Chapter 57: Taking Talisman Making Class with Miss!

Not long after, the fourth elder arrived at the courtyard.Her black hair with silver threads was elegantly tied up, and she was wearing a green-brown dress. She looked like a dignified and graceful lady.

“Grandmother.”

“Aunt.”

Lu Changsheng and Lu Miaoge immediately bowed respectfully to the fourth elder.

“No need for formalities, please have a seat.”

The fourth elder waved her hand with a gentle and kind expression

Then she looked at two of them and said, “Changsheng, Miaoge, show me the Talismans you’ve been practicing recently.”

Upon hearing this, both of them took out their Talisman crafting tools and began drawing Talismans.

Lu Changsheng was still drawing the Fire Cloud Talisman he had revealed earlier.

After all, when he first revealed himself as a first-tier medium-grade Talisman Master, his success rate was only one or two out of ten, so he naturally needed more practice.

The fourth elder glanced at the two people drawing the talisman and was a little surprised when she saw Lu Changsheng drawing the Fire Cloud Talisman one stroke at a time and with a steady wrist.

Then, under the gaze of the fourth elder, Lu Changsheng successfully completed the Fire Cloud Talisman.

“Changsheng, you should have a success rate of about sixty to seventy percent when drawing the Fire Cloud Talisman now, right?”

After watching Lu Changsheng draw the Fire Cloud Talisman, the fourth elder showed a hint of surprise on her face and praised him.

Lu Miaoge, who was drawing Talismans next to them, heard this and couldn’t help but tremble, causing the Talisman she was drawing to fail. Then, she looked at Lu Changsheng with astonishment.

Her face, as fair as snow, showed a look of surprise.

She knew that Lu Changsheng had become a first-tier medium-grade Talisman master two months ago.

In just two months, he had increased the success rate of a first-tier medium-grade Fire Cloud Talisman to sixty to seventy percent.

His talent in Talisman crafting was simply terrifying.

She couldn’t help but think back to three years ago when Lu Changsheng became a Talisman crafting apprentice, and she accompanied Uncle Fu to assess Lu Changsheng.

At that time, she could already tell that Lu Changsheng’s talent in Talisman crafting was higher than her own.

But she never imagined that Lu Changsheng’s talent in Talisman crafting would be even higher than she had imagined, and by such a large margin.

Without anyone’s guidance, in just over three years, he became a medium-grade Talisman master.

Now, under the guidance of the fourth elder, the Fire Cloud Talisman, which originally had a success rate of only twenty percent, had increased to sixty to seventy percent in just one month.

This progress was simply terrifying!

Even though she had always been calm and had already started trying to draw high-level talismans to challenge herself to become a high-level talisman master, at this moment, in front of Lu Changsheng, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss and frustration.

She pursed her lips, suppressed the feeling of loss and frustration in her heart, and took out another piece of Talisman paper to draw Talismans.

“Thanks to grandmother’s guidance last time, I have been practicing hard at home during this period, which is why I have this success rate now.”

Lu Changsheng nodded.

He was unaware that his actions had left Lu Miaoge feeling frustrated.

The display of talent with the Fire Cloud Talisman this time was something he had planned beforehand. It was part of his strategy. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the N0vᴇlFire(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Under the guise of guidance and instruction from the fourth elder, he accelerated the revelation of his talent in Talisman crafting.

“Very good, very good. Grandmother can see that there isn’t much of a problem with your Fire Cloud Talisman.”

“It’s just that during the transition, the delineation of the Talisman lines is not yet smooth enough.”

“But in this regard, as long as you practice more in your spare time, you’ll become more proficient.”

The fourth elder praised Lu Changsheng repeatedly upon hearing his words.

She continued towards Lu Changsheng, “So today, I’ll teach you how to draw the Windwalk Talisman.”

The Windwalk Talisman, like the Fire Cloud Talisman, is a first-tier medium-grade Talisman.

In terms of difficulty, it might be a bit higher than the Fire Cloud Talisman.

“Thank you, grandmother,” Lu Changsheng said respectfully.

He didn’t care what Talismans he learned or practiced; he completely followed the arrangements of the fourth elder.

On one hand, it was because he didn’t mind, and on the other hand, it was also one of the conditions of the Lu Family’s contract.

He had to follow the arrangements of the Lu Family to learn and practice the corresponding Talismans.

“The Windwalk Talisman is different from the Fire Cloud Talisman. It emphasizes the concept of ‘softness,’ not only in the strokes but also in the output of spiritual power, conveying a sense of roundness.”

“And a crucial aspect of the Windwalk Talisman is that, during each appearance of a turn, the strokes should be smooth, and the output of spiritual power should be continuous…”

The fourth elder explained the key points of the Windwalk Talisman to Lu Changsheng.

Then, she drew a Windwalk Talisman on the spot, allowing Lu Changsheng to sense the fluctuations of spiritual power on it and draw the Talisman lines accordingly.

“Yes, grandmother,”

Lu Changsheng nodded, picking up a stack of white paper from the side of the table and familiarizing himself with the drawing of the Talisman lines on it.

Generally, when drawing new Talismans, it’s customary to first familiarize oneself with the drawing of the Talisman lines on white paper before attempting to craft the Talismans on Talisman paper.

