Chapter 145: 145. Chapter 143: The Demonic Scripture Transforms into Talismans!!

145. Chapter 143: The Demonic Scripture Transforms into Talismans!!

……

Across Wu Du lies Yunling City.

Under a blue sky as clear as washed jade, a lush, verdant forest stretched out, as if a huge emerald were inlaid within it.

The mountain path wound upward, entering the deep forest, where the emerald canopy almost blotted out the sky; sunlight poured through gaps in the branches, illuminating the ancient trees' twisted limbs and weathered bark, like an ancient scroll unfurling.

At the center of this ancient picture lay piles of withered twigs and leaves, gradually swelling into a large bump; a breeze blew, curiously lifting a few leaves, revealing a fleeting glimpse of a dim green light.

If all these leaves were brushed aside, one would see a massive green snake coiled there, motionless.

Ye Qin had no idea what was happening far away in the capital, nor did he know that the sword he had once given to Master Zhi Dun in the fragments of the variegated ages had actually been dug up by modern people!

"How strange—I inexplicably sensed a trace of the variegated ages' aura..."

"There aren't any ancient ruins or relics around here!"

At that moment, Ye Qin was startled awake, looking around somewhat bewildered, but found nothing.

But just a moment ago, he felt a wisp of the ages' aura drifting by, then vanished in an instant.

"Perhaps I was frightened into a shadow by that ghostly monk; this place is indeed a bit gloomy..."

Ye Qin muttered a complaint under his breath, then continued his meditative cultivation.

After leaving Xiguangsi, he found a secluded, remote spot rarely visited by people to begin his meditation; he didn't expect that this session would last several days.

During this time, he continually reinforced his realm, and his cultivation level rose somewhat, faintly feeling as if he had touched another threshold, yet unable to step through.

His golden core slowly turned within his body, specks of golden light radiating out like fireflies, even the nearby leaves acquiring a faint gilded sheen.

A mysterious current began to surge around him, forming a small vortex that sucked in many leaves; although there was no wind, even the trees swayed along with it.

All of this seemed extraordinary, yet sadly no one could witness it.

After who knows how long, Ye Qin opened his eyes again; a dim green light mixed with a hint of gold, his expression somewhat bewildered.

He had broken through to the golden core stage some time ago, and now he had successfully visualized it; this realm could be considered complete, and according to his previous pattern, he could pioneer the next stage.

But he felt as if he had arrived at a crossroads, with countless paths branching ahead, unsure which to take.

Currently Ye Qin has no clues, after all some things require fate and cannot be rushed.

"Forget it; perhaps the time has not yet come."

All things in the universe hinge on fate, and cultivation is no different.

Ye Qin could only temporarily set aside the matter of his realm.

He seemed to think of something; with a thought, the essence of white bone manifested.

White Bone looked much as before, except that at the sternum there was a tiny 'Qi' character, golden light flickering, full of ineffable mystery.

This character was inscribed on White Bone after he contemplated the Heart Sutra; he sensed no energy fluctuations from it, and its function remains undeveloped for now.

But Ye Qin dares to affirm that this character is absolutely extraordinary!

After all, it is his own demonic scripture; although its purpose is presently unknown, the ultimate goal is to form a complete demonic cultivation method.

As his cultivation deepens further, these golden characters will surely increase in number.

"But for now there is only this one character—what use could it possibly have?"

Ye Qin's emerald pupils stared unblinking at White Bone.

"I wonder if I can still, as I wish, inscribe other characters?"

Wanting to know whether this character's formation was a mere accident or held deeper meaning, another attempt would reveal the result.

After a moment's thought, Ye Qin decided to give it a try.

He calmed his mind and breath, entering meditation once more.

His mental power spread outward, quickly forming a deep bond with White Bone, then he commanded his golden core to emanate countless golden threads.

Though it looks simple, in practice it is immensely difficult; the obedient golden threads from before now seemed to have a mind of their own, twisting randomly and refusing to hold shape.

"Clearly, when I inscribed them before, these golden threads were not like this."

Ye Qin wondered in bewilderment; the golden threads roamed over White Bone, leaping up and down as if liberated, becoming lively.

He could only continue to disperse his mental power, controlling the wandering golden threads and gathering them at the joints of White Bone.

