The Lord of Void and Real

Chapter 231: Chapter 229: Bad Reputation

After a great deal of practice, his calligraphy had become more and more proficient, and he was already quite outstanding in integrating his heart and eyes as well as his hand and eyes. Unity of mind and hand had now become a matter of continuous hard work.

In the following two months, aside from consistent meditation and cultivation, Shen Luo would practice drawing thirty to forty Thunderfall Talismans and Flying Talismans every day.

It wasn’t that he was lazy and unwilling to practice more, but after painting so many talismans each time, his mana and divine sense power would be exhausted. There were even several instances where he passed out directly.

Until once, while using cinnabar to draw a Flying Talisman, the rune had just formed when a green light illuminated on the talisman paper, but after a faint flicker, it burst into flames with a “poof”.

Seeing this, Shen Luo was delighted, knowing that the rune was successfully formed and displayed a connection with divine qi on the talisman.

The reason for combustion was that both the talisman paper and the talisman ink were of poor quality and couldn’t carry the divine qi encapsulated within a high-order rune.

So, Shen Luo started refining talisman ink and planned to begin the formal drawing of these two types of talismans.

Finally, there came a thunderstorm. Despite the ample preparation beforehand, he still suffered a lot when he started the actual refinement process.

Usually, he drew more Thunderfall Talismans, and his experience with them was richer. However, this first attempt was quite discouraging. It was only after using up thirty-eight sheets of Green Frost Paper before the sky cleared that he managed to barely complete one.

In the following half a month, he didn’t dare to stop, continuing to practice drawing talismans with Yellow Talisman Paper to keep his hand in.

Finally, another thunderstorm arrived, and he drew another twenty-one talismans, but only one succeeded.

Of the remaining thirteen sheets of Green Frost Paper, Shen Luo used twelve to continue drawing Thunderfall Talismans. All ended up as failures, and only the last sheet was left to attempt to draw the Flying Talisman.

Although Shen Luo didn’t use Purple Cloud Paper for the talisman paper, the talisman ink was the exclusive one for drawing Flying Talismans.

Originally, Shen Luo didn’t have high expectations for this experiment. He mainly wanted to feel the sensation of successful talisman drawing more accurately before using Purple Cloud Paper.

However, unexpectedly, this attempt went extremely well, and the rune was drawn smoothly in one go, leading directly to a successful sketch.

Unfortunately, even before he had a moment to rejoice, smoke rose from the center of the talisman paper and it promptly ignited.

“It really won’t work with Green Frost Paper…”

Shen Luo didn’t have time to regret it and quickly seized the opportunity to fetch the Purple Cloud Talisman Paper, dipped it in talisman ink, and continued to draw the Flying Talisman.

However, after picking up the brush, he lost the previous sense of flow and failed to successfully form a single talisman after drawing three times. He regretted it immensely. If he had used Purple Cloud Paper earlier, he should have had a real Flying Talisman by now.

But regret was useless, so Shen Luo simply stopped.

After a few days of rest, he tried to draw talismans again, but ended up using all the remaining Purple Cloud Talisman Paper without success, which made him depressed for quite a while.

In this period, Shen Luo accepted two exorcism tasks from the Bai Family. It was only during execution that he realized they were minor issues of evil qi intrusion and Yin Sha clashes, which were easy to handle. However, the rewards were not high, just some silver taels.

Shen Luo didn’t mind. He knew that realm cultivation couldn’t be rushed. His only desire was gradual progress, and he never thought about competing with others. However, his “laid-back” attitude, especially in the eyes of some guest officials of the Bai Family who had slightly higher strength than him, made him a model of complacency and idleness.

Some of the Bai Family’s side descendants also had many criticisms of him, believing that he was only staying in the Bai Family under the name of Bai Xiaotian.

Shen Luo understood all of this but didn’t much care.

To his surprise, he once ran into Bai Xiaoyun quarreling with a side descendant, praising Shen Luo for his strong capabilities in his words, and saying how could someone who was a brother to Bai Xiaotian be a waste?

However, Bai Xiaoyun was seen by everyone as a prodigal child with no skills, so while people listened to his words, few took them seriously.

There was indeed an exception in the Bai Family. That was the third elder Bai Jiangfeng, who had a high regard for Shen Luo. After learning that he was practicing Talisman Technique, he even discussed some insights on making talismans with him from time to time.

Regardless of his talisman refinement, Shen Luo did indeed have unique insights on the theory, sometimes to the surprise of Bai Jiangfeng.

Later, Ma Lu suddenly sent news that the value of the Soul-suppressing Gold Ruyi was underestimated and asked Shen Luo to go to Lubao Hall again. He gave him ten more Immortal jades.

With joy in his heart, Shen Luo bought a lot more talisman paper and spiritual materials, returning to persisting in drawing Thunderfall Talismans and Flying Talismans. After a month’s time, he managed to draw two more Thunderfall Talismans and one Flying Talisman.

One day, Shen Luo took a break from his cultivation and visited Bai Jiangfeng’s courtyard again.

The two were sitting across a stone table in the courtyard like old friends, with a teapot emitting wisps of steam between them, discussing their experiences in the art of talisman.

“The most orthodox Thunder Techniques in the world all come from Zhang Heavenly Master. Although this Small Thunder Talisman is a Thunder Attribute talisman, it does not fall under the main Five Thunder lineage, but is a side branch. Even if the talisman paper and talisman ink are replaced with better ones, its power will not increase too much,” Shen Luo pointed at the Small Thunder Talisman on the table and said.

“Although this talisman is not very powerful, it is easy to draw and its materials are common. For dealing with common ghosts, it has a natural suppression effect. There are many advantages. I am already grateful that you have passed all the methods of drawing it to me,” Bai Jiangfeng replied with a smile.

“I learned the Clear Heart Charm from Elder. If I encounter a Mist Barrier in the future, I will have an extra layer of security. Isn’t that also a great benefit? Furthermore, Elder has helped me solve many cultivation puzzles. I feel I am unable to repay you,” Shen Luo said.

“Ah, if only that lad Xiaotian were half as diligent as you, I have been too lenient on him in the past,” Bai Jiangfeng sighed when he thought of Bai Xiaotian.

“Elder, you potshot at me. If I had half of Bai Xiaotian’s talent, I wouldn’t need to work so hard and still make so little progress,” Shen Luo joked and self-mocked.

“That being said, I have greater confidence in your character. As long as you can maintain your original intention and not be disturbed by external objects, you will certainly achieve something notable in the future,” Bai Jiangfeng said solemnly.

While they were talking, an unexpected guest suddenly rushed into the courtyard.

Shen Luo turned his head and saw Bai Xiaoyun, who was holding a Purple Sandalwood Square Box, walk in.

“Greetings, Third Grandfather. Oh, Big Brother Shen is here too?” He called out in surprise as soon as he saw the two of them.

“You brat, what’s gotten into you today? I’ve never heard you call anyone other than Xiaotian ‘Big Brother’?” Bai Jiangfeng was surprised and laughed.

Bai Xiaoyun just chuckled and didn’t explain anything.

“You rascal are even more rebellious than your brother. Why did you think of coming here today?” Bai Jiangfeng called him over, beckoning him to sit next to him.