Chapter 86: Creating Talismans in Public, Mysterious Patterns Revealed
Chapter 86: Creating Talismans in Public, Mysterious Patterns Revealed
Lin Changqing's eyebrows furrowed slightly, while Luo Yipeng continued:
"Brother Du also mentioned that the number of talismans Chu Ning produces could eventually be used to offset his monthly contributions.
His response was negative, but just now, we saw him bring out various talismans for sale."
After listening to Luo Yipeng, Lin Changqing's gaze pierced through Chu Ning like sharp swords.
Instantly, Chu Ning felt the same uncomfortable oppression he had experienced when facing Zhang, the administrator of the Enforcement Hall.
What surprised Chu Ning slightly was that this oppressive feeling was not as strong as before.
He didn't know if it was because Lin Changqing's cultivation was not as high as Zhang's, or if it was because his own spiritual sense had improved.
"Du Han, is this true?"
Lin Changqing looked at Chu Ning but directed his question to Du Han.
At this moment, Du Han's eyebrows were knitted tightly as he gazed at Chu Ning.
"Uncle Lin, it's true that Chu Ning didn't go to the beast disaster site, as I promised. Chu Ning did ask about talismans back then.
Chu Ning replied that he didn't have any talismans."
"But we just heard that he sells talismans every day and should have sold quite a few," Shen Zhengquan casually added.
Lin Changqing's gaze remained fixed on Chu Ning.
Although he didn't say anything, Chu Ning understood what he meant—he wanted an explanation.
Chu Ning immediately replied in a deep voice, "Executor, these talismans are drawn by me."
Lin Changqing's gaze swept over Chu Ning's hand holding the talisman brush, and his aura subsided as he said indifferently, "Can you create low-grade middle-tier talismans?"
Chu Ning nodded, "I have a forty to fifty percent success rate."
"Let's see it."
Hearing Lin Changqing's words, Chu Ning nodded slightly and closed his eyes gently.
Luo Yipeng wanted to say something more, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Lin Changqing's sharp gaze fell on him.
Feeling Lin Changqing's gaze, Luo Yipeng immediately closed his mouth.
After adjusting his state slightly, Chu Ning slowly opened his eyes, dipped the talisman brush in ink again, and began to draw the talisman.
Chu Ning was annoyed by Luo Yipeng's repeated provocations, but when he truly infused his spiritual power into the brush, his heart became extremely calm.
Not wanting to drag this matter any further, Chu Ning became even more focused at this moment.
With the blessing of the Talisman Spirit Body, Chu Ning's success rate in drawing the Diamond Talisman had already reached sixty percent.
After failing once before, Chu Ning did not fail again this time.
The talisman patterns flowed naturally and smoothly from Chu Ning's brush.
A moment later, the talisman shone with golden light, and a low-grade middle-tier talisman appeared on the table.
It was indeed a Diamond Talisman.
Seeing this, the others hadn't spoken yet, but Luo Yipeng's mouth fell open in shock.
"Impossible, you...
You know how to create low-grade middle-tier talismans? But that's something only a second-rank talisman master can do."
The sturdy disciple, Ding Bo, was also surprised:
"Hey, this talisman was indeed drawn by this Chu junior brother."
Not only Luo Yipeng, but everyone present looked at Chu Ning with astonishment.
After all, in their opinion, Chu Ning was only at the fourth layer of Qi Refining.
At such a cultivation level, his ability to create talismans had reached the level of a second-rank talisman master, which made them feel like it was too good to be true.
Even Lin Changqing's gaze toward Chu Ning now carried a hint of surprise.
Chu Ning didn't speak, but handed the talisman he had just drawn and another one he took out from his storage bag to Lin Changqing.
The latter took them, examined them briefly, and then returned the two talismans to Chu Ning.
Only then did he say slowly, "The quality is the same. It seems your talisman-making technique is quite good."
"How is that possible? He..."
This outcome was completely beyond Luo Yipeng's expectations, and he couldn't help but exclaim again.
Hearing this, Lin Changqing frowned and glanced at Luo Yipeng and Shen Zhengquan.
He asked coldly, "Are you questioning my judgment? Do you want me to show you the talisman again?"
"I..." Luo Yipeng's face turned red, and he didn't know how to respond.
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Shen Zhengquan's face, but he quickly cupped his hands and said, "Since the Executor has already authenticated it, it must be genuine. We misunderstood Junior Brother Chu before.
Please forgive us, Junior Brother Chu."
Hearing this, Chu Ning's heart turned cold.
"This person's city is even deeper. Now that he has authenticated it, it will be harder for everyone to blame him. Unlike Luo Yipeng, who wears his heart on his sleeve."
Before Chu Ning could speak, Lin Changqing had already waved his hand, his face filled with displeasure.
"Alright, that's the end of this matter. You've made a mountain out of a molehill over such a trivial matter, and you don't even have basic trust in your fellow sect members."
As soon as Lin Changqing's words came out, many people present felt ashamed.
Gu Xiaqing and Xie Bo, among others, showed a hint of apology in their eyes towards Chu Ning.
Indeed, Luo Yipeng had been the loudest in his accusations, but they had also harbored doubts about Chu Ning.
Lin Changqing's gaze shifted, and he looked at Luo Yipeng with dissatisfaction.
"You're also from the Hundred Arts Hall, aren't you? You're even accusing your fellow junior brother from the same hall without discerning the truth. Hmph..."
