Chapter 62: Lecture

"Fellow Daoist Zong, I just remembered I have something cooking at home. I’ll be heading back now!"

After saying that, Jiang Xu hurried away.

...

Inside the room.

Jiang Xu faced the Water Mirror and began to adjust his Concealing Breath Spell.

Although he had been keeping the Concealing Breath Spell active, it hadn’t done anything to affect this new aura of his.

He tried to tweak the effects of the Concealing Breath Spell, hoping to use it to rein in his aura.

’The Cultivation Seed formed by the Cangmu Skill is a whole level higher than my current Concealing Breath Spell. The spell is really struggling to cope!’

Jiang Xu mulled it over for a long time. By stopping the Cultivation Seed from operating automatically and increasing the supply of Magical Power to his Concealing Breath Spell, he finally managed to retract the affinity that was radiating from his entire body.

As long as he didn’t use his Magical Power too intensely or experience major emotional fluctuations, there shouldn’t be any problems.

As for his skin becoming fairer and his looks more handsome, those were trivial matters that most Cultivators wouldn’t pay much attention to anyway.

’Maybe I should use my next upgrade to Perfect Level on the Concealing Breath Spell. At the rate I’m "adding points," I’m sure there will be plenty more changes in the future.’

...

「Four days later.」

Jiang Xu had heard that a Tier One Upper Grade Talisman Maker was giving a lecture at the Talisman Pavilion today.

So, Jiang Xu arrived early at the Celestial Book Hall within the Talisman Pavilion to wait.

Although Jiang Xu thought he had come quite early, he still ended up in a line near the very back of the hall.

The hall was large enough to hold over a hundred Talisman Makers.

In front of each Talisman Maker was a small desk with a stack of Talisman Paper, a Talisman Brush, and Talismanic Ink.

’So many people. It looks like a lot of disciples have joined the Talisman Pavilion.’

Jiang Xu was a bit curious. Seeing the disciple next to him looking calm and experienced, he cupped his hands and asked:

"Excuse me, Senior Brother. This junior just joined the Talisman Pavilion not long ago and doesn’t know much about it yet. Is it always this packed for lectures? Should I come even earlier next time?"

The disciple in the next seat glanced at Jiang Xu, a hint of envy in his eyes.

"Whoa, you’re pretty lucky, catching Senior Sister Leng’s lecture on your first try!"

"Senior Sister Leng? Forgive me, I just joined and I’m not familiar with the situation... Who is this Senior Sister Leng you’re talking about?"

"You don’t even know Senior Sister Leng Qingqiu? She’s the first person from our Talisman Pavilion to become one of the Top Ten Inner Disciples in the last thirty years."

"Her Cultivation has already reached the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer. She’s just one step away from the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer, which is the Great Perfection of Qi Cultivation."

"More importantly, her skill in the Talisman Dao is already extremely close to that of a Tier Two Talisman Maker. Once she reaches Foundation Establishment, she’ll most likely become a Tier Two Talisman Maker as a matter of course."

’She’s that strong?’

Jiang Xu recalled the little girl he had seen, the one Yu Wenfeng had also called Senior Sister Leng. ’Could it be her?’

"Senior Brother, I happened to see Senior Sister Leng once, it’s just..."

The disciple next to him looked around. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he leaned in and whispered in Jiang Xu’s ear:

"She’s a bit short, right?"

Jiang Xu nodded.

"That’s her! Don’t be fooled—Senior Sister Leng is nearly forty years old this year, but she still looks like she’s in the bloom of her youth!"

"Huh? Why is that?"

"Back in the day, Senior Sister Leng was mischievous and accidentally consumed a Miracle Pill—a Youthful Appearance Pill. That’s why she’s been stuck with that appearance, unable to change."

"Is that really what happened?"

Jiang Xu couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

’If that’s the case, then it seems there isn’t any Secret Technique for life extension and preserving one’s youth after all.’

"I’ve noticed that Senior Sister Leng seems to have some conflict with Senior Sister Yu. Do you know anything about that, Senior Brother?"

