After Rebirth, the Love-Struck Cannon Fodder Woke Up - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Talisman Creation

◎Talisman Assessment, Talent First Apparent◎

After Liu Shuangdai left, Du Lianxin stayed in the secret chamber, concentrating on reading the jade slip.

In the cultivation world, talismans are divided into six tiers based on their power, corresponding to the six major cultivation ranks.

With Du Lianxin’s current cultivation of Qi Condensation level six, she could only draw Tier One talismans, such as the Fireball Talisman, Earth-Turning Talisman, Wood Thorn Talisman, and Metal Shield Talisman.

The talisman patterns were complex and difficult to memorize. Most cultivators who read them for long periods found them dry and boring, but she was deeply absorbed.

After a long time, Du Lianxin felt she had a grasp of the patterns. She took out a blank talisman paper from the jade shelf, pressed down the edge with a paperweight, then took a little cinnabar, ground it with water, and dipped the talisman brush in it.

After preparing, she first recalled the movement of the talisman pattern she was about to engrave in her mind, then put the brush to the paper.

The entire process was smooth and fluid, done in one go.

As she finished the stroke, a faint fluctuation of Metal-element spiritual energy formed within the talisman paper.

The first Metal Shield Talisman was successfully created, of low-grade quality.

This talisman was primarily for defense. When activated against an enemy, it could effectively block attacks from Qi Condensation cultivators.

The duration of its effectiveness depended on the enemy’s strength and the quality of the talisman.

For the same talisman quality, the stronger the enemy, the shorter the duration; assuming the enemy’s strength was the same, the higher the talisman quality, the longer the duration.

Du Lianxin’s first attempt at talisman creation was a success, which was enough to show her extraordinary talent in this art. This also proved that abandoning Pill Refinement was the right choice.

On the other side, Gu Xianzi, the daughter of the Pill Peak Master, heard about Du Lianxin’s matter and almost instinctively associated it with the words Senior Sister Shen had said not long ago.

In her view, everything was too coincidental.

Not long after Senior Sister Shen saved Du Lianxin, she said she was thinking about someone, and her behavior these days was somewhat abnormal compared to before.

Was she overthinking? Or did the person Senior Sister Shen cared about happen to be Du Lianxin?

Could she, the dignified daughter of the Pill Peak Master, lose to an outer sect cultivator?

She admitted that Du Lianxin was very beautiful, on par with her, but there was no shortage of beauties in the cultivation world. Senior Sister Shen wouldn’t be so superficial as to be interested in the other person just because of her appearance.

As for status, the difference between the two was clear at a glance, so that couldn’t be the reason either.

What else could it be?

Could it be personality?

In the past two days, Gu Xianzi had sent people to inquire about Du Lianxin. The reply she received was that the girl was introverted, not skilled in social interaction, and had an average relationship with most of her peers.

Did Senior Sister Shen like this kind of personality? She had never heard that before!

Gu Xianzi was full of doubts, wondering what exactly Senior Sister Shen saw in Du Lianxin.

The maidservant saw her deeply frowned and attempted to offer suggestions.

“Young Master, regardless of whether Immortal Shen likes Du Lianxin or not, you just need to find a way to make any possibility between them impossible.”

“You mean…”

At that moment, Gu Xianzi seemed to have thought of something, and her expression suddenly changed.

“Shaoyao, I absolutely cannot do anything that harms a fellow disciple! No matter how much I dislike Du Lianxin, she is still a cultivator of the Qinghe Sect!”

The maidservant quickly explained: “Young Master, you misunderstood. I never thought of harming her. I meant finding a way to sever the possible thread of marriage between her and Immortal Shen.”

Gu Xianzi’s expression softened slightly: “How to sever it?”

The maidservant continued: “I heard that Du Lianxin has a good relationship with Ye Qiuwan from the outer sect. It’s unclear what Du Lianxin thinks, but Ye Qiuwan likes her. Young Master, why not find a way to facilitate those two? Then, even if Immortal Shen has intentions, she will have to give up.”

