Chapter 52 Talisman Brush

Ji An used the Thick Earth Technique again, and the seeds disappeared into the soil.

He changed his incantation, and white clouds gathered above the spiritual field and spread rapidly.

The spiritual rain continued to fall. Old Huang stretched his hand into the rain, and the raindrops flew and shimmered in his palm. The moist air spread from his palm to his forearm.

"This is the perfected level of the Minor Cloud Rain Technique. I wonder if I will be able to reach this level in my lifetime."

His voice was somewhat lonely; years of hard work had long since worn down the ambition he once had when he first embarked on the path to immortality.

"Though the road is long, we will surely reach our destination. Senior Brother's Little Cloud Rain Technique has reached the advanced level for many years. To master it to perfection is just a matter of patience and perseverance."

Ji An offered a word of comfort, explaining that in his understanding, if Ling Nong couldn't master the two very commonly used spells, Lesser Cloud Rain Technique and Thick Earth Technique, within ten or eight years, then he truly lacked comprehension, at least in terms of water and earth element spells.

Old Huang's Little Cloud Rain Technique has long been perfected. With a little more time and focused understanding during casting, achieving perfection shouldn't be a problem.

Thinking of this, Ji An began to talk about his understanding of the Lesser Cloud Rain Technique.

This is his path, which may not be suitable for others, but we can still learn from it and use it as a reference.

Old Huang nodded repeatedly, a glint of light occasionally flashing in his cloudy eyes, as if he had gained something.

The clouds and mist began to dissipate slowly, and the rain became lighter and lighter, as fine as cow's hair, with a thin layer of mist rising from the spiritual field.

The morning light shines over the mountaintop and into the valley.

A small rainbow flashed into Ji An's eyes, and tender green shoots sprouted from the spirit field.

Suddenly, he noticed that the stone tortoise, which had been resting steadily in his dantian, trembled slightly a few times before settling down again.

He calmed his mind and stirred the stone turtle.

[Inspiration: Shock 0.2]

The element Zhen is wood, representing thunder, symbolizing vibration and alertness, and corresponding to the vigorous vitality at the time when all things begin to sprout.

Ji An was puzzled. When he planted yellow sprout rice, he had seen tender seedlings break through the soil, but why did he not receive the spiritual energy of the Zhen? Could it be because the spiritual energy contained in yellow sprout rice was too weak?

If we calculate it this way, when the Spirit Peach, Spirit Apricot, and Fire Cloud Ginseng sprouted, there must have been a spiritual opportunity of shock. Since he wasn't there at the time, didn't he miss out on a harvest?

Suppressing his thoughts, Ji An immediately decided to refine the Zhenling to see how effective it would be, but received feedback that there was no corresponding spell needed.

At this moment, Old Huang came to his senses and cupped his hands in greeting, saying:

"I gained a lot from what Brother Xiao An said, and I feel that the road ahead is much brighter."

Perhaps with a little more time, we can truly reap the rewards. Thank you.

He decided to go back and have Fei Hu interact with the other party more often, so that perhaps a few words of advice could help his grandson avoid some detours.

"You're too kind, senior brother. If it's of some use, it's because of your own understanding."

After exchanging pleasantries, the two parted ways.

Ji An returned to his spiritual field and began planting talisman grass and spiritual grain.

This time, he only planted five acres of spirit grain, while keeping the acreage of talisman grass unchanged.

The corn has reached the tasseling stage and needs more care, which is one of the reasons he reduced its planting.

He had initially speculated that the spells used in the battle might consume more spiritual energy to improve, but he found that the consumption was almost the same as that of planting spells.

Now that his water curtain technique has reached perfection, he can earn even more income through talisman making.

A fine talisman can only be sold for 8 spirit crystals, but a defensive talisman can be sold for at least 20 spirit crystals.

At dawn, Ji An pushed open the bamboo house door. Having just finished his cultivation, he felt refreshed and relaxed, clearly indicating that his cultivation had improved again.

