Back in his residence, he took the booklet Old Zhang had left him from his sleeve and opened the cover.

The handwritten characters were crooked, but each step was written clearly.

The booklet covered three topics.

The first part was the basic principles of talisman making. From the technique of infusing Spiritual Power into the paper to the flow of the Spirit Patterns as the brush touched down, and even the rhythm control for sealing the Talisman at the final stroke—it was all written in great detail. It was clearly the accumulation of Old Zhang’s many years of experience.

The second part contained tips for creating Cleaning Talismans and Exorcism Talismans. For each type of Talisman, it listed several common points of failure.

The third part wasn’t about making Talismans. It listed three names and addresses, all of them sellers of basic talisman-making materials.

"Wu’s Talisman Material, third alley on the south end of East Street. The talisman paper is of average quality, but its strength is that it’s cheap and consistent."

"Zhao Family Material Shop, middle of North Alley. Best cinnabar, but the price is a bit steep."

"Granny Sun’s sundry stall, no fixed location. She has everything, but the quality is inconsistent. You can occasionally find a good deal."

Old Zhang had even left a list of the merchants he’d dealt with.

Li Yuan closed the booklet, and the panel appeared:

[Detected equippable item: Talisman Crafting Manual (Complete)] 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

[Trait Preview: Talisman Crafting Insight (White)—Increases talisman crafting speed by 10%, reduces Spiritual Power consumption by 10%.]

[Permanence Condition Preview: Craft fifty basic Talismans or five Tier One Low Grade Talismans (one Low Grade Talisman is equivalent to ten basic Talismans) (0/50).]

[Current equipment slots are full (3/3). Replace a currently equipped item?]

A white trait. Increases talisman crafting speed by 10% and reduces Spiritual Power consumption by 10%.

The permanence condition was also clear—craft fifty basic Talismans, or five Tier One Low Grade Talismans. One Low Grade was worth ten basic ones.

Cleaning Talismans and Exorcism Talismans counted as basic, while Fireball Talismans and Ice Cone Talismans were Tier One Low Grade.

Li Yuan put the booklet away, not in a hurry to equip it.

Cultivation came first.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he began circulating the Spirit-Introducing Skill.

After completing one cycle, Li Yuan didn’t continue with the Spirit-Introducing Skill, instead switching to the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill.

The path of his Spiritual Power changed accordingly.

Running the Spirit-Introducing Skill once sped up his absorption of Spiritual Qi.

Following up with the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill refined the newly absorbed Spiritual Qi. The Spiritual Power would circulate through his secondary meridians before returning to his Dantian, its quality significantly improved.

First, he used the Spirit-Introducing Skill to absorb a large amount of Spiritual Qi, then used the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill to refine and purify it.

The effect was immediate.

After alternating between the two Cultivation Techniques for several cycles, Li Yuan could clearly feel the change in the Spiritual Power within his Dantian. The overall growth rate was slightly slower than using the Spirit-Introducing Skill alone, but the density of his Spiritual Power was greater than what he could achieve with either technique by itself.

Of course, this was also thanks to the effect of his Spiritual Qi filtration trait; the Spiritual Qi absorbed by the Spirit-Introducing Skill contained negligible impurities.

Without that trait, impure Spiritual Qi would be flowing through his limbs and meridians, and the results would be far inferior to what he was experiencing now.

The effect of his "Hundred Rivers Return to the Sea" trait was especially obvious when switching between the two techniques. When he transitioned from the Spirit-Introducing Skill to the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill, his Spiritual Power flowed seamlessly, sliding into the new circulatory path without the slightest hesitation.

Li Yuan settled into this alternating cultivation rhythm and circulated his energy for a dozen more cycles.

The Spiritual Power in his Dantian was much fuller than before he started cultivating, and its texture felt heavier and more profound.

By the time he stopped, the sky outside the window had already grown dark.

With a thought, the panel appeared:

[Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill: Entry (0/200)]

He had reached the entry level in about two hours.

The complete understanding infused by equipping items worked just as well on cultivation techniques, saving him the time of studying the Spell.

On top of that, he had the boost from the Spiritual Power condensation trait. His Spiritual Power density was already a cut above others at his level, so there was less resistance when circulating it through his secondary meridians with the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill, and the connections between nodes were smoother.

Li Yuan dismissed the panel and took out Old Zhang’s manual.

The manual stated it clearly—the core of talisman making was to infuse Spiritual Power into the paper according to a specific pattern.

The flow of Spiritual Power dictated the path of the Spirit Pattern, the stroke order determined the pattern’s activation method, and the rhythm of the final stroke controlled the Talisman’s stability.

It didn’t sound complicated, but there were many subtleties.

The speed of the Spiritual Power infusion could be neither too fast nor too slow. Too fast, and the Spirit Pattern wouldn’t have time to form, burning right through the paper. Too slow, and the Spiritual Power would linger too long, causing the pattern to blur and rendering the Talisman useless.

