This Life's Song: The Genius Rune Master

The two stayed at home for two nights before returning to the mountain.

Ordinary people crawl, but they can fly on swords. Xing'er hadn't fully mastered it yet, so A'da took her with him to fly to the top of the mountain.

Ordinary people cannot reach the top of the mountain, firstly because it is too high, and secondly because the clouds and mist are actually a kind of restriction, preventing mortals from climbing to the top.

Upon returning to the mountain, the siblings separated. Because they lived in different places, Xing'er was taken in as a disciple by Venerable Ye, while A'da was taken in as a disciple by Venerable Shang for other reasons.

Let me explain. The people here cultivate spiritual energy, channeling it into acupoints. This energy is then used to create vortexes of energy that converge in the dantian, forming a flowing, stored spiritual body. Legend has it that opening up thirty-six acupoints is enough to become a god, but that's just a legend. The highest level of spiritual energy a person here can achieve is opening up twenty-four acupoints, which is already considered impressive.

Here, one can learn talismans, formations, swordsmanship, alchemy, and weapon crafting.

These are things we haven't explored yet; we only have a basic understanding of them.

Venerable Ye is a talisman master with unparalleled Taoist skills, capable of creating countless variations of talismans.

Venerable Shang is a swordsman, and a very skilled one at that. He wields his sword like a dragon, with fluid and graceful movements.

Leng Yaoye's master was a formation master, whose skills in formations were superb.

Talisman masters and array masters actually share some similarities, yet they each belong to their own schools. Talismans can attack and are mobile. Arrays can also attack, but they require fixed positions and are fixed in nature. The two complement and support each other.

Xing'er was taken back by Venerable Ye and named Ye Lianxue. Her master said that lotus flowers are better than snow, and snow lotuses grow on snow-capped mountains, unafraid of the cold and snow. Therefore, she was named Lianxue, and she took her master's surname, so her given name was Ye Lianxue.

The first thing to do upon returning to the mountain was, of course, to pay my respects to my master. However, my master was in seclusion; otherwise, he would not have left without saying goodbye this time.

She wandered aimlessly on the mountain. Only a few people knew Xing'er; the senior brothers and sisters on the mountain only knew her name as Lian Xue.

"Lianxue, come help me!" An old man walked by, carrying a book taller than himself, and called out hurriedly.

"Sir, why are you carrying so many books? Let me help you, where should we take them?" Lianxue took some of the books.

"It's all because that kid didn't return it after reading it, forcing this old man to go and get it himself, sigh!" The old man sighed as he spoke.

"Ah! It can't be Leng Yaoye again, can it?" Lian Xue asked in surprise.

"That's the kid. Reading is a good thing, but you have to return the book when you're done," the old man said, his tone displeased, but his face showed no resentment.

The two then walked to the library and put the books away.

"You're such a good girl, helping this old man like me. Here, girl, I have a dagger here, personally crafted by Venerable Wang. I'll give it to you." The old man said, taking out a delicate little dagger and giving it to Lian Xue.

"Sir, how could you do this? It was just a small favor; how could I accept such an expensive gift?" she quickly refused.

"Silly girl, this dagger is also destined for you. Look—doesn't the red stone on it resemble the mole on your forehead?" The old man pointed to the tip of the dagger and showed it to Lianxue.

Looking down, I saw a beautiful red stone.

"Young lady, don't refuse. Next time I need your help, you can help me again, okay?" the old man said with a smile.

"Then I thank you very much, sir." He accepted the gift with both hands and expressed his sincere gratitude.

"Alright, girl, if there's nothing else, you can go now," the old man said, shooing her away.

He was walking forward with the dagger in his hand when suddenly a dark shadow flashed by and the dagger disappeared.

"Where did Lianxue get this dagger? It's quite pretty, though a bit effeminate. Hmm, it suits you well," he said with a smirk.

"Leng-Yao-Ye, can you please stop messing around? You finished reading the book and don't even know how to pay it back. You just come here to tease me for no reason," Lian Xue said, clearly unhappy.

