Luodu Island, Spirit Crane Garden.
Zhang Jing guided the Spirit Crane beneath him down slowly beside the senior brother from earlier.
"Senior Brother, I've returned the Spirit Crane safe and sound. I'll take my leave now," he said, handing over the bracelet.
"Take care, Junior Brother."
The senior brother spoke with a smile.
Watching Zhang Jing's retreating figure, he murmured in a voice only he could hear, "The junior brother who just joined the Luodu Squad? He's only been cultivating for a little over a month, yet he's already honed his Qi Refining Second Layer cultivation to this degree?"
Meanwhile.
After leaving the Spirit Crane Garden, Zhang Jing went straight to the Merit Hall.
He remembered that he had yet to collect this month's Purple Spirit Pills. As it happened, he had almost finished the bottle Senior Brother Zhang Yangchu had given him.
Earlier, he had intended to take advantage of having a Spirit Crane to visit the market.
It was not to buy a Spirit Brush and Talisman Making materials, but to purchase some Spirit-Nurturing Pills... With the support of his various skills, Zhang Jing had discovered that he consumed spirit pills somewhat quickly while cultivating.
One bottle of Purple Spirit Pills could only support around ten days of all-out cultivation.
But after weighing it up briefly, Zhang Jing abandoned the idea.
The spiritual qi in his cave abode was abundant to the extreme. If he still used Spirit-Nurturing Pills to cultivate now, the impurities within them would instead limit his cultivation speed.
Of course, Zhang Jing had also considered visiting the market to purchase Talisman Making materials.
The problem was that he simply did not have enough Spirit Stones.
Moreover, judging from his last visit, the Law Artifacts sold in the market's various shops were mostly low-grade, with uneven quality and a mixture of old and new, let alone spirit brushes.
Spirit ink and spirit paper were available, but they had the same problems.
Thus, after considering everything, he finally decided to purchase all his Talisman Making materials and tools together at the Thousand Techniques Pavilion.
As he pondered.
Zhang Jing slowly arrived outside his cave abode.
He took out his jade key.
The spiritual light enveloping the entrance rippled at once.
Inside the cave abode.
After working for most of the day, Zhang Jing finally cleared out a cultivation chamber deep inside the cave abode and arranged it into a simple talisman-making room.
The Ninefold Evolution Spirit Star Talisman Canon stated that one had to quiet the mind and focus while Talisman Making, and must not be disturbed.
With his great undertaking of earning Dao Merit at stake, he naturally had to be cautious, then more cautious still.
Once everything was ready.
Zhang Jing took a deep breath, then took out a sheet of spirit paper and carefully laid it on the table.
Next, he took out a large bottle of spirit ink and placed it to his right.
Unlike the spirit paper, the moment the spirit ink was opened, it released a powerful surge of spiritual power, along with a faint bloody scent.
"Does spirit ink contain demonic beast blood? No wonder it's so expensive."
Zhang Jing understood.
The spirit brush he had already refined on his way back appeared in his hand.
With a thought, he sent his spiritual sense and spiritual power into the Spirit Brush. A feeling of effortless, silky-smooth circulation arose, as though there were no resistance at all.
Compared with how it had felt to control his flying sword Law Artifact and Water Cloud Shield.
This spirit brush really was expensive for a reason.
Talisman making was delicate work that demanded extremely precise control over spiritual power and spiritual sense. The claim that a good spirit brush could greatly improve the success rate was no empty talk.
That was why Zhang Jing had gritted his teeth and bought a fine mid-grade talisman brush.
To do a job well, one first had to sharpen one's tools. Besides... the wool came from the sheep's back. Sooner or later, he would earn all this Dao Merit back from his senior brothers and sisters in the Dao Academy.
At that thought.
Zhang Jing slowly closed his eyes, and the contents of the Ninefold Evolution Spirit Star Talisman Canon instantly flooded his mind.
He immediately began digesting them bit by bit.
The Talisman Making method in the inheritance was called "Spirit Star Nine Evolutions."
The method's original creator had observed the mysteries of the stars in the heavens and imitated the movements of the nine stars of the Northern Dipper. In Talisman Making, the brush followed seven turns and two hidden movements, hence the name Nine Evolutions.
Using this method for Talisman Making was said to greatly improve the quality of the talismans.
Time slowly passed.
Zhang Jing committed all the mysteries of the Spirit Star Nine Evolutions method to memory.
