Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

Chapter 315: Chapter 303: Wood-Earth Inter-promoting Array

Each of the three provinces at the Dharma Assembly had its specialty: Nanhe Province excelled in cultivating Spirit Plants, Juyan Province specialized in Alchemy, and the Western Ox Continent was most renowned for its talismans.

After leaving the Spirit Fields, a teaching disciple from the Western Ox Continent came forward to demonstrate the art of creating talismans.

"The Talisman Dao has three treasures: the talisman brush, talisman paper, and cinnabar ink..."

The teaching disciple spread talisman paper on a prepared desk. As he ground the cinnabar ink, he began to explain.

Talismans and Arrays are, in essence, both forms of Magic.

It’s just that talismans are Magic inscribed onto talisman paper, Demon Beast hides, or jade slips, which cultivators activate with Spiritual Power.

Arrays, on the other hand, are set up on the ground or on large Magical Artifacts, driven by Spirit Veins or Spirit Stones, and are much more complex.

For example, Magic includes the Divine Movement Skill, and there is a corresponding Divine Movement Talisman. Their effects are identical.

Compared to Magic, talismans have two irreplaceable advantages.

First, talismans allow cultivators to cast magic they themselves do not know.

There are countless Daoist arts, and it’s impossible for a cultivator to learn every spell. With talismans, they can be used right away.

Second, they allow for rapid casting.

Unless a cultivator masters a spell to the level of Great Perfection, they must form hand seals and chant incantations to cast it, making instant casting impossible.

Talismans, however, compress the magic onto paper, saving the time needed for hand seals and incantations. This is a huge advantage in a duel.

However, talismans also have their drawbacks.

Talismans are single-use items; once used, they are spent. Moreover, a spell cast from a talisman can, at most, reach the Proficient level of mastery.

Talismans are divided into three grades: low, medium, and high. These correspond to a spell’s mastery levels of Skilled, Minor Achievement, and Proficient, respectively.

A talisman can never reach the level of Great Accomplishment, let alone Perfection.

The art of talisman making might seem to require only paper and ink, making it look like a cost-free venture, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Creating a talisman is like continuously casting magic. It takes more Spiritual Power to make a single talisman than to cast the spell itself, and it is also mentally draining, on top of having a chance of failure.

A Talisman Master can only create a limited number of talismans per day. Any more than that will affect their own cultivation.

"Who wants to try this talisman?"

After about ten minutes, the teaching disciple finished making the talisman and said to the crowd with a smile.

Zhu Cong was the first to raise his hand. "Can I try?"

"Alright."

The teaching disciple handed the talisman to Zhu Cong and instructed, "This is a low-grade Stone Projectile Talisman. Infuse it with sufficient Spiritual Power, and aim it toward an empty area."

Zhu Cong took the talisman and saw that it was covered with dozens of complex and profound runes, through which he could faintly see Spiritual Qi flowing.

He channeled Spiritual Power from his palm and slapped the talisman.

WHOOSH!

The talisman trembled and immediately lit up with a silver glow, its runes beginning to warp.

Zhu Cong pointed toward the opposite hillside.

A plume of yellow smoke shot out from the talisman paper, coalescing into more than a dozen fist-sized stone projectiles. They whistled through the air and slammed into the hillside, producing a series of BANGS.

"It’s that simple!"

"Yeah, so convenient!"

The disciples, seeing a talisman in action for the first time, murmured in amazement.

Zhu Cong stared at his palm in disbelief. When he looked back at the talisman paper, only a pile of ash remained.

Next, the disciples toured various places in Dongyang County.

The teaching disciples successively demonstrated Dao arts like Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Arrays, slip crafting, and puppetry. They even took a tour of the Spiritual Kitchen.

By the end of the day, the disciples had seen dozens of different Dao arts, each feeling as if their eyes had been opened to a new world.

"Senior Brother Zhao, have you decided which Dao art you’re going to choose?"

Li Sancai was dazzled and couldn’t make up his mind, so he quietly asked Zhao Lin.

"If you want to earn a lot of Spirit Stones, you should definitely choose from the Talisman Dao, Alchemy, or Artifact Refining. However, the barrier to entry for these three is high, and many people study them. To achieve anything, you’d need to toil for at least ten or twenty years."

