The Lord of Void and Real

Chapter 195: Chapter 193: Take Advantage of the Situation

This is a high-level attack talisman, vastly more powerful than the Small Thunder Talisman. Nearly a complete force of heavenly thunder is absorbed into every talisman.

With so many Sky Thunder Talismans at his disposal and their potential to unleash such power, even if confronted by a being at the late Nascent Soul Stage or higher, he should be able to handle it.

He deposited these Thunderfall Talismans into the Seven-Star Pen Space then, sitting cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes and rested.

After a while, Shen Luo slowly opened his eyes, all traces of fatigue gone from his expression.

By now, outside was covered in darkness and the storm continued, minus the sound of thunder.

The gentle patter of rain filtered in from outside the window, adding a sense of tranquility to the room.

...

Shen Luo lit the oil lamp in the room, intending to continue crafting talismans. After all, he was quite interested in crafting other high-level talismans such as the Fractured Talisman, aside from the Thunderfall Talisman.

With that thought, he fired up the Refining Furnace and tossed a purple crystal stone into it. After waiting for a moment, he threw in the second ingredient, and then waited again…

Half an hour later, Shen Luo formed a swarm of hand seals and instantly, a large blob of deep purple liquid ejected from the furnace. Under his control, the liquid split into over a dozen egg-sized purple droplets, suspended in the air by mana.

He used another hand seal and under the influence of his mana, one of the purple droplets slowly expanded and gradually took the shape of a perfect square sheet of paper.

The heat within the purple liquid dissipated rapidly, and the liquid quickly hardened into a paper-like form. Subtle cloud-like patterns faintly appeared on the purple paper.

“The reputation of Purple Cloud Paper is well-deserved, it is indeed beyond comparison with Green Frost Paper,” he observed, pinching the piece of paper between two fingers. A quick probe with his divine sense confirmed its extraordinary nature.

Not only was the Purple Cloud Paper more robust than the Green Frost Paper, but it also held a trace of an auspicious aura, making it significantly better at carrying runes.

Applying the same method, Shen Luo quickly transformed the rest of the purple liquid into Purple Cloud Paper. He gathered the remaining materials, prepared another furnace and altogether managed to create thirty-five sheets.

He let out a sigh of relief, for manufacturing Purple Cloud Paper was much more complex than preparing talisman ink and the materials were limited. Thankfully his robust mana prevented any mishaps.

He neatly stacked these sheets of Purple Cloud Paper and began to prepare the talisman ink according to the instructions in the jade slip. Shortly, the ink was ready.

Shen Luo placed the bowl filled with talisman ink and the Purple Cloud Paper in front of him. He closed his eyes to take a rest, and when his spirit, qi, and energy were restored, he opened his eyes once again.

There were only thirty-five sheets of Purple Cloud Paper: he could only attempt to draw thirty-five times.

Although theoretically, using high-level talisman ink and paper should have a higher success rate than using substitutes as he had done in the making of the Thunderfall Talisman, he wasn’t overly confident.

“Which one should I try first?” Shen Luo pondered. Binding Talisman, Flying Talisman, Fractured Talisman, Amnesia Talisman… he recalled their abilities one by one. After a moment of consideration, he decided to start with the seemingly more practical Fractured Talisman.

He rehearsed the runes of the Fractured Talisman in his mind and then picked up the pen to start drawing.

The first attempt ended in failure not unlike the second and third…

After six failed attempts in a row, he was a bit depressed, but since he had been mentally prepared for this, he wasn’t too disappointed. After calming himself, he picked up another sheet of Purple Cloud Paper and resumed his efforts.

But as he finished drawing the runes and lifted his pen, there was a sudden ‘hum’ and a purple light burst forth from the surface of the talisman paper, accompanied by a crisp sound like the clashing of metal!

“I did it!”

A sense of joy welled up in Shen Luo as he let out a sigh of relief.

Perhaps due to the use of high-grade talisman ink and paper, the success rate seemed to be significantly higher than using common materials for the Thunderfall Talisman. Of course, this might also be due to his current cultivation level and potential.

Shen Luo held the finished Fractured Talisman and turned it over a few times, itching to try it out.

But, this one-time-use talisman would be gone once used, and he was not yet entirely out of danger. So, he forced down the desire to test it out.

After catching his breath, Shen Luo once again lifted the Seven Star Pen, planning to attempt the Binding Talisman next.

Using up all the Purple Cloud Paper on the Fractured Talisman wouldn’t significantly boost the success rate. If the success rate remained as before, he wanted to craft as many of the four types of talismans as possible.

The runes for the Binding Talisman looked a bit more complex than the Fractured Talisman. After soup check several times in his mind to making sure he remembered it correctly, Shen Luo started to draw.

One sheet, two sheets, three sheets, four… It was not until the ninth sheet of Purple Cloud Paper that he finally managed to make a Binding Talisman.

“With the remaining nineteen pieces of Purple Cloud Paper, I’ll try making the seemingly easiest Flying Talisman while leaving enough paper for attempting the Amnesia Talisman”, Shen Luo carefully planned the sequence of his attempts before picking up the pen again.

Sure enough, after a few more attempts, he realized he was perhaps too optimistic.

The runes for the Flying Talisman were relatively simple, but its control differed from the other two types of talismans. When drawing the runes, an odd floating force seemed to seep out of the paper, temporarily disrupting his drawing and giving him the odd sensation of writing on a rocking boat. @@novelbin@@

Failure!

Failure!

Still a failure!

In the blink of an eye, he had failed eighteen times, with only one remaining Purple Cloud Paper left.

“I miscalculated… I didn’t expect the Flying Talisman to be the most difficult to create.” Shen Luo’s expression turned grim.

Given another chance, though, he would still make the same choice, for out of all the five types of talismans, the one he most desired was the Flying Talisman.

This was a life-saving tool after all!

If Bai Xiaotian hadn’t taken him on a flight with an Escape Talisman, giving him a taste of the exhilarating sensation of soaring freely through the sky, he might not have had such a profound understanding of its value.

Shen Luo took a deep breath, and once again picked up the Seven Star Pen. Instead of starting to draw immediately, he closed his eyes and recalled the previous eighteen attempts, trying to figure out what went wrong.

“The main issue is the weird floating force interfering with the process. But that force is inherent to the runes of the Flying Talisman and can’t be eliminated–what should I do then…” he began to ponder.

Suddenly, a memory flashed through Shen Luo’s mind, reminding him of when he was searching for the Nameless Heavenly Book and had to navigate a rowboat through a turbulent river.

“Yes! Using the raft on the river was the same. The raging current kept steering the raft off course, and it was similar to the situation I’m facing now.” He murmured to himself.

Back then, he had asked Yu Da about the right technique for rowing a boat in strong currents. Although much time had passed since then, and he no longer remembered clearly what advice Yu Da had given, he seemed to recall something about not trying to fight against the river’s current but learning to use it to one’s advantage instead.

“To use the current to one’s advantage, yes, that has to be it!” Shen Luo’s eyes shone as he felt like he’d found the key.