Kong Yi had been tormented by illness for many days, her consciousness already blurry.

After being treated by Liou Yuan, the pain finally faded from her pretty face, and she fell into a deep sleep lying on the bed.

The three of them stepped lightly out of Kong Yi’s room, each returning to their quarters to rest.

The first thing Liou Yuan did upon entering his room was to take out the Fixed Star Compass and, relying on its ability to appraise, examine the jade scroll that Mr. Ge had given him.

Ever since discovering the Fixed Star Compass could evaluate objects, this had become almost a habit for Liou Yuan—anything he got his hands on, he would have it appraised.

After all, there was hardly anything that could escape the detection of the compass.

The Lion’s Roar Spell hidden in the Yellow Jade Buddhist Beads.

The side effects of the Qi Condensing Pill.

All these things that ordinary cultivators couldn’t see, the Fixed Star Compass could reveal completely.

"Who knows, maybe there’s something in this jade scroll that even that old Mr. Ge didn’t notice." Liou Yuan muttered, activating the Fixed Star Compass with a sense of anticipation.

Radiance enveloped the jade scroll, and information appeared on the paper.

[Name] Talismanic Skill

[Category] Magic Jade Scroll

[Quality] Grade E, Supreme (Introductory Chapter)

[Effect] Uses spiritual power to carve talisman-like incantations onto objects. The incantations possess powers for offense, defense, fending off enemies, and various other abilities.

"So, it’s only Grade E." Clearly, Liou Yuan was disappointed—this Talismanic Skill was indeed just a Grade E magic.

And there were no hidden details like with the Yellow Jade Buddhist Beads.

But there was one thing Ge Jinhong hadn’t said,

Or perhaps, something Ge Jinhong hadn’t even considered.

And that was that the Talismanic Skill he cultivated was actually only an introductory Chapter.

Clearly, there were further steps to cultivate this magic, but Ge Jinhong never had the chance to obtain them.

"If just an introductory Chapter is already Supreme Grade E, if I could get the full thing, Grade D, or even Grade C wouldn’t be out of the question."

Liou Yuan could not hide his regret in his tone.

Understandable, too—if this Talismanic Skill was complete, that old man Ge wouldn’t have so readily agreed to exchange the magic jade scroll for a Qi Condensing Pill.

Staring at the Talismanic Skill, Liou Yuan itched with curiosity, thinking to himself:

"I wonder where Ge Jinhong found this magic."

"If there’s a chance, maybe I can probe him about it. For all I know, there are later parts left in the place where he first came across this jade scroll, just waiting to be found."

"I have the Fixed Star Compass—if there’s any follow-up magic left behind, I’m bound to find it."

This was also an advantage only Liou Yuan possessed.

But now was not the time for such inquiries.

All Liou Yuan wanted at this moment was to diligently train up this Talismanic Skill, to prepare for whatever danger might soon descend upon Yanhe City.

"As for the later parts, I’ll worry about that after surviving this calamity."

With that, Liou Yuan put away the Fixed Star Compass.

He picked up the mottled jade scroll and pressed it to his brow.

He read through it several times, word by word.

After making sure he’d missed nothing, he went to the study and fetched the fountain pen Bai Xin often used.

Using his broadsword as his practice subject, he started to explore and train bit by bit.

The introductory Chapter of the Talismanic Skill contained only two talismans.

One was called the ’Sharp Gold Talisman’—the very spell Mr. Ge often used to enhance weapons.

This talisman could grant a weapon an extra layer of magical might.

That was fundamentally the reason why, after Luo Jie received the enhancement from Mr. Ge’s Talismanic Skill, he was able to chop off Ms. Qiao’s arm with brute force alone.

And why Dai Yao relied on Mr. Ge as well.

Because this thing was just far too practical.

The other was called the ’Earth-Stacking Talisman.’

It could likewise be applied to armor for defense purposes,

Or to buildings, to resist enemy attacks.

Previously, when trying to stop little Ping’an from fleeing, Mr. Ge drew this very talisman onto the wall.

It was just that Mr. Ge’s spiritual power was too limited—most days, he still mainly used the Sharp Gold Talisman.

"No wonder it’s called Talismanic Skill—it’s entirely a method for simulating talismans with magic!"

Understanding the uses of these two talismans, Liou Yuan now had a much clearer, concrete grasp of the skill.

But according to the notes in the Talismanic Skill, to bring out its greatest power, two things were needed for assistance.

