"Talisman Source Nurturing?"
Zhang Jing looked at this skill trait in puzzlement, and a piece of information surfaced in his mind.
A long while later.
"So that's how it works!" A glimmer of understanding crossed his face.
Talisman Source Nurturing meant that every time Zhang Jing successfully drew a talisman, he could capture a fragment of that type of talisman's source talisman from the Unseen. Once the fragments condensed into a complete source talisman, it could shift freely between the illusory and the tangible at his will.
The source talisman was closely linked to his spiritual sense and spiritual power.
Once he had a source talisman.
Whenever Zhang Jing wanted to make talismans again, he would only need to summon the corresponding source talisman and stamp its Dao patterns directly onto spirit paper.
In theory, as long as he had enough spiritual power, he could produce the corresponding talismans endlessly, without any possibility of failure.
Upon reaching this point.
Zhang Jing's expression could not help turning peculiar.
Why did this seem more familiar the more I thought about it... movable-type printing?
Then a trace of excitement flashed in his eyes.
With a source talisman, wouldn't my Talisman Making speed shoot up? Wouldn't that put the goal of accumulating nine thousand Dao merit within reach in just two or three years?
I wouldn't need a source talisman for upper-grade talismans. Condensing one for middle-grade talismans would be enough!
His thoughts returned to reality.
A wave of fatigue welled up.
"Back at it tomorrow!" Zhang Jing stood and headed straight for the Cultivation Chamber.
Two days later.
In the Talisman-Making Room.
Zhang Jing, who had been sitting motionless at the table, suddenly began to smile.
Three finished Star-Attracting Talismans lay before him, with a stack of ruined talismans off to one side.
After two days of testing without regard for expense.
Zhang Jing now had a relatively accurate assessment of the Talisman Making success rate of his level-one Ninefold Evolution Spirit Star Talisman Canon skill.
Without activating the Mind’s Eye Dao Seed.
His success rate in making Star-Attracting Talismans was around ten percent. Of course, it varied with his condition, but overall, it remained steady at ten percent.
Ten sets of materials could produce one Star-Attracting Talisman.
Zhang Jing did the calculations.
He left depreciation of the spirit brush out of the calculation for now.
Ten sheets of spirit paper cost one Dao merit, and the spirit ink consumed was worth roughly half a Dao merit. In other words, his cost for each Star-Attracting Talisman was 1.5 Dao merit.
At the Thousand Techniques Pavilion's selling price, a Star-Attracting Talisman could sell for two Dao merit.
But Zhang Jing considered that others might not buy his Star-Attracting Talismans if he priced them the same as the Thousand Techniques Pavilion, so he provisionally used 1.9 Dao merit for his calculations.
All told.
Without delaying his cultivation, a hard day of talisman making would earn him 0.4 Dao merit.
That was twelve Dao merit a month.
This income was actually no small sum. After all, those who had ranked twenty-first through thirtieth in the assessment received only five Dao merit a month from the Dao Academy.
As far as Zhang Jing knew.
The most ordinary disciples in the Outer Court who had not joined a Mission Team spent roughly ten Dao merit on cultivation resources every two months.
Of course, twelve Dao merit certainly was not a large sum either.
But—that was without activating the Mind’s Eye Dao Seed.
In the Mind's Eye state, Zhang Jing's Talisman Making success rate would soar straight to around thirty percent.
That meant that if he made nothing but Star-Attracting Talismans, he could earn 4.2 Dao merit a day and reap a profit of one hundred and twenty Dao merit a month.
Taking practical circumstances into account.
Zhang Jing might not be able to sell every talisman he made. Still, he estimated that netting one hundred Dao merit a month would be no problem.
He could recoup the cost of the spirit brush in two months, and everything after that would be pure profit.
Moreover, as he condensed source talismans, leveled up the Evolutionary Spirit Star Talisman Canon skill, and advanced his cultivation enough to make middle-grade and even upper-grade talismans, his rate of earning Dao merit would only grow faster.
Phew-
Zhang Jing let out a long breath.
I really did make the right choice with this Evolutionary Spirit Star Talisman Canon inheritance!
Coming back to himself.
He calmed his somewhat excited thoughts a little, then began another experiment.
Holding the spirit brush, Zhang Jing dipped it in spirit ink and sent it dancing across the spirit paper like soaring dragons and coiling snakes, with practiced ease.
