Chapter 87: Learning the Invisibility Talisman

When they had first entered Yanjiang County, Mangu had suggested informing the local government about the Yanjiang branch so they could search for Qin Yuanhao together, but Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had rejected the idea, citing the government's untrustworthiness.

Looking at things now, their concerns had not been without reason.

The Yanjiang branch had planted a mole within the government, and one of no small status at that!

Chief Chu said in a slow, measured tone, "Lu Yang, among the upper echelons of the Yanjiang branch, you are the one I think most highly of. After the Spring Welcoming Festival, superiors will send someone to inspect the branch. This inspection will be different from previous ones; with you, Meng Jingzhou, and Mangu—three seeds of the demonic path—the higher-ups' evaluation of me will increase significantly."

"There is a very high probability that I will be promoted, and in that case, the position of branch chief will be vacant."

"According to convention, the new chief will be chosen from the upper echelons of this branch. Although you lack seniority, considering the Sect Master's evaluation of you, it is not impossible that the higher-ups will appoint you as the new chief."

"Your competitors are still locked away in the great prison right now and won't be out for another three days. With such foolish behavior, the superiors' evaluation of those people won't be too high."

"The Spring Welcoming Festival is a major event for the neighboring counties, with no small impact. If you cause a bit of a stir during such a festival, the higher-ups will look upon you with greater favor," Chief Chu subtly hinted to Lu Yang.

Lu Yang recounted Chief Chu's words to Meng Jingzhou and the others, and both Meng Jingzhou and Mangu felt deeply relieved that they had chosen to spread rumors about Qin Yuanhao to cause trouble instead of seeking help from the government.

Otherwise, how could there still be such a thriving barbecue shop?

Lu Yang wondered if there was something slightly amiss with their focus.

"We just don't know exactly who the mole arranged by Chief Chu is." The four of them found it quite vexing; they did not know who within the government was qualified to know about the yellow talismans.

"No need to fear, once you become the branch chief, you'll know who the mole is. Chief Chu thinks so highly of you, he will definitely tell you before he leaves!" Meng Jingzhou laughed heartily, not expecting Lu Yang to get a promotion so quickly.

If Lu Yang got promoted, he and Mangu could stir up as much trouble as they pleased in Yanjiang County.

It was truly good to have someone looking out for them.

While the four were in the middle of a lively discussion, the sound of Constable Wei knocking on the door came from outside.

"Little Boss Lu, I've brought you another banner of commendation."

Lu Yang opened the door, warmly welcoming Constable Wei inside.

"Oh, everyone's here, how lively," Constable Wei said casually.

"We were just discussing yesterday's case."

Hearing Lu Yang say this, Constable Wei gave a stern warning, "Little Boss Lu, you must keep last night's case a secret, do not speak of it to anyone else."

"I also know none of you are ordinary folk, but cultivators who have come here to experience life, occasionally performing righteous deeds."

"But this time is different. This involves cruel and merciless demonic cultivators; the slightest carelessness could lead to mortal peril. You must absolutely not go looking for the owner of the talisman paper."

Lu Yang let out a wry laugh. The demonic path had warned him not to get involved in this matter, and the righteous path was also warning him not to get involved in this matter.

"Don't smile, this is a very serious matter!" Constable Wei thought Lu Yang was not taking the matter to heart.

Lu Yang straightened his face and promised that he would no longer meddle in the matter, which finally set Constable Wei's mind at ease before he left.

"Have some tea before you go."

Constable Wei waved his hand, "No, the leadership is pressing hard, I still need to take men to search for other talisman papers."

After seeing Constable Wei off, Lu Yang and the other three worried that the yamen might be short-handed and might not necessarily catch the person in the shadows.

If anything went awry in this matter, there was no telling how many people's lifespans would be stealthily stolen away.

Lu Yang lowered his head in contemplation, "We have already learned the method of concealing our aura, but simply using the aura-concealing method might not be entirely safe."

He looked up at Lan Ting, who was currently learning how to skewer barbecue alongside the ghost slaves, and an idea came to him.

"Fellow Daoist Lan Ting, I have a favor to ask."

