Chapter 6: Attainments in the Dao of Talismans
"Senior Sister Zeng, long time no see."
Lu You knocked on Zeng Yan's door.
"Senior Sister, you broke through?"
It hadn't been long since they last met, yet Zeng Yan's aura had changed ever so slightly.
The moment Lu You met her gaze, it felt as if a faint flash of sword light swept past his eyes.
"I've just entered the eighth level of Qi Refining. I'm still not quite used to it yet."
Zeng Yan nodded. She had only broken through earlier that morning, and her mood was excellent.
Truly, arriving at the right moment was better than arriving early.
Lu You felt like he hadn't even done anything yet, but somehow his relationship with his senior sister had inexplicably grown closer.
"Then we definitely have to celebrate today, Senior Sister!"
Lu You clapped his hands and hurried back to his wooden hut.
He opened the cellar he had dug himself and took out a jar of spirit wine.
Because spiritual rice was inexhaustible to him, and because he hadn't had a cultivation technique to practice for the past three years, Lu You had extravagantly used spiritual rice to brew wine instead.
He only kept two jars of the resulting spirit wine.
One was for drinking, and the other was placed into the small cauldron for duplication.
Even if the sect discovered it, it wouldn't matter.
After all, Lu You handed in his spiritual rice in full every time, and there were only two jars in total.
The sect couldn't be bothered to investigate such a trivial amount.
Besides the spirit wine, Lu You also packed a box of spiritual rice, then cheerfully ran back to Senior Sister Zeng's residence.
This celebration was not only for Zeng Yan's advancement to the eighth level of Qi Refining, it was also Lu You celebrating his own mastery of basic talismans.
"You actually have spirit wine?!"
This time, Zeng Yan was genuinely shocked.
Compared to spiritual rice, spirit wine contained much purer spiritual energy.
Moreover, one jin of spiritual rice could only brew about two liang of spirit wine. Even Zeng Yan herself only got a single cup during major clan festivals.
"Thank you so much this time, Junior Brother. With this spirit wine, I'll be able to stabilize my eighth-level cultivation much faster."
A breakthrough only increased the capacity of spiritual energy within the body, the energy itself still had to be cultivated and filled little by little. Lu You had never noticed this issue before, simply because he had an unlimited supply of spiritual rice and spirit stones.
Compared to before, Lu You and Zeng Yan now found themselves talking freely about everything.
As cups were raised and exchanged, one whole jar of spirit wine was soon finished, and both of them felt slightly tipsy.
This was also why Lu You didn't use spirit wine for cultivation. Although it provided more spiritual energy, the intoxication actually reduced the quality of cultivation.
"Junior Brother, you already understand the prices of talismans. With your mixed spiritual roots, entering the Inner Sect is basically impossible. And practicing talisman arts isn't something small families can afford to dabble in. Have you thought about your future plans?"
Zeng Yan hesitated as she spoke. She had wanted to find a way out for Lu You, perhaps using her family's connections to arrange a minor official position for him in the mortal world. With Lu You's third-level Qi Refining cultivation, he could live very comfortably among mortals.
"I think I do have some talent when it comes to talismans," Lu You said with a grin. "Senior Sister, come with me."
He led Zeng Yan toward an empty spiritual field.
Zeng Yan had always been too lazy to bother tidying her spiritual field. After each harvest, she simply left it alone. Dead branches and withered leaves were piled densely together, spread across the ground like a rotten bed.
"Perfect. Just right. Senior Sister, let's begin."
Lu You nodded in satisfaction. The messier Zeng Yan's spiritual field was, the more striking the contrast would be.
The next moment, Lu You took out a Beginner Flame Talisman from his robe. Once activated, Zeng Yan's spiritual field whooshed as it burst into flames.
"You actually learned the Beginner Flame Talisman? In just half a month?!"
Zeng Yan stared at the blazing field, even more shocked than when she herself had broken through to the eighth level of Qi Refining.
A third-level Qi Refining cultivator only had enough spiritual energy to draw about five talismans.
Even if Lu You didn't sleep at all—drawing talismans the moment his spiritual energy recovered—he could only make around ten per day.
