Han Li spent a full three days and nights inside the Scripture Archive of the Heavenly Talisman Gate, poring through every text related to talisman-crafting on the second and third floors. Among them were quite a few unique secret techniques for making talismans. He saw no reason to be polite and made copies of everything, intending to study them more carefully once he had free time.
Moreover, from certain texts in the archive, Han Li learned the details behind two of the Heavenly Talisman Gate's other great secret talismans, and inwardly found himself quite startled.
The Spirit Transformation Talisman — a special talisman that could be drawn into one's body and refined day and night within the dantian using core fire, eventually yielding limitless marvels. This talisman was somewhat similar to a magical treasure. Once refined to a sufficient degree, it not only offered infinitely varied and sharp transformations, it could even replicate a function similar to the Demonic Path's "Tribulation Transformation Art" — without requiring the practitioner to suffer any bodily backlash.
The "Six Ding Heavenly Armor Talisman" — a secret technique that harnessed the power of a talisman to draw in the ambient spiritual energy of heaven and earth, forming six layers of protective barriers. As long as the spiritual energy of the region did not run dry, the six barriers could regenerate endlessly. It was one of the exceedingly rare techniques in the world that could command the spiritual energy of heaven and earth without requiring a cultivator at the Deity Transformation stage — truly astounding.
Of the three great secret talismans, the Spirit Transformation Talisman was the most accessible — once a cultivator advanced to the Core Formation stage, he would have the ability to refine one using core fire. As such, it was a technique that every Core Formation cultivator of the Heavenly Talisman Gate had mastered across the generations. However, the power of a Spirit Transformation Talisman depended not only on the cultivator's level and the duration of his refinement, but also on the materials used in its creation and its intrinsic grade.
The Six Ding Heavenly Armor Talisman was different — once crafted, anyone could activate it, and its power depended entirely on the ambient spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
The denser the spiritual energy, the more formidable the talisman's effects.
But according to an elder's records from a past generation, the jade slip containing the Six Ding Heavenly Armor technique had mysteriously vanished not long after the Heavenly Talisman Gate's founder passed away. This threw the then-powerful sect into an uproar. Over the following generations, recovering this lost technique had been treated as the sect's highest priority — but no leads were ever found, and nothing ever came of it.
After the Heavenly Talisman Gate fell into decline, it naturally had no further means to continue the search. The affair gradually faded from memory.
As for the Spirit Descent Talisman, owing to the difficulty of obtaining its materials, very few people had ever been able to craft one since its creation.
Thus, while the Heavenly Talisman Gate had always proclaimed three great spirit talismans, the only one of practical use was the "Spirit Transformation Talisman."
Having finished reading all the relevant texts, Han Li naturally found himself greatly interested in the other two techniques. Each one seemed to possess extraordinary power. The Spirit Transformation Talisman in particular — that it could replicate the function of the Tribulation Transformation Art made it, in certain situations, the ultimate life-saving method.
Three days later, Han Li finished the last jade slip, rose from his meditation cushion, stretched, and swept his spiritual sense downward. He sensed Xiang Zhili on the first floor.
Han Li's brow furrowed.
This Senior Brother Xiang, who had caused him considerable concern, had been remarkably well-behaved these past few days. Beyond sitting with his eyes closed in meditation, he had done nothing else — and had not taken a single step outside the archive building.
What amused Han Li was that outside the building, ever since the first day he had begun examining the texts, several Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Heavenly Talisman Gate had been taking turns waiting for him to emerge, looking for all the world as though they feared he might leave without so much as a goodbye.
After a moment's thought, Han Li descended the building.
"Senior, have you finished reading everything?" The old man spotted Han Li the moment he appeared and hastily put away the jade slip in his hand, his face breaking into an eager smile.
"Mm. I've read everything worth reading. Fellow Daoist, please make yourself at home here." Han Li gave a light laugh, spoke with deep implication, and walked out of the archive on his own without looking back.
The old man watched Han Li's retreating figure without moving from his spot. A glint of sharp light flickered through his eyes and vanished, and his expression immediately returned to normal.
As it happened, the one waiting outside the building for Han Li at that moment was once again that same cultivator surnamed Yang who had brought him here.
The moment he saw Han Li emerge, he hastily bowed in greeting and respectfully invited Han Li to visit the great hall once more.
Having already studied their treasured texts, Han Li felt he owed them at least this courtesy. He nodded in agreement.
The middle-aged cultivator joyfully sent out a voice transmission talisman and led Han Li straight to the great hall.
Waiting for Han Li in the hall were the same Heavenly Talisman Gate leaders he had met before, along with two additional Core Formation cultivators — one man and one woman, both appearing to be in their forties.
After the elder surnamed Wen and the others greeted Han Li, the Heavenly Talisman Gate elder promptly made introductions:
"These are Fellow Daoist Chang of Golden Cloud Mountain and Fellow Daoist Xie of Bright Sun Valley. When the two heard that Senior had honored our humble gate with his presence, they came specifically to pay their respects. They have been waiting here for an entire day."
"Oh? That is very kind of you both. Han has spent these past few days studying certain talisman techniques and has kept you waiting far too long." Han Li's expression was placid, betraying neither pleasure nor displeasure.
"Not at all! To be able to behold Senior's true countenance today is our great fortune."
The two cultivators swept their spiritual sense over Han Li's cultivation base and immediately felt a jolt of shock. They bowed with equal respect. Truth be told, when they had first heard their respective sect masters report that a Nascent Soul cultivator had arrived at the Heavenly Talisman Gate, both had been skeptical.
After all, they knew the state the Heavenly Talisman Gate was in. Though the three sects were all small organizations that had always advanced and retreated together, supporting one another, the Heavenly Talisman Gate was the weakest of the three. Why would a Nascent Soul cultivator ever visit such a minor sect? But the prospect of establishing a connection with a Nascent Soul cultivator — the benefits went without saying.
The two had been unable to sit still. They had traveled through the night to White Bamboo Mountain, wanting to confirm this matter with their own eyes.