Ascending from the mortal realm to become an immortal begins with taking charge of a grotto-heaven.

After returning to the lakeside courtyard and resting for a while...

Zhang Li then took out the sealed jade box and the newly purchased second-tier barrier-breaking talisman.

"I hope we can succeed in one fell swoop."

An'an offered a prayer, and Zhang Li infused a wisp of magic power into the barrier-breaking talisman before affixing it to the jade box.

hum!

The talisman trembled slightly, and a silver light flashed, flowing like water along the restrictive patterns on the jade box, gradually eroding the patterns.

After a few breaths, the last trace of the restriction pattern completely disappeared.

Click—

A crisp, clear sound came from the machine's loudspeaker.

The seal on the jade box completely collapsed, and the once tightly sealed jade box slowly developed a crack.

"It's done!"

Zhang Li's eyes lit up; the second-tier barrier-breaking talisman, costing 300 low-grade spirit stones, was indeed worth the price.

He eagerly lifted the lid of the box, and saw a silver page inside, densely covered with a strange script, which was not the common script currently used in the cultivation world.

"Hiss! This material, and this lettering... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before..."

Zhang Li touched the silver page with his hand. It was so thin that it had almost no weight. Every character on it seemed to be changing. He remembered seeing a description of this kind of script somewhere before.

"Where is it?"

After racking his brains, Zhang Li finally came up with a clue.

He recalled that when he was searching for clues about ancient treasures, he had inadvertently seen a few scattered records of such writings in a tattered ancient travelogue.

The notebook was tattered and incomplete, and the records were extremely brief. It mentioned an ancient script that had been lost since ancient times—seal script.

This seal script was the common script initially used in the cultivation world. Every character contains the Dao, and every stroke contains the principle. It is extremely profound to understand. In order to facilitate the transmission of knowledge and the recording of cultivation methods, later cultivators gradually reduced and simplified the complex seal script, which evolved into the unified and commonly used cultivation script we know today.

Over time, the most original and authentic ancient seal script has become a lost ancient script. Only a few high-level cultivators who happen to obtain ancient relics will spend time studying this ancient seal script.

It seems we won't be able to figure out what's on those silver pages in the short term.

Once I break through to the late stage of Qi Refining, I can go to the Inner Sect's Scripture Pavilion to see if there are any translations of ancient seal script.

After thinking it through, Zhang Li put away the silver pages. Then, after a moment of hesitation, he took out the jade slip containing the complete second-tier talismanic inheritance from his storage bag.

Looking at this priceless jade slip, his expression shifted, his face showing hesitation.

Whether it was the defensive power of the Vajra Talisman, the destructive power of the Thunder Talisman, or the stealth and mobility brought by talismans like Wind Control and Breath Concealment, they all left a deep impression on Zhang Li. At crucial moments, a suitable talisman can truly turn the tide of battle, reverse defeat, and allow cultivators to escape.

There's a complete second-tier talisman inheritance right in front of me right now; it would be a lie to say I'm not tempted.

If it weren't for awakening the [Cave Heaven] and having the Black Field that can accelerate the ripening of spiritual herbs, Zhang Li originally wanted to cultivate the Dao of Talismans as a secondary skill.

Perhaps due to the influence of his past life, coupled with the fact that he is now living in a world where great power belongs to him, he has a clear fear of insufficient firepower and wishes he could be armed to the teeth.

The way of talismans is an excellent tool for arming oneself, producing and selling talismans indefinitely.

However, he has already studied alchemy as a secondary skill and has devoted a lot of time to it. If he were to learn another skill as profound as alchemy, it would be even more difficult.

Although the basics of Talismanic Arts are simpler than those of Alchemy, it is still one of the four major disciplines, and its inner workings are as vast as the ocean. The higher one goes in, the more mental energy and resources are required, making it no less difficult than alchemy.

Zhang Li's aptitude was already inferior, making cultivation extremely difficult.

Logically speaking, he shouldn't continue to be distracted.

"But... this is ultimately a complete second-tier inheritance!"

Looking at the jade slip, Zhang Li's face was full of hesitation, and his heart was in extreme turmoil.

After a long silence, he cursed under his breath, "Damn it!"

The path to immortality is fraught with thorns and choices. If one is always hesitant and fearful, what kind of immortality can one cultivate, or what great path can one speak of?

Once the thought was released, most of the entanglement in my heart dissipated.

Zhang Li gripped the jade slip in his hand, a resolute determination flashing in his eyes.

Try to figure it out first.

If he has a hidden talent for talisman making and can easily master copying runes, then dual cultivation won't be too much of a drag on his cultivation level. On the other hand, if he has no talent for talisman making at all and can't even draw the most basic runes neatly, then he can give up completely and focus on studying alchemy in the future, no longer worrying about this inheritance.

Once your cultivation is sufficient, you can exchange this talismanic inheritance for an alchemy inheritance of equal value.

After figuring it out, Zhang Li didn't hesitate any longer. He picked up the jade slip and began to study it word by word, starting from the most basic content.

……

After half a month of initial study and contemplation, Zhang Li had a rudimentary understanding of the Dao of Talismans.

As is widely acknowledged in the cultivation world, the entry threshold for the Dao of Talismans is extremely low, but mastering it is quite difficult.

To get started, you only need to steadily control your magic power and follow the pattern of the runes to draw the most basic talismans. This makes it the easiest of the four major disciplines to learn.

Take the Fireball Talisman for example. In the eyes of a talisman master, it is just like the Bigu Pill in the eyes of an alchemist—both are the first choice for beginners.

To fully form a fireball talisman, one only needs to connect the three main runes and twelve auxiliary runes together. There are few sharp turns or bends, and the lines are mostly smooth and rounded, so the requirements for the cultivator's control of magic power are minimal.

Indeed, Zhang Li only made a few attempts and soon successfully drew his first fireball talisman.

But when he infused his magic power into the fireball talisman he had drawn, he immediately felt a strange sense of incongruity.

The next moment, the talisman trembled slightly, and a small ball of fire, the size of an egg, swayed and landed on the bluestone ground as if it had drunk fake alcohol, disappearing in the blink of an eye without leaving a trace.

"This... ah..."

Zhang Li almost laughed out loud; he instantly began to doubt whether he had drawn a fireball talisman.

The pattern is correct, the order is correct, and the steadyness of the strokes is beyond reproach.

In terms of basic skills, he has been refining pills and controlling fire for many years, and his grasp of subtle changes in magical power is ten times more solid than that of ordinary outer sect cultivators. So how come the fireball talisman he draws is so ridiculously absurd?

"Is there something I've overlooked?"

He murmured to himself, trying to review each step of the painting process while carefully comparing the information in the jade slip.

A moment later, Zhang Li's gaze sharpened slightly as he detected the crux of the matter.

He had only sought neat and orderly patterns and a continuous flow between the beginning and the end when he drew the runes, merely replicating their shape but completely ignoring the dynamic flow of the runes.

Simply put, it has form but no spirit, which is why the talismans drawn in this way will have this problem.