No hope for eternal life

"Let me give it a try for now and see if I have the talent for practicing talismans." Mu Changsheng made up his mind. According to the description in the secret technique, if he could not master the art of talismans within three days, it would mean that he did not have enough talent for it. It would not be too late to give up then.

After thinking it over, Mu Changsheng went straight to the receptionist at the Secret Pavilion and said, "I want to buy the third-grade secret technique called The Foundation of Talismans."

The receptionist's eyes widened instantly when he heard this. He didn't believe that Mu Changsheng could afford it, so he quickly asked: "This secret technique costs 78,000 low-grade spirit stones. Can you afford it?"

Mu Changsheng didn't waste any words, and immediately took out 780 middle-grade spirit stones, and said with his head held high: "First exchange them for low-grade spirit stones for me, and then deduct the 78,000 low-grade spirit stones you mentioned."

Mu Changsheng had already carefully counted the proceeds from the gold, silver and stone essences that Yang Wuque gave him, amounting to more than ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones!

After the receptionist received the spirit stones, his eyes immediately changed when he looked at Mu Changsheng. He thought to himself that the rumor that Yang Wuque had fallen in love with Mu Changsheng was indeed true, otherwise how could this poor boy have so many mid-grade spirit stones.

Mu Changsheng naturally noticed the change in the other party's expression, but this was exactly what he wanted. By purchasing a secret technique, he wanted to let the people in the town know that he now had a special relationship with Yang Wuque. Others would be intimidated by Yang Wuque's reputation and would at least not dare to bully their family at will.

In the end, the receptionist not only gave Mu Changsheng the basic secret of talismans, but also returned 780 low-grade spirit stones. The ratio of medium-grade spirit stones to low-grade spirit stones here is also 1 to 101.

After Mu Changsheng came out of the Qin family secret pavilion, he did not leave Qinyu Street. Instead, he found a shop that specialized in selling spiritual objects. He needed to buy some spiritual objects for practicing talismans.

Mu Changsheng walked into the store and saw only an old man who looked somewhat aged, supporting himself on the counter with one hand. Mu Changsheng recognized him; he was the shopkeeper.

Seeing Mu Changsheng walk into the store, the old man also recognized Mu Changsheng and asked: "You are the boy from the Mu family, what do you want to buy?"

"A second-grade talisman pen, two taels of first-grade cinnabar, two taels of first-grade smoke ink, three taels of first-grade snake demon blood..." Mu Changsheng listed the things he needed like a treasure.

The old man frowned slightly when he heard this. He had run this spiritual item store for many years, so how could he not know what these things were used for? He immediately shook his head and advised: "Child, how can ordinary people afford to play with talismans? I advise you to give up this unrealistic idea as soon as possible."

Mu Changsheng could sense the kindness in the other party's words, and immediately thanked him and said, "Thank you for your concern, uncle. I also want to give it a try. If I really don't have the talent, I will naturally give up."

The old man shook his head again after hearing this, obviously not optimistic about Mu Changsheng, but he was doing business, so he had no reason to refuse, so he immediately took out what Mu Changsheng needed and said, "I'll give you a small change, 2,320 low-grade spirit stones."

Mu Changsheng handed over the spirit stone and thanked him again, "Thank you, uncle."

After Mu Changsheng left, the old man in the spiritual shop narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at the spiritual stones in his hand, and thought secretly: "Could it be that the rumors in the town are true? This kid really clings to Mr. Yang's thigh."

Afterwards, Mu Changsheng returned home, eager to try practicing talismans.

Because Mu Changsheng spent a lot of time selecting secret techniques in the secret pavilion, it was already evening when he returned home.

Mu Changsheng found that his mother was not at home, thinking that she had gone to work in the alchemy workshop. Mu Changsheng went straight back to his room, closed the door, and began to try to get started with talismans.

Cinnabar, ink, snake demon blood...

