Chapter 148 - 144: Golden Blade Talisman
The next morning, Wang Lu came knocking.
He stood in the corridor, took out two cloth pouches from his sleeve, and handed one to Li Yuan.
"You don’t need to stay at the inn anymore. Find a place to live in the marketplace. The cost will be covered by what’s in here."
Inside the pouch were thirty Spirit Stones.
Wang Lu didn’t explain further. He placed the other pouch at Old Sun’s door and knocked twice. When Old Sun came out, Wang Lu handed the other pouch to him, then turned and left.
After a brief chat with Old Sun, Li Yuan put the Spirit Stones into his storage pouch, went back to his room to pack his things, and left.
Finding a place to live in Yunyang Marketplace wasn’t difficult.
In the side alleys south of the main street, there were many courtyards and rooms for rent. The prices ranged from one Spirit Stone a day to half a Spirit Stone a week, depending on the size and location.
Li Yuan walked down an alley for a while and chose a small, independent courtyard near the end.
The courtyard walls weren’t high, built of gray bricks, enclosing a main house and a side house.
The main house contained a stone table and a wooden plank bed. The side house was empty and could be used as a storage room. In the middle of the courtyard was a small open space, large enough for a simple stove.
Li Yuan moved his Talisman making materials into the main house and cleared the tabletop. He placed his talisman brush on its rack, and the Spiritual Ink and cinnabar within easy reach.
The courtyard was much more spacious than the inn room, and the table was also a good deal larger, enough to lay out three or four sheets of talisman paper at the same time.
Once the door was closed, the sounds of people in the alley outside were muffled, and it became much quieter.
After settling in, Li Yuan started on another task.
Herbal talisman paper.
Captain Wang had given him a scroll with the production method back at the herb garden. He had already read through the process but had never actually tried it.
He had only been testing it for a few days at the herb garden when they were attacked. After that, one thing happened after another, and he never found the time.
The price of Spirit Grass in Yunyang Marketplace was about ten percent lower than in Qinghe Marketplace. Tier One Low Grade Cyan Spirit Grass was especially cheap; you could buy a large bundle for just three Spirit Stones.
Li Yuan left the courtyard and bought two bundles of Cyan Spirit Grass from a nearby Spirit Grass Shop. He also bought the necessary herbs to mix a Shaping Potion from a Loose Cultivator’s stall.
After returning, he began working in the courtyard’s open space.
He chopped up the Cyan Spirit Grass and soaked it in fresh water for an hour. Then he removed it and continued to soak it in the potion. Four hours later, he took it out, pounded it into a pulp, poured it onto a flat stone slab, and pressed it flat.
After it had dried the next day, Li Yuan peeled the pressed sheet off the stone slab.
The feel of it was different from Cyan Pattern Paper. The herbal talisman paper was softer with coarser fibers, and its surface had a faint green tint.
The quality couldn’t compare to proper Cyan Pattern Paper, but its advantage was its extremely low cost.
The amount of herbal talisman paper made from two bundles of Cyan Spirit Grass was nearly three times what he could get by buying Cyan Pattern Paper for the same price.
In the following days, Li Yuan’s routine completely stabilized.
He made Talismans during the day and cultivated at night.
The focus of his Talisman making expanded from Soul Refining Talismans to all the types of Talismans he had mastered.
Fireball Talismans, Heart-lock Talismans, and Qi Gathering Talismans were still his main products, as these three were the Combat Talismans the guard detail needed most. However, Li Yuan would set aside four to six hours every day to practice other Talismans in rotation.
The Vein-Expanding Talisman used a combination of the Expanding Vein Pattern and the Guiding Pattern, which required a smooth and even flow of Spiritual Power. He had only ever made a few of these Talismans back in the marketplace, and his proficiency had remained at the entry level.
Now that his overall Talisman Making Skill had reached Minor Achievement, the precision of his Spiritual Power control was several notches higher than before, making the drawing of Vein-Expanding Talismans feel effortless. The foundation he had built at the entry level was quickly surpassed, and the success rate for Vein-Expanding Talismans soared from less than thirty percent to over sixty percent.
