Zhang Shisan naturally had long forgotten about others’ opinions. Urgently pulling Mei Qing, he immediately used a magical technique to teleport back to his own guest room. Before even sitting down properly, he grabbed paper and brush, first drawing a “Purify Mind and Body” talisman to demonstrate to Mei Qing, then ordering him to copy it.
Mei Qing hadn’t slept at all the previous night. Hardly having dozed off for even a quarter of an hour, he had been abruptly doused with a splash of cold water by Zhang Shisan. Now, still wearing the same clothes, soaked from head to toe like a drowned cat, he felt extremely uncomfortable. Seeing another talisman handed to him, Mei Qing couldn’t help exclaiming, “Hey old Daoist, do you even care if I live or die—ah—”
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a sudden thump on his head. Facing him, Zhang Shisan glared, his beard bristling. “You call yourself a cultivator? Why are you so lazy, like a sleepy cat? I, an old Daoist, haven’t slept a wink either, yet I’m still full of energy. Less talking, more drawing! If you don’t hurry up, I’ll give you a good thrashing!”
“You’re an old man without dignity, just a scoundrel…” Mei Qing sighed helplessly, forcing himself to suppress his exhaustion. He began drawing the Purify Mind and Body talisman. Already half-asleep and unwilling to cooperate, his drawing was naturally even sloppier. He merely copied the strokes Zhang Shisan had demonstrated, not even bothering to channel his spirit or inspect it carefully, before tossing it to Zhang Shisan and saying, “Done!”
Zhang Shisan took the talisman and examined it repeatedly. Rather than showing joy, his expression grew more puzzled. He could clearly see that Mei Qing had been careless and perfunctory in his drawing. Yet, surprisingly, the talisman still worked.
Originally, Zhang Shisan had intended to test Mei Qing, suspecting he might have had prior experience drawing talismans and was just playing tricks. Thus, he had chosen this Purify Mind and Body talisman. Although talismans for purifying the mind or cleansing the body were common across sects, his version was quite unique—it combined both effects into a single talisman, a rare composite type.
Generally speaking, talismans were designed for single purposes—rain-summoning talismans only caused rain, disaster-warding talismans only removed calamities. However, a few rare talismans combined multiple Daoist techniques into one, known as composite talismans.
Such composite talismans usually weren’t more powerful than using two separate talismans, but they were much harder to create. For example, this Purify Mind and Body talisman: if it were only a Mind-Purifying or Body-Cleansing talisman, it would be a low-grade second-tier talisman. But combining both into one made its creation difficulty nearly equal to that of a low-grade third-tier talisman.
As far as Zhang Shisan knew, no sect had ever deliberately combined these two talismans. He himself had only created it out of curiosity during idle practice, inspired by a sudden idea. Moreover, since its invention, he had rarely used it in front of others. Now, for Mei Qing to successfully create this talisman meant that he couldn’t have been faking prior experience to fool him.
Even more infuriating was that Mei Qing had clearly drawn it carelessly, violating the fundamental principle of talisman-making—sincerity of heart. For such a half-hearted attempt to still succeed, even the Three Pure Daoist Lords might have been furious enough to twist their noses in disbelief.
From tradition, the primary requirement for talisman creation had always been “sincerity of heart leads to spiritual power; insincerity leads to ineffectiveness.” Zhang Shisan’s first lesson in talisman-making had been memorizing the “Essence of Talismans,” which began: “Talismans are harmonies of Yin and Yang; only the most sincere can wield them. If sincerity is lacking, naturally, the talisman will not work…”
Never had he imagined, after years of Daoist cultivation and talisman practice, that today a young upstart would baffle him so completely. Mei Qing’s drawing had been careless, his eyes heavy with sleep, his posture listless and indifferent—clearly lacking any sincerity. By all appearances, he should have failed utterly. Yet somehow, he had succeeded.
Zhang Shisan clenched his teeth inwardly, realizing that unless he figured this out, not only would he be unable to teach Mei Qing Daoist techniques, but his own cultivation would also stagnate. As a legitimate heir of the Talisman Sect, his entire cultivation was based on talismans. Now, Mei Qing’s inexplicable success seemed to completely undermine the foundation of his beliefs and practices. How could he continue cultivating Daoist methods if their very principles were being invalidated?
Seeing Mei Qing still looking half-asleep, Zhang Shisan snorted and slapped the talisman onto him while chanting: “Heavenly Treasure Lord, calm the body; disciple’s soul and spirit, harmonize the five internal organs!”
As the chant ended, Mei Qing felt a sudden jolt run through his body. Instantly alert, he felt refreshed all over, completely dry and clean, as if the muddy water had never touched him. Even his previously soiled clothes were now spotless and wrinkle-free.
“Senior, this talisman really works well,” Mei Qing smiled cheerfully, completely awake now. “But if you have such a technique, why not tidy up your own clothes?”
