Longevity begins with slaying demons and eliminating demons

Chapter 243 Contest on the tip of the pen
Gu Xu followed the voice and looked.

I saw a young woman dressed in black and wearing a bamboo hat, bypassing the dense bushes, crossing the narrow stone bridge, and hurried to the door of "Siqi Hall".

"I'm Zhao Xinran, I have met the national teacher, the chief minister, and the princess..." She bowed her hands to the big shots present one by one.

Although her tone was slightly apologetic, there was no restraint in her expression, instead she was calm and generous.

"Zhao Xinran..." Gu Xu said the name silently in his heart.

As far as he knew, this casual cultivator who opened a shop selling talismans in Tongjifang, Luojing City, possessed extremely high attainments in talisman dao.She has broken through the shackles of books and reached the realm of a master who can do as she pleases.

If nothing else, she should be the most competitive of the three opponents.

As soon as Zhao Xinran finished speaking, the bell of the academy rang melodiously, one after another, echoing in the drizzle, announcing the official start of the battle for talismans.

Zhao Xinran smiled embarrassedly again.

In theory, there is nothing wrong with stepping on the spot.

But if everyone else showed up early, it would be awkward.

…………

After the bell stopped, the discussion in the academy gradually subsided.

At this time, Dean Li took a step forward and informed everyone about the method of today's teaching qualification selection.

The four candidates will conduct a fair and just contest in the three aspects of "accumulation", "application" and "innovation".

The national teacher, as the recognized authority of the Daqi Dynasty's talisman and seal art, will be the chief examiner of this selection; two teachers in the academy who specialize in talisman will also serve as deputy examiners and participate in the final candidate decision.

After all, whether it was in the previous recommendation or in today's conversation, the National Teacher has shown a very obvious preference for Gu Xu.

Naturally, it is impossible for the academy to completely hand over the decision-making power to the national teacher.

After hearing the news, Gu Xu's expression was calm, because these are all things he is good at - but he doesn't know how it compares with a long-established talisman master like Zhao Xinran.

Mo Li's expression was somewhat gloomy.

What the national teacher said to Gu Xu just now has already made his heart fluctuate.

In addition, his fame in the field of talismans mainly comes from his proficiency in mastering hundreds of talisman seals in books, but he is not good at innovation; if his ability to improve talisman seals is to be assessed, he does not have an advantage .

Unknowingly, he clenched the "tranquilization pen" given to him by Dean Li in his pocket, and repeated in his mind the phrase he said earlier, "National teachers will sometimes go astray" Countless times.

As for Shen Qiu, he still had that cynical look, first looked at the saints, and then looked at Gu Xu beside him with curious eyes.

It doesn't look like they are here to compete for a job, but like they are here to visit Longmen Academy.

When the second bell rang, Dean Li waved his sleeves lightly, and suddenly four spacious desks appeared in the empty "Siqi Hall", each with white paper and brushes .

"To be a teacher, you must first have solid basic skills in order to be able to answer people's questions and give directions," I heard him say, "So the first link is to examine your accumulation of knowledge about Talisman.

"You have an hour.

"What you need to do is to answer as many questions as possible within the specified time."

The four nodded, and then each sat next to a desk.

Today is a cloudy and rainy day, and the Siqi hall is dark.

However, just after they sat down, the room suddenly became brighter, as if hundreds of thousands of candles were lit.The sound of the pattering rain and the rustling of people were all cut off.

Everyone's expressions became serious.

After all, no talisman master would be willing to be considered by others to be incapable of basic skills in this highly anticipated occasion.

Gu Xu looked down at the white paper on the table.

Then he found that this piece of paper was blank, and there was no topic on it.

Only in its upper right corner, there is a very inconspicuous number "zero" marked in red ink.

Gu Xu originally thought that this blank paper was just an "answer sheet" and that another question paper would be distributed later.

However, the moment his gaze fell on the white paper, light ink marks suddenly appeared on the paper, like ripples rippling on the surface of a calm lake.

