Art of Talisman

In a dense forest, a figure leaped agilely out and turned around. The appearance belonged to Shi Feiyu without a doubt. However, there was a hint of helplessness in his eyes. "Even a lowly beast wants to bully me!"

As he spoke, a spiritual monkey suddenly leaped out from the bushes behind him. It bared its teeth, screeching continuously while waving a tree branch in its hand, appearing extremely arrogant.

If it were an ordinary monkey, Shi Feiyu wouldn't be so cautious, but the creature in front of him was a mythical beast.

The world in which Shi Feiyu lived was called God's Wrath Land. In this vast land, there were numerous sects and not only humans practiced cultivation. Mythical beasts were one of them. The spiritual monkey that had appeared before him, while possessing only the strength of a first-grade mythical beast, was challenging for him, as he couldn't cultivate.

Fortunately, this spiritual monkey was not vicious. It only drove him out of its territory and didn't chase him further, but it stood there, continually taunting him.

"I don't have time for you today. We can have our showdown another day!"

Shi Feiyu suddenly picked up a branch from the ground and angrily broke it before turning to leave. However, the spiritual monkey stared at his retreating figure, full of confusion.

This spiritual monkey had been ruling the area near Flowing Cloud Peak for quite some time, and many people were aware of it. Despite its peculiar behavior, it had been allowed to stay. Shi Feiyu had ventured into its territory secretly to find spiritual herbs for himself, but he ended up being driven away instead.

After wandering around at the foot of the mountain for half a day and not finding a single spiritual herb, let alone a spiritual medicine, Shi Feiyu had to return with two wild rabbits he had caught for lunch.

However, on his way back up the mountain, he ran into his senior brother, Zhou Lian.

Zhou Lian appeared quite excited at the moment. He hummed a tune as he walked and blocked Shi Feiyu's path upon seeing him, grinning, "Junior Brother, I have some great news for you, really big ones!"

Impatient, Shi Feiyu stopped and asked, "What is it?"

But Zhou Lian looked around mysteriously for a moment and then whispered, "The Nine Palace Mountain Disciples' Grand Competition, which only occurs once every five years, is going to start in two months!"

"Is that what you wanted to tell me?" After hearing this, Shi Feiyu's expression remained extremely calm.

At this point, he couldn't absorb Source Qi from heaven and earth, which had left his cultivation stuck at the later stage of Bone Forging Realm. Although he had laid a foundation with his body, without the ability to absorb Source Qi, he was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person.

Shi Feiyu was well aware of the various cultivation realms in God's Wrath Land, from the initial Bone Forging Realm to the Qi-Infused Realm, Transcendent Realm, Sorcerous Realm, Nucleation Realm, and beyond. Each realm had three stages: early, mid, and later.

As for the Nucleation Realm, it was a higher realm, and even the head of Nine Palace Mountain had not broken through to that realm.

He knew very well that in God's Wrath Land, those with strength beyond the Nucleation Realm were the truly powerful individuals.

The Nine Palace Mountain Disciples' Grand Competition was held every five years, but Shi Feiyu had only been here for three years and had never participated.

"Forget it, I'm not telling you anymore. I'll be in seclusion for a few days, Junior Brother, so you can wait and see me shine in the competition. Hahaha…"

Zhou Lian was brimming with confidence as he patted Shi Feiyu on the shoulder with a wide smile and left.

However, Shi Feiyu's eyes gradually darkened, and he muttered, “Stop bragging yourself. In previous competitions, Flowing Cloud Peak's disciples always ranked at the bottom. Just because I arrived later doesn't mean I'm ignorant of everything!"

Nine Palace Mountain had nine peaks, each with its unique features. However, Flowing Cloud Peak was the most unique of them all. Apart from Shi Feiyu and this senior brother of his, there left only an old man obsessed with talismans.

Talisman Masters in God's Wrath Land were just one of the thousands of cultivation paths. They enhanced their strength by drawing talismans. To become a Talisman Master, one needed to possess divine soul energy.

Some of the most powerful individuals among the Talisman Masters had enough divine soul energy to rival those who practiced Source Qi cultivation. However, for some reason, a strange situation had developed within Nine Palace Mountain.

Perhaps it was because his master was too weak that the number of disciples in his sect to dwindle to just him and his senior brother. When disciples from other peaks saw the Flowing Cloud Peak disciples, they couldn't help but look down on them from the bottom of their hearts.

"Someday, I will show you how strong I am!"

Watching Zhou Lian's departure, Shi Feiyu felt a deep anger in his heart. However, after uttering these words, he couldn't help but sigh softly:

His current cultivation was completely wasted, and there was a seal within him that prevented him from absorbing the Source Qi of heaven and earth. Reaching his former level wouldn’t be easy.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Shi Feiyu's face suddenly contorted with rage, and he roared.

