I have a composite mirror

Gu Shenyan put away the porcelain bottle and then took out the piece of paper from his sleeve.

The paper contained the key points of three types of talismans.

He first looked at the water-fixing talisman.

I had already tried drawing this talisman once at Bai Cailing's place last time.

Although he was just a beginner, that experience gave him a basic understanding of the Water Stabilizing Talisman.

These past two days, he has repeatedly flipped through "Introduction to Talismans" and memorized the key points of the Water-Fixing Talisman.

The brushstrokes begin like a dragon emerging from the water, and continue like a snake swimming.

The main symbol is like the character "山" standing upright, and the secondary symbol is like the character "氵" wrapped around it.

Gu Shenyan took out a piece of spirit yellow paper and spread it on the table.

He then picked up the wolf-hair brush and dipped it in some spirit sand.

Take a deep breath and activate the water elemental energy within your body.

That power flows along the meridians, gathers at the fingertips, and then flows along the pen shaft into the pen tip.

Let's begin!

As the pen tip touched the paper, every detail of the last time he drew a talisman floated into his mind.

That feeling of flowing inspiration, that rhythmic flow of the brushstrokes, are clearly imprinted deep in my memory.

The first stroke is steady and unhurried, like a dragon diving into the abyss.

The second stroke is both soft and firm, like a snake swimming in shallow water;

The third stroke...

As the last stroke was made, the rune glowed faintly.

The light, though not particularly strong, was stable enough.

Become!

Gu Shenyan looked at the talisman in his hand and was overjoyed.

With the foundation laid last time, and the further study over the past two days, drawing the water-fixing talisman has become much easier.

But he could feel that a small portion of the spiritual energy within his body had been consumed.

This talisman used up about one-tenth of his spiritual power.

At this rate of energy expenditure, I can only draw a few more talismans before I'm exhausted.

He didn't stop and continued drawing the second one.

This time, the flow of spiritual energy was slightly off when the stroke was halfway through.

The runes flashed on the paper before fading away.

obsolete.

The third attempt also failed.

The fourth one...

Gu Shenyan frowned.

Indeed, the art of making talismans is far from something that can be mastered simply by drawing one.

Every stroke of the pen requires absolute control over the inspiration.

Even the slightest deviation will render all previous efforts futile.

He calmed down and recalled every detail of his first success.

The brushwork of that time, the rhythm infused with inspiration, the strength of the final strokes…

The fifth one; this time he was even more careful.

Each stroke was slower, and the spiritual energy was injected more evenly.

The runes lit up again, their light more stable than before.

Another one!

Gu Shenyan breathed a sigh of relief.

But by this time, he could already feel obvious fatigue.

The spiritual energy within his body has already been more than half depleted.

He continued drawing.

The sixth card, a failure.

The seventh card, a failure.

The eighth card, a failure.

The ninth one...

When Gu Shenyan finished drawing the ninth picture, he put down his pen.

The spiritual energy within his body had been completely depleted.

If he continues to draw, it may damage the very foundation.

On the table, two water-fixing talismans were successfully used.

Nine sheets of paper only yielded two talismans, a success rate of less than 30%.

Gu Shenyan was not discouraged.

It's just that the art of talismans is truly not something that can be easily mastered.

He sat down in the chair and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Following Father Moore's meditation method, I began to slowly restore my spiritual energy.

About half an hour later, the spiritual energy in his body had recovered by more than half.

Although it's not as good as it was in its heyday, it's enough to draw a few more talismans.

Gu Shenyan opened his eyes and picked up "Introduction to Talismans" again.

This time, he looked at the page about the water-repelling talisman.

Water-repelling talisman

[Effect: When applied to the body, it will cause water to automatically avoid you, making you feel like a fish swimming.]

Key points of drawing:

The brushstrokes should be gentle, like a spring breeze caressing your face.

The spiritual energy should be injected evenly, and excessive force should be avoided.

The main symbol resembles the character "舟" (boat), representing going with the flow;

The secondary symbol, such as "moon," stands beside it, symbolizing the bright moon reflected in the water.

When the two symbols combine, the water naturally recedes.

Gu Shenyan carefully read through this key point, but his brows furrowed slightly.

Although both of these talismans are related to water, their underlying principles are completely opposite.

The water-fixing talisman only needs to freeze the water for a moment, while the water-avoiding talisman requires the water to actively avoid it.

The difficulty level is significantly higher than that.

Gu Shenyan pondered for a moment, then picked up his brush and dipped it in spirit sand.

According to the key point, the first stroke should be light and gentle.

He deliberately slowed down the pressure as the pen tip touched the paper.

But as soon as he drew the first stroke, he felt something was wrong.

Although the strokes were soft, the flow of energy was intermittent and could not form a complete loop.

He frowned and set the piece of scrap paper aside.

For the second one, he applied more pressure when he started writing.

However, halfway through the drawing, it was discovered that the spiritual energy injected was too strong, and the runes showed signs of collapsing.

It's ruined again.

The third, the fourth... four sheets of paper in a row were wasted, but not a single one could even light up.