[Vein-Expanding Talisman: Proficient (0/400)]
The Golden Armor Talisman and Replenishing Talisman were also progressing simultaneously.
The Golden Armor Talisman’s Armor Condensation Pattern and Solid Pattern followed an Earth and Metal Element path, somewhat similar to the Vajra Talisman. The experience he gained from mastering the Vajra Talisman could be directly applied to the Golden Armor Talisman, so he picked it up much faster than he had with the Vajra Talisman.
[Golden Armor Talisman: Proficient (0/400)]
The Replenishing Talisman was primarily Water Element with some Wood Element aspects, and its Spirit Pattern layout had things in common with the Qi Gathering Talisman.
[Replenishing Talisman: Proficient (0/400)]
His progress with the Detoxification Talisman and Concealing Breath Talisman had also increased significantly. Although he hadn’t reached mastery yet, by drawing a few every day, he was steadily getting closer to the next threshold.
Switching between different types of Talismans did much more to increase his overall proficiency in Tier One Talisman Making Skill than specializing in just one type.
That morning, Li Yuan finished his daily quota of Talisman making ahead of schedule, put down his talisman brush, and left the courtyard.
He walked down the side alley to the main street and turned toward the Loose Cultivator stall area.
The layout of the stall area was much the same as the past few days. Thirty to forty stalls were crammed into an open space enclosed by a stone railing. The stall owners squatted behind their cloth displays, some hawking their wares, others dozing off.
Li Yuan walked slowly through the stall area, his gaze sweeping over the items on each display.
As he reached the north side of the stall area, Li Yuan noticed a stall he hadn’t seen before.
The owner was a Female Cultivator in her thirties with delicate features and long, slender fingers stained with faint traces of cinnabar. On the coarse cloth before her, there were no pills or ores, but several thin scrolls.
He squatted down and scanned them, his eyes stopping on a bamboo scroll at the very back.
Golden Blade Talisman production method. Thirty Spirit Stones.
A few lines of small text were written on the wooden sign.
Golden Blade Talisman, a Tier One Low Grade Combat Talisman. When used, it releases a sharp, Metal Element Spirit Blade that inflicts cutting damage on the target. The sharpness of the Spirit Blade increases with the user’s Spiritual Power.
Li Yuan picked up the bamboo scroll and flipped through it.
On the inner pages made of beast hide, diagrams of the Spirit Pattern layout were drawn, accompanied by detailed instructions. It used a combination of the Golden Blade Pattern and the Gathering Sharp Pattern. The Spiritual Power flow involved gathering first and then releasing, condensing into an extremely fine Gold Attribute Spiritual Power Line on the talisman paper, which would transform into a Spirit Blade upon release.
’A Metal Element Talisman.’
Among the Talismans Li Yuan had mastered, none were Metal Element. The Fireball Talisman was Fire Element, the Rejuvenation Talisman was Wood Element. The Vajra Talisman and Heart-lock Talisman were Earth and Metal Element, but predominantly Earth. The Detoxification Talisman was primarily Water with some Wood Element aspects. He didn’t have a single pure Metal Element Combat Talisman.
"Did you write this production method yourself?" Li Yuan glanced at the stall owner.
The Female Cultivator looked up, her gaze falling on the bamboo scroll in Li Yuan’s hands.
"I copied it from my master. He’s gotten old and no longer makes Talismans, so he allowed me to sell the method."
"Thirty?"
"Thirty," the Female Cultivator said, wiping the cinnabar from her fingers.
"Production methods for Metal Element Talismans are inherently more expensive than other elements. The flow of Metal Element Spirit Patterns is very different from the common Fire and Wood Elements, so fewer people learn them, and fewer methods circulate on the market."
Li Yuan flipped the scroll to the pages with the Spirit Pattern diagrams and examined them carefully.
The path of the Golden Blade Pattern was indeed quite different from a Fire Pattern. The Fireball Talisman’s Fire Gathering Pattern followed a compressive, arched path, while the Golden Blade Pattern followed a straight, cutting path. The Spiritual Power rushed from the starting point to the end in a perfectly straight line, without any turns or forks.
