Chapter 164 The Secret of Talismans
"Mr. Ding, could you please take a look at this item? Although I feel it might be a thousand-year-old spiritual herb, I'm not entirely sure, so I hope Mr. Ding can confirm the age for me." Mr. Tian, speaking humbly, handed over the brocade box.
"A thousand-year-old spiritual herb?" Mr. Ding heard this with some disbelief, but still accepted the brocade box.
"Please examine it carefully! Is it really the Thousand-Year Yellow Essence Mushroom?" Mr. Tian pressed, trying to contain his excitement, and spoke somewhat urgently.
The old man didn't say anything but narrowed his eyes, examining the shape, color, and texture of the contents of the box, occasionally bringing it close to his nose to sniff.
Since Han Li had cultivated this herb himself, he naturally knew whether it was a thousand-year-old spiritual herb or not. Therefore, he remained calm, sitting on the side, paying no attention to the old man's actions. His only concern was negotiating with Wanbaolou about the price.
In contrast, Mr. Tian, unlike Han Li, stared intently at the old man's every move. His demeanor, which had been calm when facing Han Li, was now replaced with a complex expression of anticipation and anxiety.
Finally, Mr. Ding gently placed the box on the table, then stroked his beard and closed his eyes in thought for a moment before opening them again, calmly saying:
"Congratulations, shopkeeper. This is indeed a Thousand-Year Yellow Essence Mushroom, freshly unearthed not long ago, with its medicinal properties intact. I can vouch for it!"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Tian's face lit up with joy. He then politely escorted the old man downstairs before eagerly picking up the box containing the spiritual herb and examining it repeatedly.
"Mr. Tian, perhaps it's time we discussed the terms of the transaction!" Han Li, noticing that Mr. Tian seemed to have forgotten that the owner of the spiritual herb was still present, couldn't help but remind him.
"Oh... right! My apologies! Please forgive my absentmindedness!" After a slight moment of confusion, Mr. Tian remembered that the spiritual herb still belonged to Han Li and felt a slight blush creeping up his cheeks.
"Hehe, no problem! Since Mr. Han can produce a thousand-year-old spiritual herb, he must be no ordinary cultivator. There's no need for formalities between us. Let me offer you a fair price!" Han Li chuckled and teased him gently.
At this point, Mr. Tian regained his composure and placed the item back on the table before continuing:
"Since Mr. Han can produce a Thousand-Year Yellow Essence Mushroom, you must be no ordinary cultivator.
There's no need for me to deceive you. Let me offer you a fair deal!
You can exchange this spiritual herb for any two of the treasures I showed you earlier, or you can choose to exchange it for the item inside the last box alone.
If none of these items interest you, we can also offer you spirit stones to your satisfaction. What do you think, Mr. Han?"
Feeling the sincerity in Mr. Tian's words, Han Li considered his offer carefully. It seemed reasonable and did not exceed his bottom line, so he silently agreed to it with about seventy to eighty percent certainty. However, before agreeing, he wanted to see what was inside the last box.
But before Han Li could speak, Mr. Tian, understandingly, opened the lid of the last box and pushed it in front of Han Li with a smile, saying:
"The item inside this box is our shop's treasure. However, it all depends on whether you recognize its value!"
Curiosity piqued, Han Li looked into the box and was stunned to see a lone talisman with a golden brick pattern drawn on it, shimmering with a lifelike golden light.
After seeing this, Han Li sighed deeply and asked uncertainly, "A talisman?"
Mr. Tian's expression flickered with surprise, then he exclaimed:
"I didn't expect Mr. Han to recognize this item! It's rare for even cultivators to know about it. You are truly knowledgeable!"
Han Li sighed again, shook his head, and sighed:
"You're giving me too much credit, Mr. Tian. I've only heard of these talismans, and my knowledge about them is limited. However, since you have this item, you must know something about it. I would appreciate it if you could enlighten me."
