Burial Furnace

"Are there any books on talismans?" Zhang Yuan asked again.

"Yes." Boss Li's lips curled into a mocking smile. "A copy of 'The Complete Book of Basic Talismans,' and ten thousand high-grade spirit stones."

"Ten thousand high-grade spirit stones?" Zhang Yuan almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

He painstakingly burned so many corpses, but all he earned was a few high-grade spirit stones, which he had already spent long ago.

Ten thousand high-grade spirit stones were an astronomical figure for him.

"Sorry to bother you."

Zhang Yuan turned around and walked into the hall, where he bought the cheapest set of talisman-drawing tools—a talisman pen, a stack of talisman paper, and a small bottle of talisman ink.

The talisman brush is made from the hair of a level-one demon beast, while the handle is made of ordinary bamboo and wood, and has a rough texture.

The talisman paper is the lowest grade of yellow paper, with a loose texture.

The talisman ink was also the most common kind, made by mixing the blood of the lowest-ranking demon beasts with cinnabar.

The whole set cost him one mid-grade spirit stone.

Zhang Yuan winced in pain, but gritted his teeth and paid the money. He then stuffed the tools into his pocket and hurried back to his shop.

He couldn't wait to put the tools on the table.

Then he placed another concealment talisman on the table.

He picked up the talisman brush, dipped it in some talisman ink, and tried to copy the Breath Concealing Talisman on a blank sheet of talisman paper.

But those runes seemed like celestial script to him, each stroke containing some mysterious law that he couldn't understand at all.

He couldn't even draw a straight line, let alone a complete rune.

"This thing... you can't learn it at all without someone teaching you." Zhang Yuan put down his pen, rubbed his throbbing temples, and said with a hint of helplessness.

"Oh, right!"

Zhang Yuan suddenly slapped his thigh, his eyes lighting up.

"Whenever you burn cultivation items, the Immortal Transformation Furnace will return its primordial power. When I burned spell jade slips before, the primordial power that returned carried information, allowing me to instantly comprehend the spells. What if I burn talismans?"

His heart suddenly raced.

The idea is both crazy and incredibly tempting.

He barely hesitated before quickly walking to the backyard and throwing a concealing talisman into the stove.

"boom--"

Dark golden flames instantly ignited, engulfing the talisman.

In less than a breath, the talisman turned to ashes.

At the same time, a wisp of extremely thin primordial power surged out from the Immortal Transformation Furnace and flowed into Zhang Yuan's body.

His lifespan increased by approximately one day.

To Zhang Yuan's surprise, that wisp of primordial power actually carried a large amount of information!

The information flooded into his mind like a tidal wave, exploding deep within his consciousness.

He saw an old man with white hair holding a talisman brush, freely drawing a concealing talisman on a piece of talisman paper.

Every stroke, every line, every movement was crystal clear, as if etched into the depths of his soul.

From how to hold the pen, how to dip it in ink, how to control the output of true energy, how to keep the lines from the pen tip even... everything was clearly displayed before his eyes.

When the image faded away, Zhang Yuan was surprised to find that he had completely mastered the method of drawing the Concealing Breath Talisman!

The feeling was like that of an old talisman master who had practiced for decades, knowing every detail by heart, and not making a mistake even with his eyes closed.

"My God... I'm rich!" Zhang Yuan trembled with excitement, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism.

Without hesitation, he took out the invisibility talisman and threw it into the furnace.

"boom--"

The same image flooded my mind.

This time, he saw a middle-aged talisman master dressed in black robes drawing an invisibility talisman.

The talisman master's brushwork was even more mysterious; each stroke drew upon the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and a faint light flowed across the talisman paper.

As the image faded, the method for drawing the invisibility talisman was deeply imprinted in Zhang Yuan's mind.

"This is so awesome!"

Zhang Yuan laughed loudly, turned around and rushed back to his room. He sat down at his desk, picked up a talisman brush, dipped it in talisman ink, spread out a sheet of talisman paper, and prepared to show off his skills.

However, when he picked up his pen and tried to draw the runes in his mind onto paper, he discovered—

too difficult!

That seemingly light talisman brush now felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

His wrist was trembling, and the pen tip moved crookedly across the paper, unable to draw smooth lines at all.

He gritted his teeth, concentrated all his energy, and tried his best to control the direction of the pen tip.

When he was halfway through drawing the runes, he felt a sudden dizziness and saw stars before his eyes, as if all his energy had been drained.

He quickly put down his pen, grabbed the table for support, and gasped for breath.

Large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto the talisman, spreading into a blot of ink.

The talisman that was only half-drawn was completely ruined.

"Huff...huff..." Zhang Yuan leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and after a while, he felt a little better.

He opened his eyes and gave a bitter laugh.

"The first level of Qi Refining is still too much of a stretch."

Drawing talismans requires a large amount of mental energy.

He simply couldn't hold on.

According to his estimate, one would need to reach at least the second level of Qi Refining to barely be able to draw the simplest talisman.

Moreover, one can only draw one picture a day at most, otherwise it will damage one's spirit.

Business improved significantly over the next three days.

A total of eight corpses were cremated—five at the Qi Refining stage and three at the Foundation Establishment stage.

He netted ten low-grade spirit stones and six mid-grade spirit stones, his lifespan increased by more than ten years, and his talent improved by several points.

Wang Hu didn't disappoint him either.

Last night, another batch of "gifts" was secretly delivered—five corpses of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, neatly stacked at the shop entrance, and packed in sacks.

Zhang Yuan was so angry that he jumped up and down, cursing and spitting as he went, wishing he could curse Wang Hu's ancestors for eighteen generations.

But she almost burst out laughing.

After the five corpses were burned, Zhang Yuan's lifespan increased by three years, and his talent also improved significantly.

Now, he absorbs and transforms spiritual energy at a rate nearly 20% faster than before.

It used to take more than half an hour to absorb a mid-grade spirit stone, but now it only takes half an hour.

That night, Zhang Yuan sat at the counter, gazing listlessly at the empty street outside.

The moonlight shone on the bluestone pavement, giving it a cool, clear luster.

A few barks came from afar, making the night seem even more silent.

"Why is there no movement tonight?" Zhang Yuan muttered, somewhat disappointed.

He was preparing to close up shop and get some rest.

"Squeak—"

The shop door was pushed open.

A rich fragrance, like a tide, flooded into the store, instantly filling the entire space.

The fragrance was very special; it wasn't a single scent, but rather a blend of various floral aromas, like being surrounded by a sea of ​​blooming flowers, making one feel intoxicated by its aroma.

Two female cultivators then walked in.