Shi Zhi initially had some conflicts with Lu An but surrendered to Lu An after being whipped by the second elder of the Divine Talisman Pavilion. Later, when the pavilion master was impeached by the grand elder, Lu An introduced Shi Zhi to the pavilion master. What happened afterward is unknown.
Currently, Shi Zhi is nominally aligned with the grand elder and the second elder but also has some connections with the pavilion master. Was it a result of mutual recommendations?
Lu An thought for a moment and became increasingly convinced of the possibility. After the departure of the master brother from the Divine Talisman Pavilion, the grand elder's side lost its top candidate, so they put forward Shi Zhi as a replacement. The pavilion master also reached some cooperation with Shi Zhi and supported him, thus securing the talisman seed position.
Lu An nodded. This explanation made sense, but it was all speculation, so it might or might not be true.
However, Shen Mi was now free to help out at Lingfu Residence, which solved the shortage of manpower. Lu Xuan also seemed to have the intention of staying here, which alleviated the manpower issue.
Lu An looked around and saw that the small exhibition hall was already quite crowded with Lingfu Residence's own people. If more guests arrived, it would become very crowded. It seemed like it was time to expand the scale a bit, and with Lingfu Residence's profitability, it could bear the cost.
He communicated with Li Ziyou using the communication jade slip and gave instructions to Bai Sheng before returning to the secret room for seclusion.
Li Ziyou's efficiency was quick; by the afternoon, he brought a group of workers to open up the stores on both sides of Lingfu Residence. However, the decoration would take some time and could not be completed in a few days.
In the secret room, Lu An took out the Soul Devouring Sword and began sketching something in the air randomly.
The reason he had been postponing the talisman hall assessment was because he was at a critical moment of comprehending the Soul Devouring Sword. According to his plan, the Soul Devouring Sword could absorb a person's spiritual consciousness and was very similar to talisman drawing. If he could use this sword instead of a talisman brush, could he draw talismans in the air?
However, there were many problems to solve first. The most important one was how to use the materials needed for talisman drawing. It was impractical to use the Soul Devouring Sword dipped in blood essence to draw talismans during every battle, as it would delay the opportunity and was highly inefficient.
The second problem was talisman paper. In normal talisman drawing, talisman paper is the carrier, but in air talisman drawing, without talisman paper, what should be used as a carrier?
Without solving these two problems, he couldn't realize his idea. Originally, he had no way to complete this, but as his soul cultivation deepened, his spiritual power became stronger. He had absorbed all the spiritual insights from the second-level talismans he had collected.
Combining the two, he came up with a somewhat immature idea.
"I have water, fire, and wood spiritual roots. On a usual basis, I communicate with the world's essence of these three attributes."
"However, I cannot use metal and earth essences, which is a waste."
"If I use spiritual power to find these two essences and use them as talisman paper, wouldn't that solve the problem?"
Lu An felt a bit excited. The idea sounded simple, but implementing it was extremely difficult. Firstly, one needed absolute control over the soul. It was not enough to be powerful; control was crucial to handle the world's essence. Lu An could not achieve this before, but now, with the practice of the Yimu Shenghun Sutra, his control over the soul had increased many times. The various soul control methods recorded in it had greatly broadened his horizons.
With his current strength, it should be possible.
The second point was having a profound understanding of talisman methods, knowing the fundamentals of talismanology, the operating trajectory of each talisman, and how talisman paper carries spiritual power.
Lu An's knowledge of talismanology was naturally top-notch, and even compared to the pavilion master of the Divine Talisman Pavilion, he might not be inferior.
He sat cross-legged and immediately began trying. A wisp of spiritual consciousness flew out from his sea of consciousness, sweeping toward the ethereal essence of the world.
Soon, he felt the presence of various attributes of essence. His cultivation method activated, and the water, fire, and wood essences were instantly absorbed into his body, leaving only metal and earth essences in the air.
Taking advantage of the surrounding essences not yet replenished, he moved his spiritual consciousness, transforming it into a large hand to grasp a wisp of metal essence.
Then he carefully controlled his soul to mold the essence into the form of talisman paper.
Lu An's heart rejoiced as he used the Soul Devouring Sword to draw on the talisman paper. Unexpectedly, as soon as he made a stroke, the virtual talisman paper shattered and dispersed into the air.
Lu An's heart moved. The metal essence was too sharp and unsuitable for carrying spiritual power. He would try the earth attribute instead.
Without hesitation, he used the same method to create a piece of earth attribute talisman paper. This time, the Soul Devouring Sword did not dissipate as before.
Lu An's face showed joy as he said, "This method is indeed feasible!"
Since he had resolved the talisman paper issue, it seemed that the materials needed for talisman drawing could also be found as substitutes. He immediately began studying it, completely forgetting the passage of time.
A month later, Elder Zhang arrived at Lingfu Residence with a worried expression.
He grabbed Bai Sheng, who was explaining talismans to a customer, and quickly asked:
"The one-month period has passed. Today is the day of the talisman hall assessment. Has Lu Xianyou not emerged from seclusion yet?"
Bai Sheng shook his head and replied:
"Elder, there's no need to rush. Since Master promised you, he should remember the time. Perhaps something delayed him. Please wait a bit longer."
Elder Zhang couldn't help but be anxious. He had already postponed the assessment multiple times for Lu An, and the pressure was starting to take its toll on him.
Just as he was anxiously pacing back and forth, a figure walked out from the back hall. It was Lu An, who had just come out of seclusion.
Elder Zhang's eyes brightened, and he quickly went up to him.
"Lu Xianyou, you have finally come out. Today is the assessment day. Let's head to the talisman hall quickly."
Lu An's face was marked with exhaustion, but his eyes were full of joy. After more than a month of comprehension, he had finally resolved the issue of talisman drawing materials. By using spiritual power to simulate the properties of materials and trapping the corresponding essence of heaven and earth, he achieved the goal of drawing talismans in the void.
However, this method, while capable of creating talismans, was about 30% less effective than those drawn on proper talisman paper. Moreover, it could only create instantaneous talismans; long-lasting talismans like the Calming Heart Talisman and Gathering Qi Talisman were not feasible.
Despite this, the results were still quite gratifying. Hearing Elder Zhang's words, Lu An came back to his senses.
"There's no need to rush, Elder. Please wait a moment while I freshen up."
Elder Zhang, feeling helpless, thought that having waited for months, a bit more time was no issue. He had no choice but to wait in the main hall.
Half an hour later, Lu An returned, feeling refreshed and much more energetic.
"Let's go. Please lead the way, Elder."
Elder Zhang sighed with relief, afraid that Lu An might make him wait for another month.
"Lu Xianyou, there are quite a few participants in this first-level talisman assessment."
"I've set the topic as the Concealing Breath Talisman, which I believe you are most familiar with. Given your strength, winning first place should be no problem."
Lu An nodded while calling out to the people behind him:
"Bai Sheng, Brother Wenliang, you two join me in the assessment as well."
Then, he turned to Elder Zhang and asked:
"Is it alright to add two more participants at the last minute?"
Elder Zhang was a bit surprised, but such matters were minor for him, and he immediately agreed.
Seeing that Lu An seemed absent-minded, he continued:
"Lu Xianyou, for this first-level talisman assessment, people from the Su family of Yongning County have also arrived, so be cautious."
"If you can secure first place, the talisman hall headquarters will offer substantial rewards."
Lu An frowned and looked at him:
"Who said I am participating in the first-level talisman assessment?"