Chapter 3 Bad News

  Chen Xiao walked silently on his way home, lost in thought.

  His grandfather and brother's departure didn't make him too sad, as he knew that the Qianjian Sect in Longyuan City was quite famous throughout the entire Nanjiang, and the various academies set up within Songyancheng couldn't compare to the Qianjian Sect.

  For thousands of years, with the improvement of the practice system, all sorts of new things have appeared in the practice of Taoism, and the school is one of them.

  These academies were established in towns and hired some knowledgeable monks to teach various basic meditation knowledge and make money from it.

  The academy has no restrictions on the crowd, whether you were a mountain dweller, slave, rich merchant or small vendor before, as long as you pay enough yuan stone, you can enter the academy to study.

  The types of academies are also diverse, and they are divided into different academies according to their purposes.

  Like the various academies established within Songyan City, there are Alchemy, Puppetry, Talisman Creation, Dan Making, Planting, and Beast Taming. Chen Yao's younger brother Chen Huan had previously studied basic swordsmanship at Tianxing Academy.

  However, academic institutions also have their limitations. The knowledge they impart is only the most basic and superficial things. If you want to learn more profound knowledge, you still need to enter a sect.

  The sects often have great masters sitting in town, and the mountain gates are generally set up in famous mountains and rivers with dense spiritual energy. The conditions for selecting disciples are extremely strict. Those who do not have excellent qualifications and a solid foundation cannot pass the test of the sect's recruitment, let alone those rotten streets' schools.

  Chen Yao was well aware of the hardships his younger brother had endured over the years. Because of him, he was ridiculed by children of the same age as "Little Sweeper Star", and no one wanted to come into contact with him. He didn't even have a real friend. If he could join the Thousand Swords Sect, it would undoubtedly be a joyful event for his younger brother who was crazy about practicing swordsmanship, and it would also be very beneficial for his growth.

  My younger brother is only twelve years old, with a clever and wise nature. He has already cultivated to the Later Heaven Great Perfection Realm. Under Grandfather's careful guidance, his foundation is extremely solid. Passing the Thousand Swords Sect's assessment shouldn't be a problem.

  Near the entrance of her home, Chen Yuanyuan saw from afar a little girl about five or six years old sitting at the entrance of their home with her chin in her hands. She had pigtails and shiny black eyes, looking very cute.

  "Chen Xiao gege, where's Little Hua? I brought his favorite green lemon candies, but he's nowhere to be found." The little girl ran over to Chen Xiao, excitedly saying.

  The little girl's name is Xixi, lively and lovely, without a father, living with her mother Bai Yuqing. The mother and daughter moved to Songyancheng a few years ago and are neighbors of the Chen family, with whom they have always had a very good relationship.

  "He has gone far away to learn from a master, and probably won't be back for several years."

  Chen Xiao rubbed his little sister's head, and he also loved her very much. His little sister was a few years younger than his brother. Every time his brother came back from Tianxing Academy, his little sister would cling to Chen Huan like a sticky rice cake, playing with him from time to time, and giving him some candies to eat. The two of them had a great relationship.

  What's more important is that Xixi and her mother Bai Yuqing have never looked down on Chen Yao's family, nor do they think of Chen Yao as a jinx. This trust without any reservations makes Chen Yao cherish it even more.

  "Where is afar? Where is it?" Xiangxiang looked up with a puzzled face and asked vaguely.

  Chen Xiao thought for a moment and said: "Places that can't be gone are called afar. But when you grow up, you'll be able to go."

  He let out a sigh, hung his head and looked depressed, with a sulky little face.

  "Why don't you come over to my place and play?"

  "Good, I want to go see Chen Xiao's symbol-making."

  "Come with me."

  Seeing Xiao Yao's happiness, a smile flashed on Chen Tang's lips, and it was gone in an instant, restoring his usual cold and wooden expression.

  Holding Xiaoxiao's chubby little hand, Chen Tang walked into the house.

  ……

  On the table lay a stack of blank pale blue talismans, a dish of deep red ink, and a black talisman brush.

  Chen Yao's waist was straight, sitting upright at the wooden table, while Xiang Xiang sat cleverly on a small stool beside her, with a curious expression on her face.

  "This is a coarse-grained talisman paper, the cheapest kind available on the market. The texture is hard and rough, usually used to refine the simplest basic talismans." Chen Yu pointed at that stack of pale blue talisman papers and explained softly.

  Xiang Xiang nodded vigorously like a student and said: "Gege Chen Yu, I remember."

  Chen Xiao shook his head, pointed to the dish of crimson ink and said: "This dish of ink is extracted from the blood of the Red Flame Deer. The Red Flame Deer itself is one of the lowest-ranking demonic beasts in the cultivation world. Apart from its blood being used to make ink for talismans, it has no other use whatsoever. Even the merchants in the city who specialize in raising demonic beasts for a living don't want to domesticate this useless creature."

  "What about that pen?"

  "That's a talisman brush, and even talisman brushes have their good and bad points. When drawing talismans, the strokes drawn by high-quality talisman brushes are not only smooth and even, but also increase the chances of success. This talisman brush is just an ordinary one, but for me, it's already enough."

  As soon as the words fell, Chen Zhuo suddenly realized that he had said more than usual today, was it because Grandpa and brother left, and he regarded Xiangxiang as a confidant?

