Chapter Forty: The Path of Divine Talismans

“Heavens!” Ning Que looked in disbelief at the figure in the sky, as countless powerful beings in the capital felt the overwhelming, world-destroying aura of the saber’s edge.
“Wow!” A blue light surged into the sky, revealing profound and ancient symbols, like an indestructible fortress. However, it condensed the might of heaven and earth, spanning the sky above. This well character drawn by the master of divine symbols would once communicate the realms, but at this moment, when it faced this indomitable Dominating Blade's Merciless Slash, it seemed to lack the strength to withstand it. With a thunderous crash, it shattered.
“This!” Wang Jinglue fell to the ground, unable to withstand even the Killing God’s one-determined strike, let alone this Heartless Slash. Although the rune shattered, it was merely a casual attack from the opponent, indicating they weren’t taking it seriously. Yang Wuyue didn’t strike again, instead sheathed his sword, retracting his domineering aura, and quietly looked at the newcomer.
“I never expected that the younger generation of the Tang Kingdom would produce such a powerful martial artist.” Under the rain, a tattered old man slowly approached, and Wang Jinglue also landed beside him.
“Two horizontal and two vertical lines, the symbol of the well? Who are you? The South Gate of Haotian Dao, the great symbol master? Master Yan Se?” Wang Jinglüe quickly guessed that there were definitely no more than a handful of symbol masters in Tang Country, most of whom were at the South Gate of Haotian Dao.
The South Gate is a branch of Haotian Dao in the Tang Kingdom, but they occupy a buffer position between the Tang Kingdom and Xiling, acting as guardians of the Tang Kingdom. Consequently, they have some disagreements with the Dao Sect. Therefore, in the Tang Kingdom, the Dao Sect is not the representative of Haotian Dao, but rather the guardians of the Tang Kingdom.
The person before us is the protector of the capital, Master Yan Se, the national guardian talisman master, and also the guardian of this stunning formation.
Yang Wuyue gave a slight bow: "I told you someone would come to save people, but Your Highness insisted that I come."
The Color Master smiled and said, "So it's Your Highness the Princess who has come to the rescue of Little Tree. Hahaha, very good, very good. What an impressive Yang Wuyue. I heard from Junior Brother Lv that you seem to be following the path of the Tianqing Buddhist Sect, but I didn't expect you to have such a powerful blade. Remarkable!"
阳无月淡淡道：“大师的符，更了不起。随手一道符，竟有如此防御力。真不知道，神符师全力出手，那遮天蔽日的大符，该是何等景象。”
Master Yan Se's smile had already risen to the sky. "Hahaha, good, good, good! The three foolish talents of the world are well-known, and there is a shining son in Xiling, but in my Tang country, the young talents are withering away. You have indeed gone unnoticed, but now you have startled the world!"
“Master has overpraised me!” Yang Wuyue knew that after today, he would become the number one among the younger generation of Tang Kingdom.
Master Yan Se only engaged in casual conversation and did not delve deep: “The invincible Wang Jinglüe, who is below the age of discernment, has fallen at your hands, so you truly deserve the title of number one among the younger generation. Since you know who I am and why I am here, you should also have guessed that it is not easy for Tang Kingdom to produce talents. I have taken Wang Jinglüe with me.”
“Master, please go ahead!” Yang Wuyue gave a slight bow, “However, I am quite interested in talisman techniques. May I ask for some guidance?”
“You can come with me too!” Master Yan Se smiled.
Zhao Xiaoshu hugged his fists in salute and bowed to Master Yan Se as the two departed. They didn't say much; he knew very well in his heart that the two in front of him were sent by the princess and the Tang king, respectively, both here to help him solve his troubles.
Haotian Dao's South Gate is a branch of the Haotian Dao sect in Tang Country. After many years of development, the South Gate has become the southern gate of Tang Country, always prioritizing the protection of Tang Country and its capital as the foremost task.
