Chapter 654: Chapter 440: Immortal Bone as Ink
Inside the Heavenly Master’s Mansion.
Xu Yang drank tea and ate refreshments while patiently waiting.
Suddenly, Xu Yang’s expression changed slightly.
He looked towards the depths of the Heavenly Master’s Mansion and sensed a mysterious force being invoked. He couldn’t help but laugh secretly, thinking, “It seems that the old group of people in the Heavenly Master’s Mansion are indecisive and have gone to consult with Ancestral Master Zhang Daoling.”
About 20 minutes later.
Zhang Jiyu hurriedly returned, holding a box made of gold-threaded nanmu wood.
The box was engraved with Daoist formation inscriptions and exquisite carvings, which gave it an antique feel.
“Celestial Master Xu.”
Zhang Jiyu opened the box and took out an ancient book, saying, “The elders and I have discussed it. With your current cultivation level and realm, the Sandong Rule Strip is not very useful to you. However, we have the ’24-grade Immortal Talisman’ in the Heavenly Master’s Mansion, which is a collection of twenty-four immortal-level Daoist talismans compiled by our ancestor before his ascension. We hope it can be of some help to you, Celestial Master Xu, and it can be considered as our Dragon Tiger Mountain Heavenly Master’s Mansion’s effort to contribute to the mortal world within our capabilities.”
Xu Yang solemnly accepted the ancient book.
On the cover of the book, there were ten large characters reading “The Twenty-Four Ranks of Daoist Talismans of the Zhengyi Mengwei”, along with three small characters “Zhang Daoling” and the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal in the lower right corner.
The “Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal” of Dragon Tiger Mountain is similar to the “Supreme Purification Seal” of Jingming Sect; both are known as “Heavenly Master’s seals”. Although, the origin of the “Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal” is even greater than the “Supreme Purification Seal”.
There are many legends about Zhang Daoling.
It is said that Zhang Daoling once received teachings from the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord in a dream, and both the “Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal” and the “Three-Five Evil-slaying Male-Female Sword” passed down through generations in the Heavenly Master’s Mansion of Dragon Tiger Mountain were bestowed by the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.
Xu Yang opened the book, “The Twenty-Four Ranks of Daoist Talismans of the Zhengyi Mengwei”.
The first page was a record of a talisman called “Exorcism Talisman”.
The origin of Daoist talismans can be traced back to ancient shamans. It is said that the “incantations” in talismans are actually the words used by ancient “witch doctors” during worshipping rituals.
Daoists believe that talismans are secret treasures to communicate with divine spirits, so they cannot be drawn casually. They must master the essentials and methods. Hence, there is a widely circulated saying in Daoist circles: “Drawing talismans without understanding the secret will only cause the spirits to laugh; drawing talismans while knowing the secret will make the spirits shiver in fear.”
There are hundreds of methods for drawing talismans, some require finger gestures and invoking divine spirits, some require stepping on stars and chanting incantations. Even aspects such as laying paper and grinding ink, and moving the brush are very particular.
The purpose is to communicate with divine spirits through the medium of “talismans”, to command spirits and expel ghosts, to pray for blessings and ward off disasters, to cure diseases and save people, and to suppress evil and expel negativity.
The structure of a Daoist talisman can be roughly divided into five parts: the talisman head, talisman belly, talisman core, talisman foot, and talisman tail.
Xu Yang carefully studied the “Twenty-Four Ranks of Daoist Talismans of the Zhengyi Mengwei”. In addition to the “Exorcism Talisman” recorded on the first page, there was also a lot of basic knowledge about talismans. These were all records left by Ancestral Master Zhang Daoling before his ascension, documenting his lifelong insights and understanding on talismans.
However, the more Xu Yang looked, the more confused he became.
Ah, what…
What are these things?
“The talisman head varies among different sects since each sect worships different ancestors. Thus, the patterns seen on many talisman heads are different and represent different meanings. Some represent the Three Pure Ones, and some represent the Three Realm Lords (Land, City God, Ancestral Master)… The talisman head serves as a command, for example, the Exorcism Talisman invokes gods who specialize in warfare, and talismans for wealth call upon the God of Wealth… ”
“The talisman core is the soul of a talisman. The effectiveness of a talisman depends largely on whether there is a talisman core guarding it.”
Xu Yang: “???”
He fell silent for a moment then asked, “Does Celestial Master Zhang excel in talismans?”
Zhang Jiyu was surprised, unable to understand why Xu Yang was asking this. He smiled and replied, “I have studied talismans extensively, but I’m definitely not as proficient as you, Celestial Master Xu. I can only say I have a slight understanding.”
Xu Yang thought for a while, then asked again, “How does Celestial Master Zhang understand talisman heads and talisman cores?”
Zhang Jiyu pondered for a moment.
Xu Yang’s talent for talismans was well known among the Daoist circles in Da Xia. Even though Zhang Jiyu considered himself proficient in talismans, he was no match for Xu Yang. Thus, Zhang Jiyu believed Xu Yang was testing his own understanding of talismans.
He thought carefully, then explained his own understanding of talismans.
Seeing Xu Yang deep in thought, Zhang Jiyu cautiously asked, “Did I get something wrong, Celestial Master Xu?”
“No, not at all.”
Xu Yang snapped back to reality and hurriedly said, “Celestial Master Zhang, please lend me this book, ‘The Twenty-Four Ranks of Daoist Talismans of the Zhengyi Mengwei’, for a month. I will return it after a month.”
Since the Ancestral Master had spoken, Zhang Jiyu naturally agreed to lend the book.
Xu Yang quickly left the Heavenly Master’s Mansion and flew directly to Wu City. He arrived at the “Guofu Food Hall” in Wu City, an old and established Hui restaurant. Although it was the third day of the new year, most Hui restaurants in Wu City were still open for business, as they did not have the custom of celebrating the new year. Business was even more bustling than usual.
Due to its good reputation, the Guofu Food Hall, like other old and established restaurants, hosted weddings almost every day. Xu Yang had booked a table for the evening, and if it weren’t for his prestige, he might not have been able to make a reservation for seventy or eighty people to dine there.