  As he thought of this, Chen Tang turned his head to look at Xi Xi, but found that the little girl had already fallen asleep on the table, with a thread of crystal clear saliva hanging from the corner of her mouth.

  Chen Xiao suddenly remembered that his younger brother had also looked like this when he was young, and his heart warmed up. He carefully picked up Xiangxiang and put him on his own bed, covering him with a quilt before sitting back down at the wooden desk.

  Without further ado, Chen Yu picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write.

  Sandy, sandy... The pen tip soaked in crimson ink glides gently over the blank symbol paper, and fine red lines spew out from the pen tip like spiritual earthworms, rapidly spreading along the beautiful and smooth trajectory on the light blue cypress-patterned symbol paper.

  When Chen Xiao was writing the talisman, he was very focused. His eyes were fixed on the paper, his back was straight like a spear thrusting into the air, and his right arm hung motionless in mid-air, just like a sturdy pine branch growing horizontally out of a crevice in the cliff. From start to finish, he didn't move a single inch.

  It was his right wrist!

  His right wrist was extremely agile, manipulating the brush in his hand with a surprising frequency to draw and flick on the talisman paper. The action was smooth and flowing, not only without any stagnation, but also like a flowing stream, with a light and coordinated rhythm.

  When a complex and mysterious pattern, like a flower, quietly blooms on the talisman paper. The surface of the talisman paper suddenly brightens, then immediately dims, returning to normal.

  Without even looking, Chen Quan casually placed the Yipin Huoyun symbol aside and picked up another blank mulberry bark paper, starting to write with a flourish, not willing to waste a single moment.

  Five years ago, Chen Tianli, Chen Yao's grandfather, took out his remaining savings and let Chen Yao study at a symbol school. After Chen Yao successfully mastered the production of first-class basic symbols, making symbols became the only source of livelihood for the three generations of grandfathers and grandchildren.

  However, Chen Yao can only make a basic talisman, and the method of making talismans learned in the academy is also only one product. To learn more advanced talisman-making techniques, you have to spend a lot of money to buy the corresponding books, which is too expensive for Chen Yao to accept.

  Even so, Chen Tang was very satisfied.

  When he first started making talismans, he could only make five top-grade talismans a day. Now, he can make thirty talismans, which can be exchanged for ten pieces of yuan stone. In the past, this was enough to support the livelihoods of his grandfather, son and himself, and even provided for his younger brother Chen Huan's tuition fees at the Sword Academy.

  Now, Grandfather and Brother have gone to the southern border, leaving only him behind. As long as he is frugal and saves money, it won't take long for him to accumulate a lot of yuan stones. In this way, buying higher-grade talisman-making books is not impossible.

  Of course, before that, he first had to repay the one hundred spirit stones he owed to Uncle Zhang.

  Time trickled away, in the dimly lit room, Chen Xiao was hunched over his desk, brush flying across the paper. His expression was focused and intent, his movements smooth and practiced. He was completely absorbed in a state of complete forgetfulness. In this state, the stack of blank rice paper gradually transformed into intricate and mysterious talismans as time passed.

  Sigh~

  When he finished writing the last talisman, it was already dark. Chen Xiao carefully placed the brush on the inkstone and finally let out a long sigh of turbid air. A deep fatigue appeared between his eyebrows, making his already thin face look even paler.

  With his innate mid-term cultivation, the true yuan in his body could barely support him to create thirty first-class talismans. If he wanted to create more, unless his boundary was upgraded and his true yuan surged.

  But for Chen Yu, wanting to further improve his realm was extremely difficult.

  His qualifications are not bad, and the family-transmitted "Zi Xuan Gong" is also not ordinary goods that can be compared. However, he has been stuck in the pre-heavenly middle period for a full five years, with no progress at all.

  It was for this reason that Grandfather Chen Tianli placed all his hopes on Chen Huan, who was also arranged to learn how to make talismans...

  Is it really because I'm too stupid?

  Chen Yao has more than once doubted himself, denied himself, and only he himself can understand the struggles and confusion, pain and loss.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  A gentle knock on the door sounded, accompanied by a soft and pleasant female voice, "Chen Yu, is Xixi at your place?"

  Chen Xuan woke up from his contemplation, opened the door, and a beautiful woman stood outside, wearing simple clothes and hairpins, but couldn't hide her elegant charm, it was precisely Bai Yuqing, mother of Xi Xi.

  "White Auntie is asleep," said Chen Xuan.

  Bai Wei Qing let out a sigh of relief and smiled: "The little one didn't disturb you, did she? I'll take her back home now."

  Chen Xiao shook his head.

  Bai Wei Qing knew he was introverted and didn't like to talk, so she just smiled and went into the house to hug Xixi who was fast asleep before leaving.

  But soon after, the door creaked again, this time with a rapid and dense knocking sound, like drumbeats.

  Chen Yao furrowed her brow again and reopened the door, only to find Bai Yuqing returning with a look of anxiety.

  What happened?

  Just as Chen Xiao was puzzled, Bai Yuqing quickly shouted: "Hurry! Go to the outskirts of the city, it seems that something has happened to your grandfather!"

  What?

  What's wrong with Grandpa?

  Chen's mind went blank, as if struck by lightning.

  ————

  There's another update tonight. Also, I want to say that this book is not a torture novel and it will be very satisfying later on, that's for sure.