Dragon Emperor, Martial God

There wasn’t any change to the Fire Talisman after he had said “Come.” It just stuck on the tree trunk without so much as a sound.

“What the heck!” Ling Yun frowned and cursed.

Even though everything he had used was ordinary — the brush, chicken blood, gravel, medicinal herbs, and even the yellow paper — Ling Yun’s talisman-making skill was one of a kind.

Ling Yun had been confident that Tie Xiaohu would dash back from his experiment begging him to teach him this skill. However, things had not gone as expected.

“What the f*ck, such an embarrassment.”

Ling Yun did not stop throwing the Fire Talismans. He secretly felt a growing sense of shame. Every single one of them failed. There was not even a trace of a spark, let alone a raging fire.

Tie Xiaohu, on the other hand, was in awe.

It wasn’t because of the Fire Talismans, but because of Ling Yun’s accuracy. Every Fire Talisman had flown three meters and had been wedged firmly into the tree.

These were very flimsy talisman! How heavy could a talisman made out of amulet paper be? They were comparable to chicken feathers!

Moreover, there was a slight southwest wind blowing today. It wasn’t even possible to ensure smooth trajectory, much less hit and stick on the target three meters away!

It could be possible with a brick. But throwing a feather over a meter away was almost impossible.

Tie Xiaohu did not throw the feather like Ling Yun had earlier. Instead, he slammed the Fire Talisman directly onto the tree trunk and thought, “Come!” Then, he quickly skipped away from the tree.

Even though he possessed herculean strength, he could not throw a feather such a distance, let alone be sure of its accuracy.

Big Brother Yun definitely used some technique! Tie Xiaohu’s eyes were still wide with awe as he asked enthusiastically, “Big Brother Yun, erm… what kind of martial arts skill were you using?”

Pissed that none of the Fire Talisman had burst into flames, Ling Yun replied hotly, “You idiot! There is no need for any skill to forge the talisman!”

Tie Xiaohu said, “Big Brother Yun, yes, I know that you forged the talisman, but I am asking what technique you used to throw the talisman.”

“Oh, that? It’s the simple Picking Leaves and Flying Flowers Technique. Why? Do you want to learn?” Ling Yun laughed at his own misunderstanding.

The Picking Leaves and Flying Flowers Technique was a casual technique he was using out of habit. It was far inferior to his Shower of the Flowers Technique. However, Tie Xiaohu nodded hungrily.

Ling Yun found it both maddening and funny at the same time. “I will teach you later. Get me some dog blood first. This chicken blood had insufficient energy. That must have been the only issue…”

Those two dogs were quite clever. They had sensed something wrong when they saw Tie Xiaohu killing the chickens. They had even felt sorrowful for the death of the chickens. Now that Ling Yun was pointing at them with a cruel twinkle in his eye, they instinctively knew that misfortune was going to befall upon them and began to bark loudly.

Tie Xiaohu was stunned and stammered, “Big Brother Yun, h-how to kill them?”

If Ling Yun had ordered Tie Xiaohu to injure someone, Tie Xiaohu would have carried out that order without a second word, but he felt queasy about getting dog blood.

Chickens would not fight back, but dogs were different. He could contract rabies if they turned around and bit him.

Ling Yun glared. “Why? No guts?”

He tilted his head, thinking hard. Then, he ordered Tie Xiaohu, “Give me the dagger. I will teach you something!”

Tie Xiaohu went back to mansion with shame and brought the dagger out to Ling Yun. Ling Yun refused to take the dagger. “There are still remnants of chicken blood, go clean it up! The blood used must not be contaminate. Otherwise, the talisman won’t work.”

Tie Xiaohu returned to the mansion obediently and cleaned the dagger. This time, he lugged an empty clean pail along as well.

Ling Yun took the daggers and walked over casually to the two howling black hounds with Tie Xiaohu by his side.

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. I just want to borrow some blood.” Ling Yun grinned as he made his intentions known. With a flash, his fingers jabbed at the same point on both dogs.

“Peng! Peng!” They froze and landed on the floor at the same time, staring at Ling Yun with fear in their eyes.

“I-is this the legendary acupuncture point sealing?” The excitement in Tie Xiaohu’s face intensified.

“Bring the pail over and get ready to collect the blood.” Ling Yun directed Tie Xiaohu without turning. At the same time, he gently opened a small wound on the black dog’s hind legs and the blood splattered out.

