Half a day later, as the sky began to darken, Lin Shu prepared to pack up his stall and head home.
A group of people approached him. They were the disciples from Chenyun Valley who had visited his stall that morning. They were carrying a stretcher, which they set down in front of Lin Shu.
The “Senior Brother” who had bought the mask this morning was lying on it, gasping for his final breaths.
‘Did the mask not work?’ Lin Shu wondered.
The mask covered the entire head and even included a filtering formation to protect against poison, fire, gunpowder, and insects. Furthermore, the material was sturdy enough that nothing below the Nascent Soul level should have been able to break it. It was designed to have almost no blind spots, so how had he been beaten into this state?
“Little brother, this mask… it really works!” the disciple on the stretcher said weakly.
Looking at the man who was only one step away from death, Lin Shu couldn’t tell for a moment if he was being sarcastic.
“Uh… our Senior Brother means it truly is useful!” a nearby disciple stepped forward to explain.
“In this round, Senior Brother faced Liyun, a poison cultivator from the Skyfall Sect. As soon as he put on the mask, she couldn’t do anything to him!”
“So, did he win?” Lin Shu asked, already knowing the answer.
He hadn’t known the Chenyun Valley disciple would face Junior Sister Liyun, but he knew the overall results for the Skyfall Sect—so far, they were undefeated.
“No! They were evenly matched at first!” the Chenyun Valley disciple said indignantly. “But then, who would have thought that poison cultivator would pull out a venomous insect from nowhere!”
Lin Shu quickly explained, “My mask has an anti-insect function too!”
The disciple shouted back, “No! The insect really couldn’t get inside the mask!”
“Then why…” Lin Shu asked curiously.
His gaze swept over the Senior Brother. When he saw the thick layers of bandages wrapped around the man’s lower waist and groin, he understood instantly.
‘Junior Sister Liyun is way too ruthless!’
The insect couldn’t find a hole to enter the Senior Brother’s head, so it naturally looked for a different entrance.
And then… then the Senior Brother ended up in his current state.
“It’s fine, it’s fine! There is honor in such a defeat! I shall call your Senior Brother the most ‘swollen’ man I’ve ever met!” Lin Shu praised with a cupped-hand salute.
The Chenyun Valley disciples felt something was off about that compliment, but they hadn’t come here just for small talk.
“Little brother, besides the mask, can you make equipment for other… areas?”
The question was subtle, but Lin Shu understood immediately.
“I can, but…” Lin Shu rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.
“Don’t worry! We have enough spirit stones!” the disciple promised.
After the auditions would be the battle for the top 108. That stage had advertising spots. Although there weren’t many, if they could secure one, the cost of the artifacts would be earned back in less than one month.
They were very clear on what was important.
Just like that, Lin Shu took another order for 50,000 spirit stones. The requirement was for full-body armor, especially the crotch! It was best if it could be welded shut!
***
During dinner, Lu Zhiyun made a bold request.
“What? You want to learn how to make talismans?” Lin Shu set down his bowl in surprise.
The Sanqing Fairy looked at Lu Zhiyun with a proud, maternal expression, as if seeing her own daughter finally growing up. Then, taking advantage of the girl’s distraction, she snatched the chicken leg from Lu Zhiyun’s plate.
“Yes! Senior Brother, please teach me the method of making talismans!” Lu Zhiyun looked at Lin Shu seriously.
“Uh, Junior Sister, can you tell me why you want to learn this?” Lin Shu asked.
Lu Zhiyun’s three spiritual roots were Lightning, Fire, and Sword. Generally speaking, those with Lightning and Fire roots were best suited for artifact forging or alchemy. Talismans were usually better for those with gentle Water or Wood roots.
Of course, it didn’t mean Lu Zhiyun couldn’t learn, but talismans simply weren’t her optimal choice.
Lu Zhiyun sat up straight. “I heard that talismans are the only combat tools that can be created right in the middle of a confrontation!”
Lin Shu nodded, understanding her point.
Compared to forging, alchemy, or formations—which required preparation in advance—the most convenient thing about talismans was that they were easy to use. If one could split their divine sense during a fight, they could even draw a talisman on the spot to create an unexpected effect.
“That’s fine, but the talismans you can learn at this stage cannot be activated from a distance. Are you still willing to learn under those conditions?” Lin Shu reminded her.
Lu Zhiyun was currently only in the Early Foundation Establishment stage. For her talismans to work, she had to apply them directly to the target. Once the distance became too great, the spiritual energy would fail to trigger.
“I am!” Lu Zhiyun nodded.
This was a proper combat style. She was determined to change everyone’s stereotype of the Skyfall Sect being a group of backstabbers.
However, since the Sect Ranking Competition didn’t restrict such tactics, she was afraid she would be at a disadvantage if she only knew sword techniques. Thus, she planned to learn talismans just in case.
