Chapter 13: Talisman Making

Just as Song Qingming felt he had found a path to wealth, not long after, he discovered that he had thought too simply. Except for the first two times when his arrays were successfully sold, the following few gatherings saw only one set of arrays sold, and then no one asked about them.

It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the arrays he made; it was just that a gathering at Mount Caolu only had fifty or sixty people, most of whom were regular customers who came here often.

Arrays are the kind of thing where one set is enough for an average cultivator. This thing, like a magic tool, can be used for a long time without breaking, and besides, not everyone needs one.

The remaining sets of arrays in his hands could only be entrusted to the family to be handled at Qinghe Market later. The cunning Fourth Elder saw a pile of arrays and was very suspicious that they weren't refined by him, causing him to find several excuses to brush it off.

The profit from low-grade arrays is already thin, and making too many at once is easy to arouse suspicion about their origin. Besides, the Mount Caolu market is too small, and going to Qinghe Market is too far.

This won't do. If he wants to earn spirit stones, he must change his method.

If he wants to stop worrying about sales in the short term, it must be items that are common and consumed in large quantities in the market.

Thinking back and forth, the only things that fit his needs are elixirs and talismans. Compared to alchemy, the path of talismans is clearly more suitable for him now.

Talismans are also relatively common consumables; they can be used in fighting, hunting demons, and cultivation. Low-grade talismans are basically one-time consumables, and the market demand is inherently very large. No matter which market it is, having a few more low-grade talisman makers basically won't affect the market.

Alchemy is more demanding of talent and requires a large investment to see results. Each family will only choose to cultivate those who have talent for it.

In contrast, the requirements for a talisman maker are not so high. In the path of talisman making, there is not much emphasis on talent in the early stages. As long as you are willing to spend time, getting started is not difficult.

Talisman making is also the skill most chosen by cultivators among the hundred arts of immortality. General cultivators will also learn this skill when they reach the late stage of Qi Refining. The Song family's inheritance of the talisman path is also quite good; there are two high-grade talisman makers in the clan alone.

Saying and doing, Song Qingming took out the talisman-making materials he had already prepared: a talisman-making secret manual inherited by the family, a silver low-grade talisman brush, a jar of cinnabar made from demon beast essence blood, and dozens of blank talisman papers.

These were all exchanged by Song Qingming at the Golden Treasury Building a few days ago. The family's management of the talisman path inheritance is not that strict. Regardless of your talent for talisman making, as long as you spend five merit points in the Golden Treasury Pavilion, you can easily obtain it.

When Song Qingming exchanged for the talisman inheritance, the Fourth Elder only exhorted him a few times not to be addicted to cultivation skills and neglect his cultivation.

Placing the talisman paper and cinnabar on the table, Song Qingming picked up the black talisman brush and began to invest in the making of his first "Clear Heart Talisman."

Most first-level low-grade spirit talismans are auxiliary types, and the "Clear Heart Talisman" is one of the most common. After use, it can clear the mind and calm the spirit for a short time, allowing people to quickly concentrate their spiritual sense when cultivating techniques.

Whether breaking through cultivation, refining elixirs, or refining tools, it will have some effect. General cultivators will basically prepare a few on their bodies, and this talisman is also the most common low-grade spirit talisman on the market.

According to the talisman-making method in the secret manual, after dipping the brush tip in red cinnabar, Song Qingming operated the spiritual power in his body and slowly injected it into the brush handle in his hand, beginning to draw the talisman spell on a blank talisman paper.

Thinking back to when Song Qingming learned the array path in the family, the family elders taught him carefully for a year before he could get started. If it were a rogue cultivator without guidance, I'm afraid he wouldn't reach the entry level in three years.

Although talisman making is one of the simpler types of immortal arts, it is not something that a beginner can perfectly draw a qualified spirit talisman at once.

In one day, Song Qingming continuously drew eight spirit talismans, none of which reached the qualified standard. Excluding those that failed halfway through, only two were successfully drawn completely. Unfortunately, although these two talismans were shimmering with silver light on the surface, the spiritual power contained within was very thin.

Song Qingming held the spirit talisman in his hand and observed it carefully for a while, then pinched a spell and chanted a mantra. The spirit talisman in his hand suddenly shone with silver light, and a burst of cool spiritual energy quickly came from his palm. But not long after, the spiritual power on the spirit talisman suddenly became chaotic and violent, and fire suddenly appeared on the spirit talisman, turning it into a fireball, instantly burning it completely clean.