Unlike his previous talisman making, this time, as he drew the talisman's Dao patterns, the brush tip left behind a faint trace of Nether Flood Dragon Devouring the Void Dao Rhythm.
It was precisely the presence of this trace of Dao Rhyme.
That made the Star-Attracting Talisman before Zhang Jing turn uncharacteristically volatile, as the heaven and earth spiritual energy within the cave abode began flowing into it of its own accord.
In an instant, it gave Zhang Jing the sense that it was about to explode.
At the sight, Zhang Jing's eyelids twitched wildly, but he still gritted his teeth and kept drawing.
The Five-Law Spirit River circled him, its five Ice-Light Incantation law technique fish poised eagerly, seemingly ready to leap out at any moment and transform into protective spiritual light to shield Zhang Jing.
Yet the next moment.
With a snap, the half-finished spiritual talisman before him disintegrated into fragments beneath Zhang Jing's astonished gaze.
"It's probably because lower-grade spirit paper is too fragile to withstand a Star-Attracting Talisman imbued with Nether Flood Dragon Devouring the Void Dao Rhythm..."
Zhang Jing speculated inwardly.
It seemed he would have to buy some middle-grade spirit paper on his next visit to the Thousand Techniques Pavilion.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
Over this month, Zhang Jing had received no word from Senior Sister Tong. Clearly, they were either still resting or waiting for a suitable mission.
With no one coming to disturb him.
Zhang Jing was naturally happy to stay tucked away in his cave abode, cultivating and engaging in Talisman Making.
His days were tremendously busy and fulfilling.
On this day.
In the Cultivation Chamber.
A powerful fluctuation of spiritual power suddenly erupted, sweeping spiritual mist in every direction. For a time, fierce winds blew through the cave abode.
"Qi Refining Third Layer!" A gleam of spiritual light flashed in Zhang Jing's eyes.
He had not expected the repeated depletion and replenishment of his spiritual power during talisman making to provide such a tremendous boost to his cultivation.
Coupled with the aid of Purple Spirit Pills.
These factors working together had allowed Zhang Jing to advance to the Qi Refining Third Layer half a month earlier than expected.
He instinctively summoned the Five-Spirit Law River.
In an instant, a spirit river more surging than before appeared before Zhang Jing, winding and twisting, with eight law technique fish swimming within it.
After sensing it briefly.
Zhang Jing understood the changes to the spirit river this time.
The number of law technique fish it could accommodate had risen to twelve.
An increase of four law techniques-this was within his expectations. He had guessed as much when he first advanced to the Qi Refining Second Layer.
However, Zhang Jing could not confidently judge what changes the Five-Law Spirit River would undergo in the coming transition from the Third Layer of Qi Refining to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, though he greatly looked forward to it.
After all, that would be a qualitative transformation from early Qi Refining to middle Qi Refining.
The number of law techniques the Five-Law Spirit River could accommodate would inevitably increase substantially as well. Perhaps then, his Myriad Techniques Flood would begin to take a little shape.
With a stir of his mind.
An illusory jade talisman slowly appeared.
[Five Viscera Water-Origin Guiding Commentary · Third Level (139/800)] Skill trait: Five-Law Spirit River (intermediate) [Pure Origin Breath-Absorbing Visualization Method · Third Level (399/600)] Skill trait: Origin-Gathering Spiritual Light (low-level)
His gaze swept over the jade talisman.
Then a satisfied look appeared on Zhang Jing's face.
At this rate, the Pure Origin Breath-Absorbing Visualization Method would reach level four in about half a month, granting him another skill trait.
With Origin-Gathering Spiritual Light as a lustrous pearl already before him, he was full of anticipation for this forthcoming trait.
The jade talisman gradually faded away.
He estimated the time.
It should be early morning.
Zhang Jing rose at once and headed toward the Talisman-Making Room.
At this moment, a thick stack of finished talismans lay prominently on the table, including sixty-seven Defense Talismans, the Star-Attracting Talismans, and sixteen offensive Scorching Sun Talismans.
All were of Higher Vehicle Quality.
These were the fruits of his month's work.
Fewer than two hundred sheets of blank spirit paper remained.
Zhang Jing planned to visit the Thousand Techniques Pavilion today, sell some of these lower-grade talismans, and replenish his spirit paper and spirit ink.