"Oh, are you angry? Really, I was just respecting the elderly and caring for the young. The teacher is getting old, and it's not good for him to stay in the study all day without moving around. I just wanted him to get more exercise," Leng Yaoye said nonchalantly.

"Your excuse is excellent," she said angrily, snatching her dagger and leaving.

"Oh dear, Xing'er is getting less and less adorable as she grows up. She has such a bad temper!" Her tone was complicated as she turned and left.

Xing'er returned to her room. The room wasn't large, simply furnished: a wooden bed, two chairs, and a table with books, talismans, and cinnabar on it. Sitting on the bed, she casually flipped through the dagger, and strangely, the more she looked at it, the more she liked it.

He put down the dagger, walked to the table, picked up the talisman brush, spread out the talisman paper, and carefully drew the talisman.

"Is Xing'er there?" A voice came from outside the door.

"Brother, you've come!" He put down his pen, came to the door, and looked at Ah Da.

By the way, Ah Da's name has been changed to Meng Chenyu after he joined Venerable Shang's sect.

"Yes, I'm going out to train, and it might be a long time before I see you. I just wanted to come see you before I set off," Chen Yu said.

"Your brother is gone. Take good care of yourself and don't be playful, okay?" He instructed Lianxue.

"Brother, can I come with you? I want to go out and see the world too," Lianxue pouted, trying to reason with him.

"No, brother is a sword cultivator, so naturally he needs to compete in swordsmanship to grow. This time, brother wants to go to Ghost Forest," Chen Yu said solemnly.

"Isn't that dangerous? Ah! I have some talismans here, take some with you. They're not very powerful, but they can help you protect yourself. Be sure to come back safely, your mother is waiting for you!" After saying that, Lianxue took out the talismans she had drawn. "Here are some: invisibility talisman, fire talisman, lightning talisman, ice talisman, and concealment talisman. They won't be enough to deal with very powerful enemies, but they'll be fine for magical beasts," Lianxue said worriedly.

Although she knew her talisman was weak, she still hoped it would work. She looked at her brother with worry.

"Don't worry, Xing'er, I will return safely. Take good care of your mother and yourself, okay?" Chen Yu instructed.

I agreed, but my worries didn't lessen.

Watching her brother leave, she shook off her troubled thoughts and continued drawing talismans.

The talisman I gave my brother wasn't very powerful because I only knew how to draw low-level talismans. Low-level talismans were made on white paper with complex lines drawn on them. Each line was drawn with cinnabar, imbued with spiritual energy. To others, it just seemed complicated and difficult to understand, making them dizzy.

The paper used for talismans comes in various colors, including white, orange, blue, red, and purple.

Of course, the power of each talisman master's inscription will vary, and there is also a risk of failure.

Array masters also face dangers: beginner array masters, intermediate array masters, advanced array masters, god-level array masters... these are the known levels in the world.

Leng Yaoye hid in the corner, watching the girl inside. He thought to himself that she looked quite pretty when she was serious. He watched her see Meng Chenyu off and muttered to himself, "What's there to worry about? She's a grown woman." After watching for a while, he returned to his own room. The room was simply furnished, but compared to his personality, the living environment was much more understated.

No one noticed that there was a formation inside his house. When others entered, they would only see a mess. He opened the formation, sat cross-legged, and was carving wooden tablets with a carving knife. The power of the formation varied depending on the carrier, and it was similar to talismans.

The formation is even more mysterious than the runes. The carving knife flew, and complex lines appeared, seemingly connected yet independent. The last cut was like the finishing touch, completing the work.

Formations and runes consume mental and spiritual energy, and also cost money.

After resting for a while, I heard a rustling sound outside the window. I opened the window and a messenger bird flew in.

My dear son: Your father has been missing for many years, and I am very worried. Please do not celebrate my birthday. I am going to a place to find your father. Do not worry. If I do not return, do not look for me. My son, do not worry.

He put down the letter, a look of confusion on his face. Why was his mother in such a hurry? Where was she going? Was it dangerous for her not to return? Had his father met with misfortune? His mind raced, and Leng Yaoye paced back and forth, his face full of worry.

No, I have to go back. Even though it's far away, I won't feel at ease if I don't go back.