Oblivious to the chaos his actions had created in the Higgins family, Lionel returned home happily and examined the rock he had bought.
To a normal person, the rock seemed trash, something that shouldn't have been bought at all. But not to Lionel.
Lionel had sensed a strong energy from it, attracting him to it. It was as if he would regret it for sure if he didn't buy it. He trusted his instincts. After unlocking the Ghost Sense, he had developed skills that once seemed impossible.
Lionel examined the rock. But he couldn't find a way to extract the energy.
An idea sprang in his mind and he directed the spiritual energy in him to the rock.
At first, nothing happened.
But soon, he felt a strange sensation in him, and he realized that the energy in the rock was fusing with his spiritual energy.
The dense energy circulated between him and the rock and once the rock lost all its spiritual energy, it turned into power.
Lionel was baffled. He stared at the grey powder in his hand and on the floor. What shocked him more was that his cultivation level had increased.
Previously he was at the intermediate level of Ghost Sense. But now, he was at an advanced level. The sudden spike delighted and frustrated him at the same time. He had spent a day and a half cultivating and had barely managed to reach the intermediate level of Ghost Sense.
A mere rock had helped him reach the advanced level. What kind of sorcery was this?
Lionel was disgruntled. But that didn't stop him from ogling at his newly bought treasures. If it were before, he would have laughed at anyone who told him he would one day buy talisman papers.
But now, they were his greatest treasures. Since ghosts weren't a myth, he had to be prepared.
What if he was out on a walk and a wandering ghost decided to greet him?
Lionel felt his hair on the end stand at the mere thought. 'I need to improve fast and start drawing talismans. I can't ignore my safety.'
Lionel sat cross-legged on the floor and placed a blank talisman before him. He recalled the easiest talisman that could be drawn.
Cleansing talisman.
He didn't dare think of more powerful talismans. He would need to use a lot of his spiritual energy to draw them and he wasn't at that stage yet.
Recalling the drawing from the diary, Lionel began drawing it. No sooner had he started, the cinnabar pen broke, startling the man until his eyes widened.
"What just happened? How did the pen break?"
Not just the pen, even the talisman paper had gone to waste. His first trial was unsuccessful.
Lionel didn't give up and tried again, only to meet the same fate.
On the third trial, he managed to draw the talisman without destroying the cinnabar pen. But the talisman didn't have any spiritual energy in it. It was utterly useless.
Frustrated, Lionel pulled at his hair. He picked up the fourth talisman and closed his eyes for a moment. Slowly, channeling his qi, he guided it to the pen and started drawing the talisman.
Soon, his forehead was drenched with sweat and his wet shirt clung to him. Lionel felt the spiritual energy in him depleting. But he didn't give up. He continued drawing.
Sweat trickled down his cheek while dark spots filled his sight. Lionel gritted his teeth and persisted. He just had one stroke left.
The last stroke sucked the soul out of him and once he was finally done, he collapsed to the floor. He felt utterly drained and disoriented. Drawing a talisman was even more taxing than any exercise.
Lionel breathed deeply while he gathered his energy. He couldn't even sit up straight.
After a long time, he finally recovered a little and sat up to examine the talisman. He noticed a faint spiritual energy in it. His attempt this time had been a success.
"Yay," Lionel shouted in glee and grinned like a Cheshire cat.
Although the Cleansing Talisman he had drawn wasn't that strong, it was still a good attempt and Lionel cheered at his achievement.
He wanted to continue. But his body was in no condition to support him. So, he gave up. He had to rest well and rejuvenate his energy before he drew again.
Lionel was tempted to test the talisman. Cleansing Talismans could purify low-level dark energy. What about the one he had drawn?
'Would mine work? It's a low-level talisman after all,' he thought skeptically. 'Moreover, is there any dark energy in the house?'
Lionel wasn't sure about it. He didn't sense any.
"Let me give it a try."
Lionel threw the talisman in the air. But it just floated for a few seconds before it fell beside him. There wasn't any strange reaction,
"Why did it not work? Does that mean there is no dark energy here?" he pondered, but couldn't come up with a possible answer.
Stressed, he gave up thinking and ordered some food for himself again.
Right at that moment, his phone rang and he answered it when he noticed who was calling him.
"Will, wassup?"
"Lio, you and I have been chosen as volunteers for the town festival," William spoke excitedly.
"Is it? I didn't check my messages today."
"I thought so. You've been added to the group chat. Reply over there first."
"Sure, will do."
"How are you doing, by the way?"
"I'm fine."
William didn't probe further, deciding not to rip the bandaid and reopen the wounds.
"Hey, did you hear about Mrs. Carlson's daughter?" William's tone changed, sounding gossipy all of a sudden.
"What about her?" Lionel had no idea about what he was referring to. Since his grandfather's death, he had isolated himself from the world pretty much.
"There are rumors that she lost her mind. She has been behaving strangely recently."
"Ohh..." Lionel was unbothered.
"Some even say she might have been possessed. Funny, isn't it?"
Lionel's heart skipped a beat this time and he became alert at once.
"What did you just say?" he asked incredulously.
"Hey, Lio, calm down. I'm just stating what I heard," William said with a chuckle.
"Will, did you say Mrs. Carlson's daughter was possessed?"
"I'm not saying it. It's the rumor that's spreading around."
"Will, I have got to go. I'll talk to you later."
"But.."
Lionel ended the call hurriedly without listening to William, his heart pounding in anxiousness.
'I must check what's wrong with Mrs. Carlson's daughter. What if...' Lionel clenched his fists tight as he stared at the talisman. 'What if she's actually possessed by a ghost?'