Dao Companions Help Me Live Forever

Chapter 140: Symbol Master Yu Xian (Happy Labor Day!)

One month later.

Peach Blossom Residence.

Yu Xian, who had avoided the disturbances of the outside world, wielded his brush and ink. On the blank symbol paper on the table, intricate and mysterious patterns emerged, faintly exuding a scorching aura.

Puff!

A burst of flames rose, and the half-drawn blank symbol paper turned into ashes.

Yu Xian paused, his brush still, lost in thought.

"I thought it was already perfect, so why did it still fail?"

This was the first time he had been pondering symbol-making for nearly half a year.

As expected, something unexpected happened.

He had thought that with his powerful spiritual consciousness and half a year of honing his foundation in symbol dao, he was not only familiar with the basic principles of symbol-making but also had a deep understanding of them.

He even had a first-grade superior symbol pen made from the soft hair under the armpits of a second-order demonic beast, a high-quality cloud ink, and first-grade fine symbol paper.

Drawing a simple fireball spell should have been a piece of cake.

However, he still failed.

But Yu Xian was not discouraged. After all, he had failed many times before. What did it matter if he made a mistake in drawing a spiritual symbol once?

After pondering for a while, Yu Xian picked up the symbol pen and started making symbols again.

However, this time, he didn't pursue perfection. Instead, he followed his heart. As long as the overall framework of the symbols resembled those in the book, he would do it however he felt was right.

Sure enough.

A flash of brilliance appeared on the symbol paper, and a warm talisman was completed with a single stroke.

"Believing in books is not as good as having no books. While the principles of formation dao are strict and require precise formation patterns, the way of symbols seems standard but actually emphasizes personal inspiration.

By blindly pursuing standards, I have fallen into mediocrity.

The Miscellaneous Records of Chen's Symbol Making once said that the key to symbol dao lies in the heart. I used to think it meant being dedicated and focused, but now it seems to mean being subjective."

Yu Xian successfully drew a fireball symbol, gaining new insights into symbol-making.

For ordinary Qi Refining cultivators, it might take a year or more to grasp this level of understanding.

After all, when they fail in symbol-making, they would think that their symbols are not standard enough, not perfect enough, not devout enough to symbol dao. They would even bathe, burn incense, and wash their hands and clothes before drawing symbols, all in pursuit of a slightly higher success rate.

But Yu Xian was confident that the symbols he drew with his spiritual consciousness were absolutely flawless compared to those in the book.

Either the book was wrong, or it couldn't possibly be his mistake.

Moreover, the symbol-making heritage was collected by the Zhao family and obtained from the Chen family, who were professional symbol-makers. It had also cultivated many low-level symbol masters for the Zhao family. It shouldn't be wrong.

So he quickly realized that he had gone in the wrong direction.

This is the role of a higher perspective.

Ordinary Qi Refining symbol masters wouldn't dare to make such a hasty judgment, and it's not something that can be understood with a simple sentence.

If he hadn't previously perfectly replicated the symbols, how would he know the importance of inspiration?

But if he blindly pursued inspiration and lost sight of the essence of symbols, how could a mere scribble turn into a spiritual symbol?

The balance between the two is what a qualified symbol master needs to grasp.

A simple fireball symbol.

Yu Xian drew more and more symbols, and endless insights flooded his mind.

He picked up his brush again.

Blank symbol papers unfolded one by one, and his brush strokes were like dragons and snakes. With his powerful spiritual consciousness and extraordinary physical body, he gained precise control.

Fireball symbols, water arrow symbols, water wall symbols, mist symbols, ice spike symbols, concealment symbols, freezing symbols...

First-grade spiritual symbols appeared on the table as if they were free. A stack of blank symbol papers was quickly used up, and not a single one failed.

As the saying goes, once you understand one, you understand all.

With Yu Xian's strength, he realized that first-grade spiritual symbols were no longer difficult for him.

Of course, practice makes perfect, and this also had a lot to do with his accumulation in symbol dao over the past half year.

"Although the first-level spiritual talisman is simple, it requires a high level of spiritual energy from cultivators. The energy required to make a talisman is almost equivalent to several times the energy used for casting spells.

Indeed, even if the consumption of making talismans is not high, even if there is a failure rate, a talisman master can earn a lot of wealth by making the lowest-level talismans."

Yu Xian rubbed his temples and put down the talisman pen.

"The path of talismans and the path of formations may seem similar, but they are like mathematics and physics. The basic principles may be similar, but once you delve deeper into the study, you will find that these two disciplines are completely different fields."

