Chapter 126: On the Way of Talismans and the Way of Alchemy

March 13th, the day before the Qingming Festival.

A group gathered at Mount Zhongling. Since this visit had been planned well in advance, it was not the rushed departure of the previous trip to Western Kunlun, which had set off from Yuxu Peak. This time, they were departing directly from the mountain gate.

The delegation was led by a high-ranking group: the head of the party was Lu Duxing, Deputy Sect Master of Yuqing Peak. Additionally, Huo Jingyan, Master of the External Affairs Hall; Zhao Wuji, Master of Shuji Mountain; Ren Wushi, Master of Danxia Mountain; Ying Jingsong, Master of Toujian Mountain; and Gan Jingquan, Master of Moya Mountain, were all in attendance.

Beyond the leadership, ten disciples each from the first and second tiers were brought along to participate in the Dragon and Tiger Dharma Assembly. Beyond merely observing, these disciples were expected to perform and demonstrate their arts to bolster the sect’s prestige. Furthermore, the division of spiritual fields and mineral veins in Yuzhang, as well as the terms for their harvesting, would be determined by the rankings achieved by these disciples during their demonstrations.

These demonstrations were limited to the first and second tiers. Once a cultivator reached the third tier, they were considered a figure of stature and influence; in remote regions, they would be capable of establishing their own sect and would naturally no longer descend to compete.

The senior masters had arrived early and were chatting amongst themselves.

"Sigh, why did Xinzhan have to choose this exact moment to break through to the second tier?" Huo Jingyan lamented with a heavy sigh. "He could have just opened his Wood Mansion; it wouldn't have been too late to break through after returning!"

With Cheng Xinzhan's expertise in the Five Elements, he could be said to dominate the first tier. A victory in the first-tier competition would have been a certainty. But now that he had broken into the second tier, he would have to compete against young talents who had spent years at that level, making the outcome far less certain. However, since the hosts had specifically requested Xinzhan’s participation and he had agreed after consulting the boy, they could not go back on their word.

Ying Jingsong smiled at this. "Unless someone has refined an extraordinary celestial gang-sha and wields it with perfect mastery, Xinzhan's chances of winning should still be quite high."

Zhao Wuji and Gan Jingquan nodded in agreement. Beyond internal alchemy, Xinzhan's achievements in swordsmanship, thunder arts, and talisman techniques were evident to all.

Ren Wushi, however, was displeased. If everyone agreed the boy was so excellent in every aspect, why did he not study alchemy? The Sect Master had allowed him to observe at the three peaks, but not Danxia Mountain—what was the meaning of this? Was it because he had been in seclusion that Danxia Mountain was being slighted? How was Wan Wuwei managing as Deputy Mountain Master? Did the boy have no interest in alchemy? Ren Wushi did not believe it. Only a fool would be uninterested in alchemy, and that was usually because they could not learn it. Perhaps Wen Sukong or the Sect Master had a grievance against Danxia Mountain? He would certainly get to the bottom of it when he returned.

Amidst the laughter and conversation, the group began to board their transport. The vessel was quite interesting: three large bamboo rafts, sparsely furnished with only a few meditation cushions. The masters sat in pairs, and the disciples began to embark.

"Wait, hasn't Xinzhan arrived yet?" Huo Jingyan was counting the heads and noticed that of the twenty disciples, Cheng Xinzhan was the only one missing. This was unexpected; the boy was known for his sense of propriety and etiquette, and he shouldn't have been late.

"My apologies! My apologies! I am late!" Just as Huo Jingyan was about to send a message, a familiar voice rang out. A figure appeared, treading through the air toward them. It was indeed Xinzhan.

Wait! Look at his footwork. What kind of mystical light was that beneath his feet? Silver and purple flickered, appearing like lightning, yet one could hear the whistling of wind and the roaring of fire. He did not walk in a straight line; every three steps he turned, every four steps he pivoted, leaving footprints in the void that resembled plum blossoms or star patterns. The voice moved from afar to near, and by the time he finished his sentence, he had landed right before them.

"Xinzhan, what footwork is this? I have never seen you use it before."

Cheng Xinzhan bowed and replied, "Disciple has learned a bit of everything. I discovered that wind, fire, stars, and thunder all have unique strengths in evasion techniques, so I thought to fuse them together. I created this rather unconventional method. I call it the 'Four-Unlike' Steps. It is still just a rough draft, hardly worthy of your eyes."

