Chapter 3

At first, Zhu Jiu did not smoothly receive the message in the jade slip, but he was not anxious. He still tried to remain calm, his mind empty and free of杂念.

A few minutes later, the jade slip, which was tightly pressed against Zhu Jiu's forehead, finally flashed with light. A message appeared in Zhu Jiu's mind.

The message in the jade slip consisted of six pictures, all depicting the same content, which, when combined, formed an extremely intricate talisman.

The reason for dividing the talisman into six pictures was to simplify the complex talisman, making it easier to memorize and learn.

Zhu Jiu's heart, which had been hanging, immediately calmed down when he saw the talisman.

In his previous life, he had studied the strange art of corpse driving, which naturally involved the drawing and outlining of talismans. There were even more complicated ones than this. At the time, he had reluctantly practiced under his grandfather's coercion, often complaining. He never imagined that this skill would now have such a miraculous effect on changing his fate!

Zhu Jiu immediately focused his mind and carefully examined the talisman in his mind, mentally copying each of the six simplified pictures. The process was extremely easy, and he memorized each one after just one attempt. When he tried to combine them in his mind, it flowed smoothly without any pause, successfully forming a complete talisman.

When the talisman finally took shape, there was a loud boom in Zhu Jiu's head. His mind suddenly became bright, and a faint, clear sound echoed. Countless runes alternately disintegrated and recombined, repeating this process multiple times before finally stabilizing and combining.

The completed talisman transformed into a precious scroll, slowly unfolding and emitting a brilliant red light. The runes were as red as blood, while the paper on which the talisman was inscribed shimmered with a golden glow, hanging high in Zhu Jiu's sea of consciousness, undulating as if it had a life of its own!

At the same time the talisman took shape, the old man in the green robe, who was sitting in the center of the hall, opened his eyes with a light "hmm" and turned to look in the direction of Zhu Jiu, who was in a corner of the hall...

After his mind calmed down, Zhu Jiu opened his eyes and glanced around the hall, where many young men and women were still seated on the ground. He noticed that no one else had completed the mental inscription of the talisman like he had, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Suddenly, he felt someone was watching him and turned to look back. His heart suddenly jolted when he saw the old man in the green robe sitting in his chair, his slightly squinted eyes closing again.

Zhu Jiu had not intended to be the first. He had planned to wait for two or three more people to wake up before reporting his progress, so as not to stand out and attract unnecessary trouble. However, he was discovered as soon as he woke up, so he had no choice but to get up and signal.

The blue-haired woman, who had spoken earlier, saw Zhu Jiu stand up and asked with a displeased expression:

"What's wrong? Is there something you don't understand? Remember, each question will deduct five points, and two questions mean you have extremely poor aptitude and will be eliminated."

Zhu Jiu remained composed and reported loudly:

"Disciple has completed the mental inscription of the talisman. Please instruct me on the next stage of the examination."

When Zhu Jiu finished speaking, the more than a dozen examiners scattered throughout the hall all turned to look at him. The woman in charge of the main examination was slightly surprised when she heard that Zhu Jiu had completed the mental inscription of the talisman. Her voice became even colder and more suspicious as she asked:

"Is it really that simple to complete the inscription? Are you sure?"

Zhu Jiu answered respectfully:

"According to the description on the paper in the box, as long as the talisman is clearly hanging in the mind and can be clearly sensed, it is considered complete. Disciple is certain."

At this point, the old man in the green robe, who was sitting in the center of the hall, coldly interjected:

"He has indeed completed the mental inscription of the talisman. Even if my perception is wrong, the heavenly disk clearly shows that one person out of more than eight hundred has completed the talisman examination. Didn't you notice? How can you be in charge of the examination if you don't pay attention? Do you want to be dismissed and investigated?"

Zhu Jiu followed the old man's gaze and saw a stone disk about a meter in diameter on the ground in the center of the hall. The gray disk was divided into many small squares, and one of them was now a bright golden color.

Seeing the golden square on the disk, Zhu Jiu's expression changed, and he thought to himself:

"Fortunately, I didn't hide it. Otherwise, it would have caused a lot of trouble. It seems that while I was unconscious and absorbing the soul's memory, someone took my blood to mark me. I need to be more careful in the next examination, so as not to attract unnecessary attention."