The transition between each stroke was even more critical. If the residual Spiritual Power from the end of the previous stroke wasn’t controlled properly, it would interfere with the start of the next. At best, the pattern would be crooked; at worst, the entire Talisman would be ruined.

After reading, Li Yuan took stock of the Spirit Stones he had on hand.

He had already spent a good portion of the large sum he’d looted from the rogue cultivators—buying the Gathering Spirit Ring, Talismans, pills, and so on. The number of Spirit Stones left in his sleeve was quite a bit lower than before.

However, basic talisman-making materials weren’t expensive. The cheapest yellow talisman paper cost one Spirit Stone for a hundred sheets. A small vial of ordinary cinnabar was half a Spirit Stone and was enough for several dozen talismans. Spiritual Ink was a bit pricier at one Spirit Stone for a small vial, but a little went a long way.

A full set would cost three or four Spirit Stones, enough for a beginner to practice with for a long time.

Li Yuan left his residence and walked along East Street to the third alley on the south end.

The shop for Wu’s Talisman Material wasn’t large. Its narrow storefront was squeezed between two larger shops, easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention.

The shop didn’t have much stock, but everything was neatly arranged. On the left was a row of various grades of talisman paper, from the cheapest yellow paper to the slightly better Spirit Pattern Paper, arranged from lowest to highest price. On the right were cinnabar, Spiritual Ink, and a few other materials, all stored in small porcelain vials or cloth bags.

A man in his forties with an ordinary face sat behind the counter. When he saw Li Yuan enter, he glanced at the token on his waist and stood up politely.

"Deputy Li, what do you need?"

"Twenty sheets of yellow talisman paper, one vial of ordinary cinnabar, one vial of Spiritual Ink, and one fine-tipped brush."

The Shopkeeper deftly gathered the items and wrapped them in a bundle of Oil Paper.

"That’ll be four Spirit Stones in total."

Li Yuan paid with the Spirit Stones. After returning to his residence, he mentally unequipped the Iron Bull Skill and then equipped Old Zhang’s manual.

The booklet transformed into a faint light and merged into his body.

Just as Li Yuan had guessed, the entire booklet was absorbed, including the names and addresses Old Zhang had written down.

Li Yuan had wondered if he could tear out that page and still equip the manual, but he didn’t dare try.

Unlike when he equipped the cultivation technique manuals, this time he wasn’t infused with a Spell or circulatory paths. Instead, he received a vast amount of experience—all the experience Old Zhang had recorded in the booklet. Compared to simply reading it, this infusion was much more potent, as if Old Zhang himself were personally teaching him at every moment.

After the infusion was complete, Li Yuan twitched his fingers. A strange sensation washed over him—it was as if he had already drawn countless Talismans and knew the weight of every stroke by heart, yet when he actually picked up the brush, his fingers felt completely new to the task.

[Equipped: Talisman Crafting Manual]

[Trait Acquired: Talisman Crafting Insight (White)—Increases talisman crafting speed by 10%, reduces Spiritual Power consumption by 10%.]

[Permanence Progress: 0/50]

Li Yuan picked up the fine-tipped brush. Spiritual Power surged from his fingertips, and with a flick of his wrist, it traced an arc as he began to create a Cleaning Talisman.

The experience infused in his mind guided the direction and force of every movement, but his finger muscles were performing the action for the first time. Halfway through drawing the arc, the angle of his wrist shifted slightly, and the path of the Spiritual Power on the paper veered off course.

The cinnabar bled into a splotch on the paper. The pattern that should have been a uniform, fine line became a blurry red stain.

A failure.

Li Yuan put down the brush and set the sheet of paper aside.

He picked up a second sheet, dipped the brush in cinnabar again, and put it to paper.

Another failure.

The third... the fourth... the fifth...

Five failures in a row.

Li Yuan put down the brush, looked at the five failed Talismans on the table, and flexed his wrist. He stacked the ruined sheets to the side and picked up the sixth piece of paper.

Spiritual Power flowed from his fingertips as the cinnabar slowly spread across the talisman paper.

Li Yuan’s wrist moved in a constant rotation, becoming smoother and smoother.

The Spiritual Power slowly withdrew from the brush tip, the end of the pattern tapering naturally. The final dot landed in the center of the paper.

The Cleaning Talisman was a success.

[Item Detected: Cleaning Talisman (Complete)]

[Trait Preview: Cleansed Body (Identical trait already exists, cannot be equipped again)]

’So I can equip items I craft myself?’

A pleased expression appeared on Li Yuan’s face. If his guess was correct, he would have a stable channel for acquiring new traits.

But he couldn’t be certain yet. He still needed to try making an Exorcism Talisman.

A notification popped up on the panel.

[Tier One Talisman Making Skill: Uninitiated (9/100)]

[Cleaning Talisman: Uninitiated (12/100)]

[Talisman Crafting Insight (White) Permanence Progress: 1/50]