I have a composite mirror

The dragon roared as it chased after the water monkey, completely forgetting about Gu Shenyan's presence.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Gu Shenyan devoted himself to comprehending the true meaning of "Hidden Abyss".

The spiritual energy circulated wildly around him, transforming into layers of water ripples.

The water ripples spread from the outside in, layer by layer, forming a water film on the body surface.

This time, the water film did not collapse.

It adhered firmly to Gu Shenyan's body, enveloping him completely.

Gu Shenyan felt as if his body had become lighter, or as if it had become transparent.

He could feel the water flowing, the water breathing, and the water's presence.

The true meaning of "Diving into the Abyss" was fully revealed to him at this moment.

Gu Shenyan breathed a sigh of relief.

Before the water monkey's essence and spiritual energy were exhausted, he finally raised his comprehension of "Diving Abyss" to the "Condensation" realm!

In the distance, the water monkey's figure finally faded completely.

Before it dissipated, it glanced back at Gu Shenyan.

In that gaze, there was only a sense of relief at having completed one's mission.

"squeak……"

A soft call, as if saying goodbye.

Then it turned into specks of water and completely dissipated in this battlefield of consciousness.

With the water monkey no longer holding it back, the dragon's gaze fell on Gu Shenyan once again.

At this moment, Gu Shenyan guided his spiritual consciousness and infused the true meaning of "Dark Abyss" that he had comprehended into his spiritual core.

The water ripples on the spirit core grew deeper and denser, eventually condensing into a petal.

This is... the First Life Flame!

"boom!"

He completely dodged this finishing attack by using the fluidity of "Dive".

Seeing that its attack had missed, the dragon serpent did not continue its assault.

She merely glared at him with her narrowed snake eyes before coiling up and falling into a deep sleep.

Gu Shenyan was kicked out of the battlefield of consciousness by the Chi Snake.

Back in reality, with a thought, the Three Elements Mirror appeared.

[The first life flame - Hidden Abyss - has been formed!]

【Life Fire - Hidden Abyss (Condensation): Can be dissolved in water and merge with it】

………………

The second day after the life fire was condensed.

Gu Shenyan sat by the window, palms up, a wisp of water flowing between his fingers.

The stream of water was no thicker than a thumb, yet it shimmered in the morning light, like a tiny, transparent snake, playfully coiling around his fingers.

Unlike usual, the water seemed to have a more solid texture.

If you look closely, you will see that there are faint patterns flowing on the surface of the water, which is the change brought about by the "Diving Abyss" life fire.

Gu Shenyan closed his eyes and felt the pulsation of the spiritual core within his body.

On that spirit core, the petal-shaped First Life Flame was emitting a faint blue light.

After condensing the "Abyss" life fire, his perception of "water" improved by more than one level.

In the past, controlling water flow could only be done by relying on spiritual energy, much like pulling cattle and horses with ropes—laborious and rigid.

But now, he can faintly "hear" the sound of water.

The sound was extremely faint, like a distant mountain stream or rain falling on the eaves.

This is the transformation brought about by the life-giving fire.

It's not just an increase in strength, but also an enhancement in perception.

From then on, he developed an indescribable bond with water.

Thinking of this, Gu Shenyan's gaze fell on a stack of spirit yellow paper on the table.

In the inkstone beside it, the spirit sand had already been ground into a deep crimson, like blood.

"It's time to give it a try."

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

For the past two weeks, he has been pondering one thing—how to break through the "entry-level" realm of talismans.

According to "Introduction to Talismans", there is a huge gap between the beginner level and the minor mastery level.

Beginners can only draw talismans with a single effect;

Even those who have achieved some level of mastery can combine two or more effects into one talisman.

This seems simple, but it's actually incredibly difficult.

Because the flow of spiritual energy in each talisman is different.

The water-stabilizing talisman needs to "suppress" the water; its spiritual energy must be calm and substantial, like an unmoving mountain.

A water-repelling talisman must be "transformed," and its spiritual energy must be gentle, resilient, and enduring, like a stream flowing around a rock.

One requires stillness, the other requires movement; how can two completely opposite concepts be integrated into one?

Beginners only know its form, while those who have achieved some success begin to understand its meaning.

After gathering the "Hidden Abyss" life fire these past few days, Gu Shenyan has finally made some progress.

"Station" and "movement" may seem to be opposites, but they are actually one.

Water, when still, can form a deep pool; when in motion, it can form a river.

The abyss is deep precisely because it is still; the river is surging precisely because it is in motion.

Stillness contains movement, and movement contains stillness; this is the true meaning of water.

Gu Shenyan picked up his pen and held it above the paper.

He didn't rush to write; instead, he closed his eyes and focused his mind, feeling the pulse of the life fire within his body.

The petal-shaped blue light slowly rotated on the spirit core, emitting a refreshing sensation.

He guided this coolness, letting it flow along the meridians into his fingertips, and then along the pen shaft, into the tip of the pen.

Begin writing.

The first stroke is the starting point of the Water Stabilizing Talisman – the "Suppress" incantation.

The spiritual energy is calm and profound, like a mountain pressing down, firmly locking the brush onto the yellow paper.

Just as the "suppressing" technique was about to be completed, Gu Shenyan suddenly twisted his wrist.

The originally steady brushstrokes suddenly became gentle.

The flow of spiritual energy also changes accordingly—from heavy to gentle, from strong to light.

Like a mountain stream encountering a precipice, it leaps down and transforms into a waterfall.

This is the essence of the water-avoiding talisman – the "transformation" technique.

Two completely different brushstrokes miraculously merged together in this turn.

Gu Shenyan steadied himself and continued writing.

The second stroke, the third stroke... his wrist kept changing angles, and the output of spiritual energy switched repeatedly between "heavy" and "soft".

Like the ripples of water flowing in a deep abyss, progressing layer by layer from the outside in.

As the last stroke was made, the talisman suddenly burst into light!

The light contained two colors—the deep blue of the water-stabilizing talisman and the light cyan of the water-repelling talisman.

The two colors intertwine and entwine, like two swimming fish chasing each other, tumbling and leaping in the light.

A moment later, the light faded.

Gu Shenyan looked down and saw that the runes on the talisman paper had already taken shape.

The runes were different from ordinary water-fixing and water-avoiding runes.

It possesses both the weightiness of a water-fixing talisman and the agility of a water-avoiding talisman;

It can both suppress water flow and neutralize water pressure.

Two effects, combined into one.

"It's done!"

Gu Shenyan let out a long breath.

Now, I should be almost certain to pass the apprenticeship test.

He looked at the Three Elements Mirror, and sure enough, a new hint appeared:

[Talisman: Minor Success (1/500)]

[Congratulations, host, on breaking through the beginner level and entering the minor mastery stage!]

[Gained Source Qi: +1 (Green) (First successful drawing x5)]

Looking at these prompts, Gu Shenyan felt a surge of pride.

He went from beginner to proficient in talisman making in just two months.

This speed is probably unmatched among all the talisman apprentices in the entire Southern Guangdong region.

If he hadn't condensed the first life fire, which gave him a deeper understanding of the meaning of water, he probably would have been stuck at the threshold for a long time.