Chapter 345: Even the Eldest Senior Sister is Not My Match

"That is no way to frame it; I call this making reasonable use of legal provisions," the Eighth Elder argued righteously.

"Furthermore, I never expected that the other party would rather expose themselves as a rogue demonic cultivator just to report me to the authorities and have me arrested!"

Lu Yang was intensely curious as to how thoroughly the Eighth Elder must have swindled the man to drive him to report to the authorities, utterly disregarding his own identity as a rogue demonic cultivator.

Ordinarily, demonic cultivators feared contact with the government above all else.

The Sixth Elder did not dwell overly long on the matter: "Enough, I did not come here today to discuss whom you have cheated, but rather because there is a matter regarding talismans that requires your assistance."

Tao Yaoye looked at Lu Yang with an innocent expression, and Lu Yang instantly understood the meaning in her eyes:

See, you cannot blame me for having the impression that the Eighth Elder is a fraud and a swindler; the moment we meet, he openly speaks of his deceptions.

"You should have said so sooner! Matters regarding talismans are what I know best!" The Eighth Elder laughed heartily; he possessed remarkable achievements in the art of talismans.

"What kind do you need? Do you wish to create offensive talismans or defensive talismans, and in what quantity? You need only speak, Senior Sister, and I can achieve it!"

"Tribulation Transgression and Half-Immortal grade talismans present some difficulty, but I can fashion any talisman at the Body Integration grade."

The Sixth Elder shook her head: "There is no need for talismans of such high grade. It is my disciple who has an idea that requires realization through talismans."

The Eighth Elder looked at Tao Yaoye with great interest: "Let us hear it then."

Tao Yaoye recounted the contents of her prior exchange with Lu Yang just as before.

The Eighth Elder listened with shining eyes, finding Tao Yaoye more pleasing to the eye the longer he looked at her: "What a novel concept! Tell me, are you interested in entering my lineage as a disciple?"

"In any case, I see you have done little research into your own Feathered Immortal Body, likely possessing no desire to develop it, so there is no need to remain under Senior Sister's name. Your illusions are perfectly suited for practicing deception alongside me."

One with such agile wit was precisely the sort meant to join his lineage.

He knew Lu Yang possessed an agile wit as well, though he lacked the courage to snatch a disciple from Yun Zhi's grasp.

Tao Yaoye received a profound fright and silently vowed in her heart that the moment she returned, she would begin studying the Feathered Immortal Body, lest her master one day suffer a lapse in judgment and force her to take the Eighth Elder as her master.

"That is enough, Eighth Junior Brother, do not terrify her any further. Speak of the talismans; can they be made?"

The Eighth Elder stroked his chin and chuckled deviously: "Senior Sister, you show a lack of trust in me. What difficulty could there be in creating such a talisman? I could draw one with a casual stroke of my hand."

Lu Yang took the opportunity to append two requirements: "It would be best if they could be mass-produced, and the price must be inexpensive."

"And they must cause no harm to mortals."

If an illusion were too sophisticated, it would leave mortals in a state of muddled confusion even after escaping it, rendering them unable to distinguish between illusion and reality.

The Eighth Elder adopted an expression of difficulty: "Ensuring no harm comes to mortals is simple, but mass production is rather troublesome."

"I wonder if you possess any understanding of talismans. To this day, mass production of talismans has never succeeded, and such is the case even for the lowest-grade Great Strength Talisman."

"Several fellow Daoists and I once researched this problem. Our initial thought was to mimic the printing of banknotes, using woodblocks to print the talismans, which would cause their price to fall precipitously."

The fellow Daoists capable of discussing talismans with the Eighth Elder naturally possessed attainments in the craft that were peerless in the present world.

"Later, we discovered this method was unviable. When writing a talisman, every single stroke must be infused with one's essence, energy, and spirit. This single requirement defeats ninety-nine percent of cultivators who wish to become talisman masters, and the demand is higher still when printing with woodblocks, requiring one to infuse their essence, energy, and spirit into the crevices of the template simultaneously."

"It is not that no talisman master can achieve this, but the number of those capable of such a feat is far too small to permit large-scale production."

"We also considered whether puppets could be made to draw talismans, but puppets possess no essence, energy