“Fine! Since you want to, I’ll teach you. I have some insights into talismans myself. I have a certain talisman here that can temporarily raise your cultivation realm!”
This talisman was different from other special attribute skills; it was something Lin Shu had realized on his own.
The Realm-Rising Talisman. After use, the user could reach the next major realm above their current one for the duration of one incense stick. For example, if Lu Zhiyun used it now at the Foundation Establishment stage, she would temporarily reach the Gold Core stage.
Of course, saying it lasted for one incense stick was a bit of a stretch. The higher the user’s realm, the shorter the duration would be.
“Wow!” Lu Zhiyun looked at him with eyes full of admiration.
Although it sounded like a forbidden technique from a demonic cultivator in a storybook, it seemed very powerful.
“Hmph.” The Sanqing Fairy spat out a chicken bone and said, “What’s the use of raising your realm? If you run into someone two realms higher than you, you’re still dead!”
Lin Shu squinted and smiled. “Then does the Fairy have any better suggestions?”
The Sanqing Fairy replied, “I have a talisman technique that can create a perfect decoy clone to stay in place, making it easy for the user to escape!”
“You’ve mentioned the drawbacks, so what are the advantages?” Lin Shu countered. This ten-thousand-year-old virgin chef was getting excited again!
“What drawbacks? Those are all advantages! What’s wrong with running away if you can’t win?” The Sanqing Fairy became spirited, forgetting the fact that Lin Shu had once pummeled her.
“Your realm-raising talisman is the one full of drawbacks! Forcing power like that… what’s the side effect? Does the user drop a realm after the time is up?”
“My talisman has no side effects!” Lin Shu explained, fearing his Junior Sister might misunderstand. “The only downside is that the higher your realm, the shorter the duration. There are no negative lingering effects.”
“Oh?” The Sanqing Fairy smiled mischievously and teased, “Then you better be careful, Senior Brother. Practice slowly. If your duration is too short in the future, your Dao companion will despise you!”
Lin Shu shook his head, intending to promote some traditional culture from his old home. He stood up and walked toward the Sanqing Fairy.
The Sanqing Fairy scrambled up and hid behind Lu Zhiyun, poking her head out from behind the girl’s small shoulder to stick out her tongue like a fox pretending to be a tiger.
“Wait! Wait, Senior Brother! Fairy! Don’t fight!” Lu Zhiyun raised her hands, shielding the Fairy behind her.
This scene felt very strange. It was as if her parents were fighting and she, the child, was being forced into the middle, caught between both sides.
“Then let Little Lu decide!” the Sanqing Fairy proposed. “Tell us, do you want to learn mine or his?”
Lin Shu also turned his gaze toward Lu Zhiyun, hoping his Junior Sister would choose him—the Senior Brother who doted on her—rather than this bargain-bin Fairy he had picked up halfway.
Now it felt even more like that!
In fact, it had escalated. It wasn’t just a fight anymore; it had turned into the question of: “If we get a divorce, are you going with Daddy or Mommy?”
Lu Zhiyun looked at Lin Shu on the left and then at the Fairy on the right, feeling quite troubled.
“Can’t I learn both?”
Lin Shu sat back down and said, “Of course not! You’re only at the Early Foundation Establishment stage. Your divine sense isn’t strong enough.”
The Sanqing Fairy sat down as well. “And you don’t have enough spiritual energy. You’ll need to be at least at the Middle Foundation Establishment stage to use two talismans.”
Lu Zhiyun hung her head. So the problem was her own lack of ability!
“So, who are you learning from?” the Sanqing Fairy asked again. Lin Shu leaned forward as well.
Lu Zhiyun thought long and hard.
‘If I reject Lin Shu, as a demonic cultivator, he might… maybe… probably hold a grudge and then my favorability with him will plummet! That won’t be good for my future investigation.’
‘But if I reject the Fairy, what if she stops being close to me and thinks I’ve defected to the enemy?’
Lu Zhiyun’s choice was!
“I… can I look at both of them first and then decide which one to learn?”
It was a stalling tactic, a middle-ground answer that wouldn’t offend anyone.
Lin Shu and the Sanqing Fairy thought about it for a moment and agreed with Lu Zhiyun’s idea.
“Here! The drawing method for the Realm-Rising Talisman!” Lin Shu handed a small booklet to Lu Zhiyun.
“And here! The ancient secret method for the Division Law Talisman!” The Sanqing Fairy purposely made hers sound more grand.
Lu Zhiyun reached out with both hands to take them, feeling overwhelmed by the favor.
These were treasures that couldn’t be bought anywhere else!
One was an ancient secret method from an immortal, and the other was the private demonic technique of a great evil cultivator.
Lu Zhiyun looked at the talisman manuals in her hands with joy, but then a question occurred to her.
‘Since I can only learn one type of talisman…’
‘Is there a way to combine these two talismans and create a brand-new one?’