Chapter 766 Spirit Talisman Hall
After careful discussion, Yao Chen and the Grand Elder finally finalized the general principles of their cooperation.
The core idea is that Xiao Ling uses his complete talisman master cultivation method and the entire talisman inheritance system as the foundation to establish a deep cooperative relationship with the Pill Tower.
In order to promote the inheritance of the Dao of Talismans and coordinate related matters, both parties agreed to establish a special department within the Pill Tower. This department will be independent of the existing traditional structure of the Pill Tower and will have relatively autonomous operating space. It will be named "Spirit Talisman Hall".
As for the core personnel structure of the Spirit Talisman Hall, Xiao Ling was appointed as the Hall Master, in charge of the overall direction of the inheritance of talismanic arts, while Yao Chen was appointed as the Grand Elder of the Spirit Talisman Hall, in charge of all affairs within the hall.
However, everyone knew that Xiao Ling was not interested in the tedious management of the hall, and he did not care much about the daily operation of the Spirit Talisman Hall.
Therefore, all subsequent specific matters of the Spirit Talisman Hall, from member review and inheritance teaching to rule enforcement and confidentiality protection, were actually handled entirely by Elder Yao Chen. Xiao Ling only needed to control the overall situation and determine the direction at key junctures.
Clear standards have been established for admission to the Spirit Talisman Hall. Any registered member of the Pill Tower who meets one of the following two conditions is eligible to apply for membership in the Spirit Talisman Hall.
The first condition is that one's soul realm must reach the Spirit Realm or above. The path of the talisman master is based on soul power. With sufficient soul power, one can quickly transform soul power into actual talisman master cultivation.
The second condition is that the member must have been a member of the Dan Tower for ten years or more, and have a good character and no record of violations or mistakes during their tenure. Such members are highly qualified, their character can withstand the test of time, and they can also ensure the purity of the talismanic tradition.
All applicants must go through the special review process set up by Lingfu Hall. Once the review is passed, they will be officially granted the complete method of talisman master cultivation, systematically participate in the study of talisman lineage, and truly embark on the path of cultivation where talisman master and battle qi go hand in hand.
There is another ironclad rule that must be strictly followed: anyone who successfully joins the Spirit Talisman Hall must swear an oath never to reveal any core secrets related to talisman master cultivation to outsiders, including fellow disciples of the Pill Tower who are not members of the Spirit Talisman Hall.
The essence of cultivation methods, the method of condensing natal talismans, and the internal operation and inheritance details of the Spirit Talisman Hall are all kept secret.
To ensure that all applicants' vows of vengeance were true and without any deception, Yao Chen specially transplanted the "Heart-Tide Tree," a rare treasure of the Starfall Pavilion, to the core area of the Spirit Talisman Hall in the Pill Tower.
This Heart-Blossom Tree is naturally endowed with the mysterious ability to sense people's hearts and discern truth from falsehood, making it an unparalleled treasure for testing the sincerity of vows.
When the examinee publicly swears an oath of secrecy, the Heart Tree will automatically activate its special ability. It will not cause any harm to the applicant, but it can penetrate the surface like a searchlight and reach the deepest part of the heart to carefully discern the true state of mind when the oath is sworn.
Only those applicants who sincerely swear an oath to uphold the Lingfutang's ironclad rule of secrecy, without any pretense or wishful thinking, will pass the sincere verification.
Conversely, if one harbors even the slightest thought of revealing secrets, or if one is perfunctory in making an oath and does not genuinely follow the rules, the Heart Tree will detect it instantly.
No matter how senior or how high one's spiritual level, such applicants will have their applications rejected outright, never to set foot in the Spirit Talisman Hall, and with no chance to even touch the slightest opportunity to inherit the legacy of a talisman master.
Now, under Yao Chen's meticulous care, the Heart Orchid Tree has undergone a complete transformation. Yao Chen often waters it with the Dew of Creation, and also nourishes its roots with various rare spiritual liquids that are hard to find elsewhere. Over time, the spiritual essence of the Heart Orchid Tree has become increasingly rich, and its own realm has far surpassed that of the previous generation of Heart Orchid Ancient Tree, reaching the peak level of an eighth-order magical beast.
This profound strength makes its ability to sense people's hearts even stronger. Anyone whose cultivation has not yet broken through to the semi-saint realm can have their inner thoughts, intentions, and sincerity clearly captured and concealed under its power.
Looking at the entire Pill Tower, even within the core Lesser Pill Tower, there are only four experts whose cultivation has broken through the threshold of Half-Saint.
