Chapter 10

Shen Luo lit a lamp at one corner of the desk, took out the three small porcelain bottles and the yellow paper from his sleeve, and placed them in front of him.

There were not many yellow papers, only a few dozen. They were originally used for writing talismans, properly cut to size, but the paper was somewhat rough, with a coarse texture that felt a bit abrasive to the touch.

Next, Shen Luo examined the three porcelain bottles, and his brows furrowed.

In the small bottle containing rooster blood, the blood had already clotted into a lump and could not be poured out. The black dog blood, although not completely clotted, had become quite viscous.

"This won't do. If I don't use it immediately, it will probably be useless by tomorrow," Shen Luo said with a frown.

After speaking, he pulled open the drawer under the desk, took out a hard-bristled small brush and a white jade inkstone.

The hard-bristled brush was made from wolf hair, and the white jade inkstone was carved from a single piece of white jade. Neither was particularly valuable, but they were items he had brought with him when he went up the mountain.

He first poured the black dog blood into the inkstone, and a faint血腥味 (bloody smell) immediately spread through the air.

Shen Luo grabbed the brush, stirred it in the black dog blood for a moment, and the tip of the brush immediately became saturated with blood, turning a dark red.

He laid a sheet of yellow talisman paper in front of him, lifted the brush, but suddenly stopped.

"Let me check again," Shen Luo muttered to himself.

After speaking, he took out the two tattered ancient books, "The Chronicles of Zhang Tian Shi's Demon Subduing" and "The True Appraisal of Secret Talismans," and placed them to the side.

In the introductory sections of "The True Appraisal of Secret Talismans," it was recorded: "Talismans are about harmony and trust. They harmonize my spirit with the other's spirit, and my energy with the other's energy. The spirit is formless, but it is manifested in the talisman."

This explained the reason why talismans have the power to confound gods and ghosts, as they connect human essence, energy, and spirit with the essence, energy, and spirit of heaven and earth, thus attaching intangible divine power to the tangible talisman paper.

Therefore, when drawing a talisman, one must not only concentrate and calm the mind, but also exclude all distractions and complete the drawing in one continuous stroke to ensure that the essence and energy flow continuously, thereby achieving the realm of harmony.

The saying "easy to understand but hard to practice" applies here. Shen Luo was already skeptical about the authenticity of the talisman techniques described in the books, and it was indeed difficult for him to fully immerse himself and exclude all distractions.

Holding the brush, his thoughts were still chaotic.

In fact, he was not unfamiliar with drawing talismans. He had practiced on white paper countless times in the past, but this was the first time he was drawing a proper talisman on yellow paper.

"Symbols are the harmony of yin and yang, and can only be used with utmost sincerity..."

Shen Luo took a deep breath, stood up from the chair, and assumed a horse stance. He recited the words from the book while writing on the yellow paper.

Starting with the characters "Chì Lìng" (Imperial Command), the talisman symbols flowed like water across the paper. A talisman inscribed with "All Evil Be Gone" was quickly completed, which he considered to be the simplest one in the book.

Shen Luo looked at the blood-stained characters, compared them with the talisman drawings in "The Chronicles of Zhang Tian Shi's Demon Subduing," and his brows furrowed slightly.

Although the two were quite similar, he felt something was off at first glance.

"The brush strokes follow the book, but why does mine look like it's missing a breath, lacking the natural flow of the one in the book?" Shen Luo squinted and muttered.

After a moment, he suddenly thought that it might be because he had paused a few times while writing, failing to achieve the continuous flow described in the book.

With this in mind, he held his breath and wrote again eagerly.

However, this time, due to the discomfort of holding his breath, his attention was even more scattered, and the talisman he wrote was even worse than the first one.

Shen Luo did not become discouraged. After a brief rest and regulating his breathing, he picked up the brush again and continued to draw talismans, one after another.

In his view, drawing talismans was no different from any other skill; it required practice to become proficient. He had practiced other talismans on white paper countless times before, and now he was just a little short of perfection.

After more than an hour.

Shen Luo looked somewhat haggard, but his eyes sparkled with excitement.

He held a completed yellow talisman in one hand and the opened "The Chronicles of Zhang Tian Shi's Demon Subduing" in the other, his gaze shifting between the two.

"Not bad, not bad, this one finally looks like it's on the right track."

Although it still differed from the book, the feeling of a missing breath was clearly gone.

With this progress, he felt a surge of energy throughout his body, and the fatigue he had felt earlier was completely replaced by excitement.

The black dog blood in the inkstone was almost gone, so Shen Luo took the small porcelain bottle and poured out the remaining black dog blood.

Just as he was about to lift the brush to continue, he suddenly stopped.

"I wonder if this talisman really works?" Shen Luo hesitated, pondering to himself.

Although the talisman was simple, like the house protection talisman and the peace talisman, it was used to ward off evil and bring good fortune, with no obvious offensive effect. Even if it worked, it would be hard to notice when worn or placed at home.

"Got it, let's try that one!"

Shen Luo suddenly slapped his forehead, remembering a story in "The Chronicles of Zhang Tian Shi's Demon Subduing."

It told of how Zhang Tian Shi encountered a rat spirit that was causing trouble in a house. Despite using many talismans for disaster prevention and house protection, he could not drive it away. He then used a talisman called "Little Thunder Talisman," which directly exploded the rat spirit into pieces.

He immediately flipped to that page in the ancient book and indeed saw the drawing of the Little Thunder Talisman.

Although the book contained many stories, only a small portion involved the use of talismans, most of which were ghost-driving and house-protection talismans. The only offensive talisman he could find was this one.

"Heh, this one then..." Shen Luo chuckled, carefully observed it for a moment, and then lifted the brush to draw again.

Unlike the protection talisman, the Little Thunder Talisman did not start with "Chì Lìng" but with an ancient character "Lei" (Thunder), which was not easy to write.

Shen Luo had never practiced this before, and he wasted several sheets of talisman paper on his first attempt.

Although he felt a bit heartbroken, he did not stop. After using up more than ten sheets of talisman paper, he finally managed to draw a "Little Thunder Talisman" that was somewhat acceptable.

"Ensuring the flow of energy and spirit is impossible, but whether it works is up to fate..." Shen Luo looked at the talisman in his hand and said to himself with some excitement.

Taking advantage of the feeling he had finally found, he continued to draw. Out of the ten he completed, only one or two were acceptable.

Soon, the black dog blood in the inkstone was almost gone.

Shen Luo thought for a moment, then opened the bottle containing cinnabar, poured some out, and mixed it with the black dog blood. The two quickly blended together.

Using a mixture of dog blood and cinnabar was not a random idea but a technique used by Zhang Tian Shi in the book; otherwise, he would not have wasted the materials.

With only a few sheets of talisman paper left, he drew two more Little Thunder Talismans, using up the last of the black dog blood. Finally, he was out of resources.

Shen Luo let out a long sigh, feeling somewhat drained as he leaned on the armrest of the chair and slumped down.

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