The dilapidated flying boat swayed as it landed on the shore of Black Reef Island, Lin Feng stepped on the slippery reefs, his steps more steady and powerful than when he left.
The new, bulging Large Storage Pouch at his waist was like a stabilizing needle, dispelling days of his anxiety.
He didn't delay for a moment, immediately returning to the Spirit Field behind the stone house, which was shrouded in mist. The faint glow of the Dust Repelling and Filth Avoiding Array flowed, isolating it from external prying eyes.
Lin Feng carefully took out three packs of Spirit Plant seeds he had exchanged at the Golden Scale Merchant Guild, as well as a dragon-eye-sized, entirely crimson, profound fire-patterned jujube pit he had exchanged for fifty Spirit Stones—a first-tier Advanced Spirit Plant, a crimson flame jujube pear tree pit!
After this chiyan jujube pear matured, its fruit contained a faint essence of fire spirit, and although it could not directly and significantly improve cultivation, it had an extremely valuable function—long-term consumption could slightly nourish Divine Sense, slowly increasing the range and intensity of Divine Sense perception! This was a dream auxiliary Spirit Fruit for any Cultivator.
However, its growth cycle was long, requiring over a hundred years, and it had strict requirements for Spirit Land, needing at least a stable first-tier High Grade Spiritual Vein, and each time it bore fruit, the quantity was scarce, leading to its high price, which ordinary Cultivators simply could not afford. But for Lin Feng, who possessed the Rain Prayer Divine Ability, none of this was a problem!
“crimson flame jujube pear… nourishing Divine Sense…” Lin Feng’s eyes gleamed with a burning light. The importance of Divine Sense was self-evident; whether it was anticipating danger during combat, perceiving risks during exploration, or precise control during Alchemy and Talisman crafting, a strong Divine Sense was a huge advantage!
He chose the locations and carefully sowed the seeds of fire pattern pepper, jade marrow mushroom, and chill smoke grass in the planned furrows.
Finally, in the central area of the Spirit Field, not far from the Azure Jade Spirit Peach Tree, he dug a deep pit and solemnly buried the scorching crimson flame jujube pear tree pit.
“Sweet dew descends!”
Lin Feng didn't hesitate, directly activating the Divine Power he had recovered today to cast the Rain Prayer Divine Ability!
Divine Power -1!
Dense green clouds gathered again, and life-filled spiritual liquid sweet dew sprinkled down.
A miraculous sight reappeared!
The fire pattern pepper seeds quickly broke through the soil, sprouting tender, reddish-patterned pepper seedlings; the mycelium of the jade marrow mushroom rapidly spread beneath the moist humus, faintly revealing a jade-like luster; and the chill smoke grass unfurled delicate leaves with frosty patterns, emitting a faint coolness.
What surprised Lin Feng the most was that where the crimson flame jujube pear tree pit was buried, the soil was pushed open by a scorching force, and a tender sprout, entirely crimson and appearing to burn with a faint flame, stubbornly emerged! Although the sprout was small, it emitted a pure fire spirit aura, forming a stark contrast with the nearby azure jade peach seedling.
“One ripening, sprouted!” Lin Feng was excited, carefully observing the state of each Spirit Plant, “fire pattern pepper, jade marrow mushroom, chill smoke grass, I estimate they can be ripened and harvested in four or five more ripenings. As for the crimson flame jujube pear tree… according to its growth characteristics, it will need at least twenty ripenings to reach the minimum tree age for its first flowering and fruiting!”
Twenty points of Divine Power, twenty days! Then he would obtain Spirit Fruits that nourished Divine Sense! This thought made Lin Feng's heart burn.
A clear plan formed in his mind: one day for Rain Prayer to ripen Spirit Plants; one day for Gather Beast to hunt Yao Beasts, refine skills, and accumulate Materials and energy for feedback; the remaining time, devote himself entirely to the Dao of Talismans!
He immediately took action. First, he took out some of the harvested, mountain-like Spirit Rice ears and, using the techniques he learned in his Family, began processing the Spirit Rice stalks.
Soaking, pounding, steaming, rinsing, papermaking, drying… each process, aided by his Spiritual Qi, greatly increased efficiency. Soon, stacks of blank Talisman paper, emitting a fresh herbal scent and possessing uniform, tough texture, were produced and piled inside the stone house.
Next, it was time to process the mountain of Yao Beast Materials. The soft skin from the belly of the Reefback Turtle was peeled and tanned, becoming the base for making Talisman paper; the poisonous sacs of the sawtooth arrowfish were carefully removed, mixed with several ordinary mineral powders, and boiled into a basic Talisman ink with a sweet, pungent smell; the powdered carapaces of the Ironclad Crab were ground extremely fine, becoming excellent additive Materials for drawing defensive Talismans…
When all preliminary preparations were complete, Lin Feng sat cross-legged on the stone bed, with a brand new “Green Bamboo” Talisman brush, self-made Talisman paper, and Talisman ink laid out before him, his expression more focused than ever before.
