Looking at the title, it seemed like a travelogue recording the experiences of the Zhang Heavenly Master's demon subduing adventures. It should not be much different from some of the storybooks he had read before, most of which were fabricated stories of oddities and wonders.
Shen Luo didn't pay much attention to it, he brushed off the dust on it and put it into his sleeve pocket.
Later, after looking behind the remaining chairs and tables, he found nothing else of worth, so he had to stop and returned to Qingchipo.
The meditation room of Qingchipo was a two-story row building, each floor had about twenty smaller rooms, and some of the disciples from the temple lived here.
Shen Luo's room was on the first floor, right next to the cliff.
All the disciples' rooms were small, besides a bed and a pair of table and chairs, there were no other objects, Shen Luo's was no exception.
As he pushed the door open, a strong pine scent hit him in the face, causing Shen Luo to scrunch up his nose.
The temple had plenty of scented items like sandalwood and pinewood, and didn't prohibit disciples from using them. Because, while meditating, these items assisted in calming and focusing the mind and made it easier to enter a tranquil state.
However, most people only light up one stick, which would give off a faint scent. Unlike him, who made the scent so strong that it was almost suffocating.
But there was really nothing he could do about it.
Shen Luo's room was blocked by a crooked Welcoming Pine by the cliffs, which created a cold and damp atmosphere. On the desk in the room, he had dozens of old books that he had collected from various parts of the temple, and most of them were moldy, one could imagine the smell.
If it were not for the pine scent suppressing it, the room would be inhabitable.
Shen Luo had grown accustomed to this. He sat down at the desk against the wall, took out the newly bought "Zhang Heavenly Master's Demon-Subduing Chronicle" from his sleeve pocket, and placed it on the table.
The book looked decent from the outside. Apart from the moldy spots on the cover that appeared a bit disgusting, the rest of the book was still intact, even better than most of the books in Shen Luo's collection.
First, he took a big gulp of water from the teapot on his desk. After resting for half an incense stick, he finally regained some strength.
He opened the cover of the ancient book and revealed a yellowed page featuring a chubby Taoist priest in a lotus crown and a seven-star robe. One hand was making a spell, and the other holding a sword, all in an aggressive manner.
It probably was a portrait of Zhang Heavenly Master, but the lines were rough, and it seemed more abstract than realistic. After all, if a real person looked like this, it would be more terrifying than any ghost or monster.
Shen Luo laughed, flipped the page, and started browsing the content.
Upon reading it, Shen Luo immediately became engrossed in the book. It indeed was a tale of strangeness and novelty, narrating many interesting anecdotes about Zhang Heavenly Master subduing ghosts and demons in the Lingnan area.
The book did not mention the time of these events, so it was impossible to investigate further. However, the names of the places were clearly written and they were all places that could be identified, suggesting that they didn't date back too far.
Zhang Heavenly Master, a Daoist immortal, mastered the secret techniques of the Dao of Alchemy and the authentic tradition of talismans. He could refine golden cores and make talismans. In this book, he subdued more than a dozen ghosts, and many monsters like rat-spirit and fox-demon.
Shen Luo had read many books like this, and the content was not particularly original. The ghost and monster techniques mentioned were even less diverse and exciting than those in other novels, merely common plotlines involving haunted individuals and enchanted hearts.
What made Shen Luo unable to put the book down was the detailed description of various techniques for fighting evil ghosts. There was one story in which a Wealthy Gentry was plagued by a fox-demon. Unable to withstand the annoyance, the Wealthy Gentry was given a whisk by Zhang Heavenly Master to hang over his door, and he was thus rid of the fox-problem.
Additionally, the book mentions various bizarre methods such as using black dog blood to write talismans, using butcher's knives to suppress ghosts, and ancient coins to exert dominance, etc.
Even at the end of a few stories, drawings of the talismans used in the stories were attached. Looking at the beautiful and energetic brush strokes that seemed to have been created in one breath, it surprisingly appeared to have a unique atmosphere.
However, after carefully examining them, Shen Luo seemed to find something fishy.
He had seen some of the talismans posted on the lintels in the temple and also in some other books, and although the styles and names appeared identical with the ones depicted here, there were clear differences in the intricacies of the brushwork used.
After taking a glance at them, Shen Luo immediately started rummaging through the pile of old books stacked on his desk, quickly pulling out an even more dilapidated old book with its cover completely worn off.
This ancient book only had about a dozen thin pages left in the front that were readable. Most of the pages in the back were so corroded that they had stuck together, and would crumble into dust with the slightest tug.
The book was called the "Secret Techniques of Talismans Authentic Manual", specializing in documenting talismans that had been passed down since ancient times. It mentions many rules and taboos about making and using talismans.
According to the book, based on the function of a talisman, they are broadly categorized into three types: "Calming, Town, Attack."
Talismans like the Calming People Talisman and Hundred Solutions Disaster Relief Talisman belong to the Calming category, while the Peace Talisman and House-Protection Talisman, etc. belong to the Town category. As for the Attack type talismans, they are hardly mentioned in the text, but there is a mention of the Burning Gas Talisman and the Small Thunder Talisman, etc.
Of all types of talismans, Shen Luo was most interested in the Attack type ones. The scene of Master Luo using a Yellow Talisman to control the Yin Qi left an impressive mark on him, its memory still vivid.
It's just that the literature he has access to hardly touches upon these types of talismans, enshrouding them in an aura of mystery.
If he encounters unfavorably susceptible entities in the future, carrying Peace Talismans or other types of Town Talismans could ensure safety. However, if he encounters a real ghost, carrying an Attack type talisman would undoubtedly be safer.
Unfortunately, the parts of the book he could browse were generalized content. The actual descriptions of the uses and drawing methods of talismans were in the latter part of the book, which was almost entirely inaccessible.
Upon flipping through the first part of the book, Shen Luo found that the Peace Talisman was preserved. Considering it was also in the Zhang Heavenly Master's Demon-Subduing Chronicle, he immediately took it out to cross-reference.
"Eh, it really looks the same." He inhaled slightly and voiced his thoughts.
"Dong..."
At that moment, the evening drum rang, waking Shen Luo from his thoughts.
He lifted his head, glanced at the sky outside the window, and realized without noticing that it was already evening.
Since he came to the mountain, he was intrigued by these ghostly oddities. Apart from practicing the Small Transformation Yang Skill, for now, he could not cultivate aggressive skills like the Qingyang Hand. So most of the time, he spent it reading these books.
Unexpectedly, he had spent most of the day reading them today.
He shook his head, chuckled at himself, tidied up the books on the table, stood up, and head out of the room.
About a hundred feet to the right of the San Qing Temple, there is a flat plateau, upon which a few independent courtyards were built. Inner sect disciples of the temple live here. Each person has a private courtyard that's not too big, and they don't live mixed with other disciples.
By this time, the sky was already quite dark, and there were three figures gathered outside one of the courtyards.