Looking at the pile of ashes left in his hand, a helpless bitter smile appeared on Song Qingming's face. Sure enough, he was still far behind.

Next, besides his daily patrol of Mount Lingyuan, Song Qingming spent all his time learning talisman making. He not only often asked Song Changxin for guidance, but during this period, he also specifically ran to Mu Jiao Town to ask Aunt Song Changling, the high-grade talisman maker with the most talent for talisman making in the clan, for advice.

With the residual map accelerating the recovery of spiritual power, the talisman-making materials that should have been consumed in a month were consumed by him in less than ten days.

After a lot of hard work, Song Qingming finally ushered in the harvest. The four Clear Heart Talismans in his hand were the most perfect four out of the hundreds of times he had made them in the past ten days. After carefully testing one again, feeling the spiritual power contained in the spirit talisman and the effect after use, he showed a satisfied smile.

Song Qingming straightened his body with a happy face and stretched his sore waist. Looking at the three remaining silver-shimmering spirit talismans in his hand, the materials worth more than ten spirit stones were exchanged for three Clear Heart Talismans. Although he had expected it, the early investment of spirit stones still made him feel a little heartache.

Learning talisman making for more than ten days, more than a hundred talisman materials could only succeed four times. According to the price in the market, one hundred materials must produce at least twenty spirit talismans to break even, and an average talisman maker usually takes two years to reach this level, with an early investment of at least one hundred spirit stones.

That is to say, an ordinary talisman maker takes at least three or four years to earn spirit stones by relying on this skill. This is still the easiest to learn; as for alchemy, which requires a larger investment, it goes without saying that there is no return without a decade or two of vigorous investment.

Song Qingming, who obtained three Clear Heart Talismans, did not rush to make such spirit talismans again, but opened the family talisman-making secret manual and began to make another kind of spirit talisman, the "Fireball Talisman." According to the teachings of the family elders, trying more types of talismans will make it easier for oneself to control the spiritual power when using the brush.

Until two months later, Song Qingming finally touched the threshold of a low-grade talisman maker and increased his success rate of talisman making to nearly twenty percent.

——

On Mount Caolu, Song Qingming, dressed in a green shirt, arrived at the gathering point early. After choosing a spot closer to the center, he skillfully set up a wooden sign, took out a pile of spiritual items and placed them on the stall, then picked up a talisman manual he had bought nearby last time and studied it carefully.

It has to be said that this Mount Caolu is still quite famous in the northeast of Qinghe County. In the past few months, Song Qingming has seen many cultivators from various major families nearby here. Even the Song family, which is more than a hundred miles away, has had several elders come here to buy spiritual items.

Now he is very familiar with the process here. Arriving a little earlier can occupy a better stall, but he still doesn't dare to occupy the best positions in the middle casually.

He has been here seven or eight times. Although no one specifically told him, it is not difficult for him to discover that those positions in the middle are always reserved for several late-stage Qi Refining cultivators who often come here. Song Qingming naturally does not dare to be greedy and occupy these empty seats, inexplicably offending those with higher cultivation bases.

Half an hour later, dozens of cultivators arrived one after another on the top of the mountain. This time, there seemed to be more people participating in the gathering than usual. Song Qingming was quite happy that he had arrived early to occupy a good position, and in less than half an hour, he had already sold more than a dozen spirit talismans of various types.

After more than two months of learning, he has now learned to make five or six types of spirit talismans and can be considered a true talisman maker.

The path of talisman making is relatively simple to get started, but to become a qualified low-grade talisman maker, one must at least be able to make eight types of spirit talismans and maintain a twenty percent success rate to be considered a low-grade talisman maker.

"Fellow Daoist, are you collecting elixirs?"

"As long as it is an elixir that can increase cultivation, it can be exchanged for spiritual items on the stall at an equivalent value."

After speaking, Song Qingming put down the manual in his hand and looked up at the person coming. Unexpectedly, this person was one of his old customers, so he hurriedly smiled slightly.

This person's name is Qin Zhen, a rogue cultivator who often goes to Mount Yunwu to hunt demons. He also gathers a few people under his command and often organizes people to go deep into Mount Yunwu.

In the few months that Song Qingming set up a stall at Mount Caolu, this Qin Zhen would purchase many talismans whenever he came, especially liking the "Clear Heart Talisman" he had here.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 14 =====