These four individuals are all highly respected elders of the Pill Tower, and their character is absolutely trustworthy. Therefore, there is no need to rely on the Heart Tree's special ability to verify their sincerity.
Setting such strict entry rules was not because Xiao Ling was stingy with the inheritance of the Dao of Talismans; rather, he had no intention of spreading this method widely throughout the Central Continent at the moment.
This method of talisman master cultivation is too special. If it were to flow into the outside world too early, it would inevitably cause various forces to scramble for it, and it might even be coveted and used by evil forces like the Soul Palace, causing unnecessary trouble.
Only when his own cultivation breaks through the shackles and reaches the Dou Di realm, possessing the absolute strength to control the overall situation and protect the safety of the talismanic inheritance, will he reconsider the possibility of promoting this talismanic art to a wider world.
……
In the blink of an eye, a month has passed like sand slipping through one's fingers. Under Yao Chen's meticulous planning and proper arrangements, the preparation and opening of the Spirit Talisman Hall are progressing steadily and orderly.
To avoid the premature exposure of the talisman master's path and the ensuing turmoil, the Spirit Talisman Hall initially claimed to be a newly established exclusive department of the Pill Tower. Its core purpose was to organize and manage the various soul combat techniques treasured within the Pill Tower, and to open them up for teaching to alchemists with profound soul power. The aim was to help alchemists transform their powerful soul power into practical combat strength and make up for the generally weak combat qi cultivation of alchemists.
It should be noted that soul combat techniques are extremely rare in the current Central Continent. Even many top forces have difficulty collecting them. Only a top force like the Pill Tower, with its long history and profound foundation, has accumulated some related techniques.
The members within the Pill Tower, whether veteran alchemists who have dedicated themselves to the art of alchemy for many years or younger generations eager to improve their combat power, were all attracted by the rare soul combat skills after hearing the promotional introduction of the Spirit Talisman Hall.
After all, being able to enhance one's combat power with the help of soul power is an extremely tempting thing for every alchemist, so naturally they all yearn for it and want to apply to join the Spirit Talisman Hall to learn.
Unfortunately, the entry requirements for the Spirit Talisman Hall were extremely stringent. The requirements for soul realm, seniority, and character far exceeded those of ordinary departments. After a rigorous selection process and Xinlan Tree's sincere verification, only a few truly qualified and reliable Dan Tower members were successfully selected to become the first batch of disciples of the Spirit Talisman Hall. Those Dan Tower members who failed to meet the entry standards, or whose sincerity was seen through by Xinlan Tree during the assessment and oath-taking, and who failed the verification, inevitably felt a little disappointed, but did not feel too much annoyance or resentment.
In their view, while the "soul fighting skills" claimed by Lingfu Hall were indeed rare, unless one specialized in combat, even if one learned a move or two, it would not be of much help to their core alchemy skills.
They have always made alchemy their lifelong profession and are not good at fighting. Even if they have conflicts with others, they can easily invite powerful people from all sides to help them by relying on the reputation of the Pill Tower and their own extensive network of connections. The strength of their combat ability is not a primary consideration for them.
However, those members who successfully entered the Spirit Talisman Hall only realized after truly coming into contact with the core secrets of the talisman master's cultivation path that they had stepped into a department that taught soul combat skills, but a door to a completely new dimension of cultivation!
Although they were alchemists who devoted their lives to studying alchemy, who among them hadn't secretly longed to possess formidable combat abilities?
A prodigy like Xiao Ling, who excels in both Dou Qi and alchemy, is ultimately one in a million in the Central Continent. The vast majority of alchemists are hampered by their weak Dou Qi cultivation, possessing powerful soul force but finding it difficult to convert it into combat strength for self-defense or defeating enemies.
This method of talisman master cultivation perfectly meets their needs. It can directly transform the soul power foundation that alchemists are proud of into real combat power, allowing them to have combat ability that is no less than that of martial artists of the same level without having to spend too much energy honing their battle qi, thus greatly making up for their own shortcomings.
Especially for geniuses like Cao Ying and Dan Chen, whose soul power far exceeds their own battle qi cultivation, their soul foundation is inherently exceptionally profound, but they are bound by their battle qi realm and find it difficult to unleash their full potential.
Now that one has mastered the Way of the Talisman Master, one only needs to focus on cultivation to achieve a leapfrog improvement in combat power in a short period of time. The power that can be unleashed in the end may even far exceed one's own battle qi cultivation level, truly achieving the ability to control power with the soul and defeat the strong with the weak.
What delighted these alchemists even more was that the talisman master's cultivation method not only enhanced their combat power, but also allowed them to reach a level of mastery in the subtle control and flexible application of soul power.
