Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

Inside the cave, the thin mist from the talismans flowed slowly, isolating it from any outside prying eyes.

Ye Xuan sat cross-legged on the couch. His previous attempt had clearly made him feel that his cultivation had improved considerably.

"It seems he was right."

After combining the "Immortal Willow of Immortality" and the "Nine Heavens of Departure," one's cultivation can indeed travel a thousand miles a day, and one can also use the Daoist robe to balance the conflict between the two...

However, Ye Xuan did not continue to study Yu Chenzi's skeleton.

"Haste makes waste."

He put the skeleton into his storage bag and his gaze fell on the six blank talisman papers remaining on the stone table.

The cinnabar was still half-filled, and the celadon bottle reflected the faint light coming in from the window.

"Since we still have the energy to draw concealment talismans, why not try something else?"

In Zhao Wu and Fang Zhengge's remaining memories, there was a simple talisman called "Wind-Traveling Talisman".

Although not as fast as a travel talisman, it has the advantage of minimal energy consumption and can be used for short-distance movement and evasion, making it quite popular among outer disciples.

Ye Xuan took a talisman paper, flattened it, and lightly dipped his fingertip in cinnabar.

As he wrote, he deliberately slowed down, allowing his perception to seep into every tiny pore of the yellow paper along the cinnabar lines.

The art of talismans emphasizes the harmony between form and meaning.

The form refers to the direction of the runes, while the meaning is the rhythm of the spiritual energy infusion... If either is missing, the rune becomes a dead object.

With the first stroke, the cinnabar traced a smooth arc on the paper, and Ye Xuan simultaneously infused it with a wisp of spiritual energy.

The pen tip moves freely, and the runes gradually take shape.

But just as it was about to finish, the talisman suddenly moved on its own without any wind. With a soft "hiss," the cinnabar patterns on the paper broke apart inch by inch, and the spiritual energy dissipated.

"Oh no, we're in a panic."

Ye Xuan was not discouraged. He brushed away the discarded talisman and laid out the paper again.

On his second attempt, he deliberately suppressed his spiritual power to an extremely subtle degree, yet his brushstrokes remained steady, and the runes gradually became complete.

But when the last stroke was made, the talisman didn't react at all. "Is the spiritual power too weak this time?"

Ye Xuan closed his eyes and concentrated. He originally wanted to experiment without using his perception, but now it seemed that there was no need to put himself through this.

His keen perception, able to discern the significant from the subtle details, focused on the yellow paper on the table, and he began to write for the third time.

The pen tip followed the rhythm in his memory, and his spiritual energy rose and fell accordingly. At the same time, his senses provided timely feedback on all changes, which greatly boosted his confidence.

The vermilion lines meandered across the paper, gradually outlining the simple shape of a bird spreading its wings... As the last stroke was made, Ye Xuan released a slight burst of spiritual energy from his fingertips.

"Buzz—"

The talisman trembled slightly, and a very faint blue light rose on its surface. After three breaths, the light gradually receded, but the talisman patterns had completely solidified, and a faint breeze seemed to flow across the paper.

"It's done."

Ye Xuan picked up the Wind Travel Talisman, and it felt as light as if it were nothing in his hand.

Although this is only a low-level talisman, its power is probably not as great as when he casually uses his movement techniques, but it is, after all, the first usable talisman he made with his own strength.

"It seems I do have some talent in the art of talismans."

He set the success talisman aside and continued drawing the remaining five blank talisman sheets.

With the experience gained the first time, the subsequent attempts went much more smoothly, and all five talismans were successfully made.

At this point, the six Wind-Traveling Talismans were neatly arranged on the stone table, their blue light emanating from within and their runes vividly displayed.

Ye Xuan put them into his storage bag. "Since I'm only 35 merit points short, I might as well go to the market again."

He recalled seeing disciples buying up large quantities of low-level talismans when he passed through the market earlier. Ye Xuan didn't care about becoming rich by buying some more talisman paper, but he was sure he could manage in an emergency.

Just as he was pondering this, the talismanic mist outside the cave suddenly rippled slightly.

Ye Xuan remained expressionless, raised his hand and waved, causing the six concealment talismans to dim simultaneously, and the thin mist shrouding the cave quietly dissipated.