The Gathering Sharp Pattern, meanwhile, added a constriction at the end of the Golden Blade Pattern, compressing the cross-section of the Spiritual Power Line from circular to a flat, blade-like shape to increase its sharpness.
Li Yuan closed the bamboo scroll.
"I’ll take it."
Thirty Spirit Stones landed on the cloth display.
The Female Cultivator swept the Spirit Stones into her sleeve and nodded at Li Yuan.
Li Yuan put the bamboo scroll into his storage pouch and left the stall area.
He returned to his courtyard the way he came and closed the gate.
A few leftover sheets of herbal talisman paper from today were still spread on the table in the main house. Li Yuan moved them aside and laid out a new sheet of Cyan Pattern Paper.
’Metal Element Talismans aren’t suited for herbal talisman paper. The residual Wood Spiritual Power in the paper conflicts slightly with Metal Spiritual Power.’
Li Yuan unrolled the bamboo scroll with the Golden Blade Talisman production method, laid it out beside him, referenced the Spirit Pattern diagram, dipped his brush in Spiritual Ink, and began to draw.
Spiritual Power flowed from the brush tip, tracing a straight line on the talisman paper.
’It feels completely different from a Fire Pattern. With a Fire Pattern, the path is curved, and the Spiritual Power spreads along a surface, like water flowing down a curved riverbed. With a Metal Pattern, the path is straight, and the Spiritual Power is forced through an extremely narrow channel, like a blade cutting into wood.’
Halfway through the first stroke, the Spiritual Power deviated slightly in the middle of the straight line.
’It’s not a problem with my wrist. The Spiritual Power itself is unstable when conducted in a straight line. When Fire Spiritual Power follows a curve, it’s assisted by inertia. Metal Spiritual Power has no inertia in a straight line; it relies entirely on sheer control.’
’Ruined.’
Li Yuan lifted the ruined talisman, set it aside, and laid out a second sheet.
By the fourth sheet, he successfully completed both the Golden Blade Pattern and the Gathering Sharp Pattern. The Spiritual Power transformation at the end of the Gathering Sharp Pattern came together at the last moment, and the cross-section of the Spiritual Power Line was compressed into an extremely thin, blade-like shape.
A cold, silvery-white luster floated on the talisman’s surface, completely different from the crimson of a Fireball Talisman or the earthen yellow of a Vajra Talisman. This luster was incredibly thin and sharp, like a frozen blade’s edge.
’Success.’
Li Yuan placed the Golden Blade Talisman on the desk and rested a fingertip on it.
The panel popped up.
[Equippable Item Detected: Golden Blade Talisman (Complete)]
[Affix Preview: Golden Edge Amplification (White) — Increases the power of Metal Element Magic by 20%.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Reach Entry Level in three Metal Element Magic skills (0/3).]
[Current Equipment Slots are full (5/5). Replace a currently equipped item?]
’A white affix. Golden Edge Amplification.’
’An increase of twenty percent to Metal Element Magic power... It’s similar to how Flame Marrow Physique boosts Fire Element Magic.’
’The permanence condition is reaching entry level in three Metal Element Magic skills.’
’Right now, I only have one Metal Element Magic, the Golden Blade Skill, which is already at entry level. I still need two more.’
Metal Element Magic skills weren’t particularly rare on the market, but there were fewer types than Fire and Water Element skills. He could probably find them in the shops of Yunyang Marketplace; the only question was the price.
Li Yuan put the Golden Blade Talisman away without equipping it. All five of his equipment slots were full, and there were no suitable openings at the moment.
’With Golden Edge Amplification and Flame Marrow Physique together, the power of both my Fire and Metal Element Magic will increase significantly. Once I learn enough Metal Element Magic to make it permanent, I’ll have another dimension to my combat abilities.’
’But that’s for later. Right now, my main strength is still Fire Element Magic. The Golden Blade Skill isn’t that useful yet.’
After using another Soul Refining Talisman, Li Yuan resumed making Talismans.
His Divine Soul had been growing steadily stronger lately. Li Yuan could feel that the enhancement to his Divine Soul from the ’Divine Soul Tempering and Condensing’ affix was also gradually increasing.
’It’s probably gone up from just over ten percent to twenty percent.’