Although Jiang Li was handsome and competent in every aspect—proficient in talismanic magic, martial arts, and divination—the fact that he was good at hiding his abilities meant that he would usually handpick the easiest tasks even when he took on bounty hunting assignments, which led to very few knowing his true power.
Take divination for example, apart from Jiang Li himself, nobody knew the extent of his mastery. Otherwise, Zhou Mingyun wouldn't have thought of ambushing him or persisted after failing six times.
So the question arises: what qualifies a youth, who is average in every respect except for his good looks, to arouse murderous intent in someone, and to be targeted so persistently? It couldn't possibly just be for the sake of fifteen hundred good deeds, could it?
If we rule out the possibility that the person has a screw loose, only heritage remains.
'Political rivals of the Jiang Family? An enemy? Or perhaps, a fiancée?'
The scenario where a fallen noble's scorned fiancée attempts to murder him to get out of the engagement—classic protagonist material—would have been perfect, too bad Jiang Li didn't have a fiancée.
'Judging from the current situation, the likelihood of it being an enemy is greater.'
As Jiang Li pondered this in his heart, on the surface, he walked to the disciple dormitory not far from Wuqu Ping and entered his own room.
The closed door separated him from prying eyes in the distance, and a faint luster appeared on the beams, the floor, and the doors and windows as a series of talismans lit up and then vanished.
'No one has been in my room; that means... they just want me dead.'
Seeing this, Jiang Li came to an unsettling conclusion.
If they hadn't entered his room, it meant the enemy was not interested in possessions; otherwise, they would have definitely searched Jiang Li's room.
They, or he, wanted Jiang Li's life.
That left no room for easing the situation.
[At this thought, Jiang Li's eyes flashed coldly, the intent to kill flickered.]
Karma Collection timely revealed a phrase, and seeing it, Jiang Li's killing intent faltered momentarily as he was suddenly overcome by an awkward feeling.
This cursed book was mostly fine, but its feature of recording thoughts could be quite embarrassing at times.
What he thought was one thing, but seeing his thoughts written out was something else entirely. Especially some of the phrases—thinking them was fine, but having them written down was like reading a cringe-worthy diary, certain to be a dark stain in history.
Distracted by this, Jiang Li's murderous intent subsided, and he shook his head with a wry smile.
He walked to the desk not far away and sat down, taking out items that could enhance his strength one by one.
The Six Ding Six Jia Talisman Method, Louguan Swordsmanship, the Snake Tooth Dagger containing the "Long Snake" Dao Fruit, and a Jade Talisman.
Like the Snake Tooth Dagger, the Jade Talisman was also a vessel for storing Dao Fruit.
According to the Outer Elder, Dao Fruits are the remnants left in the world by the powerful, the projections of their strength, which automatically attach themselves to objects that are compatible with the Dao Fruit.
These objects, which are inhabited by Dao Fruits, are collectively known as Dao Artifacts.
Dao Artifacts of the First Five Ranks even possess some special abilities, able to offer their bearers considerable help even if not fully integrated; the Dao Artifacts of the last four grades, on the other hand, tend to be lackluster, generally only making the vessel indestructible.
The reason for this discrepancy is that the Dao Fruits of the last four grades are not truly the remnants of the powerful but are man-made.
To Jiang Li's knowledge, "Daoist" is thus named after it replicates part of the abilities of the Fifth Grade Dao Fruit—Heavenly Master and is processed and manufactured.
The others like Human Species, Immortal, Buddha Attribute, and Divine Attribute Dao Fruits were virtually all like this as well—mass-produced by people.
As for the low-level Dao Fruits of demons, monsters, ghosts, and spirits, they are made by slaying demons, ghosts, and monsters and refining their essence.
It is precisely for this reason that various sects had a large number of low-level Dao Fruits available for their disciples to absorb, preventing cultivators from becoming a minority group.
Real demons, ghosts, and monsters were nearly extinct, and the various strange tales of supernatural creatures that circulated in different regions were made up ninety-nine percent of the time by individuals who had absorbed Demonic Attribute Dao Fruits.
