Folk customs begin with the entire funeral procession

Chapter 41 Gathering Yin Talisman Completed
When Chen Miao was in a state of calm, his hands were very steady!
The Yin Gathering Talisman, which had been practiced hundreds of times, was outlined by Chen Miao on the yellow talisman paper with a wolf-hair brush. The blood-red runes fell on the talisman paper and were absorbed by the paper in a moment, leaving a trace.

Chen Miao ignored him and continued to rotate his wrist.

Ten seconds later, Chen Miao stopped.

Lifting his pen, Chen Miao looked at the half-drawn rune on the talisman paper and sighed.

Chen Miao had been drawing the talisman smoothly, and he thought that this was his first time drawing a talisman and he would succeed on the first try. But who knew that he would run out of ink halfway through the drawing!

This was something he didn't expect.

He had already overcome this problem during his previous practice, but he forgot that blood ink and ordinary ink have completely different viscosity!
"In this way, I also have to control the pressure of my brushstrokes, otherwise if I use too much ink at the beginning, I won't have enough for the end."

After summarizing his first failure, Chen Miao reluctantly placed the ruined talisman aside.

If you can't draw a perfect line in one stroke, no matter how beautiful or precise the drawing is, it won't have any effect.

These are the precautions for drawing talismans in "Zhong's Talismans".

Soon, the second talisman was placed on the table. After regaining his focus, Chen Miao picked up his brush again.

Fifteen seconds later, looking at the rune that was already three-quarters complete, Chen Miao shook his head and put the discarded talisman aside again.

The third blank talisman was placed on top.

Time passes minute by minute.

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye, and by this time, there were as many as fourteen discarded talisman papers on the side of Chen Miao's desk.

On the topmost discarded talisman paper, the runes are almost complete.

"call!"

Chen Miao straightened up and looked with satisfaction at the Yin-gathering talisman that had been successfully drawn in one stroke on the table!
"I originally thought I could master it after drawing four or five pictures, but who knew that the more I drew, the harder it was to grasp that little bit of skill."

Putting down his talisman brush, Chen Miao picked up the first Yin-gathering talisman he had drawn, a smile spreading across his face.

"Although it took some effort, I finally finished drawing it."

Immediately, Chen Miao took out the blood sugar test probe that he had prepared beforehand and tapped it on his middle finger.

Most of the talismans in "Zhong's Talismans" require activation with blood, and the blood from the middle finger is the most effective.

Chen Miao didn't know if all talismans were like this, or if only the "Zhong Family Talismans" required this method.

Holding the Yin-gathering talisman, Chen Miao brought his middle finger closer.

The tiny drop of blood was quickly absorbed into the talisman paper after it touched the paper.

Seeing this, Chen Miao held his breath.

A full half minute passed, but the Yin-gathering talisman remained unchanged.

"The Zhong Family Talismans says that the Yin Gathering Talisman needs time to take effect, so we should wait a little longer."

Thinking this, Chen Miao then placed the Yin-gathering talisman aside.

When Chen Miao's gaze swept over the inkstone, his expression froze.

"Gone?"

Chen Miao was so focused that he didn't notice how much blood ink was being consumed.

At this point, only a thin layer remained, just enough to draw another sheet.

Chen Miao suddenly remembered something, opened the book, and turned to the exchange page.

One qian of cinnabar (a unit of weight in Chinese astrology) - (a unit of weight in Chinese astrology)
A bowl of rooster blood (a small act of good karma)
A large sheet of yellow talisman paper (representing one coin of good karma).
Chen Miao touched the several exchange items with his fingers, and their size and shape appeared in his mind.

"This bowl of chicken blood weighs about two ounces and can be used twice. The yellow talisman paper is a large sheet and looks like it can be cut into fifteen standard talisman papers."

"In other words, with three coins of merit, I can only draw fifteen talismans, and with five coins of merit, I can draw thirty?"

"If we also include the failed attempts, how many real talismans could we obtain with five coins of merit?"

I don't know, I was taken aback.

"In that case, the success rate of drawing talismans with ordinary materials is very important. If the success rate is high, we can save on karmic merit."

"If all else fails, exchanging for one type of material and mixing it with the regular materials might be a solution."

