Ancient Strengthening Technique (Web Novel)
chapter-428

AST 428 - The Difficulty in Drawing Talismans

For example, Ling Zhanhan’s greatest achievement was the “Binding Talisman”. At one point, he managed to cultivate it to the fifth grade. But in other aspects like breaking guard, reducing force, increasing force, increasing defense, and increasing speed, they were mostly at the second grade. However, if these were all used in unison, they would become something that could absolutely not be underestimated, so much so that it would enable you to singlehandedly fight a hundred enemies of the same grade.

Qing Shui knew that he himself was an exception. With the presence of the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal, he would have enough time. So long as he could cultivate the different kinds of Heavenly Talismans to a certain realm, with his current strength, he would still stand a chance against warriors at the pinnacle of Martial King Grade.

Talisman Drawing!

Qing Shui drew the talisman for a second time. On his first attempt, he had already known that drawing talismans would require a vast reserve of spirit energy. After all, despite how complicated a Heavenly Talisman was, one would still need to concentrate all of their attention to a single point to finish drawing it all in one fell swoop.

Godly Force Talisman!

Qing Shui decided to first draw the Heavenly Talisman that was at the frontmost page of the “Ancient Book of Heavenly Talisman”. After all, it was at the very first part of the book, so Qing Shui temporarily decided to practice step by step according to the sequence. Besides, Qing Shui had the feeling that the Godly Force Talisman that increases one strength was right up his alley.

Qing Shui flipped open the “Ancient Book of Heavenly Talisman”. He perused the drawing method for the Godly Force Talisman and the Godly Force Talisman diagram carved on the golden title page seriously for a few times again.

Only then did he take out his writing brush. It was the weasel bristle’s writing brush that he took away from Ling Zhanhan and could only be considered a decent tool. Qing Shui knew that if he used the Golden Calligraphy Brush and the Moonstone Ink Slab that Art Maestro had left behind, it would increase both the percentage of success and the effect of the Heavenly Talisman. However, Qing Shui didn’t want to rely on these already at the very beginning.

After he decanted out some of the blood that had been tempered and refined from the cauldron, he sealed up the bronze cauldron to prevent the spiritual energy from leaking. He picked up a roughly foot-long writing brush and dipped the tip of the weasel bristle’s writing brush into the blood.

The tip of the writing brush got dyed rapidly into a bright red color.

After placing down a piece of talisman-shaped python skin properly, Qing Shui calmed down his agitated mind, took a deep breath, and marked down the position where he would start drawing.

After that, Qing Shui squinted his eyes. He stared at the tip of the brush as though he himself had immersed into the brush. That could be a feeling, and could also be a conception.

Qing Shui moved. He was calm and powerful, while the tip of the brush was steady and firm. When he first started, he was really fast, but as it went on, he gradually slowed down his pace. Eventually, Qing Shui ground to a halt.

Only half of The Godly Force Talisman was drawn.

However, Qing Shui was beside himself with joy. He could feel how it was a lot stronger than the last “Binding Talisman”. That was a kind of feeling, a feeling analogous to how a canal was formed.

However, approaching the end, it became more and more awkward. Qing Shui could finish drawing it rapidly like last time, but he knew that this calligraphy would definitely fail. Therefore, he immediately retracted his brush.

Qing Shui took away the brush and looked at half of the Godly Force Talisman that had been drawn. As he looked at the firm strokes, Qing Shui was skeptical of his drawing. If it reached this kind of result by using the Golden Calligraphy Brush that was left behind by the Art Maestro, he wouldn’t be that surprised. But now, he didn’t believe it in the slightest. After all, Qing Shui knew that the words that he wrote and the things that he drew with a writing brush were really bad.

Qing Shui stood in front of the half of the Godly Force Talisman that had been drawn. He pondered over the feeling and scenery just now. It wasn’t that Qing Shui had insufficient spirit energy, it’s just that his comprehensions had not strung together coherently.

At this moment, Qing Shui also knew that talisman drawing was definitely not just about drawing out a complete talisman in one go. Drawing it in one go wasn’t actually the kind of fast that was needed.

What was needed was a kind of mood, a kind of mood where you went along with the flow until the conditions were right and felt the mood of drawing them at one go. It wasn’t that you were not allowed to breathe.

