First Immortal of Destiny

Chapter 25: Thorough Preparation

Apart from giving him numerous talisman scrolls, before leaving, Uncle Chen also left fifty Spirit Stones for Shen Mo to purchase the necessary items on his own.

Once again, Shen Mo was deeply moved by Uncle Chen's generosity.

"I have all the other materials needed to refine the Fire Talisman, except for the Fire Crystal. I still need to buy it at the market."

He put away the talisman scrolls and quickly arrived at the De Dao Lane market.

Upon entering the market, he didn't stop at the surrounding stalls and went straight to the Tian Fu Hall.

Tian Fu Hall was the storefront established by the Linjiang Sect for talismans, and they had the most complete selection.

"A low-grade Fire Crystal costs two Spirit Stones." The disciple in the green robe at the shop raised his hand and said casually.

"The price is really not low." Shen Mo couldn't help but sigh upon hearing the price.

No wonder the selling price of first-rank talismans was so high.

Just the special crystals used to forge first-rank talismans were already worth more than the other materials.

"I'll buy a hundred."

He handed over all fifty low-grade Spirit Stones given to him by Uncle Chen.

"Alright, here are the Fire Crystals. Take good care of them."

After the disciple in the green robe confirmed their authenticity, he quickly packaged and handed over a hundred Fire Crystals to Shen Mo.

After obtaining the crystals, Shen Mo hurriedly left the market and returned to his own residence to prepare for talisman-making.

【You attempted to refine the Fire Talisman but failed. Your talisman cultivation base +2, Fire Talisman proficiency +5.】

As expected, he failed on his first attempt.

But Shen Mo was already used to it.

Failure is the mother of success. Trying more times will eventually lead to success.

This time, he was well-prepared. With the abundance of Fire Crystals in his hands, he had enough to attempt a hundred refinements.

【You attempted to refine the Fire Talisman but failed. Your talisman cultivation base +2, Fire Talisman proficiency +5.】

【You attempted to refine the Fire Talisman but failed. Your talisman cultivation base +2, Fire Talisman proficiency +5.】

For an entire day, Shen Mo was unable to forge a finished Fire Talisman.

The time and energy required to forge a first-rank talisman far exceeded that of some inferior trash talismans.

In this one day, he only managed to forge nine times.

"I can't hold on any longer. I'll take a break."

Continuous production had made Shen Mo mentally exhausted, and his energy was severely depleted.

In this state, the probability of creating a finished talisman would be even lower. Therefore, he didn't force himself to continue refining.

"No matter what you do, you need to find a balance."

After months of practicing alchemy and talisman cultivation, he was no longer as single-minded as before.

Once he entered a state of enlightenment, he would work for several days and nights without rest, forging and refining tirelessly.

But too much of a good thing can be bad.

Sometimes, being too diligent can backfire.

"Gurgle!"

Lying on the bed, Shen Mo swallowed a Zhu Fruit without deliberately meditating.

Instead, he chose a comfortable position and lay on the bamboo bed.

He activated the "Heavenly Origin Technique" within his body, absorbing the essence of the Zhu Fruit to restore his energy.

【You have swallowed the Zhu Fruit. The pure medicinal power ripples through your body. The Heavenly Origin Technique absorbs and digests the medicinal power of the Zhu Fruit, causing your cultivation base to grow.】

【As you practice the Heavenly Origin Technique, you gradually sense its profoundness, deepening your understanding of the technique. Heavenly Origin Technique experience +30.】

【During your cultivation, you unexpectedly triggered a stroke of luck and gained a destiny point.】

【After a night of restful practice, you feel refreshed and full of energy.】

The next day, he woke up and glanced at the information panel.

One piece of information after another entered his sight, and he quickly scanned through them.

After getting up, Shen Mo first freshened up, and quickly began a new round of refining the Departed Fire Talisman.

【You attempted to refine the Departed Fire Talisman and failed. Your Cultivation Base in Talisman Dao +2, Proficiency in Departed Fire Talisman +5】

The first five attempts today ended in failure as well.

By the sixth attempt, Shen Mo's proficiency in refining the Departed Fire Talisman had changed from unfamiliar to skilled.

Therefore, this time, his movements were particularly smooth, appearing as if flowing clouds and running water.

"Plip."

Holding the brush for drawing talismans, he had a solemn expression as he depicted lines of Departed Fire on the yellow paper.

"Beast blood!"

When the foundation of the talisman was completed, he dipped the brush in beast blood, going through the process of awakening.

"Buzz!"

When the beast blood dripped onto the yellow paper of the talisman, a faint glow slowly emerged.

The awakening was successful, but Shen Mo did not relax his focus.

Unlike inferior talismans, forging a first-rank talisman did not end with awakening.

If he wanted the Departed Fire Talisman to take shape successfully, he still needed to integrate the Departed Fire Crystal into the talisman.

This step was the key to success or failure.

Previously, Shen Mo had failed at this step multiple times, resulting in the talismans being scrapped.

"Rustle."

The entirely red crystal was slowly integrated into the yellow paper talisman by Shen Mo.

【You successfully attempted to refine the Departed Fire Talisman. Your Cultivation Base in Talisman Dao +20, Proficiency in Departed Fire Talisman +50】

This time, finally...

"It's done, it's finally done!"

He held the finished Departed Fire Talisman in his hand, feeling quite excited.

"It truly deserves to be a first-rank attack talisman. The powerful flame fluctuations contained within it are remarkable."

As he sensed the strong power fluctuations within this exquisite talisman, he secretly estimated that if fully unleashed, its power would not be inferior to a full-force strike from the Body Forging Realm Returned to Origin.

"A full-force strike from the Body Forging Realm Returned to Origin, combined with the fire attribute that inherently restrains the Two-Headed Python, I believe it will cause even greater damage to it."

"A single talisman can cause considerable trouble for the Two-Headed Python. If five or ten talismans were used together, the Two-Headed Python would definitely be powerless to fight back."

Thinking this, he carefully stored the finished Departed Fire Talisman and continued to refine the next talisman.

At the end of this day, Shen Mo summarized his progress.

He had attempted to refine talismans ten times today and succeeded twice.

"Continue tomorrow."

After feeling that his mental energy was almost depleted, he put away his things, freshened up, and began to rest.

Just like yesterday, he lay on the bed.

Swallowing a Zhu Fruit, he didn't deliberately cultivate, but let the Heavenly Origin Technique in his body operate on its own, absorbing the medicinal power.

Time flew by, and in this regular life, twelve days passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Shen Mo had used up all one hundred Departed Fire Crystals he had purchased from the market.

"Twelve days, originally planned for half a month, but finished three days early."

Shen Mo calculated the time and thought to himself.

In fact, as his proficiency in making Departed Fire Talismans continued to improve and reached the level of perfection, his speed in refining them had also made a leap.

If he dedicated all his time to making talismans, he could refine twelve Departed Fire Talismans.

But Shen Mo didn't do that. He only set a goal of refining nine talismans each day.

The remaining time was spent on cultivation.

During these twelve days, after exhausting his energy each day, he would swallow a Zhu Fruit to assist in his cultivation.

With the continuous accumulation of medicinal power, Shen Mo's physique, Qi, blood, and internal organs all underwent a round of enhancement.

(End of this chapter)