"It failed!!"
Yi Tianxing's expression shifted slightly, the excitement within his body was instantly doused as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, extinguishing it completely.
The fiery passion from his initial success in talisman crafting was suddenly snuffed out, like a blow to the head that woke him up thoroughly.
"Something's wrong. I was able to draw the rune, and I didn't feel any awkwardness at all. So why did the first one succeed, but the second one fail? There must be a discrepancy somewhere."
Yi Tianxing could clearly feel that during the rune inscription process, there was no stiffness or difficulty. According to the Foundations of Talisman Crafting, some people are simply not suited to become talisman makers—they would feel an invisible resistance from the world itself, making their movements sluggish or even unable to complete the inscription.
"The rune itself wasn't wrong, but the result still failed. So what was different from the first attempt? What changed?"
Rather than getting discouraged, Yi Tianxing calmly recalled every step of his earlier talisman crafting process.
"That's it—my mind was unsettled. I was too focused on completing it in one fluid stroke and neglected the rhythm of the strokes. The key to talisman crafting lies in the rune's rhythm. Runes are drawn with spirit ink, guided by true qi, but the most crucial part is that the rune must possess spiritual rhythm."
"That rhythm is what guides the natural energies of the world. Only when the rune captures that flow can it lock the elemental energy into the talisman paper and become a complete talisman."
"Earlier, my emotions were running too high, and I ignored the changes in rhythm, the balance of soft and hard strokes, the varying pressure of the brush—all of which affect the rune's flow. I was just rushing to finish the rune. So while I drew in elemental energy, the rune couldn't hold it. Naturally, it failed and turned to ash."
After thinking for a moment, a flash of insight struck Yi Tianxing like a bolt of lightning.
"The rhythm is the rune's lock. Without the proper rhythm, how can the rune restrain the gathered energy?"
He recalled a line from the Foundations of Talisman Crafting:"The Way of the Talisman lies in hardness, in softness, and in the harmony of both to give birth to rhythm. Like flowing water and drifting clouds, the rune must come forth in one breath, formed from serenity. The rune locks the spiritual essence of heaven."
"I understand now. Let's try again."
Yi Tianxing's heart settled with clarity.
He took out another sheet of talisman paper, dipped the brush in prepared ink from the inkstone, and gently placed the brush tip onto the paper. Slowly, the True Dragon Qi in his body began to flow into the brush.
This time, his movement was neither rushed nor slow, with perfect unity of mind and body. Guided by the image of the rune in his mind, he traced the lines as though carving the laws of the universe into existence. Using True Dragon Qi to lead the rhythm of the world's energy, he drew steadily.
The True Dragon Qi made the process of drawing in elemental energy feel effortless, as if it stood at the apex of all living things, capable of commanding the primordial forces.
Around him, faint crimson lights began to drift toward the talisman paper, seeping into the rune's patterns.
Swish!!
The rune was completed in one go. The moment the final stroke landed, those red dots entered the talisman in an organized rhythm. On the white paper, the rune began to glow crimson, and shortly after, the surrounding elemental energy ceased pouring in. The fire energy drawn in was now sealed inside, arranged in a precise pattern.
The rune came to life, transforming into a vivid flame—but no energy leaked from the talisman at all.
"Success. Just as I thought. The Blazing Flame Talisman is complete."
Yi Tianxing smiled.
This success completely validated his earlier realization.
Without hesitation, he grabbed another paper and drew another Blazing Flame Talisman.
And again—no failure. The rune was easily and smoothly completed. The elemental energy was guided in and sealed effortlessly.
Encouraged, he continued and produced five or six Blazing Flame Talismans in a row, all without a single failure.
As long as his brush followed the proper rhythm, his success rate was nearly 100%.
"My True Dragon Qi seems to exert an extraordinary authority over the elemental energy of the world. Even violent fire energies become submissive when drawn in. Could it be that the True Dragon Qi enhances the success rate of talisman crafting?"
Yi Tianxing sensed something unusual.
By rights, natural elemental energies should be wild and difficult to control—after all, they weren't refined internal energy. But instead, they meekly entered the rune and got locked in without resistance.
This meant the probability of success was drastically higher than for ordinary cultivators.
It was as if the True Dragon Qi could command the world's elemental forces.
That made the entire process far easier than expected.
"Let's test another type."
To verify his suspicion, Yi Tianxing decided to try another basic talisman—the Wind Blade Talisman.
Again, he carefully visualized the rune in his mind, sensing its rhythm, engraving it into his soul.
Then, he picked up his brush and began to draw.
This time, his brush strokes became airy and graceful. Following his understanding and perception of the rune, his movements became natural and fluid. A subtle rhythm emerged.
Before long, the rune was fully drawn.
Green light dots quickly flowed into the rune, and in an instant, it became hidden within the talisman. On the paper, sharp wind blade patterns emerged, exuding an aura that sent chills down the spine.
It felt like deadly blades might erupt from the talisman at any second.
The Wind Blade Talisman—completed!
"As I suspected. Even the wind element submits under the True Dragon Qi's lead, integrating smoothly into the talisman."
Joy welled up in Yi Tianxing's heart.
His theory was confirmed. His talisman crafting was far easier than average, and he had a strong natural sense for rune rhythms.
This sparked a great interest in the art of talisman crafting.
"Didn't expect I'd be a talisman genius. I might really be extraordinarily gifted in this field. With this skill, I'll never be at a loss."
Yi Tianxing felt genuinely delighted.
At the very least, his talent in crafting talismans far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators. His sense for rune rhythm was abnormally sharp.
"Next, I'll try making a Sound Transmission Talisman."
He shifted his focus to the talismans needed for creating the Heaven Register Card. The Sound Transmission Talisman was one of them.
After visualizing the rune, he began drawing.
But—the first attempt failed. He had misjudged the rune's rhythm.
He paused to reflect, then tried again—and failed a second time.
Only on the third try did he finally succeed.
Each successful talisman further deepened his understanding of runes.
And today, luck seemed to be on his side—he was unusually successful and smooth in his progress.
Sound Transmission Talisman,Imprint Talisman,Parent-Child Talisman,and the Star-Linking Talisman—all were successfully crafted.
The Star-Linking Talisman was the medium rune used to connect to the Star Network, so Yi Tianxing named it accordingly. Interestingly, it seemed almost instinctive to him, as if it had been engraved into his soul—it was the easiest one to draw.
He succeeded on the first try.
Not rushing ahead, he carefully drew a few more of each type to ensure he had mastered them.
Only then did he take a deep breath and retrieve a crystal-clear card, shimmering like jade.
It was a crystal card forged from beast bones—a bone crystal.
"Time to attempt the Heaven Register Card. This will be far harder than crafting a single talisman. I'm not sure if the crystal card can even bear the power of four runes together."
Creating the Heaven Register Card involved inscribing four talismans onto a single crystal card.
This was no longer simple talisman crafting—it was akin to forging a magic treasure.
In fact, talisman makers and artifact refiners shared many similarities. Refining an artifact required embedding it with various seals, which were essentially runes—just expressed differently.
For refiners, these seals were turned into hand seals struck into the object during forging—but at their core, they were still runes.
A high-grade talisman was no different from a magic tool or treasure in its function—it was just made by a different method.
Now, Yi Tianxing needed to inscribe multiple talismans into one crystal card, essentially forging a treasure.
Could he succeed? He didn't know.
"Let's hope I can."
Staring at the crystal card in front of him, Yi Tianxing took a deep breath. His eyes sharpened, and his mind entered a state of total focus. In this moment, nothing existed in his world except the crystal card.