Chapter 143: Tactics l |
“Where did you learn these talisman drawing methods?”
“Why do you ask?”
Chen Mobai felt a bit uneasy when he saw Luan Jingsheng looking a bit serious, suspecting that he might have realized these talismans were not from the Immortal sects.
“I noticed something off about that ‘Consciousness Talisman’ you showed me earlier. It could have been drawn in a much simpler manner, but instead, it has many unnecessary turns in its strokes. I thought the teaching materials that you obtained may have been misprinted.”
“But now looking at this set of four talismans, each one has a stroke altered. They are not altered wrongly, just that the changes made would greatly increase the failure rate, making it harder for those who try to learn from these materials.”
“For me, as a Rank-1 Talisman Maker, I could still force it out with my foundational knowledge. However, for beginners, if they were to follow this set of materials, they would likely need at least a year or more to master.”
After hearing Luan Jingsheng’s words, Chen Mobai was stunned.
He thought about his laborious efforts in practicing every day back in Green Mountain Village but couldn’t successfully draw even a single talisman. He used to think he had no talent in this, which had caused a blow to his self-confidence.
He didn’t expect it would turn out like this.
He didn’t know if Lu Shu, who gave him the book initially, knew about it.
If he did, that would signify Chen Mobai was quite naive for not realizing he was a real villain, smiling on the surface but carrying a knife behind it.
Instinctively, Chen Mobai believed that Lu Shu didn’t know, he was probably fooled as well.
Then, remembering the intrigues amongst loose cultivators in Tianhe Realm, he felt maybe he had misjudged people.
With a multitude of thoughts, Chen Mobai finally calmed down using the “Nourishing Thought Forge God Technique”.”
“Thank you, Brother Luan. The book on these talisman drawing techniques, I got it from a street stall. I was quite attracted by its archaic style and thought I got a bargain, who could have imagined…””
Chen Mobai dared not tell Luan Jingsheng the truth and could only sigh, improvising a convincing reason.
“I will try to redraw them, correcting the strokes for you. Come find me tomorrow.”
Luan Jingsheng was also a straightforward person. Since Chen Mobai sought his help, he was more than willing to lend a hand.
“Thank you.”
At this, Chen Mobai could only express his gratitude again, and treated him to a meal.
“You should buy official teaching materials if you wish to study talisman-making.”
“I still have ‘The Primordial Three Talisman Books’ published by the Cinnabarite Institute. I can give them to you if needed.”
“As for these nameless products at the street stalls with no publication number, try to purchase fewer of such. They usually are counterfeits, meant to scam students who think they could find a treasure.”
After several previous interactions, Luan Jingsheng treated Chen Mobai as a friend, and freely gave him advice during the meal.
“What Brother Luan said makes sense, I will not buy such things in the future.”
Chen Mobai said, his face hesitant. In the end, he couldn’t resist and also handed over the Crimson Flame Sword Talisman notes given by Qi Rui, asking Luan Jingsheng to vet them for him.
He simply couldn’t trust cultivators from Tianhe Realm too much.
“Actually, the reason why I trusted that stall owner was that I did find something valuable.”
“The ‘Crimson Flame Three Sword Talisman’ that I used during the magic duel, which crossed against the ‘Heaven Heart Sword Talisman’, I bought it from that stall. It even came with a drawing tutorial.”
“Could you help me to check this as well and see if there are any issues?”
Luan Jingsheng was surprised to hear this. He had seen the spectacular scene of the ‘Heaven Heart Sword Talisman’ and the ‘Crimson Flame Three Sword Talisman’ matching up against each other on social media.
However, he never thought that Chen Mobai had found it at a stall.
His casually nonchalant attitude immediately became more serious as he picked up his phone to look at the screenshots of the drawing notes for the Crimson Flame Sword Talisman that Chen Mobai sent over.
“Based on the strokes alone, this rank-1 superior talisman doesn’t seem to have the abruptness as the previous five. But whether it truly has no problems, I will only know after trying to draw it.”
“However, my skills are limited. I have only succeeded with three rank-1 superior talismans. If I want to learn this Crimson Flame Sword Talisman, I reckon I will need at least a month of full focus.”
“If it is not urgent for you, I can try drawing it for you once I finish refining my current talisman..”
Chen Mobai declined immediately upon hearing this.
“How can I burden you for such a long time? With my current level, to learn to draw this Crimson Flame Sword Talisman, I would need at least one or two years of fundamental practice. I can slowly explore it by myself then.”
Upon hearing this, Luan Jingsheng also nodded in agreement.
Being a dual cultivator of talisman and artifact refining, he focused more on artifact refining.
To completely master and practice this Crimson Flame Sword Talisman would indeed be a waste of time for him.
The next day, Chen Mobai made a personal visit and collected the remaining four Life Talismans with corrected strokes from Luan Jingsheng. He even painstakingly drew out a sample for each, for Chen Mobai to refer to in case he didn’t understand.
Chen Mobai was deeply moved, but since it was inappropriate to reward him with Good Deed Points, he could only give him two vials of rank-1 superior Qi-replenishing Spirit Water.
Luan Jingsheng initially refused, but eventually accepted after much persuasion.
When Chen Mobai left, Luan Jingsheng gave him his annotated “Primordial Three Talisman Books”.”
With the correct samples for reference,
The standard of Chen Mobai in talisman making made considerable progress, managing to successfully draw all the five basic Life Talismans of the Divine Wood Sect within just ten days.
He finally realized his talent in talisman making was actually not bad. The multiple failures in the past were solely due to being misled by the incorrect teaching materials.
It was only fair to say that the situation in Tianhe Realm was too complex, and he was too naive.
Having experienced this, Chen Mobai finally understood why the stores set up by major sects in the markets of Tianhe Realm sold their products at such high prices.
At least, they guaranteed that their products were correct.
If you bought cheaper cultivation techniques of the same name at the stalls, they might be the snares of those with ulterior motives, deliberately changed to harm loose cultivators.
Tianhe Realm was indeed fraught with danger at every turn.
Chen Mobai learned his lesson the hard way, but he was also grateful everything was not too late. Otherwise, he might have been tricked into practicing the “Blackwater Cultivation”.
Just when he was getting ready to go to Green Light Island to look for treasures again, Wu Wan came over with excitement radiating from his face.
The sacrificial refining method for the “White Jade Bell” had been figured out..
