Once he decided to enter the Dao through talismans, Luo Chen threw himself into work without pause.
As for the craft of talisman making, he had dabbled in it before.
During his time in Baili Qingchuan, bored with nothing to do and hoping both to hone his divine sense and provide life-saving tools for disciples under his sect, he had begun producing talismans in large batches.
From tier-one to tier-two, and finally tier-three talismans, he had managed to craft them all.
Yet compared to the effortless creation of first- and second-tier talismans, drawing third-tier talismans was somewhat more arduous.
It was not for lack of ability, but rather that subsequent conflicts and wars had kept him from devoting himself fully to the path.
Now that he finally had time to spare, Luo Chen threw his whole heart and mind into it.
Raw materials required for talisman making were not something he lacked.
Leaving aside the steady dealings between the Divine Talisman Sect and the Luotian Sect, the beast hides the Luotian Sect had stockpiled over a century of war between humans and demons were vast in quantity—more than enough for Luo Chen to squander as he pleased.
Before long, Luo Chen had picked up the craft once more.
Unlike before, when he produced talismans of all sorts, this time Luo Chen focused solely on fire-attributed ones.
He warmed up first with the first-tier Fireball Art and the second-tier Blazing Sun Art, before embarking on mass-producing talismans tied to third-tier fire arts.
The Qingyang Great Handprint, his greatest forte!
Then the techniques he had learned in the past but rarely paid attention to: Explosive Flame Wave, Wild Dance of Fire Snakes, Sevenfold Blazing Heaven Rings...
Time slipped away bit by bit. Undisturbed, Luo Chen progressed at an astonishing pace.
In under a year, his skill in drawing third-tier talismans had reached consummate perfection, presenting no difficulty whatsoever.
Such smooth sailing was also tied to Luo Chen's longstanding understanding of the craft.
The so-called Dao of talismans tested raw materials, mastery over the spell itself, and—most crucially—the cultivator's Dharmic powers and divine soul.
Luo Chen suffered from no shortcomings in any of those areas, so all that remained was building up proficiency.
Yet when the second year arrived and Luo Chen attempted to inscribe fourth-tier fire spells into talismans, he hit a bottleneck.
No matter how carefully he proceeded, failure consistently struck just on the verge of success.
After repeated failures, Luo Chen halted his futile efforts.
"Where did things go wrong?"
"Whether it is my spell proficiency, the depth of my Dharmic powers, or the strength of my divine soul, all of them should meet every requirement."
"Could it be an issue with the raw materials?"
Luo Chen looked at the array of beast-hide talisman papers before him; the highest-grade among them were merely papers crafted from the hides of third-tier Demon Kings.
If there really was a problem, it had to lie here.
Rather than working behind closed doors in ignorance, Luo Chen immediately sent a divine sense transmission and summoned Fairy Jueqing.
...
"Greetings, Supreme Elder!"
Unlike the embarrassed and vexed demeanor Fairy Jueqing had shown upon leaving last time, she had now regained her frosty composure.
Even her form of address for Luo Chen had shifted from the somewhat distant "True Person" of before to "Supreme Elder," as the members of the Luotian Sect commonly called him.
Luo Chen understood the core reason behind this change. From Canglong's memories, she was not cold by nature; it was only later events that had frozen over that warm heart of hers.
At the moment, he had no time to ponder Fairy Jueqing's state of mind, and directly asked about the difficulty he had run into.
Within the entire Luotian Sect, aside from Luo Chen himself at present, Fairy Jueqing was undeniably the most accomplished in talisman craft.
Whether from what he had witnessed in the dream realm or the talisman techniques Fairy Jueqing had displayed in earlier years, she far surpassed ordinary talisman cultivators and could even rival some of the experts of the Divine Talisman Sect.
Sure enough!
After Luo Chen presented his dilemma, Fairy Jueqing pondered for a moment and provided the answer.
"It is likely just as you suspect. The tier of the raw materials is too low, which is why a fourth-tier talisman cannot be successfully produced."
