Chapter 11 Talisman Cultivation

The fourth path of cultivation that Ye Chuxiao chose was ‘talisman cultivation’.

Talismans and incantations are indispensable components of a cultivator's survival and life.

They, along with alchemy, weapon crafting, and array drawing, constitute the four major auxiliary abilities of a cultivator.

However, not every cultivator has the aptitude and qualifications to become a talisman cultivator.

Most cultivators can only purchase talismans for consumption and use.

Ye Chuxiao's predecessor had majored in the Way of Talismans during his early education, with martial arts cultivation as a minor.

It was only after his father's unexpected death that the family temporarily lost its source of income. To support the family and shield his younger siblings from the elements, the predecessor switched to martial arts as his major, taking over his father's position as a jailer in the Ministry of Justice's dungeon.

In other words, Ye Chuxiao had a foundation in talisman cultivation.

Moreover, the initial stages of talisman cultivation mainly rely on the integration of mind, hand, thought, and qi. Ye Chuxiao has completely digested and integrated the Nimble Hands Talent, making his hands far more flexible than ordinary people.

The difficulty of drawing talismans is greatly reduced for him.

To overcome the Bitter Sea in talisman cultivation, one needs to copy a hundred different calligraphic styles within a month, reaching a proficient level. After that, one must find three basic talismans and practice drawing them day and night. If one can write three large vats of ink within three months, and successfully draw more than three thousand of each basic talisman, then the Bitter Sea of talisman cultivation can be considered overcome.

Naturally, the resources consumed in this process are much greater than those of martial arts cultivators or qi refiners.

This is because both the copying of a hundred calligraphic styles and the specially made ink and spiritual paper for writing talismans are expensive.

And once the time limit is exceeded without achieving the goal, one has to start all over again.

Fundamentally, the Bitter Sea cultivation of talisman cultivation is actually a process of refining the mind, calming the qi, honing perseverance, and focusing the spirit.

Again and again, one squeezes oneself to a near-demanding extent in a very short period of time, ensuring production progress and quality even in an extremely tired state.

Such requirements are also because, after reaching the Energy Realm, one needs to draw talismans with the help of the power of heaven and earth, and a slight carelessness can lead to severe backlash.

However, those who force their way into the Energy Realm without overcoming the Bitter Sea have never had a good outcome.

Even if they enjoy themselves for a while, they will regret it for the rest of their lives.

"If the Way of Talismans can also be established and the Bitter Sea overcome, it will be extremely important for supplementing my future methods. Although talisman cultivation has never been known as the strongest, its existence is almost omnipotent. All kinds of talismans are enough to grant the ability to deal with different situations. However, to walk the path of talisman cultivation, one must have enough resources to feed it, and I don't have much spare money on hand now."

"This is another world of cultivation. Those traditional transmigrator skills from my previous life, such as refining salt, making soap, and making glass, let alone I don't know how... even if I did, there wouldn't be much profit margin in making them."

"If I want money, I need power." Thinking of power, Ye Chuxiao thought of this time's great competition in the Ministry of Justice's dungeon and the 'Warden' position to be selected.

If he could completely control the Ministry of Justice's dungeon, then the daily profits from the dungeon would be enough for him to overcome the Bitter Sea of talisman cultivation.

"My Fate Value has reached more than a thousand points, which is already a fate capable of presiding over a region. I have been back to Daheng for some time now, and in principle... besides helping me get through a few crises without any danger, it should also reveal some differences."

At this time, Ye Chuxiao certainly did not know that White-Head Biao's frantic actions to obtain the position of Warden had backfired.

After the Tang Sudong death sacrifice, the emotions sealed and suppressed in the hearts of the cultivators were awakened, and the many officials of the Ministry of Justice were no exception.

Yuan Shen, the Minister of Justice, was once upright and unyielding when he was young. After his cultivation became profound, he gradually became more and more indifferent, and then abandoned his former way of being a person and an official, only seeking to protect himself, and hardly intervened in the affairs of the Ministry of Justice or the officialdom.

Now that his 'true self' has been revived, he cannot stand anyone engaging in petty schemes.

So he said, 'The Ministry of Justice should have the heart to forge ahead and the intention to be brave and diligent. Even if it is a promotion that breaks the rules, it is necessary to find those who are truly capable of shouldering heavy responsibilities.'

This sentence alone was equivalent to cutting off White-Head Biao's 'Warden' position.

If it were in the past, this news would naturally be passed down to inform White-Head Biao so that he would directly give up.

Even if White-Head Biao was dissatisfied, he could only try to change his goal and use the resources in his hand to cultivate his children and nephews.

However, what Tang Sudong awakened was not necessarily all positive emotions. Those greed, baseness, and filth were also awakened in the same way.

Originally, those middle-level officials who could be greedy or not greedy are now filled with greed, and the power in their hands has become a tool for blackmailing.

White-Head Biao spent a lot of money to bribe people up and down.

Some people saw the money and became greedy, so they deliberately did not remind White-Head Biao, but instead manipulated him in every possible way in order to squeeze out more.

Poor White-Head Biao had worked hard for half his life, but in vain, he had made wedding clothes for others, but he still thought he had a great future and was complacent.

Such changes cannot be said to be entirely driven by the fluctuations in Ye Chuxiao's fate.

Fate is like a river, and all living beings in it are just going with the flow.

The previous Ye Chuxiao was a grain of sand in the river of fate, without direction or opportunity.

But now, he is a leaf floating on the water, and when the waves come, he may have the opportunity to rise with the waves.

"Little Ye! When my adopted father becomes the Warden, I will ask him to transfer you to my place."

"Managing some criminal officials is much more profitable than managing those notorious bandits, and you can also learn a lot about the ways of being an official, which will be good for you." When eating in the cafeteria, Ye Chuxiao met Ma Shaokang again. Ma Shaokang also heard that Ye Chuxiao's cultivation had reached the second level of the Bitter Realm, so he came up to chat and recruit him.

After hearing this, Ye Chuxiao smiled and said, "Okay! Then I will have to rely on you a lot in the future, Brother Ma."

Of course, this was just a perfunctory remark. Since Ye Chuxiao had set a goal, he was bound to get the position of Warden.

After thinking for two days, Ye Chuxiao already had a plan.

"Ye Chuxiao! You are my father's old subordinate, and he took good care of you."

"This time, the adults of the Ministry of Justice are selecting the Warden, and I hope you will help me." A voice interjected, interrupting Ye Chuxiao's exchange with Ma Shaokang.

Turning his head to look, the speaker was Li Fu, the son of Head Constable Li.

Li Fu has good aptitude. At a young age, he had already passed the second level of the Bitter Sea. After the Tang Sudong death sacrifice, his revengeful heart, suppressed by indifference, was no longer concealed.

Of course, he didn't know that Head Constable Li's death was because of Ye Chuxiao's framing.

He attributed all of it to White-Head Biao and other dungeon constables, who threw his father out to take the blame in order to close the case hastily.

Now he also wants to take the position of Warden, and then manipulate White-Head Biao and others to avenge his father.

"Damn it, what are you talking about?"

"What kind of garbage are you that you want to snatch the position of Warden?" Ma Shaokang was immediately annoyed when he heard this.

The voice was quite loud, attracting many dungeon jailers who were eating.