Huo Jingyan nodded, at a loss for words. Cheng Xinzhan apologized to the other masters and his peers, then prepared to choose a raft.

"Xinzhan, come here." Two voices called out in unison. Cheng Xinzhan looked over to see Ren Wushi of Danxia Mountain and Gan Jingquan of Moya Mountain calling him at the same time.

"Jingquan, no need to move, I shall go to you," Ren Wushi said, taking a step across. Cheng Xinzhan followed suit and boarded that raft.

On the raft were the three elders—Ying Jingsong, Gan Jingquan, and Ren Wushi—and seven disciples, including Cheng Xinzhan. He saw Zeng Jinian from Toujian Mountain and Xiao Miaoyu from Moya Mountain on this raft, while on the opposite raft, he saw Zhu Jianrong of Danxia Mountain. He recognized the others but was not familiar with them.

"Jingquan, what is it? You speak first," Ren Wushi said, sitting on a cushion beside Gan Jingquan. Cheng Xinzhan sat opposite the masters. He had not interacted much with Moya Mountain or Danxia Mountain before, and this was his first time meeting these two masters. He realized each Mountain Master had a distinct character. The Master of Danxia Mountain was the classic "child-faced, crane-haired" sage—his hair was like silver silk, yet his face was smooth and rosy as an infant's. The Master of Moya Mountain was extremely young; even younger than the Master of Toujian Mountain, possessing a vibrant, youthful spirit.

"Xinzhan, your reputation as 'Yifu' precedes you!" Gan Jingquan said with a smile. Xinzhan humbly denied the praise.

"Where did you learn your talisman arts?" Gan Jingquan asked, his curiosity piqued. He had heard of this 'Cheng Yifu' and was further intrigued when his own direct disciple, Xiao Miaoyu, had returned from the demon-suppression mission in Western Kunlun and spoken of him in glowing terms. He had even examined the talismans Cheng Xinzhan had drawn; while the grade of the talismans was not exceptionally high, the brushwork and the spirit imbued within them were exquisite.

Cheng Xinzhan answered truthfully, "Disciple started with 'Primary Understanding of Talisman Dao'."

Gan Jingquan nodded; this was not surprising, as most talisman practitioners began with that book, which was available for free in the Sanching Mountain library.

"And then? Who taught you the way of the talisman?" he asked.

Cheng Xinzhan replied, "No one taught me, really. Elder Jingsi of Toujian Mountain once gave me a book on talismans, which was a great help. After understanding the basics of talisman crafting through these two books, I began to experiment. At first, it was difficult to grasp, but later I discovered that talisman arts, incantations, and calligraphy could all inform one another, and that is how I made progress."

Seeing his peers listening intently, especially those from Moya Mountain, Cheng Xinzhan elaborated, "I believe the modulation of voice in chanting—the weight, speed, and rhythm—is similar to the weight, speed, and strokes used in drawing talismans. They are just different expressions of the same Dao and intent."

"Later, to learn more, I encountered different scripts: Cloud Seal, Thunder Seal, Wind Cursive, and Dragon Script. I realized these scripts are all talismans in themselves. Using different scripts for the same character conveys different intent. So, I taught myself Phoenix patterns, Ghost scripts, Tadpole script, Bird script, and Fish-Insect script."

"Drawing different talismans with different scripts might not seem like much at first, but once you get used to it, the brush follows the mind. You stop being confined to a single style. Eventually, I realized the benefit was significant. Additionally, there is visualization. By visualizing the images of deities, the spirit resides in your heart, and your brush moves as if guided by divine power. I have a method I developed myself: because many deities are ancient, it is hard to grasp their true essence just by looking at icons. Sometimes, I collect legends about them—whether true or merely later fabrications—and compose biographies for them. As I write and ponder, the divine intent in my heart naturally strengthens."

"Another method is visualizing the 'true form' of nature. For example, with mountains: you don't need to visualize the entire landscape, just strip away the lines that best represent the mountain—the boundary between light and shadow, the lines of the peaks, or the cloud and water lines associated with them. Sometimes look from afar, sometimes close up. Once you have these lines, you can merge them into your talismans, giving the divine intent a foundation."

After Cheng Xinzhan finished, the raft fell silent. "Just a personal opinion, merely a personal opinion," he added.

"Thank you, Master Cheng, for your teaching!" Suddenly, to his surprise, Xiao Miaoyu stood up and performed a formal bow. It was the disciple's bow used by Sanching Mountain members toward their instructors—a gesture he had performed for his own master, for Master Tao Jianxian, and Master Jiang Weishan. He never expected to receive such a bow himself!

