Chapter 7: Spell Power (Part 2)

“Brother Luo, weren’t you going to bring the squad? Why haven’t I seen them around these days…”
Luo Luo stammered, not knowing what to say. He had tried several times to talk to his squadmates but couldn’t bring himself to speak. With Guo Shier still trapped in the underground laboratory, he preferred to muddle along day by day. Before he knew it, ten days had passed.
Guo Shier smiled faintly, pulling himself deeper into his leather robe to shield himself from the biting cold, and stopped asking further questions.
In silence, they soon arrived at Luo Jie’s manor.
Luo Luo didn’t dare enter to see Luo Jie and made up an excuse to stay outside. Guo Shier walked in calmly, guided by a Spell Warrior ahead.
Luo Jie wasn’t in his room. The guiding Spell Warrior said, “I can only take you this far, Young Master Shier. Please go ahead by yourself; someone will guide you from there.”
Guo Shier nodded in thanks and stepped forward without hesitation. After turning two corners, a Spell Master stood there. Seeing Guo Shier approaching, he said nothing but motioned for him to follow. Soon, they arrived at a stone house, with two Spell Masters standing at the entrance. One of them said, “The master ordered that Young Master Shier go straight down.”
Guo Shier entered the stone house. Inside, there was nothing but a doorway leading downward. He realized this must be his master’s laboratory.
The passage wasn’t long, nor did it have any defenses or traps. Guo Shier stepped in. When he saw Luo Jie clearly, he was shocked and opened his mouth wide.
A towering man, bare-chested, stood on a circular stone platform. Guo Shier noticed many runes embedded in the platform.
What surprised Guo Shier wasn’t the man’s strength but Luo Jie, standing not far in front of him.
A silver book floated above Luo Jie’s chest, about the size of a large magazine, roughly two inches thick, emitting a silver glow. Guo Shier couldn’t see the contents clearly—the book seemed to be vibrating rapidly. He could only discern its size and color, not its details. Luo Jie solemnly tapped a finger on the open page of the book.
A faint red light shot out and struck the man. The man began to tremble, and the runes on the stone platform beneath his feet started spinning. A faint green light spread upward from his feet. Soon, the man stopped trembling and gradually calmed down.
Upon closer inspection, Guo Shier noticed that the red light paused at the man’s collarbone. A bright red rune first appeared on his skin and, after about ten seconds, gradually sank into it, forming a small tattoo.

Luo Jie pointed at the page again, and another red beam shot out, hitting the burly man. Guo Shier understood that this was a body-refining talisman—Luo Jie was using it to refine the man’s body.

Guo Shier waited for about two hours before Luo Jie finished the process. The burly man bowed respectfully to Luo Jie, put on his clothes, and left. Luo Jie tapped the silver book with his hand, and the magical book closed. He then opened his mouth and sucked—the book quickly shrank into a ball of silver mist, falling into his mouth.

Seeing Guo Shier’s astonished expression, Luo Jie smiled and said, “Don’t be surprised. This is the life talisman book of a great talisman master.”

“A life talisman book?”

Guo Shier had only learned basic information about talisman practitioners and knew nothing about the techniques of great talisman masters. Witnessing a great talisman master’s body-refining method for the first time, he was deeply shocked—it was simply amazing.

Luo Jie asked, “Do you know the difference between a talisman practitioner and a talisman master?”

Guo Shier shook his head. “No.”

Luo Jie explained, “The difference is that talisman practitioners don’t have a life talisman. Only by advancing to talisman master can one possess their own life talisman. And great talisman masters… have a life talisman book. Of course, life talisman books come in various forms, such as scrolls or albums, but their essence is the same.”

Only then did Guo Shier realize how lucky he was—many talisman practitioners and even talisman masters had never seen a life talisman book. He asked, “Was that uncle refining his body just now?”

Luo Jie replied, “I was fixing the talismans on him. The runes on his body were in disarray, so I sorted them out. Well, he’s not one of my followers; he was introduced by an old friend.”

Guo Shier understood that asking a great talisman master to help came at a high cost. It was fortunate that it was through a friend’s introduction; otherwise, his master might not have agreed to help.

“How’s your training gone these ten days? Huh! Haven’t you started yet?”

Luo Jie was surprised. Anyone who obtained the secret methods of talisman power would be eager to start training right away, but this kid showed no signs of having trained at all, which puzzled him.

“Yes, master. I haven’t started yet,” Guo Shier replied calmly, with nothing to hide.

Luo Jie sat cross-legged and gestured for Guo Shier to do the same before saying, “Oh, tell me why you’re not in a hurry to start.” An elder had a kind and patient nature. By his age, his temperament had long become steady.

Guo Shier said, “Master, this is how I think about it. No matter how I practice in the future, the first step… is to fully understand the power of talismans. I can’t start practicing without a clear understanding. The second step should be to firmly remember and further comprehend their nature, and only then can I begin practicing.”

Luo Jie was secretly impressed. This child was truly remarkable—so young yet with such clear thinking. He asked, “Have you understood it all?”

Guo Shier replied, “There are still many doubts and things I don’t understand, which is why I came to ask the master for guidance.”

He took out paper and pen, listing each doubt as he asked questions and took notes, being careful not to be careless. Practicing magic required utmost seriousness. Luo Jie admired his approach—it was the attitude a true practitioner should have: diligent and meticulous.