After speaking, Fairy Jueqing looked at Luo Chen in sheer astonishment. When had this grandmaster of alchemy become so formidable in the Dao of talismans as well?
She knew that Luo Chen could craft talismans.
After all, in all her years at the Luotian Sect, even if she had not used them herself, she had seen low-tier disciples employing talismans Luo Chen had drawn with his own hands.
In particular, Qu Lingjun's son, Qu Jiu, was said to have received Luo Chen's guidance in talisman making, allowing him to advance by leaps and bounds in this craft.
Yet in Fairy Jueqing's eyes, while the talismans Luo Chen made were certainly exceptional, their tier was too low to be considered truly profound.
And now, he was casually bringing up the crafting of third- and fourth-tier talismans.
Could there really exist a genius under the heavens who was a master of every single immortal art?
Having received her answer, Luo Chen corroborated it with his own deduction and confirmed that this was indeed where the root problem lay.
"Does a fourth-tier talisman truly require a fourth-tier talisman parchment to be drawn?"
Fairy Jueqing gave a slight nod. "The principle behind it is simple enough. If the Supreme Elder casts a powerful fourth-tier spell, could any third-tier Demon King withstand it?"
Luo Chen shook his head. Naturally, that was impossible.
Thus, a mighty spell required an equally mighty raw material to bear its power and preserve it as a talisman that could be activated at a moment's notice.
Immediately after, Luo Chen furrowed his brows.
"Yet our Luotian Sect currently possesses only a handful of fourth-tier talisman parchments in total!"
Because of the century-long war between humans and demons, most talisman parchments circulating on the market nowadays were made from beast hides.
A fourth-tier talisman parchment, no matter how one cut corners, had to be tanned from the pelt of a fourth-tier Demon Sovereign.
Yet where could one find so many fallen fourth-tier Demon Sovereigns, let alone have them processed into talisman parchment?
Fourth-tier Demon Sovereigns were all formidable entities without exception.
When their materials fell into the hands of human cultivators, they were either used as medicinal ingredients or refined into powerful magic treasures.
Just like Luo Chen's Xuanchen Armor and Frost Eagle Flying Boat.
Using them as talisman parchment would be an utter waste.
Fairy Jueqing reminded him, "Supreme Elder, the parchment used for drawing talismans is not inherently restricted to any single type of material. Do not forget that."
Luo Chen froze for a moment. Had he been blinded by a leaf?
Fairy Jueqing cited examples: "For instance, the Divine Talisman Sect historically favored the bark of rare spiritual trees for their talisman parchment. Or take myself: my favorite material for crafting talismans is the inexhaustible century-, millennia-, or even eon-old black ice from my Ice Fort. As far as I know, there are countless materials that can be made into talisman parchment—paper and silk, metals and irons, and of course jade and stone. Rumor has it that great talisman experts who entered the Dao through talismans could even take heaven and earth as their parchment, drawing terrifying talismans capable of destroying the world."
After saying this in one breath, Fairy Jueqing caught her breath and added, "Demon beast hide is merely the most convenient material to acquire in recent years—it is by no means the only one."
Having listened quietly, Luo Chen said sincerely, "Fellow Daoist Gu, I stand corrected."
Fairy Jueqing's expression grew somewhat awkward, both because Luo Chen had suddenly used her surname and because he addressed her as an equal with "Fellow Daoist."
She cleared her throat and retrieved a pile of items from her storage bag.
"These are savings I accumulated over many years, all fourth-tier talisman parchments. I originally intended to use them to draw new talismans after reaching the Nascent Soul stage in the future. Now, I present them to the Supreme Elder!"
Luo Chen glanced over them; there was bone-chilling myriad-year black ice, as well as green wooden slabs radiating vigorous vitality.
All were fine materials!
He did not refuse, accepting them openly.
"Thank you!"
Fairy Jueqing waved her hand. "It is only right."