"Brother Miaoyu, you must not," he said, stepping forward to assist him.

"Thank you, Master Cheng, for your teaching!" The other five peers stood up and performed the same disciple's bow. Cheng Xinzhan was momentarily at a loss.

Gan Jingquan, Ying Jingsong, and Ren Wushi all applauded. "Truly, the younger generation is formidable! You are treating Heaven and Earth as your teacher! I asked about your talisman learning because I intended to invite you to audit at Moya Mountain, but now I see that I must still invite you—not to audit, but to lecture. I hope you will agree," Gan Jingquan exclaimed.

"This..." Cheng Xinzhan hesitated. He had only just entered the second tier; could he really lecture at Moya Mountain, famous for its talisman arts?

Ren Wushi, who had been waiting impatiently, interjected, "Xinzhan, just agree! Teaching others is teaching oneself. Once they learn, you will surely improve further. Let me ask you one more thing: do you have such insights into alchemy as you do with talisman arts?"

Cheng Xinzhan shook his head; he was indeed unfamiliar with alchemy. Ren Wushi was anxious. "How can that be?"

Cheng Xinzhan thought for a moment. What was the reason he hadn't started alchemy initially? Ah, he had no money. When he first practiced swordsmanship, he had no funds, so he could only learn incantations and talismans. It was only after his first journey, when he obtained 'Autumn Water' and 'Taodu', that he began to touch upon the sword path. Later, when he was no longer short of funds and received the sect's support, he began to dabble in the way of refining, but between sword, talisman, incantation, refinement, and thunder arts, he simply hadn't found the opportunity to delve into alchemy.

"I heard alchemy is extremely difficult and prohibitively expensive, so..."

Ren Wushi’s eyes widened. "Alchemy is only difficult for fools, not for you! As for being expensive, if Toujian, Shuji, and White Tiger can let you audit, cannot Danxia Mountain afford your alchemy needs?"

Cheng Xinzhan was speechless. Ren Wushi then softened his tone. "Xinzhan, how about this? When we return, I will speak to your master and the Sect Master myself to allow you to audit alchemy at Danxia Mountain. How does that sound?"

Such an unexpected opportunity was hard to refuse. He bowed again, "Thank you, Mountain Master Ren, for your kindness!"

Ren Wushi nodded with a smile and asked, "Refining alchemy requires fire. Xinzhan, do you possess a dharma fire?"

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, flipped his palm, and two fireballs danced above it. "Disciple has a Bing fire and a Ding fire. I wonder if they can be used for alchemy?"

Ren Wushi’s eyes lit up. He kept praising him, internally cursing Wan Wuwei for not having recruited such a talent to Danxia Mountain sooner. He felt exactly as Zhao Wuji had felt years ago.

"Come, Xinzhan, it is still early. Let me teach you some alchemy theory..." Even as Ren Wushi claimed it was early, Sanching Mountain and Longhu Mountain were both in Yuzhang, so they weren't far. Before long, Longhu Mountain appeared in sight, and his lecture had only just begun. Nevertheless, he proved to be a true master, speaking with profound insight, linking introductory alchemy from the preservation of essence to the refinement of qi, providing Cheng Xinzhan with invaluable knowledge.

"Look, that is the famous Green Dragon and White Tiger dan-formation," Ren Wushi said, pointing toward where the raft was slowly descending.

Cheng Xinzhan looked. Mountains towered in an endless stretch, with yellow rocks and green pines everywhere, somewhat similar to the landscape of Sanching Mountain. However, from this aerial view, one could see that while Sanching Mountain was known for its tranquil elegance, these mountains were majestic and grand.

In the center of the mountains, a ring of peaks formed a circle, with two massive peaks standing on either side, like a two-eared tripod. To the east of the tripod, the mountain ridge wound like a dragon, covered in green pines, stretching for countless miles. To the west, the peaks clustered like a tiger, with bare rock reaching into the clouds. These were the renowned Immortal Tripod Mountain, Green Dragon Ridge, and White Tiger Peak.

Legend had it that the Ancestral Heavenly Master once refined alchemy here; when the elixir was formed, the dragon and tiger appeared, and he ascended on the spot. The tripod became the mountain, and the dragon and tiger phenomena became the ridge and the peak.

"The Ancestral Heavenly Master didn't even take the elixir; he simply finished refining it and ascended. Hehe, Xinzhan, that is the way of alchemy!"