Chương 99: Chapter 98: Elder Bai Jing Ting

Yang woke just around dawn, the pale light already entering the cave entrance. He stretched, then went straight outside to the small plot of dirt he had decided to grow the spirit spiral plant on. He knelt at its edge, placed both palms flat against the earth, fingers spread, and began feeding qi into the soil in a soft trickle. He had been doing this for a few days now and had gotten the hang of it. The channels in the earth were familiar to him, and the pathways easier to find each morning.

It barely took ten or fifteen minutes before he was done. Back inside his cave residence he relieved himself, cleaned up at the wash basin, and changed into a fresh set of outer sect robes, and settled on the meditation platform. The sun had just risen and breakfast was still some time away. He would make use of the time he had before breakfast was served in the food hall.

He gathered qi in the lower dantian through the basic absorption method, let it build until the pressure was full and comfortable, and began the Heavenly Diversion. Qi rising from his lower dantian. Up along the Ren meridian. Over the crown of the head. Descending down the Du meridian along the spine. And at the diversion points, seventy percent redirected inward toward the Sea of Consciousness, again and again. It was not easy, but he could hold it for a few minutes now before the headache forced him to stop.

A few minutes was a marked improvement from his initial attempts, when the pressure had been immediately unbearable and he had been stopping within seconds of starting. By now the channels had widened considerably. The qi moved more smoothly now, meeting less resistance at each diversion point, and his lower dantian had grown accustomed to being filled and then partially emptied in an unnatural direction rather than being completely filled.

He maintained it until the pressure in his head peaked, released, and took a few deep breaths while the discomfort faded. Then he started again. He worked through several cycles before noticing that the light coming through the cave entrance had brightened considerably. He set the cultivation aside, in a rather good mood for someone whose head had just been hurting, and left the cave. Today was his first talisman class not held by Elder Fu Ming.

Today he was taking Elder Bai Jing Ting's class on defensive talismans. He was genuinely looking forward to it. His talisman skills had developed almost entirely through his card inscription skills translating well into talismans. He had learned the basics from Elder Fu Ming's beginner classes but the rest he had worked out himself inthe cardwright world. Proper advance instruction from someone with real experience in the field was something he had been missing and he knew it.

He took his time walking to the food hall, the morning still early and the mountain quiet, the scenery bright and clear in the early light. The food hall was sparsely filled when he arrived. He loaded his tray with plain rice porridge, two meat buns, and a couple of fruits and found an empty table, scanning the room as he sat and not finding any familiar face among the few disciples present. He ate without hurry, letting his mind wander over the past few days. His mornings had taken on a consistent shape.

Soil enrichment at dawn, then cleaning up, cultivation on the meditation platform before breakfast, and after that either more cultivation or talisman practice depending on which he felt more like doing at the time. The Heavenly Diversion headaches were arriving later and later in each session than they had been a week ago. The deflection talisman production was going well.

He had been making a few each day alongside the cultivation work, adding steadily to the stack he would eventually bring back to the outer sect hall to exchange for points. As hefinished his breakfast he stacked his tray and made his way to the class location. He had been told it was near the general area where Elder Fu Ming held his classes, but he had not been to this particular spot before. When he arrived he understood why. The space was outdoors.

Large flat stone tables arranged in a loose circle, with low cylindrical carved stone benches around each one. No walls, no ceiling, the greenery of the mountain visible at a distance but the sitting area itself was sparse and open. It felt utilitarian rather than serene, the kind of space that might also be used for combat practice. Nothing like the quiet and serene atmosphere of Elder Fu Ming's classroom. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

A few disciples were already seated. Yang found an empty bench at a table with one other occupant, nodded to them, and settled in. Class had not yet started so he took out his talisman supplies, set them beside him on the stone table, and since there was time, dipped his brush and began working on another deflection talisman while he waited. He was midway through his third deflection talisman when the background murmur of other disciples died down. He looked up.

