C4 Carve the Talisman

"Did you manage to test it out?" Jiang Yuanhong asked, paying no attention to the attendant, his gaze fixed on Qin Yuxuan with a smile.

His disciple was exceptionally bright and excelled in many areas, but her quirky nature sometimes even gave him a headache.

"If even you, Master, couldn't test it, who else in the pavilion could, aside from the Great Elder?" Qin Yuxuan said, feeling somewhat disheartened. "But just now, there was someone who seemed to know a thing or two. He said some odd things."

She recounted the words Xiao Yu had spoken earlier.

"Is there really such a youth?" Jiang Yuanhong's smile vanished as he listened, and he quickly inquired, "Where is this young man now?"

"After buying some top-grade materials for Talismans, he left. What do you need him for, Master?" Qin Yuxuan asked, puzzled by Jiang Yuanhong's interest.

"What a shame, such a shame!" Jiang Yuanhong sighed repeatedly.

Unlike Qin Yuxuan, he was far more advanced in the Talisman Dao. Even though he couldn't inscribe a Spirit-drawing Talisman himself, he grasped the concept upon hearing it and knew he likely had the ability to inscribe one.

Jiang Yuanhong surmised that the youth Qin Yuxuan mentioned, capable of inscribing such a rare Talisman, must be extraordinary. The fact that he had missed the chance to meet this young man filled him with regret.

"Master, what do you mean by 'a shame'?" Qin Yuxuan still didn't quite grasp Jiang Yuanhong's implication.

"Yuxuan, this time... you might actually succeed in inscribing the Spirit-drawing Talisman!" Jiang Yuanhong said with a sigh, his mind still on the missed opportunity with Xiao Yu.

"Master, are you saying that everything he mentioned was true?" Qin Yuxuan's eyes grew wide.

"Most likely!" Jiang Yuanhong nodded. He was very eager to meet the young man who knew how to inscribe the long-lost Spirit-drawing Talisman. What could his story be?

Unaware, Xiao Yu had inadvertently caught the attention of Jiang Yuanhong, a prominent figure. Upon returning to the Lin Family, he immediately secluded himself in his room and set to work on inscribing Talismans.

The Talisman Dao was shrouded in mystery.

To the untrained eye, a Talisman might seem like nothing more than a stone slab with an odd symbol etched onto it. But in truth, the Talisman Dao was intricate and nuanced.

Firstly, the Talisman Stones used for inscribing Talismans are not ordinary rocks, but rather a unique type of Odd Stone imbued with a trace of Heaven-earth Power. These stones are incredibly diverse and not limited to a specific type. Typically, they are exceedingly hard, making it very challenging for the average person to leave a mark on them. Furthermore, the Talisman requires the stone's core, which is significantly harder than its surface.

Secondly, the symbols etched onto the Talisman Stone are meticulously chosen. While they may appear simple, they actually conceal the profound essence of the Heaven-earth Great Dao and possess a mysterious power. It is believed that these symbols are a manifestation of the Heaven-earth Great Dao, shrouded in deep mystery.

Inscribing a Talisman demands absolute precision without any deviation. The process is complicated by the Talisman Stone's innate hardness, which makes engraving difficult enough. Additionally, the symbols to be inscribed harbor a mysterious power that resists the inscription process, creating an almost insurmountable challenge.

These stringent requirements have barred countless individuals from pursuing the Talisman Dao. Inscribing a Talisman with no errors is akin to writing ten thousand identical characters; even the slightest discrepancy renders the Talisman ineffective. This task must be accomplished on the exceedingly hard Talisman Stone while also contending with the resisting force of the Dao symbols.

For most people, this task is virtually impossible. Moreover, once a Talisman Stone has been inscribed, the stone's power is released. A failed inscription not only renders the stone useless but also risks a dangerous backlash from the Great Dao Power within the symbols. A single misstep could shatter one's soul and result in death.

Therefore, to embark on the path of the Talisman Dao, one must possess considerable strength to even scratch the stone's surface. Additionally, a powerful will is essential to maintain control and avoid errors during inscription.

Lastly, becoming a Talisman Master requires a resilient soul capable of withstanding the potential backlash. Otherwise, a single failure could spell an irreversible doom.

Considering all these factors, the path of the Talisman Dao is exceptionally challenging, which explains why there are significantly fewer practitioners of this art compared to those who master Alchemy and the Forging Artifact Dao.

Xiao Yu took out the purchased Talisman Stone and quietly regulated his breathing. Inscribing required absolute tranquility and a clear mind, free of distractions, to flawlessly etch the Dao Imprint onto the Talisman Stone.

Once he felt centered, Xiao Yu picked up the carving knife and sliced his fingertips, allowing his blood to drip onto the stone. This secret method he had mastered softened the surface of the Talisman Stone. As a mere mortal without any cultivation, he had no choice but to rely on this technique; otherwise, engraving on the iron-hard Talisman Stone would be utterly impossible.

Holding the bloodied Talisman Stone in one hand and the carving knife in the other, Xiao Yu commenced his meticulous work of inscription.

The symbols etched onto the Talisman Stone, known as Talisman Imprints, had to be inscribed seamlessly in one fluid motion. Any hesitation would reduce them to mere ordinary symbols.

Xiao Yu's movements were deliberate yet smooth, as he seemed to enter a trance-like state, completely detached from his surroundings.

"Crack!"

A sudden fracture appeared beneath the carving knife, causing Xiao Yu to furrow his brow in frustration. The inscription had failed; he hadn't managed to control the release of energy from the Talisman Imprint, resulting in the ruin of the Talisman Stone.

"Inscribing with a mortal's body is indeed fraught with difficulty."

The cracked Talisman Stone was now just a regular stone. Xiao Yu cast it aside and picked up another, determined to continue his efforts.

He had bought ten Talisman Stones, and by the time he reached the fifth, not one had been successfully inscribed—all were failures.

Despite his exceptional talent for inscription, Xiao Yu's current lack of strength and cultivation made the task nearly insurmountable. That he could inscribe a Talisman Imprint at all was nothing short of miraculous to the average person.

"All three hundred crystals gone. If they all fail, suppressing the dark Qi within me will be incredibly challenging."

Xiao Yu clenched his jaw and resolved to employ a perilously risky Arcane Art.