Chapter 51

Qin Xianyu had already become extremely familiar with the Fire Talisman.

It was still half a month before reaching the capital.

Qin Xianyu resolved to begin refining the Jade Pill the next day.

However, the Jade Pill was of great importance, so he needed to test the peculiarities of the Fire Talisman to avoid any unforeseen events.

Over these days, he had drawn the Fire Talisman countless times, but this was the first time he was actually using it.

This time, he used the talisman brush and cinnabar sent by Ning'er.

These two items came from Mount Qingcheng, the ancestral mountain of the Daoist sect of the Great Virtue Holy Dynasty.

Among the items sent by Ning'er from Mount Qingcheng, the duster was useless to him, and the sachet, which could calm the mind and focus the spirit, was unnecessary since he had true qi and was already in high spirits. However, Uncle Fu was a bit older, so Qin Xianyu gave the sachet to him that night.

The sachet contained incense made from a type of tree and seven rare flowers from Mount Qingcheng, ground into powder, which had the effect of calming the mind and focusing the spirit, and was quite famous. Among the seven rare flowers, six were recorded in medical texts.

"Fire Talisman, Fire Talisman."

Qin Xianyu gently closed the old Daoist Priest Guanxu's notebook.

The notebook contained the old Daoist's views on cultivation and talisman techniques, with a unique perspective based on his century of experience.

Daoist Priest Guanxu had spent over a hundred years seeking the Dao, but could not find the way in. Instead, he spent his days and nights pondering, analyzing the techniques, spells, and talisman methods one by one. Even those who had achieved the Dao beyond the realm of true qi did not see as deeply or clearly as he did.

The notebook stated that between heaven and earth, there were boundless energies: the humid air contained the water of the Five Elements, the hot air contained the fire of the Five Elements, the dust contained the earth of the Five Elements, the fragrance of the forest contained the wood of the Five Elements, and the rocks contained the metal of the Five Elements.

The Daoist scriptures recorded that Yin and Yang transformed into the Five Elements, and the Five Elements gave birth to all things.

The talisman technique, based on specific trajectories, found a matching trajectory to confine the Five Elements' energy of heaven and earth within it.

For example, carving grooves on the ground to guide water flow was a kind of trajectory.

Making a teapot or teacup from metal was another trajectory. Pouring water into them would change the shape of the water according to the metal's form.

Pouring water into a round dish, the water would be round.

Pouring water into a square box, the water would be square.

This shape was the most basic trajectory.

The talisman technique was much more profound, using specific trajectories to contain and confine the Five Elements' energy of heaven and earth.

"Not only water, but all things change according to their external environment."

"There is a rumor that someone sold children, placing them in clay jars from a young age. When they grew up, their bodies would be shaped, and even if the jars were broken, their bodies would be different from ordinary people." Qin Xianyu thought to himself, "If copper and iron are placed together, after some time, their surfaces will fuse, and at the point of fusion, the copper and iron will be indistinguishable."

"Is this the principle that Daoist Priest Guanxu believed in?"

Everything in the world changes in an instant.

When flint and stone collide, sparks can be produced.

But perhaps in a specific environment, someone waving a branch could produce a similar effect, generating flames.

Just as fire in water would be extinguished, and water in fire would boil.

A shout in the wilderness would be long and loud, while a shout in the snow mountain could trigger an avalanche, causing the earth to split.

Such specific environments would produce different effects.

Different environments and different trajectories would produce different changes. When these trajectories were gradually explored and categorized according to their effects, they became known as talismans, eventually evolving into talisman techniques.

"The way of talisman techniques is profound and mysterious," Qin Xianyu muttered to himself. "The Daoists in the temple know how to draw talismans and understand that different talisman papers require different strokes. When practicing talisman techniques, they probably memorize the stroke directions for different talismans, such as calming talismans or exorcism talismans, but they don't know why these changes occur."

"In the eyes of Daoists proficient in talisman techniques, these principles are also profound and mysterious, difficult to fathom."

Qin Xianyu chuckled to himself, "I suppose only Daoist Priest Guanxu would do this. He encountered a bottleneck in his cultivation and started pondering these things, delving into the essence and fundamentals."

There are countless talismans, each with its own stroke direction, vast and profound. In the eyes of those practicing talisman techniques, it would be better to memorize more talisman strokes than to spend time pondering the fundamentals.

"When drawing a talisman, there can be no mistakes. Even the slightest error would render it useless," Qin Xianyu thought. "According to Daoist Priest Guanxu, the stroke direction of a talisman is a mysterious trajectory that confines the Five Elements' energy. If the stroke is off by even a hair, it will not match the mysterious trajectory, and thus be ineffective. Only when it matches the mysterious trajectory of heaven and earth can it be considered a true talisman."

Fortunately, after practicing for many days, his hand was already very steady, and his eyesight, improved by the Jade Pill and spiritual water, was far superior to that of a hawk.

With his keen eyesight, as long as he focused his mind and spirit, even a crossbow bolt would appear slow and clear. Observing the talisman strokes with such attention, there would be no errors. Since he had practiced swordsmanship, his arm was very steady, and his strokes would be precise.

The talisman brush was made from a rare wood from Mount Qingcheng, with bristles from a spiritual fox, and the cinnabar was specially prepared, of the highest quality.

Qin Xianyu took a deep breath.

He held the brush and began to draw the talisman.

Unconsciously, he had already channeled his true qi.

There were no unusual phenomena during the process.

He drew a Fire Talisman on the ground and another on the bottom of an iron pot.

It looked like he was just drawing some symbols, with no steam rising or flames appearing, no mysterious phenomena.

It was as ordinary as writing.

Seeing such calmness and no unusual phenomena, Qin Xianyu was somewhat anxious, unsure if it would work.

He exhaled and built a pile of dry wood and grass over the Fire Talisman on the ground, then lit a fire. He placed the iron pot on the fire and filled it with half a pot of water.

"Seems... it's not very useful?"

Qin Xianyu felt a bit disappointed. He had thought that even if there were no visible phenomena, the Fire Talisman, matching the mysterious trajectory of heaven and earth, should make the fire more intense.

However, the heat in the room did not rise, and the water in the pot did not boil as quickly as expected. After a long time, it only started to steam, just like boiling water normally.

The Fire Talisman seemed to be useless?

Qin Xianyu sighed.

He had originally thought that the heat would envelop the entire room.

Or perhaps there would be a great fire?

At the very least, the water in the pot should boil quickly when placed over the Fire Talisman?

This young Daoist was filled with disappointment and a sudden sense of frustration.

He kicked over the iron pot, extinguished the fire, and turned to leave.

Suddenly, Qin Xianyu frowned and slowly turned around.

Above the fire, white smoke rose, and a flame flickered.

Qin Xianyu thought it was because the fire was not completely extinguished, so he extinguished it again.

After a moment, the white smoke rose again, and the flame did not go out.

Qin Xianyu's heart raced. He carefully observed the flame and saw that after a while, it reignited, becoming a full flame, just as it was before it was extinguished.

"An unextinguishable flame?"

Qin Xianyu found it hard to believe and tried again.