Lan Ting smiled, "We are all disciples of the immortal sects, slaying demons and eliminating devils together. Right now, I am still your subordinate, so there's no need to be so distant. Just call me Lan Ting."

Lu Yang readily complied, "Lan Ting, can you teach us the Invisibility Talisman?"

Lan Ting understood Lu Yang's intention, "You mean you want to use the Invisibility Talisman to hide your forms and secretly lend a hand to Constable Wei?"

Lu Yang nodded.

"Of course, that's no problem. The Invisibility Talisman is not an overly difficult rune; as long as one's talent isn't completely terrible, it can be learned in half a day."

Meng Jingzhou and Mangu were extremely excited upon hearing they could learn something new again, especially since it wasn't being taught by Lu Yang.

"Have the three of you studied talismans before?"

The three shook their heads in unison.

Lan Ting was not surprised, "Then I shall teach you from the very beginning."

Lan Ting was also quite excited; this was her first time teaching someone else. Back at the Laurel Immortal Palace, it was always her senior sisters teaching her, and now it was finally her turn to be the teacher.

"The essence of a talisman is the manifestation of a spell in graphical form upon paper. The three of you hail from the Dao Seeking Sect, so your talent in spells is not lacking; it will be very easy for you to learn."

"...The talisman core is the soul of a talisman mandate. Whether a talisman can fully exert its effect depends heavily on whether there is a talisman core presiding within it..."

"...The most commonly used pattern in talismans is the cloud script. Cloud script is a pattern created by mimicking the changing shapes of clouds in the sky, drawing from nature..."

"Specifically for the Invisibility Talisman, it uses 'Tiangang' as the talisman core, and the ethereal, fixed-form cloud script as the diagram."

Lan Ting dipped her fingertip in a bit of clear water. Her finger moved like a dancing dragon and a slithering snake, and in just a few strokes, she drew an Invisibility Talisman upon the table. With a light vacuum-like pull of her palm, the Invisibility Talisman detached from the tabletop and adhered to her hand.

Lan Ting slapped it onto herself, and under the unblinking gazes of the three, she vanished from sight.

A few breaths later, Lan Ting reappeared, smiling faintly, "This is the most basic Invisibility Talisman. It can only conceal the body visually. You should still be able to perceive my location through details like breathing and heartbeat."

The three nodded; even so, it was still considerably impressive.

"Give it a try."

After half a day of learning, the three had gained a preliminary understanding of talismans. They brought out the four treasures of the study and began attempting to write the Invisibility Talisman, though they were not yet capable of drawing a talisman with water.

Meng Jingzhou practiced calligraphy year-round and wrote a fine hand; the right hand and wrist holding the brush were exceptionally steady.

He channeled spiritual energy into the tip of the brush, and soon drew an Invisibility Talisman that bore an eighty-percent resemblance to the one Lan Ting had drawn.

After drawing it a few more times, it was virtually identical to Lan Ting's.

Meng Jingzhou smilingly slapped it onto his body, and indeed, he vanished from sight.

Mangu's talent in this regard was somewhat lesser, his control over spiritual energy not fine enough. He tried dozens of times before succeeding once, but as the number of attempts increased, his success rate grew higher and higher.

Lan Ting silently marveled; as expected of disciples from the Dao Seeking Sect, they possessed a natural gift for talismans.

How was Lu Yang faring?

Lan Ting looked toward Lu Yang.

Lu Yang had also quickly written out an Invisibility Talisman, and it was a success on his very first attempt, revealing a terrifyingly formidable talent.

Lu Yang slapped the Invisibility Talisman onto his body, and his entire person vanished.

However, only the person vanished; the clothes were still there.

It looked exactly like a ghost sighting.

"What the hell!" A miraculous thing occurred; the clothes began to speak.

Lu Yang figured that since he was currently invisible anyway, he might as well take his clothes off.

Then, he discovered to his despair that the paper of the Invisibility Talisman itself could still be seen.

What kind of garbage invisibility was this!

He nearly tore the Invisibility Talisman paper right off.

Fortunately, his reason still functioned, preventing him from doing so.

(End of this chapter)