Gu Shenyan stopped writing and looked at the pile of scrap paper on the table.

where is the problem?

He took out the key points Princess Bai had given him and read them carefully, word by word.

"The brushstrokes should be gentle, like a spring breeze caressing your face..."

The true meaning of "gentleness" is not weakness, but rather a gentle strength that is actually powerful.

Gu Shenyan opened his eyes and picked up his pen again.

This time, he didn't rush to put pen to paper.

Simply feel the flow of spiritual energy within your body, and savor the subtle charm of its "gentleness".

A moment later, he raised his hand again.

The pen tip danced across the paper, and this time the brushstrokes were completely different from before.

It may seem gentle, but every stroke is solid and steady.

As he infused spiritual energy, he deliberately controlled the rhythm, allowing it to seep into the paper like a gentle stream.

As the last stroke was made, the rune lit up!

Although the light was faint, it was undeniably real.

Gu Shenyan was overjoyed, but before he could even feel happy, the light suddenly went out.

The ink on the talisman quickly faded, turning it into a piece of waste paper.

"Almost..."

Although it still failed, this time it was incredibly close to success.

However, there was a slight deviation in the infusion of spiritual energy at the final stroke, which caused the rune to collapse.

Outside the window, the night was deepening.

The sound of a night watchman's drum could be heard in the distance; it was already 2:30 a.m.

Gu Shenyan sighed and put away the talismans on the table.

Two water-stabilizing talismans were used, but the results of his hard training that night were far less fruitful than he had expected.

But that's reality.

Leaving aside the art of talismans, no art or discipline can be mastered overnight.

Even those with exceptional talent must experience countless failures before they can achieve even a small degree of success in their early learning.

Never mind, I'll practice it tomorrow.

In my current exhausted state, forcing myself to draw talismans would only waste materials.

Gu Shenyan blew out the oil lamp and lay down on the bed.

Even after closing his eyes, he was still replaying the method for drawing the water-repelling talisman in his mind.

The main character shaped like the character "舟" (boat), the secondary character standing next to the character "月" (moon), and that gentle charm... In a daze, he fell into a deep sleep.

………………

Gu Shenyan was awakened by Shi Quan's knocking on the door in the early morning.

On the second day of the weekend, he also practiced talismans diligently, staying up very late again.

After quickly finishing breakfast, Gu Shenyan hurriedly hailed a rickshaw.

Sitting in the car, he began to think about something else.

Speaking of which, those spoiled young masters seem to be ignorant and good-for-nothing, spending their days in debauchery.

But in reality, there are very few truly illiterate people.

Why?

Gu Shenyan recalled the boxing manuals and internal training techniques he had once read in the martial arts school.

Those classic texts were all written in obscure and difficult-to-understand language.

What about "qi sinking to the dantian", "strength flowing to the four extremities", "controlling qi with intention"...

If one does not understand the profound meaning of these words, how can one cultivate oneself?

This is especially true for the cultivation of arts and techniques.

How can one practice alchemy without understanding medical principles?

How can you set up a formation if you don't understand formations?

How can one find spiritual veins without understanding astronomy and geography?

Even Gu Shenyan himself, despite his accumulated knowledge from his previous life, still finds the "Introduction to Talismans" extremely difficult to understand.

Therefore, most of those apprentices who have already entered the realm of magic and Taoism will continue to study at the academy.

He cultivated himself and studied at the same time, without neglecting either.

But the things the school teaches at this stage, apart from Father Moore's meditation class, are a waste of time for me.

In the past, people went to school to get into university, obtain a diploma, and find a job. Now, that's no longer necessary.

He plans to apply for a leave of absence today.

According to the school rules, if you want to take a leave of absence, you need the consent of more than half of the subject teachers.

This would be extremely difficult for an ordinary student.

But for him... it wasn't a difficult task.

As Gu Shenyan pondered these thoughts, he arrived at the school gate.

After paying the driver, he arrived at the classroom door, where many students had already arrived.

Zhou Mingxuan was talking quietly with Li Wenyuan when he saw him come in and quickly waved him over.

"Brother Shenyan, come quickly!"

Gu Shenyan walked over and sat down in his seat.

"Brother Shenyan, how was the gathering of the Xuanji Society?"

Zhou Mingxuan's eyes were full of curiosity:

"I heard from my brother that you went too. There were a lot of good things at that party."

"Not bad," Gu Shenyan said calmly.

"I did buy some talisman materials, which will be good for practicing."

"A talisman?"

Li Wenyuan's eyes lit up:

"Brother Shenyan, do you perhaps wish to learn how to draw talismans?"

"Exactly."

Gu Shenyan nodded and took out the book "Introduction to Talismans" from his bag:

"I've been studying it these past few days, but I'm still a beginner and can't say I'm an expert yet."

"That's still amazing!"

Zhou Mingxuan looked on with envy:

"The art of talismans has always been the exclusive domain of practitioners of magic."

"Ordinary people, even if they are willing to learn, suffer from not having the right channels."

"Brother Shenyan, you've truly mastered the art..."

He suddenly lowered his voice as he said this:

"By the way, I heard Qiuyu went to that party too?"