The blue-haired woman, hearing the old man's reprimand, immediately changed her expression and turned to explain:

"Disciple did not expect anyone to complete the initial mental construction of the talisman so quickly, far exceeding the candidates of previous years. I was not paying attention to the heavenly disk. Please forgive me, Elder."

The old man coldly "hmm"ed and closed his eyes again. The blue-haired woman let out a sigh of relief and turned to glare at Zhu Jiu, saying in a cold voice:

"Come over here."

Zhu Jiu bent down to pick up his black box and quickly walked to the blue-haired woman. He could feel the gazes of many examiners following him, always focused on him.

The blue-haired woman looked at Zhu Jiu coldly and instructed:

"Take the evil spirit brush from the box and draw the talisman in your mind on the soul-stabilizing green copper."

Although the other examiners in the hall did not leave their posts, their attention was clearly focused on Zhu Jiu.

They represented different factions under the Corpse Deity Sect. The new disciples who performed exceptionally well in the examination would be the targets of competition among these factions.

Of course, a few particularly outstanding individuals might receive special cultivation.

Zhu Jiu did as he was told, reaching into the box to take out two items. He held a small green copper block in his left hand and a blood-red brush in his right, and began to draw the talisman on the copper block with focused attention.

It was the first time he was drawing a talisman on such a small object, and he was a bit nervous. Unexpectedly, the talisman in his mind suddenly came to life, its spirit transmitting through his arm to his fingertips, and then through the blood spirit brush, as if it were being imprinted, quickly and skillfully drawing the talisman on the green copper block.

When the talisman was completed on the green copper block, it emitted a bright red light, illuminating the surrounding space with a brilliant red glow.

This light flashed several times before gradually fading, and the surface of the green copper block returned to its original state, as if it had never been inscribed. However, a mysterious connection was formed between the green copper block and the talisman floating in Zhu Jiu's mind.

The blue-haired woman looked at Zhu Jiu for a moment, her expression softening slightly. She turned to the recorder and instructed:

"Hmm! Exceptional aptitude and soul power. One hundred points, plus an additional ten points for the speed, which is far above average."

She then turned to Zhu Jiu and said:

"Stand to the side and wait."

Zhu Jiu nodded and put away the soul-stabilizing green copper and the evil spirit brush, quietly returning to his seat. He could still feel the gazes of many examiners following him. When he looked up, most of them were smiling and nodding at him.

Zhu Jiu, whose mental age was no longer that of a child, was not deceived by this surface kindness. He could guess the reasons for their friendliness to a certain extent.

Zhu Jiu's mind was in a state of confusion, thinking about how strange it was to be reborn in this world. Then he thought about the ancestral corpse mirror that had protected his soul in this rebirth, which was now hanging around his neck. He wanted to take it out to look at it but was afraid of drawing attention.

At this time, more young people in the hall stood up to report that they had also completed the mental inscription of the talisman.

Zhu Jiu looked at the detection disk in the center of the hall and noticed that the later the completion, the lighter the color. When the golden color on the disk was almost gone, only about two hundred people had completed the mental inscription of the talisman.

The blue-haired woman announced:

"The rest are all disqualified."

As she spoke, the many young men and women who had not passed the examination thought of the tragic fate that awaited them and immediately began to wail and cry.

The green-robed elder in the center of the hall coldly "hmm"ed in annoyance, and all the young people fainted without a sound.

Zhu Jiu also felt a jolt in his head, but the new talisman in his mind gently swayed, and the discomfort immediately receded like a tide.

The green-robed old man's strength was so well-controlled that those who had generated the talisman in their minds were unharmed, while the others could not withstand it.

Just this second round of the examination had eliminated more than six hundred people, making it extremely strict. A slight mistake could result in disqualification and death.

Zhu Jiu took a deep breath and calmed his mind. The path of cultivation was indeed extremely cruel.

The blue-haired woman's voice rang out again in the hall:

"The third round of the examination is to enter the Dead Realm of the Corpse Demon and communicate with the corpse demon. Those who successfully return with a corpse demon within three days will be considered qualified."