Chapter 78 Talisman for Beginners (2/2)

Of course, people do not visit this place every day. When Shen Lian was at the Taiwei pavilion, the only other person there was the elderly who was in charge of taking care of the place.

This elderly was an old Daoist monk who specializes in a Dao technique that was similar to Buddhism meditation. No one knew how long he lived as one could not see any hints of aging from his outlook and psyche.

Even the wrinkles on his forehead looked like the mysterious symbols on a talisman.

The old Daoist monk was not in charge of identity check as the Taiwei pavilion had an equipment where you just have to register once and you're free to enter as you like.

However, if one was not allowed to enter the second floor if they failed their practice and cultivation.

When Shen Lian entered the place, the old Daoist monk did not even take a glance at him. One could not tell if he was sleeping or awake but he was not breathing as if his soul was missing.

Breathing and Qigong practices were just tricks to extend one's life. It was not the root of Daoism. Shen Lian picked up this information from Zhang Ruoxu.

But it was hard to understand that from this old Daoist monk.

Heaven and earth's vitality could nourish the physical body and provide warmth and moisture to the soul. However, the physical body and soul was like a delicate machine. No matter how you try to protect it, there would be a day where it would break down completely.

Just like the sun, moon, and stars; nothing last forever.

Shen Lian had some thoughts but he did not ponder too much about the cultivation method this old Daoist monk practices. He knew that it was important to go at one's own pace and that being overly ambitious could be dangerous.

The study materials on the first floor of Taiwei Pavilion were bound into booklets. The papers used were of premium quality paper, unlike those used in the mortal world where papers would turn yellow over time.

Of course, the good stuff was not displayed in the Taiwei pavilion. Qing Xuan's fundamentals were neither recorded down in text form nor stored in a special storage.

Moreover, Qing Xuan has always adhered to the idea of 'it's alright to teach the skills but be careful when teaching the spells'.

Even if Shen Lian obtained the Xuanji martial art, he only received enough for him to practice and it was not sufficient to get himself involved in the other realm.

The Dao technique materials on the first floor mainly cater for cultivators who had yet to achieve the Huandan. The Huandan was a vital drainage divide of practice and cultivation. After mastering the Huandan, one would be able to transform into land immortals whom every move made was of supernatural powers. It was hard to imagine how much more advanced land immortals were compared to mortals.

Shen Lian found a book entitled ”Talisman for Beginners” edited by Dong Lingzi, a talisman master.

The preface of the book said, ”Heaven and earth possess eight mysterious elements. They are heaven, earth, mountain, swamp, thunder, fire, water, and wind. The talisman works as a special medium to interconnect these elements to produce great forces. It can be used to heal and rescue, as well as to slay demons and improve on practice and cultivation.

The talisman had many different functions, and cultivators used it differently according to their needs.

Something interesting was mentioned in the book. According to it, there was once a type of cultivator who would use the Talisman Seeds as a substitute for Huandan to achieve immortality.

Such cultivators were different from monks today but the editor did not elaborate much on this. According to Dong Lingzi, talisman studies emphasized on the outer world and frequently borrows the power of heaven and earth.

Dong Lingzi probably added that part just to make the book more interesting.

Shen Lian flipped more pages and finally got into the part that introduced the Dao of Talisman.

The beginning of Dao of Talisman studies was very similar to learning calligraphy writing.

You could tell if one was an advanced learner in calligraphy by his brush force and rhythm.

Similarly, an advanced Dao of Talisman was judged by the power of the person who produced the talisman and his understanding .

Of course, when one was just starting out, they only look into the basics and foundation.

The book introduced three types of common talisman systems.