Therefore, Qing Shui immediately stopped drawing for the moment, as he had yet to attain that kind of feeling. After that, he kept on thinking over and over about what the reason was. Qing Shui had no idea, but he could only push the Godly Force Talisman that was already half-drawn to the side.

He once again took out a “Talisman-shaped Beast Skin”. Once he fully dipped the already refined and bright red Darkgold Three-Headed Python in blood, he started drawing as though the brush was crawling like dragons and snakes again.

This time, he still only managed to draw half of it. It was almost the same as the last time. Qing Shui was upset. He stopped once more and thought for a while. Then he once again started drawing.

……

Up until the eleventh time, Qing Shui felt that he himself had become incomparably skilled in drawing the first half of the Godly Force Talisman. This time, when he was about to stop drawing midway through it just like the usual, he instinctively moved forward and drew a few more lines.

It rendered Qing Shui stunned. He felt as though he had uncovered the crux of the problem!

As it turned out, this was a matter of skills. Practice makes perfect, and after practicing for a million times, one might even be able to draw something with soul. Even though this was a bit of an exaggerated example, the drawings of beautiful ladies, in Qing Shui’s eyes, were things that possessed just that, a soul.

Even though Qing Shui could draw it really beautifully and emotionally, it still lacked some flair. It’s just like looking at other people’s technique; observing it numerous times would still not be as good as directly practicing it for a few times.

After thinking clearly, Qing Shui started to draw continuously. He drew them carefully and put in his biggest effort into each and every one of them. He would rather not complete the drawing. Qing Shui hoped that he could draw it completely in one go, as he was guided to do so under the kind of mysterious comprehension.

When Qing Shui used up all ten of those successfully refined Talisman-Shaped Beast Skin, the Godly Force Talisman progression reached seventy percent out of a hundred percent. However, a day’s time had passed, and Qing Shui made sure to not squander the time he had. He spent most of it thinking and recovering his spirit energy.

Qing Shui also didn’t understand why he would be able to draw half of it smoothly from the beginning. He shook his head and, after that, he also stopped thinking about it. For all you know, the epiphany could strike you by itself the very moment you stop thinking about it.

Following up, Qing Shui refined a Talisman-Shaped Beast Skin and a Darkgold Three-headed Python once more. Drawing this thing actually consumed unusually more beast skin and demonic beast’s blood. The writing brush for talisman drawing was also specially made, and even the shaft of the writing brush had a cotton body that could store “blood”.

……

The next day, early in the morning, Qing Shui had already been woken up by the sound of Luan Luan knocking on the door. But looking up into the sky, it was also around the time to wake up!

Qing Shui had no choice but to help the little brat open the door in his pajamas. It’s just that, after he opened the door, he noticed that Yiye Jiange was also there. Qing Shui awkwardly lifted up the little brat and smiled at Yiye Jiange: “Morning!”

“Morning. The little brat insisted on looking for you as soon as she woke up early in the morning. She was saying that she was afraid that you would leave again……” Yiye Jiange said with a smile. She didn’t actually feel embarrassed about seeing Qing Shui in his pajamas. In fact, she didn’t even look at Qing Shui.

“Father, let’s go cultivate together. I think it will be fine if I let you see me cultivating the large tiger.” Luan Luan said with joy.

Qing Shui knew that she was speaking about the tiger form, but as he listened to the little brat talk about the large tiger, he thought that it was really funny. At the same time Qing Shui felt warm, he also felt a bit depressed.

Luan Luan was very clingy. This brat was really scared that he would go. The reason why she woke up so early was to prevent him from leaving. But Qing Shui knew that he had to deceive the little brat again.

Qing Shui quickly put on his shirt. He brought Luan Luan and Yiye Jiange to the place he used to frequent for practice a lot in the past.

“Luan Luan, come over here. Let father have a look at what level our Luan Luan has reached.” Qing Shui smiled as he said while touching the little brat’s head.

“Alright, alright!”

The little brat yelled in joy! After that, she ran forward by two steps, abruptly pushed out with her hands, and executed the Tiger Snatch Style!

What shocked Qing Shui was that the little brat had actually managed to demonstrate a sharp tiger’s roar. More importantly was that she had actually practiced her tiger form up until the Huge Succession Realm.