Han Li's words were sincere. He genuinely wanted to take this opportunity to fully understand the origins of these talismans and avoid being in the dark about them.
Mr. Tian glanced at Han Li in surprise, realizing that this wasn't a matter that needed to be kept secret. It was just that few people knew about it. It wasn't worth offending such a valued customer. So, he readily agreed and explained everything about the talismans.
These talismans had a remarkable origin. They were a peculiar item crafted by cultivators at or above the Core Formation stage.
These talismans were created by advanced cultivators to seal a portion of a magical treasure's power into specially made talisman paper, allowing other cultivators to temporarily wield the power of the treasure.
Cultivators who knew about them jokingly called them "pseudo-treasures," and they were highly sought after.
These "pseudo-treasures" were quite special.
While only cultivators at the Core Formation stage or above could create them, they could be used by cultivators of any level.
Even cultivators at the third or fourth tier of cultivation like Han Li's slain opponent, Jin Guang, could use them effectively.
However, before reaching the Core Formation stage, cultivators lacked the ability to condense their spiritual power. Thus, when using these talismans, they could only unleash about ten to twenty percent of the treasure's power, making them far less potent than top-tier magical artifacts.
Cultivators who had reached the Core Formation stage or beyond could use their mental power to fully unleash the power of these talismans, albeit not as overwhelmingly as a genuine magical artifact.
Nevertheless, it was enough to disregard most other magical artifacts.
Therefore, every Core Formation cultivator aspired to possess a "pseudo-treasure" to gain an advantage in battles and be able to surpass others.
Although the power of these "pseudo-treasures" was astonishing, their use would continuously deplete the power stored within them. Once the power was exhausted, the talisman would become useless. Therefore, controlling the usage of the treasure's power was a matter not to be taken lightly.
Furthermore, creating these "pseudo-treasures" was no simple task.
Since magical treasures were originally only accessible to cultivators at the Core Formation stage, they were scarce and had to be continuously tempered within a cultivator's spiritual power to increase their power.
It was not something that could be easily shown to others, let alone used to create "pseudo-treasures. "
Creating a "pseudo-treasure" was akin to sacrificing a portion of the treasure's power.
After each creation, the owner of the magical treasure would have to spend a long time re-tempering it to regain its power.
This was a classic case of benefiting others at one's own expense.
Therefore, in most cases, no Core Formation cultivator would engage in such foolish behavior.
However, as the saying goes,
life is unpredictable. Most high-level cultivators would frantically create "pseudo-treasures" before their impending death. They did so with the hope of leaving behind a significant advantage for future generations or descendants.
After all, the power of inherited magical treasures would diminish significantly after being passed down for a long time and then inherited by someone else.
The new owner would not be able to completely synchronize with the magical treasure, causing most of its power to be lost. This required the new owner to reach the Core Formation stage before they could use it.
Otherwise, they could only watch the magical treasure and be unable to use it.
In this way, creating "pseudo-treasures" was more suitable for their descendants.
However, creating "pseudo-treasures" had many limitations.
Firstly, each "pseudo-treasure" could only seal up to ten percent of the power of the magical treasure, and it couldn't increase beyond that. Therefore, even "pseudo-treasures" created from the same magical treasure varied in power.
Secondly, creating "pseudo-treasures" not only reduced the power of the magical treasure but also caused a significant loss of the owner's spiritual energy.
Therefore, continuously creating "pseudo-treasures" was impossible.
After each creation, the owner would need to rest for three to five years to recover their spiritual energy, assuming they didn't waste their true energy or intend to re-temper the magical treasure, in which case it would take even longer.
As a result, the cultivation world often saw the following situation:
Before the great tribulation arrived, high-level cultivators would prepare themselves and leave behind the most valuable item upon their death, often a magical treasure with greatly diminished power, along with several "pseudo-treasures" sealing a portion of its power. This was indeed a lamentable situation!