One was a fountain pen for drawing talismans—

the best are those made from spiritually-endowed hairs,

which aid spiritual power conduction, helping the talisman-drawer execute this skill more effectively.

Mr. Ge happened to have a fountain pen magical artifact, which was why the talismans he drew were so potent.

With his cultivation at the Qi Refining Second Layer, he thrived in the Qinghe Division.

The second crucial item was talisman ink for drawing the symbols—

The Talismanic Skill notes listed the best recipe of spirit medicines for making talisman ink,

but Liou Yuan didn’t recognize a single one of those herbs.

There was another way—using blood containing spiritual essence as ink also worked.

But right now, Liou Yuan had neither fountain pen nor talisman ink.

Fortunately, even lacking both, Liou Yuan still had spiritual power. Using an ordinary fountain pen to practice this skill was not out of the question.

"We’ll make do for now. I’ll get myself a proper fountain pen and talisman ink when I have the chance," Liou Yuan muttered.

With the broadsword as his canvas, he began to train in this Talismanic Skill.

Autumn was already drawing to a close.

The first snows drifted down, cloaking Yanhe City in pure, dancing white—gentle and aglow with spiritual energy.

Virgo Peak too now lay beneath this sea of ice and snow.

In the woods behind Virgo Peak, shrouded beneath a blanket of white—

suddenly there burst forth a roar, like that of a lion and tiger, shaking the hills.

Roar! The shockwave blasted out, sweeping through the forest, rattling down withered branches and powdered snow everywhere.

Amid the flurry of falling snow, one could glimpse a slender figure standing silent and composed amid the woods.

Ripple after ripple of soundwaves emanated from his parted lips, sweeping in all directions.

The drifting snow swirling about the forest didn’t even get close to his body before the sound waves shattered it into mist.

This one roar lasted for a full ten breaths or more.

Only then did Liou Yuan rein in the Lion’s Roar Spell.

He cast his gaze at the trampled snow beneath his feet.

With his stance at the center, within a radius of fifteen zhang, all the snow covering the ground had been blasted away—leaving only bare earth behind.

One could just imagine the consequence if someone were caught within that range.

"Whew!" Liou Yuan drew a deep breath.

He looked around at the swept-clear earth, nodded to himself, clearly satisfied with this demonstration of the Lion’s Roar Spell’s might.

Now that he’d broken through to Qi Cultivation Second Layer, casting the Lion’s Roar Spell was nothing like before—no more worrying about spiritual depletion.

With his twenty-seven threads of spiritual power, he could launch seven or eight roars in a row with ease—plenty to handle any fight.

"Three months of hard practice, and I’ve grasped the Lion’s Roar Spell on a much deeper level."

"I reckon it won’t be long before the Lion’s Roar Spell earns an ’Entry’ mark in the evaluation."

Over these three months, Liou Yuan practiced this spell—learned from the Yellow Jade Buddhist Beads—whenever he had a spare moment.

Practice makes perfect. Gradually he mastered some core details of the Lion’s Roar Spell, which brought such obvious improvement.

"Against Qi Cultivation Second Layer cultivators like Mr. Ge, one roar of mine would have him spitting blood for sure."

"Even someone as strong as Dai Yao, up close, would be knocked flat by my Lion’s Roar Spell."

Liou Yuan, evaluating the threat his Lion’s Roar posed, smiled more broadly.

On the eve of Yanhe City’s coming crisis, this breakthrough in the Lion’s Roar Spell was undoubtedly a heartening development.

Typical Star Evil? Even without suppression from the Auspicious Star, Liou Yuan could hold his ground against it with the Lion’s Roar Spell alone.

It gave him another means of self-preservation.

And that was not the only good news.

Other than the Lion’s Roar Spell, the Talismanic Skill that Liou Yuan had, just a few days ago, exchanged with Mr. Ge for a bottle of Qi Condensing Pills—after these days of relentless training, he too had finally mastered the basics.

It was only a Grade E magic, after all—nothing too difficult.

Now Liou Yuan could already draw simple ’Sharp Gold Talismans’ and ’Earth-Stacking Talismans.’

The power still didn’t quite match what Mr. Ge could manage with his fountain pen magical artifact,

but it was enough to use in combat and gave Liou Yuan a tangible boost to his strength.

In a pinch, even the slightest advantage could alter the course of battle.

Liou Yuan understood this all too well.