Mythical Cultivation

Hearing Wu Ming's thoughtful words, Old Man Wu's heart warmed, and his eyes instantly welled up. He had never imagined that Wu Ming would think of him so much, even willing to share his hard-earned Foundation Establishment Pill with him. Touched, Old Man Wu said earnestly, "Ming, I appreciate your filial piety. But for now, let's not worry about who will ultimately use the Foundation Establishment Pill. The most important thing right now is that you have the ability to break into the top 100. Only then can all our hopes be realized." With that, Old Man Wu gently patted Wu Ming's shoulder, his eyes filled with encouragement and expectation.

Wu Tianlong knew that if he told Wu Ming now that he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it would most likely cause him to lose his will and determination to fight for the top 100. Therefore, after careful consideration, he decided to keep the matter secret for the time being, and only reveal this astonishing news to Wu Ming after he successfully completed the competition.

"Grandpa, I know. I'll definitely do my best!" Wu Ming keenly noticed his grandfather's reluctance to discuss the Foundation Establishment Pill, and he had already guessed what he was thinking. He knew his grandfather must be reluctant to use this precious Foundation Establishment Pill and wanted to leave it to him. Since that was the case, Wu Ming didn't insist, figuring he'd wait until he actually got the Pill.

In the days that followed, Wu Ming devoted himself entirely to cultivation. He arrived at Heshengtang and stayed there for a full month. During this time, Wu Ming focused almost all his energy on refining talismans. In the early days, he meticulously crafted dozens of high-level, first-level talismans, gradually gaining familiarity and achieving peak performance through repeated practice. As he felt his skills were becoming increasingly proficient, Wu Ming finally mustered the courage to cautiously begin his initial attempts at refining second-level talismans. Each failure was a valuable experience, while each success brought him greater confidence and encouragement. Thus, day after day, Wu Ming immersed himself in the world of talismans, constantly exploring more advanced refining techniques.

Failure, failure again and again... Time slipped by quietly, and a full ten days passed. During these long and agonizing days, he tirelessly devoted himself to refining the talisman, but the result was heartbreaking - he consumed several stacks of precious talisman paper, but failed to successfully refine even a second-level talisman.

Those sheets of talisman paper, emitting faint fluctuations of spiritual energy, carried his endless hopes and efforts, but in the end, they only turned into a pile of useless waste paper. He tried the Fire Bird Talisman, the Ice Wolf Talisman, the Golden Sword Talisman, the Wind Blade Talisman... this series of low-level second-level talismans, one by one, but without exception, all ended in failure. Even the more difficult Earth Escape Talisman was beyond his reach, the gap was huge.

The reasons for each failure varied. Sometimes, it was an inability to fully outline the complex talisman, resulting in structural flaws; other times, errors occurred during the drawing process, causing the entire talisman's spiritual energy to stagnate. Sometimes, he even tried his best but couldn't even outline a complete talisman. This feeling of frustration surged over him like a tide, shattering his originally mellow and peaceful state of mind.

However, just when Wu Ming felt hopeless and helpless, Old Man Wu, who had been silently accompanying him, extended a warm hand, gently patted his shoulder, and consoled him earnestly, "Ah Ming, don't be so discouraged. You should know that second-level talismans are not so easy to refine. In most cases, only cultivators who have entered the Foundation Establishment Realm are capable of making them. Even in the Qi Refining Realm, only a very small number of cultivators with special talents in talismans can successfully refine second-level talismans. So, don't rush, just take your time!"

Listening to his grandfather's earnest words, Wu Ming's heart surged. He knew he had been too impatient, so he took a deep breath, trying to calm his restless heart. He slowly said, "Grandpa, you're right. I was indeed too impatient." After saying this, Wu Ming quietly closed his eyes and recalled the details of the deacon's detailed explanation of talisman making during the sermon. He particularly pondered the key steps and key points of crafting a second-level talisman, pondering them over and over.

As time passed, Wu Ming, lost in his own thoughts, slowly began to perceive his shortcomings. After a period of profound self-reflection and reflection, Wu Ming felt ready to try again. He opened his eyes, his gaze firm and focused, retrieved the necessary materials, adjusted his posture, and once again immersed himself in the creation of the second-level talisman.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, more than ten days had slipped away. During these long days, Wu Ming worked tirelessly day and night on crafting the second-level talisman, but the results were unsatisfactory. Repeated failure weighed on him like a heavy rock, suffocating him. However, despite the setbacks, Wu Ming didn't give up. Instead, he diligently learned valuable lessons from each failure, constantly refining his techniques and skills.

God pays off! Finally, after countless failures, Wu Ming achieved his long-awaited moment of success—a healing talisman radiating a faint aura emerged from his hands. Looking at the second-level talisman before him, a laborious craft, a smile of satisfaction spread across Wu Ming's face. In that moment, he felt deeply that his hard work over the past two weeks had finally paid off.

However, despite achieving some success, Wu Ming soon realized that, at his current Qi Refining stage, successfully crafting a second-level talisman was a stretch. Even as he sighed inwardly, his hands continued to work, attempting to craft a second-level talisman. As expected, the situation wasn't encouraging. After successfully crafting the healing talisman, Wu Ming wasted several more precious sheets of talisman paper, ultimately only managing to craft another second-level talisman—the Fire Bird Talisman. A closer look revealed an overall success rate of less than 10%, perhaps even less than 1%.

This situation forced Wu Ming to temporarily put his talisman-making work on hold. He knew that attempting to refine a higher-level earth-escaping talisman at the Qi Refining Stage was simply wishful thinking, with the chance of success being close to zero.