Almost at the same time, there was a knocking sound at the door.

Is Junior Brother Zhao here?

Hearing only Tang Zhao's voice, Ye Xuan got up and opened the door. The senior brother's face no longer had the previous gloom, but instead had a smile on it.

"Senior Brother Tang, what brings you here in person?"

"Oh dear, junior brother is a genius in my eyes, I dare not presume to instruct you."

Tang Zhao stepped into the room, his gaze sweeping over the stone table without leaving a trace. The cinnabar bottle and the remaining traces of cinnabar on the table had not yet been cleaned up.

"Junior brother, are you studying the art of talismans?"

"When I have nothing to do, I think I might have some talent in this area."

Ye Xuan casually put the cinnabar bottle into his storage bag and turned to look at Tang Zhao.

"Senior brother, you didn't just come to watch me draw talismans, did you?"

"Of course not."

Tang Zhao sat down on the stone bench, took out a wooden plaque from his pocket, and placed it on the table.

The wooden plaque is engraved with the characters "丙" (Bing) number 34, and there is a smaller note on the back—

Escort a batch of spiritual herbs to Qingxia Town; reward: 60 merit points.

"A Class C mission: escorting a spirit herb?"

Ye Xuan picked up the wooden plaque and looked at it. Normally, the merit points awarded for a regular C-level mission would not exceed ten, but this one was ridiculously high. What was so special about it?

Tang Zhao smiled and lowered his voice:

"Qingxia Town has been in turmoil recently. It is said that bandits are causing trouble and robbing passing caravans."

I see, but Ye Xuan still had one question: "Where is Qingxia Town?"

"Oh, it's on the western edge of the wasteland, about two thousand miles from the sect. With a travel talisman, you can make a round trip in a day."

Ye Xuan nodded silently, "It's not close."

"It's just a batch of spiritual herbs, and the reward isn't much. Why doesn't Senior Brother go himself?"

Tang Zhao smiled and lowered his voice, saying:

"There are mysteries involved, junior brother. If you are willing to go, you will know."

As for the fact that this task wasn't going smoothly, your senior brother knows you're short on merit points, so I'll give you all of them on this trip.

Ye Xuan fiddled with the wooden plaque, thinking to himself: Tang Zhao is too lazy to even come up with a reason to mess with me.

"When will we depart?"

"Meet outside the mountain gate at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow."

"Alright, then I'll risk my life to accompany you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a smile on Tang Zhao's face, and Ye Xuan couldn't help but want to interrupt him.

"Senior brother worries about me every day, doesn't he want to break into the inner sect?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Zhao's expression changed slightly, but in the end he simply waved his hand and said somewhat helplessly:

"Well, everyone has their own ambitions. I might as well do some business in the back mountain."

Forming the Core is no simple matter; without sufficiently high comprehension, one absolutely needs the right cultivation techniques.

Ye Xuan understood after hearing this, but there was still one thing he didn't understand: "Doesn't the sect have the Nine Heavenly Suns?"

In his view, the "Nine Separations from the Heavenly Yang" was already very profound at the beginning, and there must be a method for forming the elixir later on.

"That's true, but the content about Core Formation won't be available until at least the fourth volume. Do you know how many merit points that will cost?"

Tang Zhao gestured with his finger in the air and said calmly:

"One thousand points!"

So that's how it is. Ye Xuan immediately understood why Tang Zhao, as a formal disciple, was always thinking about the petty gains on the back mountain instead of focusing on cultivation. It turned out he was a cautious and conservative type.

Mentioning this, Tang Zhao's excitement vanished, as if someone had touched a sore spot. He stood up and said:

"See you tomorrow, I'll be waiting for you outside the mountain gate."

After saying this, he cupped his hands in farewell and said, "Wait a minute."

"Does Junior Brother have any further questions? Or have you changed your mind?"

"No, no, it's just that, senior brother, would you like to know something?"

Tang Zhao immediately became interested, but after hesitating for a moment, Ye Xuan said:

"Never mind, I'll tell you tomorrow."

Ye Xuan closed the door, sat back on the couch, tapped the wooden plaque lightly with his fingertips, and at the same time his gaze fell on the stool where Tang Zhao had just been sitting.

Fang Zhengge had been sitting there before, inviting him to join the mission.