As soon as he said this, the senior brother next to him got a strange look on his face. He cast a Silence Talisman, enveloping himself and Jiang Xu.

Once the Silence Talisman was active, no one outside the bubble could hear their conversation. Only then did the disciple carefully say to Jiang Xu:

"I’m surprised a new disciple like you already knows about this sort of thing."

"I was just a little curious and worried I might have touched on a taboo subject. If it’s inconvenient for you, Senior Brother, then just pretend I never asked!"

"No, no, it’s fine. Ahem. Actually, everyone knows about this, just don’t go spreading it around. I heard that the reason Senior Sister Leng picks on Senior Sister Yu is because she’s jealous of Senior Sister Yu’s tall and voluptuous figure, especially since she’s stuck in a child’s body."

Huh???

’It’s really because of something like that?’

Jiang Xu’s reverence for Senior Sister Leng completely crumbled.

The disciple next to him raised his eyebrows at Jiang Xu with a look that said, "You know how it is."

"That’s women for you. They’re always jealous of each other over something. In the end, you can’t even tell what started it."

Jiang Xu rolled his eyes internally.

He never drew conclusions about an entire group; he only judged individuals. To Jiang Xu, the neighboring disciple’s statement was no different from a sweeping generalization.

DING~

A piercing sound rang out from the front of the hall. The disciple next to him quickly withdrew the Silence Talisman and sat up straight, a look on his face as if nothing had happened.

Seeing this, Jiang Xu understood that Senior Sister Leng was about to arrive. He quickly straightened his posture as well and waited for the lecture to begin.

Before long, Leng Qingqiu walked to the front of the hall. After scanning the audience, she began.

"The lecture begins now!"

...

The entire lecture lasted for three hours.

Jiang Xu was completely captivated.

For the first two hours, Leng Qingqiu went over the fundamentals of Talisman Making.

The content progressed from simple to complex, with different parts referencing each other in a clear, logical, and easy-to-understand manner. Jiang Xu felt that many gaps in his knowledge were being filled.

After finishing the fundamentals, she began explaining some advanced tips, focusing specifically on Tier One Lower Grade and Tier One Middle Grade talismans.

Finally, she briefly mentioned the Cloud Seal Celestial Book and even displayed a Tier Three Talisman made using it—an Earth and Nether Thunder Treasure Talisman!

As for why Leng Qingqiu possessed a Tier Three Treasure Talisman... it was because she was the great-granddaughter of a Golden Core Ancestor, giving her an incredibly deep background.

Otherwise, she would never have had the chance to come into contact with a Youthful Appearance Pill.

Such a Miracle Pill was extremely precious, even more so than a Foundation Establishment Pill, yet she had actually eaten it.

...

After leaving the Talisman Pavilion, Jiang Xu was still in a daze, unable to pull himself out of his immersion in the lecture.

If he were to open his panel right now, he would surely see that his Skill Level for the Dust-removal Talisman, Silence Talisman, and Fireball Talisman had all increased by a large margin.

Such was the effect of a master’s lecture.

’This EXP dispenser is so much better than Zong Ziqi...’

Although Jiang Xu wanted to keep attending her lectures, he knew it was just a wish.

There was no telling when she would teach again. It was said that a full six months had passed since Leng Qingqiu’s last class.

No wonder the disciple next to him had been so envious when he heard it was Jiang Xu’s first time attending a lecture in the Celestial Book Hall.

To be able to hear Leng Qingqiu’s lecture on his very first visit was incredibly fortunate.

After all, one could learn more from a single lecture by Leng Qingqiu than from many Tier Two Talisman Makers.

’My Talisman Dao skills were all brute-forced by the panel before. My success rate was high, but most of the time, I knew *what* to do, but not *why* it worked. I didn’t understand how drawing them in that specific way could increase the success rate.’

’Now that I’ve joined the Talisman Pavilion, I can definitely shore up these shortcomings one by one. Maybe one day, I’ll even be able to raise a Talisman’s Skill Level to Mastery without using any Limit-Breaking Points.’