His gaze habitually swept slowly across the small courtyard, while he quickly counted the Fire Cloud Ginseng in his mind.

"One, two, three, four"

His gaze suddenly froze as he swept from the left to the far right.

He strode over and saw that two ginseng plants had been pulled out by something, their roots and stems completely gnawed away.

Ji An squatted down, picked up the ginseng seedling that had only stems and leaves left, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Judging from the remaining tooth marks and small paw prints on the ground, it was a rodent.

Because the soil was frequently tamed using the Thick Soil Technique, the surface soil of the courtyard was soft, and traces of the thieves' departure could be seen.

His gaze followed the marks and found that the person had sneaked in from the corner of the wall.

Ji An walked over and carefully examined the wall. There were three layers in total, with the innermost layer being a dry bamboo fence with large gaps that allowed pheasants to squeeze in.

The middle layer consists of thin wooden stakes with gaps about the width of a fist, while the outermost layer is a dense green bamboo fence with gaps only two fingers apart.

I was afraid something would come in and steal my food, so I put a lot of effort into building the fence, but it still got burgled.

Although losing two Fire Cloud Ginseng plants was a bit painful, it wasn't a big deal. They had only been planted for three months, so it was just like the seeds hadn't sprouted.

Ji An was worried that this thing would become addictive, and if thieves started to wander around here often, it would be difficult to deal with.

It will be another month or so before he gets the sealing array. Unless he stays up all night guarding the courtyard, there is always the possibility of losses.

He pondered for a moment, then scooped out a bowl of yellow sprout rice from the rice jar and sprinkled some of the spirit rice in a corner of the yard.

With an easier target, Fire Cloud Ginseng should be safer, right?

However, he didn't expect to use the spirit rice to appease the wild beasts, and decided to wait and see for a few nights.

The Fire Cloud Ginseng had been planted for three months, and its rootstock was estimated to be only as thick as a baby's little finger. However, it was still a top-grade spiritual herb, and the spiritual power it contained was incomparable to that of Yellow Sprout Rice.

Moreover, the creature that came to steal the food was probably not an ordinary wild animal, because ordinary wild animals could not withstand the medicinal power of the Fire Cloud Ginseng.

If it's a monster, then things will be a bit tricky.

As Ji An pondered, he took out the talisman bird and channeled his spiritual power into it.

Once the talisman bird grew larger, he mounted it and flew towards the Biyue Market.

"Junior Brother Ji, what brings you here?"

Wei Songnian was just taking inventory of the goods in his hands inside the house when he was surprised to find Ji An at his home.

"Hehe, I've come to ask my senior brother for some things on credit."

Ji An rubbed his hands together and continued:

"I exchanged for a spell jade slip at the sect a couple of days ago, so I can make talismans from now on."

I'd like to buy the cheapest talisman brush on credit; maybe I can sell talismans to my senior brother next month.

"Sure, the market for talismans is booming lately. What kind of talismans are you planning to sell, Junior Brother?"

"The Water Curtain Technique, I estimate it will be able to sell Gengjin Finger Talismans in a few days."

"Water-based defensive spells? These don't sell very well. Most people buy defensive talismans that are metal or earth-based."

Ji An smiled slightly and said:

"I have a good understanding of water magic, and this spell may be the best choice."

I'll draw a few and consign them to my senior brother's shop; that way, I can get a discount and build a good reputation."

He was confident in his magic, even though his magical talent for forced runes might not be strong, it was still a considerable help.

"That's true. What suits you best is the best. Junior brother sees that clearly."

Wei Songnian found a well-worn white talisman brush and said with a hint of apology:

"There aren't many talisman brushes on the market for drawing water-based spells; this is the only secondhand one I have."

The talisman master who offered me the discount said he could only draw a hundred more talismans before they became unusable, and the selling price was three spirit stones.

(End of this chapter)