颜瑟大师便是昊天道南门门主李青山的师兄，南门第一高手，也是都城惊神阵的守护者，朱雀的主人，护国大神符师。
```htmlInside the South Gate Taoist Temple, Master Yan Se dismissed the young acolyte, leaving only the two of them.
“How does it feel to be defeated?” Master Yan Se looked at Wang Jinglüe.
Wang Jinglüe instinctively glanced at Yang Wuyue; that insane knife still made him tremble with fear. “I bow to your skill; I was narrow-minded and underestimated the people of the world.”```
Master Yan Se smiled and said, "That's good to know. What is known as invincible beneath the knowledge of fate is all just a hollow name."
Wang Jinglue looked puzzled, "But this matter is related to the military department, I really can't understand how Your Highness the Princess and you…"
“Confused!” Master Yan Se said solemnly, “If Xiao Shu was really that easy to kill, he would have died long ago. Old Zhao from the Spring Wind Pavilion is not a mere cat or dog. Is he really that easy to kill?” With a cultivation level of Dong Xuan, he can be considered a first-rate expert here, which is extremely rare.
“With your skills, you shouldn't be so wasted, much less serve others like a dog.” Master Yan Se reprimanded him for working for the prince.
Wang Jinglue immediately realized that this matter might not be so simple. “Could it be that the Fish Dragon Gang is…”
Before he could finish speaking, Master Yan Se interrupted him: "Not too dumb, this matter ends here. You don't need to return to the Prince's mansion; go serve under General Xu Shi of the Southern Town Army. This is also the wish of that noble lady in the palace..."
“Yes!” Wang Jinglue finally understood where he had lost; it turned out they were the real clowns.
“Alright, go back and get some rest! Don't catch a cold from getting drenched in the rain!” Master Yan Se was also a playful old man; in fact, he was exceptionally generous to this younger generation.
Wang Jinglue bowed slightly and also gave a slight nod to Yang Wuyue before leaving, marking a non-hostile acquaintance.
"Do you want to learn about talismans?" Master Yan Se then looked at Yang Wuyue.
Yang Wuyue replied, "Yes, I believe that talismans are a representation of the essence of the way of the world. Therefore, I wish to ask the master, what is a talisman?"
Master Yan Se smiled and said, "Your insights at such a young age are quite extraordinary."
"The cultivation techniques of the South Gate's Daoism originate from the Daoist school, sharing the same source with them. However, the training of a talisman master relies more on understanding; the talisman practitioner needs to cultivate their fate item, the sword master has their fated sword, and for us talisman masters, the first talisman in life is our fate item, which can also be referred to as our fate talisman."
“The darkest time for the most skilled talisman masters is when they have yet to comprehend their first talisman in life. Therefore, one must not be too hasty; some people may enter the path in ten days or half a month, while others may spend a lifetime without grasping a single talisman.”
“……depicting the trajectory of the elemental energy of heaven and earth, is the symbol……”
“For example, fire; you must first understand the essence of fire. The essence of fire gathers to find the trajectory of its elemental energy. Look at the flame in the furnace; when it burns, there will be elemental energy of fire flowing. If you depict that, it becomes a fire symbol.”
“For example…” Master Yan Se’s voice abruptly halted, as Yang Wuyue’s palm slowly manifested a red rune. The fire intent condensed around them, layered in three dimensions, with a character for ‘fire’ at the center. A crisp and ancient mechanical sound resonated, completely making Master Yan Se forget to continue speaking.
“Master, is it like this?” Yang Wuyue had never seen the symbols of this world before and was completely clueless. Now that he had seen the well symbol and the demonstration from Master Yan Se, he was able to condense a simple fire symbol. He found that the fire intent didn't seem that hard to grasp, and he directly broke through that barrier.
“You?” Master Yan Se exclaimed, “Is this your first time drawing a talisman?”
Yang Wuyue nodded slightly: “Indeed, it’s my first time drawing a talisman; I only knew how to practice martial arts before.”