The tables have filled up and a woman in the inner sect elder's robes was crossing the open space toward the centre of the circle. She moved with an easy grace, her hair loose and falling to below her knees. She stopped in the centre, where she could be seen from all directions, and looked across the assembled disciples with a rather cold gaze.

"I am Elder Bai Jing Ting of Fuzhen Peak." Her voice carried across the area without any effort, likely some kind of technique, because of how clear it was.

"You are here to learn defensive talismans. I will assume all of you have at least the basic skills and knowledge of talisman creation. If you do not, I would encourage you to leave now and return once you have obtained the skills." She let that sit for a moment, then continued.

"A defensive talisman is not meant to act upon the world. It is meant to withstand it." Her eyes moved across the students.

"An offensive talisman releases energy. Most of the time it ends the moment it strikes. A defensive talisman must endure. It must remain intact while being struck." She began to move as she spoke, walking slowly so that she was facing all directions in turn.

"That means every line you draw must hold under pressure. If even one part fails, the whole structure collapses." She reached into her sleeve and produced a talisman, holding it up.

"This one is passively active. It begins functioning the moment energy is supplied to it." She placed it in the air beside her as though resting it against an invisible surface, and it stayed there. She reached into her sleeve again.

"This one activates on contact. It will do nothing until it is struck." She held it up beside the first.

"Which one is superior?" No one answered.

"Neither," she said flatly.

"A passive talisman spends energy continuously. It has a time limit whether you intend it to or not. A triggered talisman on the other hand risks activating too late." She looked across the circle.

"Your choice of talisman determines whether you survive. It is not enough to carry a talisman. A cultivator must also have the judgement to know which type to use and when to use it." She took back both talismans and faced the group fully.

"In this class you will learn the intricacies of defensive talismans and why the inscriptions and the qi fed to them produce the effects they do. By the time I am done with you, you must be able at the very least to read a talisman inscription and identify its weaknesses and strengths. In your beginner classes it was enough to create a talisman that worked.

At this level you need to be able to see the qi distribution, judge where the errors are, and determine whether a talisman can actually endure the energy it is meant to take." She paused.

"What I will teach you will apply to over ninety percent of talismans. But you are cultivators and you must understand that there are always exceptions. If you survive the cultivation world long enough you will encounter things that make you question everything you know, and this is as true for talismans you will come across as it is for anything else." She began listing.

"There are three core types of defensive talisman. Barrier talismans, which block attacks. Reinforcement talismans, which strengthen the target to resist attacks. And deflection talismans, which redirect attacks back at their source." Yang straightened, his interest increasing as the delved deeper into the topic.

"All three types can be further divided by duration. A one-time talisman performs its function once and disperses. A time-limited talisman functions for a set period before itstops working. A threshold talisman endures until it has absorbed a certain amount of force and then disperses. The one-time type is usually straightforward. The latter two are more complicated in how they differ from each other." She continued without pausing.

"They can also be differentiated by the type of attack they are made to resist. General shield talismans defend against qi attacks, physical attacks, or both. These are the most common. But the range of what a defensive talisman can be made to resist is almost without limit. If there is something that can cause harm, there is in principle a talisman that can be made to resist it.

At levels beyond most of you, even inner sect disciples, there are talismans that resist soul attacks, specialised qi techniques, sword intent, killing intent, and more. I mention them not because you will be creating them today or even anytime soon but because I intend to give you enough foundation that walking toward such things becomes possible if you work hard enough." She let that settle before continuing.

"Talent helps. But if I had to choose between a talented student and a hardworking one, I would choose the later over the former any day. Talent without discipline produces nothing that endures." She looked across the circle one more time.

"Now. Take out your supplies and create the strongest defensive talisman you are capable of. If you do not know any defensive talismans, create the strongest talisman of any kind you can make." Yang had his brush already out and as he began inscribing the inscription he knew he was going to enjoy this class