Chapter 31: Chapter 30: Talisman Inscription Dao

“Bought, bought! High-quality Crane Top Cinnabar and this Green Frost Paper.”

Yu Meng instantly dropped the smile on his face, hurriedly took out a jade bottle the size of a bowl, and a stack of green papers from his bosom, held them high and handed them over.

His expression was slightly nervous, his eyes sneaked a peek at the old man through the gap in his hands, as if observing the old man’s expression.

Shen Luo casually scanned the items in Yu Meng’s hand, and his heart moved.

He was very familiar with the paper, which was used for drawing talismans.

Only this kind of green talisman paper was thicker than the yellow paper he used, and obviously the grade was much higher.

The elderly man in the golden robe made a single gesture, and the items in Yu Meng’s hand rose up as if by magic, crossed a distance of three to four feet under the pull of an invisible force, and directly fell into the old man’s hands.

“Taking objects in the air!” Shen Luo’s eyes widened a little, and he muttered to himself secretly.

He had read about this method of taking objects in the air through mystic arts in a journal in the Spring and Autumn Pavilion, and he had been yearning for it at the time, but he didn’t know whether it was true or not. Now he was excited to observe a real person perform it in close proximity.

The old man didn’t look much at the green talisman paper, but he cared quite a bit about the jade bottle. He pulled out the stopper and looked inside.

Then he picked out a little bit of the red powder inside with his pinky finger, sniffed it, and finally tasted it with his tongue. Only then did he say “hmm” in satisfaction.

Seeing this, Yu Meng couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

“The cinnabar you bought this time is pretty good, stick to this standard from now on, and don’t bring me inferior goods, otherwise, see how I will deal with you…hmm, who are you?” When the old man was halfway through his speech, he finally noticed Shen Luo who was standing behind Yu Meng.

“Father, this is Brother Shen Luo. Today he stood with the me on the City Wall to resist the wolves. He has just arrived at the city and has not found a place to settle down. I invited him to stay at our house. Brother Shen, this is my father, Yu Yan. You met him during the day.” Yu Meng hurriedly introduced.

“Shen Luo has met Uncle Yu.” Shen Luo stepped forward respectfully and gave a bow.

Yu Yan glanced at Shen Luo out of the corner of his eye and casually nodded his head, tucking the talisman paper and jade bottle into his bosom.

“Today, I had the good fortune to see Uncle Yu and several Immortal Masters making moves on the city wall. It was truly eye-opening. Especially Uncle Yu’s talisman technique, it is astonishing. I greatly admire it.” Shen Luo was keen to build a closer relationship with the Immortal Master in front of him. Seeing Yu Yan’s cold expression, he shifted the topic to talismans.

“You understand the talisman technique?” Sure enough, once he talks about talismans, Yu Yan’s eyebrows moved and he looked at Shen Luo’s ragged Taoist robe from Spring and Autumn Pavilion.

“I only know a little. I am a dullard, despite years of practice, I haven’t made any progress in the Dao of Talisman Inscription and cannot be compared with Uncle Yu’s God’s Power.” Shen Luo said humbly, with his hands in a gesture of respect.

“The Talisman Technique is different from other mystic arts, it’s abstruse and dull, and it requires a great deal of time. Only continuous hard work will lead to accomplishment. If you can really persist till now, your tenacity is indeed commendable.” Yu Yan nodded slightly and glanced at Yu Meng while talking.

Yu Meng scratched the back of his head and turned his gaze away a little guiltily.

Seeing this, Yu Yan snorted heavily.

“Uncle Yu flatters me. I was once possessed by Yin Qi and I couldn’t find a cure after seeking medical advice everywhere. Fortunately, I was saved by a Talisman from a high person. Since then, I’ve been attracted to the Dao of the Talisman Inscription, hoping to achieve something.” Shen Luo saw the expressions of the two, and spoke humbly.

“There are countless mediocrities in the world, most of them are short-sighted, thinking that the Talisman Technique is a time-consuming, tough, and thankless minor subject. They don’t know that once the Talisman Technique is learned, the power to summon spirits, punish ghosts, suppress demons and subdue demons is absolutely superior to most of the mystic arts of the world.” Yu Yan seemed to be stirred by Shen Luo’s words and said somewhat indignantly.

