The Lord of Void and Real

Chapter 218: Chapter 216: Division of Talisman Paper

“Could it be that Master Shen doesn’t know the difference between these talisman papers?” Manager Ma appeared somewhat surprised when he heard this.

“I really have no idea. Please enlighten me,” said Shen Luo.

“Well, allow me to explain… These talismans are divided into different grades, and talisman papers also vary. The commonly seen yellow talisman paper, also known as Yellow List Paper, is the simplest and most inferior,” Manager Ma chuckled lightly before he explained.

“I know of this. Because the mana and Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Qi the Yellow Talisman Paper can withstand is limited, it can only be used to draw low-grade talismans. If one were to force a high-grade talisman onto it, the paper wouldn’t be able to bear it and would ignite. But what’s different about the Green Frost Paper?” Although Shen Luo knew that Green Frost Paper was better than Yellow Talisman Paper, he was unsure about the specifics.

“Does Friend Shen have heard of the phrase ‘green words and green chapters’?” Manager Ma asked in reply.

“Of course I have. ‘Green words and green chapters’ is a ceremonial phrase for Daoism, a written prayer sent to the heavens during rituals. Why do you ask this?” Shen Luo nodded and conjectured.

“The Green Frost Paper also goes by another name – Green Words Paper.” Manager Ma stroked his beard and laughed.

“So, this Green Words Paper is used to write prayers?” Shen Luo asked, suddenly understanding.

“Correct, such talisman paper was originally made to write ‘green words and green chapters’, a way to communicate between Heaven and Earth. It is that when creating it, a spiritual material named Praying Spirit Fragrance was mixed in. Hence, when drawing talismans with this paper, it is easier to attract the Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Qi, leading to a naturally higher chance of success in talisman making,” Manager Ma explained.

“What about the Purple Cloud Talisman Paper, what’s its story?” Shen Luo asked.

“The reason this type of talisman paper is named ‘Purple Cloud’ is that its main ingredient is a spiritual material called Purple Spirit Rouge Grass. The environment it grows in is harsh and its quantity is scarce. However, this type of grass is excellent at containing Spiritual Qi, so once made into talisman paper, it retains this behavior. It can withstand much larger forces than Green Words Papers and is therefore often used to draw high-grade talismans,” Manager Ma explained.

“Thank you, I’ve learned something new. How are these two types of talisman paper sold?” Shen Luo asked promptly.

“Green Words Paper is not too expensive. Ten pieces can be bought for one piece of Immortal Jade. However, if you want to buy Purple Cloud Paper, one piece of Immortal Jade can only buy one piece,” Manager Ma gently stroked his mustache as he spoke.

“Can only Immortal jade be used? Gold and silver can’t be accepted?” Shen Luo frowned as he asked.

“Master Shen, these two materials are different from ordinary spiritual material, they can only be purchased using Immortal jade,” Manager Ma shook his head as he explained.

Shen Luo naturally did not have any Immortal jade, and naturally couldn’t borrow anymore from Bai Xiaotian. Therefore, his desire to attempt to draw other high-grade talismans had to be shelved.

“Right now, the Talismans I can draw are enough with the Yellow Talisman Paper. If I were to use high-grade talisman paper, it would be a bit of a waste.” Shen Luo maintained his composure and commented jovially.

“No problem, no problem. These talisman papers are here, they won’t sprout wings and fly away. When Friend Shen finally grasps the essence of talisman making and can draw high-grade talismans, there’s still time to come back and buy them,” Manager Ma, unfazed, took the wooden case back, chuckling.

Afterwards, Shen Luo purposefully looked at some spiritual materials and found that only “Lightning Wood” was suitable for refining the Pure Yang Symbol Sword. Regrettably, it also needed to be bought with Immortal jade, so he had to give up.

After Bai Xiaotian paid to help him buy the Floating Shadow Jade and other items, the two of them left Lubao Hall.

“Where can Immortal jade be obtained?” Shen Luo asked on the way back.

“Immortal jade is different from gold and silver and is not something a normal person can come across. However, when we accept requests to kill demons at home, we sometimes receive Immortal jade as compensation. As for other ways, you could go to a sect and serve as an homage, there might be a chance to get some,” Bai Xiaotian suggested.

“Previously, Manager Ma mentioned that they buy finished talismans, I wonder if they can pay with Immortal jade?” Shen Luo rubbed his chin and asked.

“What are you thinking, stop dreaming! Unless it’s a high-grade talisman, possibly. Ordinary low-grade talismans can only be paid for with gold and silver, moreover, they need to be attack-type talismans to be worth some money,” Bai Xiaotian glanced dismissively at Shen Luo, immediately pouring a bucket of cold water on his plan.

Shen Luo laughed sheepishly. He mused that the Thunderfall Talisman, Flying Talisman and other talismans he made were of a high rank so if he could really sell them, they would certainly be traded for Immortal jade. The only pity was that he did not have any extra money to buy the talisman paper and materials needed for drawing talismans.

The two of them were talking off and on when the carriage passed over Zhenhuai Bridge once again.

Shen Luo lifted a corner of the carriage curtain to look outside, noticing that the crowd of onlookers on the bridge had already dispersed. The corpse by the riverbank behind Shui Nuan pavilion seemed to have been claimed by its family.

He slowly withdrew his gaze and was about to let down the curtain when he suddenly felt a shudder in his heart.

That’s because he saw a very familiar flower pattern on the back of the River Guardian Beast at the bridgehead.

“Other Shore Flower…”

Shen Luo whispered internally, but by the time he wanted to get a clearer look, the carriage had already crossed the bridge and turned onto the road on the right.

“What’s wrong?” Bai Xiaotian saw his peculiar expression and asked.

“Nothing, it’s just that the pattern on the River Guardian Beast looked a bit peculiar, so I took a few extra glances,” Shen Luo hesitated a little but did not tell the truth.

“That’s been there for some years, there are quite a few along the river in Jianye City. They say that when Jianye City was first established, the Qinhuai River flooded twice, flooding half of the city. Later, a Yin-Yang Immortal Master examined it and said it was because the water veins were too strong and causing malignant Qi. So, the officials ordered the construction of many River Guardian Beasts to suppress the water veins. And indeed, the Qinhuai River has been calm ever since, without any major floods,” Bai Xiaotian responded with no suspicion, explaining to Shen Luo.

“So it seems that the Immortal Master was indeed a real wise man,” Shen Luo mused.

After the carriage traveled for a while, Shen Luo recalled something and asked again, “Do you know anything about the Spring and Autumn Pavilion? How is the investigation going?”

“There hasn’t been much progress yet. After my father sent a letter to the Weak Water Sect and several other Cultivation Sects, he immediately sent people to rush over in order to coordinate the investigation. However, when they got there, they found that the entire Spring and Autumn Pavilion had been burned to the ground, all traces had been erased and there was nothing left to investigate,” Bai Xiaotian sighed and explained.

“What about Gu Hualing and Wang Qingsong, did they investigate these two?” Shen Luo asked, furrowing his brows.

“Wang Qingsong entered the sect very early and rarely interacted with outsiders, so probably the only people who knew about him were Master Luo, Master Fengyang, and the senior ancestors. It’s a pity that they have all vanished and we have lost the trail. As for Gu Hualing, she was also brought into the sect by Wang Qingsong. Regardless of whether she lied about her identity at the time, there’s no way to investigate now,” Bai Xiaotian thought a moment and answered.

“So you’re saying that the many disciples of the Spring and Autumn Pavilion just lost their lives for nothing?” Shen Luo said coldly.