Cultivation: I Have a Golden Talisman

A terrifying sword mark scarred the face and chest of this Feather Divine Soldier. The gash on its chest, in particular, had nearly pierced it through from front to back.

As he looked at the sword mark, Elder Yingya’s eye twitched. He recalled Fang Cheng’s Tier Five Flying Sword from that day and was inwardly aghast.

’How could a tiny, insignificant place like the Yun Country possess such a world-shocking treasure?’

"This treasure is called a Feather Divine Soldier."

Fang Cheng pointed at the Dragon Head Feather Divine Soldier and said, "Fellow Daoist, are you confident you can repair it?"

Elder Yingya carefully studied the Feather God Dao Patterns on the Feather Divine Soldier, clicking his tongue in wonder. "What profoundly mysterious Spirit Patterns," he sighed, "and is this the Artifact Refining Technique of the Demon Sect...? Huh? And a Fourth-rank Talisman? No wonder! No wonder!"

The man was truly worthy of his title as an Artifact Refining Grandmaster. After a close inspection, he had already grasped the basic principles of the Feather Divine Soldier.

Overall, the Feather Divine Soldier was a thunder-attribute Magical Artifact!

Its core components were the Thunder Pool inside its chest and the snowflake-shaped Spirit Flame exhaust port on its back.

The Thunder Pool was the furnace and the Celestial Demon Relics were the charcoal. The Feather Divine Soldier’s Thunder Power was determined by the quantity of Celestial Demon Relics in the Thunder Pool and the number of ignited Spirit Flame exhaust ports on its back.

Furthermore, inside the Feather Divine Soldier was a core Fourth-rank Talisman named the Supreme Nine Heavens Jade Pure Great Brahman Purple Star Xuan Du Jade Talisman.

This talisman contained numerous Thunder Divine Techniques, and the true purpose of the Feather Divine Soldier was to unleash them.

As an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, Elder Yingya’s skills in the Talisman Dao were only average. He could tell this Mystic City Jade Talisman was wondrous beyond words and possessed many qualities different from ordinary Fourth-rank Talismans, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint what they were.

Fang Cheng then took out a jade slip and handed it to Elder Yingya. "This contains the Artifact Refining Technique for the Feather Divine Soldier. You can use it as a reference."

As if he had just received a priceless treasure, Elder Yingya took the slip and eagerly pressed it to his forehead to inspect it.

After a good while, he removed the jade slip and said excitedly, "Fellow Daoist Fang, give me a few years, and I can definitely restore this ’Feather Divine Soldier’ to perfect condition."

The jade slip only contained the Artifact Refining Technique for the main body of the Tier Four Feather Divine Soldiers. As for the technique to create the Supreme Nine Heavens Jade Pure Great Brahman Purple Star Xuan Du Jade Talisman, Fang Cheng had left it out.

He also possessed the Artifact Refining Technique for a Tier Five Feather Divine Soldier. By comparison, the Tier Five version demanded far higher quality materials, Dao Patterns, refining techniques, and Talismans. It was not something that could be forged overnight.

Fortunately, Elder Yingya was an outstanding master in this field, which gave Fang Cheng a glimmer of hope.

His mood brightened considerably, and he took out a storage bag, saying, "Here is some Profound Iron Immortal Gold I’ve collected. Use it as you see fit."

Elder Yingya didn’t stand on ceremony. He accepted the storage bag and said, "Fellow Daoist Fang, if you can find someone to create that Talisman, I am confident I can forge a new Feather Divine Soldier."

Fang Cheng was noncommittal. After a moment of thought, he said, "Fellow Daoist Ying, I have a disciple with a Life Talisman Cultivation. I’ll need you to arrange an identity for him within the True Flame Sect."

Yingya nodded. "That’s easily arranged. Let him pose as my disciple and await your orders here."

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「Abyssal Marsh.」

Yinluo Island, Demon Lion Peak.

Inside a Cave Mansion, Li Chan sat cross-legged on a Cloud Couch. With his eyelids lowered, he centered his being. His breath was long and faint, and in the profound silence, he had forgotten both himself and the world.

Behind him, nine Tier Two Talismans formed a slowly spinning ring. At the center of this talisman wheel was a mass of clouds, within which a flame flickered, emitting a crackling sound like lightning striking a copper pillar. Sparks flashed, and motes of golden flowers burst forth, fluttering down to vanish upon the Cloud Couch.

Upon closer inspection, one would find that these golden flowers were actually made of countless minuscule runes.

After a long while, Li Chan seemed to sense something. He opened his eyes, rose to his feet from the couch, and with a flick of his sleeves, recalled the nine Talismans.

Ever since the day he was effortlessly subdued by Ruan San Niang, a Mid-stage Life Soul Cultivator, Li Chan had suffered his greatest setback since joining the Yinluo Sect.

After Fang Cheng rescued him, his Dao Heart underwent a wondrous transformation. Following a period of arduous cultivation, he broke through the Mid-Life Talisman Stage barrier, and his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.