Immediately afterwards, these ink marks condensed together and became a neat line of text:

"Please draw the 'Taishang Arctic Town Demon Killing Talisman'."

"The talisman array on this paper is really hidden." Seeing this scene, Gu Xu secretly sighed, "Even I almost didn't notice it. If I'm not wrong, it's probably the master's handwriting."

At the same time, a question also popped up in his mind: which generation of 'Ghost Killing Talisman' should I draw?
The question didn't bother him for long.

After thinking about it, he decided to draw the most original "Ghost Killing Talisman" in the book.

This is a choice you can never go wrong.

You know, the fifth-generation "ghost-killing talisman" developed by himself has a huge gap with the original version in appearance-what if the examiner can't recognize it?

So he started writing without hesitation.

The writing brush placed on the table is also a magic weapon, which can leave marks on paper without ink.

After a while, the original version of "Ghost Killing Talisman" quietly appeared on the white paper.

To be honest, Gu Xu felt a little unfamiliar with the pattern on the paper.

After all, since the second generation of "Ghost Killing Talisman" came out, he hadn't drawn it for several months.If he hadn't possessed the talent of photographic memory, I'm afraid he would have thrown it out of the sky long ago.

When Gu Xu made the last stroke, a faint golden light suddenly appeared on the white paper.

Afterwards, all the words and patterns on the paper disappeared instantly, and then a new topic appeared:
"Please write down the function and corresponding incantation of the 'Town House Settlement Talisman'."

And the red number "zero" in the upper right corner of it has unknowingly turned into the number "one", and its color has also turned into a light golden color, and even flashed a few times, as if for Gu Xu Like clapping.

"Perhaps, this number represents the number of questions I answered correctly." Gu Xu guessed.

Thinking of what Dean Li said, "You must answer as many questions as possible within the specified time", Gu Xu thought for a second, then wrote the answer on the paper as quickly as possible:
"The function of the 'Town House Anjia Talisman': affixing this talisman in ordinary people's homes can dispel Yin Qi to a certain extent, eliminate disasters and reduce amulets, and remove bad luck.

"Corresponding mantras: Tianlei Yin Yin, Land Thunder Fainting, Liu Jia Liu Ding, Hearing my name, don't stay, Welcome auspicious blessings, Yongzhen Dragon God."

After finishing writing, a faint golden light appeared on the paper again.

The number in the upper right corner changed from "one" to "two".

All the words disappeared, and then a new title appeared on the paper:

"What is the alias and function of 'Ruyi Talisman'? In the process of using it, what materials are needed besides the talisman seal itself? What is the corresponding spell?"

Gu Xu wrote without thinking:
"'Ruyi Talisman', also known as 'Dianshi Chengjin Talisman', is a kind of talisman seal that rubs stones with hands to turn them into gold. Six taels of mercury, six taels of red copper, and yellow eggs are used to perform the spell. , Gold and silver are the end.

"The corresponding incantation is called 'Ruyi Mantra', and its content is: 'Heaven and earth are mysterious and yellow, people's spiritual energy is fine, or bricks or stones, receive energy and turn it into gold, report to the world, and help the people'.

"However, the 'Ruyi Talisman' can only change the appearance of the stone, but cannot actually turn it into gold. After a period of time, it will return to its original state."

"..."

Gu Xu wrote vigorously on the paper.

His handwriting is elegant and unrestrained, like flowing clouds and flowing water, done in one go.

In fact, with his current talisman cultivation base, he draws talismans basically by feeling and free play. He neither refers to the template in the book nor follows a specific process, and sometimes even draws seemingly irrelevant things. Talismans and incantations are used together to achieve unexpected effects.

But his gift of photographic memory made him still keep these basic knowledge firmly in his heart and never forgot.

…………

Mo Li next to him was also flying like a pen.

He knew that in terms of improvement and innovation of talisman seals, he might not be able to compare with the other few people.Therefore, in "basic knowledge", which he is best at, he must do his best to answer as many questions as possible, so as to widen the gap with others.

His wrist was already a little sore, his palms were already sweating, and his handwriting had become a little scribbled.

