In addition to the many talisman scrolls Uncle Chen had given him, before leaving, Uncle Chen also left Shen Mo fifty Lower Grade Spirit Stones, allowing him to purchase necessary items from the Market.
Shen Mo felt deeply touched once again by Uncle Chen's generosity.
I have all the other raw materials for crafting the Li Fire Talisman here, except for the Li Fire Crystal Stones, which I still need to purchase from the Market, he thought.
He put away the talisman scrolls and soon arrived at the Market in Dedao Lane.
Upon entering the Market, he did not linger at the nearby stalls, instead heading directly to the Talisman Hall. The Talisman Hall was a storefront established by the Riverside Sect's own talisman division and boasted the most comprehensive inventory.
"Li Fire Crystal Stones, two Lower Grade Spirit Stones each," the disciple in green clothes manning the shop stated indifferently, with a wave of his hand.
This price is truly not low, Shen Mo sighed inwardly. No wonder the selling price of Grade I talismans was so expensive. The special Crystal Stone required for forging a Grade I talisman alone was far more valuable than all the other raw materials combined.
"I'll take one hundred."
He handed over all fifty Lower Grade Spirit Stones that Uncle Chen had given him.
"Alright, here are your Li Fire Crystal Stones." The disciple in green clothes checked them without error, quickly packaged one hundred Li Fire Crystal Stones, and handed them to Shen Mo.
Having obtained the Crystal Stones, Shen Mo hurriedly left the Market and returned to his residence, ready to start making talismans.
[You attempted to craft a Li Fire Talisman and failed. Your Talisman Path cultivation +2, Li Fire Talisman proficiency +5]
Unsurprisingly, his first attempt failed. But Shen Mo was already used to it. Failure is the mother of success; if he tried a few more times, success would inevitably come. He was well-prepared this time, with plenty of Li Fire Crystal Stones on hand, enough for him to attempt the crafting process a hundred times.
[You attempted to craft a Li Fire Talisman and failed. Your Talisman Path cultivation +2, Li Fire Talisman proficiency +5]
[You attempted to craft a Li Fire Talisman and failed. Your Talisman Path cultivation +2, Li Fire Talisman proficiency +5]
.....
Shen Mo spent an entire day and didn't manage to forge a single finished Li Fire Talisman. The time and energy required to forge these Grade I talismans far exceeded that of some unranked, junk talismans. Throughout the entire day, he had only managed to attempt forging nine times.
I can't hold on any longer. I'll take a break for now, he thought.
The continuous crafting attempts had left Shen Mo mentally scattered and severely drained of energy. In such a state, the probability of successfully crafting a finished talisman would be even lower, so he didn't force himself to continue.
Whatever you do, you need to maintain a balance between work and rest, he reflected. After several months of contact with the Alchemy Path and Talisman Path, he was no longer as reckless or inexperienced as he had been in the early days. Previously, once he became engrossed, he would forge and refine for days and nights on end, without sleep or rest. He understood that excess could be as detrimental as insufficiency. Sometimes, being overly diligent could, in fact, be counterproductive.
RUMBLE!
Lying on the bed, Shen Mo swallowed a Red Fruit and didn't deliberately cultivate. Instead, he chose a comfortable position and lay on the bamboo bed. He circulated the Heavenly Origin Technique within his body, absorbing the essence of the Red Fruit to recover his energy.
[You consumed a Red Fruit. Its pure medicinal power spread throughout your body. The Heavenly Yuan Magic absorbed and digested all of the Red Fruit's medicinal power, causing your cultivation to increase.]
[During the process of circulating the Heavenly Yuan Magic, you gradually gained a deeper understanding of its mysteries. Your experience in Heavenly Yuan Magic +30.]
[During your cultivation, you accidentally triggered a fortuitous opportunity and obtained one Destiny Point.]
......
[After a night of light cultivation and rest, your spirit is full, and you feel refreshed and invigorated.]
「The next day.」
He woke up and checked the information panel. A series of messages appeared before his eyes, which he quickly scanned. After getting up and washing, Shen Mo quickly began a new round of crafting the Li Fire Talisman.
[You attempted to craft a Li Fire Talisman and failed. Your Talisman Path cultivation +2, Li Fire Talisman proficiency +5]
.....
Today, his first five crafting attempts still ended in failure. By the sixth attempt, Shen Mo's proficiency level in crafting the Li Fire Talisman had already progressed from 'Unfamiliar' to 'Great'. Therefore, this time, his movements were exceptionally smooth, appearing as fluid as flowing water.
FZZT.
Holding the talisman painting brush, his expression solemn, he meticulously drew the Li Fire patterns onto the yellow paper.
"Beast blood!"
When the talisman's base diagram was complete, he dipped the brush in beast blood and performed the spirit enlightenment.
HUMMM!
When the beast blood dripped onto the yellow talisman paper, a fluorescent glow slowly emerged.
The spirit enlightenment was successful, but Shen Mo didn't relax his mind. Unlike with unranked, substandard talismans, spirit enlightenment was not the final step in forging a Grade I talisman. To ensure the Li Fire Talisman formed successfully, it was also necessary to integrate a Li Fire Crystal Stone into the talisman. This step was the key to success or failure. Previously, Shen Mo had failed numerous times at this very step, resulting in ruined talismans.
FSHHH... FSHHH...
The entirely crimson Crystal Stone was slowly integrated by Shen Mo onto the surface of the yellow paper talisman.
[You successfully crafted a Li Fire Talisman! Your Talisman Path cultivation +20, Li Fire Talisman proficiency +50]
This time, finally...
"It's done! I finally did it!"
He held the finished Li Fire Talisman in his hand, feeling quite excited.
As expected of a Grade I Attack Talisman. The fire-elemental fluctuations contained within it are incredibly powerful, he mused. Feeling the strong power fluctuations within this exquisite talisman, he secretly estimated that its might, if fully unleashed, should be comparable to a full-force strike from a cultivator at the Perfection stage of the Body Tempering Realm. Coupled with its inherent Fire-type attribute, which already counters that Double-headed Python, I believe the damage inflicted would be even greater. A single talisman could cause significant trouble for the Double-headed Python. If five, or even ten, talismans were unleashed simultaneously, that Double-headed Python would be utterly powerless to retaliate.
Thinking this, he carefully stored the finished Li Fire Talisman and proceeded to craft the next one.
At the end of the day, Shen Mo took stock. Today, he had attempted to craft talismans ten times and succeeded twice.
I'll continue tomorrow, he decided.
When he felt his energy was mostly depleted, he put away his things, washed up, and went to rest. Just like the previous day, he lay down on his bed. He swallowed a Red Fruit and did not deliberately cultivate, merely allowing the Heavenly Origin Technique to circulate on its own within his body, absorbing the medicinal strength.
「Time flew, and twelve such regular days passed in a blink.」
On this day, the one hundred Li Fire Crystal Stones Shen Mo had purchased from the Market were completely depleted.
Twelve days. The original plan was for half a month, so I'm three days ahead of schedule, Shen Mo calculated inwardly.
In fact, as his proficiency in crafting the Li Fire Talisman subsequently advanced from the Great level to Excellent, his crafting speed had also increased by leaps and bounds. If he were to dedicate all his time to talisman making, he could attempt to craft the Li Fire Talisman twelve times a day. However, Shen Mo didn't do this; he only set himself a daily quota of nine attempts. He dedicated his remaining time to cultivation.
During these twelve days, every time he depleted his energy, he would consume a Red Fruit to aid his cultivation. With the continuous absorption and accumulation of medicinal strength, Shen Mo's vitality, qi and blood, and internal organs had all undergone a round of strengthening.