"Dao arts like cultivating Spirit Plants, raising Tamed Beasts, or even tea and wine making are laborious, but they offer stability and leave you with spare time to cultivate. They’re also good choices."

"Fewer people study the more obscure Dao arts, so there’s less competition, but their applications are limited."

’Zhao Lin hadn’t actually decided either. With the Spirit Cultivation Map in his possession, he needed to consume a massive amount of Spirit Stones, so naturally, his main concern was which Dao art could earn the most.’

’On the other hand, he was already thirty-two this year. His own cultivation was the top priority, and no single Dao art could satisfy both needs.’

’Maybe I should just forget about learning a Dao art and focus solely on combat, taking only high-risk sect missions?’

"This is the end of today’s demonstrations. After seeing so many Dao arts, I wonder if you all have a better idea of which one you will study next year?"

Leading everyone back to the Spirit Dao Institute, Dean Pang of Dongyang County said with a broad smile, "Tomorrow’s duels are just for the sake of exchange and to liven things up. Winning or losing isn’t important."

Hearing this, the other two deans both curled their lips in disdain.

’If winning or losing isn’t important, why are you sending out a Sword Cultivator?’

Pah!

...

SWOOSH!

An ice blade shot straight through the air, then suddenly turned, carving an arc and slicing through a moth that had been drawn to the light.

In the dead of night, Zhao Lin was in his courtyard practicing the Ice Blade Skill.

After two nights of practice, his mastery of the Ice Blade Skill had completely reached the Minor Achievement Level. He could now adjust its direction at will to track a target, and its accuracy had greatly improved.

’This is so fast! If I had to rely on my own practice, it would have taken at least a year or two to reach this level.’

Zhao Lin sighed with emotion, truly understanding the value of the Spirit Cultivation Map.

’Compared to spending years of time and energy practicing a spell, a few dozen or even a few hundred Spirit Stones were nothing.’

With this Minor Achievement Level spell, he was full of confidence for tomorrow’s duels.

After practicing until around one in the morning, Zhao Lin returned to his room to rest.

「The next day, in the Demonstration Pavilion.」

Dongyang County’s Spirit Dao Institute had a huge stone chamber, more than fifty zhang across. It was normally used for practicing magic, but could also serve as an arena for duels.

For today’s three-province duels, many cultivators from Dongyang County who had heard the news came to watch. Together with the more than six hundred disciples, they surrounded the area, leaving no room to spare.

"To ensure the safety of the duels, I have set up a Wood-Earth Generation Array. The disciples who go on stage later can fight with their full strength without worrying about causing death or injury."

The Teaching Elder from Dongyang County stood in the center of the arena, cupped his fist to the crowd, and spoke.

"What kind of Array is that powerful?"

"An Array like that exists?"

Many of the disciples were watching a formal duel for the first time and couldn’t help but ask out loud.

It was also the first time Zhao Lin, Li Sancai, and the others had heard of it, and they all turned their gazes to Dong Lingcheng.

"The Wood-Earth Generation Array is an Array specifically developed for duels between sect disciples."

Dong Lingcheng explained, "Wood governs life and growth, so it has the ability to sense life force. If someone in the array is in mortal danger, the Array will activate immediately."

"Then, using the power of the Earth Element, it moves the endangered cultivator outside the array."

He paused here, then added, "The Wood-Earth Generation Array is the top choice for duels and competitions in all the major sects, as it can prevent unnecessary casualties among cultivators."

"After all, spells and magical treasures have no eyes. In a critical moment, even a Foundation Establishment or Purple Mansion Realm cultivator might not be able to intervene in time."

"Arrays are truly miraculous, simply astonishing!"

Zhao Lin exclaimed in admiration, thinking to himself, ’Arrays are the most miraculous and complex of all cultivation arts, the very cornerstone of the world of Daoist magic.’

’Whether I choose to study this Dao art or not, it’s essential to gain a deeper understanding of it.’

"Come, let’s test the Array."

The Teaching Elder beckoned to the side of the arena, and a disciple on duty immediately came forward, carrying a goat, and placed it in the center.

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