After venting his frustration, Shi Feiyu had to calm down. He picked up the game he hunted and walked back towards the mountain, swaying unsteadily.

But when he returned to the mountain, he found no one there. He pushed open his master's room and noticed a note on the table.

The note wrote a few words. Shi Feiyu glanced at it and then tore it to shreds indignantly. It mentioned that his master had gone out to find spiritual herbs to enhance Zhou Lian's divine soul energy for the competition two months later.

"Good. I won't have to serve you every day now!"

At that moment, Shi Feiyu felt like he had been abandoned, and the feeling made him uncomfortable. His face darkened, and he muttered a couple of words before turning to leave.

But just as he was about to step out, his peripheral vision caught sight of a wooden box in the corner under the bed. In the box were some old and dusty books that appeared untouched for a long time.

He hesitated for a moment, then, looking at the dusty books, his anger gradually subsided. With a sigh, he went to the bedside to clean.

Ever since he was rescued by his master three years ago, Shi Feiyu had stayed on the mountain, letting them assign him tasks, partly to repay their kindness and partly because he had nowhere else to go.

In God's Wrath Land, strength was paramount, and if you wanted to survive in this world, you had to possess strong abilities. Otherwise, you would be hunted down sooner or later.

Furthermore, Shi Feiyu was well aware that even though he had managed to escape, the threat to his life was far from over. If the enemy found him, given his current strength, there was only one outcome: death.

As he reflected on his past experiences, his hand casually opened the wooden box under the bed. In it lay a damaged book.

The book had lost its cover, but the first page contained a complex talisman. It caught his attention. The talisman had been drawn smoothly, with no signs of hesitation.

Shi Feiyu knew his old master quite well, and he could tell that the complexity of this talisman was beyond his abilities. The talisman embodied the concept that the user was in harmony with heaven and earth, controlling spirits to return to the source, and therefore, able to accommodate everything.

As he flipped through the book, the first thing that caught his eye were one sentence: "A Talisman Master is one who draws talismans, and spirits bow to his command, guiding Source Qi to return, embracing all things."

Closing the book, his eyes fixated once again on the complex talisman on the first page. This time, he scrutinized it carefully.

As he focused, the lines on the talisman seemed to come to life under his gaze, subtly moving. This peculiar sight startled Shi Feiyu, but when he looked closely, the talisman on the page reverted to its original appearance.

Most people would have dismissed what they saw as a mere illusion. However, Shi Feiyu understood that this talisman was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Hastily returning to his room with the damaged book, he sat cross-legged on his bed and closed his eyes to meditate. After a full two hours of meditation, he suddenly opened his eyes.

Taking the book again, he stared intently at the complex talisman on the first page. His consciousness gradually merged with it, and as his focus deepened, the talisman seemed to come alive, its intricate lines moving under his gaze.

This unexpected phenomenon left Shi Feiyu astonished, but before he could understand it fully, he suddenly spewed a mouthful of blood. Despite this, his eyes were filled with excitement.

He used his finger to dab the blood at the corner of his mouth and started to draw on the talisman in the book. As his hand paused, a transparent energy ripple suddenly appeared on the surface of the book. It was like flowing water, constantly undulating before eventually dissipating.

In a mere blink of an eye, three large blood-red words appeared on the page, standing out starkly against the surrounding ancient yellow text. These words made Shi Feiyu's heart race.

When he shifted his gaze from the book to the words, it was evident that they read "Arts of Talisman!"

If a powerful Talisman Master were present, they would instantly recognize this book as the long-lost sacred text of the Talisman Masters.

Shi Feiyu knew he had unsealed the book, and with excitement, he began reading it. However, the content inside was quite different from what he had initially expected. Even though this old, seemingly damaged book only had a few pages, each page seemed like a living entity, subtly moving. Upon close inspection, he found that each page was covered with a thin, intricate, and almost invisible layer of energy. It was this cunningly concealed seal that had buried the book for many years.

As the seal was removed, Shi Feiyu couldn't help but feel his excitement turn into disappointment. He had only looked at the first two pages, but it was already clear that he couldn't cultivate with his current state. To become a Talisman Master, one needed to awaken their divine soul energy, and without it, they couldn't create talismans. Shi Feiyu was left feeling frustrated.

He closed the book and turned his gaze to the rolling clouds and mist in the distance. His heart was now burning with anger.

Suddenly, he jumped off the bed. As he walked outside in haste, he muttered to himself, "I don't believe in fate. If there's no way, I'll carve one out for myself. Let's see who can stop me…"