He took out the Jade Slip titled “Elementary Talisman Compendium (Essentials Edition)” and immersed his Divine Sense into it.
The complete drawing methods for five first-tier Elementary Talismans were imprinted in his mind like a brand: the ferocity of the Fireball Talisman, the sharpness of the Ice Spike Talisman, the agility of the Light Body Talisman, the heaviness of the Vajra Talisman, and the subtlety of the Cleansing Talisman. There was also a fragmented piece of the first-tier Intermediate Talisman, the “Earth Prison Talisman,” which, though incomplete, contained earth-elemental binding power that captivated him.
“The Dao of Talismans: guiding Qi with spirit, controlling Talismans with Qi, mind and spirit united, brush strokes like a Dragon…” The motto at the beginning of the Jade Slip flowed through his mind.
Lin Feng took a deep breath, cleared his mind of distractions, and picked up the Green Bamboo Talisman brush. The tip was fully saturated with the self-made pitch-black Talisman ink, and the excellent Spiritual Qi conductivity from the wind-attributed Yao Beast soft hair in the brush felt warm and smooth.
He chose the simplest and most stable Spiritual Qi structure, the “Cleansing Talisman,” as his starting point. The brush tip descended, Spiritual Qi slowly injected into the brush handle, flowing along the bristles to the Talisman paper. He concentrated fully, carefully tracing the Talisman script according to the patterns recorded in the Jade Slip.
Hiss…
As the first stroke landed, the Spiritual Qi injection was slightly unstable, and the lines drawn on the Talisman paper instantly distorted, the faint Spiritual Qi within them conflicting. With a soft “puff” sound, the entire Talisman paper spontaneously combusted without fire, turning into a small pile of ashes.
Failure.
Lin Feng didn't even frown. He cleared the ashes and replaced it with a new piece of Talisman paper. Failure, then replace again… ten sheets, twenty sheets… Spiritual Qi rapidly depleted with the meticulous control, and the fatigue from high mental concentration began to emerge. The seemingly simple Talisman script of the Cleansing Talisman, when actually drawn, demanded extremely strict requirements for the uniformity of Spiritual Qi output, the continuity of brush strokes, and the harmony between one's mind and the Talisman’s Concept!
After countless failures, when Lin Feng picked up the Talisman brush again, a strange sense of fluidity naturally arose. The brush tip seemed to have a life of its own, and the Spiritual Qi output was like a trickling stream, stable and uniform.
The Talisman script lines extended on the Talisman paper, no longer stiff lines, but flowing with a certain rhythm.
Buzz!
As the final stroke landed, the Talisman script on the Talisman paper suddenly lit up with a faint white light, then the light receded, and the entire Talisman emitted a clean, fresh aura.
First-tier Elementary Cleansing Talisman, success!
Lin Feng let out a long sigh of relief, a sincere smile appearing on his tired face. The first step, finally taken!
With the experience of success, he became even more focused.
The ferocity of the Fireball Talisman required a more rapid Spiritual Qi burst, the sharpness of the Ice Spike Talisman required the brush strokes to be as sharp as a knife, the agility of the Light Body Talisman required the Spiritual Qi turns to be ethereal, and the heaviness of the Vajra Talisman required stable and solid Spiritual Qi injection… Each type of Talisman required a different state of mind and Spiritual Qi control technique.
Over the next few days, Lin Feng completely immersed himself in the world of Talismans.
During the day, he would either cast Rain Prayer to ripen Spirit Plants, watching the fire pattern pepper bear bright red small peppers, the jade marrow mushroom grow like jade carvings, the frosty patterns on the chill smoke grass leaves become increasingly clear, and the crimson flame jujube pear tree seedling grow a small section taller; or he would cast Gather Beast to attract Yao Beasts for combat, honing his spellcasting on the brink of life and death, using Yao Beast Materials to replenish Talisman ink and Talisman paper raw Materials.
At night, the stone house was brightly lit, and he worked diligently at his desk, his brush strokes like a Dragon.
The losses were astonishing. Hundreds of painstakingly made blank Talisman papers turned into ashes or Waste Talisman in countless failures. Talisman ink was also consumed heavily.
But Lin Feng's skill also rapidly improved during this almost frantic practice!
When another day of Gather Beast and hunting ended, the pure energy that surged into his Dantian from slaying a third-layer Qi Condensation “Iron-Thread Sea Snake” steadily pushed his cultivation towards the Middle Stage of fifth-layer Qi Condensation.
Night was deep, and the moonlight, like water, streamed through the simple window of the stone house. Lin Feng wearily put down his Talisman brush, looking at the only few successful Talismans before him—two Cleansing Talismans, one Ice Spike Talisman, and one Light Body Talisman. Although the success rate was still pitifully low, each successful Talisman represented progress.
Just as he was about to sit in meditation to recover his spirit and Spiritual Qi—
Buzz!!!