Returning to the main topic, the two Dao Artifacts in Jiang Li's possession, the Snake Tooth Dagger, were hard and sharp, and could be used for self-defense. After the Dao Fruit was gone, the Jade Talisman could no longer be considered a Dao Artifact, yet it served as an excellent talisman carrier.
Compared to the dagger, the Jade Talisman's usefulness was, in fact, even greater.
It could be used to craft the Six Ding Six Jia Protection Talisman.
Jiang Li placed the Jade Talisman on top of the talismanic magic book.
Then he looked at Louguan Swordsmanship and at the same time, the Karma Collection also revealed that Half-step Invincible Divine Skill.
Louguan, meaning "to build a hut with grass and observe the stars and Qi," was the name of a large faction before the End of Dharma. Louguan Swordsmanship, being a martial art of this faction, was a form of Swordsmanship that allowed one to foresee the enemy's moves and strike later but arrive first.
This Swordsmanship required the practitioner to have a certain level of Magic Calculation prowess, which was well-suited for Jiang Li and whose power was also extraordinary, ranking among the top within the Ninth Grade.
As for the Bending Flower Hand, those who know, understand its ferocity.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Jiang Li immediately picked up the book on talismanic magic and flipped it open.
Survival comes first, so learn the talisman first.
Before the End of Dharma, talismanic magic was regarded as a wonderful method to communicate between heaven and earth and command ghosts and gods, generally classified into two types: connecting heaven and earth and communicating with ghosts and gods.
However, after the End of Dharma, the spiritual mechanism transformed into the Five Viscous Evil Qi, and it's likely that the deities also became Dao Fruits, rendering the old talismanic system obsolete.
The post-End of Dharma talismanic system had only one object of communication—oneself.
Using talismans as a medium and Qi as the source, it could manifest powers such as Wind, Fire, Thunder, and Lightning, and even reveal various divine forms, performing the functions of various divine talismans.
Thus, talismans became equivalent to the external meridians of the user, and their complexity was on par with mental methods of the same Grade; both the strokes and the strength mattered greatly, and they must be completed in one breath.
The Six Ding Six Jia Protection Talisman by grade is Seventh Rank, which means that the difficulty for Jiang Li to draw such a talisman was equivalent to executing a Seventh Rank mental method, or perhaps even greater.
Speaking from common sense, someone who can create this talisman at the Ninth Grade is either a remarkable genius or has deep resources to spend on themselves.
Elder Wan thought highly of Jiang's ability to produce this talisman.
Jiang Li wasn't a peerless genius, and even with the temporary boost in comprehension from the Dao Fruit, he wasn't doing too well since his foundation in the Three Religions wasn't deep enough, and he didn't have a modifier, but...
"I can go all out."
Jiang Li took a deep breath and pulled out a thick stack of yellow paper from under the table.
The ability of the Karma Collection to solidify cause and effect meant Jiang Li's efforts wouldn't be wasted. Now that he had just absorbed a Dao Fruit, his potential had greatly increased, making it the perfect time for rigorous practice.
If once wasn't enough, then ten times; if ten times weren't enough, then a hundred times. As long as one does not die from exhaustion, keep pushing to the limit.
Jiang's achievements today were all due to his own hard work, due to being sufficiently dedicated.
"It's decided, I won't leave the house until I've produced ten... no, fifty Six Ding Six Jia Protection Talismans!"
"Wait, I still have to eat and take care of bodily functions. Damn it! Why do cultivators still have to worry about eating and taking care of bodily functions? Then I shall definitely not leave the sect!"
Within the sect, there are Fasting Pills that can be exchanged for good deeds, but unfortunately, they're too expensive. In this era, the most precious thing is the Dao Fruit, followed by Elixirs.
Given Jiang Li's current assets, Fasting Pills were but a distant dream, so he might as well stick to eating and taking care of bodily functions.
In conclusion, the plan was to steady develop for a while, get the protection talismans right, learn the martial arts well, and if possible, work his way up to the Eighth Rank—that would naturally be even better.