Under the strong control of his mental power, these golden threads finally steadied.

At first glance, it looked as if White Bone held a golden pen in its hand.

After toiling for most of the day, he could finally proceed to the next step.

Ye Qin also didn't know what character he should write; after all, he presently had no idea for the demonic scripture.

"Perhaps I can select one from the scripture."

Coincidentally, he had previously contemplated the Heart Sutra, and the first golden character formed was related to it; so why not inscribe the character 'Ban'? It would have a source and not seem abrupt.

After this idea arose in his mind, White Bone began to manipulate the golden threads condensed into a pen, writing on his own sternum, yet it could never leave a trace.

It was as if an invisible barrier blocked his path.

Ye Qin was somewhat surprised; increasing his output, for a moment even the air twisted and deformed, and the surrounding leaves all shook along.

After great effort, he finally managed to etch a radical.

But the golden threads could not be preserved; they gradually dimmed and faded until they vanished completely.

Ye Qin watched helplessly as the characters disappeared before his eyes; disbelieving, he inscribed another, yet it too could not escape the fate of vanishing.

It simply could not condense into form like the 'Qi' character.

"How could this be?"

Gazing at the vanishing characters, Ye Qin involuntarily fell into contemplation, wondering where the problem lay.

When the 'Qi' character was formed, he had no clear concept in his mind; it could be said he acted on impulse, following his heart.

Born from the heart, he venerates the Way and its laws.

It can be seen that the formation of this character is not without pattern.

If it is too deliberate, just like just now, although it starts from a subjective angle, precisely because of that it ends up inferior; even if it can be depicted, it cannot last long.

Because it is not like the 'Qi' character, it does not contain special energy; it is merely the existence of Ye Qin's subjective thought added to it.

In other words, it lacks Dao resonance.

Upon thinking this through, Ye Qin's originally confused expression gradually became clear.

"I should not be obsessed with the character's literal meaning, but should follow my inner thoughts; after all, this is my way."

Ye Qin cleared away all distracting thoughts, began to constantly empty himself, and the golden threads flowed again, as if controlled by some mysterious power.

That mysterious power also incorporated Ye Qin's thoughts; the two merged and collided, with golden light flashing within, like a rising sun.

Horizontal, vertical, hook, and dot strokes—point by point they coalesced; the brush moved like a dragon and snake, as if flowing clouds and water.

This time the process went surprisingly smoothly, encountering no resistance.

When Ye Qin came to his senses, he saw that beside the 'Qi' character, a small 'Dao' character had suddenly formed.

"It's actually the 'Dao'!"

Ye Qin examined it closely and felt that the Dao resonance was endless.

The Dao character before him, though simple, was not actually simple.

Between the horizontal, vertical, hook, and dot strokes, golden light flowed, carrying a subtle flavor; it could be said to complement the 'Qi' character beside it.

To carve this character, Ye Qin's mental energy was nearly exhausted; fortunately, the gain was not bad.

Although he failed to break through the bottleneck this time, after inadvertently completing the 'Dao' character, he could feel his cultivation level loosen, as if he were much closer to the next realm.

"Isn't the creation of the demonic law scripture also in line with the principle of opening a realm? The two are interconnected!"

White Bone's extraordinary aura also increased considerably; if the complete scripture were to emerge, what a scene that would be at that time!

Whether White Bone itself would undergo some ineffable change?

It's still premature to speak of these now; carving these two characters is already difficult, and Ye Qin feels that, given his current cultivation level and condition, he cannot carve a third character.

But I don't know if it's Ye Qin's illusion; the two characters' golden light flows, and within it seems to generate another kind of mysterious energy fluctuation.

Previously, with only the 'Qi' character, it was not obvious; now that the 'Dao' character has formed, the two mutually supplement and transform, allowing that energy fluctuation to be detected by Ye Qin.

But we have not yet discovered what function they serve.

"Since these two characters can appear on White Bone, what if they appeared elsewhere? If successful, what would happen?"

Ye Qin suddenly had a bold idea pop into his mind.

Give it a try!

White Bone is his Origin Contemplation Object; to control it is simplicity itself—Ye Qin's mental power covers White Bone, and his thoughts become White Bone's thoughts.

"Crack—crack"

It follows the sound of bones rubbing together, producing a grating noise that makes one's teeth ache, but this is merely a mental illusion.