Luo Jie explained in great detail, occasionally checking Guo Shier’s notes to ensure he hadn’t made any mistakes.

The book on the power of talismans contained many diagrams, which Luo Jie had to demonstrate so that Guo Shier could form a clear concept. Relying solely on written descriptions made it difficult to grasp the key movements.

Time flew by as the master and disciple asked questions and answered them, with the master teaching earnestly and the disciple learning devoutly. Both forgot to eat until Guo Shier’s stomach let out loud growls, at which point Luo Jie realized it was already evening. He said, “That’s about it for now. Once you understand it, you can start practicing.”

Guo Shier rubbed his slightly sore wrists, put away his pen and ink, and organized his notes. He said, “Master, I’ll eat here. If I go back now… I’ll starve!”

Luo Jie laughed heartily and said, “No problem. I’ll have more prepared. Come, let’s go eat.” He instructed one of the martial talismanists to prepare food, then took Guo Shier’s hand and led him out of the underground laboratory.

Guo Shier was very satisfied with what he had learned that day, and so was Luo Jie. This disciple was not only intelligent but also eager to learn, so Guo Shier got to eat talisman food again.

As expected of a great talisman master, the quality of the talisman food was even better than that of the Ren family’s. Guo Shier enjoyed it immensely—the taste was even more delicious than the finest delicacies from his past life.

After eating, Guo Shier bid farewell and went home. Poor Luo Luo, trying to avoid Luo Jie, had managed two hasty meals outside. He didn’t dare go back and face Luo Jie.

Seeing Luo Luo’s gloomy expression, Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh. Yet he didn’t provoke the guy—Luo Luo was a powerful talisman martial artist, not someone to be joked with casually. He sat in the carriage, flipping through the notes he had taken that day, then recalling the original texts to compare and resolve any difficulties.

The day after arriving home, Luo Jie sent four carts full of basic materials and tools, saying it was for Guo Shier to try out. After all, Guo Shier hadn’t yet developed talisman power, but the old man didn’t seem worried at all.

Out of the four carts, three contained materials, while one held tools specific to talisman practitioners. Not to mention the value of the materials, just that one cart of specialized tools was worth over ten thousand Black Talisman Coins.

Guo Shier wasn’t inexperienced in the market, but Luo Jie giving him so much so casually surprised him greatly. This was the advantage of having a great master—actually, it was also because he had earned Luo Jie’s admiration through his own efforts, which made him so generous in providing materials for Guo Shier to focus on his cultivation.

These tools and materials could only be used after Guo Shier developed talisman power. He stored them in his laboratory, took out the notes, and began his final summary. He already understood the concept of talisman power and had a clear idea of how to cultivate it. With the guidance of a master talismanist, the difficult questions had been perfectly resolved. His task now was to organize everything again and see if there were any remaining issues.

After spending an entire day, Guo Shier confirmed there were no questions left, and he began his first cultivation session.

When cultivating talisman power, one didn’t sit and meditate but followed a set of movements. It was a very strange set of movements—there were few body movements; one only needed to keep walking, with strict rules regarding the direction of movement. The most active parts were the arms and wrists, along with finger movements, making it quite complex.

There were nine sets of basic movements, each with thirty-six forms.

Talisman power could be generated once the first set of thirty-six forms was successfully completed. But completing these thirty-six forms was extremely difficult. Because in addition to the forms, one had to maintain high concentration, even to the point of self-forgetfulness, reaching a state of no thoughts, in order to generate a trace of talisman power.

Once a trace of talisman power was generated, with persistent effort, it would gradually grow stronger.

The first set of movements not only helps cultivate spell power but also constitutes the most fundamental spell control techniques—the 36-form techniques. Nine sets of movements equal 324 spell control techniques, which are essential basics that spellcasters must master thoroughly. Only by mastering these techniques can one proceed to learn more advanced ones.

Fortunately, Guo Shier remembered the entire content of the book by heart and had all the diagrams stored in his mind; otherwise, practicing by referring to the diagrams in the book would have been extremely difficult.

Guo Shier began to imitate the movements. He didn’t aim to reach a state of trance immediately but first focused on becoming familiar with the 36 forms, repeating them repeatedly until he mastered them. It took him two days to fully master the entire set of 36 forms.

Although he was now familiar with the movements, he still hadn’t developed any spell power. Guo Shier was well aware of this, so after mastering the 36 forms, he stopped to rest, eat, meditate, and sleep. He waited until he felt refreshed before truly beginning to practice the 36 forms.

The most basic 36 forms weren’t complicated; the slightly more complex parts involved finger and wrist movements. Only after achieving a level of confidence did Guo Shier concentrate fully, repeating the movements over and over in an attempt to reach a state of trance.

Guo Shier wasn’t a child—he had a fully mature mindset, even more experienced than most adults. Having lived three lives, including one as a lama, he had his own unique insights into cultivation. As a result, he quickly entered a state of trance and began performing the 36 forms instinctively.

It was a strange sensation—like being in a daze or like a feather floating in the wind. As he repeated the movements over and over, Guo Shier immersed himself in a state of mindlessness. For eight hours straight, he practiced tirelessly, reducing the time per repetition from over twenty minutes at first to just a few minutes by the end. As his focus grew sharper, a trace of spell power began to emerge unconsciously.

Suddenly, Guo Shier stopped and was momentarily confused before fully regaining his clarity.