Mu Changsheng took out various necessary items one by one, and mixed those spiritual objects in strict proportions to make talisman liquid specifically for refining talismans.

Afterwards, Mu Changsheng took out a stack of red spiritual paper, which was spiritual paper specially used for talismans. Of course, this was only the lowest-grade spiritual paper. Although high-grade spiritual paper could increase the chances of successfully refining talismans, Mu Changsheng did not want to do that. He wanted to see what his true talent for talismans was.

The book on the basic secret technique of talismans pointed out that only if one could master it within three days could one be considered to have a talent for talismans. But if one really had to wait until the third day to master it, his talent would probably not be much better. So Mu Changsheng set a goal for himself to master it within two days. If he couldn't, he would have to change to another secret technique to practice.

Before formally refining the talisman, Mu Changsheng first meditated for a while according to the requirements of the secret technique. After he calmed down, he took out a piece of spiritual paper and spread it out. He held the talisman pen in his right hand, dipped it twice in the talisman liquid plate, and injected a stream of spiritual power into the talisman pen.

After the spiritual power entered, the talisman pen lit up slightly, and Mu Changsheng began to formally refine the talisman. According to the template in the basic secret art of talismans, Mu Changsheng had to refine a low-grade talisman called the Lingyu Talisman. This was the simplest type of talisman, and was just right for testing the talents of beginners.

Mu Changsheng held the talisman pen in his hand, and the tip of the pen touched the spirit paper. He had just drawn an arc with his pen, and "pop", the spirit paper instantly became dim and lifeless. This meant that the spiritual power in the spirit paper had been leaked, and it also meant that Mu Changsheng's first attempt at refining talismans ended in failure.

Mu Changchang breathed a sigh of relief and was not discouraged at all. Failure was normal. It would be strange if he succeeded in refining the talisman for the first time.

After calming down again, Mu Changsheng took out another piece of spiritual paper and started writing again.

Failure, failure, failure...

Night fell quietly, and Mu Changsheng couldn't remember how many times he had failed. However, these failures were not without achievements. In his best attempt, Mu Changsheng was able to draw most of the Lingyu Talisman. At least he didn't fail as soon as he put pen to paper.

After another failure, Mu Changsheng meditated to restore his consumed spiritual energy. At the same time, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart that among the three thousand great ways, none of them was simple. He originally thought that refining talismans was just about drawing the talisman pattern on spiritual paper. Only after experiencing it himself did he realize how difficult it was.

Not only must he draw the talisman in one go and make it exactly like the template without any deviation, but he also needs to continuously inject spiritual power into the talisman pen during the process. Once there is the slightest pause, the talisman pen will stop working, and the talisman written by the pen will naturally be interrupted and fail.

After his spiritual power was restored, Mu Changsheng picked up the pen to draw the talisman again. This time it seemed to be particularly smooth. He was almost done with the Lingyu Talisman, but at the last turn of the pen, he failed miserably.

"Keep going." Mu Changsheng encouraged himself. He at least saw the hope of success.

Finally, after three more failures, Mu Changsheng achieved his first success.

"Is this the Lingyu Talisman?" Mu Changsheng held the Lingyu Talisman in his hand as if it were a treasure. Although this talisman was not of high quality, it was of great commemorative significance.

"Come again." This success gave Mu Changsheng great encouragement, and he wanted to press on with the victory.

Failure, failure, failure...

Mu Changsheng failed ten times in a row, which forced him to smile bitterly: "Sure enough, an accidental success doesn't mean anything. Only when you succeed three or four times out of ten can you be considered to have truly entered the realm of talismans and have a talent for talismans."

So, Mu Changsheng continued to practice diligently, and only when he could consistently succeed three or four times out of ten could he be considered a true beginner.

At the beginning, Mu Changsheng only succeeded once in ten times, and then he succeeded one or two, or two or three times out of ten.

By the second half of the night, Mu Changsheng had already reached the entry standard of succeeding three or four times out of ten!