7: Chapter 7 Three Years, Talisman Refining

In the blink of an eye, three years of time passed like a white horse passing a crevice.

Chen Changqing had also embarked on the path of immortality for three and a half years. Over these three years, his cultivation had progressed extremely quickly, and he had now reached the Late Stage of the 3rd Layer of Qi Refining, not far from the 4th Layer of Qi Refining.

It had to be said that with the resources of four Spirit Stones and twenty catties of spirit rice every month, relying on resources double that of others, as well as consuming a certain amount of spirit fish every year, coupled with the dao bead assisting him in refining his spiritual power, he saved a full quarter of his cultivation time.

Through this series of conditions, he was able to have such a fast cultivation speed. For him, it was almost equivalent to an improvement of one minor Realm every year, and in the entire Family, only he could be this fast.

As for the four clansmen who went up the mountain with him, only Chen Changyue and Chen Changming had reached the Early Stage of the 2nd Layer of Qi Refining, while the other two were still lingering at the 1st Layer of Qi Refining.

Among the older Chang-generation members, besides his eldest brother Chen Changtian, his second brother Chen Changling had also reached the 4th Layer of Qi Refining. Both of them possessed the talent of Four Spiritual Roots, and coupled with the spirit fish over the past few years, their cultivation speeds had also improved quite a bit compared to before.

What was most worth mentioning was that within these three years, three more Chang-generation clansmen had been added, along with Li Qingling.

Among them, the most surprising one was Li Qingling. She turned out to have Water-Earth Dual Spiritual Roots. The pity was that there were no Cultivation Techniques in the Family suitable for her to Cultivate to Foundation Establishment. Otherwise, with the Aptitude of Dual Spiritual Roots, breaking through to Foundation Establishment might not be a hundred percent guaranteed, but it would at least be a sure thing.

Coupled with the fact that she had Dual Spiritual Roots, the Family had no choice but to hide her. In the entire Family, only the Clan Chief, Chen Yuanwen who was responsible for testing Spiritual Roots that year, and Chen Changqing's Family knew about it.

After discussions among several people, Li Qingling ultimately chose to Cultivate the Supreme Qi Nourishing Art. Although this Cultivation Technique was difficult to master, for Li Qingling who had Dual Spiritual Roots, the difficulty was not very great. On the contrary, her degree of adaptation to this Cultivation Technique was extremely good.

In the current Family, not only was everyone's cultivation getting higher and higher, but the number of Cultivators was also slowly increasing. Among the current Chang-generation members, including Li Qingling, there were a total of thirteen people. This number was almost catching up with the Yuan-generation clansmen.

...

"Changqing, have you already reached the 3rd Layer of Qi Refining?"

At home, Chen Yuanzhan and the others were shocked.

Chen Changqing nodded. Looking at their shocked gazes, he was glad that he had not told the truth. In fact, he had reached the 3rd Layer of Qi Refining as early as half a year ago. By rights, even with double the resources and the assistance of spirit fish, he shouldn't have been this fast.

However, it was impossible for him to reveal his secret. Could he say that he was a transmigrator? It would be even harder to explain things then.

He turned his head and continued, "Dad, I remember that after cultivating to the 3rd Layer of Qi Refining, one can learn the hundred arts of cultivation, right?"

Hearing this, Chen Yuanzhan put away his somewhat uncomposed expression. "You want to learn a craft? Which kind?"

"Talisman refining."

This was something Chen Changqing had carefully considered. The main reason for choosing the Talisman Dao was that Talismans could quickly enhance his combat power, and there were also two Talisman masters in the clan, one of whom happened to be his grandfather.

"Talisman refining!" Chen Yuanzhan's gaze was surprised. The learning difficulty of the Talisman Dao was no less than that of the Array Dao or Alchemy Dao. Although the Family's Talisman Dao Legacy was the most complete, so far only two people had become Talisman masters.

In the past, just like other clansmen, he had dreamed of becoming a Talisman master admired by thousands. However, he did not inherit his father's talent. Even with his father's instruction, he ended up spending three months without even achieving a twenty percent success rate for Low Grade Tier 1 Talismans,

leading to him losing confidence in learning any other crafts in the end.

With a sigh, looking at Chen Changqing's expectant gaze, he said solemnly, "Our clan's Talisman Dao Legacy is indeed complete, but if you simply want to learn a craft, you might as well learn the Artifact Dao."

"Although our clan's Artifact Dao Legacy is incomplete, the learning difficulty is much lower. Moreover, there are four Artifact Refiners in the Family, and you can discuss things with them at that time."

Seeing that his father did not recommend him to learn the Talisman Dao, Chen Changqing felt somewhat anxious and hurriedly explained, "Dad, you also know that what I Cultivate is the Evergreen Art, and my combat power is the weakest among the same rank. If I learn the Artifact Dao, it won't be of much help to me, but the Talisman Dao can make up for my shortcomings."