Shen Luo had only been in contact with talismans for a short time, and knew nothing about the world of cultivation. Hearing about the status of the Talisman Technique in the world of cultivation, he was somewhat surprised. On his face, however, he showed a perfect hint of agreement.

“The Talisman Technique posits that practice makes perfect. Continue to work hard in the future, your accomplishment will be boundless.” Yu Yan vented a lot, and his expression quickly returned to calm. He patted Shen Luo on the shoulder and encouraged him.

“Yes, thank you for your guidance, Uncle Yu.” Shen Luo nodded solemnly.

“Nephew Shen, you plan on staying here tonight, right? Once you’re here, consider this your own home, there is no need for formalities.” Yu Yan said with a hearty laugh, a stark change from his previous aloof behavior.

“Meng Er, I still have some matters to attend to, please make sure to take good care of Nephew Shen for me.” Yu Yan instructed Yu Meng.

“Yes, father, you can rest assured.” Yu Meng quickly replied.

As Yu Yan turned to walk into the inner hall, Shen Luo took a few steps forward saying goodbye, then stopped.

“Not bad, little brother. You’re the first one who’s managed to make my father this happy! You have no idea, whenever I bring friends around, he barely even glimpses at them!” Yu Meng rapidly transformed back into his spirited self once Yu Yan had left.

“I genuinely admire Uncle’s knowledge in the Dao of talisman, I really didn’t anticipate you being a son of an immortal master.” Shen Luo said with a smile, thinking back to the godly powers that Yu Yan and other immortal masters used atop the city wall, envy filled his heart.

Spring and Autumn Pavilion might have these similar mystic arts, but unfortunately, his qualifications were insufficient, regarding the “Small Transformation Yang Technique”, he’s barely managed to get a foot in the door, let alone practicing it, he wasn’t even able to touch it.

“What’s there to envy? Drawing talismans is insanely boring, I just can’t do it; wielding swords and shooting arrows suit me better.” Yu Meng quickly declined with a wave.

“If that’s the case, then it’s a true pity.” Shen Luo shook his head and said.

“Alright, enough of this, look at us drenched in sweat and blood, let’s go change.” Yu Meng, seemingly not wanting to carry on with this topic, waved his filthy sleeve and changed the subject.

“I lost my bundle in the chaos before.” Shen Luo after examining his clothes, knit his brows.

“It’s just clothing, you can wear mine for now, why the need for politeness.” Yu Meng waved his hand nonchalantly.

The two of them went to the back room. While Yu Meng went to take a bath, Little Shunzi led Shen Luo to a neighboring room. A bathtub already filled with hot water awaited them there.

Little Shunzi held a leather bag, pouring a light-green liquid out of it into the tub. The bathwater quickly turned a light green.

“This is a medicinal liquid concocted by the young master, using it for bathing is extremely beneficial for the body.” Little Shunzi explained, seeing the surprised look on Shen Luo’s face.

“Thank you.” Shen Luo replied calmly, but was noticeably impressed.

“Master Shen, in our residence we only have one maid, Little Flower, who is currently helping the young master bathe. If you need assistance, you can wait for a moment, our young master is quite fast.” Little Shunzi asked again.

“No need, I can manage it myself.” Shen Luo shook his head and replied.

Little Shunzi answered obediently, placing a set of clean clothes to the side before leaving the room.

The moment his clothes were off and he jumped into the tub, while scrubbing his body, Shen Luo started thinking about the incidents from earlier.

The place he saw in his dream this time compared to the mountain village he saw in his dream before, despite the two being vastly different in nature, he felt that there seemed to be some link between them.

As for what that link exactly was, he hadn’t figured it out yet.

While his mind was filled with these thoughts, Shen Luo’s hands didn’t stop scrubbing, he quickly finished washing, dried himself off, and changed into fresh clothes.

He took a look at himself in the mirror; he appeared handsome and glowing with vitality, fully embodying the features of a prime young master of turbulent times, and he seemed to have a hint of spiritual aura compared to his real self.

Not only that, Shen Luo’s fatigue seemed completely washed away, leaving him feeling miraculously refreshed and relaxed.

He remembered the medicinal liquid that Little Shunzi had poured into the water, understanding dawned on him, afterward, he left the room.