White Bone remained seated cross-legged, left hand supporting the Upper Purity Observatory, while the right hand began to move, intending to write on the ground.

The golden characters on the sternum seemed for a moment to become more dazzling, with specks of golden thread flowing into the finger bones.

Actually, it is because Ye Qin lacks limbs, making writing inconvenient; he can only impose his mental power on White Bone, manipulating White Bone to complete it.

However, White Bone is ultimately a product of mental imagination; although a shadow is projected into reality, whether characters can be successfully carved in reality remains unknown.

Horizontal, vertical, hook, dot.

White Bone's movements were very slow, its hollow eye sockets resting on the ground; the posture appeared quite earnest, and because its whole body is bone, the stroke order was not smooth, even stiff.

After all, Ye Qin has not held a brush for a long time since his rebirth and transmigration into a snake.

Looking at White Bone's string of crooked, twisted characters, Ye Qin couldn't help but fall into silence.

What is truly called ghostly talisman drawing? Now I have witnessed it.

It is truly too ugly.

The written content was almost illegible even to himself.

Ye Qin glanced at White Bone, and White Bone stared back with its empty eye sockets; they locked eyes.

"It's definitely your fault, absolutely not mine."

White Bone cannot speak, so it naturally cannot refute Ye Qin's words; it can only silently bear the blame.

"It really succeeded? Just like a shadow, it truly manifested in reality."

"I suppose it's because the scripture is too profound!"

Because the characters written are from the demonic law scripture, containing Dao law and being extremely special, the carving truly succeeded at this moment.

Visible to the naked eye, two crooked characters appeared out of thin air on the ground, complementing White Bone's projection beside them.

Ye Qin examined them, released a few strands of mental power, and actually sensed an energy fluctuation within the ground characters; although the fluctuation was minuscule, it was indeed present in reality!

This also verified his hypothesis.

If these characters were carved onto other things, they would surely likewise generate energy and effect.

"Isn't this somewhat like the existence of talismans?"

Talismans are a kind of Daoist art, also called 'fu characters', 'mo scrolls', 'dan writings'; talismans are the combination of fu and lu.

Fu refers to the curved strokes written on yellow paper or silk, resembling characters yet not characters, resembling diagrams yet not diagrams.

Ye Qin pondered carefully and found that the two indeed have a wonderful similarity in achieving the same end by different means.

His heart stirred with slight ripples.

Even refining medicine is possible, so why can't drawing talismans be done?

Although no new cultivation direction has been researched, and the subsequent realms have yet to find a foothold, yet through unintentional effort—like planting a willow that grows into shade—by accident he discovered the marvelous use of the golden characters on White Bone, combined with talisman seal, forming yet another new art!

Since he now had a rough direction, Ye Qin began to study with great enthusiasm,

He swept his tail, gathering countless fallen leaves to the side, revealing a flat surface; his mental power covered White Bone, and White Bone's hand became his hand, using the ground as paper, he began to practice.

The naked eye cannot see White Bone's existence, yet a shadow can be seen twisting the arm, and then the ground will show disorderly, chaotic characters resembling ghost-drawn talisman script.

These characters are derived from the strokes and radicals of the golden "Qi" and "Dao" characters, producing other lines and symbols.

If someone later sees them, they might mistakenly think these are characters left by some extraterrestrial visitor.

Ye Qin erased and wrote again, wrote and erased again; as dust flew up, golden light could be seen surrounding it.

Soon a day and night passed; Ye Qin, possessing cultivation level, felt no fatigue, while White Bone, lacking life, did not know what fatigue was.

As long as Ye Qin has sufficient mental power, it can keep writing; it can be said to be an emotionless writing tool…

The horizon gradually dawned; the earth was hazy, as if veiled in silver-gray gauze; the mountains and forests were utterly silent, when suddenly a birdcall pierced the long night.

Shortly after, a fish-belly white appeared on the horizon, and the earth gradually grew bright.

Faintly hearing continuous rustling sounds from the mountains, a ray of morning light shone on the hills, revealing characters covering the ground, as if even the dawn clouds marveled.

The pure white bone continued writing nonstop, its brush dancing like dragons and snakes on the brown earth, splashing ink and wielding the brush; to the unaware, it seemed a fervent calligraphy master.

