Immortality begins with equipping a worn-out talisman pen.

Even the simplest fire talisman was not easy for Xu Wenshan.

Just seconds after he put pen to paper, the tip of his pen began to tremble slightly, and large beads of sweat began to stream down his forehead.

Half an incense stick later, there was a loud bang.

The spontaneous combustion of the talisman also signaled the failure of Xu Wenshan's first attempt.

Xu Wenshan's face turned deathly pale instantly, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Then, the talisman was taken out again, and a second attempt was made.

Not long after, the familiar sound of exploding talismans could be heard again in the quiet room.

Xu Wenshan's already sparse hair was blown off and stood on end. Covered in dust, he smacked his lips and swallowed a Qi-restoring pill, beginning one last attempt.

This time, he almost gritted his teeth and painstakingly completed the spirit pattern outline bit by bit, and his speed was much slower than Chen Jingyuan's.

Finally, after the last stroke was made, a faint light flashed on the talisman paper, and an imperfect fire blade talisman was successfully drawn.

Xu Wenshan let out a long breath; his entire back was soaked in sweat, and he seemed even more exhausted than if he had just gone through a life-or-death struggle.

Zhou Zhengyang accepted the talisman expressionlessly and commented indifferently.

"The spirit pattern is barely complete, with abrupt transitions, weak spiritual energy, and a scattered structure. If you hadn't been lucky, this talisman would probably have failed."

Upon hearing this, Xu Wenshan looked at Zhou Zhengyang like a child who had made a mistake, appearing completely at a loss.

"Evaluation - Lower Grade C, barely passed, can be awarded a mid-grade first-tier talisman master token."

Upon hearing this, Xu Wenshan breathed a sigh of relief, almost losing his balance, and quickly bowed deeply to Zhou Zhengyang.

"Thank you, Elder Zhou."

As he spoke, he stood to the side with Chen Jingyuan and turned his gaze toward Li Mufeng.

Having made a complete fool of himself on stage, he could only hope to regain some face by dealing with this young man in front of him.

Surely a rogue cultivator wouldn't be able to get ahead of those with resources and connections.

Li Mufeng walked to the table, flicked his sleeve, and a broken talisman brush appeared in his hand.

Xu Wenshan shook his head secretly after looking at it; it was indeed a rogue cultivator.

The next moment, as Li Mufeng picked up the talisman brush, the entire quiet room fell silent.

As he wrote, streaks of spiritual energy naturally extended out.

The painting flows smoothly and naturally, as if it were created by a seasoned painter who has been immersed in the art for many years, depicting a landscape that he knows by heart.

Gradually, even Li Mufeng himself became immersed in it.

As his brushstrokes flowed, his mind became more tranquil than ever before.

The accumulation of two years of seclusion, the insights into the Dao of Talismans gained from several successful talisman-making sessions, and the understanding of water-elemental spiritual power all merged into one at this moment.

Those originally rigid and fixed spirit patterns, under his pen, even gained a sense of harmony and naturalness.

As the spiritual patterns gradually took shape, specks of spiritual energy began to emerge on the talisman.

Upon seeing this scene, Zhou Zhengyang, who had been calm, suddenly became serious and sat up straighter.

On the other side, Chen Jingyuan's pupils also contracted slightly.

This is...? Spiritual Enchantment? This person's understanding of the Water Gun Talisman has reached such a level.

Born into the Chen family and taught by three talisman masters since childhood, he naturally knew that the next step after the spiritual energy began to emerge was the birth of Dao patterns.

Looking at Li Mufeng's brushstrokes, there was no sign of him stopping at all. Suddenly, a bold guess popped into Chen Jingyuan's mind: Could it be that he could draw exquisite talismans?

Xu Wenshan was completely stunned, his old face turning bright red.

Is this kid messing with me? If you have the skill, why are you being so humble?

If you can draw so well with a broken pen, doesn't that make you look useless?

Is this some kind of talent that a rogue cultivator could have? How come I've never heard of such a person in the market before?

While the group was observing Li Mufeng, Li Mufeng was also distracted by sensing everyone's reactions, especially Elder Zhou.

Seeing that he had achieved the desired effect, he slightly turned the brush in his hand.

He forcibly pulled himself out of that mysterious state, and in that instant, the Dao patterns that were about to be born were also forcibly suppressed.

"It's enough to gradually cultivate a spiritual aura; anything more might arouse suspicion."

As the last stroke was made, a water gun talisman slowly floated up.

The spiritual light flowed, and although no Dao patterns were born, it still exuded an aura far exceeding that of ordinary talismans.

Seeing this, Chen Jingyuan sighed inwardly, while Xu Wenshan breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Zhengyang slowly stood up and took the water gun talisman.

After observing carefully for a moment, he spoke:

"The spiritual patterns are fluid, the structure is stable, the spiritual energy is abundant, and a spiritual charm is gradually emerging..."

He paused for a moment, his sharp gaze fixed on Li Mufeng.

"It's a pity that it's only one step away from developing Dao patterns and becoming a high-quality talisman."

Li Mufeng looked at Zhou Zhengyang but didn't say anything more.

Seeing this, the latter withdrew his gaze and said in a deep voice:

"Evaluation - Upper Grade B, eligible to be awarded a mid-grade Tier 1 Talisman Master token."

After Li Mufeng finished his assessment, Zhou Zhengyang gathered the three of them together and waved his sleeve.

Three small, exquisite cyan tokens slowly flew out and landed in front of them respectively.

[Tier 1 Mid-Grade Talisman Master]

Upon seeing the ancient seal script inscribed on the token, Xu Wenshan couldn't help but burst into tears, accepting it with both hands and repeatedly expressing his gratitude.

Li Mufeng also reached out and took it. The moment he held the token, a slight thought crossed his mind.

As expected, the token is made of the same material as the one from back then, also Spirit Gathering Jade. However, the spiritual energy fluctuations are much stronger than before, so the enhancement effect on equipment should be much higher.

After putting the tokens into their pockets, the three of them got up to say goodbye.

Zhou Zhengyang nodded. "The way of talismans requires perseverance. Do not slack off. Go."

The group bowed again and then left one after another.

Li Mufeng also bowed and took his leave, but as soon as he took a step, he heard a voice behind him.

"Li Mufeng, can you stay here for a moment?"

Li Mufeng paused slightly in his steps.

Chen Jingyuan and Xu Wenshan also glanced back subconsciously, but both of them wisely did not linger and quickly left the quiet room.

As the door closed, Zhou Zhengyang patted the storage bag.

Snapped.

A talisman floated out, and with a burst of spiritual light, an invisible barrier enveloped the entire quiet room—it was a soundproof talisman.

Zhou Zhengyang then slowly sat down in the chair at the head of the table, a cup of spiritual tea now in his hand.

He picked up the teacup, gently blew on the floating leaves, then took a small sip, savoring the taste.

Only then did he speak slowly and quietly:

"If I were you, I would deliberately leave a small flaw at the seventh and thirty-first spiritual runes when I first drew the talisman. In this way, even if the spiritual essence is born later, it will not be able to form a Dao rune, so that others will not be able to see any clues."

Li Mufeng's heart skipped a beat, but a look of doubt appeared on his face.

"This junior does not understand what Senior Zhou means."

Zhou Zhengyang glanced at Li Mufeng sideways and saw that the latter was still standing there respectfully, so he couldn't help but blow his beard and glare at him.

"Still calling me senior?"

"Call me Martial Uncle!"