Chen Yuanzhan slightly frowned. Li Chenghui by the side quickly said, "Since Changqing wants to learn, let him learn it. Besides, Dad is also a Talisman master."

Chen Yuanzhan hesitated for a moment and ultimately agreed. He was only worried that his son would walk down the wrong path just like he did.

After bidding farewell to his Family, Chen Changqing headed to the Technique Pavilion.

"Changqing, how is it you have time to come to Grandpa's place today?" Chen Xuanqi looked at Chen Changqing, joy appearing on his face.

As one of the only two Talisman masters in the clan, he had to refine a large number of Talismans for the Family every month, so he rarely returned home year-round. Coupled with the fact that before the age of six, when Chen Changqing had not yet awakened his Spiritual Root, he could not come to the Technique Pavilion either, the grandfather and grandson had very few opportunities to meet.

"Grandpa, this is the lotus pastry Mom asked me to bring. You haven't eaten it yet, right?" Chen Changqing's gaze carried joy as he took out the pastries brought from home. This was something his mother had specifically instructed.

"Mhm, come, little Changqing, let's eat together," Chen Xuanqi said happily.

Chen Changqing nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

After a while, Chen Changqing wiped his mouth and then spoke, "Grandpa, I want to learn Talisman refining with you. Mom and Dad both approve of it."

"What? Learn Talisman refining? No. Even if you are the grandson of Chen Xuanqi, the rules within the clan cannot be broken." Chen Xuanqi looked at Chen Changqing and slowly spoke.

"No, Grandpa, ..." Chen Changqing had not finished speaking.

Chen Xuanqi waved his hand, interrupting, "Do you know why the clan has such a rule? That's because the clan is afraid that you will put the cart before the horse right after stepping onto the path of immortality. The primary goal of us Cultivators is to improve our cultivation, while everything else is ultimately just auxiliary. Therefore, the higher-ups of the clan stipulated that one must reach the 3rd Layer of Qi Refining before they can learn crafts."

"I understand, Grandpa. I have already reached the 3rd Layer of Qi Refining."

"No matter what... What did you just say?" Chen Xuanqi thought he had heard wrong and asked again.

"I said, I have reached the 3rd Layer of Qi Refining," Chen Changqing said earnestly.

"You! The 3rd Layer of Qi Refining! How can it be so fast?" Chen Xuanqi's tone carried disbelief.

"Come here, let Grandpa take a look."

Hearing this, Chen Changqing released the aura of the 3rd Layer of Qi Refining within his body.

"As expected, is this what Three Spiritual Roots are? Truly extraordinary. Since you want to learn Talisman refining, follow Grandpa and learn from now on." Chen Xuanqi suppressed the shock in his heart.

After a while, he calmed his emotions and continued, "Go to the Technique Pavilion first to study Talisman Dao knowledge. After memorizing the techniques of Talisman refining, come find Grandpa, and Grandpa will guide you in Talisman refining."

Chen Changqing nodded and said, "Thank you, Grandpa. Then I'll go in first."

After entering the Technique Pavilion, he quickly found the place where the Talisman Dao Legacy was placed.

"I didn't expect the Family's Talisman Legacy to actually even have Top Grade Tier 1 Talismans." Chen Changqing checked the Legacy in his hand, feeling surprised in his heart.

This Talisman Legacy contained the drawing methods for four types of Low Grade Tier 1 Talismans, three types of Medium Grade Tier 1 Talismans, two types of High Grade Tier 1 Talismans, and one type of Top Grade Tier 1 Talisman.

It took him only a month to memorize all the Talisman refining methods one by one. This was also something he could accomplish because he possessed a Divine Soul equivalent to the Late Qi Refining Stage. If it were anyone else, it might take several months or even half a year.

When he walked out of the Technique Pavilion, Chen Xuanqi happened to be refining a Talisman, so Chen Changqing stepped forward to watch.

For a moment, he became so engrossed in watching that his grandfather, due to being too focused, did not notice Chen Changqing standing next to him.

After a while, along with the completion of the final stroke, this Talisman bloomed with golden light before quickly fading away.

"It's finally finished." Chen Xuanqi wiped his sweat, only then discovering that Chen Changqing was standing next to him.

Chen Changqing also recovered his senses at this time, looked at him, and said awkwardly, "Grandpa, continue."

"Small matter, not an outsider anyway," Chen Xuanqi chuckled and said.

"If you can learn it, it is also a good thing for our Family. Moreover, every clansman learning Talisman refining can observe the Seniors' Talisman refining techniques, but remember not to disturb them."

Chen Changqing nodded, indicating that he understood.

"Come, Grandpa will teach you how to draw Talismans."