Uncle Jiu: I am Chen Yulou, the leader of the Xiangling gang

Chapter 21, Four Kinds of Talismans

After saying this, Uncle Jiu glanced at Qiu Sheng, put his hands behind his back, and walked towards the lobby.

As for his disciple Qiu Sheng, he had also thought about letting him inherit his mantle. Although Qiu Sheng's talent in Taoism was not outstanding, if he practiced Taoism with peace of mind, his future would definitely be good.

But this kid is too lazy and has no ambition.

After all, practicing Taoism depends on talent, as well as character and opportunity.

There has never been a case of reaching the top in one step, but in the records of Maoshan Sect, there were also people who were awarded the lowest level of Dao Lu and eventually became the head monk of the sect.

So, talent and opportunity do not represent the future, but character can definitely represent part of the future.

At the beginning, he often urged the boy to practice Taoism and martial arts, but over time, he just let it go.

After all, everyone's future is in his own hands. Even if he is the master, if the cow doesn't want to drink water, he can't force it to drink water.

Qiu Sheng's heart was suddenly struck by lightning. He glanced at Chen Yulou, and a feeling of loss, surprise, and helplessness surged in his heart.

What was disappointing was that Uncle Jiu’s words were very harsh, but he also knew that it was reality.

What surprised and frustrating was that his junior fellow apprentice was not only gifted, but also practiced all night long.

People who are more talented than you also work harder than you!
Perhaps this is the most despairing thing.

Chen Yulou glanced at Qiu Sheng, then at Uncle Jiu's back. Although he was a little surprised that Uncle Jiu knew that he was practicing at night, he thought about it and felt it was normal. After all, his room was only separated from Uncle Jiu's room by Qiu Sheng and Wencai's room, less than ten meters away. How could Uncle Jiu not know what he was doing at night?

So without thinking too much, Chen Yulou went straight to the kitchen and fetched water to take a bath.

After taking a shower, Chen Yulou changed his clothes and went to the lobby, but did not see Uncle Jiu.

"come in!"

Just then, Uncle Jiu's voice came from the inner room.

Chen Yulou pushed the door open and walked in. This was Uncle Jiu's room, and it was his first time entering here.

The furnishings were simple, with a bed and a cushion for cultivation on it.

A bookcase filled with books.

There was a desk, and Uncle Jiu was sitting behind it. On the desk was cut yellow paper, and there was cinnabar in the inkstone next to it!

Seeing him coming, Uncle Jiu gestured for Chen Yulou to sit down.

"Yulou, our Maoshan is one of the three major talisman sects, so talismans are the specialty of our Maoshan Taoists."

"And if you want to make talismans, you must be able to recognize them."

Uncle Jiu stared at Chen Yulou and continued, "Over the millennia of Maoshan, the number of talismans has been incalculable. Even as your master, I only know a small portion of them, and I can only skillfully use a small portion of that small portion."

"So, recognizing the talisman is crucial. Each talisman has different Dao patterns and functions. If you use the wrong talisman in battle, it can be a fatal flaw!"

"I understand, Master!" Chen Yulou nodded seriously.

Uncle Jiu smiled, stood up, took out a booklet from the bookshelf, and handed it to Chen Yulou.

"Yulou, there are more than a hundred kinds of talismans recorded in here, all of which are relatively common!" Chen Yulou immediately took it and started to look through it. For example, there are talismans for exorcising evil spirits, soul-collecting talismans, fire-burning talismans, body-fixing talismans, house-guarding talismans, all kinds of them, including attack types, defense types, blessing types, healing types, and so on.

Although he became more and more excited as he read, he still closed the book.

Uncle Jiu saw Chen Yulou close the talisman book and immediately laughed, "If you want to recognize talismans, you not only have to remember the talisman patterns, but also know the types of talismans!"

Chen Yulou immediately pricked up his ears and listened attentively.

"Talismans already appeared in the ancient Shang and Zhou dynasties."

"In the beginning, talismans were very complicated. Ancient Qigong practitioners would create a talisman by drawing astronomy, geography, mountains, rivers, water, fire, wind, and everything they could see. This kind of talisman is called a cloud seal talisman."

"This method of making talismans still exists today, but only high-level cultivators can learn and use it. Similarly, the power of this cloud seal talisman is at least ten times that of the same type of talismans made now, or even stronger."

"Is it so much more powerful? Is it because low-level cultivators can't control it?" Chen Yulou was immediately surprised.

The difference in power is more than ten times, or even more, so the more powerful the talisman is, the greater the difference will be.

Upon hearing this, Uncle Jiu glanced at Chen Yulou, nodded, and smiled, "That's right. Low-level cultivators can't make it. Even at my current level, I can't make a Cloud Seal Talisman. Because to make this kind of talisman, you need to have a sufficient understanding of the patterns of heaven and earth, the sun, moon, stars, cities, mountains, rivers, water, fire, wind, and other natural things. The deeper the understanding, the stronger the power of the Cloud Seal Talisman."

Chen Yulou nodded immediately. Even Uncle Jiu couldn't make the cloud seal talisman, so this kind of cloud seal talisman was out of his reach for the time being.

Uncle Jiu continued, "The second type of talisman is the True Shape Talisman, which appeared during the Tang and Song dynasties. It primarily depicts the images of gods and Buddhas in the sky, and uses the power of gods and Buddhas to exorcise ghosts and demons, or to fight battles."

"This True Shape Talisman is also extremely powerful, but whether drawing or using it, one must pay a price. After all, the power of gods and Buddhas is not so easy to borrow."

Uncle Jiu looked at Chen Yulou and warned: "You may learn this kind of true shape talisman in the future, but don't try it lightly."

"Also, we at Maoshan have many ancestors in heaven. Once you learn the art of summoning gods, you can ask them to descend when you encounter danger without resorting to the help of other gods or Buddhas."

Chen Yulou immediately smiled and nodded, "Yes, I will keep it in mind."

Listen!

What does it mean to have a strong backer? This is what it means to have a strong backer.

"The third type of talisman, the scattered-shape talisman, is a variation of the true-shape talisman. This type of talisman eliminates the complicated drawings required by the true-shape talisman. It only requires drawing the key features of the deity to create a talisman."

"As for the effect, it's the same as the True Shape Talisman, useless."

Chen Yulou smiled and nodded.

Only Maoshan can say that it is useless. If it is other Taoist sects or any other sects, between life and death, apart from death, the price to be paid for the True Shape Talisman and the Dispersed Shape Talisman is not worth mentioning at all.

"The last type of talisman, which is the one we are learning now, is called the acquired talisman."

"During the Yuan and Ming dynasties, the entire cultivation world began to decline. To make it easier for lower-level cultivators to learn and use talismans, the cultivators of the talisman-making sect simplified the ancient Cloud Seal Talisman, which was only usable by high-level cultivators, just as they simplified the True Shape Talisman with the Scattered Shape Talisman."

"The complicated drawings required for making talismans were simplified into words that are easier to draw and remember. The emphasis was no longer on the spirit of the talisman, only the spirit within it was retained."

"So, generally speaking, as long as you have Qi in your body, you can draw and use talismans."

"Of course, although most of the Cloud Seal Talismans have been simplified into acquired talismans, their power has also been weakened by more than ten times."

(End of this chapter)