Yu Xian recalled the painful memories of studying advanced mathematics and physics in university and quickly shook his head.

"From now on, I can consider myself a qualified talisman master."

"Such a joyous occasion deserves celebration."

Yu Xian casually put away the talisman-making tools on the table. His cultivation for the day was complete, and now it was time for leisure.

...

"...Above Shangyang City, there is a Gold Core Thunder Tribulation, and a new Transcending Tribulation cultivator has succeeded. The specific name is unknown, but it is confirmed that the new cultivator is from outside Shangyang City and is suspected to be a guest of Dan Yangzi."

"...The auction at Shangyang City is hot, not only with many spiritual treasures, but also a medium-grade spiritual treasure, three Foundation Building pills, and a Spirit Cleansing Pill that can help Foundation Building cultivators break through the later stage. It is suspected to be personally refined by Dan Yangzi. After statistical estimation, the total auction amount reached over five hundred thousand spirit stones."

"...The aftermath of the Zhou family's destruction, the Zhou family's territory in Xiaohuchi was attacked by raiding cultivators but was forced back by the protective array. Afterward, the Zhou family cultivators were looted and trapped in their territory, unable to leave. The Zhou family has sought help from the outside world, but the specific situation is unclear."

"...Ciwen Mountain's elder broke through to the later stage of Foundation Building and announced his arrival in Shangyang City, suspected to be vying for a position among the eight major families."

"...Jiang family's eldest son, Jiang Zheng, has challenged Lin family's second uncle, Lin Yun, a Foundation Building sword cultivator, to a battle on Fenglin Mountain. The power of the Pagoda of the Enlightened King overwhelms the Flying Cloud Sword, and the reputation of the Tower of Demon Suppression is well-deserved."

"...There are unusual movements in the Wan Yao Mountain Range, and the hunting team has found a significant decrease in the number of demonic beasts. Materials related to demonic beasts may experience a long-awaited increase."

"..."

Yu Xian lay on the rocking chair, leisurely listening to the maid reading out the latest issue of the Shangyang Mansion newspaper.

From the content alone, the outside world was indeed full of twists and turns.

Fortunately, the Zhao family only managed a small piece of land, with a protective array guarding their clan territory and two protective arrays guarding the market. There were also three Foundation Building cultivators sitting in plain sight.

As long as they didn't provoke others for no reason, no one would be foolish enough to provoke the Zhao family.

The only thing that concerned him was the new Gold Core cultivator.

As far as he knew, there hadn't been a local Gold Core cultivator in Shangyang City's cultivation world for several hundred years.

Even the appearance of Gold Core Thunder Tribulation was rare.

The most recent person who triggered the Gold Core Thunder Tribulation was the Jiang family's ancestor, but he transcended the tribulation in the mortal world and was not known to outsiders.

The others didn't even have the qualifications to trigger the tribulation.

Therefore, the appearance of this new Gold Core cultivator would have a profound impact on the entire cultivation world of Shangyang City.

From a practical standpoint, the cultivation world of Shangyang City couldn't actually support the cultivation of Gold Core cultivators.

Because most of the cultivation resources here were in the Foundation Building realm and below, with the highest-grade spiritual veins only reaching the second rank.

If the new cultivator wanted to stay, he would be occupying the cultivation resources of other Foundation Building forces.

After all, compared to the Gold Core cultivator Dan Yangzi, Foundation Building cultivators were easier to bully.

At that time, both the Zhao family and he would not be able to stay out of it.

"So, now we can only hope that this guest of Dan Yangzi will temporarily reside on Shangyang Mountain and leave in the future.

But since he has chosen to transcend the tribulation here, it is highly likely that he won't leave."

Yu Xian shook his head inwardly.

Some things, even if known in advance, couldn't be changed.

However, for him, the impact was there, but not significant.

After all, he didn't rely on normal cultivation resources. Even if his income decreased in the future, it would still be enough to support Yu Lan's cultivation alone.

It was the low-level cultivators who would suffer.

Exploitation was layered. Gold Core cultivators would exploit Foundation Building cultivators for spirit stones, and Foundation Building cultivators wouldn't compromise themselves and would naturally make Qi Refining cultivators bear the burden.

In the end, it was the lowest-level cultivators who bore everything.

"Continue the music, continue the dance."

Yu Xian listened to the newspaper and spent another ordinary day in the midst of singing and dancing.

(End of this chapter)