Following that, Yang Bailao began to draw the third type of talisman. It was called the Sword Qi Talisman, and it bore a striking resemblance to the Sharp Gold Talisman Xu Changshou already knew.

Both were offensive talismans, each housing a sealed strand of sword qi.

When triggered, the Sword Qi Talisman would unleash a strike with an offensive output comparable to the full-force blow of a cultivator at the Ninth Layer of Qi Condensation.

Yet, compared to his own Sharp Gold Talisman, it was vastly inferior. The sword qi released by his hidden talisman possessed the lethal force of a peak Twelfth Layer Qi Condensation cultivator.

After witnessing these three standard talismans, a profound reassurance settled in Xu Changshou's heart. The arrays recorded within his Bloodline Jade Talisman were infinitely more refined, complex, and devastating than anything Green Ink Peak had to offer.

For his fourth demonstration, Yang Bailao simply drew another Windwalk Talisman.

Xu Changshou couldn't help but frown. "Senior Brother Yang, are there no other talismans?"

Yang Bailao offered an awkward, apologetic smile. "I only know how to draw these three."

"How many types of talismans does our Green Ink Peak actually possess?" Xu Changshou asked, genuinely curious.

Yang Bailao pondered for a moment before answering. "Our Green Ink Peak holds the inheritance for roughly a dozen types. However, most of them are rather useless in practice. The four most commonly utilized are the Fireball Talisman, the Windwalk Talisman, the Sword Qi Talisman, and the Earth Shield Talisman. The primary duty of us Miscellaneous Disciples is to mass-produce these four."

"Senior Brother Yang," Xu Changshou pressed, "are there any lightning-attribute talismans?"

"Lightning attribute? Forgive your Senior Brother's ignorance, but I have never laid eyes on a lightning-attribute talisman in my life."

"I see..."

Xu Changshou nodded slightly, a tempest of thoughts swirling behind his calm facade.

Based on his newfound understanding of spiritual arrays, the absolute pinnacle of offensive power belonged to lightning-attribute talismans.

The Dao of Lightning was the most terrifying, the most volatile, the most uncontrollable, and unquestionably the most destructive.

When comparing talismans of the same grade, whether forged of fire or sharpened by metal, their raw output paled in comparison to the sheer devastation of lightning.

Lightning was the undisputed sovereign of destruction.

Within the infinite expanse of his Bloodline Jade Talisman, there were over a hundred distinct types of lightning-attribute offensive arrays alone.

And the variations-the Double Lightning, Triple Lightning, and Quadruple Lightning Talismans-were not merely single strikes stacked together.

There were ten variations of Double Lightning Talismans perfectly aligning with the five elements.

There were fifteen variations of the Triple Lightning Talismans.

And twenty variations of the Quadruple Lightning Talismans.

The more attributes harmonized within the paper, the more exponential the destruction. But the absolute zenith of sheer, unadulterated power was the Five Lightning Talisman.

The Five Lightning Talisman simultaneously fused the six opposing forces of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, and lightning. When these six spiritual attributes were detonated in perfect synchronicity, the resulting cataclysm was apocalyptic.

The Five Lightning Talisman possessed the heaven-defying ability to strike across realms. Unless the target successfully deployed a powerful Magical Artifact for defense, a mere First-Grade Five Lightning Talisman could instantly obliterate an early-stage Foundation Establishment grand cultivator.

To compare this to the crude scrawlings of Green Ink Peak was like comparing a soaring dragon to a worm in the mud.

Understanding the pitiful standard of Green Ink Peak's arrays only cemented the terrifying value of his own inheritance.

Simultaneously, it etched a cold, hard truth into his mind: his talismans must never, under any circumstances, be exposed to the light of day.

He was no longer a naive cowherd shivering in a ruined temple. He fully understood the ancient truth-an innocent man commits a crime simply by possessing a priceless jade.

An entire morning slipped by.

Yang Bailao managed to draw a total of five talismans.

By the time he finished the final stroke, his face was the color of a corpse, and eighty to ninety percent of the Spiritual Qi in his meridians had been violently hollowed out.

Dropping the brush, Yang Bailao collapsed heavily onto the floor. He hurriedly retrieved a Qi Replenishing Pill, tossed it into his mouth, and immediately assumed a cross-legged posture to forcefully drag Spiritual Qi back into his empty Dantian.

"Junior Brother Xu... return to your quarters for now. Come back in the afternoon," he wheezed.

"You have worked hard, Senior Brother Yang. Farewell."

Stepping out of Yang Bailao's courtyard, Xu Changshou made his way to the Spirit Kitchen. After forcing down a meal, he returned to his own desolate courtyard and meditated for a full shichen before heading back to his senior's side.

When he arrived, Yang Bailao's Spiritual Qi had stabilized, but his complexion retained a sickly, translucent pallor.

Spiritual Qi could be forcefully replenished with pills, but mental exhaustion was a wound that cut much deeper.

"Junior Brother, let us resume our work!"

"Senior Brother Yang, you should really rest a while longer," Xu Changshou said, unable to hide his reluctance.

Yang Bailao shook his head stubbornly. "I cannot rest. If I rest any longer, I will fail my daily quota. I will have time to sleep tonight. Do not worry about me, Junior Brother."