“I like it this way! Mind your own business!” Zhang Shisan snorted, then picked up his brush and drew another Summoning Servant talisman, chanting: “Golden Palace, Jade Chamber, light of sun and moon; harmonize the five elements, conquer all directions; obey my chant, come and submit; defy my chant, face death. So it is commanded!”
As the incantation ended, a talisman spirit appeared in the room—an entity less than three feet tall, as insubstantial as a wisp of smoke.
This “talisman spirit” wasn’t a real ghost but a manifestation of spiritual energy summoned through the talisman. Since it was merely an aggregation of spiritual energy, it wasn’t a living being and had no consciousness, only capable of performing simple tasks as instructed.
“Wow!” Mei Qing was greatly impressed. He had heard of talisman spirits before. Though not as powerful as the Six Ding and Six Jia spirits summoned by Bi Zhen, they were much easier to summon. Only cultivators from orthodox sects could master such advanced talismans. Seeing Zhang Shisan use one now, Mei Qing couldn’t help but feel delighted.
“This looks fun,” Mei Qing grinned. “What can it do? I’ve seen people send little spirits to steal things. Is this one the same?”
The small talisman spirit, upon appearing, automatically stood behind Zhang Shisan, bowing respectfully like a well-behaved child.
“This is just a talisman spirit, a temporary gathering of spiritual energy. It won’t last long,” Zhang Shisan explained with a frown. “The spirits you mentioned for moving objects are the Five Ghosts, not something belonging to orthodox Daoism. Less chatter. This is a low-grade third-tier talisman, and even among third-tier talismans, it’s quite difficult. Try drawing one yourself.”
Mei Qing nodded repeatedly, carefully recalling the talisman Zhang Shisan had drawn. However, this talisman was indeed quite complex, its characters unfamiliar to him. Despite repeatedly visualizing the brushstrokes, he still felt uncertain.
“What are you hesitating for? Why is this talisman so hard for you? Weren’t you drawing smoothly just now?” Zhang Shisan, seeing Mei Qing’s hesitation, grew impatient.
Ignoring him, Mei Qing once again visualized the brush techniques before finally picking up the brush and drawing the Summoning Servant talisman.
However, as soon as he finished the last stroke, instead of feeling the usual surge of spiritual energy, he sensed the energy dissipating instantly. The talisman had failed.
Frowning, Mei Qing looked at the paper. Zhang Shisan also uttered a soft “Hmm.” Although Mei Qing had failed a few talismans the previous night, those had mostly been due to simple mistakes or lapses in concentration. This time, Mei Qing was certain he had drawn it exactly as he had visualized. Why had it failed?
Before Zhang Shisan could speak, Mei Qing had already grabbed another piece of paper, took a deep breath, and began drawing the Summoning Servant talisman again. From Zhang Shisan’s perspective, this time Mei Qing’s drawing was actually more accurate than before. Yet strangely, despite appearing the most careful and precise, the talisman failed again.
Unwilling to accept defeat, Mei Qing tried several more times, but each attempt ended in failure.
“Could it be that you can’t create third-tier talismans now?” Zhang Shisan’s eyes lit up. While Mei Qing’s failure was frustrating for him, for Zhang Shisan, any change represented a potential breakthrough in understanding Mei Qing’s unique talisman-drawing ability.
“How should I know?” Mei Qing replied gloomily. “I felt I drew it exactly the same as before, even more carefully this time. But something was off—the moment I finished, the energy dissipated.”
Without a word, Zhang Shisan picked up the brush again and drew a Diamond talisman, demonstrating it to Mei Qing and asking him to try again.
This time, Mei Qing dared not be careless. He carefully observed Zhang Shisan’s brushstrokes. Fortunately, the characters on this talisman were more familiar to him. After watching once, he remembered clearly, picked up the brush, and copied it exactly.
As soon as he finished, he felt a surge of metal and earth energies rising from the talisman—it had succeeded again.
“How strange!” Zhang Shisan naturally sensed the success of the talisman. The Diamond talisman was not only a low-grade third-tier talisman but also one of the most difficult among them. Named for its indestructible nature, it combined metal and earth elements. When used, it could grant the user a body as unyielding as diamond, making it one of the most commonly used protective talismans among Daoist cultivators.
Because it required simultaneous use of both metal and earth elements, drawing this talisman was significantly more challenging than typical third-tier talismans. Earlier, seeing Mei Qing fail repeatedly at the Summoning Servant talisman, Zhang Shisan had assumed he simply couldn’t handle third-tier talismans. Now, seeing him successfully draw a Diamond talisman in one attempt, his previous assumption was clearly wrong.
“This kid is just a monster,” Zhang Shisan muttered, glaring at Mei Qing. For a third-tier talisman, even experienced cultivators needed to be extremely cautious when drawing a Diamond talisman—mistakes were common. Yet this kid had drawn it perfectly after watching just once. How could such a thing be possible?
“You…” Zhang Shisan raised his hand, wanting to say something, but words failed him. After stammering for a while, he finally gave up and let his hand drop in frustration.
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