Chen Miao analyzed.

Another half hour passed, and it was now two in the morning. At this time, the Yin-gathering talisman was still lying quietly on the table, and the concentration of Yin energy in the room showed no signs of a significant increase.

Helpless, Chen Miao had no choice but to start making blood ink all over again.

"It's normal to fail the first time."

After the blood ink was prepared, Chen Miao spread out the talisman paper again and began another round of drawing talismans.

Half an hour later, Chen Miao successfully completed thirteen out of the fifteen talismans in one go, having mastered the trick and greatly increasing his success rate.

Thirteen Yin-gathering talismans were neatly arranged on the table, and Chen Miao felt a sense of pride.

"Thirteen cards, even with only a 10% success rate, there should be at least one."

Chen Miao set his expectations very low.

Another half hour passed, and the concentration of yin energy in the room did not seem to change at all.

Chen Miao silently placed the thirteen talisman papers into the pile of waste paper.

"why."

Chen Miao frowned, reviewed the contents of "Zhong's Talismans" again, and stared blankly.

“The runes are all drawn in one stroke, so there’s no problem with that.”

"Is it a problem with the materials? No, the compilers of the Zhong Family Talismans couldn't possibly be like me, able to exchange for those top-grade materials. So they most likely used ordinary materials, or even materials that might not be as good as mine."

"So, only environmental factors remain?"

"Is the concentration of yin energy insufficient? I don't know exactly how high the concentration of yin energy is in the 'yin place,' and I'm not sure how much the room's condition differs from that of the yin place."

"But I've already walked through the entire funeral home. Even if I walk through it again, I won't be able to gather much more yin energy. Do I have to go to Shuangling River outside?"

"..."

"No, that's not right, I think I'm wrong!"

"The Zhong Family Talismans says that talismans should be drawn in places with abundant yin energy. What is the essence of this? It is so that when drawing talismans, enough yin energy can be incorporated into the blood ink, causing the talisman and the material to have a special reaction!"

“The concentration of yin energy in a normal environment is not high, so when drawing talismans, the blood ink cannot naturally absorb more yin energy. Therefore, this step requires finding a place with abundant yin energy, such as a yin place.”

"I specially created an environment rich in yin energy to complete this step, but I didn't need to do it at all!"

"The compilers seek out the dark places because that's all they can do, but I can gather the dark!"

With that in mind, Chen Miao immediately activated the Yin Gathering Technique in his office!
In an instant, a chilling aura gathered from all directions toward Chen Miao's right hand, and the temperature in the room rose accordingly.

Feeling the coldness in his right hand, Chen Miao did not hesitate at all.

Grind the ink, then begin writing!
A single stroke!
Time flies, and in less than half a minute, a Yin-gathering talisman appeared on the table.

Without stopping, Chen Miao drew three pictures in one go!
Just as he was drawing the fourth picture, Chen Miao's expression suddenly changed. He hurriedly dispelled the yin energy in his hand and kept rubbing his hands together to warm his right hand.

After his hands gradually warmed up, Chen Miao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just now, when he was drawing the talisman to the very end, his hand suddenly froze for a moment, and at the same time, a cold aura penetrated into the flesh of his hand and seeped into his bones.

"Was that yin energy just now?"

Chen Miao was somewhat frightened. He had read in the "Zhong Family Talismans" that being in a yin-rich environment for a long time could have adverse effects on the body, but he never expected that this would happen just because he had gathered yin energy in his hands for the first time.

If he had continued drawing without paying attention, his hand would probably have suffered damage.

"Is it because my constitution is too weak, or is the concentration of yin energy I've gathered too high?"

As the chill on his hands gradually faded, Chen Miao turned his gaze to the second of the three talismans on the table.

While drawing the second picture, Chen Miao felt the cold aura in his hand suddenly shrink. If it weren't for this, the cold feeling would probably have appeared before he even drew the fourth picture.

This unusual change naturally raised Chen Miao's expectations.

Taking out the probe, Chen Miao pricked his middle finger, which was covered in needle marks, again.

Within five minutes of the blood dripping, the temperature in the room gradually dropped.

The Yin-gathering talisman is complete!

……

(End of this chapter)