Luo Chen smiled faintly, noting this favor in his heart, and casually inquired about the Luotian Sect's current situation.
Fairy Jueqing answered everything she knew.
In truth, there was little to speak of—just a few minor affairs.
Over the course of a year, the Luotian Sect had completely settled into the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land.
Because the terrain was vast and spirit veins were plentiful, there had been ample room for choice.
For the long-term good of the sect, Sect Master Li Yingzhang had not claimed every fourth-tier spirit vein.
Aside from Mount Dan where Luo Chen resided, he had chosen only a single fourth-tier spirit vein blessed with auspicious geomancy as the Luotian Sect's mountain gate.
There, Lingfengzi had selected a spirit mountain, carved out a cave estate, and reestablished Piaomiao Peak.
Though Wang Yuan cared little for spiritual qi, he too had chosen a fourth-tier cave estate and established War God Peak.
Bai Meiling, on the other hand, was restless; once settled in, she had a strong urge to explore the Nether Abyss, though Li Yingzhang had vetoed it.
"I almost forgot—Little Bai possesses the body of a Ghost Sovereign now, more than capable of roaming the Nether Abyss."
Luo Chen chuckled, curious why Li Yingzhang had refused.
Fairy Jueqing replied, "First, the Sect Master feared Senior Bai might attract some powerful ghostly creature back to the Luotian Sect. Second, some restless low-tier disciples grew antsy and wanted to tag along, hoping to explore the ruins of Mingyuan and unearth treasures."
Luo Chen was dumbfounded. So that was why!
Then Li Yingzhang had not erred.
While the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land was secluded and difficult for outsiders to enter, its entrance and exit lay within the Nether Abyss after all.
If someone were to blockade the entrance, it would be troublesome.
After chatting a while longer, Fairy Jueqing took her leave.
After a brief deliberation, Luo Chen once again began attempting to craft fourth-tier talismans.
Using the fourth-tier talisman parchments Fairy Jueqing had left behind as raw materials, he tried infusing the fourth-tier fire spells he was most proficient in into them.
...
Half a year later.
A figure suddenly appeared outside the ruins of the Alchemy Saint Hall.
Robed in black, with sword-like brows and bright eyes, it was none other than Luo Chen!
Over the span of half a year, Luo Chen had depleted the fourth-tier talisman parchments Fairy Jueqing gave him, successfully producing a few fourth-tier talismans in the process.
Yet it was ultimately a drop in the ocean.
"My talisman-crafting skill is not innate talent; it relies entirely on my formidable foundation and the step-by-step progression of the proficiency panel. Thus, I require vast quantities of raw materials."
"The Luotian Sect's reserves in this regard fall short, but right nearby lies a natural treasure trove!"
Fairy Jueqing's earlier words had reminded him.
The Mingyuan Sect, as the foremost and only Deity Transformation sacred land in the Eastern Desolation, possessed a heritage deeper than ordinary people could fathom.
Even though its mountain gate had been destroyed and its disciples perished, many relics remained behind.
The magic treasures and True Artifacts Luo Chen had picked up on a whim when crossing Mingyuan years ago were prime examples.
Apart from those, could there not be other things preserved?
High-tier talisman parchment was Luo Chen's objective on this trip!
At the entrance, Luo Chen waited for a short while, and soon saw a giant turtle cleave through the waves, swimming slowly toward him.
Luo Chen leaped onto its back and murmured, "Let's go. To the former cultivation grounds of True Person Hanyang!"
As a rule, top factions never focused exclusively on a single path; they cultivated all aspects to avoid being held by the throat at critical junctures.
Like the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, which cultivated only the sword; the Divine Talisman Sect, which focused solely on talismans; and the Medicine King Sect, which excelled only in pill and medicine concoction—none of these could be counted as truly top-tier factions.
In contrast, the Five Elements Divine Sect had pursued all-around development in earlier years, which allowed it to become the strongest force in the Far East Six Domains and a major power recognized throughout the entire Eastern Desolation.