He was now an Inner Sect Elder of the Yinluo Sect. With his Divine Power Talisman Technique, he had few rivals in the sect among those below the Life Soul Realm.

As he stepped out of the Quiet Chamber, two lovely concubines immediately came forward to attend to him.

As a mid-to-high-ranking member of a Demonic Sect, he was naturally never short of beautiful female cultivators.

Many prominent families were even eager to send him the young female cultivators of their clans just to curry favor with him.

Seeing that he was about to leave, one of the concubines spoke gently, "My Lord, please wait. This servant has something to report."

Li Chan stopped and asked, "What is it?"

The concubine raised a delicate hand, her head bowed, and presented a letter to him. "My Lord," she said, "just now, someone from Miaoxiang Tower had this letter delivered."

"Oh? From Elder Huang?" Li Chan asked casually as he took the letter.

Huang Shen, who went by the moniker of the Female Subduing Sect Leader of Abyss Lake, was a regular at Miaoxiang Tower. Since he was also an Inner Sect Elder on Demon Lion Peak, he was the most likely sender.

The concubine nodded. "It is."

Li Chan opened the letter, took out the message inside, and as his eyes swept over it, his expression subtly changed.

"So it’s a letter from Master, telling me to make a trip to the True Flame Sect in the Jin Country..."

A pensive look appeared on Li Chan’s face as he recalled his previous encounter with that Dharma Master from the True Flame Sect, and he sighed to himself.

That Dharma Master had once said that the Talisman Wheel Secret Technique he obtained in his youth on Divine Pillar Mountain was part of a larger Ancient Talisman Dao Secret Technique. Although he had less than ten or twenty percent of the complete technique, it had been enough for him to defy the heavens and change his destiny, allowing him to rise from an unknown Loose Cultivator in Divine Pillar Immortal City to his current position.

That Talisman Dao Secret Technique supposedly used Talismans to form arrays that could manifest phenomena from Ancient Times, wielding the power to overturn heaven and earth. He wondered if that was an exaggeration.

According to his Master, he had been occupied with matters in the True Flame Sect for some years now and wanted Li Chan to go there to await his orders and handle affairs in the Jin Country.

’That Dharma Master was once defeated by Master. Now that Master himself is at the True Flame Sect... If I plead with him a little, I might just be able to complete this Talisman Dao Secret Technique.’

Li Chan mulled this over. After giving his concubines a few instructions, he left the Cave Mansion.

He transformed into a streak of Escape Light and shot away from Yinluo Island, soaring into the heavens. He then activated a Talisman, and a black cloud enveloped him. Thunder rumbled as bolts of lightning arced back and forth within, an astonishing display of power.

In an instant, the black cloud shot into the distant sky at a speed nearly comparable to that of a Life Soul Cultivator.

...

A few days later, Li Chan arrived at the True Flame Sect. With arrangements made by Elder Yingya, he officially became a True Disciple of the sect.

Elder Yingya hadn’t taken on a disciple in a century, so his "acceptance" of Li Chan caused quite a stir within and without the True Flame Sect.

Elder Yingya was quite surprised upon seeing Li Chan. Before Li Chan could say much, the elder presented him with the incomplete Talisman Dao Secret Technique as a welcoming gift.

"My own research into the Talisman Dao is not profound. I simply couldn’t bear to see a legacy from the ancient sages be lost to time. Now that you have this technique, you must cherish it. Be sure to find a successor to carry it on and bring it to greater glory."

These lighthearted words from Elder Yingya moved Li Chan deeply.

From then on, Li Chan remained on Spirit Rock Peak.

He made a copy of the completed Talisman Dao Secret Technique and gave it to Fang Cheng.

This secret technique detailed the methods for condensing and transforming twelve Talisman Arrays. Involving a hundred different types of Talismans, it was incredibly complex and required an extremely high level of mastery in both Talisman Techniques and array formations to learn.

Of course, even a brief analysis suggested that if one could truly form the Talisman Arrays described in the secret technique, their power would be terrifyingly immense—comparable to a top-tier Divine Technique.

The task Fang Cheng had assigned to Li Chan was to contact two major powers, the Heaven Shepherd Alliance and Miaoxiang Tower, and collect Spiritual Medicine, Dao Pattern Spirit Jade, and Profound Iron Immortal Gold.

For convenience, Li Chan rented a shop in the market outside the True Flame Sect and recruited several disciples from the Yinluo Sect to manage it. While running the business, they would also liaise with the various factions, effectively giving the Yinluo Sect its own outpost in the Jin Country.

In the future, when Yinluo Sect cultivators traveled to the Jin Country, this place would serve as their sect’s base.

Li Chan handled these affairs with masterful ease, much to Fang Cheng’s satisfaction.

Not long after, Fang Cheng and Elder Yingya both entered seclusion.

Elder Yingya dedicated himself completely to repairing the Dragon Head Feather Divine Soldier.

Meanwhile, Fang Cheng, attended by Wan’Er, cultivated the Great Dao from within his Mandarin Duck Bedding. His cultivation increased daily, steadily approaching the Late-Life Soul Stage.

...