Then he examined the talismans in the inheritance. It recorded twelve kinds of Lower-Grade Talismans, seven kinds of Middle-Grade Talismans, and four kinds of Upper-Grade Talismans, with every variety available: attack and defense, soul-locking over a thousand miles, trapping enemies, and breaking techniques.
Zhang Jing examined them one by one, finally choosing the Star-Attracting Talisman, one of the many Lower-Grade Talismans.
Once completed, this talisman would draw in starlight on its own and store it within. When used, starlight protected the body, resisting the intrusion of Law Techniques and the force of Law Artifacts. It was said to be one of the strongest defensive Lower-Grade Talismans.
At any rate, judging by the description alone, the Star-Attracting Talisman seemed quite powerful.
Of course, Zhang Jing did not care about that. He only knew that the Star-Attracting Talisman was a Defense Talisman. Were Defense Talismans not the most expensive among all the Lower-Grade Talismans at the Thousand Techniques Pavilion?
I'll make it first, then worry about the rest!
Having made his choice.
Zhang Jing focused all his attention on the Star-Attracting Talisman's intricate Dao patterns, as though seeking to engrave them in the deepest recesses of his mind.
At a certain moment.
He abruptly opened his eyes, his face as still as an ancient well.
The spirit brush lightly dipped into the spirit ink, then slowly descended onto the spirit paper, its position precise to the smallest fraction.
The next instant, his spiritual sense guided his spiritual power to the brush tip to trace the Star-Attracting Talisman's Dao patterns.
However.
The slightest lift of the spirit brush in Zhang Jing's hand caused his spiritual power to fluctuate, ruining the talisman outright.
At the sight.
His hand instantly stopped. His expression went blank, then a trace of speechlessness flashed through his eyes.
He had failed as soon as he began.
Wasn't this Talisman Making technique being a little rude to me?
The Jade Talisman slowly appeared before him, and a line of small text flashed into view.
[Ninefold Evolution Spirit Star Talisman Canon · uninitiated (1/70)]
"Sixty-nine experience points short. In other words... I need to fail another sixty-nine times? That won't do. Spirit paper and spirit ink aren't cheap!"
Zhang Jing frowned.
In an instant, an illusory Mind's Eye slowly opened.
He had wanted to see how far he could get without the Mind’s Eye Dao Seed's help. Now it seemed that Zhang Jing had overestimated his financial resources.
When it came to learning Talisman Making, the Mind’s Eye Dao Seed was still more economical in terms of Dao Merit.
Zhang Jing took out another sheet of spirit paper.
With the Mind's Eye state supporting him, he confidently began his second attempt.
A dozen or so breaths later.
He stared with a complicated expression at the talisman ruined once again before him, seemingly beginning to understand Senior Brother Liu's earlier advice.
This Talisman Making business really was difficult to get started in.
This time, Zhang Jing had drawn fully half of the Star-Attracting Talisman's Dao patterns before failing gloriously.
Though his improvement was tremendous, he had truly not expected to fail even in the Mind's Eye state.
Fortunately-
[Ninefold Evolution Spirit Star Talisman Canon · uninitiated (7/70)]
Though the attempt had failed again, he had gained a full six experience points.
At this rate, Zhang Jing had a chance of raising his Talisman Making technique to level one today, while also awakening a new skill trait.
After briefly steadying his breathing.
He threw himself into it once again.
Outside, the night was deep, but inside the cave abode, it was bright as day.
At that moment.
Zhang Jing was slumped in his chair, gazing excitedly at a Star-Attracting Talisman on the table that radiated powerful fluctuations of spiritual power.
On his eleventh attempt, just as his spiritual sense and spiritual power were nearly exhausted, he had finally drawn the complete Dao patterns of the Star-Attracting Talisman on the spirit paper.
Not a single brushstroke had strayed, nor had there been any mistake in his spiritual power. The entire process could be called perfect.
Moreover, the Ninefold Evolution Spirit Star Talisman Canon had indeed not deceived him. The Star-Attracting Talisman made with the Spirit Star Nine Evolutions method had actually reached superior quality outright.
Zhang Jing was absolutely certain that his perception was correct.
The Star-Attracting Talisman before him was indeed a superior-quality Lower-Grade Talisman—the kind the Thousand Techniques Pavilion sold for two Dao Merit!
He could not help looking at the illusory Jade Talisman.
[Ninefold Evolution Spirit Star Talisman Canon · level one (1/150)] Skill trait: talisman source nurturing (intermediate)