The afternoon dragged on.

After bleeding his essence into five more talismans, Yang Bailao was teetering on the edge of total collapse. His skin was deathly pale, his robes were completely soaked with cold sweat, and his life force seemed to flicker like a candle in the wind.

"Junior Brother Xu... forgive my unsightly state. Return tomorrow."

"Farewell, Senior Brother Yang."

As Xu Changshou walked away from the courtyard, his heart felt as though it had been weighed down by lead.

His previously unshakable resolve to pursue immortality wavered. If the peak of Cultivation required degrading oneself to this level, it might truly be better to live and die as a mortal.

This grueling, high-intensity labor was nothing short of drawn-out, agonizing torture.

The mere thought of Yang Bailao enduring this exact cycle for another fifty years before being permitted to leave the Sect made Xu Changshou's scalp go numb.

The Sect's systematic exploitation of its Miscellaneous Disciples was grotesque. It was a beast that devoured people whole, crunching their bones and sucking out the marrow without leaving a trace.

Only now did he fully realize that fighting to become a Miscellaneous Disciple of the Green Immortal Sect was the grandest, deadliest trap of all.

For the next several days, Xu Changshou shadowed Yang Bailao, silently observing the gruesome process of talisman drafting.

Ten days passed.

Yang Bailao finally began to instruct Xu Changshou on the specific methodologies of brush control, ink channeling, and the esoteric details required for successful rune crafting.

Another five days slipped by.

Yang Bailao handed Xu Changshou a thick stack of Yellow Hemp Paper. "Junior Brother, you have followed me for half a month. You have seen everything there is to see, and I have imparted all the knowledge I possess. Here are a thousand sheets of Yellow Hemp Paper. Take them back and practice slowly. From this moment on, your six-month probation period officially begins. Remember my words! You must master the art of talisman drawing within half a year."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Yang. I will give it my all." Xu Changshou nodded respectfully.

Just as he turned to leave, Yang Bailao suddenly reached out and seized the fabric of Xu Changshou's Daoist robe. His eyes were wide and deadly serious. "Junior Brother, hear me. No matter what it takes, you must succeed within six months. If you fail, the Sect will impose a severe Penalty."

A chill ran through Xu Changshou. "What kind of Penalty?"

Yang Bailao's voice dropped to a grim whisper. "Do not ask. Just pour your soul into learning. The Sect's Penalty is not something flesh and blood can bear."

"Understood."

Xu Changshou nodded heavily.

Yang Bailao's ominous warning pressed down on him like a physical weight. Though his senior hadn't spoken the words outright, Xu Changshou could read between the lines: if he couldn't prove his worth in six months, the Sect would simply erase him.

A colossal entity like the Green Immortal Sect would never waste resources feeding useless trash.

Returning to his own quiet courtyard.

Xu Changshou locked himself in the talisman room. He laid out the spiritual brush and the stack of Yellow Hemp Paper, preparing to take his first actual step.

He had memorized vast libraries of talisman theory, but it was all academic. His practical, hands-on experience was absolute zero.

Whether he could truly master the brush in six months was a mystery even to him, and the looming threat of the Penalty gnawed at his nerves.

Countless intricate arrays hovered in his mind's eye. Over the past few weeks, he had forcefully memorized hundreds of the divine talismans recorded within his Bloodline Jade Talisman.

However, the runes of his inheritance were terrifyingly complex. He sensibly decided to start with the absolute basics, opting to replicate the three crude talismans Yang Bailao had demonstrated.

The Fireball Talisman.

Xu Changshou closed his eyes, mentally tracing the jagged, aggressive strokes of the Fireball array. Slowly, he reached deep within his Dantian, coaxing out a thread of fire-attribute Spiritual Qi.

The Dao of Talismans was rigid: a cultivator could only draft arrays that aligned with their innate elemental roots. If the attributes clashed, even a Golden Core ancestor would fail to draw a First-Grade charm.

A cultivator born only with a water root could never, in a thousand lifetimes, draw a Fireball Talisman.

Xu Changshou gripped the jade-green shaft of the spiritual brush. He exhaled slowly, guiding the fire-attribute Qi through his arm, down into his fingertips, and letting it bleed into the wolf-hair tip.

He pressed the brush to the Yellow Hemp Paper and dragged it horizontally to form the first stroke.

Bang!

Before the single line was even complete, the violent clash of unrefined Qi detonated. The Yellow Hemp Paper exploded right beneath his brush.

Xu Changshou was jolted backward, stumbling a full step away from the desk.

Failure. Keep going.

Gritting his teeth, Xu Changshou slammed another sheet of Yellow Hemp Paper onto the desk, steadied his breathing, and tried again.

Bang!

The second sheet violently ruptured into shreds.

Xu Changshou wiped a speck of soot from his cheek. Watching Yang Bailao had made the process look like a smooth, exhausting dance. But in practice, the difficulty was staggering.

The moment the spiritual brush was saturated with Qi, it became wildly unstable, like trying to hold a thrashing serpent by the tail. The slightest deviation in the stroke, or a microscopic fluctuation in the flow of Qi, caused the fragile balance to shatter, instantly turning the expensive paper into explosive confetti.