“Big Brother Yun, you were using the acupuncture point sealing technique right?” Tie Xiaohu inquired excitedly again as he collected the blood.

Ling Yun smiled as he nodded, “Yes. I told you in the morning that I will teach you the acupuncture techniques when you reach the fourth minor realm of the Stellar Condensation Technique. You are reaching the third minor realm already; you will be able to learn it soon.”

“However, it is imperative for you to know where the acupuncture points of a person are. Otherwise, even if you learn the technique, you won’t be able use it…”

When they collected enough blood, Ling Yun stopped the bleeding of the dogs and told Tie Xiaohu, “You should know how to bandage wounds, right? Wrap them up and give them meat later.”

Ling Yun treated the dogs well in exchange for their blood.

Ling Yun then brought the pail of dog blood back into the mansion and did everything again with the dog blood, gravel, and the medicinal herbs.

He used another wolf fur writing brush, dipped into the new ink, and drew up three new Fire Talismans rapidly.

“F*ck, I don’t believe that I can’t make a talisman with normal materials!”

Ling Yun put down his brush once he was done drawing the Fire Talisman. He looked at them and clenched his jaw.

If he failed again this time, he would use the mystical brush without hesitation. It was so embarrassing to continue experimenting like this.

Ling Yun took a Fire Talisman and beckoned Tie Xiaohu over, who had finished treating the dogs. “Try again!”

Tie Xiaohu’s courage was boosted by the experiments just now. He took the Fire Talisman without hesitation this time

Once outside, he looked for the same tree and hurled the Fire Talisman on the tree trunk, muttering in his heart, “Come!”

The moment of miracle arrived!

The talisman turned into a yellow ball of flame before Tie Xiaohu could withdraw his hand. Horrified, a chill ran through his body. He let out a scream. “Ah!”

Success!

Ling Yun knew of the positive outcome from the scream. He stood tall and walked out.

Seeing the fist-sized ball of flame fizzle out on the tree trunk, Ling Yun gave a satisfied nod. “This is more like it…”

Tie Xiaohu had goosebumps all over his body as he looked at his right hand that was covered with flames just moments ago. It was unharmed.

Tie Xiaohu scrutinized his hand a few times to convince himself that he was really fine before he calmed down and turned his attention towards where the tree was burning.

It was black and crisp. A burnt smell lingered, cementing the fact that all these were real.

“Big Brother Yun, t-this…” Tie Xiaohu looked towards Ling Yun who came beside him, shocked beyond words.

Ling Yun smiled. “This is the Fire Talisman. However, it is but a shadow of the most elementary level Fire Talisman. Its temperature is similar to that of ordinary firewood and can only be sustained for a short time.”

He gave the stunned Tie Xiaohu a look and smirked. “How is it? It didn’t burn you, right?”

“T-this is too unreal. It is even more unreal than magic! Am I watching a movie?” Tie Xiaohu did not dare to believe for a second that what had happened was real.

“What is magic? This is real Taoist technique!” Ling Yun retorted proudly.

Ling Yun then grabbed a second Fire Talisman and threw it lightly towards the small tree, saying gently, “Come!”

“Boom!” The instant Ling Yun gave that command, the Fire Talisman burst into a yellow ball of flame. Even though the flame disappeared in a matter of a few seconds, it charred the tree again.

“This is so fun!” Tie Xiaohu’s eyes lit up!

This time, he grabbed the last Fire Talisman from Ling Yun without asking and mimicked Ling Yun.

“Ah!” Tie Xiaohu did not have the same mastery of the technique as Ling Yun. Before the Fire Talisman left his hand, it already burst into flames. He screamed again.

However, Tie Xiaohu realized quickly that although the flame was real, it did not burn him.

Of course it would not burn the caster of the talisman. If it did, then no one would make these talismans. It would essentially be playing with fire.

“Clean up. I will make some more!” Ling Yun smirked and directed Tie Xiaohu who was in adoration and awe.

Within half an hour, Ling Yun made more than 20 dozen Fire Talismans. It was just nearing six in the afternoon when he finished.

Ling Yun had a smug smile on while he was drawing, singing, “I burn you, I make you explode, I will slap you…”

There was no doubt that the unlucky person that Ling Yun kept cursing was the person at the pinnacle of the Houtian Realm — Dugu Mo!