Fu Xian praised Helong "You have a quick mind. If that's your interpretation, then it's good.
We talisman cultivators have many specifications which is why we learn countless arts. I, for example, have learned three professions to the second grade: spiritual planting, which is a minor profession, as well as the two secondary professions of Papermaking based on my wood element and Ink grinding based on my water element.
Because of my specifications, I have become a fully orthodox talisman drawer. But this doesn't stop me from still learning how to plant, to cook, to make tea, to carve ornaments…
All these small and less known creation arts might seem useless, but from tea making I created my own small ritual when drawing talisman, which improves my success rate by 5%. If I eat a calming yet invigorating meal beforehand, I can improve it by another 5%. Carving ornaments has made my pen sharper, resulting in another 5%. Finally, I can use the planted trees to directly harvest bark and make it into paper.
Just from these few things, I have reduced the original price of my talisman by 10% and improved the success rate by 15%.
Of course I am planning to learn more, though from now on I will specialise in learning those that can directly improve the talisman I draw, or possibly open new kinds of talisman to me.
To you, Fengshui is an art that will likely improve your success rate and possibly have further effects. At least your proficiency in drawing wind and water talisman will be higher, and you might even draw geomancy talismans."
"Thank you for imparting knowledge!" Helong bowed deeply after a long time. In the two years since he had started cultivating, his whole focus was on drawing talisman. If it wasn't because his father forced him to cultivate, he might still be in the fourth or fifth grade, putting all his mind into talisman.
Fu Xian looked at him and gave a final note "The three arts of Refining, Alchemy and Formation are supremely old arts, while the two that followed are different. Weaving is a rather new art and it has various requirements, with the closest relation to crafting.
On the other hand, talismans are the refined version of Dao Runes and Patterns. They express the dao in a hidden language, casting spells. This is why even though spells and talismans are connected, you don't need to learn the spells to draw the talisman. Simply knowing the words allows you to draw them and express it in the outside world.
Because of this, talisman are also easily affected. They are expressions of the dao, but ultimately, the dao is hidden and it's difficult to comprehend. This is why various arts might only have little effect or even disrupt you when practicing the three arts, but would actually aid you in various unknown ways when drawing talismans.
This might also be the reason why they say that talisman drawing requires the deepest inheritance, why it's easy to enter but difficult to master.
While formation masters, the closest to talismans, can still learn from natural and innate formations in nature, talisman masters have to each translate the dao into the hidden language before drawing the talismans.
It is only by having an inheritance and exchanging their knowledge with others that we talisman masters can reach the supreme. Even though learning other arts isn't as effective as having a teacher, it will make the path many times easier.
Helong, I know why your uncle brought you to me. I will prepare the ceremony in a month – if you visit me, I shall take you into my lineage. But I will tell you right away – you will have to cut yourself off from your family.
From then on, your uncle will be senior Ruan. As for the family and further matters, you will also have to separate.
My inheritance can only be passed down to my disciples. If one day you have reached the third stage like me, you may consider taking disciples, whether they are rogue cultivators or your family members, I won't care."
Helong bowed deeply, even about to kneel "Thank you senior for this opportunity! I- I will have to talk with uncle Yelong about this matter…"
Fu Xian nodded then waved his hand, gesturing him to leave.
As expected, after Helong left, the one that entered was Yelong.
He smiled at Fu Xian and nodded "I am grateful for this favour and I shall remember it. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask.
Haha, although I am a rogue cultivator, after staying in the immortal city for so many years, it's normal to have a family. This little rascal is my younger brother's only son.
He… he had cultivated for a long time, and only now did he agree to marry and find a wife.
His son is truly talented. Helong has two spirit roots, water and wind, both formed 89%, just a step away from divine roots!
Even more, he has a deep talent for talismans. When we tested his talents, among the five craft arts, his talent for talismans surpassed that of all. Even his second best talent, formation, is at least three or four times lower!"
Fu Xian nodded "With such good roots, it would really be a shame for him not to practice talismans. As for formations, he should still practice them. Focusing solely on talisman will definitely cause him to get stuck.
Although in the early stages, he might be able to break the bottleneck with a persistence, but doing so is ignoring the warning of heaven and earth, the assistance telling him to learn other matters.
Haha senior, I didn't lie when I said this. To create a third-grade talisman at the second stage, I made the paper from thousand-year-old tree bark, which costed me ten whole years. I also grinded ink for another ten years. Finally, I worked hard to create my talisman ritual, carved for ten years to finally get a spirit of carving, and even used all my savings to learn how to make an invigorating meal.
It was only because I had done so many things that I could cross the threshold.
To cross from the first to the second stage, you only have to work hard. I had done this with ease at that time. But to cross a higher stage, it requires many more matters.
Haha, if it wasn't for these, how could I have managed to draw top-grade talisman and talisman diagram right away?
It was the years of hard work that finally gave me the best reward!"