Chapter 5

After five days of intense defense, the sixth day finally saw a respite.

Zhang Yan didn’t know if the demons below the city wall had retreated or were just gathering strength to strike again. But today was the most relaxed day since he had arrived in this desolate domain.

In the evening, Huagou was called away, supposedly to report to the commander. Zhang Yan guessed it was because of some new arrangements after the garrison’s change of command.

As the sky began to darken, Huagou returned to the city wall with a smile, tossing a small bundle the size of a palm to Zhang Yan.

“Here’s the cinnabar, the small board, and half a brush. You’ll have to figure out how to use them yourself. If it doesn’t work, I can’t help you anymore.” Huagou had taken the opportunity to ask a friend in the supply camp for the items Zhang Yan had inquired about. It turned out that cinnabar was not scarce in the supply camp, as it was used to make insect repellent.

Zhang Yan took the small bundle, thanked Huagou repeatedly, and opened it. Inside was a small bottle of already mixed cinnabar, half a brush, and a stack of thin wooden boards, each about half the size of a palm.

He didn’t need to think about the yellow paper. After asking Huagou, Zhang Yan’s memory had provided a lot of information about “paper.” While it wasn’t extremely valuable in this world, its production was limited, and it was mainly used by scholars. The military had little in stock, and the supply was controlled by the scribes. The people in the supply camp didn’t dare to withhold it, and it wasn’t the yellow paper Zhang Yan needed.

However, using thin wooden boards instead of yellow paper was not impossible. According to ancient texts, the effectiveness of talismans drawn on wood would be slightly inferior, unless the wood was special, like peach wood or fire梧桐 (a type of special wood).

On the city wall, as long as there was no battle, the garrison was generally quite idle. As long as one didn’t lose their position, didn’t fall asleep, and didn’t need to stand at attention and be on high alert all the time, it was fine. After all, the city wall had watchtowers, and the main vigilance tasks were not on ordinary soldiers like Zhang Yan.

So, Zhang Yan took the opportunity to take out the cinnabar and half a brush and began drawing the talismans he wanted on the thin wooden boards.

The talismans of Dragon Tiger Mountain were numerous, almost encompassing everything. The techniques and methods were simple in appearance but complex in practice, far from just a few strokes of the brush. Of course, although Zhang Yan was now in a world where cultivation was possible, due to the influence of the Ten Thousand Phenomena Pearl, he could only draw the most basic talismans that required a physical form. The more advanced talismans, which were said to harness the power of heaven and earth, were not yet within his reach.

In the end, Zhang Yan chose two types of talismans. One was called the “Exorcism Talisman,” and the other was called the “Spirit Gathering Talisman.”

The Exorcism Talisman was straightforward, used to drive away evil spirits and demons. According to the ancient texts of Dragon Tiger Mountain, it could make demons uncomfortable and force them to avoid it.

Zhang Yan understood it to be similar to the effect of mosquito repellent on mosquitoes.

The Spirit Gathering Talisman, on the other hand, was not for dealing with demons but for personal use. It was said to make the area around the talisman more conducive to gathering spiritual energy, creating a better environment for cultivation and breathing exercises. Moreover, the effect of this talisman could be stacked multiple times.

The most important point was that both these talismans required only a physical form and did not need spiritual energy to be effective.

Of course, these were all claims from the ancient texts of Dragon Tiger Mountain, and Zhang Yan felt that their effectiveness needed to be verified.

The first talisman he drew was the Spirit Gathering Talisman. After completing it, he dried the water marks and placed it close to his body, then focused on sensing its effect.

“Hmm?! It really works!”

After one cycle of breathing exercises, although the small amount of spiritual energy formed was absorbed by the Ten Thousand Phenomena Pearl in his chest, Zhang Yan still noticed the difference between wearing the Spirit Gathering Talisman and not wearing it.

“Seems a bit easier than before?”

Breathing exercises, in essence, were a way to filter spiritual energy. If Zhang Yan felt it was easier to filter spiritual energy, the only possible explanation was that the concentration of spiritual energy around him had increased, meaning the Spirit Gathering Talisman was effective.

To further verify this, Zhang Yan drew a second Spirit Gathering Talisman, dried the water marks, and placed it close to his body, then continued to sense the effect.

“Indeed! This Spirit Gathering Talisman really works!” If the first Spirit Gathering Talisman gave Zhang Yan a “barely noticeable” effect, the second one, when stacked, produced a “subtle but noticeable” effect.

Since the Spirit Gathering Talisman was effective, there was no reason for the Exorcism Talisman, which had the same threshold, to be ineffective. So, Zhang Yan drew an Exorcism Talisman for himself.

After finishing, Zhang Yan thought for a moment and asked Huagou, who was nearby, “Brother, do you want one for protection?”

“I have one. My wife prepared it and I keep it inside my shirt. You keep yours for yourself.” Huagou smiled. He had originally wanted one, as a soldier on the battlefield always sought the psychological comfort of “safety.” But when Huagou saw Zhang Yan’s so-called “protection talisman,” he immediately lost all interest.

What did he draw? It was a mess, neither words nor pictures, just a bunch of barely regular lines. How could this have anything to do with “protection”?

It was utterly unreliable! Huagou thought Zhang Yan was playing a prank on him. But then he thought, “He’s a madman, after all. Madmen do all sorts of strange and crazy things.” It would be foolish to expect a madman to do anything practical.

Seeing Huagou dismiss his talisman, Zhang Yan didn’t know what to say.

In the end, all five thin wooden boards were drawn with talismans: one Exorcism Talisman and four Spirit Gathering Talismans. Combined with the *Golden Light Divine Spell* and the *Purify the Earth and Heaven Divine Spell*, Zhang Yan felt that as long as he was careful, he could survive the city wall defense for a long time.

He carefully stored the remaining cinnabar, as it could still be used.

In the evening, after changing shifts, Zhang Yan returned to his tent, ate dinner, and began meditating.

To the people around him, this was the strange behavior of a madman. Twisting his legs into a cross-legged position, keeping his upper body straight, and placing his hands on his sides with palms facing up... Curious people tried Zhang Yan’s posture and found it uncomfortable, so they laughed and teased him a bit but then left him alone.

As for why no one teased or bullied the strange Zhang Yan, it was easy to understand. Would you bully a madman who could kill demons? If he went crazy and killed you, who would you complain to?

Zhang Yan didn’t care about what others thought of him. Being a madman gave him peace. With the four Spirit Gathering Talismans, he felt that his efficiency in filtering spiritual energy with breathing exercises had increased by more than 50% compared to the beginning! However, the spiritual energy generated was still absorbed by the Ten Thousand Phenomena Pearl, leaving nothing in his dantian.