Fang Hong meticulously examined "Mo li's travels," completely engrossed.
He had grown up in Bamboo Forest Village and his knowledge of the outside world came solely from the stories told by the village's old scholar when he was a child.
This book, "Mo Li's travels," with its vivid and detailed descriptions, presented him with a colorful, vast, and boundless world.
The world of Cultivators, in particular, deeply captivated him.
It opened the door to a new world for him, allowing him to understand that this world was so expansive and wonderful.
As the pages turned, Fang Hong was completely immersed, wanting to learn more about Cultivation...
Night fell imperceptibly, and darkness slowly enveloped the small wooden house. Fang Hong lit the old candle at home and continued to read by its light.
Time passed bit by bit, and two candles had already burned out. Finally, Fang Hong finished the entire travelogue.
He slowly put down the book, leaned against the headboard, his eyes a bit vacant, the contents of the book still echoing in his mind.
At this moment, Fang Hong had a preliminary understanding of the Immortal Realm and yearned even more for the world outside.
After a short rest, Fang Hong pulled out the thumb-sized white crystals from his cloth bag.
Now Fang Hong knew that these white crystals were "Spirit Stones."
Spirit Stones contain Spiritual Qi, and for Cultivators, Spirit Stones are wealth.
They can be used for Cultivation, or as currency to purchase Magical Artifacts, Medicinal Pills, Talismans, and various other items, making their uses very extensive.
Fang Hong carefully counted them. He now had fifty Spirit Stones.
After putting away the Spirit Stones, Fang Hong's gaze fell on the book about "Elementary Talismans."
From the travelogue, Fang Hong now knew a little about Talismans.
Talismans are various Spells inscribed in the form of Talismanic Incantations onto special Talisman paper.
This is like pre-storing Spells; in battle or when needed, one only needs to inject a small amount of magical power to easily activate the Talisman and release powerful Spells.
This method is not only convenient and quick but also saves magical power, often playing an unexpected role at critical moments.
Fang Hong developed a strong interest in Talismans. He opened the book and read it carefully.
The book recorded more than a dozen rune for Elementary Talismans, which were divided into attack, defense, and auxiliary types based on their uses.
Fang Hong looked through them one by one...
About an hour later, he had already memorized several rune he was interested in. His heart was eager to try, planning to personally attempt drawing Talismans to see if he could succeed.
He got up and went to the wooden table, placing the blank Talisman paper, Talisman ink, and Talisman brush one by one on the table.
Once prepared, Fang Hong picked up the Talisman brush, took a deep breath, and his eyes became focused.
He decided to start by drawing the simplest "Calming Talisman."
This Talisman can calm the mind and help Cultivators enter the meditative Qi Refining state more quickly, which is very practical for low-level Cultivators.
Following the steps in the Talisman book, Fang Hong dipped the Talisman brush in some ink, then slowly injected magical power into the Talisman brush.
Instantly, the brush tip emitted a faint Spiritual light, appearing exceptionally bright in the dim room.
Fang Hong's face was as calm as water, his eyes fixed on the Talisman paper. Following the rune drawing method recorded in the book, he began to gently wave the Talisman brush.
A stroke, a press, a horizontal line, a hook—his movements were fluid and seamless, completed in one go!
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, an Elementary Calming Talisman was inscribed by him.
The rune on it flickered faintly with Spiritual light. Without a doubt, he had succeeded in drawing the Talisman!
Hmm? Drawing Talismans is too simple, isn't it...?
Fang Hong raised the Talisman brush, a strange expression on his face.
The book said that drawing Talismans was a delicate task, and beginners might not succeed even with daily practice, so how did he succeed on his first try?
Fang Hong took out another blank Talisman paper and continued to attempt drawing Talismans.
This time, Fang Hong's movements were even more skilled.
Not long after, the second Calming Talisman was also successfully inscribed.
Fireball Talisman, successfully inscribed.
Diamond Talisman, successfully inscribed.
One blank Talisman paper after another turned into finished Talismans under his brush.
...
A few moments later, Fang Hong felt a bit over-expended in magical power, so he put down the Talisman brush and took a deep breath.
Fang Hong looked at the dozen or so finished Elementary Talismans on the table, scratched his head, and fell into thought. His success rate at drawing Talismans seemed a bit high...
Although he didn't know what was going on, he must have some talent in the Dao of drawing Talismans, right?
Fang Hong smiled slightly and carefully put away these finished Talismans.
He hadn't expected to unknowingly learn a Cultivation skill. Perhaps these Talismans would be of great use in the future.
Fang Hong felt delighted, sensing that he had gained another layer of confidence.
After putting away his Talisman drawing tools, Fang Hong sat cross-legged on the wooden bed and began to consume Spirit Pills to Cultivate.
...
Spring passed and autumn came; a year flew by in the blink of an eye.
During this year, Fang Hong's life was simple yet fulfilling.
Every day, besides eating, drinking, and other necessities, he was immersed in Cultivation.
Consuming Spirit Pills, meditating for Qi Refining, refining Spells, and pondering Talismans—these four activities permeated his daily life.
If he ran out of Spirit Pills, he would go to Baiyun Mountain to hunt wild beasts, feed them to his demon gourd, and refine Spirit Pills.
Life went on in this Repeated cycle manner. Although monotonous, Fang Hong's progress was evident.
He had successfully cultivated the "Qi Condensation Skill" to the tenth layer, becoming a Cultivator at the tenth layer of the Qi Refinement Stage.
But recently, Fang Hong had discovered some problems.
He found that the Spirit Pills refined from wild beasts were becoming less effective in improving his Cultivation, and the speed of his meditative Qi Refining also slowed down.
Each time he Cultivated, he could feel that the growth of magical power within him was very limited, which greatly troubled him.
After careful consideration, Fang Hong speculated that this situation might be related to the "Qi Condensation Skill" he was cultivating.
He learned from the travelogue that the Qi Refinement Stage was considered Perfection at the thirteenth layer.
However, the "Qi Condensation Skill" he was cultivating only contained the Cultivation incantations for the first ten layers. It was clearly not a complete Cultivation Technique.
Perhaps the missing last three layers of incantations were the key to his slowed Cultivation speed.
To avoid delaying his Cultivation, Fang Hong decided to leave Bamboo Forest Village, where he had lived for many years, and head to other large towns to see.
Perhaps in a large town, he could find a complete Cultivation Technique...