If one were to start practicing with Talisman paper right away, it would essentially be a waste, as failure would be inevitable at this stage.

Of course, Lu Changsheng was an exception to this rule.

But in front of the fourth elder, he naturally maintained the appearance of a diligent learner.

Later, the fourth elder looked at Lu Miaoge, who was still making talismans, and saw her fail again.

Knowing that Lu Miaoge was still unfamiliar with the Talisman she was trying to draw, she spoke up to explain the key points.

“Miaoge, the Golden Light Shield Talisman emphasizes firmness as the main aspect and softness as the auxiliary. The strokes should be soft yet firm, and the spiritual power output should be strong.”

“When you make the first stroke, both the stroke and the spiritual power should be as strong as iron wrapped in cotton. When the Talisman line turns at the first bend, you should focus more on ‘restraint,’ while the spiritual power should have a ‘release’ intent… After the ninth bend, the spiritual power needs to be continuously released…”

Talisman crafting becomes more difficult and complex as the grade of the Talisman increases. There are strict rules for every stroke and every movement.

There are many subtleties in the technique of drawing, such as strength and forcefulness, the interplay of firmness and softness, and the balance between them. It’s very complicated.

The Golden Light Shield Talisman that Lu Miaoge was trying to draw is a first-tier high-grade Talisman, very complex, and it’s a significant step up from medium-grade Talismans.

“Yes, Fourth Aunt,”

Lu Miaoge nodded in response, her delicate face showing a focused expression as she continued to bend over and draw the Talisman.

But halfway through the drawing, smoke emerged from the Talisman paper again, indicating another failure.

“Miaoge, you applied too much force in delineating the Talisman lines, causing a clash with the spiritual power, hence the failure.”

“Here, feel the strength of my spiritual power.”

The fourth elder pointed out the mistake aloud and then held Lu Miaoge’s hand, slowly drawing the Golden Light Shield Talisman.

Lu Changsheng also glanced over in their direction.

He could tell that the fourth elder was indeed skilled in Talisman crafting.

At least, she was very familiar with the Golden Light Shield Talisman.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to guide someone in drawing the Talisman in this manner.

“Miaoge, try again with this feeling.”

The fourth elder said after guiding Lu Miaoge to draw the Golden Light Shield Talisman.

“Yes, Auntie,”

Lu Miaoge nodded gently and tried to draw the Talisman again. However, she failed again halfway through the process.

Seeing this scene, the fourth elder didn’t say much. She simply encouraged, “It’s okay, just practice more and get familiar with it.”

For a Talisman master, this was very normal. If success came too easily, then becoming a Talisman master wouldn’t be as challenging.

After a while, the fourth elder saw that Lu Changsheng was almost familiar with drawing the Windwalk Talisman. She turned to him and said, “Come, Changsheng, let’s see you draw the Windwalk Talisman.”

“Yes, grandmother,” Lu Changsheng responded and began to draw the Windwalk Talisman.

However, he also failed when he was about one-fifth of the way through. He was a genius, but not to the point of being abnormal. If he succeeded after just one or two attempts, it would be too astonishing and could lead to problems.

“Your hand is steady, and your strokes are stable, but your spiritual power was a bit rushed just now.”

“At this step, your hand should have some ‘looseness,’ and the spiritual power should gently ‘wrap’ around the strokes…”

“Here, feel the strength of my spiritual power.”

After watching Lu Changsheng finish drawing, the fourth elder spoke and then also approached him, holding his hand and guiding him slowly through each stroke of the Windwalk Talisman.

Although there’s the saying “men and women shouldn’t touch each other,” Lu Changsheng was seen as a junior in the eyes of the fourth elder, practically their grandson-in-law, so they naturally didn’t care about such things.

During this process, Lu Changsheng could clearly feel the strength and flow of spiritual power coming from the touch of the fourth elder’ hands.

“At this step, your hand should be ‘loose,’ and the spiritual power should ‘wrap’ around the strokes with a bit of ‘bounce.’ Your wrist should lightly ‘tremble,’ and then complete it in one go.”

“Give it another try.”

The fourth elder spoke kindly to Lu Changsheng and then released his hand.

“Okay, grandmother,”

Lu Changsheng nodded, but instead of starting to draw immediately, he took out a gourd from his storage bag and took a sip of the wine inside before continuing to draw.

Inside was the White Jade Hundred Flowers Wine, which could restore spiritual power and calm the mind, which was helpful for his Talisman crafting.

He naturally didn’t need the wine to calm his mind, but he did need it to help restore his spiritual power.

The fourth elder didn’t say anything about this either.

She knew that Lu Changsheng was only at the third stage of Qi cultivation and couldn’t draw many first-tier medium-grade Talismans without relying on spiritual wine to replenish his spiritual power.

Subsequently, under the watchful eyes of the fourth elder, Lu Changsheng failed when he was about one-quarter of the way through.

“Your spiritual power hasn’t wrapped around the strokes and gathered at one point. Try again a few more times,” the fourth elder commented after watching.

So, under the guidance of the fourth elder, the morning passed.

During this morning, neither Lu Changsheng nor Lu Miaoge succeeded in drawing new Talismans. However, they had grasped the essentials of these Talismans, and the next step was to go back and become more familiar with them and practice more.