Gu Xianzi nodded thoughtfully.

“That’s a good idea. Do you have a specific plan?”

The maidservant replied respectfully: “Forgive me, Young Master, I haven’t come up with a detailed plan yet, but Shaoyao believes we can start with Ye Qiuwan. Since she likes Du Lianxin, if we can help her achieve her wish, she surely won’t refuse.”

A hint of a smile appeared on Gu Xianzi’s face: “Where is this woman now?”

The maidservant immediately replied: “She left the sect for training a few days ago, but I presume she will be back soon.”

Gu Xianzi frowned and pondered for a while, then decided: “Monitor this woman’s whereabouts for the time being. As soon as you find she returns to the outer sect, tell me immediately!”

The maidservant quickly gave her assurance: “Rest assured, Young Master. Shaoyao will closely follow this matter!”

Seven days later, Talisman Peak.

Liu Shuangdai came to Du Lianxin’s cultivation cave dwelling to assess the results of these few days.

After a random check, she confirmed that her newly accepted disciple had mastered all the talisman patterns recorded in the jade slip and nodded in satisfaction.

“In another half month, the Talisman Assessment will take place. As long as you pass, you can become a Talisman Apprentice. Although Lianxin, you have only been studying the Dao of Talismans for a short time, your Master hopes you will participate. As for the result, it doesn’t matter. If you fail, summarize your experience and participate again next time.”

Du Lianxin responded solemnly: “This disciple will do her best!”

The process of Talisman Creation continuously consumed spiritual energy. With Du Lianxin’s current Qi Condensation level six cultivation, she needed to meditate for half an hour after drawing every ten talismans.

To save more time, she made a special trip to Provisions Peak, spending one contribution point to buy two bottles of Fasting Pills.

During the Qi Condensation stage, one could not abstain from food. With these pills, whenever she felt hungry, she could take one and feel full for two days.

Perhaps influenced by Talisman Creation, or perhaps because her mental state had improved significantly after being reborn, on the tenth day, Du Lianxin finished drawing the talisman in her hand and unconsciously entered a state of epiphany.

A layer of misty spiritual light gradually appeared around her body, giving her an air of mystery.

After a long time, her cultivation naturally advanced, breaking through to Qi Condensation level seven.

The Qi Condensation stage has a total of ten levels: levels one to three are the early stage, four to six are the middle stage, seven to nine are the late stage, and ten is the Great Perfection stage.

Du Lianxin’s breakthrough only seemed like a small advancement, but it was actually a leap from the middle stage to the late stage of Qi Condensation.

In the entire Tai Xuan Realm, countless four- and five-spirit-root cultivators were lifelongly trapped in the early or middle stages of Qi Condensation, unable to advance even an inch.

Now, at sixteen years old, she broke through the middle stage bottleneck and advanced to Qi Condensation level seven. In terms of cultivation speed alone, she was no worse than a three-spirit-root cultivator.

After advancing her cultivation, Du Lianxin meditated for half a day to consolidate her realm, and then continued to create talismans.

Morning passed to evening, and soon the day of the assessment arrived.

Du Lianxin came to the Thousand Talisman Hall and queued up to participate in the draw.

The assessment order was determined by the draw number, and she happened to draw the first batch.

When the supervising elder called out her name, the surrounding cultivators outside the hall reacted differently.

Some looked surprised; some were in disbelief; some showed suspicion; and a few remaining, with folded arms, looked like they were watching a show.

As soon as Du Lianxin entered the hall, discussions arose everywhere.

“Talisman Creation is not something that happens overnight. Can she succeed, participating in the Talisman Assessment so soon after joining the peak?”

“Since she signed up, she must have some confidence, right?”

“Alas, if she fails, it will be Elder Liu’s loss of face.”

“Given Elder Liu’s personality, she probably won’t care about this, or else she wouldn’t have accepted her as a disciple in the first place, right?”