The Mingyuan Sacred Land was naturally superior even to the Five Elements Divine Sect!
In alchemy, there was the Chu family led by the Alchemy Saint; in beast taming, the Lu family; in administration and worldly affairs, the Ye family stood preeminent; and in array formations, every lineage dabbled to some degree.
Among them, the Great Cultivator True Person Hanyang, whom Luo Chen had crossed paths with once, was the Mingyuan Sect's most renowned talisman master.
In his lineage, whether True Person Hanyang himself or his disciples and grand-disciples, all were exceedingly adept at crafting talismans.
Years ago, when Old Fu of the Divine Talisman Sect was chatting in idle conversation, he had spoken highly of this man.
He had fallen at the hands of Monarch Qixia, plummeting like a shooting star.
Yet his former cultivation grounds might well harbor his legacy.
Luo Chen wondered whether this black turtle knew where True Person Hanyang's cultivation grounds lay.
...
Traversing the Nether Abyss was an exceedingly perilous undertaking.
Fortunately, with the black turtle's assistance, Luo Chen was spared a great deal of unnecessary trouble.
Just as he suspected, the black turtle did not recall True Person Hanyang's cultivation grounds very clearly, making the early leg of the journey rather rocky.
Luckily, Luo Chen was resourceful; after searching several locations, he finally located a map outlining the general geography of the Mingyuan Sacred Land, allowing him to fix their bearing.
Three months later, Luo Chen halted amidst a mountain range where spiritual light was dim and murky Ming Water flowed freely.
"Is this Mount Hanyang?"
Had this been out in the wider world, it would have been a spiritual paradise rich in qi.
Yet submerged by Ming Water now, it had practically become a domain of ghosts.
Luo Chen sighed with emotion. Ordering the black turtle to wait outside, he plunged in alone.
This trip took a full two months.
Just as the black turtle drooped its heavy eyelids, nearly slipping into a deep slumber, Luo Chen emerged from within.
The black turtle perked up, gazing curiously at Luo Chen.
At this moment, Luo Chen had expended a considerable amount of Dharmic power, yet the excitement on his face could not be concealed.
This exploration of a Great Cultivator's former dwelling had not gone smoothly.
A vast number of low-tier ghostly entities inhabited the interior, and there were even several third-tier Ghost Kings!
Luo Chen could recognize that most of them were ghostly creatures born from deceased disciples of the Mingyuan Sect, and some who had attained profound cultivation in life were already beginning to gradually regain their intellect, much like Pang Renxiong had.
Faced with Luo Chen, an outsider trespassing on their territory, they had naturally put up fierce resistance.
Naturally, before Luo Chen's overwhelming strength, their struggles failed to make the slightest splash.
He spent some time purging the ghostly creatures, then searched methodically, eventually locating several relatively intact secret vaults from which he harvested a substantial hoard of mid- and high-tier talisman parchments.
"With this batch of parchment, it should be enough to support me in drawing a large quantity of fourth-tier talismans!"
Returning laden with spoils, Luo Chen lingered no longer. Unmoved by the damaged magic treasures and raw materials scattered across Mount Hanyang, he spurred the black turtle forward and departed.
The journey back went much smoother.
With map in hand and Luo Chen guiding the way, they drew near the entrance of the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land in barely a month.
Yet halfway through, Luo Chen suddenly spoke out.
"Stop!"
Puzzled, the black turtle looked up toward the near distance.
There, a massive mountain stood quietly amid the Nether Abyss.
The omnipresent Ming Water was cast out around it, unable to encroach by even an inch.
So familiar was this mountain that any disciple of Mingyuan could recognize it with a single glance.
It was none other than Mount Yanfu, which had hung suspended above the sacred land for three thousand years!
And the only reason Luo Chen had called a halt was singular.
Within it, a familiar aura was locked in fierce combat against an enemy.
Luo Chen frowned. "How did Little Bai end up coming out after all?"
Chapter 921