Chapter 79

: You Gain Some, You Lose Some
 
The first type of talisman summoned was the ‘Heavenly Script’. It chased the root of the cause and had the bravery of the great Brahma. Knot it to a foot long with eight edges that resemble the eight spiritual rituals.
This type of talisman was the remnants of the Daoist master. Even immortals wouldn’t understand the meaning behind it.
It was named ‘heavenly’ because this type of talisman was recorded in a chapter of
The Great Brahma’s Cryptology to the Infinity Hole
. This book set the rhythm and was a treasure of Daoism. However, it was a folklore and nobody really knew where did the book ended up at.
The second type of talisman summoned the Seal of the Dragon and Phoenix. It was produced by ancient mediators when the dragon and phoenix were in power. Although this was not as powerful as the Heavenly Script, this talisman helped holy deities to make sense of deep profound ideas.
The third type of talisman was the ‘Cloud Seal Thunder Script’, which was the natural changes of Yin and Yang of Daoism. The symbols of the scriptures were outlined on paper or myrtus wood as the medium to produce power. Such talisman was the prototype of today’s text talisman.
The book may have mentioned three types of talisman system but only provided the tutorial for ‘Cloud Seal Thunder Script’.
Shen Lian suspected that perhaps even Qing Xuan may not be able to offer a detailed explanation of the Heavenly Script and the Seal of the Dragon and Phoenix Script.
Most cultivators in the world would know a trick or two about talisman. But hardly anyone would boost their proficiency.
Once a person masters the Dao of Talisman, they may not have the opportunity to contribute in terms of combat power. However, a skilled Talisman Master was an important asset to a school as he could provide convenience in many other ways.
For instance, a powerful talisman can be used as a form of protection when a disciple travels around the world. After all, it was easier to produce talisman than to forge alchemy. You can even cast spells and seal power on a talisman.
Besides, some wearable talisman could even absorb the vitality from the heaven and earth and nourish the bearer’s physical body. It could be gifted to others as a protection against illnesses and promote longevity.
Some land immortals who were skilled in the Dao of Talisman would use their skills to change the terrains of the mountains and transform desolated land to prosperous abode and even starting their own school.
Technically a person with potent memory power like Shen Lian would be able to memorize it after taking a good glance. But it wasn’t an easy feat for him to remember the Cloud Seal Thunder Script chapter in the book.
Every time he felt that has memorized a talisman, he would cross check his memory and the book. He would never get it right completely as if the text were constantly changing every second.
He would not have noticed these fine details if it was not for his strong memory.
Shen Lian prepared some white papers in advance to take notes.
However, he was not able to reproduce the content as he could not jot down the text on the paper.
Shen Lian did not give up and instead tried to figure out what went wrong.
Several hours have past and the sun has set to the east.
He felt a chill down his spine as if there was an irresistible force causing him to lose control of his body. Like a fallen cloud, he fell to the ground. Fortunately, he was able to do a side turn and landed with his palms on the ground, successfully avoided falling face down.
Shen Lian knew it was the old Daoist monk who did that to him. What a frank person. Even if he could not talk, he could have just gently reminded him that it was time to leave. Was there really a need to be so impulsive?
Shen Lian only dared to keep the thoughts to himself. He would never argue with a monk of such seniority.
He understood that the truth of the world was within the scope of a fist.
Shen Lian was still considered as a teenager as he has yet to pledge the oath of thirty years of He Xi and He Dong.
Shen Lian felt knew that learning was a progressive process. Although the Cloud Seal Thunder Script was not registered in his mind, he had learned quite a bit on talisman.
He felt that Dao of Talisman was way more interesting than meditation and Qigong practice.
This was because he had a strong spiritual sense where he just had to follow the steps of meditation and Qigong. He did not need to be careful and he could even practice transporting his Qi while walking, sitting or even lying down. It was just that the results may not be as good as when he was focused.
Shen Lian had not seen Lu Shouyi for days. When he returned to the lower house, he was shocked to see him.
His figure was scrawny with yellowish unhealthy hair and his clothes were dirty. He didn’t have the demeanor of a scholar but instead looked more like a beggar.
Shen Lian went up and patted Lu Shouyi who was sitting at the entrance of the academy. A somewhat confused Lu Shouyi looked at Shen Lian sluggishly.

Brother Lu, what on earth happened to you?
Shen Lian asked while secretly inserting essential Qi to make sure his words enter Lu Shouyi’s ears.
Lu Shouyi finally regained composure, patted his head and said,
Brother Shen, I mean Young Brother Shen, you’re back from collecting jades?
As they were from the same school, they consciously address each other as brothers.
Shen Lian was younger and naturally would be addressed as the younger brother and he couldn’t care less about such formalities.
It was also because they entered the academy at the same time, if not Shen Lian would not even take the effort to greet him.

I’ve completed the task of collecting thirty pieces of jade. I don’t need to make more trips anymore. Didn’t the headmaster award you with the school’s fundamentals? How’s your training going?
Looking at Lu Shouyi, Shen Lian thought that he probably failed the training but Shen Lian didn’t want to offend him.
Shen Lian could tell that Lu Shouyi’s meridians were opened up but it didn’t seem like an outcome of self-training. He probably still struggled with self-control.

The master gave me the concentration Visualization Technique as I am easily distracted. The first step was to overcome the cluttered thoughts in my head and then improve on my Qigong. But no matter how hard I try, I just couldn’t get the Visualization Technique right,
an agonized Lu Shouyi responded with a low voice. He looked extremely weak.

Have you been eating for the past few days?
Shen Lian asked curiously.
Shen Lian had a strong spiritual sense and was capable of absorbing vitality into his body. But Lu Shouyi, on the other hand, was not as skillful as Shen Lian. He looked scrawny like a matchstick after a month of training and most probably had not been eating. It was a surprise that he had yet to die of starvation.

I took a Bigu pill earlier. It suppresses your hunger for about ten days to half a month,
Lu replied.

Are you aware that it’s almost been a month since we came back from Taiyi peak?

A stunned Lu Shouyi replied,
Is it?


It’s been a month and Brother Lu still has yet to master the fundamentals. That was really unacceptable for a disciple of the headmaster,
a passing man said leisurely.
Dressed in white with a long sword hung to him, the passerby looked quite handsome. He had sharp brows with star-liked eyes and a well-structured nose. It was safe to describe him as energetic and vibrant.
It was just that no swordsman at the lower house could match the charisma of Chen Jianmei.
This person certainly could be considered as charming.
But his harsh words sounded like thorns to Lu Shouyi.
Lu Shouyi was aware that headmaster accepted him because he saw something in him. It was a special honor. Unless he brought back stunning results, it would be hard to convince others about his acceptance to the academy.
Lu Shouyi was not an idiot. He figured out that this guy was most probably a newcomer to the lower house and replied,
It seems that this junior has some advice for me. Please go ahead and tell me directly.