When this was said, the hall was temporarily silent.

Putting aside Du Lianxin’s Talisman Creation talent, the fact that she had four spirit roots was undeniable. In the grand direct disciple competition held every ten years in the future, she would most likely be at the bottom.

This result was now tacitly accepted by the cultivators.

Before long, a slightly hesitant voice broke the brief silence.

“Senior Sister Du seems to have… reached Qi Condensation level seven?”

“Huh, indeed. I was too shocked about her participating in the Talisman Assessment just now and overlooked this.”

“I heard those outer sect cultivators say that Senior Sister Du only broke through to Qi Condensation level six a year ago. I can’t believe she advanced again in such a short time?”

“They say the higher the cultivation, the harder the advancement. How is Senior Sister Du the exact opposite?”

“Perhaps she received guidance from Elder Liu? Or had some other opportunity?”

“I wonder what Senior Sister Du’s Talisman Creation talent is like. If it’s decent, her future achievements might not be low.”

Inside the Thousand Talisman Hall, there were sound-insulating restrictions during the assessment. Du Lianxin could not hear the discussions outside, and even if she could, with her current state of mind, she wouldn’t care.

After walking to her assessment spot, she constantly recalled her Talisman Creation experience from the past few days.

At one moment, she was inspired. She picked up the brush, dipped it in cinnabar, and a Fireball Talisman was instantly created.

Observing the spiritual energy fluctuations on the talisman’s surface, it was undoubtedly high-grade quality.

The entire assessment process was recorded by a Spirit Stone (a recording tool), preventing the possibility of cheating.

The cultivators outside the hall watched the entire process and were all speechless when they saw the result.

After a while, discussions broke out again, one after another.

“She actually passed the assessment, and even created a high-grade talisman?”

“It’s truly unbelievable. Let alone someone new to the Dao of Talismans, even the peak elders wouldn’t guarantee they could successfully draw a high-grade talisman.”

“Since Senior Sister Du has such talent in the Dao of Talismans, why did she choose Pill Refinement back then? If she had chosen Talisman Creation earlier, she wouldn’t have wasted a few years of time.”

“That’s not entirely correct. Before becoming an apprentice, one only had a maximum of two class hours per month. The rest of the time, besides completing sect missions, could be used for cultivation. How can you say she wasted time?”

“Alas, even setting that aside, the wasted cultivation resources are real. You know, regardless of which peak’s apprentice you become, you get an extra allowance of contribution points every month. In a few years, didn’t she miss out on a lot?”

“That’s true, but no matter what, Senior Sister Du ultimately made the right choice, didn’t she?”

“Exactly. In my opinion, as long as the choice is right, it’s worth it, no matter how late!”

After passing the assessment, she smoothly received a gray lotus jade token representing the identity of a Talisman Apprentice.

From today on, she could receive an additional fifty contribution points monthly.

Furthermore, since becoming a direct disciple of Talisman Peak, her monthly stipend had changed. Compared to the outer sect, she could receive an extra one hundred spirit stones monthly.

All in all, everything was moving in a good direction.

Luoyun Peak of the Qinghe Sect.

Shen Anlan was momentarily dazed upon hearing that Du Lianxin had shone brightly in the Talisman Assessment.

These past few days, every time she cultivated, she would recall the events before and after saving the girl.

Her heart felt empty, as if she had forgotten something very important.

In the subtle guidance of fate, there seemed to be another voice, urging her to seek out Du Lianxin, or she would surely regret it later.

Initially, Shen Anlan thought someone had cast a forbidden spell on her, but after repeatedly checking with secret methods, she found nothing.

She knew her state was abnormal but couldn’t find the source, so she could only let it develop.

Shen Anlan had a vague intuition that one day in the future, these doubts would be completely resolved. The time was simply not right yet.

She longed for that day to come soon. She really wanted to know why Du Lianxin had such a profound effect on her…