making a few Jade Talismans from this instead."

Naturally, the Jade Talismans he intended to refine were not those of the mortal world. The methods for refining Jade Talismans in the mortal world had nearly been lost, with only a handful of places still preserving the tradition. Almost all those with potent effects and formidable power had been passed down from ancient times.

"Although this jade is top-grade, it isn't spirit jade and can't hold much spiritual power. I won't be able to refine any powerful offensive or defensive Jade Talismans from it. Still, I could try making a few pairs of Voice-and-Image Transmission Talismans."

As he played with a smooth piece of white pebble jade, Lin Yun silently weighed his options.

Two days later.

Looking at the two pairs of palm-sized white Jade Talismans shaped like ceremonial jade tablets in his hand, Lin Yun smiled in satisfaction.

These two pairs of Voice-and-Image Transmission Talismans could transmit voices and images to one another, working much like modern video calls. Each pair could also be joined into a single piece, allowing the user to listen to sounds within a hundred li.

"Although the materials limit them to transmitting voices over a thousand li, and once joined

they can only pick up sounds within a hundred li, they're still quite good. Sound Transmission Talismans aren't nearly this convenient."

Stroking the Jade Talismans in his palm, Lin Yun could not help thinking, If I come across spirit jade in the future, perhaps I can try refining more of these Jade Talismans.