Luo Yipeng's face alternated between green and white under Lin Changqing's reprimand.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something more.
However, Lin Changqing didn't give him a chance and waved his hand before walking into Chu Ning's shop.
"Let's talk about the beast disaster. Forget about going elsewhere, let's just do it here.
"Senior Sister Gu, there's no need to say more," Chu Ning quickly interrupted her.
"Senior Sister has already shown me a lot of care earlier."
Gu Xiaqing nodded, about to say something more, when the sturdy Ding Bo walked up to them and slapped Chu Ning's shoulder.
"Junior Brother Chu, you're amazing! I can't believe you can create such high-quality low-grade middle-tier talismans."
"I also thought that you were deliberately withholding talismans from us earlier," Ding Bo said, glancing at Luo Yiping, who was standing nearby.
"Brother Luo, what you did wasn't very considerate. You almost made us wrongfully accuse Junior Brother Chu."
Luo Yiping, usually talkative, had his face turn red and white in embarrassment, but he remained silent in the face of Ding Bo's accusation.
As Chu Ning wondered about Ding Bo's background, Gu Xiaqing introduced him, "Junior Brother Chu, this is Senior Brother Ding from the Inner Sect."
So he's an Inner Sect true disciple, Chu Ning realized, no wonder Luo Yiping didn't dare to say more.
An Inner Sect true disciple, he must have an Earth Spirit Root or some other exceptional talent.
As he was thinking this, Ding Bo slapped him on the shoulder again, "Don't call me Senior Brother. I've only cultivated to the seventh layer of Qi Refining, and it's just that I happened to have a Thunder Spirit Root and was accepted into the Inner Sect."
Thunder Spirit Root! Upon hearing that Ding Bo possessed the rare Thunder Spirit Root, Chu Ning couldn't help but look at him with renewed interest.
The Thunder Spirit Root was even scarcer than the Earth Spirit Root and was almost on par with the Heavenly Spirit Root.
Ding Bo, however, seemed nonchalant about it all and urged, "Come on, let's go in."
As they spoke, the group entered the shop.
Luo Yiping and Shen Zhengquan lagged behind, their faces still bearing unhappy expressions as they entered last.
When Lin Changqing saw that everyone had entered, he spoke up, "This beast disaster was mainly caused by a third-rank demon beast, equivalent to the mid-foundation stage, that came from the Qingxia Mountain Range to our branch. These lower-rank demon beasts were disturbed and followed suit."
"The beast has already been killed, so the disaster should be over. However, some first-rank high-level demon beasts have taken up residence in this mountain range, so be extra cautious when going out."
As Lin Changqing spoke, he turned to Du Han. "What happened? Although there were more demon beasts this time and some first-rank high-level ones among them, the overall level wasn't that high. The sect sent people to support you, so why did you end up in such a sorry state?"
Lin Han's face was filled with annoyance as he explained, "Uncle Lin, it's mainly because of a group of wandering cultivators. The day after we arrived, some of them showed up, and while I was away attending to other matters, they started fighting with several junior brothers and sisters over a first-rank high-level demon beast."
"If I hadn't returned in time, they would have suffered losses."
Lin Changqing's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he asked, "And then?"
"The next two days went smoothly. We organized the various cultivation families to mount a defense, and the sect also sent reinforcements," Lin Han continued, but the anger on his face didn't dissipate.
"However, today, some more wandering cultivators appeared, taking advantage of the chaos. And this time, a ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator among them restrained me. After a few days of continuous fighting, my fellow junior brothers and sisters had almost exhausted their resources, which is why they ended up injured. Fortunately, you and Senior Brother Ding arrived in time..."
Chu Ning pieced together the information from Du Han's explanation and felt a stir in his heart.
Could those so-called wandering cultivators be the same people who had come to the market that night?
But he had only seen four of them then. Could they have had more companions?
As he was thinking this, Lin Changqing let out a cold laugh. "Wandering cultivators? I doubt it."
As he spoke, Lin Changqing casually waved his hand and took out a storage bag, from which he poured out several items.
Then, he grabbed one of them—a plaque made of iron—and held it in his hand.
The others looked on curiously, but Chu Ning's eyes widened in shock when he saw the plaque.
The plaque wasn't very large, and it was engraved with a pattern composed of seemingly random lines.
Despite the crudeness of the pattern, Chu Ning recognized it instantly.
This pattern was exactly the same as the one he had seen on a bamboo plaque in Qi Chongmao's storage bag after he had killed him.
"What's going on? Why is the pattern on this iron plaque identical to the one on Qi Chongmao's bamboo plaque?"
At that moment, Chu Ning was bewildered and shocked.
He didn't believe it was a coincidence.
Turning his gaze back to Lin Changqing, Chu Ning waited for the executor to continue.
"Executor, this seems to be some kind of identity token," Du Han interjected, drawing everyone's attention.
(There is a modification to the demon beast rankings in this chapter, so please be aware of that. A book friend pointed out that the demon beast classifications were unclear and hard to follow, and I agree. Here's a quick breakdown:
1st-rank demon beast: Equivalent to the Qi Refining stage, with initial, middle, and late stages.
2nd-rank demon beast: Equivalent to the Foundation Establishment stage, early stage.
3rd-rank demon beast: Equivalent to the Foundation Establishment stage, middle stage.
4th-rank demon beast: Equivalent to the Foundation Establishment stage, late stage.
And so on. Thank you all for your valuable feedback.)
(End of Chapter)
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