It was a pity that the Huge Succession Realm was just a conception. She only got a really small amount of the additional strength on it. Her small veins were absolutely unable to withstand such a formidable strength. But in the future, following the advancement of her cultivation, there shouldn’t be any problems.

Tiger Mount!

Tiger Tailwhip Kick!

……

Qing Shui was stunned as he looked at Luan Luan. She was indeed formidable with the Seven Apertures Mystical Heart. Unfortunately, the heaven was jealous of heroic geniuses, as a person who possessed the Seven Apertures Mystical Heart only had a thirty year lifespan.

Qing Shui thought of how he already had the “Peach of Immortality” in the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal. The peach increased one’s lifespan by fifty years, and added on with the two lifespan fruit that she had already swallowed, it would let her life expectancy be increased by almost a hundred years.

A hundred years was enough for him to look for a few Gifted Earth Treasures and do his utmost to extend Luan Luan’s lifespan. Ever since he found out that the nameless tree roots in the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal were the Peach of Immortality, Qing Shui had let out a huge sigh.

When Yiye Jiange saw Qing Shui in a daze as he looked at Luan Luan, from time to time, a thread of heartache would flash across her eyes. Eventually, there seemed to be a kind of persistence.

She knew what Qing Shui was thinking about. It was none other than Luan Luan’s problem. She looked at Qing Shui as he softly let out a sigh.

“You have already increased the brat’s lifespan by ten years. Stop thinking about it. It’s all fate.” Yiye Jiange looked at Qing Shui and said bitterly. She felt really happy that Qing Shui could be like this, really warm and amiable. It’s just that she felt that it was really unfair. After all, this way, Qing Shui would have one more daughter that shared no relations with him for no reason. Furthermore, he would still need to work hard for her.

It’s just that Yiye Jiange didn’t know that Qing Shui was doing all these things for her of his own volition. Starting from the moment when she saved the Qing Clan from the Sky River City Lord in Hundred Miles City, Qing Shui had already known that the things that he owed her was something that he would never be able to pay back in his entire life.

Therefore, after finding out about the incidents concerning Shi Wangling from Northern Sacred Lu Continent, Qing Shui had made up his mind that no matter how bitter it was going to be, he would still help her realize her wish.

“Master, you needn’t worry about Luan Luan. I have already found the Peach of Immortality. It’s just that it will still need a bit of time. Very soon, with the Peach of Immortality, I will have enough strength to help the brat look for other things that could increase her lifespan.” Qing Shui waited for the next time. He was scared that cutting a slice of the Peach of Immortality would affect its efficiency.

“You found the Peach of Immortality?” Yiye Jiange looked at Qing Shui in astonishment.

This was the first time Qing Shui saw Yiye Jiange had such a huge change in expression. It was for Luan Luan!

At this moment, Luan Luan had already finished cultivating. There was a layer of fine sweat on that delicate and dusty small face of hers. She ran over and looked at Qing Shui: “Father, what do you think of my practice?!”

Qing Shui looked at those pair of large eyes that were like crystals. There were hope and expectation in them, a really large hope and expectation.

“Alright, alright, who would have thought that Luan Luan would have already practiced to the point of Huge Succession Realm in the tiger form? In the future, you will need to work even harder, yeah.” Qing Shui hugged her and said in joy.

When she heard Qing Shui’s compliment, she smiled happily. Sometimes, the motivation behind a child’s hard work was really simple. For example, it’s just so that they would get a compliment or even an encouragement from their parents.

In the morning, Qing Shui made up an excuse and left. He did not bid goodbye to Wenren Wu-shuang and Zhu Qing. He had already done so yesterday.

Qing Shui rode the firebird and flew towards the Earthly Paradise. Today, due to him once again helping Canghai Mingyue strengthen her meridians, she was about to attempt advancing into the Martial King Realm.

The speed of the firebird was really fast. Besides, the Skysword Sect and the Earthly Paradise were all in Cang Lang Country City. In addition to that, due to the speed of the firebird, very quickly, they had already covered half of the journey.

When Qing Shui thought about Canghai Mingyue’s breakthrough, he went back to the Heavenly Palace at once. After that, he looked for all kinds of methods to upgrade his own strength. Stomping over the Sword Tower as soon as possible and bringing back Mingyue Gelou were Qing Shui’s priorities. To Qing Shui, that incident was a torture and disgrace.