But he didn't realize it.

Looking at the golden numbers on the upper right corner of the white paper gradually increasing, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing a happy smile.

Inadvertently, he quietly glanced at his opponents.

He saw that the short Shen Qiu was thinking sadly, with his feet dangling in the air and shaking non-stop, while biting the pen holder in his hand in a very indecent gesture.

He saw Zhao Xinran's brush was hanging in the air, and it didn't come down for a long time.

He saw Gu Xu temporarily put down his pen and rubbed his wrist.

His smile grew wider.

"At least it's my home game for now," he thought to himself.

…………

Shen Qiu and Zhao Xinran's answering process was not so smooth.

Although Shen Qiu had a good talent, he was very spiritual in terms of Talisman Dao, and he often won the appreciation of other Talisman masters with some flashes of inspiration.But he is not a talisman master with a professional background, nor does he have the exaggerated memory and comprehension ability of Gu Xu.

As an unpopular bastard, the family rarely paid attention to his practice.

The Patriarch of the Shen family used to spend a lot of money to hire famous teachers to teach his direct brother Shen Hua how to practice martial arts.Shen Qiu has never been treated like this.

He learned talismans, half of which was self-study by reading, and the other half by carrying gifts, he made a special trip to the home of the famous talisman masters in Jinling City to ask them for advice.

Because of this, his mastery of basic knowledge and skills is naturally not as comprehensive as Mo Li; most of the time, he only learns talismans that are useful to him.

At this moment, he was staring at the topic about "Ruyi Talisman", lost in thought.

"This so-called tasteless talisman that can 'turn a stone into gold', I'm afraid only liars would learn it..." Shen Qiu frowned, cursing in his heart.

As the heir of the richest family in Daqi, Shen Qiu never took the time to look at this kind of talisman.

I didn't expect it to appear in today's assessment.

Moreover, according to the mechanism of this blank paper, if he does not answer this question, he will not be able to enter the next question.

"Oh, it seems that I can only make it up." Shen Qiu sighed.

He wanted to swear at first, but he thought that the topic might be from a saint, so he tried his best to restrain the urge.

At the same time, he wrote indiscriminately with a pen: "The function of the 'Ruyi Talisman' is to 'turn a stone into gold'. The materials needed are stone, brass, gold paint, cinnabar, flour..."

After he finished writing, a faint red light appeared on the paper.

The number in the upper right corner changed from "three" to "two", and the color changed from light gold to deep red, which was as dazzling as blood.

Shen Qiu stared at this number and was stunned for two seconds.

"Wrong answer to the question, and points will be deducted? As for being so strict?" He couldn't help complaining in his heart again, and kicked the table leg hard at the same time.

…………

Zhao Xinran's answering process was not so smooth.

Although she is a well-known talisman master in Luojing City for a long time, just like Gu Xu, she draws talismans more relying on her own feelings, and almost no longer follows these specific procedures.

If you don't use it for a long time, it will naturally become rusty.

Because of this, when encountering particularly detailed or uncommon topics, she needs to spend a lot of time trying to search for some long-term memories in her mind.

…………

While the four of them were answering the questions, the National Teacher, Dean Li and the two professors from Longmen Academy who were good at Fu Dao stood under the eaves outside the door, watching the performance of the four of them today through the window.

At this time, the rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the sky was getting darker and darker.

The bright light in the house came through the windows and dyed their faces golden.

The two professors of Longmen Academy, one named Fu Tao, has squinting eyes and a big belly—it is the teacher of Jia Xiuguang who was defeated by Shi Xiaohan on the Lantern Festival.

Another named Du Yuan, tall and thin, with thinning hair, looks like a bamboo pole.

"Mo Li seems to be able to do anything with ease!" Fu Tao commented.

He knew the relationship between Mo Li and Dean Li, and he also knew that Dean Li very much hoped that Mo Li could become the winner today.

Therefore, when he saw Mo Li sitting at the desk and writing vigorously, he praised him without hesitation.

Because he believed that Dean Li would like to hear such words.

(End of this chapter)