DIV Chapter 44: Breakthrough, Superior-Grade Talismans!

Li Chang'an focused intently, sitting cross-legged before his desk. He held the talisman brush in his hand, slowly drawing complex patterns on the talisman paper.

The entire room was silent, so quiet he could hear his own breathing.

Suddenly, Li Chang'an's brow furrowed slightly as he stopped drawing.

"Failed."

A wisp of blue smoke rose from the talisman paper, and the patterns drawn on it slowly lost their spiritual essence. Spiritual power dissipated, turning it into waste paper!

This attempt was quite unsuccessful, with the entire talisman less than twenty percent complete.

"This time, my magical power is still somewhat insufficient. Though the Mysterious Water Turtle can lend me power, his magical power isn't deep enough either," Li Chang'an looked at the talisman paper and quietly reflected.

At its root, it was still a problem of magical power.

In the past, to deal with insufficient magical power, he would prepare several recovery pills in his mouth beforehand. However, the action of swallowing pills, though minimal, would still distract a trace of his concentration, and a moment's carelessness could lead to drawing errors.

Now, with the Mysterious Water Turtle, perhaps he no longer needed to do that.

"I can have the Mysterious Water Turtle swallow pills to recover his magical power, then lend it to me," Li Chang'an pondered.

This method should work.

He had the Mysterious Water Turtle cancel the power-lending talent and swallow some magical power recovery pills.

One person and one turtle rested for about half an hour, both recovering to peak condition.

Subsequently, Li Chang'an placed more pills and water element treasures in front of the Mysterious Water Turtle.

He instructed, "Try to keep your magical power at peak state. If it drops slightly, immediately swallow pills or treasures to recover."

The Mysterious Water Turtle was very intelligent and nodded repeatedly, indicating he understood.

"Good, let's try again!" Li Chang'an took a deep breath.

Gripping the talisman brush, he attempted once more.

The brush tip stained with spiritual ink slowly moved across the talisman paper, leaving deep patterns.

Gradually, Li Chang'an's complexion began to pale, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. An indescribable sense of fatigue slowly rose in his heart, but he still gritted his teeth and persisted.

Suddenly, his hand holding the brush paused.

"Hiss..." A wisp of blue smoke rose from the talisman paper.

Failed again.

Li Chang'an frowned and looked at the talisman beneath his brush. This attempt was more complete than the last, roughly half finished.

"This time, magical power barely sufficed, and mental strength was adequate. Though somewhat fatigued, I hadn't reached my limit," Li Chang'an silently pondered, recalling the previous talisman drawing scenes.

"The failure was probably due to insufficient proficiency."

The inheritance content regarding first-tier superior-grade talismans in the jade slip was already thoroughly memorized. But having only attempted twice, failure was normal.

Many geniuses only appeared brilliant on the surface, who knew how many times they had failed behind the scenes?

"Can't rush it, take it slow," Li Chang'an's mood remained peaceful.

"These two attempts at drawing Profound Sword Talismans were attack-type talismans. Perhaps I should try the escape-type Wind Shadow Talisman."

This Wind Shadow Talisman was a higher-tier replacement for the low-grade talisman Wind Speed Talisman and mid-grade talisman Wind Escape Talisman.

Since Li Chang'an frequently drew escape talismans, he was particularly skilled with these two types. He could draw them even with his eyes closed.

"My proficiency with escape talismans far exceeds other talismans," Li Chang'an thought and made his decision.

He wasn't hasty and continued adjusting his condition, resting with the Mysterious Water Turtle for about two hours.

Subsequently, he entered the power-lending state, held his talisman brush, and began slowly drawing.

This time, he drew very smoothly, flowing like clouds and water with natural ease. The patterns on the talisman paper became increasingly complete.

Before long, Li Chang'an's face showed joy as he stopped his brush, looking at the completed talisman on the desk.

"Talisman crafting skills have finally broken through!"

This Wind Shadow Talisman was perfect without the slightest flaw. This meant his talisman crafting skills had officially advanced, making him a first-tier superior-grade talisman master!

"This power-lending technique is truly remarkable. My investment of so many spirit stones in cultivating the Mysterious Water Turtle wasn't in vain!" Li Chang'an smiled, his mood excellent.

One must know that first-tier superior-grade talisman crafting skills were already at the pinnacle in Qinghe Market. The entire Qinghe Market had no second-tier talisman masters.

After all, if one had second-tier skills, why would they remain in the market? Going to Yellow Crane Immortal City would make earning spirit stones easier.

Moreover, drawing second-tier talismans required higher magical power that even most late-stage Qi Refining cultivators could barely support.

"A first-tier superior-grade talisman master would be treated with courtesy even by the Zheng family," Li Chang'an suddenly felt somewhat emotional.

Unknowingly, he had reached this step. His current achievements were beyond what he had dared to imagine in the past.

"The road ahead is still long, I mustn't be proud," Li Chang'an secretly warned himself.

A superior-grade talisman master was merely a small step on his cultivation path.

"First, let me consolidate my superior-grade talisman skills and see what the actual success rate is," Li Chang'an rested briefly, then continued attempting.

The next two talisman drawing attempts both ended in failure. His expression remained unchanged, having expected this.

Over the following days, Li Chang'an continued attempting. He failed many times, consuming considerable talisman paper and spiritual ink.

Overall, his success rate for drawing first-tier superior-grade talismans was roughly thirty percent. Not particularly high, but as his proficiency deepened, the success rate was gradually increasing.

"After practicing for some more time, the success rate should stabilize above fifty percent," Li Chang'an was confident, feeling his skills improving.

Through continuous attempts, he discovered that not only were his skills improving, but he and the turtle were becoming more synchronized.

"This is a good thing," Li Chang'an smiled.

The higher the synchronization between spiritual beast and master, the better. Greater synchronization meant closer bonds.

He had heard that some spiritual beasts had extremely poor relationships with their masters, often being beaten and scolded, harboring resentment, and eventually willing to endure spiritual contract backlash just to harm their masters.

"The Mysterious Water Turtle and Big Yellow probably wouldn't do such things," Li Chang'an felt he treated both spiritual beasts well and wouldn't cause them to harbor resentment.

After several more days, Li Chang'an temporarily stopped drawing talismans. As he had predicted, his success rate for drawing first-tier superior-grade talismans had stabilized above fifty percent.

"This success rate is basically sufficient. In the days ahead, I still need to slowly refine my talisman crafting skills," Li Chang'an put away the tools needed for drawing talismans.

"Now let's see if I can breakthrough in puppet crafting," his thoughts stirred.

A large quantity of materials for making puppet components appeared before him.

"Humanoid puppets are quite difficult to make. For now, let me try something simple."

As usual, Li Chang'an planned to start with the simple ones. He intended to craft a turtle puppet skilled in defense.

"The structure of a turtle puppet isn't complex. The main issue lies in its flexibility," Li Chang'an began contemplating.

Combining content from the superior-grade puppet inheritance, he gradually formed a specific structure in his mind.

About the time it takes to burn an incense stick later, he selected materials and began crafting.

Superior-grade puppets were far more difficult than mid-grade ones. Just making the most ordinary components, Li Chang'an failed multiple times.

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