The ability to control one's soul power is precisely the core of alchemy. As one's soul power becomes more solid and agile, one's control over flames and the fusion of medicinal properties with herbs will become more precise and nuanced when refining pills.
It can not only significantly improve the success rate of pill refining, but also has the potential to break through the long-standing bottleneck in pill refining and produce top-quality pills.
This dual benefit of strengthening oneself and aiding in one's career fills every member of the Spirit Talisman Hall with boundless anticipation for their future cultivation path.
Seeing that Lingfu Hall was thriving under Yao Chen's careful management, with various inheritances progressing in an orderly manner, the first batch of disciples all focusing on cultivation, and the momentum looking very good, Xiao Ling felt a sense of satisfaction.
The initial proposal to engage in in-depth cooperation with the Pill Tower using the cultivation methods of talisman masters was actually brought up by Yao Chen after discussions with him.
Yao Chen's thoughts were quite profound. He knew that the Soul Palace's power was immense and spread throughout the Central Continent. It would be extremely difficult for Xingyun Pavilion and Xiao Ling alone to deal with this great evil. Therefore, he hoped to take this opportunity to establish a closer and stronger bond between Xiao Ling and the Pill Tower.
As a top power in Zhongzhou, the Dan Tower has a profound foundation and extensive connections. If we can be on good terms with them, this solid alliance will become a powerful asset when we face off against the Soul Palace in the future, adding confidence to the battle.
When Yao Chen first made the suggestion, he truly hadn't anticipated that Xiao Ling's growth rate would be so astonishing, reaching the Saint Realm in a short period of time, with his strength increasing by leaps and bounds. He also didn't know that Xiao Ling was hiding many trump cards that hadn't been revealed yet, and that his true strength and potential had already far exceeded his initial estimates.
Xiao Ling wasn't overly concerned about how much substantial assistance he could gain from the Pill Tower, but he was happy to take this opportunity to deepen his bond with the Pill Tower and solidify their alliance.
As the leader in the alchemy world of Zhongzhou, the influence and foundation of the Pill Tower cannot be ignored. With an additional layer of solid connection, there will be fewer potential obstacles, and in the future, it will provide an extra layer of protection when dealing with variables from the Soul Palace and other parties.
Moreover, Yao Chen was in charge of all the specific arrangements for this collaboration. From rule setting to daily management, he didn't need to spend any time on it. He only needed to make some controls at key points.
Given this situation that was both worry-free and effortless, yet offered long-term benefits, Xiao Ling naturally had no reason not to readily agree.
However, Lingfu Hall is still in its initial stage, with everything needing to be rebuilt and numerous affairs to handle. Even though Yao Chen is very experienced, he has been overwhelmed with work lately.
Xiao Ling observed all of this and had already made up his mind. Since Elder Yao was working tirelessly for the development of the Spirit Talisman Hall, he naturally couldn't stand idly by. He immediately decided to find a capable assistant for Elder Yao to share the burden and make the Spirit Talisman Hall operate more smoothly and efficiently.
On this bright and sunny day, Xiao Ling led his capable assistants straight toward the main building of the Spirit Talisman Hall, intending to formally introduce this person to Yao Chen.
Pushing open the carved wooden door, a faint breeze wafted in, and there sat Yao Chen sitting upright at his desk, holding several thick books in his hands, carefully flipping through them. His brows were slightly furrowed, and his fingertips occasionally tapped and marked on the pages, clearly overwhelmed by complicated matters.
Hearing the door open, Yao Chen didn't even look up until he sensed the familiar aura of the person who entered, at which point he slowly raised his eyes to look.
Upon seeing that it was Xiao Ling, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He then put down the booklet and smiled with a slightly teasing tone.
"Xiao Ling? What brings you here today? Is there something you want to discuss? I've been incredibly busy lately, unlike you, the proper head of the hall, who spends all your time with those two girls and lives a leisurely life."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ling smiled and teased, "..."
"Old Master Yao, what you're saying is true. We agreed that you would take care of all the trivial matters in the hall, and I would just be a figurehead. Besides, I'm not good at handling these mundane affairs. You are experienced and have a leisurely life, so it's good for you to find something to do and stretch your muscles."
As soon as he finished speaking, he changed the subject, his expression becoming more serious. He stepped aside to let the young man behind him pass, and smiled.
"But to be honest, I've noticed you've been really busy lately, so I specially invited a helper for you. With their assistance, I guarantee they'll be able to relieve a lot of your pressure and give you a break..." (End of Chapter)