These characters, once crooked and twisted, have now taken shape; progress is clearly evident, and most importantly, they are filled with a special energy in this invisible way.

Unfortunately, although there is energy fluctuation within them, it is too small to meet the conditions needed to break their original constraints and release power outward.

Ye Qin gazed at the characters on the ground and fell into contemplation.

There is energy, but not much.

"There is fluctuation within the characters; thus my direction is roughly correct. It's just insufficient to meet talisman conditions—perhaps a carrier is still needed?"

Although the characters contain energy, it still needs to be condensed and released.

Ye Qin thought over and over, but closing the door and making carts still wouldn't work.

Talismans have been passed down for thousands of years; ancient people could draw perfect talismans, but because the drawer was not a cultivator, lacking cultivation level and spiritual qi, the talisman paper contained no energy fluctuation.

Thus these talisman papers became utterly ordinary, merely a sheet of ghost-drawn talisman paper.

However, they might still bring some inspiration and ideas.

Looking around, in this desolate mountain forest there seemed nothing related to talismans; he decided to go out and have a look, perhaps encountering some opportunity.

……

……

The morning stream looked especially clear, reflecting the brilliant sunrise like a floating colored ribbon, accompanied by the sound of trickling water, making one feel refreshed and delighted.

Trees lined the stream luxuriantly; occasionally a bird skimmed the water, sending out rippling circles that spread.

Yun Ling and Wu Du cities are close neighbors, with similar scenery of mountains and water; Ye Qin proceeded along a secluded path, using the green vegetation beside him as cover.

An antiquated building stood not far away, its red plaque bearing the large characters "Yun Ling City Daoist Association", the brushwork strong and vigorous, reminiscent of dragons soaring and phoenixes dancing.

From time to time people in green Daoist robes entered and exited; since it was daytime, going in then would be conspicuous and risk bumping into someone, causing unnecessary commotion.

When the sky gradually darkened, Ye Qin then sneaked into the Daoist observatory shrouded in thick mist; even if accidentally bumped into, one would only see a mass of mist and think it was his own eyes playing tricks.

The association grounds are fairly large, containing pavilions, towers, carved columns, and many murals as well as ceiling panels engraved with patterns full of Daoist motifs.

Ye Qin released his mental power to sense; here there was no trace of age, nor any special energy fluctuation.

After wandering around, he finally found the place where books were stored; before his eyes stood rows of shelves, the air filled with the ink fragrance emanating from the volumes themselves.

The Daoist Association's collection is richer than that of ordinary temples, yet none are genuine; they are all rubbings.

In the center of the room hung a portrait of the patriarch; beside it were several large yellow talismans, appearing full of dignity.

Ye Qin weaved between the shelves, searching for the information he needed.

Talismans are a kind of Daoist art, also called "fu zi", "mo lu", "dan shu"; talisman is the combined term of fu and lu.

Originating from wu shamans, first appearing in the Eastern Han. The Book of Later Han, Treatise on Directional Arts, records: "In Henan there is Ju Shengqing, skilled at making vermilion script talismans, who can indict and slay ghosts and gods and thus be employed."

The ideological basis of talisman art is belief in ghosts and gods; claims that it can summon deities, indict ghosts, subdue demons and dispel monsters are not credible, and occasional claims of minor efficacy in treating disease are not due to its expulsion of the disease-causing "ghost".

In the long transmission of talisman art, Daoism created myriad talisman methods, produced many talisman books, the number of talismans created is incalculable, talisman styles are myriad, but if summarized they mainly fall into four categories.

Restoration script, cloud seal, spirit talisman, talisman diagram.

Ancients drew talismans hoping to communicate with heaven, earth, ghosts and gods, to obtain some power, thereby extending through talismans.

But in fact, they themselves lacked spiritual qi and were not cultivators, so what they drew only resembled form without spirit, producing no effect or ability.

In folk practice there is a phenomenon where talisman ash is mixed with water and given to the sick to drink, reducing symptoms considerably, thus leading to firm belief in talismans.

This is because their conditions were mild; belief in talismans plus psychological effect produced a phenomenon where the ghost seemed driven away and the disease seemed to have left the body.