Yet in just eighteen days, without any guidance, Lu You had gone from zero to entering the foundations of talisman arts!
He couldn't quite be called a genius, but he was unquestionably a standout talent.
"This is bad—the fire! Quick, we need to put it out! If it spreads and burns someone else's spiritual field, we'll both be punished!"
Watching the flames grow fiercer, Zeng Yan suddenly realized something even more alarming—
The power of Lu You's talisman was actually stronger than any she had seen in her clan.
In the blink of an eye, an entire mu of spiritual field was engulfed in flames. The fire even spread onto the nearby path and was about to reach other people's fields.
"Senior Sister, keep watching!"
Lu You chuckled as he pulled out a Rain-Calling Talisman. The moment he activated it, a torrential downpour fell from the sky, perfectly timed to halt the spreading flames and extinguish them completely.
"You've even mastered the Rain-Calling Talisman?!"
Mastering a single talisman in eighteen days was already impressive.
Zeng Yan never imagined that Lu You had also learned the Rain-Calling Talisman.
Especially since the flames he had just released were so intense—and yet this rain had put them out with ease. This alone proved that the Rain-Calling Talisman Lu You had drawn was far stronger than any she had ever seen.
But it still wasn't over.
As the rain doused the fire and sent clouds of ash and smoke billowing into the air, Lu You took out a Beginner Wind Talisman.
A fierce gust swept through, and Zeng Yan's previously chaotic spiritual field was instantly refreshed and cleared.
"Three talismans. Eighteen days to master three talismans..."
Zeng Yan's eyes lit up.
"Junior Brother, your talent in the Dao of Talismans is comparable to someone with a high-grade spiritual root. As long as you persist day after day, you will definitely obtain the status of a talisman master. When that time comes, even the Verdant Cloud Sect will invite you to serve as a guest elder. Even if you have a defective spiritual root, the sect would still be willing to pile resources onto you and push you all the way to Foundation Establishment."
After a moment of thought, Zeng Yan suddenly reached toward her collar.
From within her robes, she took out a Golden Light Talisman.
"Junior Brother, I understand now. You bought this Golden Light Talisman so you could copy it and study it, didn't you?"
Zeng Yan placed the Golden Light Talisman into Lu You's hand. A faintly sweet fragrance still lingered on it.
"I'm already at the eighth level of Qi Refining. This talisman can only block a full-power strike from someone at the sixth level. To me, it's dispensable, but to you, it's invaluable."
Talismans weren't learned solely by following instruction manuals. For more difficult talismans, one also had to study and copy finished products in order to grasp them quickly.
At this moment, Zeng Yan misunderstood Lu You. She took what he had bought to duplicate with his small cauldron for self-defense as proof that he was keenly aware of his own talent and had purchased it specifically for copying and comprehension.
Lu You had originally wanted to refuse.
But as he took the talisman in hand and felt the warmth and faint fragrance clinging to it, against his better judgment, he accepted it.
"Senior Sister, once I succeed in copying it, I'll definitely return an even stronger talisman to you!"
Ever since transmigrating into this world, Lu You had been filled with caution and loneliness.
After fighting side by side with Zeng Yan to kill a bandit cultivator, and now sharing spirit wine together once more, Lu You felt some of the barrier between himself and this world quietly dissolve.
"Junior Brother, I just happen to be heading down the mountain in three days. If you need to purchase materials, you can come with me."
After a moment's thought, Zeng Yan took the initiative to extend the invitation.
Lu You understood her good intentions, but still declined politely.
Going down the mountain was far too dangerous.
Even the largest talisman shops were nothing but black shops.
By now, Lu You fully understood the survival rules of the cultivation world—
They were nothing more than naked, brutal survival of the fittest.
The reason that dark-skinned female clerk had dared to harm him was simple:
He was too weak.
If Lu You had been a powerful cultivator, he would have received attentive, flawless service the moment he stepped into the talisman shop.
But he was just a lowly menial disciple.
And the result was being casually treated as a fat lamb, ripe for slaughter.