This is similar to medical psychotherapy; the effective factor is not the talisman itself but the positive mental state it arouses, prompting the body to mobilize its defenses to overcome illness.

The practice of drinking talisman water to treat illness was very common in rural areas of earlier years, when technology was undeveloped and medical standards limited; people had no alternative but to place hope in such unorthodox methods.

Recovery was fortunate, but many people worsened due to this so-called talisman water, even losing their lives; over time such cases have dwindled and disappeared.

However, in some remote places there are still those who believe talisman water can cure illness.

The Book of Later Han records: Ju Shengqing "is skilled at making vermilion script talismans."

The Yunji Qiqian says: "Using the essence of Dao, laying it on plain ink, meeting the essence of things."

Daoist texts say: "Talismans have no fixed form; they become numinous through qi."

Seeing these records, Ye Qin felt somewhat thoughtful.

The "essence qi" and "qi" mentioned here should refer to spiritual qi; the heaven-and-earth qi on his person fits this condition well.

White Bone is his Origin Contemplation Object, itself carrying heaven-and-earth qi; plus splitting the two golden characters "Dao" and "Qi" gives it spirituality.

The book says there are hundreds of methods for drawing talismans; some require pinching seals while visualizing deities to follow the brush, some require pacing the Big Dipper and chanting incantations… even laying paper, grinding ink, and wielding the brush are extremely meticulous, the procedure very complex.

Ye Qin felt dizzy looking at it; drawing talismans differs from alchemy, and talismans appear more cumbersome.

"However, for me, I probably won't need these steps."

"The way of drawing talismans—I don't know which ancient sage originated it, but it can be imagined that, like those ancient classics, it is a technique accidentally grasped by ancient sages when they occasionally entered a state of sudden enlightenment and meditation."

"Unfortunately, ancient people were limited by their bodily constraints and could never cultivate, so these techniques ended up merely superficial, with no way to actually employ them."

"But then it turned out to be cheap for me……"

Ye Qin took its essence and discarded its dross.

Ancient people, unable to draw talismans imbued with spiritual Qi, thought their method was wrong; furthermore, with many investigations and limitations, they hoped to achieve sudden enlightenment thereby.

Placed on Ye Qin, there is no such concern or condition, for he himself possesses innate Qi and needs not do all those tedious things.

A talisman spell is composed of five elements: the talisman head, the deities in charge, the talisman belly, the talisman foot, and the talisman gallbladder.

Since ancient times, there have been many schools of talisman spells, but each venerates a different ancestral master; thus, the secret signs of their talisman heads also differ.

For example, the "three hooks" commonly seen on many talisman diagrams are the sign representing the Three Pure Ones.

When drawing these three hooks, one should silently chant the incantation: "One stroke moves the world; two strokes, the ancestral master's sword; three strokes drive away ferocious gods and evil spirits a thousand li away."

Each stroke and phrase must be just right; this is what is called "stepping on the talisman head."

The talisman head can also be an imperial command, a thunder command, etc.; there are many varieties, differing by sect. Generally, to summon deities and dispatch troops, one writes the talisman head as an imperial command.

If there is no "three hooks" sign of the Three Pure Ones, one must chant: "Heaven is round, earth is square; the nine chapters of law; I now put brush to paper; ten thousand ghosts lie hidden."

The book Ye Qin is currently reading is the Compendium of Talismans; it contains many talisman-paper patterns, and the drawing process is explained in detail, with each stroke broken down into steps.

Although the ancients lacked spiritual Qi when drawing talisman paper, their approach to drawing talismans can still give Ye Qin great inspiration.

The art of talismans has been transmitted for a thousand years; ancient Chinese Daoists believed that talismans, as the foundation of the five arts of mountain, medicine, divination, destiny, and physiognomy, are the medium and channel through which Daoists converse with heaven, and therefore they have always studied them in depth.

The more deeply Ye Qin studies the art of talismans, the more he feels moved.

The ancients' wisdom is truly not to be underestimated; if not for their own limitations preventing the generation of spiritual Qi, they might very well have succeeded!

This also gave him considerable inspiration.

Although drawing talismans is tedious, Ye Qin's greatest advantage is his innate Qi, plus the golden characters full of mysterious power on his primal White Bone.

If the two are combined and drawn upon talisman paper, they will surely generate ineffable power. (End of chapter)